We always have some form of thread going discussing the various forms of new to newer music. I found this piece recently and I thought I would post it. Some might consider some of the authors opinions wrong or whatever but I thought she did a pretty fair assessment and theres some historical factual stuff thats the first I ever heard of it. Enjoy. Music Genres Rhonda Rohrabacher January 31, 2001 WASHINGTON -- As international DJ’s take the center stage, varying degrees of rock ‘n roll music no longer hold hegemony over hip among global youth; the scales have been raised and broadened. As the transcontinental underground music scene goes mainstream, spinning with it a more diversified mix, time zones, eras, and styles are transcended, spawning new genres along the way. People who pride themselves on knowing about music are clueless to some of the newer schools of sound that are now making electronica music immensely popular among worldwide hipsters. Here is a rough charter to the various sonic ports of call as we sail into the topsy-turvy digital oceans of the 21st Century. HOUSE Generated out of disco music in New York and Chicago in the mid-1980's, by 1990, house had blitzkrieged Europe, revolutionizing and spawning modern-era club culture in the process. House epitomizes electronic dance grooves, and is probably more mainstream and widely accepted than any other of type of DJ music today. Characterized by groovy 4/4 beat tempos, and swinging upbeat harmonies, house can cover a lot of territory, from disco house, to acid house to Latin and French house, it is perhaps the most versatile of all electronic music genres, ranging in style from deep, to hardcore to progressive. Old School Pioneer: Frankie Knuckles Superstar House DJ’s: John Digweed, Sasha, Deep Dish, Derrick Carter, Armand Van Helden, Basement Jaxx, Masters at Work. Hot House Tunes: Groovejet, by Spiller; Brazil Over Zurich, by Tanga Chicks; Pasilda, by Afro Medusa. GARAGE As an offshoot of house music during the Paradise Garage days of New York in the early 1980's, garage has resurfaced in a huge way; what is leading this renewal is British garage, commonly known as "Two-Step.” Characterized by smooth velvety vocals and deep breaking bass lines, UK Garage borrows heavily from R n’ B (rhythm and blues), reggae (and dancehall jazz), and drum n’ bass. This synthesis of smooth and rough made a huge splash out of the underground and into the mainstream London and Paris groove scenes last year and is now making its way around the globe. Old School Pioneer: Larry Levan. Subgenres: SPEED GARAGE. TWO-STEP Two-Step Pioneers: The Dreem Team. Top Two-Step Artists: Suburban Lick, MJ Cole, Zed Bias, Artful Dodger, Oxide &Neutrino, Architects, Wookie. Tight Two-Step Tunes: Sincere, by MJ Cole, Sound of the Pirates mixed by Zed Bias (compilation) The Battle, by Wookie. HIP HOP Most commonly known as "rap,” hip hop has revolutionized the turntable into a modern instrument. More than any other type of DJ music, hip hop engenders creativity and pushes the limits of DJ performances. Spawned by Bronx teenagers back in the 1970's, hip hop is characterized by two turntables and a microphone. One turntable is churning out fat beats, while the other turntable is usually spinning some scratchable vocal samples that are ripe to be scratched, twisted and transformed by the DJ. An added bonus is a live MC, adding vocal poetic dialogue in sync with the breaking bass lines. The effects on the dance floor often result in break dancing, an acrobatic type of dancing inspired by hip hop sounds and culture. Surely, the controversy flowing from some types of hip hop is louder, but less exciting than the poetic potential of the art form. It is, undeniably, a rapidly expanding global phenomenon, with a seemingly boundless future ahead. Old School Pioneer: Kool Herc. Old School Cool: Cypress Hill, Tribe Called Quest. Hot Hip Hop Artists: Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def, Jurassic Five, Dr. Dre, Eminem, De La Soul, Black Eyed Peas. BREAKBEAT Evolving out of Great Britain in the mid 1990's, breakbeat is influenced by hip hop, jazz, rare grooves and funk. The Bristol, England, version of breakbeat is known as trip-hop, incorporating slower, sensual beats, and a reggae sound. Down tempo, characterized by mellow background sounds, with relaxed atmospheric beats, is an offshoot of breakbeat. Old School Influence: James Brown. Subgenres: TRIP HOP, BIG BEATS, DOWN TEMPO. Trip-Hop Masters: Massive Attack, Portishead. Classic Big Beat Breaks: Dig Your Own Hole, by Chemical Brothers, You’ve Come a Long Way Baby, by Fatboy Slim. TECHNO Many people generalize and label all electronic music as "techno.” In reality, techno is a separate genre within the electronica panoply. Techno started in Detroit in the 1980's as an extension of (or alternative to, depending on who you’re talking to) house. However, unlike house, techno is abstract with a harder edge, and more frenetic style. Techno found its enduring mainstream success in Europe, and was not even used as a label to describe a particular style of music until it reached corporate Great Britain in 1988; the British press coined a new genre, Techno, so as not to confuse it with house or hip hop. Whereas the original Detroit techno was influenced by funk and synthetic pop, the version found in Europe today is best characterized by the mindless throbbing techno pulsating within dark underworld clubs. Hardcore techno is more aggressive and turbulent, with BPM’s reaching 190. Dutch techno, called gabber (or happy hardcore), has even faster BPM’s. Subgenre: AMBIENT. Old School Pioneers: Derrick May, Kraftwerk. Techno Masters: Moby, Orbital. Classic Techno Tunes: Homework, by Daft Punk, Vegas, by Crystal Method. TRANCE A European extrusion of techno, trance originated in early 1990's Germany, accompanying the infamous Berlin Love Parades, creating a type of music conducive to drug-imposed euphoria and the accompanying rave culture. More upbeat than techno, the melodic dreamy anthems and spaced-out sonic sounds characterized by trance, sparked a widespread following among the growing rave-culture youth of early-mid 1990's Europe. Subgenre: GOA TRANCE. Trance DJ Superstars: Judge Jules, Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyke , Seb Fontaine. Top Trance Tune: Fusion, by Sven Vath. JUNGLE Evolving from hardcore techno in London in the early 1990's, jungle utilized techno’s breakier beats, culminating in electronica superstardom in the mid 1990's. The music itself is an amalgamation of many different genres, and characterized by faster BPM’s (up to 170 beats per minute), contrasted with a smoother, slower bass line. Old School Pioneers: A Guy Called Gerald, Goldie. Subgenre: DRUM N’ BASS. Drum n’ Bass Sounds: Reprazent, by Roni Size, Logical Progression, by LTJ Bukem. Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
