electronic dance music at UC Berkeley

Learn.

Music is important because it conveys emotions, memories, and descriptions in ways that nothing else can.

elecTONIC, the student electronic music club at UC Berkeley, derives its name from the combination of electronic music and the tonic, the first note of a musical scale. Our mission is to be the first step for electronic music at UC Berkeley. We share aspects of this diverse genre of sound with our diverse university campus. We also carry forward the Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect (PLUR) principles found in dance music culture. Finally, we support anyone interested in endeavors in music.

To meet our goals, we bring together like-minded individuals interested in anything about electronic music. Those curious about new music or even old music are encouraged read our blog, and come to meetings to meet amazing people. Do you want to help music reach the ears and hearts of all your friends and the world? We want to, too! To those who are pursuing musicality and artistic endeavors, let’s join together and help each other succeed.

What exactly do we do? Think dance events, music production tutorials, music swap night, glowsticking and dance workshops, and more. And the best part is if you have any awesome idea we can make it happen together!

Join the Facebook group

Attend a meeting

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Electronic Dance Music – Genres
Documentaries and History

A List of Genres

Musique concrète
Progressive Rock
Minimalism
Early Electronic Pop
Funk
Disco
Krautrock
Electro Funk
Italo Disco
Hip-Hop
Electro
Dub
Chicago House
US Garage
The First Generation of Detroit Techno
Synthpop
The Balearic sound
Acid House
The Birth Of Rave
Deep House
The Second Generation of Detroit Techno
Hip House
Europop, Eurohouse, and Eurobeat
J-Pop / Shibuya-kei
Dance Pop
Hi-NRG
Stadium House
Sound Collage and Mashups
East Coast Hip-Hop
West Coast Hip-Hop
Dirty South
New Jack Swing
Miami Bass
Industrial
UK Techno
Early Trance
Goa Trance
German Trance
Early Tribal
Ragga
Rave Music
Breakbeat Hardcore
Early Happy Hardcore
Early Jungle
Early Gabber
Bouncy Techno
Gabber
Happy Hardcore
Jungle
Darkcore
Jazzstep
Atmospheric Jungle
Drum and Bass
Jump Up
Ambient Techno
Downtempo
Trip Hop
Illbient
Acid Jazz
Nu Jazz
Gangster Rap
Nu Soul
Early Hard Techno
Early Minimal
Dub-Tech
Hard Techno
90′s House
Early Tech House
Microhouse
Tech And Minimal House
Hard House
Tribal
Funky House
Disco House
French House
Acid Breaks
West Coast Breaks
Funky Breaks
Big Beat
UK/Speed Garage
2-Step Garage
Electroclash
IDM
Glitch
Turntablism
VGM And Chiptunes
Progressive Trance
Dream Trance
Ibiza Trance
Epic Trance
Vocal Trance
Nu/Hard-NRG
Hard Trance
Early Psytrance
Progressive Psytrance
Psycore
Dark Psytrance
Full-On Psytrance
J-Trance
Trancecore
UK Hardcore
Freeform
Nustyle
Epic Gabber
Hardstyle
Terrorcore
Speedcore
Frenchcore
J-Core
Hardstep
Darkstep
Techstep
Liquid Funk
Neurofunk
Modern Drum and Bass
Neo-Jungle
Crunk
Ghetto-Tech
Florida Breaks
Nu Breaks
Progressive Breaks
Modern Hip-Hop – The Old School Sound
Modern Hip-Hop – The Electronic Sound
Modern Experimental: Mashups, Breakcore
Early Dubstep
Modern Downtempo
Progressive House
Electro Pop
Electro House
Fidget House
Dubstep
Tech Trance

Electronic Dance Music – Genres

Last updated: Feb. 5, 2011

The following sections are largely taken from Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music and 3 UC Berkeley DJs: mezz, RK9, and Koolkat. We are adding content periodically, so please don’t consider the following to be a comprehensive guide to what’s going on. I’d like to end up with something of a jagged timeline from the first “electronic music” (recorded noise) to modern-day breakcore. The difficulty of this task is that that every music style often builds on previous music styles, and since electronic music is a relatively new genre, it has a lot of history to draw from!

A quick guide to distilling the major EDM genres:
Probably the most obvious way to feel out the differences in dance music is by tempo differentiation. You can tap your foot to a song to get an idea of tempo, or use this online BPM counter.

Modern house’s distinguishing features are (probably) a 4-to-the-foor kick drum and tempo. House music is often around 120-128 bpm.

