A
music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share
a certain style or "basic musical language" (van der Merwe
1989, p.3). Music can also be categorised by non-musical criteria
such as geographical origin. Such categories are not strictly genre
and a single geographical category will often include a number of
different genre.
Categorizing
music, especially into finer genres or sub genres, can be difficult
for newly emerging styles or for pieces of music that incorporate
features of multiple genres. Attempts to pigeonhole particular musicians
in a single genre are sometimes ill-founded as they may produce music
in a variety of genres over time or even within a single piece. Some
people feel that the categorization of music into genres is based
more on commercial and marketing motives than musical criteria. John
Zorn, for example, a musician whose work has covered a wide range
of genres, wrote in Arcana: Musicians on Music that genres are tools
used to "com modify and commercialize an artist's complex personal
vision." Other artists feel that it is an artist's fault themselves
if they make a body of work that can easily be put into a class shared
with others.
Some
genre labels are quite vague, and may be contrived by critics; post-rock,
for example, is a term devised and defined by Simon Reynolds. Another
example of this is video game music, which while defined by its media,
can also represent its own style, as well as that of any other musical
genre. Dividing music by genre does make it easier to trace threads
through music history, and makes it easier for individuals to find
artists that they enjoy.
Although
there are many individual genres, it is possible to group these together
into a number of overlapping major groupings. The rest of this page
attempts to do that for a number of widely agreed areas. These definitions
are relatively short and simple, even though they cover a large number
of genres.
CLASSICAL
/ ART MUSIC
The
term classical music refers to a number of different, but related,
genres. Without any qualification, the usual meaning of "classical
music" in the English language is European classical music (an
older usage describes specifically the Western art music of the Classical
Music Era). It can also refer to the classical (or art) music of non-Western
cultures such as Indian classical music or Chinese classical music.
In
a Western context, classical music is generally a classification covering
music composed and performed by professionally trained artists. Classical
music is a written tradition. It is composed and written using music
notation, and as a rule is performed faithfully to the score. Art
music is a term widely used to describe classical music and other
serious forms of artistic musical expression, Western or non-Western,
especially referring to serious music composed after 1950.
RHYTHM
AND BLUES
Rhythm
and blues is a name for black popular music tradition. When speaking
strictly of "rhythm 'n' blues", the term may refer to black
pop-music from 1940s to 1960s that was not jazz nor blues but something
more lightweight. The term "R&B" often refers to any
contemporary black pop music. A notable subgenre of rhythm 'n' blues
was doo-wop, which put emphasis on polyphonic singing. In the early
1960s rhythm 'n' blues took influences from gospel and rock and roll
and thus soul music was born. In the late 1960s, funk music started
to evolve out of soul; by the 1970s funk had become its own subgenre
that stressed complex, "funky" rhythm patterns and monotonistic
compositions based on a riff or two. In the early to mid 1970s, hip
hop music (also known as "rap") grew out of funk and reggae
(see below). Funk and soul music evolved into contemporary R&B
(no longer an acronym) in the 1980s.
ROCK
Rock,
in its broadest sense, can refer to almost all popular music recorded
since the early 1950s. Its earliest form, rock and roll, arose from
multiple genres in the late 1940s, most importantly jump blues. It
was first popularized by performers like Bill Haley, Dan and the Huberettes,
and Elvis Presley, who fused the sound with country music, resulting
in rockabilly. In addition, gospel music and a related genre, R&B
(rhythm and blues), emerged later in the decade. R&B soon became
one of the most popular genres, with girl groups, garage rock and
surf rock most popular in the US, while harder, more blues-oriented
musicians became popular in the UK, which soon developed into British
blues, merseybeat, mod and skiffle.
Starting
the mid-1960s, a group of British bands that played variations on
American R&B-influenced blues became popular on both sides of
the Atlantic -- the British Invasion, a catchall term for multiple
genres. These groups, including the Beatles, fused the earlier sounds
with Appalachian folk music, forming folk rock, as well as a variety
of less-popular genres, including the singer-songwriter tradition.
Early heavy metal and punk rock bands formed in this period, though
these genres did not emerge as such for several years.
