The DJ club basic guide to dance music....
What is "Dance Music"?
Clubdjforum.com & djneeds.com will give you a rough guide to the various major genres in dance music. What we are talking about is electronic music (dance music as it is now refered to more often) - it can seem complex when you first get into it! "What is house?" "What's the difference between trance & techno?" Hopefully by reading through the pages & listening to the samples you'll have a better idea of what it's all about!!!
Firstly, there are very few rules in dance music. It is extrmely hard to describe a genre as there are so many variations within it - electronic music is always evolving & many people do not like to categorise their music, however there are certain terms such as "techno" that will give you a better idea of what you like. I've done one audio example for each genre described to give you a better idea of what the music sounds like....however, as I said, there are many sounds within each genre!!!
Probably the most accurate sections are the Trance, Techno, Hard Dance & most of the House section, my knowlege of "beats" (jungle, DnB etc) is not great, so I'm not sure how accurate my definitions are in that area - if you know better than let me know!!! Many areas of electronic/dance music are not covered, such as ambient, hip hop, RnB, leftfield, big beat, balearic, jazz, soul...etc. I have tried to stick to what I know & what applies to this discussion forum!
All audio samples () are Real Audio and will work with both a modem or high speed connection. The quality is not as good as that of an MP3, however you will be able to listen to them instantly!
Have a look & see what you think!!!
Techno (pure, industrial, acid, funky/tribal, belgian)
Trance (euro/hard, progressive, acid, goa/psy, trancecore)
Hard Dance (hard house, nrg, hardcore, happy hardcore, gabba)
House (house, handbag/hardbag, progressive, garage)
Beats (old skool, jungle, drum n bass, breakbeat)
The DJ club basic guide to trance....
As an introduction, the best way I can think to generally describe the "trance" genre is that of dance music based around rifts - which can be either highly energetic or very chilled out! Most trance is built around the "4/4" beat ie. "boom boom boom boom". A lot of trance can be very uplifting & so trance is very closly related to the estacy scene (similar to the drug itself, trance builds & drops, using rifts to take you up & down). Currently "trance" is one of the most popular musical genres in the world.
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Euro/Hard Trance
I'm starting with Euro/Hard trance as it is probably the simplest to understand. Euro trance is often very uplifting (and often refered to as "Uplifting Trance"), it is usually around 140-145bpm and has a lot of big rifts. The bass is generally quite heavy and it will often have a female vocal. Due to the big rifts, breakdowns & vocals this style of trance can also be rfered to as "cheesy trance" (the "trance" you hear in the charts is generally a more commercial form of Euro). This form of trance definatly falls into the instant "feel good" category - for many trance-heads, this is how it all started. Currently much harder edged Euro Trance is being refered to as "Hard Trance", in many ways it is similar to Euro, with big (but usually not so "euphoric") rifts and a bit faster (usually around 145-150bpm), often using acid lines. JK THeory sample falls into the "hard trance" category.
Label Examples:. Neo (red), Additive, Suck Me Plasma, Kontor, EDM, Byte, Dos or Die, Good As, Blue
Artist/DJ Examples:. Cascade, Blank & Jones, Kai Triacid, ATB, John 00 Flemming, K90, Ferry Corsten
Other Genres:. uplifting/acid/progressive trance, hard house, nu nrg & freeform
JK THeory "mercury rain" Heavy Weight
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Progressive Trance
This is generally more laid back than Euro, it tends to be a lot deeper & has a less commercial edge. It is also usually slower (130-140bpm) and has a wider variety of sounds (many prgressive tunes use a lot of tribal techno & breakbeat sounds). The rifts in progressive music are much more subtle than that of Euro and never as uplifting. Progressive music relies more on subtle builds & drops guided by the DJ throughout the night (whereas Euro builds & drops in each individual tune!). Recently much progressive trance has moved towards deep tribal sounds & breaks. This is often refered to as "progressive house" - though I tend to call it "progressive" or "progressive trance".
