Dance Music

Bubblegum bass is a style of Electronic Dance Music that originated in the early 2010s. It takes Pop music and amplifies its cuteness and femininity to extreme levels, often pitching the vocals upward and warping the rhythm through a frenzied UK Bass and Wonky filter. The production uses bouncy, plastic-sounding synths and further draws from a variety of club sounds, including Electro House, Balearic Beat, Trance, Footwork, and Bubblegum Dance.

SOPHIE and A. G. Cook are the two best known producers in this genre; the latter producer's label PC Music is the label most associated with the genre. A disorienting post-internet aesthetic exemplified by DIS Magazine also shapes the style of bubblegum bass both sonically and visually, though DIS's output is not exclusively centered on bubblegum bass.

Bubblegum Dance

Bubblegum Dance is a sub-genre of Eurodance, which shares similar lyrical themes and childlike atmosphere like Bubblegum. It originated from Scandinavia and Denmark, which also produced most artists dedicated to this music and had the largest audience throughout the world in the 1990s and early 2000s. Typically this music involves a female vocalist singing a happy, bouncy & funny chorus, and a male doing back up vocals. These ingredients give a stronger orientation towards Pop and a childish tinge to this genre even though many bubblegum artists use sexual or suggestive lyrics, which are appropriate for adult audiences. Bubblegum Dance makes the transition from the early 90s harder style of music to the very popular happy Teen Pop music from the early 2000s. Most known artists include Aqua, Vengaboys, Chipz, Me & My, Toy-Box.

Bubblegum [South Africa]

Bubblegum refers to a synth-heavy Dance-Pop style popular in the South African townships in the 1980s and early 1990s. Evolving out of Disco, and heavily influenced by 1980s dance-pop, Synthpop and R&B trends, bubblegum is typified by its heavy use of synthesizers, keyboards and drum machines, and the frequent use of indigenous vocal harmonies and call-and-response vocals. Some of the biggest bubblegum stars included Brenda Fassie, Chicco, and Yvonne Chaka Chaka. In the 1990s, bubblegum gave way to Kwaito as the dominant township pop style.

Chillstep

Chillstep is a sub-genre of Dubstep. It is heavily influenced by Downtempo, Ambient, Future Garage and Liquid Funk. The half-time beats and sometimes bass wobbles of Brostep are often included in chillstep but they are less intense and more relaxing. Sub-bass is usually used in most tracks.

Blackmill's early works were great influence for many chillstep producers, and have helped to establish and define the sound of the genre. Other artists, such as CoMa, EvenS and SizzleBird have also contributed to the sound of chillstep over the years.

Coupé-Décalé

Coupé-Décalé is a bass-heavy and minimal style of Ivorian popular dance music, drawing heavily from Zouglou and Congolese rhythms. It was developed in Paris by Ivorian DJs and quickly spread back to Côte d'Ivoire. Prominent artists include Jet Set, DJ Arsenal and DJ Lewis.

Electroclash is a style of Electronic Dance Music that emerged in the late 1990s in New York City and Detroit, as well as throughout Germany and The Netherlands. It developed as a 1980s-revival of various Electro, New Wave, Electro-Disco, Synth Punk and Synthpop tropes in combination with more up-to-date EDM production values, most prominently a heavy Techno influence. This melting pot of styles came together to promote a raw, retro, robotic musical template and image that was often highly sexualised, kinky and consciously trashy. Musically, electroclash artists typically employ minimal, throbbing beats and basslines, buzzing synthesizer parts played on low-tech keyboards, vocoders and often monotone, half-spoken, half-sung vocals. Electroclash is often known as, and confused with, the genre known as electro, the original, hip-hop inflected form of the style.

The term was invented by DJ Larry Tee, whilst the 1984 satirical Science Fiction film Liquid Sky has been cited as a focal point for the image often adopted by the style. Electroclash developed in parallel to other related EDM-infused styles with 1980s influences such as the wave of Electropop, Dance-Punk, Bitpop and Electro House that emerged in the late 1990s/2000s. The movement reached its highest level of media attention and popularity in the early 2000s and declined in popularity after the mid-2000s.

Early pioneers include I-F and Miss Kittin & The Hacker, whilst the most successful charting acts were Fischerspooner (notably the track "Emerge"), Peaches and Felix da Housecat. Other household names such as Ladytron, Goldfrapp and Scissor Sisters incorporated electroclash influences into some of their music during the genre's heyday in the early 2000s.

Electro-Disco

Electro-disco is an influential Disco subgenre in which disco instrumentation is largely - if not entirely - replaced by synthesizers and augmented with futuristic elements such as the vocoder. The genre displays a strong influence from Kraftwerk.

The most popular and influential electro-disco producer is Giorgio Moroder. Hi-NRG developed from electro-disco, but is devoid of disco's Funk elements. The futuristic Space Disco and Italo-Disco are other offshoots.

The genre is notable for being the first major Electronic Dance Music subgenre.

Electro-Industrial

(also known as Elektro)

Electro-industrial is a form of Industrial Music formed in the late 1980s and early 1990s that grew out of a combination of EBM and Industrial. It maintains some of the danceability of EBM but trades in the clean and stripped down approach of EBM for the harsher elements and more layered and complex sound of older industrial. It often has a much more modern feel to it than the typical industrial music of the 1980s, in part due to technological advances that have been made since then.

Electro Latino

Electro latino is a style of popular dance music originated by DJs in Dominican Republic during the late 2000s which adds a Latin twist to the global Dance-Pop sound. According to Spanish DJ nationalized Dominican Juan Magan, electro latino is made with electronic instruments mixed with conventional instruments, as the typical Dominican guitars or Colombian accordions. Hooks are often derived from Bachata, Vallenato or Merengue and that is why it is considered as the evolution of Latin House.

It differs from Reggaeton with the absence of dembow beats and through the use of a higher BPM. The genre extended its original urban merengue sound to get a more pan-Latin (pop produced) sound which has achieved significant mainstream popularity in Latin America and Europe.

Electro Swing

Electro swing is an upbeat, energetic style that splices Swing with Electronic Dance Music, looking to recapture the atmosphere of late-1920s to mid-1940s Jazz within a more updated club-friendly medium. Producers use insistent brass samples, often one 'playful' lone repeated hook performed on trumpet, clarinet or saxophone, overlaid with steady, pulsing beats, usually 4/4 House music, as well as utilising Hip Hop samples and techniques.

Initially emerging in the wake of the 1990s Swing Revival (two of the more famous electro swing examples during this time being Doop's Doop and Mr. Scruff's Get a Move On!), the style found greater success in the late 2000s with artists such as Caravan Palace and Parov Stelar. In the 2010s, on top of the commercial success of tracks like We No Speak Americano and Why Don't You, electro swing found a decent following in southern England. Throughout London and specifically at the 'White Mink' club in Brighton, live acts are frequently showcased, as well as DJs playing remixes and Mashups (both of existing swing tracks and covers of non-jazz songs done in the style). Performances are also regularly visually-themed to fit with the retro 1920s-1940s music, such as burlesque shows, trilbies, suspenders, bow ties, T-strap shoes and other fashion tropes of the era.

Eurobeat

Almost exclusively produced in Italy, Eurobeat was essentially geared toward the Japanese market as a happy Italo-Disco derivative. Compared to the closely related Eurodance, it features higher BPM (around 155 on average). It was sometimes marketed as Hi-NRG in the USA.

Eurodance

(also known as Euro-NRG)

Eurodance is an Electronic Dance Music style that was hugely popular in the 1990s. Emerging throughout Europe at the turn of the decade, artists spliced together elements of Euro-Disco, House, Techno, Hip Hop, Hi-NRG and general dance music culture trends that were prevalent at the time to create bright, radio-friendly dance hits. Eurodance quickly found mainstream exposure outside of Europe, becoming a massive commercial success in Australia and Canada (the latter even producing its own regional variant 'candance').

With a strong emphasis on rhythm, euphoric melodies and positive lyrics, the primary musical blueprint of eurodance consists of highly catchy, often arpeggiated synthesizer riffs backed by pulsing synth bass parts and throbbing beats. The latter is complimented with frequent on-beat kick, hi-hat and snare sounds and ranges from 110 to 150bpm. Simple choruses, sampling and melodic female vocals are commonly associated with the genre, whilst songs often also feature male rapping sections (sometimes overlapping with Hip House).

Famous eurodance artists include 2 Unlimited, Snap! and Blümchen, as well as hugely successful individual singles such as Haddaway's What Is Love, Real McCoy's Another Night and Corona's The Rhythm of the Night. Developing alongside Euro House and Trance, the success of eurodance saw various sub-styles and fusion genres emerge during the 1990s. Bubblegum Dance arrived in the mid-1990s with acts such as Aqua and Vengaboys, emphasizing sugary sweet synth, bouncy choruses, high-pitched female vocals and an overall happy, childlike atmosphere. Euro-Trance and Italo Dance were hugely successful in the late 1990s with artists such as Cascada and Eiffel 65 respectively.

Eurodisco

Cerrone's Love in C Minor arguably defined the Euro-Disco sound. Compared to early US Disco most Rhythm & Blues and Soul influences were replaced by more electronic sounds using synthesizers, drum machines, faster BPM and metronomic, monotonous rhythms, often accompanied by lush and sweeping strings, the 'campness' and overemphasis on melody of Europop and the disparate influences of Continental Europe local styles of music, ranging from Rumba Flamenca (Santa Esmeralda) to Polka (Dschinghis Khan). Other leading producers/composers of early Euro-Disco were Alec R. Costandinos, Giorgio Moroder, Frank Farian (the mastermind behind Boney M., and the producer of Eruption, Gilla) and Michael Kunze (who put together Silver Convention). ABBA's foray into Euro-Disco served as inspiration for several all girl groups, such as Baccara, Luv' and Arabesque.