The
most popular genre of the British Invasion was psychedelic music,
which slowly morphed into bluegrass-influenced jam bands like the
Grateful Dead and ornate, classically-influenced progressive rock
bands. Merseybeat and mod groups like The Yardbirds and The Who soon
evolved into hard rock, which, in the early 1970s specialized into
a gritty sound called glam rock, as well as a mostly underground phenomenon
called power pop. In the early to mid-1970s, singer-songwriters and
pop musicians led the charts, though punk rock and krautrock also
developed, and some success was achieved by southern rock and roots
rock performers, which fused modern techniques with a more traditionalist
sound.
COUNTRY
MUSIC
Country
music is usually used to refer to honky tonk today. Emerging in the
1930s in the United States, honky tonk country was strongly influenced
by the blues, as well as jug bands (which cannot be properly called
honky tonk). In the 1950s, country achieved great mainstream success
by adding elements of rock and roll; this was called rockabilly. In
addition, Western swing added influences from Swing and bluegrass
emerged as a largely underground phenomenon. Later in the decade,
the Nashville sound, a highly polished form of country music, became
very popular. In reaction to this, harder-edged, gritty musicians
sprung up in Bakersfield, California, inventing the Bakersfield sound.
Merle Haggard and similar artists brought the Bakersfield sound to
mainstream audiences in the 1960s, while Nashville started churning
out countrypolitan. During the 1970s, the most popular genre was outlaw
country, a heavily rock-influenced style. The late 1980s saw the Urban
Cowboys bring about an influx of pop-oriented stars during the 1990s.
Modern bluegrass music has remained mostly traditional, though progressive
bluegrass and close harmony groups do exist, and the sound is the
primary basis for jam bands like the Grateful Dead.
ELECTRONIC
MUSIC
Electronic
music started with the invention of the synthesizer. Some subcategories
of electronic music include electronic dance music, space, new age,
ambient, and the catch-all "electronica," which can sometimes
include all of the above electronic sub-genres.
One
of the first people to popularize the synthesizer was Wendy Carlos
who performed classical music on the synthesizer on the recording
Switched-On Bach. Space music was popularized by the group Tangerine
Dream, among others, as a precursor to new age music. New age music
served to support and perpetuate the values of the new age movement.
Though there is some overlap between the various sub-genres of electronic
music, Brian Eno, the creator of ambient music, claimed that ambient
had a bit of "evil" in it, whereas new age music did not.
Eno's creation was less values-driven than new age; his goal was to
create music like wallpaper, insofar as the listener could listen
to or easily ignore the music. Naturally,
many people have met electronic music also in the form of video game
music.
ELECTRONIC
DANCE MUSIC
Although
many artists in the 50s and 60s created pure electronic music with
pop structures, fully formed electronic dance music as we know it
today really emerged in 1977 with Giorgio Moroder's From Here to Eternity
album.
There
are now many subgenres of electronic music, these include: techno
(mechanical sounding dance music featuring little melody and more
noise), trance music (with a distinct style of instrumentation focused
on complex, uplifting chord progressions and melodies), Goa trance
(spawning from industrial music and tribal dance, focusing on creating
psychedelic sound effects within the songs), house music (fully electronic
disco music), big beat (using older drum loops and more melodic elements
sampled and looped), drum and bass (an offshoot of hardcore and Jamaican
dancehall, utilizing quick tempos with sampled break beats, most notably
the amen break and the funky drummer), gabber or gabba, (a Dutch development
on techno, which features extremely high tempos and lots of overdrive
and distortion on the music, especially the base drum being distorted
into a square wave tone), happy hardcore (a slightly more palatable
version of Gabba, fusing elements of drum and bass as well). Of these
subgenres, trance is probably the most widespread. Electronic dance
music is often composed to fit easily into a live DJ set.
ELECTRONICA
Electronic
music that does not fall into the new age, techno or dance categories
are often referred to as "left-field" or "electronica"
(although there are critics who maintain that the term "electronica"
is an invention of the media). Styles of electronica include ambient,
downtempo, illbient and trip-hop (among countless others, see list
of electronic music genres), which are all related in that they usually
rely more on their atmospheric qualities than electronic dance music,
and make use of slower, more subtle tempos, sometimes excluding rhythm
completely.