Label Examples:. Bedrock, UG, Phuture Wax, Coded, Eve, Sander, Guerilla, Liquid, Hook, Hooj Choons
Artist/DJ Examples:. Steve Lawler, John Digweed, Sasha, Pablo Gargano, Danny Howles, Sander Kleinberg
Other Genres:. euro trance, break beat, deep techno, deep house, progressive house
Bedrock "heaven scent" (original mix) Bedrock
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Goa & Psychedelic
Now we're heading more towards my sorta stuff!!! Goa & Psy are very similar (and can also use many elements of acid - see below). The best way I can think to describe the music is; trance based music with loads of oinkity-wobbly-bouncy-swirly-poingy-spacy-trippy-blobby-scifi-head spinning noises!!! It has less of an instant "feel good" factor than the Euro trance and is a much more deeper (and for many "spiritual") form of trance, complex & comprised of many sounds. It can also be slow & chilled or fast & furious! Many people are fanatical about this style of trance & it has one of the strongest followings in the world within underground dance. Much attention is paid to decor at these parties & you can expect to see the best!!!
Label Examples:. Flying Rhino, Spirit Zone, Transient, Chaos Unlimited, Dragonfly, Blue Room, TIP
Artist/DJ Examples:. Doof, Man With No Name, Cosmosis, Juno Reactor, Astral Projection, Eat Static
Other Genres:. acid trance, tribal techno, ambient
Astral Projection "mahadeva" Smart
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Acid Trance
Acid trance can fall anywhere between the above 3 genres. Much psy trance uses acidic noises and some of the progressive producers use slow acid lines. For me though, I like the hard Euro edged acid trance, generally fast, hard and with big acid (303) lines and not so much euphoric upliftingness. Acid trance can be grinding & dirty and is usually hitting around the 145+bpm mark!!!
Label Examples:. Choci Chewns, Tesseract, Stay Up Forever, Energize, Chemo, Le Petit Prince, VCR, Bosca Beats
Artist/DJ Examples:. Choci, Jurgen Dreissen, Pablo Gargano, Emmanuel Top, Mandala, Shamanic Tribes on Acid
Other Genres:. euro/goa/psy trance, trancecore, freeform, nu nrg, acid techno
Equator "acid war" Tesseract
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Trancecore/Freeform
A very specialist genre which combines hardcore & trance. This is very fast (160bpm+) uses a hardcore bassline and slamms it out! Not for the faint hearted, this combines acid & euro trance with hardcore. Very similar to what is now being pushed forward as "freeform", but, in my opinion, a little more underground & acidic. Freeform releases are currently very fast & uplifting. If you've never been into dance music before this might scare you a little!!!
Label Examples:. Great British Techno (GBT), Nu Energy, Stompin Choons, XY2, Lightning, RSR, Bonkerz
Artist/DJ Examples:. Billy Bunter, Kevin Energy, Helix & Fury, Rob Vanden, M-Zone, Tekno Dred
Other Genres:. euro/acid trance, acid techno, nu nrg, hardcore, gabba, hard house, jungle, happy hardcore
Jon Doe "trance mission" No Trix
The DJ club basic guide to techno....
Techno music developed in Detroit in the early 80's and is generally simplistic repetitive percussive beats. There are rarely any "rifts" as in trance and female vocals are nearly always a big "no-no". Many techno tracks on their own can be quite boring & cold, they are designed in such a way that the DJ can manipulate the tracks, cutting them & mixing fast to creat a unique set. Techno can vary hugely, from the laid back ambient & tech-house sounds to the hard industrial clangings....for many people (especially in Europe) the word "techno" refers to dance music in general - so beware!!!
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Pure Techno
Clean cut looped drumbeats laid out in a very structured 4/4 manner. Very repititive & generally mixed extremely fast - some of the worlds top DJs such as Jeff Mills have tunes mixed in & out in 30 seconds! Techno tunes in this genre are more like DJ instruments, requiring a lot of hard work to sound interesting & good! Clubbers & party-goers beware - requires robotic dancing!!!
Label Examples:. Purpose Maker, Labworks, ReLoad, Molecular, Tresor, Construct Rhythm
Artist/DJ Examples:. Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke, Andreas Kramer, Kevin Saunderson, Robert Hood, Richie Hawtin
Other Genres:. tribal/acid/industrial techno, gabba
Andreas Krammer "so wie es immer war" Construct Rhythm
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Acid Techno
Acid techno is usually hard as nails, mental & around 150bpm, but in many ways it is less "harsh" than pure techno. Pioneered in London, it really kicked off around '96 in the squat scene. Acid techno tends to be less "looped" than pure techno which generally makes it easier on the ear and means a less frantic mix for the DJ who can let the tune play rather than mix it out in less than a minute! Due to the nature of the acid line & the lack of loops, many acid techno tunes can have quite a trance feel to them but yet be dirty as hell!
