Some questions about electronic music genres

Electronic dance music is kind of a big thing. A thing which I know next to nothing about. So I'm going to ask some questions about it, and I hope some of the more knowledgeable tropers on this subject will be able to help me out.

Sooooo, can anyone give me a (very broad) overview of the different styles and what they sound like, if possible with a few typical examples of each? I've heard several terms thrown around, such as dance, trance, house, hardstyle and techno. But I don't know anything about how these relate to each other. Is trance a subgenre of house, or the other way around? What's the difference between dance and techno? That's the kind of thing I'd like to know more about.

I have a tiny handful of EDM tracks in my own library, and I'm looking for a good way to tag them. These include:

Max Coveri - "Running In The '90s"
Haddaway - "What Is Love"
General Noise - "Rotterdam Subway"
Deichkind - "Remmidemmi"
The infamous "Japan Break Industries" thing
Scoutellite - "Surprise Buttsecks"
HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA
"Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman"

(In case it isn't obvious by now, my listening to electronic music at all is mostly in Watch It for the Meme territory).

What unites these tracks is that they've all got exclusively digital "instrumentation" and a strong percussive beat. Ideally, I'd like one or perhaps two genre tags they'd all fit into. I currently have them tagged as "techno", but I don't think that's really correct for some of them. I could just call them all "electronic", but then I'd have to include older synthpop and such, which wouldn't really fit. At the same time, I don't want to use four or five different genre tags for such a small number of tracks. Yes, I obsess over genre tags like that.

So, anyone got some advice?

edited 1st Sep '13 5:54:24 AM by MidnightRambler

Mache dich, mein Herze, rein...

You could start here. The article on the other wiki is an incredibly big one.

EDM is a stupid term. I either call the things by its own terms (like House) or just say "Electronic" (without the letter "a" at the end). EDM is just a marketing catch-all term and it makes a lot of people think that Electronic Music was invented just a few years ago.

In terms of House Music, you can check the BBC documentary called Pump Up The Volume. It also tells a little about the birth of Techno.

Older synthpop is also Electronic music. A lot of House and Techno guys looked to people like Kraftwerk (who inspired a lot of the synthpop groups) or Depeche Mode for inspiration. Don't dismiss it.

Techno is one of the various genres within the Dance spectrum. Other genres within that spectrum: Disco, House, Electro, Drum'n'Bass, Jungle, and so forth.

Trance is a genre born out of several stuff, in a way.

edited 1st Sep '13 6:48:41 AM by Quag15

Well, first and foremost, I prefer to use "Electronica/Electronic" rather than Dance, since it can describe any track that is hard to categorize as a specific subgenre.

House Music was invented in the late 80s. Trance came later.

House is more... soulful (for lack of a better term) than Techno. Compare "Follow You" by DJ Tonka and an early Daft Punk track called "Assault". Don't ask me the difference between Chicago House and Detroit House, I honestly couldn't tell you.

There's also French House^note which you do not need to be French to make; the name refers to the sound, which was developed by French producers, the Trope Codifier for which is Daft Punk. However, Thomas Bangalter himself has given credit to Paperclip People (aka Carl Climax) for inventing the French House sound, making him the Trope Maker. Here's a track of his called "Floor". Other examples include "Boogie Shell" by Le Knight Club, "Feel Inside" by Sedat the Turkish Avenger, and "Be Brave" by Louis La Roche (which is a stage name; he's actually from England).

Acid House makes frequent use of synthesizers like the Roland TB-303 to create catchy riffs. Examples include Acid Tracks by Phuture and "Machines Can Do the Work" by Fatboy Slim and Hervé.

As an extra fact, Giorgio Moroder more or less correctly predicted this style of music with "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer.

A more recent (I think) subgenre of House is Electro House. Electro House often features drops with high, catchy synth riffs, saw waves and maybe a catchy bassline as well. Examples include "Internet Friends" by Knife Party and this remix of Ryan Enzed's "Skyscraper" by Protoype Raptor.

However, Electro House is not the same as Electro, a genre of music popular in the 80's. Examples include "Clear" by Cybotron, Al-naafiysh by Hashim and "Body Mechanic" by Quadrant Six.

There is also Garage, which is different from House in that while House tends to have a strict 4/4 rhythm (kick hi-hat kick hi-hat kick hi-hat kick hi-hat etc., from my understanding this is also called "four-on-the-floor"), Garage takes some elements of House and combines them with slightly more complex rhythms and puts more emphasis on bass. Examples include "Truly" by Soverign, "Stone Cold" by Groove Chronicles and "You Used to Hold Me" by Scott & Leon.

Hardstyle can be faster than both House and Techno. I don't know much about the genre, but I'm going through a few tracks right now and it seems to be defined by pounding kicks, harsh bass, and saw waves.