IDM
(an abbreviation for intelligent dance music) is an elusive and confusing
genre classification that can only be truly defined by flagbearers
and flagburners like Aphex Twin and Autechre.
All
electronic music owes at least its historical existence to early pioneers
of tape experiments known as musique concrète, such as John
Cage, Pierre Schaeffer and Karlheinz Stockhausen, as well as early
synthesists like Wendy Carlos (aka Walter Carlos), Jean-Michel Jarre,
and Morton Subotnick . (See electronic art music).
MELODIC
MUSIC
Melodic
music is a term that covers various genres of non-classical music
which are primarily characterised by the dominance of a single strong
melody line. Rhythm, tempo and beat are subordinate to the melody
line or tune, which is generally easily memorable, and followed without
great difficulty. Melodic music is found in all parts of the world,
overlapping many genres, and may be performed by a singer or orchestra,
or a combination of the two.
In
the west, melodic music has developed largely from folk song sources,
and been heavily influenced by classical music in its development
and orchestration. In many areas the border line between classical
and melodic popular music is imprecise. Opera is generally considered
to be a classical form. The lighter operetta is considered borderline,
whilst stage and film musicals and musical comedy are firmly placed
in the popular melodic category. The reasons for much of this are
largely historical.
Other
major categories of melodic music include music hall and vaudeville,
which, along with the ballad, grew out of European folk music. Orchestral
dance music developed from localised forms such as the jig, polka
and waltz, but with the admixture of Latin American, negro blues and
ragtime influences, it diversified into countless sub-genres such
as big band, cabaret and Swing. More specialised forms of melodic
music include military music, religious music. Also video game music
is often melodic.
Traditional
pop music overlaps a number of these categories: big band music and
musical comedy, for example, are closely allied to traditional pop.
REGGAE,
DUB AND RELATED FORMS
In
Jamaica during the 1950s, American R&B was most popular, though
mento (a form of folk music) was more common in rural areas. A fusion
of the two styles, along with soca and other genres, formed ska, an
extremely popular form of music intended for dancing. In the 1960s,
reggae and dub emerged from ska and American rock and roll.
Starting
the late 1960s, a rock-influenced form of music began developing --
this was called rocksteady. With some folk influences (both Jamaican
and American), and the growing urban popularity of Rastafari, rocksteady
evolved into what is now known as roots reggae. In the 1970s, a style
called Lovers rock became popular primarily in the United Kingdom
by British performers of ballad-oriented reggae music. The 1970s also
saw the emergence of Two Tone in Coventry, England, with bands fusing
ska and punk, as well as covering original ska tracks. Punk band The
Clash also used Dub and reggae elements.
Dub
emerged in Jamaica when sound system DJs began taking away the vocals
from songs so that people could dance to the beat alone. Soon, pioneers
like King Tubby and Lee Scratch Perry began adding new vocals over
the old beats; the lyrics were rhythmic and rhyme-heavy. After the
popularity of reggae died down in the early 1980s, derivatives of
dub dominated the Jamaican charts. These included ragga and dancehall,
both of which remained popular in Jamaica alone until the mainstream
breakthrough of American gangsta rap (which evolved out of dub musicians
like DJ Kool Herc moving to American cities). Ragga especially now
has many devoted followers throughout the world.
Reggaeton
is a fusion of reggae and rap, popular in Latin America, but gradually
appearing in the mainstream charts.
PUNK
MUSIC
Punk
is a subgenre of rock music (see below). The term "punk music"
can only rarely be applied without any controversy. Perhaps the only
bands always considered "punk" are the first wave of punk
bands, such as the Clash and the Ramones. Before this, however, a
series of underground musicians helped define the music throughout
the 1970s -- see Forerunners of punk music.
After
1978, following the collapse of The Sex Pistols, punk could go no
further. However, the space that had been created in popular taste
and in the distribution system facilitated a number of successors.
With
the exhaustion of The Sex Pistols, none of their peers -- Blondie,
Siouxie and the Banshees, Television, The Clash, The Pop Group, The
Ramones was able to carry on the public fight for freedom of expression.
