The difference between electronica genres?

[insomniackat]

I am new to the scene, but think I have general idea

about what I listen to....need someone to sprinckle me

with a little clubber wisdon though.

Trance - somewhere between 150 bpm and 180 bmp

fast melodic sounds, some might say house sped up...

[pvd, oakenfold,seb fontaine,george acosta]

Tech trance?

Phys[sp] Tance - ambient like trance with fluffy' airy riffs.

House - 130 bpm with strong bass lines and synth-like rifs

tech-house. Faster and more intense with hard lines. [Corbett]

Hard house? [Johnny Vicous, Dj venom]

Tribal? [Danny Howells]

Disco house - slow,bouncy, cheesy vocals. [Junior Sanchez]

Jungle - 180 bpm

breakbeats sped up 2x

Jump-up- the most commercial type. [Dara, Aphrodite]

2-step: R&B over jungle beats [Ming & Fs]

d&b: more drums and percusion as to the electronic sounds of

jungle. [ltj bukem]

Breakbeats: slow jungle with more synths. [micro]

Hardcore: loud bang your head - real fast 180bpm

Gabber? [gonzo, mumblz]

This is some of the junk I have picked, I'm looking to be schooled.

I have all the interest in the world. I was just introduced to this other world like 1 month ago and am eating up every bit of info possible, so hook me up. I know a little so maybe we can even get a decent conversation going on......

To bad its not 4am, all of this might have been easlier said.

[Promota531]

here is the one that you forgot.............

POP HOUSE TRASH=Stranger in My House and the Venga Boys and all that happy lolligag shit that radio stations like Z100 play at like 11:00 on saturday night.

Other then that i think that u did you completed a good summation of "electronic" music insomniackat

[trancerxn112]

do ur hw on Tribal, Rave, Breakbeat, Euro, Eurphoric, Happy Hardcore, Techno...

[vision]

4am???where the hell you at - korea???

[heretic909]

http://www.ishkur.com/features/music/guide.htm

this site describes a lot of styles fairly well

also somewhat humorous commentary

[BrooklynMaverick]

you guys are soooo completely lost...

trance is 150-180bpm???? hahahaha are you kidding me?

rookies...

[it290]

I always felt the labels were for people who weren't into the scene or music to try to describe it.

Personally, I feel labels bring music down. Ex. Do Sasha & Digweed consider themselves "trance" djs? (don't think so)

[phuturephunk]

. . .. OK here goes . . .

Electronic music can be catagorized into to fundamental "genres" that all others are a "sub-genre" of. . .These are: Breakbeat and Straightbeat.

Straightbeat includes four main sub-genres:

House, Techno, Trance and Harcore.

House: Started in Chicago and characterized by a straight 4 to the floor beat with a pronounced bump on every count and usually an open high hat or cymbal on the ands (the space between the main counts e.g: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and . . ). House "TONAL" subgenre's include Vocal, Tribal, Deep and Hard, which are defined by the difference in the type of chords and samples that are thrown. Proper running speed is from 120 bmp all the way to 140 bpm

Techno: Pioneered in Detriot. Characterized by a trip in the count which sets it apart from House. The beat progression contains two straight thumps on the 1 and the 2 of the bar followed usually by a trip between the 3 and 4 and drop. It's kinda hard to explain, but it would sound something like this : Bam Bam Bam B-B-Bam. . and so on. Proper running speed is usually between 140 and 150 bpm. . .

Trance: True trance runs up at around 150 to 160, but variations do occur. In essence it is the same structure as house, however the chord composition usually lends itself to LOOOONG build ups and breakdowns where many progressions of layering occur. This gives the music a tone that makes listeners feel as if they were in a trance, hence the name. It is not uncommon to find trance songs that have progressions that can last a 64 count or more. As with house there are various Tonal variations to the Sub-Genre. An Example would be Goa Trance

Harcore: Also known as Gabber (which has a few differences, but they're very slight . .). Characterized by beats travelling at 170 bmp all the way up to 220 in some cases. The mood of this music is dark and jarring with an emphasis on chunky clipped chords and brooding sounds . .Not for the faint of heart . .

. . In addition to the above mentioned genre's there are also two "BEAT" subgenre's that apply to House and Trance. They are called progressive. Progressive is characterized by a pronounced snare, handclap or other midrange on the 2 and the 4 cound of the bar, which, in turn gives the beat more swing. In words, it would look like this : Boom and Snap and Boom and Snap and Drop . . and so on. I make the distinction between TONAL and BEAT subgenre's because Tonal ones are just the layering and emotion of the chords, where beat ones change the fundamental "ride" (how the rythim moves the listener) of the song.

There are many theories on why Progressive got it's name, but the best one I've heard, and one that makes the most sense is that the extra change up in the beat pattern on the 2 and 4 allow house to "progress" closer to breaks . . (note: Progress in this sense is not to be taken as good or bad, rather as a matter of complexity. Breaks are frankly more complex than Straights. . and Progressive is more complex than straights, but not as complex as breaks. .). These two Sub-Genres are very close to Progressive Breaks in sound and are usually interchangeable (depending on the tempo).