In the early 80s Italo-Disco became the dominant force of Disco music in Europe and the Italo sound was imitated across many European countries. In the mid-80s Euro-Disco recovered its popularity with the huge success of Modern Talking. The band's leader, Dieter Bohlen, also produced C.C. Catch and was the biggest influence of 80s Euro-Disco mixing the electronic dance music of the 80s with near-Bubblegum melodies and bouncy beats with a distinctive 4x4 pattern. Other popular Euro-Disco artists of the 80s were Sandra, Bad Boys Blue, Hubert Kah, London Boys and Silent Circle. 80s Euro-Disco was also quite influential for the popular Stock Aitken Waterman productions of the time. In the early 90s with the success of the new styles of dance music (House, Techno, & Trance) Euro-Disco went into decline, but it was influential in the development of Eurodance, in fact, several Euro-Disco 80s acts reappeared in the 90s with an Eurodance sound and sometimes 80s Euro-Disco is referred to as 80s Eurodance.

Euro-Trance

(also known as Hands Up)

Euro-Trance emerged as a hybrid of Hard Trance and Eurodance music and was most popular between late 1998 and 2000. It usually has around 140-145 bpm, a bass which is generally quite heavy, many breakdowns and big rifts, and often uses female vocals. These elements make Euro-Trance to be less sophisticated and complex than other Trance sub-genres and this fact is accentuated by its commercial sound with a primitive lyrical content and renderings of classic Happy Hardcore anthems. This is why most Euro-Trance compositions result in happy sounding melodies. Many people associate this genre with Techno, but gradually Euro-Trance music moved away from this genre and developed a synth sound of its own.

Typical Euro-Trance style is closely related to Uplifting Trance and often confused with Vocal Trance because generally it employs vocals in its tracks. The difference is that Euro Trance tracks are characterized by more enthusiastic lyrics and upbeat tunes, characteristics which are also reminiscent of Tribal Trance. Most representative artists include: Cascada, DJ Sammy, Groove Coverage, Pulsedriver, Special D.

Extratone

Extratone is a sub-genre of Speedcore that starts at 1000BPM and has no set BPM boundary. Oftentimes, extratone will have large amounts of static or distortion mixed in with extremely fast blast beats. It's also not uncommon to mix Harsh Noise into the tracks too. When up to speed, extratone will sound more like a buzz, or a hum, rather than actual blast beats.

Flashcore

Flashcore is an avant-garde IDM style characterised by extremely complex rhythmic structures, intense speeds mirroring that of Speedcore, Extratone-style beat sequences combined with harsh, densely textured acousmatic and hyperdelic digital soundscapes. These aspects, among others (heavy usage of Noise, Experimental percussion techniques, etc.), render flashcore undanceable and highly distinct among the genres it grew out of, specifically speedcore, Breakcore, and DJ culture.

The term was coined by Laurent Mialon (aka La Peste) in the early 2000s in his "Flashcore Manifesto". Citing modern advancements in computer technology and its impact on the electronic music scene, Mialon declares his notion of Flashcore as "the spatial and temporal conception of air landscapes of which 'sonic atoms' [...] are being controlled with the exclusive aim of making us explore our minds and perceive any kind of transcendence. As for atomic energy or drug action, we are reaching a point where it's possible to provoke nano-audio-explosions with quite some big results for the minds." With Flashcore, Mialon and other pioneers of the genre seek a greater understanding of the psychological responses induced via technical electronic compositions.

Many flashcore artists profess an affinity for Modern Classical composition techniques, an influence that is evident in their technical sound designs, use of acousmatic decomposition, timbre experimentation, and conceptual physical/mental approach. Other flashcore production techniques include rapid and non-syncromatic panning, Microsound-style collaging, Glitch manipulation and insertion, as well as the use of Post-Industrial soundscapes.

Flex Dance Music

(also known as FDM)

Flex dance music, or FDM, is a largely instrumental form of Dancehall originating from Brooklyn. It is named after the dance style called flexing, associated with the Brooklyn scene where the sound originated. Evolving from the Jamaican dance called bruk up, flexing developed in the 1990s in dancehall clubs. It was first named after a talent show first aired in 1992 called "Flex N Brooklyn", a weekly showcase of flex dance moves. By 2005, "flex" became an ubiquitously used term for the dance.

In the late 1990s, under the Brooklyn street team HyperActive, pioneers of FDM began to experiment with the sound that would soon become FDM. Their DJ mixes, intended to accompany flex dancing, were layered dancehall riddims with turntablist and video game sound effects. FDM uses chopped vocal samples, pounding kicks, 808 instruments, and laser-like sound effects. Its signature sample is the Volume riddim, an imitation of briefly stopping a playing turntable record. The deep, hard kicks of FDM play up to four dotted quarter notes in succession. FDM riddims are more varied and adventurous than traditional dancehall, with less or more kicks frequently disrupting the flow.

Freeform

(also known as Trancecore, Freeform hardcore)

Originally known as trancecore, nowadays the genre is commonly referred as freeform or freeform hardcore. Emerging in the early 1990s, it shares its BPM range (140–160) with the closely related genre Acidcore (130–170). As its original name implies it's a combination of Trance and Hardcore EDM. The Dutch scene developed a sound of its own heavily influenced by Psytrance which has come to be known as psycore.

Freestyle

Freestyle is an Electronic Dance Music genre which fuses melodic vocal styles found in 1970s Disco music with synth instrumentation of the 1980s Electro/Hip Hop. It was developed mostly in New York and Miami, and peaked commercially in the mid to late '80s.

Many freestyle releases were put out by Latin American artists, some of whom made Freestyle which was musically influenced by Latin American Music. These influenced led to the creation of the subgenre Latin Freestyle.

Some noteworthy freestyle artists include: John Rocca, Shannon, Nice & Wild, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, and Information Society.

Freetekno

(also known as Tribe)

Freetekno is a form of electronic music created in the early 1990s. Typical for this genre is repetitive pounding kick drum and BPM from 170 and above. Freetekno is not usually so much melodic but emphasis on a rhythm. This rhythm freetekno holds for almost the whole song, stopping rarely for a few beats. Tekno commonly contains various synthetic samples. This genre is represented by DJs, producers and sound systems like Spiral Tribe (include Crystal Distortion, 69db, Ixindamix), MSD, Suburbass, Metek Sound System, Heretik System, Floxytek, Gotek, FKY or Banditos.

Frenchcore

Frenchcore is a term describing a style of Hardcore EDM similar to Hardtekkno, but with harder kicks, very typical and very recognizable from the other hardcore techno genres, and a faster tempo, usually at around 200 BPM. This style is represented by DJs and producers like Radium, The Sickest Squad, The Speed Freak, Pattern J, Psiko, DJ Japan, Micron or Armaguet Nad.

Full-On Psytrance

Full-On is a faster and more intense form of Psytrance usually around 145-150 BPM using harder basslines, regular vocal samples and "spacey" effects. Well-known artists in the sub-genre include 1200 Micrograms, Growling Mad Scientists, Astrix, Infected Mushroom and Talamasca.

Funk Carioca

(also known as Favela Funk, Baile Funk)

Funk carioca (mainly known as Baile Funk outside Brazil) is a Hip Hop-influenced dance music genre originating from Rio de Janeiro's shanty towns (also known as favelas). Originally rooted in Electro and Miami Bass, funk carioca developed into a distinctive style of its own and has since established itself as one of the most popular music genres among Brazil's lower class youths.

Since the 1970s, dance parties known as bailes funk were held in Rio de Janeiro by DJs like Big Boy & Ademir Lemos and sound teams such as Furacão 2000 and Cashbox, usually playing US Funk and Soul music. By the 1980s, with the decline of funk, those parties began playing more electro and hip hop-based music, especially Miami bass. Eventually, Brazilian DJs started making their own Portuguese versions of Miami bass songs, with D.J. Marlboro apresenta Funk Brasil and Equipe Super Quente being the first releases in that style. In 1990 MC Batata's "Feira de Acarí / Conselho" became the first national funk carioca hit in Brazil.

Through the 1990s, artists like Cidinho e Doca started singing about social inequality, violence and life in the favelas, with funk carioca songs being featured in various compilations such as the Rap Brasil series, helping define the genre. With increased access to drum machines, the genre developed its own identity when DJs created the "tamborzão", a beat based on the sound of Afro-Brazilian percussive instruments, which would become the trademark of the genre. That time also saw the development of the more commercially-oriented Freestyle-based subgenre Funk Melody, with artists like Claudinho & Buchecha gaining great mainstream attention and making funk carioca one of the main musical forces in Brazil.

Often marginalized by middle and upper classes, the stigmatization and controversy upon the genre increased even further with the rise of "proibidão", a rawer, more aggressive style featuring lyrics about crime gangs and sexually explicit content. However, with the widespread availability of the Internet in the 2000s, funk carioca DJs and MCs made file sharing and social media websites the primary means of releasing and distributing their music, making the genre more popular than ever, independently of the mainstream media.

Primarily made in Rio de Janeiro throughout its history, the early 2010s saw the rise of Funk ostentação, a subgenre originating from São Paulo, strongly influenced by American modern Pop Rap in sound and image, which gained widespread mainstream attention with names like MC Guimê. Funk carioca has since settled its place both in and out of the mainstream, making various crossovers with other popular music genres and evolving into various different directions.

Funk Melody

(also known as Melodic Funk)

Funk melody is a subgenre of Funk carioca with heavy Dance-Pop overtones. It was created in the early 1990s in Brazil, with Rio de Janeiro as its center.

Funkot

(also known as Funky Kota, Indonesian House)

Funkot is a style of music that grew out of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, in the very small district of Kota, in the early 2000s from House and Dangdut. Funkot is characterized by its high speed, usually 180-220 BPM, its triplet bass kick pattern, use of cowbell, and lots of sampling. The genre's popularity grew in Japan when DJ Jet Baron discovered a Funkot record in a record store world music bin in 2009.

Funktronica

Funktronica is a subgenre of electronic music originating in Eastern North America around the turn of the 21st century, combining musical trends of Synth Funk and Italo-Disco.