Modern trance shares a 4-to-the-floor kick drum with house but differs in other ways: trance songs are often a faster tempo (130 to 150 bpm) than house, focus on melody more, and often drop out the kick drum for long periods of time following a climax in musical tension (the “buildup” followed by the “breakdown”).

Techno, as described previously, is often more identified as more of an aesthetic than having a specific tempo. Listen for 16th note hi-hat rhythms and A LOT of repetition.

Both hardcore and jungle/drum and bass (dnb) music are 160+ bpm, but often sound very different. The most obvious musical difference between hardcore and jungle/dnb is the absence of a constant kick drum on every beat in jungle/dnb.

Electronic music genres with syncopated drums that do not feature a 4-to-the-floor kick drum are often known as “-hop,” or “-step” genres – such as trip-hop, hip-hop, dubstep. Electronic music genres that are 160+ bpm that prominently feature a 4-to-the-floor kick drum are sometimes known as “-core” genres – hardcore, trancecore, terrorcore, frenchcore. However, “-core” tends to be a more flexible post-fix (i.e. breakcore, which most definitely features syncopated drums).

The History of Electronic Music Genres

Remember, electronic music in a DANCE context is electronic dance music (EDM). There has been A LOT of electronic music made in the past 70+ years that has been influential and amazing, yet would not be considered dance music. However, the boundaries of “dance music” are always changing, too. While it’s hard to predict what will become of music in the future, we can at least read about and listen to music of the past, and perhaps get a better understanding of why things are where they are today.

Technology

Electronic music has always been about technology – sound recording and reproduction. The history of sound reproduction goes all the way back to the 1870s when the first phonographs were produced and probably requires another massive article all on its own. Suffice to say that when sound engineers and experimental classical composers were toying with the first synthesizers in the 1940s and 50s, probably had no idea how accessible (and in turn, revolutionary) sound recording/production technology would be in 2011.

In the beginning…

In the 1950s, a handful of experimental classical composers started to work with recorded noises in their pieces… while musique concrète (“music” made from “real” sounds) doesn’t exactly sound like music, the conceptual foundation for sampling begins here:
Iannis Xenakis – Concret PH (1957)
Edgard Varèse – Poème électronique (1958)
Steve Reich – It’s Gonna Rain (1965)

Electronic technology found interested parties by actual musicians, too – primarily by keyboardists (who toyed with the Moog synthesizer) and studio engineers (who began experimenting with sound techniques as recording technology evolved):
The Beatles – Yellow Submarine (1966)
Pink Floyd – On The Run (1974)

Meanwhile, the classical composers began to find order in their sound. Ignoring the fact that most of the sounds as acoustic instruments, this is about as close to repetitive electronic dance music you can get before adding in the “dance” part… minimalism:
Terry Riley – A Rainbow in Curved Air (1967) <- UC Berkeley grad!
Philip Glass – Train 1 (1976)

Early electronic music found its way into television and radio sound FX, but a handful of musicians grabbed hold of early synthesizers and were quick to toy with them. This music, along with Krautrock, would set the foundation for both New Wave (a decade later) and ambient (15-20 years later).
Precursors for New Wave/synthpop:
Jean-Jacques Perrey – E.V.A. (1970)
Hot Butter – Popcorn (1972)

Precursors for ambient music:
Tangerine Dream – Phaedra (1974)
Brian Eno – “2/2″ (1978)
Ray Lynch – The Oh Of Pleasure (1984)

The beginning of House

House is the most popular genre of EDM, commanding the most producers, artists, labels, DJs, fans, and sub-genres. The whole of top 40 pop music gets its hooks, gimmicks, lines and melodies from house music (and vice versa). That is why it stands as the world’s perennial party music, and it will probably stay that way until the end of time. Or until someone finds a more catchy beat than the 4/4 bassdrum.

Before you get into house, start with funk:
Jazz funk:
Herbie Hancock – Hang Up Your Hang Ups (1975)
**check the sample: Janet Jackson – All Nite (Don’t Stop) (2004)
P-funk:
Parliament – Flash Light (1977)
R&B/soul/slow:
The Isley Brothers – Between The Sheets (1983)
**check the sample: The Notorious B.I.G. – Big Poppa (1995)

And then, there was disco:
The BeeGees – Stayin’ Alive (1977)

In Germany, an extension of experimental classical music, emerging electronic technology (synthesizers), and psychedelic rock brought about Krautrock:
Kraftwerk – Autobahn (1974)

These synthesizers would meet funk:
Prince – Soft and Wet (1978)