Still awake? . .Now it's time for Breakbeat . .

There are Six main SubGenres of Breakbeat, these are:

Electro, Breaks(Funky, Intelligent and Progressive) , Garage, Jungle, Drum and Bass and Downtempo. . .

Electro: The grandaddy of Electronic Music, ALL beatz trace back to Electro which in turn got its start from funk and disco in the 70's. Pioneered in New York by the likes of Grand Master Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, they're characterised by a tripped beat pattern that travels at around 120 to 125 bpm. The chords in Electro are distinctly electronic with MUCH emphasis on that wonderful device we all know and love: the vocoder. This gives the music a very robotic/frekazoid feel.

Breaks: The three main subgenres of Breaks are Funky, Intelligent and Progressive.

Funky: Pioneered by Orlando and Tampa DJ's like Icey and Mixmaster Mike this genre surfaced in the late 80's and is characterized by sped up hip hop and funk beats. The feel of funky breaks and range from undergound b-boy to Girly. BPM range will vary, from 125 to 135 usually

Intelligent: Inelligent is what I like to call Hybrid's answer to Funky breaks. They usually run in the same tempo range as funky . . . but alot of times, along with Progressive, reach up into the low 140's from time to time. The feel is light and airy, usually characterized by very intricate chord patters and switchups in the beat line.

Progressive: Progressive, in a break sense, is not a change up in beat pattern, but rather an attitude that the chords take on. They are almost identical to Intelligent, but with a MUCH darker and more epic slant.

Garage: Garage started back in England in the early 80's by rasta Selektas throwing down breakbeats at underground parties. Garage is, in effect, British Funky Breaks. The tempo usually lingers from 120 to 130 bpm's. The tone usually exhibits a very darkside rasta influence. The main difference between Garage and Funky breaks is an extra beat drop that's inserted between the 3 and 4 counts of each bar. This extra drop gives the music a very jumpy feel, even more so than Funky . .

Jungle: A product, along with Drum and Bass of the British hardcore scene in the late eighties and early nineties (Prodigy and Genaside II are the forebearers of Jungle and DnB . .), Jungle is characterised by a very trippy beat pattern travelling at around 160 BPM. The feel can range all the way from ragga/rasta to intelligent and jazzy. . no feel does jungle not ecompass. The main difference between Jungle and DnB is a prevalence of flammed snares and high hats (to flam is to play a drum really REALLY fast, usually with both sticks at the same time).

Drum and Bass: Rides in the Same Tempo range as Jungle, but the beat patterns are markedly different. There usually isn't an emphasis on flamming and the beat pattern is usually alot darker and more forceful than jungle. DnB has a few subjenre's, two that are distincly different are Jump Up and Techstep/HardStep. Jump Up (Aphrodite) is like funky breaks on speed. Its a very bouncy beat line with very funky bass patterns usually overlayed ontop. Techstep/Hardstep are like jump up, but with a more Darkside Electronic slant to them. A perfect example of Techstep would be the group Bad Company

Downtempo: Downtempo is essentially breaks below 110 bpm. The feel of this type of music can be just about anything, however there's usually a very chill aura too it. .

Well. . there it is . . a couple other sub-genres that don't quite fit with the model: Ambient/Experimental. They can be just about anything, however the characterisitc that makes it a part of the Beat vernacular is a willingness to experiment with both the acoustic and the Electronic to form new sounds. Example: Tortoise.

Any Questions?

-Phuturephunk

[aphelion]

Originally posted by phuturephunk

. . .. OK here goes . . .

Good call... this and Ishkur's guide teach you more about electronic music in a half hour than most people learn in a year.

[heretic909]

I'll also mention that 42records just put out a series of four compilation cds in September called "Definitive" which attempt to define the different genres. One cd focuses on 4-to-the-floor music like house, trance, techno and gabber. One cd focuses on breaks, d-n-b, etc. One cd focuses on ambient and downtempo. And the last cd focuses on industrial, experimental, soundscape, etc. 42records also gives a brief history and characteristics of each style at their site http://www.42records.com

And also, my track "Sacrilege" under my Von Strecker alias is on the "Definitive - Elevated" cd representing the gabber genre.

[danihawk]

Thanks phuturephunk...my friends are always asking me this and you explain it way better than I can!

[purt]

Originally posted by Promota531

here is the one that you forgot.............

POP HOUSE TRASH=Stranger in My House and the Venga Boys and all that happy lolligag shit that radio stations like Z100 play at like 11:00 on saturday night.

lol.

[pkern]

phuturephunk: THANK YOU! I've been searching for a semi-intelligent description/breakdown like yours, but to no avail.

Though I can sense the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) variations in genre, I have never been able to fully identify or explain them.

I do have a ???: electronica strikes me as a sort of marriage between the turntablism of hip hop (GMF and Afrika Bambatta, as you pointed out) (I hear The Executioners and I think Terminator X on Nation of Millions "Night of the Living Baseheads") and the electronic New Wave stuff of Europe (Depeche Mode, etc.) - like the South Bronx taught London how to use tables as instruments, and they taught us how to use the more high-tech equipment, etc.