Similar to Nu-Disco in some aspects (sharing elements of Italo-Disco), Funktronica is comparable to Synth Funk, but contains both slightly faster tempos than Nu-Disco and is less melodic.

This subgenre employs samplers/sequencers, electric bass guitar (played in the slap technique), talkbox, vocoder, electric guitar, keyboards and synthesizers.

Funktronica's rhythm typically consists of a simple 4 beat drum pattern, dividing each of the four beats into two: Kick – Snare - Kick – Snare, similar to Funk and Rock music. Notably, though, ride cymbals of the drum kit are not used often. Using drums as such simple accompaniment, funky bass lines usually provide more rhythmic content.

Funktronica examples from United States and Canada are acts like Chromeo, The Knocks, French Horn Rebellion, and from England by artists like Marc Hamill.

Important releases and acts influencing Funktronica in the Synth Funk genre from the 80s include More Bounce to the Ounce by Zapp, You Dropped a Bomb on Me by The Gap Band, You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive, Attack Me With Your Love and Word Up! / Urban Warrior by Cameo. Additionally, Italo-Disco influences include Hypnotic Tango by My Mine, Talking to the Night by Brian Ice or Happy Song by Baby's Gang.

Future Bass

Future bass is a genre of Electronic Dance Music that first arose around 2010 with producers such as Rustie and Hudson Mohawke and started gaining popularity in the mid-2010s when artists like Flume and Marshmello started finding commercial success. It is characterized by a melodic, bassline-driven sound that prominently uses detuned saw synthesizer stabs, vocal slices and sometimes foley sounds.

Future Funk

(also known as Vaporboogie, Japanese Disco)

Future funk is a sample-based form of Nu-Disco which formed out of the Vaporwave scene and genre in the early 2010s. It tends to be more energetic than vaporwave, incorporating elements of French House, Synth Funk, and utilising vaporwave editing techniques. Like vaporwave, reverb effects are prevalent, but the music is generally less ambient and more rhythmic, with more groove. Japanese vocals from other songs, especially City Pop music and anime soundtracks, are often used as a main source for samples.

マクロスMACROSS 82-99 is one of the foremost developers of the genre, and the Saint Pepsi album Hit Vibes brought a large influx of listeners to the genre. Both artists stated that French house was the strongest influence on their music, along with nostalgia, 1970s and 1980s Disco music, and Japanese anime releases. Keats // Collective and Business Casual are labels which helped pioneer the sound and serve as a home for the genre in its early days.

Future Garage

(also known as Nu-Garage, Post-Garage, Space Garage, Minimal Garage, Atmospheric Garage)

Future Garage is a newer style of UK Garage which originally developed as a result of some Dubstep producers reacting against the prevalent trends in that genre. These producers made music which was far closer to the 2-Step and UK Garage of the late 90s and early 00s than that of their contemporaries, deliberately eschewing the heavy wobble bass commonplace in dubstep. The other distinguishing feature of Future Garage is that it is much more accessible for "home listening" than UK Garage was - IDM is often a clear influence. The resulting sound is often quite minimalistic, with skittery, broken rhythms and bright, clean melodies.

Of the dubstep producers who pioneered this strand of UK garage, the best known is Burial, along with many others on Hyperdub. Futher back in time, there are also clear similarities with the music of MJ Cole and the Broken Beat movement of the early 00s. The term Future Garage was originally coined by Sub.fm's Whistla, who also set up L2S Recordings, the genre's first dedicated label. Other notable artists include FaltyDL, Brackles, Shortstuff, and Joy Orbison.

Gabber

(also known as Gabba)

Gabber, meaning "buddy" in Dutch, is a fast-paced, energetic form of Techno, often in the 160-220 BPM range. Its hallmark is a distorted kick sound, which is overdriven to the point of creating a square wave that forms a recognizable melodic tone, as well as synthesised melodies and pitch-shifted vocals. Emerging in the Netherlands, it soon found popularity in the early 1990s, and continues to have a strong underground following in the rave and club scenes across many European countries.

Goa Trance

Goa Trance is a sub-genre of Trance, 'Goa' being the name of an Indian province, whence the genre emerged. By the mid '90s with artists such as Goa Gil taking influence from the '60s hippie lifestyle and music, goa trance came as an abstract, quasi-spiritual form of dance music, and although the genre started in the province of Goa, there is very little of a scene there, with the biggest points being in Jerusalem, London and Ibiza.

Goa consists mainly of long, spacey compositions with greater emphasis on the atmosphere, often relaxing, psychedelic and 'trippy'.

Due to its nature, goa is often associated to Psytrance and Acid Trance, but those should not be confused, as goa has a more organic, groovy and repetitive sound, as opposed to the sound found in psytrance, that relies heavily on beats and electronics constantly evolving, resulting in the climax generally being by the end of the track. Goa may also feature replicated South Asian Folk Music instruments, as well as non-musical sources and samples, often being space/science fiction related.

Unlike several other forms of Electronic Dance Music, goa takes greater influence from precedent psychedelic genres such as Psychedelic Rock and Dub, than Dance music.

Important artists include: Juno Reactor, Dimension 5, Astral Projection and Goa Gil.

Grebo

Grebo is a term coined by the music newspapers Melody Maker and NME and refers to a short-lived musical style and subculture centered around the English Midlands in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The musically diverse bands in this genre shared a cultural mindset and approach to music-making: distilling (or perhaps re-appropriating) everything around them into a generalized sound reflecting the British zeitgeist at a time of great societal change.

Much like the Baggy / Madchester groups in the north of England who mixed several seemingly disaparate musical elements with Alternative Dance, grebo musicians such as Pop Will Eat Itself, Jesus Jones and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (the latter two were actually from London, but identified with the grebo subculture) did the same, mixing genres such as Noise Pop, Hip Hop, Indie Pop, Industrial Rock, Plunderphonics, and Punk Rock. The resulting sound was a raw, futuristic, sample-heavy form of alternative dance with a grungy guitar sound that signaled the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the Information Age, a topic which appeared commonly in their lyrics.

Halftime

(also known as Halftime Neurofunk, Halftime Drum & Bass)

Halftime is a variant of Drum and Bass which emerged during the early 2010s. The name "halftime" refers to the genre's distinct sound which was originally refered to as drum and bass playing at half its normal pace, essentially by removing half of the percussion. Taking influence from a variety of musical styles, including other drum and bass genres and especially Neurofunk, as well as Dubstep, Wonky, certain styles related to the blossoming UK Bass scene of the time and even Hip Hop, halftime became distinct by its usage of wonky, off-kilter rhythms and unorthodox, quirky sound design.

A couple of different scenes were involved in the early development of the genre; artists such as Noisia and Two Fingers incoporated neurofunk's harsh, glitchy basslines into a half-time setting, with some early halftime tracks being produced as early as 2010, when Noisia released their debut album Split the Atom. In addition, many early halftime producers were centered around Noisia's own label, Division Recordings. Other early halftime producers such as Alix Perez, Ivy Lab and Mono/Poly introduced influences from hip hop and Trap [EDM] (mostly percussion-wise), as well as Minimal Drum and Bass. Ivy Lab's label 20/20 LDN Recordings would also become one of the leading hubs of halftime during the mid-2010s.

Entering the late 2010s, artists such as Mefjus, Vorso, Shield and Kursa helped popularize and extend the audience and sound of halftime. A smaller variant of the sound, dubbed "future beats" was also associated with the 20/20 LDN collective.

Happy Hardcore

Happy Hardcore is a highly energetic form of electronic dance music, developed during the late 1990s, characterised by an extremely fast-paced 4/4 beat, saccharine vocals, piano riffs and spacey effects. Its popularity was generally contained within Europe initially - particularly Britain, Germany and The Netherlands - although in recent years it has spawned record labels worldwide specialising in the genre. In contrast with many other styles of Hardcore EDM, the genre tends to be very bouncy and upbeat in nature, hence the "happy" portion of its name.

Hard Trance

Hard trance is characterized by its raw and thumping nature. The genre's compositional elements mostly consist of a strong energy sense with a very dry and heavy sound, especially on the drums, bass and lead synths. Like generic trance, the atmospheric effects and uplifting structure are still used.

The genre's emergence came during the early-to-mid 90s, having strong reputation with rave DJs and was mostly related with Happy Hardcore and Acid Techno. During the turn of the millenium the Hardcore [EDM] elements were swapped by the rising presence of acid TB-303 sounds, resulting in confusion between this and the more primitive Acid Trance, the latter of which was based upon the early 90s Acid House sound. Hard trance works would involve even harder and compressed production, sometimes taking cues from Uplifting Trance buildups.

Hardstyle then emerged during the early 2000s, making the kick drum more distorted and equal to Gabber levels. Hardstyle became mainstream in Europe after the mid-00s and caused the spawn of the subgenres Jumpstyle and Dubstyle, which eclipsed hard trance's popularity. Thus today it is mostly seen with an underground status.

Hardcore Breaks

Hardcore breaks is considered to be a revival sub-genre of Breakbeat Hardcore and part of the nu-rave scene. It is written in the same vein of breakbeat hardcore, but hardcore breaks differs from it by using contemporary production techniques and influences from other genres such as UK Bass, Dubstep, contemporary Drum and Bass and Footwork. The genre mostly remains underground with little mainstream popularity.

Hardcore EDM

Hardcore is an umbrella term for a wide variety of extremely fast-paced, energetic styles such as Gabber and Happy Hardcore—that have been developed since the early 1990s. The style of production has some similarities with traditional Techno but with a much faster pace. It seeks to push the genre to its limits and satisfy the various scenes that demanded a more intense Electronic Dance Music sound, most noticeably in Europe.

Hardstep

Hardstep is a subgenre of Drum and Bass that was mostly popular in 1995-99. The name was coined by Grooverider through his DJ mixes.