Even spawning a genre called electro-funk:
Zapp & Roger – More Bounce To The Ounce (1980)

Synthesizers found disco:
Lipps Inc. – Funkytown (1980)
Patrick Cowley – Menergy (1981)

Overseas, Europe was doing the same thing… Italo disco:
Hypnosis – Argonauts (1984)
Cyber People – Doctor Faustu’s (1986)

Back in the US… Jamaican “sound systems” – parties as you’d know them, with speakers, turntables, DJs/MCs – migrated to NYC and musically mixed with soul/funk/disco. Early block parties formed around these parties laid the foundation for live DJing (Technics and scratching and all) MCing (rapping) as we know it… and hip-hop was born:
Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight (1979)
Run D.M.C. – Rock Box (1984)

MCs weren’t just all about cool wordplay and partying all day though – “conscientious” hip-hop was right there from the start too:
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – The Message (1982)
Public Enemy – Bring The Noise (1987)
Too Short – Life Is… Too Short (1988)

Electro developed right alongside hip-hop:
Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock (1982)
Herbie Hancock – Rockit (1983)

In the UK, hip-hop, the sound system, and a Jamaican style of music called dub grew in popularity:
Augustus Pablo – King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown (1976)

Meanwhile, in Chicago, a nightclub called “The Warehouse” gave birth to the phrase “house music” – and dance music found a new groove… Chicago House:
Jamie Principle – Your Love (1986)
**check the sample: Animal Collective – My Girls (2009)
Steve “Silk” Hurley – Jack Your Body (1986)
Marshall Jefferson – Move Your Body (The House-Music Anthem) (1986)
Ecstasy – This Is My House (1990)

New York had its own nightclub of fame: the “Paradise Garage” spawned US garage:
Karen Young – Hot Shot (1978)
Oliver Cheatham – Get Down Saturday Night (1983)
**check the sample:
Daft Punk – Voyager (2001)

Early Techno

Techno is the musical personification of the industrial, recession-sacked automotive industries of Detroit in the late 80s.The term was lifted from Alvin Toffler’s book “The Third Wave,” and by 1990 it had become the music press’ fancy word for everything electronic. But what it lacks in soul it more than makes up in purity of sound and a mythology so romantic that it can’t possibly figure out what to do with itself anymore.

The beginnings of Detroit Techno:
Cybotron – Clear (1983)
**check the sample: Missy Elliott – Lose Control (2005)
Model 500 – Future (1985)

Here is the “acid” sound – a synthesizer called the TB-303:
Roland TB-303 Bassline Demonstration
Phuture – Acid Tracks (1987)

UK, Ibiza, and the birth of rave

As electronic technology found its way around Europe, minimal concepts applied to disco found another “back to basics” movement in punk rock, and the sound evolved into New Wave. As the synthesizers piled up, New Wave gained another label – synthpop:
Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1982)
New Order – Blue Monday (1983)

Synthpop and its descendants flutter out of underground/indie music circles every once in a while:
Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence (1990)
The Postal Service – Such Great Heights (2003)

Europeans also found a new sound in Ibiza, a party hub in the Mediterranean. The “Balearic sound” of the island has multiple meanings; two of which are:
1) the ability of its DJs to play multiple genres in a single set
2) a particular genre of sound which has elements of downtempo/trip-hop, chill-out, ambient, and trance… Balearic beat:
Nitribit – Harmonic Walk (450 Miles Walking) (1989)
Enigma – Hallelujah (1990)

The acid sound spilled into house music (with varying levels of 303 prominence), and in the UK, new wave and Synthpop, played side-by-side with this new acid house sound:
Fast Eddie – Acid Thunder (1988)
Maurice Joshua – This Is Acid (1989)

Acid house exploded in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s, whether in Manchester at “The Haçienda,” in London at “Shoom,” or some random field with 20,000 other people – this time was the birth of rave.