A flood of other groups came to prominence in Britain who explored
the new space with abandon.
Despite
evidence to the contrary, many refused to believe that the phenomenon
could not be repeated and several so-called genres acquired followings.
These 'genres' can be grouped into three categories -- hardcore punk,
New Wave and alternative rock.
Hardcore
punk music kept the raw, visceral energy of the original punk bands.
In the 1980s, reggae influences resulted in a fusion called ska punk,
while another group of bands became known as Oi!, uniting punks and
Skinheads with an aggressive, though often humourous style of streetpunk.
Some of these bands took a far-right political stance, most notably
Skrewdriver, but most distanced themselves from this, often appearing
at the opposite end of the political spectrum, such as The Angelic
Upstarts. During the 1990s, some more styles emerged, including straight
edge, and queercore, based around subcultures -- straight edge and
homosexuals, respectively. Psychobilly (see also cow punk) also emerged,
fusing punk with rockabilly and other kinds of country music. In addition,
emo (or emocore) had appeared by the 90s, characterized by slower
beats, dreamy vocals and angst-ridden lyrics, and moshcore, which
involved heavy moshing.
New
Wave was the most popular genre of punk music, dominating the charts
during the early 1980s. Varieties included Neue Deutsche Welle, synth
pop, dream pop and the New Romantics. Of these, the most popular was
synth pop, though the most critically accepted groups were the underground
dream pop bands. In the 1980s, dream pop evolved into many of the
most popular genres of the 1990s. This occurred primarily in Britain,
with styles like jangle pop (and the Paisley Underground) and noise
pop (and, later, twee pop, shoegazing). All of these styles (along
with psychedelic music) contributed to the popular emergence of Britpop
in the middle of the decade.
Keeping
the anti-corporate stance of punk music, alternative rock is a broad
grouping, referring to multiple styles. The earliest genres were noise
pop, post-rock and Gothic rock. These bands were unable to break into
the mainstream, though they influenced many of the 1980s' most popular
groups. By the end of the decade, post rock had developed into math
rock, while other genres like Riot grrl, slowcore (aka sadcore or
shoegazing) and grunge music. During the early 1990s, grunge music
broke into the mainstream in a big way. With "alternative"
now mainstream, other bands began referring to themselves as indie
rock. Many all-women bands are alternative, punk, post-punk, or riot
grrl. Popular alternative rock bands today incorporate several different
styles of music bringing a hybrid of sounds, e.g. Linkin Park.
HIP
HOP / RAP
Hip
hop music (also commonly referred to as "rap") can be seen
as a subgenre of R&B tradition (see above). Hip hop began in inner
cities in the US in the 1970s. The earliest recordings, from the late-1970s
and early 1980s, are now referred to as old school hip hop. In the
later part of the decade, regional styles developed. East Coast hip
hop, based out of New York City, was by far the most popular as hip
hop began to break into the mainstream. West Coast hip hop, based
out of Los Angeles, was by far less popular until 1992, when Dr. Dre's
The Chronic revolutionized the West Coast sound, using slow, stoned,
lazy beats in what came to be called G Funk. Soon after, a host of
other regional styles became popular, most notably Southern rap, based
out of Atlanta and New Orleans, primarily. Atlanta-based performers
like OutKast and Goodie Mob soon developed their own distinct sound,
which came to be known as Dirty South. As hip hop became more popular
in the mid-1990s, alternative hip hop gained in popularity among critics
and long-time fans of the music.
De
La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising (1989) was perhaps the first "alternative
hip hop" blockbuster, and helped develop a specific style called
jazz rap, characterized by the use of live instrumentation and/or
jazz samples. Other less popular forms of hip hop include various
non-American varieties; Japan, Britain, Mexico, Sweden, Finland, France,
Germany, Italy and Turkey have vibrant hip hop communities. In Puerto
Rico, a style called reggaeton is popular. Electro hip hop was invented
in the 1980s, but is distinctly different from most old school hip
hop (as is go go, another old style). Some other genres have been
created by fusing hip hop with techno (trip hop) and heavy metal (rapcore).