Label Examples:. Stay Up Forever, Smitten, Routemaster, Brain, Hazchem, Bionic Orange, 23 records
Artist/DJ Examples:. Chris/Julian/Aaron Liberator, DAVE the Drummer, Guy McGaffer, Pete Skank, Lawrie Immerson, DDR, Rowland the Bastard
Other Genres:. pure/industrial techno, gabba, acid trance, hard house, nu nrg, hardcore, trancecore
Pete Skank "deviance" Organgrinder
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Funky & Tribal Techno
This has become very big over the past few years, taking its sounds from various tribal cultures around the world and using a wide variety of drums. This is "ass-shaking" techno and is much less hard than the 2 above, often being mixed with tech-house...though the harder stuff also mixes in well with dirty acid techno. This is also not so looped as pure techno, though it still allows theDJ to manipulate it fairly easily (unlike acid techno where acid lines can clash!) speeds can vary but usually lie around the 140bpm mark.
Label Examples:. Rotation, Smoke, Drumcode, Hydraulix, Planet of the Drums,
Artist/DJ Examples:. Dave Angel, DJ Dan, DAVE the Drummer, Henrik B, Adam Bayer,
Other Genres:. acid trance, tribal techno, ambient
Olav Basoski "beats up" Work
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Industrial & Experimental Techno
This is really harsh, extreme techno!!! Industrial is, as it's name suggests, made up of industrial noises, lots of clanging and colliding metal sounds! Very hard on the ear & often distorted & muffled. Hard experimental can be along the same lines, whilst the softer stuff can be more minimal - both generally use harsh sounds, much industrial techno is related to the industrial punk/metal/hardcore scene.
Label Examples:. Force Inc Music, Djax Up Beats, Harthouse, Tresor, Position Chrome
Artist/DJ Examples:. Biochip C, Scan X, Panacea, Techno Animal
Other Genres:. hardcore, gabba, acid/pure/minimal techno, doomcore/deathcore
Marko Laine "cold" Djax Up Beats
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Belgian Techno (Rave)
Belgian techno is generally refered to as "rave" in the UK. It is an old genre & you won't find much of it made anymore. Joey Beltram pretty much kicked this genre off around '91 when he brought techno into Belgium. They took the new techno sounds and changed it into what we call "Belgian Techno" or "rave". Dark, hard & harsh (well it was for 1991) this was a form of techno that involved synths & "rave" sounds. It produced some classics, especially as it moved to the UK & evolved into "hardcore"...
Label Examples:. R&S, Antler Subway, Dance Opera, Beat Box, Watts, XL
Artist/DJ Examples:. Joey Beltram, Frank de Wulf, Cubic 22, Ken Ishi, T99, DJ PC, Praga Khan
Other Genres:. old skool, hardcore, gabba, acid techno, breakbeat
Beltram "my sound" R&S
The DJ club basic guide to house....
House music developed in Chicago in the mid-late 80's. It, along with techno is the mother of what we now refer to as "dance music". House music is used to describe a wide variety of dance music, it is generally around the 130-140bpm mark and can be soulful, funky, deep, pumpin etc. Here we give you a rough idea of "house", "progressive house" "handbag" & "garage" - in the future I will expand & go into a bit of acid house, US house/garage, ambient & speed garage....though I'll have to do a bit of research as I'm nowhere near an expert on any of them!!!
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House
House music originated in Chicago & the name came about through "The Warehouse" - a place where the music first kicked off. House music is based on the 4/4 beat "boom boom boom boom" but has much more sounds & melodies than techno. House music is more of a "story" while techno is more of a looped beat. It can be slow & deep, pumpin & party-like, funky or vocal etc - there are very few rules in "house music"!