The Second Summer of Love
Sunrise rave (1989)

Deep house and the “Second Generation” of Techno

An early style of house, which picked up some cues from jazz, could be heard in similar events around the US… early deep house:
Those Guys – Tonite (1991)
Chez Damier – Untitled (KMS049) (1992)

Deep house’s legacy is strong (especially in the SF Bay Area!). It is played in countless nightclubs, day parties, and elevators around the world. Some deep house from the late 90s:
Blue Six – Music & Wine (1999)

And some from the near-present:
Gramophonedzie – Jackin’ It (Tommy Largo Remix) (2007)

The jazz sound found its way to Detroit techno too:
Eddie Flashin Fowlkes – Goodbye Kiss (1986)
Rhythim is Rhythim – Strings of Life (1987)

The second wave of techno began to borrow influences from pretty much everything:
Carl Craig – Dreamland (1993)
Jeff Mills – The Bells (1994)

Popular electronic dance music in the 1990s

These styles of EDM in the US would remain an underground music during the early-mid 1990s, as grunge and alternative rock ruled the airwaves. However, around the world – and in Europe especially – EDM would continue to evolve. Some forms of EDM hit commercial radio:

Hip house:
Ice MC – Easy (1989)
House Of Pain – Jump Around (1992)

Europop, Eurohouse, Eurobeat:
M|A|R|R|S – Pump Up The Volume (1987)
C&C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams – Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) (1990)
Haddaway – What Is Love (1992)
La Bouche- Be My Lover (1995)
SASH! – Encore Un Fois (1997)
Aqua – Barbie Girl (1997)

J-pop/Shibuya-kei:
Yukari Fresh – Yukarin Disco (1997)
Tommy February6 – Everyday At The Bus Stop (2000)

US dance pop:
Madonna – Deeper and Deeper (1992)
Janet – Together Again (1998)

Hi-NRG:
Berri – Sunshine After The Rain (1995)

Stadium house:
The KLF – What Time Is Love (LP Version) [Stadium House] (1991)
2 Unlimited – Twilight Zone (1991)
Faithless – Insomnia (1995)

Sampling – splicing, sound collages, and mashups

As sampling became more commonplace in everyday sound, the concept of “sound collaging” moved from abstraction of noise to actual word manipulation, multi-reference tracks, and layering songs directly on top of each other. These sound techniques would become part of the musical landscape via electronic music (particularly in hip-hop):
Negativland – Christianity Is Stupid (1987) <- splicing words
The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu – Whitney Joins The Jams (1987) <- built by using small segments of multiple songs
The Evolution Control Committee – Rebel Without A Pause (1994) <- a simple musical mashup

Hip-hop of the late 1980s and early 1990s

Hip-hop underwent massive growth in the late 80s as well, introducing various sounds that would borrow from and innovate along with EDM.

Early East Coast rap was actually really silly, goofy stuff–with rarely any swearing, if any. The main theme of most of the music was just seeing how creative and stupid you could get with words:
Biz Markie – Just A Friend (1989)
LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)
Eric B. & Rakim – Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em (1990)
The Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy (1994)

The problem wasn’t that West Coast Rap was harder, grittier, and more angry than East Coast Rap. The problem was that it was immensely successful as a result, and etched into stone the blueprint for all rap music: confrontational and violent. It was popular because white kids – living their boring, suburban lives of watered down leisure patterns and drab social conformity – listened to it, and became enthralled with the adventurous, dangerous, decadent, high-strung quality of life in the ghettos that was invariably more exciting than theirs:
N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton (1988)
Ice Cube – Wicked (1992)
Dr. Dre – Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang (1992)

Meanwhile, elsewhere around the US, hip-hop and “breakbeats” evolved into styles that would continue to influence EDM today:

Dirty South:
The 2 Live Crew – Me So Horny (1989)
Freak Nasty – The Dip (1996)

New Jack Swing:
Bell Biv DeVoe – Poison (1990)
Salt ‘N’ Pepa – Let’s Talk About Sex (1991)

Miami Bass:
Tag Team – Whoomp! (There It Is) (1993)
69 Boyz – Tootsie Roll (1994)

Underground music around the world

Alongside the big commercial hits, myriad forms of electronic dance music began to take form. Synthesizers met the goth/industrial scene, giving way to…
Industrial rock:
Nine Inch Nails – Down In It (1989)
Darkwave:
Deine Lakaien – Reincarnation (1991)
Industrial dance:
Front 242 – Motion (1993)
Assemblage 23 – Love My Way (1998)

The aftermath of the first wave of raves left Europe with a diverse plate of sounds.

