Music Genres, Dance/House/Techno

Dance/Electronica

Dance music, in the context of this particular grouping, does not simply mean “any music we can dance to.” While individual interpretations abound, the term dance is generally used as an umbrella term that is virtually synonymous with electronica, which encompasses a number of musical subgenres.

Electronica is a broad term used to describe various forms of 1990s/21st-century electronic music; the style is mostly a hybrid of Chicago House, Detroit Techno, and New York Garage. The musical form emerged in the 1990s with the advent of sophisticated electronic turntables, drum machines, and computer software capable of producing myriad synthetic beats, melodies, and “loops” or “samples” (a portion of a song “cut” from the original track and played over and over again within a new track). Particularly in the late 1990s, the ever-evolving electronica style split into multiple subgenres, two of which included house and techno. This niche-ing and specialization of the subgenres of electronica is ongoing, as the mainstream pop music industry frequently attempts to co-opt and commodify each style.

House/Chicago House

House music—a term that originally referred to the kind of music heard at the Warehouse, a gay Chicago nightclub—originated mostly in Chicago and is attributed to Frankie Knuckes, who DJ-ed at the Warehouse between 1979 and 1983. House music evolved from the disco era in the early 1980s, drawing from various musical forms such as jazz, synth pop (which relies heavily on synthesizers), reggae, and R&B (rhythm and blues).

The formal characteristics of house music include a steady, rhythmic, up-tempo beat of 120–140 beats per minute (bpm), and it is composed mainly through the use of sequencers (electronic composition tools, including drum machines), synthesizers (electronic sound generators), and samplers (electronic devices used to record, manipulate, and play back existing sounds, usually pre-recorded music). The count is usually 4/4, or four beats per measure of music, with heavy reliance on kickdrums (bass drum) and hihats (cymbal-like sounds) to produce a “low beat/high clap” effect. In addition to DJ Frankie Knuckles, DJs Farley “Jackmaster” Funk, Jesse Saunders, Steve “Silk” Hurley, and Ron Hardy are some of the pioneers of the house sound. The characteristic that most distinguishes house music from techno music is house music's heavy use of vocals and lyrics, often sampled and used separately from their original recordings.

Current house artists include D.H.T. and Daft Punk. The house genre can be further subdivided into categories such as hard house, deep house, and acid house, among others, each with its own stylistic peculiarities.

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