Is this accurate? And if so, where/how did the actual crossover occur?

[blowflyii]

There is a lot fo shitty house music out there so be aware.....The ny jp shit I cannot stand we need a revival of older music. Breaks are not nesssss 2x they can have off beat sincopations and awkward time signatures. A very complex art. You need to find ny underground, most clubs suck.

be urself

[phuturephunk]

Originally posted by pkern

phuturephunk: THANK YOU! I've been searching for a semi-intelligent description/breakdown like yours, but to no avail.

Though I can sense the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) variations in genre, I have never been able to fully identify or explain them.

I do have a ???: electronica strikes me as a sort of marriage between the turntablism of hip hop (GMF and Afrika Bambatta, as you pointed out) (I hear The Executioners and I think Terminator X on Nation of Millions "Night of the Living Baseheads") and the electronic New Wave stuff of Europe (Depeche Mode, etc.) - like the South Bronx taught London how to use tables as instruments, and they taught us how to use the more high-tech equipment, etc.

Is this accurate? And if so, where/how did the actual crossover occur?

Actually it is accurate, but not totally. All Synthesizers can be traced back to the original Moog, which was created right here in America. It didn't catch on at first because it, quite frankly, sounded like someone was squeezing a duck (picture it) to make the sounds. In the late 60's and during the seventies, Disco and funk players in america started using it along with a certain group from Germany named . .and maybe you've heard of them . . Kraftwerk.

During the disco era, Americans were the first to use the turntable and mixer to seamlessly transition from song to song and then the founding generation of hip hoppers started scratching and flipping the records. . Then came Afriaa Bambaataa who created electro and the rest is history. .

The Europeans (The British to be more specific . .) are kind of like the Japanese of American Music. . . They took our idea and then added that classic European flare for well made and intricate chords. . . I would say the crossover happened in the early to mid eighties with the birth of the Garage scene over in England. . which in turn led to the Hardcore scene of the late eighties, pioneered by the likes of Genaside II and the Prodigy. . not to mention 2 Bad Mice.

So I would say that the crossover to Europe happened not too long after hip hop started over here. . . but you'd be hard pressed to find any records from that era, they're almost impossible to find. I would KILL for some of the Garage that the rastas in Britain were throwing down back then . . I have this one record by Da Masta Blastas and it's SICK. . .

[phuturephunk]

. . First, I want to thank everyone for the positive feedback it means alot . .

. . Second, I have to ask: Is there a breaks scene in NY? Or at least a place that I could go to see people actually throwin down instead of the meatmarket?

It doesn't have to be all breaks, I'm actually kinda partial to breaks and progressive mixed together, from my experience, those have been the best parties . .

I do indeed miss Flooreedah, but I know New York is kickin somewhere . . . I just got find that somewhere. . .

[heretic909]

Originally posted by phuturephunk

. . First, I want to thank everyone for the positive feedback it means alot . .

. . Second, I have to ask: Is there a breaks scene in NY? Or at least a place that I could go to see people actually throwin down instead of the meatmarket?

It doesn't have to be all breaks, I'm actually kinda partial to breaks and progressive mixed together, from my experience, those have been the best parties . .

I do indeed miss Flooreedah, but I know New York is kickin somewhere . . . I just got find that somewhere. . .

Starting this Friday I'm gonna be spinning from 10pm-4am mixing between hard house, nu-nrg, trance, acid breaks, and Baltimore breaks down at La Nouvelle Justine. It used to be an industrial party, but the new management that just took over wants me to lay off the dark shit and mix it up between styles. Shitty thing is that they only have cd players down there, so I gotta dump all of my breakbeat and Baltimore vinyl down to cds so I won't be able to do the creative shit you can do with records.

But anyway, come down and check it out if you get a chance. Since this is the first party by the new management and they don't know exactly what they want yet, I'm gonna do a little experimenting to see what works. Right now I'm planning on starting the night off with UK hard house and Nu-NRG and then start workin the breaks in a little after midnight. Then around 1am I'm gonna start playing the nasty Baltimore style of house breaks for a while after people have a few beers in them, and then blend it back into some hard acid breaks. The last couple hours I'm gonna switch back to some trancier hard house and then play full-blown hard trance for the rest of the night. Should be an interesting party since this is a similar muscial progression I used to play up in Boston (minus the UK hard house which seems to have sprung up in the past couple years), so I'm interested in seeing how a NYC crowd reacts to it.

[jaxxart]

PHUTUREPHUNK thank you for taking the time to write all that. I assist PKern with research and I have never found such a complete description. And you obviously know what you are talking about!

[siceone]

Originally posted by heretic909

http://www.ishkur.com/features/music/guide.htm

this site describes a lot of styles fairly well

also somewhat humorous commentary

thank god someone mentioned this site and yeah do your homework over you got a bad grade but you miles ahead of alot of people

phuturefunk got all the main sub genres NAILED and some of the SUB SUB genres

way to know your shit