UK techno:
808 State – Cubik (1990)
LFO – Freeze (1991)
Underworld – Rez (1994)

Early trance:
Age of Love – The Age of Love (1990)
Dance 2 Trance – We Come in Peace (1990)
Humate – Love Simulation (1993)

Goa trance:
Juno Reactor – High Energy Protons (1993)
Astral Projection – Mahadeva (1995)

German trance:
Mo-Do – Gema Tanzen (1995)

Early tribal music:
Danny Tenaglia – Ohno (1996)
Kult Of Krameria – Voodoo Drums (1997)

Rave music evolves

A key ancestor of the faster styles of EDM that exist to this day, rave music in the early 1990s often intertwined popular UK breakbeat styles (dub, hip-hop, ragga) with the 4-on-the-floor kick drums of house/techno and distorted synthesizers.
The History of the Amen Break (2004)

Ragga:
The Ragga Twins – Spliffhead (1990)

“Rave” music:
T99 – Anasthasia (1991)
L.A. Style – James Brown Is Dead (1991)
Human Resource – Dominator (1991)
Joey Beltram – Mentasm (1991)
**check out modern-day uses of the “Hoover” sound:
The Bloody Beetroots featuring Steve Aoki – Warp 1.9 (2009)
Lady Gaga – Bad Romance (2009)

“Oldschool” or breakbeat hardcore:
Altern 8 – Frequency (1991)
Acen – Trip II The Moon (1992)

As EDM culture grew in popularity, the the appeal of different musical styles within rave music brought about the divergence of two cultural styles:
* Audiences drawn to 4-on-the-floor, rhythmically simpler, and more inclined towards happier (“cheesy”) times – these people would become associated with “hardcore”
* Audiences who related to rhythmically complex breakbeats, and subtle/darker moods – these people would become associated with “jungle”

These are just generalizations, for both hardcore and jungle music have sub-genres that clearly distance themselves from any sort of “dark”/”cheesy” loyalty. And some producers focused on making tracks that incorporate elements of both genres. But this “great schism” was very much real, and the music reflects that:

Early happy hardcore:
DJ Slipmatt – SMD #1 (1993)

Early jungle:
Origin Unknown – Valley Of The Shadows (1993)

Hardcore

During this period, there were two big developments in hardcore as-we-know it – gabber and happy hardcore.

Distortion in Eastern Europe:
Mescalinum United – We Have Arrived (1991)

Distortion in the UK (“bouncy” techno):
Neurotek – Cocaine (1995)

The result of all this noise was an insistent, pounding genre called gabber, found in the UK:
Matrix & Wargroover – Energy (1995)

In the Netherlands:
DJ Paul Elstak & DJ Rob – Lords Of The Hardschool (1997)

And in the US:
DJ Lacinhouse vs. DJ Jappo – EXLXAXL (1997)

In parallel to this edgy style of music, some very cheesy music was being produced… German happy hardcore:
Dune – Can’t Stop Raving (1995)

Dutch happy hardcore:
Lipstick – I’m A Raver (1996)
Nakatomi – Children of The Night (1996)

UK happy hardcore:
DJ Hixxy & MC Sharkey – Toytown (1996)
Bang! – Shooting Star (1997)

Spanish happy hardcore, also known as Mákina:
Infinity – It’s So Good (1998)
Index – Thinking About You (2000)

Jungle / Drum and Bass

Jungle is the sole aggressor of the genres. The antithesis to the bright, flashy schmaltz that some of the other genres exhibit, the black sheep of the electronic family is rough, abrasive, crusty, dirty, and full of swaggering machismo. Even its namesake speaks of raw, primitive militarism, lending fashion and behavior tips to its aficionados.
Krome & Time – The License (1994)
DJ Rap – Digable Bass (1994)

A little bit edgier, and the drums a bit sharper… classic jungle/darkcore:
Q Project – Champion Sound (1993)
Ray Keith – Terrorist (1994)

On the other end of the spectrum, jungle music pulled back its rough edges… jazzstep:
Goldie – Timeless (1995)
Amorphouse – Sidestepper (1997)

Atmospheric jungle:
LTJ Bukem – Horizons (1995)
Morcheeba – The Music That We Hear (Moog Island) (Omni Trio Mix) (1998)

Just as happy hardcore would eventually land in popular music charts, some jungle producers aimed for a more polished sound. While the two terms are largely interchangeable nowadays, “drum and bass” began as a smoothed-over, hip-hop-influenced version of jungle:
DJ Krust – Warhead (1997)
Grooverider – On the Double (1998)

A simple but commercially successful form of jungle… Jump Up:
DJ Zinc – Super Sharp Shooter (1995)
Aphrodite – Jungle Brother (Urban Takeover Remix) (1997)
Majistrate – Prohibited (1998)

Chill-out music

A night of fast-paced music put a strain on dancers and partiers, and the idea of having a room to get away from the hustle and bustle became attractive for a number of reasons besides cooling off. Still, plenty of party-goers loved listening to music even while relaxing, and the side rooms developed their own soundscapes too.