Label Examples:. Defective, Deconstruction, Junior Boys Own, Strictly Rhythm, Ministry of Sound, Slip n Slide, Eukahouse, FFRR, Nervous
Artist/DJ Examples:. Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Todd Terry, Harry "choo choo" Romero, Armand Van Helden
Other Genres:. funky/tribal techno, progressive house, progressive trance, breakbeat, handbag, garage
Todd Terry "the groove"
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Progressive House
Progressive house & Progressive trance are pretty much the same thing, if you want to read my description of progressive trance then click here!. I tend to think of the "house" side of progressive being the older stuff which was much more of a crossover between modern day "progressive" & "house". A lot of it was the stuff Sasha played back around '94 - have a listen & see what you think!
Label Examples:. Pandephonium, Guerilla, Limbo, Stress, UUM, Work, Jackpot
Artist/DJ Examples:. Atlas, Gipsy, Sasha, DOP, Spooky, The Amythest
Other Genres:. progressive trance, house, garage, breakbeat
Strawberry Bazaar "draconia" Limbo
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Handbag/Hardbag
Again, this is a fairly dated genre which hit it's peak around 95/96 in the gay scene. It is pumpin/bangin house which generally has comical or camp samples. Played by the likes of Tony de Vit, hardbag had more of a hard house edge whilst handbag was as camp as it gets!!! Not really any labels that specialised in this sort of stuff, but I've listed a few that put a few tunes out.
Label Examples:. Fluff, Trade, Slick Sluts, 100%, Sharp, Ugly Bug
Artist/DJ Examples:. D Bop, Tony de Vit, Handbaggers, Pete Wardman, Candy Girls,
Other Genres:. hard house, house, nu nrg, funky/tribal techno
99th Floor Elevators "hooked" PWL
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Garage
OK - I don't have a clue really, I know what it is when I hear it, but I couldn't really describe it!!! It's a sort of bass-heavy off-beat house music which can be either hard and even agressive or deep & soulful. Anyone want to give me a proper description & list of Artists/Labels? Stick it in the discussion forum!!! (thanks!)
Label Examples:. Easy Street, Relentless, Clean Up
Artist/DJ Examples:. Sneaker Pimps, Dream Team, So Solid Crew,
Other Genres:. house, progressive house, speed garage, drum n bass, jungle, breakbeat
Nu Birth "anytime" (Gant mix) XL
The DJ club basic guide to hard dance....
The term "hard dance" has been around for many years now, much hard dance can be found in the Techno & Trance genre description areas. Generally hard dance is what it says; the harder end of dance music. It is nearly always +140bpm.
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Hard House
Tony de Vit (RIP) kicked this off around 95/96 when he was playing pumpin/handbag house. The harder music was going down well & it just got harder! Usually around 140-145bpm, hard house has now become a well estblished genre. It has a heavy bassline & often samples oldskool, many hard house tracks use what is known as a "hoover" noise.
Label Examples:. Tidy Trax, Honeypot, Tripoli Trax, Kaktai, Jump Wax, 12" Thumpers
Artist/DJ Examples:. Tony de Vit, OD404, Ian M, EJ Doubell
Other Genres:. hard trance, nu nrg, hardcore, happy hardcore, trancecore
The Freak "rumble" Playmobeat
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Nu nrg
This is very closely related to hard house & many labels/artists put out both nu nrg tunes and hard house tunes. Generally nu nrg is faster than hard house (145-155bpm) and uses more extreme synth noises & hoovers, it is also very closly related to hard trance.
Label Examples:. Tinrib, Do Not Bend, Mohawk, Vicious Circle, Cut n Dry
Artist/DJ Examples:. RR Fierce (RIP), Karim, The Captain, Weirdo, Paul Glazby
Other Genres:. hard house, hard trance, acid trance, hardcore, trancecore
Weirdo "photic zone" Tinrib
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Hardcore
Hardcore can be happy & cheesy, dark & devious, uplifting & vocal or a mixture of tme all..it has now become a very general term and has split into various sub-genres. There are 2 very obvious features of a hardcore track; 1) the speed - usually over 160bpm 2) the bassline - very distinctive! Listen to the sample blow to get an idea of the hardcore sound & below I'll describe some of the sub-genres.