Most hardstep productions have overly compressed drumming; the atmosphere is mostly minimalistic to have a less melodic and more bassy structure and also uses a signature gritty style of production. The synth bass riffs are made from simple, deep and modulated patterns.

The original scene of the genre was short-lived but left a strong legacy with other drum & bass producers through the mid-90s, with other genres developing the concept such as the more complex techstep and the more simpler-sounding Jump-Up. Soon after the late-90s genre-defining producers such as Ed Rush and Grooverider later changed to the newer and more contemporary elements of these two genres (with the later addition of Neurofunk), which began to take popularity through the new millennium.

Hardstyle

(also known as Hardbass)

Hardstyle, sometimes referred to as Hardbass, is the hardest form of Trance with underground scenes in certain European countries, most notably the Netherlands. It originated from Hard Trance, Hard House and certain styles of Hardcore [EDM] such as Newstyle Hardcore. It combines aspects of many similar styles, such as using Newstyle Hardcore basslines, hard four-to-the-floor beats (usually around the 140-150bpm range), samples, as well as other elements found in more standard Trance songs. Audio effects are often used, particularly reverb. It is similar to the closely related scene of Jumpstyle, although Hardstyle tends to be much faster in pace.

Hi-NRG / High Energy

Hi-NRG developed during the end of the 1970s on the heels of Electro-Disco and quickly became the most popular Electronic Dance Music genre in the LGBT club scenes of San Francisco and New York.

The seminal Donna Summer single "I Feel Love" (1977), produced by Giorgio Moroder, is widely credited to be the first Hi-NRG song and made a huge impact on the club scene. In an interview, Summer described it as having a "high-energy vibe", which became the name for the entire genre.

"I Feel Love" was covered or remixed by many important Hi-NRG artists and contained the following stylistic characteristics: octave basslines; an upbeat, sometimes aggressive four-on-the-floor rhythm; high-pitched, dreamy vocals, and usually no funk elements. Along with Moroder, Bobby O and Patrick Cowley were the most successful and influential producers.

Among the most popular Hi-NRG artists were Sylvester, The Flirts and Divine. The genre had influence on House music, which replaced Hi-NRG as the club music of choice during the second half of the 1980s.

Hi-Tech Psytrance

(also known as Psycore, Hi-Tech, Hitek Psy)

Hi-Tech Psytrance is a style of Psytrance that was born in the early to mid 2000s out of Dark Psytrance, with elements of Full-On Psytrance. Musically, hi-tech psytrance is noticeably faster than any other form of psytrance, with BPMs ranging from 170 BPM to as fast as 230 BPM. Hi-tech emphasizes the glitchy sound design of its parent genres, utilizing morphing synth lines and strange sounds that evoke a futuristic or alien atmosphere.

A significant debate exists within the psytrance community over whether psycore is an offshoot of hi-tech or simply just another name. In the school of thought that believes psycore to be a unique subgenre, psycore is often defined as being noisier and incorporating more influences from Hardcore EDM, often utilizing elements of Industrial and even Noise in its sound design.

Starting in the mid 2010s, experimental hardcore and Flashcore artists such as Rotteen and Atomhead began to incorporate elements of hi-tech into their sound.

House

Click Here for Genres/Definitions of House Music

Ibiza Trance

(also known as Balearic Trance)

Ibiza Trance is an electronic dance music genre which has evolved from Balearic Beat. The earliest Ibiza Trance compositions date back to the 90s, a few years after the emergence of Balearic Beat. It keeps the same "Balearic" flavor like Balearic Beat, although it is characterized by a higher rate of heavy pulses in the range of 125-145 bpm, usually around 130 bpm. Being based in Spain, it usually expresses a Latin feel and a relaxing atmosphere, which makes this genre similar in many regards to Dream Trance. Notable artists include Chicane, Energy 52, Humate.

IDM

(Intelligent Dance Music, also known as Braindance, Electronic Listening Music)

Intelligent Dance Music, most commonly known as IDM, is a term invented in the early 1990s to describe the sound of a number of electronic musicians who sought to develop dance music beyond the clubs and more into the realm of home listening. The term itself has been the subject of intense criticism, with many citing the "Intelligent" portion as elitist in nature. Aphex Twin, an artist frequently cited as a pioneer of the scene, stated in a 1997 interview: “I just think it's really funny to have terms like that. It's basically saying 'this is intelligent and everything else is stupid.' It's really nasty to everyone else's music.” Regardless of the arguments surrounding its label, many acts enjoyed a strong underground following after the inception of the term, with Sheffield’s Warp Records introducing acts like Autechre, The Orb’s Dr. Alex Paterson, and B12 on its famed Artificial Intelligence compilation, as well as a number of artists who would enjoy critical acclaim during the second half of the decade, such as Boards of Canada and Prefuse 73.

By the mid-nineties, IDM’s style tended to veer away from the Techno and House sound that inspired it, with a number of the key figures either choosing to go further down the path of experimentation or employing a much more beat-focused approach to their work. Squarepusher, another one of Warp’s biggest names, combined his typically reckless style of Drum and Bass with a number of techniques more commonly found on Jazz Fusion records, further stretching IDM as a useful descriptor of a particular sound, and making it more of an umbrella term. Attempts have been made to alter the name of the genre and shake off the negative connotations, with Aphex Twin’s “braindance” description of his own music and Warp’s “electronic listening music” proving somewhat popular. Regardless, IDM remains a strong modern scene, with artists like Richard Devine and Arovane continuing this often difficult-to-define style of music.

Industrial Techno

Industrial techno refers to a harder, darker style of Techno which, as with Industrial Music, draws parallels with factories and the rhythm of machinery. The stripped-down repetition of Minimal Techno and the clanging, reverberating effects of Dub Techno are also often incorporated. Labels that have contributed to the development of this subgenre include Downwards, Tresor, Sandwell District, Perc Trax, and Blackest Ever Black.

Italo-Dance

(also known as Nu Italo Disco)

Italo Dance appeared in the 1990s, after the decline of Italo-Disco at the end of the 1980s, as a new derivative of Eurodance called "Mediterranean Progressive". The genre broke into the mainstream in the late 1990s with successful hits by Eiffel 65 and Gigi D'Agostino and was at its peak from 1999 to 2003.

Italo Dance is uplifting and melody based music, with most lyrics in English, but also in Italian. Sampling of Pop and Hip Hop vocals and vocal modification by vocoders and pitch corrections are frequent. Typical BPM is around 140, but it can also vary from 60 to 165. Percussion and rhythms are inherited from Italo-Disco and are played with a help of synthesizers at increased tempo, resulting in hypnotic and metallic sound. Classic Techno sounds as hoover or 303 lines, and late 1980s piano House riffs are also constitutive elements of Italo Dance.

Italo Dance had always followed the market trend in music. Thereby, the early records from 1990-1991 bear the influence of House sounds, 1991-1993 of Techno sounds, and 1994-1996 of Trance sounds. Later, especially after 1998, Italo Dance appeared very spread in form of DJ mixes, retaining a strong influence of Euro-Trance. An offshoot of Italo Dance is "Lento Violento", a slower and harder style which draws influence from Hardcore [EDM] and Hardstyle, tempo dropped between 70 and 120 BPM.

Italo-Disco

(also known as Spaghetti Disco, Spaghetti-Dance)

Italo-Disco is a style of dance music originating in Europe in the late 1970s. Following the decline of Disco, it reached its peak level of popularity in the early- to mid-1980s. Italo-Disco was not exclusively confined to Italy, with Germany and other European countries producing music in this style; its name is derived from The Best of Italo Disco series of compilations.

The sound is characterized by the use of synthesizers, drum machines, and sometimes vocoders to create a more mechanical, purely electronic version of Disco. Italo-Disco has a spacy, "futuristic" atmosphere in comparison to Euro-Disco's lightweight, bouncy and more pop-oriented style. Lyrics were sung in English, which, due to its secondary nature in the European countries where Italo-Disco was produced, led to simplistic lyrics sung with thick accents and therefore more emphasis on melody. Italo-Disco's popularity had declined by the late 1980s, giving way to dance genres such as Italo House and Eurodance.

J-Core

(also known as Japanese Hardcore Techno)

J-core is a generally more energetic form of Hardcore EDM, which utilises multiple elements of high pitched vocals and anime themed samples to set it apart from other forms of hardcore. Its name is a portmanteau of "Japan" and "hardcore", combining its origin location with its stylistic origins.

Though still primarily a Japanese genre, the style is also produced in multiple other countries in an effort to mimic the original vibe. The style rose out of otaku culture, and strongly associates with dōjin music, both in content and design. Though the term was mostly originally used to refer to the music of DJ Sharpnel, many artists and groups mix in elements found within Happy Hardcore. m1dy and other producers also combine the style with Speedcore.

Jazzstep

(also known as Jazz & Bass)

Jazzstep is a genre that combines the rhythm and speed of Drum and Bass with the melodies, composition, and instrumentation of Jazz. Brass instruments, double bass and jazz drumming are sampled and jazz scales are used in conjunction fairly often with vocals, particularly female vocals. Alex Reece popularized the genre in the mid 1990s with his single, "Pulp Fiction / Chill Pill". However, the genre declined in popularity and very few releases came out by the time the 2000s started. It's been superseded by Atmospheric Drum and Bass and Liquid Funk. Representative artists include Alex Reece and Roni Size & Reprazent.

Jersey Club

(also known as Brick City Club)

Jersey club is Newark's equivalent of Baltimore Club. Both genres are centered around 4/4, 130-140 BPM beats with chopped repetitive samples and syncopated kick patterns. The difference between the genres lies in some of the mixing techniques and sounds used; Jersey club uses its own signature harder kick and chops the samples even more, while Baltimore club uses more horns. DJ Tameil is often credited as the genre's pioneer.

Jump-Up

The Jump-Up subgenre of Drum and Bass originated in the mid-90s. It is characterized by loud "wobbling" basslines and drum loops which are generally simpler than those of other styles of drum and bass. Jump-Up is also noted for being more light-hearted and warmer than other subgenres such as Techstep, and for making more use of Hip Hop samples.