Ambient:
The Orb – Little Fluffy Clouds (1990)
Biosphere – Baby Interphase (1991)
Orbital – Halcyon + on + on (1992)
Aphex Twin – Xtal (1992)

Some ambient techno would enter popular culture:
Rob D – Clubbed To Death (1995)
Moby – Porcelain (1999)

Performers interested in combining the breakbeats of slower hip-hop, electronic music technology, and live vocals began to churn out tunes not quite fast enough to warrant energetic dancing. Early on, this style was known as downtempo:
Björk – Army Of Me (1995)
Sneaker Pimps – 6 Underground (1996)

A Bristol hip-hop crossover movement resulted in some downtempo gaining a new name… trip hop:
Portishead – All Mine (1997)
Massive Attack – Teardrop (1998)

A Brooklyn movement provided yet another localized title… illbient:
Boards of Canada – Roygbiv (1996)
DJ Spooky – Phase Interlude (1996)

Borrowing from deep house sensibilities, jazz-oriented music provided another kind of chill-out music – this kind found more in the background of a coffee shop or lounge bar… acid jazz:
Raw Instinct – De La Bass (1996)
Nightmares On Wax – Les Nuits (1999)

And nu jazz:
9 Lazy 9 – The Herb (1995)
Luke Vibert – Get Your Head Down (1996)

An American hip-hop rivalry

While 140+ bpm rave music had found a home in Europe, in the US another musical divide was occurring – the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry was in full swing, and it was New York, with a distinctly less funky style of production and its own take on “hard” lyrics, that would come to dominate rap:
Wu-Tang Clan – “C.R.E.A.M.” (1994)
Nas – N.Y. State of Mind (1994)

The West Coast did not go silently into the night:
2Pac – Hit ‘Em Up (1996)

In the aftermath of the cross-country rivalry, gangster rhetoric took a (temporary) backseat, and a host of Nu Soul female singers propelled R&B to the forefront of American popular music for a decade:
Lauryn Hill – Doo Wop (1998)
Mary J. Blige feat. Ja Rule – Rainy Dayz (2000)
Ashanti – Foolish (2002)
Beyoncé – Irreplaceable (2006)

The “Third Generation” of Techno

Just like other styles in the mid-1990s, techno found both simple subtlety and complex distortion equally inviting.

Richie Hawtin – Minus Orange (1999)

Minimal techno sought to find the bare bones of the groove:
Basic Channel – Octaedre (1994)
Monolake – Index (1997)
The Horrorist – Mission Ecstasy (2003)

Deep techno/dub-tech:
Kit Clayton – Material Problem (2000)
Thomas Fehlmann – Making It Whistle (2002)

On the other hand, hard techno borrowed from the hardcore/gabber palette… in the UK:
Spiral Tribe – Probably Taking Drugs (1995)
Adam Beyer & Lenk – Drum Code No. 1 (1997)

In Japan:
Ken Ishii – Extra (1995)
Takkyu Ishino – Polynasia (1998)

In Sweden:
Ben Sims – Eroticon (2000)

In France:
Banditos – Walded (2001)

In Germany:
Chris Liebing – Conan (2001)

In Belgium:
Max Walder – Samba Del Costa (2002)

In Italy:
Joy Kitikonti – Joyenergizer (2001)

Global House

As techno spread around the world, so did house music, in all sorts of flavors. It became common to hear acid house, deep house, and techno sounds mixed together in a single track:
Calisto – Get House (1994)
Dave Audé – Push That Thing (1999)
Casey Hogan – Uncut (1999)

While the hard techno sound flourished in Europe, minimal techno swapped ideas with house structure… early tech house:
James Ruskin – The Divide (1997)
Michael Mayer – 17 & 4 (1999)

House producers who had grabbed hold of the minimal techno approach to drumming – but were grounded in the grooves of deep house – took a cue from splicing/mashup artists of breakbeat and began to develop a sound called microhouse:
Akufen – New Process (2001)

Modern tech/minimal house has largely abandoned the acid sound, focusing on deep grooves with a smattering of micro influence:
Matthew Dear – Another (2004)
John Tejada – The End Of It All (2006)
Milton Jackson – 1998 (2006)
Justin Martin & Claude VonStroke – Beat That Bird (2009)

Not all house music became intertwined with the minimal/tech sound. An energetic version style of house music known as hard house formed in the US:
George Centeno – Check This Out (1999)
Noise Makers – Don’t Stop (Alex Dreamz Mix) (1999)