Also, it's not quite the same as Hardcore or Happy Hardcore, which is even faster. Take the track "Fly On"

Also, you should never confuse Drum 'n' Bass with Dubstep. This is Drum 'n' Bass (Jump Up Drum 'n' Bass to be specific), this is Dubstep.

Speaking of Dubstep, the kind of Dubstep people usually think of when they hear the term is often called "Brostep" by Dubstep fans. "Brostep" would be tracks like this or this. Traditional Dubstep comes from a mix or Dub music and 2-step Garage, and would sound more like this or this or this. The difference is while "Brostep" is more abrasive and tends to focus on the mid-range frequncy, traditional Dubstep is more low-key and focuses on the lower frequencies and being very bassy.

Going back to Drum 'n' Bass (often shortened as Dn B or D&B), there are three different types of it that I know of. The first is the aforementioned "Jump Up", which is defined big drops that make you wanna rocking your head until something snaps. Examples include "88 Track" by Callide and "The Ghost and the Darkness" by Peckers.

The second is "Liquid", which is softer and more chilled out, yet still fast-paced. Dn B producer Netsky specializes in this. "Memory Lane", "Prisma", and "Eyes Closed" are all examples of Liquid Drum 'n' Bass.

The third is Neurofunk, or Dark Drum 'n' Bass. As the name implies, it's Dn B but Darker and Edgier. In Neurofunk, the drums are distorted and the rhythms less straightforward than in Jump Up or Liquid, and the bass is far more abrasive and harsh-sounding, and the build-ups are more atmospheric. Examples include "Run From the Feeling" by SPL and "Exodus" by Noisia and Mayhem.

Jungle is Dn B's predecessor, and it's categorized by taking drum breaks (most often the Amenbreak) and chopping them up in any way you could. Examples include "Bad No Bloodclart" by Remarc and "Come Fe Nice It Up" by Just Jungle.

As for those songs, apparently "Running In the 90's" can be found on an album called "Super Eurobeat Vol. 182", so I'd probably call it Eurobeat.

"What is Love" is House. I'm not sure which subgenre of House it is, but it's definitely House.

"Rotterdam Subway" sounds like Hardcore to me.

"Remmidemmi" sounds like a mix of Electro House and Crunkcore (yuck).

"Japan Break Industries" sounds like it could fall roughly under Happy Hardcore.

I'm not what "Yonk" (the song from which "Surprise Buttsecks" comes) is. At this point, I'd just call it Electronica.

I don't really know what I'd call "HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA" besides annoying.

As for "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman", I've always called tracks like that Dancepop, but they could probably fall under Electro House, just with vocals.

Whew. I hope all that was helpful.

And sorry for the wall of text.

edited 1st Sep '13 11:19:19 AM by PhysicalStamina

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."

The difference between Chicago House and Detroit Techno is that Detroit Techno is more influenced by stuff like Kraftwerk, Manuel Göttsching, and other European electronic music than Chicago House is. It's also more focused on a complex montage of sounds compared to the relatively straightforward Chicago House. They have common roots, though.

To use an analogy: Chicago House is a popular, charismatic girl, and Detroit Techno is her angry, intellectual brother.

edited 1st Sep '13 9:17:31 AM by Quag15

> Rottendam

You dissin' my hometown, Stamina?

Anyway, thanks a lot, both of you! I think I'm just going tag them all as "House". I have to say the house genre is a lot broader than I thought. Growing up in the Netherlands, most house music I was exposed to was relatively fast, minimalist and abrasive - stuff from the gabber / hardcore house corner. I never imagined a sweet and soulful song like "What Is Love" would also be house.

Mache dich, mein Herze, rein...

Uh oops.

@Quag: Thanks.

edited 1st Sep '13 11:20:36 AM by PhysicalStamina

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."

I've got a question. Listening to house music from the 90s, I keep noticing very similar piano riffs popping up. For example, 42 seconds into this song, or 1:51 into this song. They don't sound exactly the same, so it's not a case of everyone, ever, sampling from the same source (like the Amen Break). So is there a name for those similar-sounding piano riffs? Does anyone know their origin?

Yeah, my understanding is that while Detroit Techno came from that European electronic stuff, Chicago House was a direct descendent of disco and Italo disco. Then techno and house started cross-pollinating.

I didn't write any of that.

First: Fuck Yeah KLF!

Now: That kind of playing has probably just been charateristic of early House music. "Move Your Body" by Marshall Jefferson is probably the Trope Maker regarding that way of playing. Dunno about names, though.

As for Chicago House and Detroit Techno: Chicago House has also some European electronic roots, including electronic-based Disco. But yeah, they're still very different. Also, do notice that Techno, at first, it was considered a mere off-shoot of Chicago House (as well as Electro and even some Industrial-like stuff like Nitzer Ebb). So, cross-pollination happened right from the start.

edited 2nd Sep '13 5:09:33 PM by Quag15

As far as the Chicago House/Detroit Techno thing goes, they're actually very much apart.