As of the late 2000s, however, Jump-Up has become increasingly less well-defined, but is still used to describe records with "wobble" basslines and a lighter feel than other subgenres such as Neurofunk. Notable artists of the genre in its original form include Ray Keith and Aphrodite, whereas DJ Hazard is the most renown of the newer names in Jump-Up.

Jumpstyle

(also konwn as Jump)

As both a music genre and a style of dancing, Jumpstyle has become popular in recent years in many European countries, most noticeably Belgium and The Netherlands. Its sound is characterised by a heavy, distorted 909 beat (often in the 135-140bpm range) as well as occasional vocals, which are usually samples taken from movies or other songs.

Jungle

Jungle is an Electronic Dance Music style that is now known as the forerunner of most Drum and Bass genres. Originally developed in the early 90s, it began when Breakbeat Hardcore producers from labels like Suburban Base Records and Reinforced Records began experimenting with faster tempos, deeper basslines, and more complex songwriting. During this period, it still was known to British club DJs as normal breakbeat hardcore until 1992-93, where it started to obtain its identity. The jungle sound is often meant to be rave-oriented but it caused various types of it to develop since then, with three being the most prominent.

The earliest jungle records as demonstrated by Goldie's earlier alias Rufige Kru and Bay B Kane originally used the sounds of breakbeat hardcore and emphasized the dark atmosphere and basslines, which began to be nicknamed as 'darkcore' jungle. It helped raise its popularity as a contrary reaction to the upbeat mood of Happy Hardcore. This style helped establish other dark sounding drum and bass genres after, starting with Hardstep and Darkstep.

Other artists such as early Foul Play and Nookie became known for keeping the more melodic, upbeat rave sound popularized with the more accessible hardcore and House styles when comparing to the gritty 'darkcore' style. Around 1994, this kind of jungle became more relaxed and chilled-out, using less frantic breakbeats to have a more stronger focus on the atmosphere and melodies, later becoming as a blueprint for newer Atmospheric Drum and Bass productions.

Another sound which centered on Reggae and Hip Hop (and sometimes Contemporary R&B) elements and samples that were experimented with breakbeat hardcore years before began to circulate, that would either be fused with either 'darkcore' or uplifting styles, headlined by Remarc and 4 Hero's Tom and Jerry alias, becoming the most popular style of the jungle sound that received the most airplay. The popularity of the exhibition of Ragga deejay vocals and samples raising through the scene saw the beginning of Ragga Jungle as a result.

The main characteristics of jungle as described above involve sample-oriented production, energetic or chaotic-sounding drum breaks, a strong bassline, and sometimes piano/synth chord riffs based on Hardcore EDM and house productions from the era. Jungle began to decline in the 90s due to the more modern drum and bass styles becoming more popular, but still has a huge underground following to this period.

Kuduro

(or Kuduru)

Originating from Angola, Kuduro is a clash of traditional Angolan Kilapanga and Semba music with Techno and House that came from Europe and USA. This hard and fast-tempo sound quickly spread to Portugal with emigrants settling up in Lisbon's suburbs. There are two scenes of Kuduro: Luandense and Lisboeta.

Latin Disco

Latin Disco is a form of Disco music that incorporates elements from Latin American Music styles. It was mostly popular during the Disco era in New York with releases from the label Salsoul Records.

Latin Freestyle

Latin Freestyle is a form of dance music that displays a heavy influence of Latin American Music music alongside the Disco, Hip Hop, and Electro influences of Freestyle. Latin Freestyle also tends to downplay the Rhythm & Blues influence that pops up in other Freestyle.

Because Freestyle originated in the urban Latino communities of Miami and New York, Latin Freestyle dominates the field of Freestyle music. However, the terms are not entirely synonymous, as there are several Freestyle artists with little if any Latin influence.

Liquid Funk

Around the year 2000, Drum and Bass DJ Fabio began, via his Radio One show, to draw attention to a new sound in drum and bass which he named Liquid Funk, releasing a compilation of that name as a showcase of it - thanks to his efforts the genre caught on and began to thrive, with the artists inspired by him developing it into a distinct subgenre. Most of the early tracks were by artists generally considered Atmospheric Drum and Bass or Jazzstep producers, and Liquid Funk is very much a development from and continuation of those genres, sharing the same emphasis on deep, relatively slow basslines, as well as the use of Funk and Soul samples, and influence from said genres.

Not as present in its predecessors is the trend for extremely polished and smooth production, a lush and warm sound which makes it very dancefloor-friendly, and much more appealing to non-DnB fans than its other subgenres. There are also significant Disco and House influences, in terms of both direct elements such as soulful vocals and use of horns, piano, and other 'real' instruments in the melody, and also in elements such as the mood and feel of the tracks - the general feel of liquid funk is an upbeat melancholy rarely found elsewhere in DnB. The name of the genre evokes the sound very well; the groove of the thick bassline and breakbeats of funk, but made smooth and effortlessly fluid.

The genre is heavily dominated by Hospital Records, among the most high-profile of all DnB labels and home to many of the genre's pioneers and celebrated producers; High Contrast, Logistics, and label founder London Elektricity are among its A-list names. Beyond Hospital, notable labels include Liquid V and Soul:R, and examples of DJs are Marcus Intalex, Calibre and Utah Jazz. Among liquid funk producers, there has more recently developed a darker, more minimal variant on the liquid funk sound, produced by the likes of Alix Perez and Eveson.

Lolicore

Lolicore is characterized by heavily distorted or high-pitched "loli" (shorthand for lolicon) vocals and extreme tempos frequently accompanied by beats in the same style as Breakcore. Songs are short, usually running anywhere from a few seconds to up to three minutes. "Loli" vocals are normally accomplished in a number of ways, either by speeding up a normal sounding voice or song to sound more high pitched, using already "child-like" samples, sampling from anime, or chopping/slicing vocals and making them high-pitched. Themes range from lolicon to Japanese culture to anime.

Fast drum beats provide, along with the use of samples, a constant barrage of noise. While lolicore is directly influenced by breakcore, it also takes elements from Hardcore EDM and Speedcore.

Mahraganat

(also known as Electro Shaabi)

Mahraganat is a type of Shaʻabi that has a more modern sound with many influences from other cultures. Commonly it draws elements from Hip Hop and Electronic Dance Music, featuring auto-tuned vocals, synth instrumental production, and rapping. The genre developed some time around 2011 in Cairo, Egypt.

Makina

(also known as Bakalao)

The original Makina sound was a local Spanish form of Techno developed in the early 1990s, which was strongly influenced by New Beat and EBM, but aimed for a lighter sound, more suitable for rave parties. In its early form it was referred as "Bacalao" and spawned popular compilations series such as "Techno Valencia" or "Máquina Total". During the early 1990s, artists such as Chimo Bayo and Paco Pil achieved a huge success in Spain.

A substyle called "cantaditas" (or "pastelitos") was derived from Makina and appeared in the mid-1990s as a reaction to the dominant instrumental sound of the Makina DJ sessions of the time, which alienated the most Pop oriented clubbers (particularly girls). It was influenced by Eurobeat and based on very simple and ultracatchy 'cloying' melodies easy to singalong, hence the name "cantaditas". Many of these popular tunes were covers of old pop hits.

The modern interpretation of Makina bares resemblance to Happy Hardcore related genres, made distinguishable from contemporary styles by a characteristic bass sound, the timbre of which uses a higher octave than UK Hardcore productions, and a punchier kick drum to convey a "bouncy" feel. Popular producers from the Spanish region include Pont Aeri, DJ Skudero and Javi Boss. One of the first Makina tunes to gain exposure on international scale was supposedly Streamline by the duo Newton, as the song was featured in a Pepsi commercial. The genre's popularity has since spread to other areas, most notably to North East of England (due to the promotion of DJ Scott) and Japan (M-Project, DJ Depath and DJ-Technetium).

Minimal Drum & Bass

(also known as Microfunk, Autonomic Sound)

Minimal drum and bass is, as the name would suggest, a subgenre of Drum and Bass which strips down the sound as far as it can go without wholly ceasing to be drum and bass (and even so, the most extreme tracks are often confused with Future Garage). Although there had been experimentation with minimal tracks by DnB producers for years, it was dBridge & Instra:mental who pioneered it as a distinct subgenre with their Autonomic podcasts in 2009, and the genre received wider attention in early 2010 when their Fabriclive mix CD was released.

Minimal DnB tracks generally remain close to DnB tempos of around 170bpm, but almost every other aspect of the music contrasts highly with contemporary trends in DnB; the closest similarities lie with Liquid Funk, with both making use of the same type of sharp and clear production. The genre takes far more from dubstep and future garage, with very sparse production and a restrained feel. The traditional drum and bass rhythms are infused with the attitude of 'less is more' as is prevalent in Minimal Techno-influenced dubstep, using quiet percussion, deep sub-bass (little to no LFO 'wobble' bass) and subdued melodies.

The Autonomic podcasts quickly proved influential, and many producers in both drum and bass and dubstep have begun working in this style. The main labels are Autonomic, Nonplus+ and Exit Records, and notable producers and DJs include, as well as the aforementioned dBridge & Instra:mental, Alix Perez, ASC and Rockwell.

Minimal Techno

Minimal Techno is a stripped-down, sparser version of traditional Techno, often featuring a darker sound and a slow, steady development through the track. Repetition may be stretched further than in ordinary Techno, with artists like Basic Channel constructing tracks lasting almost twenty minutes with comparatively few elements. Other well known figures in the genre include Plastikman and GAS, the latter incorporating Ambient elements into his music.

Moombahton

Moombahton is a style of Electronic Dance Music that features Reggaeton-like tempos and beats. The genre was pioneered by Dave Nada in 2009 after slowing down the tempo of Afrojack's remix of "Moombah!" to 108 BPM, causing a fusion of Dutch House shrill synths at reggaeton rhythms. The basis was expanded with his 2010 release of the Moombahton EP, which led producers such as Diplo, Munchi and Dillon Francis make songs in the style.