And in the UK:
Lock ‘N Load – Blow Ya Mind (1999)
DJ Jean – The Launch (1999)

World-influenced/percussion-heavy option tribal music continues to attract listeners:
Dubtribe Sound System – No Puedo Estar Despierto (1997)
Peace Division – Feel My Drums (2000)
Head Honcho – Medicine (2003)
Papacha – Sentossa (Chus and Ceballos Delhiberican Mix) (2004)

Some producers were interested in keeping true to roots… funky house:
Avalanche – Acid Attack (1998)
Ian Pooley – What’s Your Number (1998)

Latin house:
Dimitri & Tom – Brazil over Zurich (1999)
2 DJ’s at Work – All Night is Party Time (1999)

House music came full circle with disco house:
DJ Ionic – Give It To Me (1999)
Conga Squad – Cool! (2000)

These funky styles of house brought about a mini-house revival in the dance-pop world, with much of the production orienting from French producers… French house:
Stardust – Music Sounds Better with You (1998)
Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (2001)
Together – So Much Love To Give (2002)

Big beat in the US

The second wave of raves in the English-speaking world was an extension of breakbeat and “big sounds” into the aftermath of alternative rock. Unsatisfied with basic, house-oriented pop songs, and disillusioned with the gangster mannerisms of gangster rap, the underground dance rediscovered breakbeats:

Acid breaks:
Kingsize – Acid or XTC (1996)
Simon – Two Crates (1996)

West Coast breaks:
Uberzone – Botz (1996)
The Crystal Method – Busy Child (1997)

Funky breaks:
Rhythm Method – Sorrow (1997)
Propellerheads – Take California (1997)

In the mid-late 1990s, “big beat” – somewhat resembling rock music due to its breaks-oriented, distorted, aggressive nature – hit the US airwaves:
The Chemical Brothers – Block Rockin’ Beats (1997)
The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up (1997)
Fatboy Slim – The Rockafeller Skank (1998)

Underground music in the UK

Around this time, garage music, which had provided low frequency ideas for jungle producers, began to develop quite a following. Something about active basslines… UK/speed garage:
Double 99 – RIP Groove (1997)
Buzzy Bus – Jump (1998)

UK garage and R&B/Nu Soul came together to form 2-step garage:
Whitney Houston – Queen Of The Night (UK Garage Mix) (1999)
Bad Bwoy Beatz – Don’t Go There (2000)

Elsewhere, a quirky image-conscious offshoot of synthpop known as electroclash popped into the UK media:
Ladytron – Playgirl (1999)
Felix Da Housecat – Silver Screen (Shower Scene) (2001)

Experimental electronic music

While electronic dance music soared to popular attention, less danceable styles experienced a great deal of innovation as well.

Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) often draws from techno, jungle, and a great deal of sound manipulation. The term is a bit confusing, as street dancing for this music is not very common:
Aphex Twin – 4 (1996)
Squarepusher – Rustic Raver (1997)
Amon Tobin – Back From Space (2002)

Another common term used to describe this sound is “glitch” music:
Autechre – Acroyear2 (1998)
Kid 606 – Dodgy (2002)

Champions of vinyl technology would find highly-technical music in the form of turntablism:
DJ Q-Bert – Razorblade Alcohol Slide (1998)
Kid Koala – Fender Bender (2000)

Video game music

Electronic music development in video games… from chiptunes:
Koji Kondo – Mario Bros. (1985)
Hirokazu Tanaka – Tetris (1989)

to MIDI:
Masato Nakamura – Chemical Plant Zone (1992)
Yasunori Mitsuda – Corridors of Time (1995)

to the world of “digital orchestras”:
Derek Duke, Jason Hayes, and Glenn Stafford – Zerg 1 (1998)
Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori – Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)

The rise of trance

In Europe, acid house and acid trance gave way to progressive house/trance. Borrowing on the concept of extended build-ups from hardcore, progressive set the stage for trance as-we-know-it today:
BT – Flaming June (1997)
Sasha – Xpander (1999)

Dream trance:
Robert Miles – Children (1995)

DJ Dado – Dreamscape (1995)

Ibiza trance:
Solar Stone – Seven Cities (1999)
ATB – Underwater World (1999)

Anthem/epic trance still maintains a worldwide appeal:
Paul van Dyk – For An Angel (Angel in Heaven Radio Edit) (1998)
Steve Morley – Reincarnations (DJ JamX & De Leon’s DuMonde Remix) (1999)
Tiësto – Traffic (2003)
Rank 1 – L.E.D There Be Light (2008)