In the late 1980s, Miami's hip hop scene was characterized by bass-heavy
grooves designed for dancing -- Miami bass music. There are also rappers
with Christian themes in the lyrics -- this is Christian hip hop.
CONTEMPORARY
AFRICAN MUSIC
Since
the 1960s, most African popular music incorporates traditional local
vocal, instrumental, and percussive styles, but also draws heavily
on rock, reggae, and/or hip hop. For example raï, which originated
in Algeria and spread throughout North Africa and to the North African
diaspora, especially in France, began with topical songs based in
the local traditional music, but, starting around 1980, began to incorporate
elements of hip hop.
Other
notable contemporary African genres include Zulu jive (South Africa),
highlife (Ghana) and in Nigeria juju music (now nearly a century old,
and constantly evolving) and Afrobeat. Many African countries have
also developed their own versions of reggae and hip hop.
HIGH-ENERGY
Disco
never died, it split. At the beginning part became Hi-NRG and part
became house. Now Hi-NRG took additional techno sound. This is the
current evolution of disco that remained truest to its mid'70'-dlsco
roots and is the perennial musical staple of gay dance clubs. Attributes:
strong melodies, full vocal arrangements, happy, uplifting energy,
lots of remakes. 118 to 140 BPM. Examples: Abigail, Kylie Mlnogue,
Blue System, Fancy, Bad Boys Blue, Gypsy & Queen, Pet Shop Boys,
Abbacadabra, Cabballero, Masterboy, Aladino, and anything on the PWL,
Klone or Megatone labels. Check current releases in ITALO-DISCO Page
for updates.
HOUSE
This
is by far; the most popular dance format. So much so, that there exists
over a dozen related branches including New York dub, Chicago, New
Jersey, Miami, garage, tribal, acid... in fact, almost every other
format touches on house at some point because the steady 4/4 time
signature beat is virtually universal in dance music. Attributes:
the beat, keyboards, home synthesizers, male vocals, female vocals
at all... add any or all. What you add defines what kind of house
it is but what makes it house is it the beat 110 to 128 BPM. Examples:
lnner City, MK, Ralphie Rosario, Robin S., and anything on the Murk;
Eightball or Strictly Rhythm labels.
DREAM
HOUSE
It
has to be clarified that Robert Miles is not the original creator
of the DREAM MUSIC. Apparently this term was used for the first time
by the Italian D.J. Gianni Parrini, at the end of 1993. D.J. Parrini
is still the real leader of this style, but it seems he has not the
luck as Robert Miles with his 'Children'. Among the first creators
of this style were artists like: Adriano Dodici, Gigi d'Agostino (well
known nowadays), Leonardo Rossi, and of course Gianni Parrini himself.
DREAM HOUSE originally evolved from TRANCE. Usually down-beat, with
soft melodic sounds (a piano is characteristic and practically a mandatory
section), and a sharp pounding drum beat. It also can have a heavenly
female or choir voice (e.g. Zhi-vago, DJ Dado etc). The cover-sleeves
normally shows virtual landscapes, or relating to the cosmos. Frequently
the dream can be fused with elements of techno or progressive music,
resulting faster with a vibrating baseline straight and running (e.g.
B.B.E). This "mutated" style also got the name (e.g. PROGRESSIVE
MEDITERRANEAN). Other variant of dream is called COSMIC-DREAM: it
is more deep and reflexive (e.g. . Brothers Of The Coast). The main
Italian labels devoted to dream music in Italy are: In Lite, Outta
(both from Ala Bianca Group), Desastre (from DB One), several labels
from Zac Music like Vertikal, Elite, Universal have released some
stuff. Also from DiscoMagic we have the side more commercial of this
style with a label just named Dream Records. Check these releases:
Adriano Dodici 'Opera Dodici' (WestWard / 1993), Roland Brant 'Mastermind'
(Desastre / 1994), D.J. Panda 'It's A Dream' (Outta / 1994), Robiz
'Universum' (In Lite / 1995), Gianni Parrini 'White Blow' (Drohm /
1995), Sonic Dream 'Il Sogno' (Desastre / 1995), Oscar Piatelli &
Frank Vanoli 'Livin' Age' (Desastre / 1995), MC Hair 'Moonra E.P.'