Originally it was influenced by reggaeton, dutch house, Dubstep, Dancehall and other dance styles. A commercial branch of the genre emerged in the mid 2010s with artists like Major Lazer (a project from Diplo) and DJ Snake, which emphasized the dancehall influences and added the warm, summery atmosphere found in Tropical House and Dance-Pop.

Moombahcore

(also known as Moombahstep)

Moombahcore is a style of Electronic Dance Music that combines the tempo, beats and rhythm of Moombahton with genres such as Brostep, Electro House and Fidget House to try and create a more intense form of Moombahton.

Neurofunk

Neurofunk is a subgenre of Drum and Bass that emerged between the years of 1997 and 1998. The genre was established by producers by the likes of Ed Rush, Optical and Matrix. Neurofunk, similar to Techstep, features elements of Funk music with a heavier and darker sound. Neurofunk is also well known for its harsh bassline stabs, intense backbeats and dark ambient production. Influences of Techno, Jazz and House can be heard throughout the Neurofunk genre.

New Beat

New Beat is a form of underground dance music which originated in Belgium around 1987. It was mainly influenced by EBM and 80s Darkwave, but some releases are also a crossover of various dance styles such as Hi-NRG, Acid House and mid-80s underground House music. The genre was created when DJs had successfully been playing existing 45rpm EBM records at about 33rpm, which resulted in production of original tracks with slower and tougher beats. New Beat is also characterised by the use of repetitive electronic tones and vocal samples from songs, movies, and other media.

Since New Beat was based in mainland Europe, the style did well in Belgium, Germany, and Mediterranean countries, but it did not penetrate the English market. Its popularity declined in the late 80s with the rise of commercial Euro House. Some noteworthy New Beat artists include Lords of Acid, Public Relations, Amnesia, Nostromo Dept., Fatal Morgana and In-D.

Nitzhonot

(also known as Nitzh)

Nitzhonot (translated from Hebrew as "victories") emerged in Israel in the middle of 90s and evolved as experimental mixes of Goa Trance and Uplifting Trance on compilations from labels like Betachronic Records, Discobole Recordings, Eutuchia Records, Typhon Records. It blends hard pulsating basses, which are also called "laserkicks", with the Eastern melodies typical from the 90s Israeli & Greek Psytrance. After a decline period from the late 90s, when Israeli artists changed their direction to Full On Trance, Nitzhonot was developed at the beginning of a new millennium in a new form, "Uplifting Psytrance". The Nitzhonot tracks are usually in a range of 145-155 BPM. The most notable artist from this genre is Eyal Barkan, with his release Good Morning Israel, from 1998.

NRG

(also known as Nu NRG, Hard NRG)

NRG is an Electronic Dance Music style that emerged from Trance and Hard House and became popular with the rave scene. The genre's name was established by the offbeat bass patterns that were inspired from Hi-NRG, which were added over darker and more anthemic trance beats and synths mostly on the 155-165 BPM range, mostly lacking the strong presence of uplifting melodies to give a more rhythmic atmosphere. The genre still follows the traditional trance structure but the atmosphere is cleaner and more minimalistic than Hard Trance.

Nu Disco

This genre describes a recent musical trend within House music from around the turn of the 21st century onwards, characterised by a renewed interest in the instrumental techniques and aesthetics of 1970s and 1980s Disco, Euro-Disco, and Boogie, as well as the stylistic tropes of mid-1980s Italo-Disco. The result can be described as a combination of elements of Disco and House.

This genre is not to be mistaken for the term's alternate early usage as a descriptor for French House.

Nu Style Gabber

(also known as Newstyle Hardcore)

Nu Style Gabber is the second wave of Gabber. It was created at the end of the 1990s and is characterized by a deeper and harder bass drum sound than in classic gabber. Nu Style Gabber has a tempo of around 170 BPM and very emphatic and energetic lead melodies. This style is represented by DJs and producers like Angerfist, Art of Fighters, Evil Activities, Hard Creation, Tha Playah, DJ Mad Dog, Tommyknocker, Masters of Ceremony or Na-Goyah.

Outsider House

(also known as Lo-Fi House)

Outsider House is a gritty style of Deep House music characterised by its DIY nature, intentional use of lo-fi production, and utilising a mix of analogue and digital instrumentation. It stands in opposition to the recent commercialization of deep house by avoiding the polished sounds that have caught on in the mainstream. Ron Morelli's Long Island Electrical Systems label is considered the hub of this sub-genre, paving the way for such producers as Delroy Edwards, Anthony Naples, and Huerco S., coming from various backgrounds and applying Punk or avant-garde ethos to Dance music.

Progressive Psytrance

(also known as Minimal Psytrance, Progpsy, Psyprog)

Progressive psytrance is a style of electronic music, born in the early 2000s. Unlike most psytrance styles, this music has a cleaner production and slower tempo range. Progressive psytrance inherits influences from Minimal Techno, Tech House, Deep House, and '90s-early '00s Progressive House. Earlier works were darker and stripped-down, while in the mid-'00s onwards the music became lighter and more atmospheric. Pioneers include Atmos, Cosma, FREq, Neelix, Ovnimoon, Son Kite, Tegma, Ticon, and Vibrasphere.

Note: Many psytrance artists and journalists simply call this style 'progressive trance' although it isn't the same genre.

Progressive Trance

Progressive trance emerged in the 1990s, in Western European countries, from the combination of Trance and Progressive House. It has a lower average bpm than typical trance (around 130 bpm instead of 140-160 bpm) and a recurrent melodic structure, which uses Tribal House and Breakbeat sounds. Progressive trance became very popular on the world's dance floors by the end of the millennium and it was played by very popular DJs like Sasha, Paul van Dyk, Oliver Lieb, Paul Oakenfold.

Psytrance

(also known as Psychedelic Trance)

Psytrance is a subgenre of Trance. Developed from the Goa Trance movement and having a big Acid Trance influence, it is characterized by a more psychedelic feel (hence the name), an energetic sound around 140-150 BPM, pounding bass riffs (mostly 303/acid), and modulations. Most of the time psytrance has a "layered" structure, which mostly happens each 8 bars, adding or subtracting elements from the song's mix. It is also known for some of its songs to have long runtimes (over 6 minutes).

The genre's early impact blossomed in popularity in various parts of the world, with most acts being from Europe (UK's Hallucinogen), Israel (Infected Mushroom), North America and other parts. Psytrance festivals also began to grow in popularity and are mostly held in the mentioned regions, but are also pretty popular in Australia and South Africa.

Due to psytrance having a very recognizable style, a few subgenres and fusions spawned out from it, using the genre's aesthetic and sounds and mixing it with other genres. The Psybient movement is an example of that.

Purple Sound

(also known as Purple Wow, Purple Funk)

Purple Sound emerged in Bristol in late 2008 out of the splintering Dubstep scene and took inspiration from Wonky, which it is sometimes considered a part of. It incorporates Synth Funk from the 1980s and G-Funk production from the '90s into Dubstep, while also introducing many aspects of Grime and Chiptune (several prominent Purple Sound artists cite video game music as a large influence). Usually includes synths as a main component and avoids the bass 'wobble' and 2-step common in Dubstep. The majority of tracks are instrumental, and currently MCs are uncommon.

Ragga Jungle

Ragga Jungle developed in the early 1990s in London. The genre was influenced off the creations of Michael West, known popularly as Congo Natty and Rebel MC. Sampling from Reggae songs, gunshots and gangster movies are prominent. It is characterized by jungle breakbeats, "rudeboy" lyrics, reggae bass lines and heavy influence from Dub and Ragga, both genres that stem from Jamaica. Most vocalists in the genre are of Jamican Patoi descent. The genre began to decline in popularity in the UK beginning in 1995 when DJs stopped giving popular songs of the genre airtime. However today, it remains a niche genre among the Internet.

Raggacore

Raggacore combines Breakcore with elements from Ragga and Dancehall. It is influenced by, and similar to, Ragga Jungle, but with a heavier sound and faster pace.

Riddim

(also known as Swamp Music)

Riddim is a sub-genre of Brostep that relies on heavy use of repetition. The synths in riddim also tend to have a much more off-kilter and unstable sound compared to traditional brostep. Riddim also takes a lot of influence from Dubstep with a lot of focus being on the sub-bass since riddim tracks usually have less sounds in the overall track and are more minimal than brostep. It's also common for riddim artists to add influences of Trap [EDM] into their music such as trap snares, hats or 808s. While riddim had already been around for a few years it only gained popularity in the brostep scene in early-mid 2014.

Some of the more well-known riddim producers include Bukez Finezt, Dubloadz, p0gman, 50 Carrot, Coffi and Algo.

A lot of Deathstep artists such as Sadhu, JPhelpz, TrollPhace and D-Jahsta often mix riddim into their music.

Romanian Dance-Pop

(also known as Popcorn)

A style of popular dance music originating in Romania during the mid 2000s which adds a Romanian twist to the global Dance-Pop sound. Hooks are often derived from traditional folk styles, with synthesised accordion and brass melodies being particularly common; lyrics are almost always sung in English. Following a string of major hits by artists such as Edward Maya, Inna and Alexandra Stan, the style began to achieve widespread popularity outside Romania.

Schranz

Schranz is a hard and dark style of Techno that started in 1994 in Germany. The term was popularized by Chris Liebing. Schranz is inspired by Detroit Techno but lacks a lot of its melody, places a larger emphasis on beats and is usually played around 150–170 BPM.

Shangaan Electro

Shangaan electro is an Electronic Dance Music genre from South Africa with very fast BPM (around 180) and features MIDI keyboard sounds and marimba. The genre took form around 2005 with the productions of Richard "Nozinja" Mthethwa who wanted to make marimba-based Shangaan music but with a faster pace.