As does vocal trance:
4 Strings – Take Me Away (Into the Night) (2001)
Aurora – Summer Son (F & W remix) (2006)
Kaskade – 4:00 AM (Adam K & Soha mix) (2008)

Goa and acid trance also spun off other styles… Nu/Hard-NRG:
Chris C – Get On The Floor (Dynamic Intervention Remix) (2000)
BK And Nick Sentience – Noise (2001)

and hard trance:
Cosmic Gate – The Truth (2002)
Yoji – Bangin Globe (2004)

Psytrance

As trance music experienced new heights, another kind of trance carried on the spirit of goa trance and would continue to do so into present times… early psytrance:
Hallucinogen – LSD (1996)

Today, psytrance is probably just as diverse as “regular” trance is.

Progressive psytrance:
Son Kite – On Air (2004)
Vibrasphere – Floating Free (2006)

Psycore:
Furious – Quantize (2006)
Psykovsky – Coup De Grace (2009)

Dark (“night”) psytrance:
Highcosmos vs. Ocelot – BBQ With Mackies (2006)
Kindzadza – Keep It Clean (2007)

Full-on (“morning”) psytrance, popular in Israel:
Xerox & Illumination – Ghost in the Machine (2005)
Fearsome Engine – Consciousness Conductors (2009)

Some early J-Pop was essentially trance-tempo music with gleeful energy:
Ayumi Hamasaki – Trust (1999)
Dream – Heart On Wave (2000)

Hardcore into and in the 2000s

As trance took over the popular spotlight that happy hardcore once had, producers began to work on a more experimental style known as trancecore:
Trixxy – Sunrise (1999)

The trancecore style would evolve into modern day UK Hardcore:
Hixxy & Styles – The Theme (2004)

From NRG-influenced trance came freeform hardcore:
Invader – Enraptured Soulz (2003)
AC Slater – New Rave (2008)

On the gabber side, some producers picked up on the trance sound aimed for a slower version of “hard” dance… nustyle:
Rotterdam Terror Corps – God Is A Gabber (1999)

Epic gabber:
Endymion – Payback (2003)

And hardstyle:
Megara vs. DJ Lee – Musical Society (2005)
Showtek – The Colour Of The Harder Styles (2006)

Some producers went the other direction and cranked up the BPM… resulting in terrorcore:
Delta 9 – Welcome To Hell (1997)
Androgyn Network – Cannibalistic (2002)

And speedcore:
Disciples of Annihilation – N.Y.C. Speedcore (1998)
Gabba Front Berlin – Speedcore Lacrima (2001)

Hardcore developments around the world… Frenchcore:
The Speed Freak – Monogorian Wardance (2008)
Le Bask – Spiderdark (2009)

and modern J-Core (with the spirit of J-Pop. but now at hardcore tempos):
kors k – SigSig (2010)

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Documentaries and History

House

Pump Up The Volume: The History of House Music

Summer of Rave ’89, a historical documentary on the rise of acid house and the birth of raves

Jungle/drum and bass

Concentric Beats, a documentary on jungle/drum and bass

Dubstep

Living Inside The Speaker, a documentary on early UK dubstep

Electronic Music

Put The Needle On The Record (DJ documentary)
Modulations – Cinema For Your Ear, a documentary on the history of electronic dance music

Rave Documentaries

Better Living Through Circuitry (1999)
American Massive (2002)
Rise – The Story of Rave Outlaw Disco Donnie (2003)

elecTONIC

Learn.

Join the Facebook group

Attend a meeting

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A List of Genres

Electronic Dance Music – Genres

Last updated: Feb. 5, 2011

The History of Electronic Music Genres

Technology

In the beginning…

The beginning of House

Early Techno

UK, Ibiza, and the birth of rave

Deep house and the “Second Generation” of Techno

Popular electronic dance music in the 1990s

Sampling – splicing, sound collages, and mashups

Hip-hop of the late 1980s and early 1990s

Underground music around the world

Rave music evolves

Hardcore

Jungle / Drum and Bass

Chill-out music

An American hip-hop rivalry

The “Third Generation” of Techno

Global House

Big beat in the US

Underground music in the UK

Experimental electronic music

Video game music

The rise of trance

Psytrance

Hardcore into and in the 2000s

Jungle/drum and bass developments

Breakbeats and modern hip-hop

Modern experimental electronic music

Recent popular movements in electronic music

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Documentaries and History

House

Jungle/drum and bass

Dubstep

Electronic Music

Rave Documentaries

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