(Red Gate / 1995), Positive with Gianni Parrini 'Traum Remix' (UMM
PR / 1995), Brothers Of The Coast 'Ouverture' (Universal / 1995) cosmic
dream.
ACID
HOUSE
This
sound originated from Chicago in the mid-'80's. It's phased and gated
quarter note percussion patterns generated by the Roland TR 808 and
909 drum machines marked a milestone advancement in synthdriven dance
music. The acid house sound was an overnight revolution and remains
the cornerstone of the American underground scene. Attributes: the
Roland 303 drum machine signature sound. 118 to 130 BPM. Examples:
Bobby Konders, Caucasian Boy and anything on DJ International, Trax
or Hot Mix labels.
GARAGE
Garage
started in New York's club "Paradise Garage" located in
Greenwich Village and thus term: "Garage" music was used
to describe the style of music that was played there. It is the home
of the infamous DJ Larry Levan. This style of music is faithful to
the old disco style and keeps it alive. Its characteristics are a
lot of bass, vocals, keyboards and sometimes, even violins. These
days Garage is popular in the UK and is slowly spreading across the
European continent.
CHICAGO
In
the city of Chicago, many DJ's started to experiment with old disco
records and mixed them with samples from bands like Kraftwerk and
New Order. Through this, a new style evolved; 120 BPM (beats per minute),
quadruple time, soul voices, and piano samples. Chicago is known for
its characteristic original piano and voice samples. Some people like
to refer this style as "old skool" house. Chicago was named
after the "Warehouse Club", a disco in Chicago. In 1987,
this new style travelled to Europe. Ever since, European DJ's have
been spinning and experimenting with Chicago.
ACID
JAZZ
This
is misleading name. There is nothing "acid like" about acid
jazz. It is actually a fusion of old and new classic jazz riffs and
scat vocals with funky hip hop beats and modern technology. During
a true acid jazz set, a DJ may spin the latest Mo' Wax releases, funky,
hip-hop, rap interspersed with Ella Fitzgerald or Harvey Mason. The
key word here is fusion. Attributes: hip-hop or house rhythms live
instrumentation, silky smooth arrangements, and an easy, flowing soulful
energy. 80 to 126 BPM. Examples: US3, Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai,
Digable Planets, and anything on the Blue Note, Talkin' Loud, Acid
Jazz or Mo' Wax Labels.
DISCO
HOUSE
Disco
house borrows heavily from classic late '70's e discos and funk, and
is indicative of the current shift toward music with strong hooks
and melodies, and a comfortable familiarity. In England, this style
of music is called Tesko - a hybrid of disco and techno, except for
X-Press-2 who call their sound a blend of disco and rave - Rave Music.
Attributes: Tesko uses a disco arrangements style, house rhythms,
and a techno sampling technique. 120 to 130 BPM. Examples: X-Press-2,
Ming's Incredible Disco Machine, Cotton Club, and most releases of
the Stress or Whizz labels.
TRIBAL
HOUSE
Tribal
music is defined by its percussion. The arrangements are often simple
and repetitive and the energy is primal and driving. Attributes: Minimalist,
striped down mixes and subtle melodies. Chanted vocal samples with
heavy African, Brazilian, Indian or other ethnic flavour. 120 to 128
BPM. Examples: The Goodmen, and DJ EFX mix or many releases on the
Murk, Strictly Rhythms or Tribal America labels.
PROGRESSIVE
HOUSE
This
is music that is too progressive to fit the general house definition
yet not as dark or hard as trance or techno-house. Attributes: Trance
styled keyboard and synth-lines, house vocal loops and samples with
driving, electronic mid-tempo house rhythms. 120 to 130 BPM. Examples:
Underworld, Fluke, Rhythm Invention and most releases on the Limbo
or Wrap labels.
TECHNO/TECHNO-HOUSE
Over
the years and around the world the term "TECHNO" has come
to mean many things to many people. The term was first cloned by Kraftwerk
from Germany to describe their unique use of technology in electronic
and computerized instruments while making contemporary Pop Music.