Singeli

Singeli is a style of Electronic Dance Music that developed in Tanzania in the mid-2000s. The genre fuses incredibly rapid beats, usually between 180-300BPM, with MCing and musical influences from older Tanzanian genres such as Taarab, mchiriku, segere, and Bongo Flava. Instruments, samples and vocals are often pitch-shifted up, adding to the frenetic atmosphere.

Singeli sprung from the Tanzanian "kigodoro" scene (translating to "foam mattress"), which consisted of all-night raves where local music intermixed, and party-goers would sleep on foam where they had been dancing once exhausted. The genre grew in popularity in the country, and in the 2010s, is now one of the most popular styles of music in Tanzania. The genre ranges from rough DIY production with fierce MCing about street life, to much more poppy and melodic strains, though even this retains the breakneck speed distinctive to the genre. Due to the output of the label Nyege Nyege Tapes, the unique genre gained worldwide attention in the late 2010s.

Skweee

Skweee is a genre derived from Electro that originally gained popularity in the Nordic countries of Sweden and Finland. It has borrowed a lot from IDM, Techno, Synth Funk and Chiptune. Skweee combines simple synth leads and basslines with funky melodies creating a unique sound where Contemporary R&B meets electro. The underlying "skweee" sound is created with a synthesizer which has a unique howling sound. Tempos are mostly around 100 BPM, but may vary from 65 BPM to 120 BPM. The first record companies to release Skweee records were Flogsta Danshall from Stockholm and Harmönia from Helsinki.

Space Disco

Space disco is a style of Disco that emerged throughout Europe in the mid-to-late 1970s. It is one of the earliest forms of Electro-Disco, with its primary development coming in 1977, partly due to the huge popularity of Star Wars (and to a lesser extent, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), but also due to pioneering singles such as "Magic Fly / Ballad for Space Lovers" by Space and "Supernature / In the Smoke" by Cerrone. As a result, a string of science fiction influenced, space disco Novelty tracks appeared in the charts between 1977 and 1980, such as "Space Invaders" and "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper".

Due to its affiliation with space, the style is perhaps the most atmospheric form of disco. Layers of oscillating synth, commonly played with an arpeggiator (a device popularized at the time by Giorgio Moroder's production on Donna Summer's "I Feel Love"), underlay the electro-disco framework; space-orientated sound effects (laser guns, spaceships, etc) are scattered across the production; bombastic orchestral sections are frequently included, often to evoke the atmosphere of a sci-fi film; and artists sometimes take cues from the cosmic soundscapes of Space Rock. It is usually played at a medium-fast tempo between 120 and 140 bpm.

With its use of futuristic sounds and sometimes vocoders, space disco shares some similarities with Italo-Disco, though has more reliance on the spacy atmosphere and less on the melody at the forefront of the song, as well as the latter having an overall more substantial, heavy, "dry" drum machine beat. Space disco is also sometimes confused with and used as a synonym for Spacesynth, a genre that emerged as a strain of Italo-disco with space disco influences, before developing into its own fully fledged style with swirling, euphoric synth melodies. Several acts created space disco that overlapped with Library Music, for example, Sauveur Mallia and his work with Arpadys. Whilst this scene was most prevalent in France, British musician Brian Bennett also notably explored the mix on Voyage: A Journey Into Discoid Funk.

Whilst declining in popularity after the early 1980s, space disco underwent a revival in the mid-2000s in Oslo, with modern Norwegian disco producers such as Lindstrøm, Todd Terje and Prins Thomas keeping the sound alive. The style was also a huge influence on the development of French House in the 1990s.

Alongside Space, examples of the original wave of space disco performers include Zodiac, Black Devil, Meco, Tantra and Automat, whilst artists such as Moroder and Sparks also incorporated the style into some of their music.

Spacesynth

(also known as Synthesizer Dance, Spacedance)

Spacesynth began as a highly melodic strain of Italo-Disco in the early 1980s with a heavy Space Disco and Synthpop influence, before evolving into its own individual Electronic Dance Music style. It is synthesizer and drum machine-driven and is characterised by its big, swirling, euphoric melodies. Recordings often use modulated synth lines, orchestra stabs, synth-brass chords, LinnDrum samples and cosmic sound effects, whilst vocals are used sparingly: recordings are typically either instrumental, use brief vocal samples or make use of vocoders.

Early blueprints were set by tracks such as Space's "Magic Fly" and Vangelis's "Pulstar" in the previous decade and, with the initial Italo-disco framework, the spacesynth sound became big in Italy in the early-to-mid 1980s with groups such as KOTO, Cyber People and Hipnosis. The heavy reliance on Italo sounds somewhat lessened as spacesynth spread throughout Europe in the mid-to-late 1980s, exemplified by Michiel van der Kuy and Rob van Eijks' projects Proxyon and Laser Dance, the latter's album Future Generation becoming the most successful and influential spacesynth release in the history of the genre.

Spacesynth suffered a decline of interest in the 1990s, partly due to the huge widespread popularity of other EDM styles House, Techno, Eurodance and Trance. On top of a mini-revival, its influence was also prevalent in the work of Video Game Music composers such as Alexander Brandon, Chris Hülsbeck and Robert A. Allen, who were producing Sequencer & Tracker/tracker soundtracks for Amiga/DOS/Windows games in the early 1990s. This, coupled with the original 1980s boom, influenced a new generation of spacesynth musicians and producers in the 2000s and beyond, including Galaxy Hunter, Everdune and Electron (as well as new projects for the original 1980s producers, such as van der Kuy and van Eijks' Area 51).

Speed Garage

Speed Garage is generally considered a British genre, but it was actually mostly pioneered by two American producers in the early-to-mid-nineties; Armand Van Helden and Todd Edwards. Edwards' trademark style of cut-up vocals & melodies over a 4x4 beat is almost a blueprint for the speed garage sound, and Van Helden's attempts to introduce elements of early Drum and Bass into his House tracks (most sucessfully with his remix of Spin Spin Sugar, an early Speed Garage anthem). By early 1997 Speed Garage had become the accepted term for the resulting sound; sped-up 4x4 Garage House rhythms with Jungle-esque basslines, with cut-up or timestretched house vocals on top.

This sound took off in both the north and south of England, and the differences in the musical scenes led to different developments in the genre. In the north it became popular and accepted in a Happy Hardcore and Hard House dominated scene, remaining mostly unchanged until the mid 2000s when a bass-heavy form known as Bassline emerged and more or less replaced Speed Garage in popularity. In the south, however, speed garage became popular as chill-out music in drum and bass clubs, as a result changing significantly to accomodate this role, using slower tempos and incorporating more Hip Hop and Contemporary R&B elements - this London variant was UK Garage, which would eclipse Speed Garage in popularity, critical acclaim, and influence. The final split with the original Speed Garage sound came with the rise of 2-Step, which abandoned even the 4x4 beat.

Speed Garage has been superceded by the genres derived from it, though it continues to be well-known, and is still popular in some places, such as the clubs of Ayia Napa and some of those in the northern English cities. Important speed garage DJs and producers include Tuff Jam, Dreem Teem, DJ Pied Piper, 187 Lockdown, and Double 99.

Speedcore

Speedcore is a subgenre of Hardcore EDM known notably for its exceedingly high rate of beats per minute, rarely dropping below 240 bpm. It is distinguished from other forms of Hardcore EDM by an aggressive electronic percussion track that is punctuated by rapid snare or tom-tom fills.

Splittercore

(also known as Splitter)

Splittercore is a faster version of Speedcore with BPM ranging from around 600 through 1000. The stereotypical speedcore blast beats are often intensified to the point of becoming indistinguishable. Splittercore is often mixed with sections of Noise to add to the chaotic nature represented.

Suomisaundi

Suomisaundi is a Finnish-based deviation of Psytrance with an emphasis on free-form experimentation and humor. The "Suomi" style is also popular in Australia and New Zealand. It often has organic sound like Goa Trance, but not uncommon are elements like Humppa, Techno, Punk Rock, Breakbeat, Spoken Word, Hip Hop, Industrial Metal, different kinds of Traditional Folk Music, funky guitar playing, video game music and cheap vintage electronics. "Spuge" means "an alcoholic" and the drunken feel is apparent, also the lyrics and titles are usually about everyday life.

Tech House

A fusion of House with Techno where the atmospheric or minimal production tendencies of some house subgenres combine with the minimal qualities of techno to form a more melodic and introspective genre. The genre takes influence from a variety of related, minimal house and techno subgenres such as Progressive House, Deep House, Microhouse and Minimal Techno.

Tech Trance

Tech trance merges both Techno and Trance, as the name suggests. The genre is characterised by the strong 4/4 beat from techno over the evolving structure and melodic focus of trance, set between 135-150 BPM and involving more repetitive and compressed production. The genre is more club-oriented than other sub-genres of trance, with anthems being common. It has a lighter tone than Hard Trance, lacking the raw production and acid influences from it.

Techno

Techno is a broad term initially applied to the Electronic Dance Music that originated in Detroit during the late 1980s (now referred to as Detroit Techno), a style heavily influenced by Electro, though now encompasses various subgenres from all over the globe. Generally speaking, techno music is beat-driven (typically in 4/4) and repetitive in nature, with minimal chord variation. It is aimed for the club environment, where numerous records can be mixed together throughout the night, though it has inspired more stripped-down styles such as Ambient Techno and Minimal Techno which are often better suited for home listening. Similarly, the rise of a multitude of Hardcore EDM scenes has pushed the genre to its limits and towards near-undanceable levels.

Techstep

Techstep is a Drum and Bass genre best noted for its futuristic, dark and gritty sound, mostly using quantized and compressed drum breaks, distorted bass lines, and a focus on a science fiction influenced atmosphere and sampling sources.

