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Old 08-03-2009, 04:53 AM   #2 (permalink)
djchameleon
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DancePop


Club/Dance music comes in many different forms, from disco to hip-hop. Though there have been various dance crazes throughout the history of popular music, club/dance music became its own genre in the mid-'70s, as soul mutated into disco and whole clubs were devoted to dancing. In the late '70s, dance clubs played disco, but by the end of the decade, disco was mutating into a number of different genres. All of the genres were collected under the catch-all term "dance," though there were distinct differences between dance-pop, hip-hop, house, and techno, among other subgenres. What tied them all together was their emphasis on rhythm -- in each dance subgenre, the beat remains all-important.

Examples : Yelle, Moby, DJ tiesto, Paul van Dyk

Downtempo


Downtempo artists tend to be more beat-oriented than ambience, but are not quite as earthy as trip-hop.

Examples: Thievery Corporation, DJ Shadow, Zero 7, Royksopp

Drum & Bass


Based almost entirely in England, Jungle (also known as drum'n'bass) is a permutation of hardcore techno that emerged in the early '90s. Jungle is the most rhythmically complex of all forms of techno, relying on extremely fast polyrhythms and breakbeats. Usually, it's entirely instrumental -- it is among the hardest of all hardcore techno, often consisting of nothing but fast drum machines and deep bass. As its name implies, jungle does have more overt reggae, dub, and R&B influences than most hardcore -- and that is why some critics claimed that the music was the sound of black techno musicians and DJs reclaiming it from the white musicians and DJs who dominated the hardcore scene. Like most techno genres, jungle is primarily a singles genre designed for a small, dedicated audience, although the crossover successes of Goldie (with his 1995 debut Timeless) and Roni Size (with the Mercury Award-winning New Forms) suggested a broader appeal and more musical possibilities than other forms of techno. Dozens of respected artists followed in their wake, fusing breakbeat with influences lifted from jazz, film music, ambient, and trip-hop.

Examples: DJ Food , Justice, Dieselboy, High Contrast

House


House music grew out of the post-disco dance club culture of the early '80s. After disco became popular, certain urban DJs -- particularly those in gay communities -- altered the music to make it less pop-oriented. The beat became more mechanical and the bass grooves became deeper, while elements of electronic synth pop, Latin soul, dub reggae, rap, and jazz were grafted over the music's insistent, unvarying four-four beat. Frequently, the music was purely instrumental and when there were vocalists, they were faceless female divas that often sang wordless melodies. By the late '80s, house had broken out of underground clubs in cities like Chicago, New York, and London, and had begun making inroads on the pop charts, particularly in England and Europe but later in America under the guise of artists like C+C Music Factory and Madonna. At the same time, house was breaking into the pop charts; it fragmented into a number of subgenres, including hip-house, ambient house, and most significantly, acid house (a subgenre of house with the instantly recognizable squelch of Roland's TB-303 bass-line generator). During the '90s, house ceased to be cutting-edge music, yet it remained popular in clubs throughout Europe and America. At the end of the decade, a new wave of progressive house artists including Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, and House of 909 brought the music back to critical quarters with praised full-length works.

Examples: Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, House of 909, Paul Oakenfold, Benny Benassi,

Last edited by djchameleon; 02-16-2011 at 01:56 PM.
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