As techno evolved new terminology was required to make sense of all
its variants. In time it stood for what now refers to "INDUSTRIAL"
or "ELECTRONIC BODY MUSIC" and later still, for what is
now considered the "HOUSE, the sound originated in Detroit and
Chicago in the mid-'80s. Pioneered by such luminaries as Juan Atkins,
Kenny Larkin and Mike "Hitman" Wilson techno has evolved
from cutting edge underground ('84 to '89); to undisputed ruler of
the American rave scene ('89 to '92), to mainstream "Top 40"
acceptance. The commercial success of techno has also led to its fall
from grace in the underground scene, being replaced by trance, progressive
house, and the strong resurgence of true house. Today the term "TECHNO"
has come to mean fusion of all these styles and now" TECHNO"
is the short from "TECHNO-HOUSE".
Throughout
all the phases and trends and ups and downs that TECHNO has endured,
one man maintained his position as an instigator and innovator and
is now consider the godfather of the TECHNO movement - Talla 2XLC.
born and Raised in Frankfurt, Germany, he founded the first club exclusively
devoted to TECHNO, conceived Frontpage Magazine, and launched, with
Zoth Ommog SUCK ME PLASMA, the first TECHNO-HOUSE label. He has lived
by the TECHNO motto" "Forcing The Future", like no
other DJ before or since. Never ego-driven or spotlight-hungry he
became a quiet but enormously influential mastermind behind every
aspect of TECHNO's evolution. Although the seeds of TECHNO were planted
in Frankfurt's Rhein-Main district, it soon spread internationally
through 80's and 90's. Now, Tall 2XLC is still in top form and widely
regarded as the creative genius behind TECHNO-HOUSE current popularity.
Attributes:
Hard synth-keyboard riffs, pounding Belgian style bass, often combining
male rap and female vocals and always delivering the most intense,
frenetic energy possible. 130 to 150 BPM. Examples: L.A. Style, Moby,
Fierce Ruling Diva, Tyrell Corp., Robotico Rejecto, Klangwerk, Quadrophonia,
many of the releases on Radikal on Bounce labels, Suck Me Plasma releases
and everything from Rotterdam.
GABBER
Gabber
is basically the Dutch form of house music. Imagine house music at
33RPM playing at 45RPM. In other words, it is very fast (around 220BPM
or so). To describe this style, I would use the word "dark".
The bass is really "kicky" and distortion effects are used
to produce beats that sound like hammers pounding on a wall (with
an echo). The Gabber generation in the Netherlands have a typical
"look" : bald head, Australian track suit, Nick air max
shoes. Some people like to call "gabber" "gabba"
which is essentially the same thing. Gabber branches off to many other
styles of music such as happy hardcore and terrorcore. Check out the
Thunderdome collection, most releases by ID&T, Rotterdam Records
and Planet Core Productions (PCP).
TRANCE
Trance
evolved from German Techno, using the rolling bass and sizzling keyboards
of techno to give the music a hypnotic flowing effect, yet retaining
all the driving, pulsating energy of its true techno roots. Attributes:
synth/sample-driving, pounding baselines, complex cyber-sounding keyboards,
usually instrumental. 128 to 150 BPM. Examples: Aphex Twin, HardTrance
Acsperience, Cosmo, Raver's Nature, Marusha and anything on the Harthouse,
D-Jax, Rough Trade, or EX labels.
GOA
TRANCE
Goa
was born in Germany where trance also comes from. Trance grew in Germany
and that's where everyone who knows it has got it. Goa is known for
the peace, love, and sun. Trance was played on a lot of beach parties
and because of its warm climate of "goa" vinyl would melt.
Thus, the music was put on DAT and wasn't mixed, and that's why the
tracks have an intro, climax, and an outro. Goa trance is played all
over the world and the public seem to enjoy it more because it is
more "relaxing" and "easy-listening" style than
other types of trance. A lot of various "branches" have
been born with experimental mixing; voodoo trance, astral trance.
Sample CD's: Man with no name, The Best of Goa Trance Vol. I, Vol.
II, Vol. III, Astral Projection.