The term was coined by Ed Rush and DJ Trace, who with the rest of the No U-Turn Records artists were the initial developers of the style rooted on the Hardstep sound, making it harder, darker and more aggressive. It was around 1997-1999 where the concept was established as a surging development of drum and bass and, surprisingly for such a bleak and noncommercial sound, became along with Darkstep the dominant sound of the genre, which remained so for years. The emerging popularity of the genre's sound which then shaped up with the likes of labels such as Moving Shadow saw UK Garage rise as a more chilled-out alternative that became highly popular and mainstream in the United Kingdom, and saw drum and bass lose a lot of its more casual fans, partially on account of the relationship between the two genres. This caused drum and bass' lighter sounding subgenres such as Atmospheric Drum and Bass and Jump-Up to flounder as the remaining fanbase started to prefer techstep's grittier sound.

The secondary reason of techstep's popularity was because of its modern production style, rooted with the rise of computer digital audio workstation programs in the late 90s that were cheaper to own than drum machines, samplers and synthesizers and are more capable of sonic possibilities that were not found since then on other drum and bass genres, as well as the stripping down of Ragga and Hip Hop elements, thus making techstep different from the rave-oriented atmosphere set by earlier styles.

Techstep's popularity fell in the 2000s, but despite its decline continued to remain influential with the development of newer subgenres, as artists jumped into the more complex and heavier sounds of Neurofunk and modern darkstep, the more calmer yet still clear-sounding Liquid Funk, and the resurgence of the Jump-Up scene from the period.

Tecnobrega

Tecnobrega is a style of music from northern Brazil, particularly associated with peripheral areas of the city of Belém. Developing in the 1980s out of, as the name suggests, the pop music known as Brega, early Tecnobrega producers remixed and reworked Brega songs, replacing the acoustic instruments (such as the drums) with tracks created using music software and usually changing the beats per minute of the songs, making them faster. Pirate copies of several audio editing softwares are commonly used.

Besides its primarily electronic influence, the genre is a fusion of typical regional rhythms, such as Carimbó, Siriá, Lundu and Calypso (not to be confused with Calypso, a Caribbean musical genre), with the Brega Pop style. Banda Calypso and Wanderley Andrade works are examples of these influences. The sound is characterized by catchy electronic beats, with acid carimbó music.

In the 2010s, Gaby Amarantos and Gang do Eletro helped to make Tecnobrega widely known in Brazil and other countries.

Tecnorumba

Tecnorumba blends the themes and singing style of Rumba Flamenca with the most commercial forms of House, Techno and Makina, amongst other dance music styles. It was originally developed around the late 1980s/early 1990s. In the first half of the 1990s most Tecnorumba records had a low budget production and were cassette only releases sold at gas stations. The genre was critically panned but it gained some recognition with the huge success of Camela and it crossed over to a wider audience.

Terrorcore

(also known as Terror)

A subset of Hardcore EDM which features beats per minutes just shy of Speedcore along with distorted noizelines, many layers of sound, and often sampling from horror and sci-fi soundtracks.

Trance

Trance developed in the early 1990s in Germany, with antecedents found there and elsewhere during the mid to late 1980s. The genre is named after the mental state the music was meant to simulate. Prominent characteristics of this genre include BPM range of 125 – 160, a TR-909 drum machine (as opposed to other drum machines such as the TR-808 or the TR-606), and mid-song breakdowns. Most trance music is very heavily layered in order to create a calm or drifting feeling to the listener. Trance is currently the main genre in many music festivals, some of the biggest being Tomorrowland (Belgium), Sunburn (India), and Trance Energy (Netherlands).

Trancestep

(also known as Trance & Bass)

Trancestep is the combination of Trance melodies and structure with the breakbeats, fast tempos and rolling basslines of Drum and Bass. Pioneered initially by Drum and Bass producers such as John B and Concord Dawn, Trancestep has also been taken up by Trance producers, most notably ATB.

Trap EDM

Trap EDM is an Electronic Dance Music genre heavily influenced by Trap. It is characterized by deep, pulsating, hard-hitting sub-bass, 808 drums, sharp synth leads, and heavy use of vocal samples. While trap is heavily influenced by trap rap (pitch shifted vocals, 808 drums), rapping is usually absent from trap songs, with the focus being on the instrumentation. Trap takes a lot of influence from Brostep too, using similar drum patterns, heavy bass drops, and a focus on low-end frequencies. Trap EDM also tends to be influenced by Moombahton, often using moombahton-esque melodies and vocal samples.

The origins of trap can be traced back to Flosstradamus's remix of Major Lazer's "Original Don" as well as RL Grime, Baauer, ƱZ, CRNKN, and Gent & Jawns.

Trap EDM has also been one of the main roots and influences of Future Bass, a subgenre of EDM which came into prominence and achieved mainstream success around the mid 2010s. Many trap producers fuse the melodic, happy soundscapes of future bass with trap percussion and basslines, sometimes while also dabbling at grimier, heavier styles of trap music. Due to the common fusions between the two future bass is sometimes considered to be a direct derivative of trap music.

Tribal Guarachero

(also known as Tribal, 3Ball)

Like Nortec and Digital Cumbia, tribal attempts to mix traditional Latin American Music and Native American Music music with House and Techno influences. The genre uses pre-Hispanic music and Cumbia backed up by a House beat and Dutch House-like synths. Created in Mexico City in the mid-2000s, the genre developed in Monterrey with 3Ball MTY (the first tribal act to get a major label contract) and the support of Toy Selectah.

Two-Step

2-Step is a form of UK Garage popular in the late 1990s. Originating in London, its sound is characterised by jittery, shuffling rhythms that rarely follow the four-to-the-floor pattern of similar genres, such as Drum and Bass, House and UK Garage itself, as well as its relatively slow pace that distances it from the typical club environment. While the genre is based primarily on the laid-back funk of the beat, the music is also heavily textured, with an emphasis on subtle melody, ambience and deep basslines. The use of emcees is also common, both on record and in live settings. Originators of the sound include MJ Cole and Wookie.

UK Bass

UK bass is a loose term used for certain stylistic developments in British dance music, arising from Dubstep and UK Funky in 2009 and 2010. It includes a strong emphasis on bass and sub-bass, but tends to experiment with the structure and format, as well as variations of the bpm. Influences from other genres, such as Juke, Footwork, Techno, House, UK Garage, Contemporary R&B and Wonky, were experimented with by artists on labels such as Night Slugs, Numbers., Hessle Audio, and Swamp 81. The result is a varied range of sounds that stretches or breaks the barriers for the latter genres.

UK Funky

(also known as UK Funky House)

UK funky house, often called UK funky or simply funky, is a style of Electronic Dance Music that emerged in the mid-to late-2000s in Britain. Taking heavy influence from UK Garage, as well as House, Grime and Contemporary R&B, the genre often has a very upbeat, soulful feel, and is popular both commercially (with many compilations gaining mainstream exposure) and in club scenes across the country.

UK Garage

(also known as UKG)

Evolving out of the early 1990s Garage House scene, UK garage (commonly abbreviated as UKG or sometimes simply garage) is a vaguely-defined, primarily British Electronic Dance Music genre. It frequently takes influence from other 'urban' styles, such as Contemporary R&B and Hip Hop, as well as many forms of Electronic music, from Deep House to Drum and Bass to IDM. Its mainstream popularity peaked around the turn of the millennium, with acts like So Solid Crew and The Streets both achieving number one singles in the UK. Due to the range of styles UK garage incorporates into its sound, it has birthed a number of subgenres including Future Garage, 2-Step and UK Bass. UK garage was also highly influential in the development of Dubstep and Grime.

Uplifting Trance

(also known as Melodic Trance, Epic Trance, Emotional Trance, Euphoric Trance, Anthem Trance)

Uplifting trance is a style of Trance that emerged out of the mid to late 1990s and saw an explosion of popularity in the early 2000s. It is characterized by the inclusion of elements such as strings, synths, and in some cases, vocals; all of which coalesce to give the listener a "euphoric" feeling.

Vocal Trance

Vocal trance is a form of Trance that appeared in the early 1990s and that focuses on the vocals. Although "normal" Trance music can also have vocals, vocal trance contains certain elements that are usually attributed to pop songs, such as a melodic and harmonic structure.

Vocal trance was very popular in the second half of the 1990s and in the beginning of the 2000s in some European countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Popular artists include Sylver, Lasgo, Milk Inc. and Ian van Dahl.

Wonky

(also known as Street Bass)

Wonky is the name given to a fusion of Dubstep and Hip Hop (particularly Glitch Hop) which first developed in the mid-to-late 2000s. Along with those main elements it also has secondary influences such as IDM and its namesake, Wonky Techno. It is defined by its off-kilter and unstable, wonky (hence the name) mid-range, with unquantised and offbeat hip-hop rhythms at dubstep tempos; this sound was at least partially influenced by and is often linked to ketamine use, as it reflects how the drug affects users and their ability to dance.

It first developed when hip-hop producers influenced by J Dilla and Madlib (such as Flying Lotus and Dabrye) began experimenting with dubstep & IDM elements, and around the same time dubstep producers (notably those on Hyperdub and those associated with Purple Sound) began adding said hip-hop influences to their own productions. These two loose strands of early wonky would fuse together, resulting in the development of a fully-fledged genre during 2009.

One of the biggest and most notable wonky scenes is in Glasgow, centered around the LuckyMe collective and the Numbers. club night and label; some of the genre's most notable producers, such as Hudson Mohawke and Rustie, come from this scene. Across the Atlantic, the big names are Flying Lotus and Starkey, who coined the genre's American synonym, street bass. The Scandinavian genre of Skweee is also quite similar in sound, but has seperate roots.

Wonky Techno

(also known as Experimental Techno)

Wonky Techno is an experimental form of Techno. Wonky Techno takes influence from Breakbeat, Glitch and Electro. It's characterized by using rhythm structures outside of the standard 4/4 time of techno music. It's often intentionally broken or interrupted, as a way of adding further discord to its flow.

Definitions courtesy of rateyourmusic.com

Back to Genre Dictionary