Label Examples:. Go Mental Dark, Ruffkneck
Artist/DJ Examples:. Bass X
Other Genres:. oldskool, trancecore, happy hardcore, hard house, nu nrg, hard trance
Diss Reaction "jiieehaaaa" Ruffkneck
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Happy Hardcore
This does exactly what it says on the tin!!! 160+bpm "happy" music, often sampling big chart tunes & even arcade games, happy hardcore nearly always has a big paino rift. Normally appealing to the younger age group (14-18 year olds) - and massive in Scotland, this is the reason glowsticks & white gloves were invented
Label Examples:. JAL, Happy Vibes, Go Mental
Artist/DJ Examples:. Sy, Hixxy, DJ Seduction
Other Genres:. hardcore, hard house, trancecore, nu nrg, hard trance
Mondo Paradiso "whale nation" Opaque Stereo
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Gabba
Also refered to as "gabber", this is extreme hardcore! The crazy mental 190bpm harcore (& it can get faster!!!) can be dark, with German-style shouting or piss-taking using well known samples.
Label Examples:. Mokum,
Artist/DJ Examples:. Technohead
Other Genres:. hardcore, trancecore, industrial techno
Mondo Paradiso "whale nation" Opaque Stereo
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Trancecore/Freeform
A very specialist genre which combines hardcore & trance. This is very fast (160bpm+) uses a hardcore bassline and slamms it out! Not for the faint hearted, this combines acid & euro trance with hardcore. Very similar to what is now being pushed forward as "freeform", but, in my opinion, a little more underground & acidic. Freeform releases are currently very fast & uplifting. If you've never been into dance music before this might scare you a little!!!
Label Examples:. Great British Techno (GBT), Nu Energy, Stompin Choons, XY2, Lightning, RSR, Bonkerz
Artist/DJ Examples:. Billy Bunter, Kevin Energy, Helix & Fury, Rob Vanden, M-Zone, Tekno Dred
Other Genres:. euro/acid trance, acid techno, nu nrg, hardcore, gabba, hard house, jungle, happy hardcore
Jon Doe "trance mission" No Trix
The DJ club basic guide to beats n bass....
Firstly I'll start by saying that I'm no expert in this area, however I though I'de do a little bit on it to give you an idea. If anyone can help me out with this section then post it in the discussion forum!!! :)
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Oldskool/Hardcore
This pretty much kicked off the scene in the early 90's and was MASSIVE!!! A fusion of what is now know as "drum n bass", jungle" & "break beat" with a twisted hardcore kick. Often oldskool harcore had vocals & samples or rapping (MCs). Fairly slow by todays standards but yet fast for it's time this really took the UK by storm!!!
Label Examples:. Kickin, Suburban Bass, Strictly Underground, Reinforced, Production House
Artist/DJ Examples:. Urban Shakedown, 2 Bad Mice, DJ Hype, DJ Rap, Nookie
Other Genres:. hardcorem, belgian techno, drum n bass, jungle, break beat
Urban Shakedown ft DBO General "some justice" (VIP mix) Urban Shakedown
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Jungle
This is the fastest & most frantic of the off-beat music and what I would most associate with old skool hardcore. Much MCing still goes on in the jungle scene and there is much energy to be found in the music.
Label Examples:. Reinforced, Kemet, Back 2 Basics, Formation
Artist/DJ Examples:. Alex Reece, Ganja Kru, Aphrodite
Other Genres:. oldskool, hardcore, drum n bass
L Double & Younghead "come kross" Reinforced
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Drum n Bass
This is less mental than jungle but probably more bass-heavy. It's slower & has more distinct beats. There are 2 main divisions in drum n bass; inteligent & noisy!!! The sample below is "inteligent" - it is more laid back & distinct than other drum n bass. Generally drum n bass doesn't really use vocals, however recently there has been a few commercial releases & vocals are bcomming more common.
Label Examples:. Good Looking, Looking Good, Moving Shadow
Artist/DJ Examples:. LTJ Bukem,
Other Genres:. jungle, breakbeat, oldskool
Universal "groove therapy" Looking Good Records
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Break Beat
This is what I know least about! Basically it's a brokn chopped up beat variations include "big beat" - have a listen to the sample & see!
Label Examples:. Botchit, Skint
Artist/DJ Examples:. Fatboy Slim, Rennie Pilgrim
Other Genres:. drum n bass, progressive, jungle, funky techno, big beat
Mondo Paradiso "whale nation" Opaque Stereo