Chicago House is a sub-genre of house that mainly originated in Chicago (yes this part is very captain obvious-esque but bear with me, it gets better). It is most of the time characterized by more minimalistic, bare-bones arrangements than regular house, sometimes with a vocal component, and is very focussed on rhythm (that is, the kick/bassline/percussion combo) above all else. Most of the time, when I want to give people a good idea of what is Chicago house very precisely, I use my favorite online record store, Hard Wax, which has a category on their website especially made for that subgenre alone : http://hardwax.com/chicago-oldschool/ ... although some of those releases can cross into Deep House territory at points, here are a few youtube examples that should clarify things further :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeiH9Mm0E5Y This Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers here) track is probably the quintessential Chicago House track, with two of the most recognizable elements of the genre : that exact sound or type of bassline (a lot of resonance and almost always very melodic), and the melancholic pad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79VWOtWGgKk Another one I like to point out to show how minimalistic this genre can get : a beat, a crunchy bassline, a brass hook, vocals, and that's it. Of course, it's more complicated than it sounds at first glance, but how well it's put together is what it's all about. Cajmere (also known as Green Velvet) who is the producer of the track and owner of the label (Cajual) is one hell of a producer who I'd recommend to anyone who likes house, by the way.

So basically, this is Chicago House, which for me is, how I like to call it, "house with all the unnecessary fat and salad dressing removed".

---

Detroit Techno on the other hand is a bit harder to define, in that there is usually accepted that there is (at the very least) two waves of producers coming from this genre from this specific town.

The first wave of Detroit Techno producers is the "Atkins/Saunderson/May" wave (who are also known as the Belleville Three), from the name of the three main producers, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, each with their own labels (Metroplex, KMS and Transmat, respectively), and the second is the "Mills/Hood/Craig" wave, again from the name of its three main men, Jeff Mills, Robert Hood and Carl Craig (founders of Axis, M-Plant and Planet E, even if in the case of the first two they remain mainly an outlet for Mills' and Hood's productions).

Detroit techno, much like techno in general, can be dissociated from Chicago house, much like house in general, by a few criterias, first one usually being the tempo, in that house tempos are more in the 100/115 bpm range while techno usually ranges from 120 to upwards of 130. Another easy thing is that house is more inclined toward using actual instruments and samples (like the piano riffs mentioned above) as well as vocals, while techno is usually more about synthesizers. Most of the time too, techno productions are often described as being "colder", with more metallic or industrial atmospheres, while house tends to be more uplifting, and warmer. All these qualifications are of course subject to taste and changes, but it is most of the time how I differentiate the two : for example that is not to say that techno can't have beautiful atmospheres or melodies (first example off the top of my head, Carl Craig's "At Les", a bit of a tearjerker actually) and that house can't be more uptempo and banging (case in point, Chicago House up there is a good example of how house can sometimes show a bit more teeth). Anyway, hope that helps.

The first wave is kind of hard to summarize in words, because some of the productions from that era could be just as easily classifiable as electro (which, not like many people believe, isn't another word for "electronic music" but rather a genre in itself, "electro" being the contraction of "electrofunk"), like Cybotron's Clear (co-produced by Atkins) which PS mentioned earlier. Still there are quite a few tracks from this era that define already what techno would be known as when "refined" (which is a consideration of the evolution of the genre rather than a judgemental opinion, by the way) by the second wave of techno producers. Here are some examples :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRVb47WtINI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjKyXj7BBDM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFTEu0ZS-Xg

The second wave is actually much more quantifiable : it's basically what I said earlier about the differences between house and techno, except now that the "smoke cleared" so to speak, techno itself is much easier to tell apart. Again, here are some examples :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBJ1-RKj3Bo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5dm5DJQmus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKQl-m9fEUY

---

And I could go even more at length about this subject, about how Atkins' Starlight track released under his Model 500 alias is basically the blueprint for an entire genre (dub techno), about how you shouldn't think that minimal techno is that boring thing that sounds like someone unblocking a kitchen sink on a really slumpy four-to-the-floor and to convince you of that you should go listen to Robert Hood's Minimal Nation and Wolfgang Voigt's Studio 1, about how both Robert Hood and Wolfgang Voigt kick Richie Hawtin's (aka Plastikman's) ass anytime when it comes to minimal techno.... But I digress.

---

Oh also, about cross-polination of genres, that makes me think, check out this preview for an upcoming ep by Rivet on Skudge records : https://soundcloud.com/skudge-1/preview-rivet-driftwood-ep

So yeah, what you're hearing is basically a mesh of techno, Chicago house, UK garage, speed garage, 2-step, juke, and probably some more I'm forgetting.

edited 19th Sep '13 9:18:28 AM by Akalabth

You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

Question: What are all the styles that Avicii uses in his TRUE album? "Lay Me Down" as a disco throwback is a give-in, but what about "Shame On Me" and "Liar Liar"?