JUNGLE
/ DRUM N BASS
Jungle
is quite chaotic and has a breakbeat of 160BPM with the bass drum
on half speed. If you're not used to it, it's hard to predict when
there is a beat and/or bass. Jungle's origins are from England and
it is named after the big concrete, metallic "jungle" city.
Different mixes with reggae and hardcore are divided into three categories:
Drum 'n' Bass, Hardstep, and Intelligent jungle. Intelligent jungle
can also be called "artcore", which has a slight trance
"flavour" into it. Artists such as LTJ Bukem, PFM, Jamie
Myerson, and Goldie are known for this style of music.
HAPPY
HARDCORE
Happy
Hardcore, also known as 4-Beat is a style of techno music that is
very fast, very bouncy and a riot to dance to (IMHO). It's extremely
high-energy and when one dances to it, you feel almost like a puppet
on strings moving uncontrollably to the music with your hands in the
air and a smile on your face! It's origins date back to the early
'90s in the UK to what is now know as old school hardcore (circa 1992).
This hardcore began to split into different forms, such as Jungle
which has enjoyed a growing following everywhere including North America.
Typical characteristics of happy hardcore music are: a driving 4/4
kick (hence the name 4-beat), usually (but not always) lots of piano
and female vocals (making the music 'happy'). Happy hardcore also
features lots of break beats, although they are being dropped in favour
of more techno sounds and stompy Dutch inspired kicks. Happy hardcore
runs at 160-180 bpm and 99% of the music originates from the United
Kingdom where its popularity is gaining even over jungle.
Basically,
happy hardcore is the "mainstream" or the "public"
version of gabber. But don't be mistaken, they are two different types
of music. A lot of samples from old hit records, movies, piano and
rap voices are the basic roots for happy hardcore. The first famous
track was made by Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo called "wonderful
days", a classic. Happy hardcore can range from 160BPM to 180BPM.
It's pretty fast but the melody is quite enjoyable (you can't resist
stamping your feet). These days, happy hardcore is becoming more and
more "happy". It has a very friendly "attitude"
and titles such as "Smurf's house" will tell it all.
SEXCORE
Sexcore
is a sub-category hardcore/terrorcore but with sex samples from old
porno records. It was popular in the West Coast of the U.S. Similar
characteristics as gabber, sexcore is categorized as underground music
because it is not popular to the public and is harder to find. Ron
D Core (owner of Dr Freeclouds Mixing Lab) is pretty infamous for
having some crazy records. He also spins terrorcore and the occasional
retro hard acid set)
BREAK
BEAT
Breakbeat
evolved from late '80's rave by combining hip-hop rhythms and mixing
tricks (back, spins, etc,) with techno-rave keyboards and sampling
techniques. This style was revamped in 1998 by groups like Music Instructor,
Solid Force, Sybtronic and other. Attributes: Funky rhythm tracks,
lots of samples and choppy mixes, sped-up "chipmunk" vocal
loops, frenetic explosive energy. 135 to 170 BPM. Examples of groups
originally recording in this style are as following: Smart E's, Sonz
Of A Loop Da Loop Era, Prodigy, Q-Bass, Pascal Device, RMB, DJ Hooligan,
Raver's Nature, Music Instructor and everything on the Suburban Bass,
Production House or Moving Shadow.
ENERGY
ALTERNATIVE
These
are titles that simply don't fit a simplified house, high-energy,
dance-rock or techno definition. Attributes: Very accessible sounding,
usually using lots of synth-keyboards, and strong hooks and vocal
arrangements to successfully combine elements of house, rock and techno.
100 to 140 BPM. Examples: Enigma, Depeche Mode, Camouflage, and anything
produced by Michael Cretu.
AMBIENT
Ambient
is music that you can't dance to, or can you? It may or may not have
a beat, and is primarily designed for a chilled out trip to synth-driven
fantasy. Often combining natural and "found sounds" which
can be looped through processors to create original unique sounds.
Attributes: Very electronic and spacey, often featuring long sound
effect, intros and breaks, and occasionally featuring mixes 20 minutes
long (or more!). 0 to 140 BPM. Examples: The Orb, Amorphous Androgynous,
Future Sound Of London and many releases on the Rising High, Hardkiss,
Fax, Apollo or Astralwerks.
