Dance music is the voice of cities. Since its early days, new genres have emerged from basements, record stores, clubs, streets: anywhere where people have gathered in search of something new. The sounds that spread from underground to mainstream, from one city to another, out into the wider world – and suddenly, people are dancing to the same tune everywhere.
But even after musical genres have conquered the world, for many they remain the symbol of the city where they were born: a sense of place, a sense of freedom and joy, progressiveness and multiculturalism.
The link between sounds and cities is one of many ideas discovered in Google’s new Mak Music, Makers & Machines platform – a type of electronic museum. From Chicago footwork and Bucharest minimalism to the radical sampling culture of Tel Aviv, here are excerpts from five cities that have changed the course of dance music – and helped globalize their original sounds.
Cities that shaped the history of dance music
Chicago
No one knows exactly who invented house music, but Chicago is widely considered to be its birthplace. In the early 80s, young club DJs such as Frankie Knuckles experimented with the electronic music of Europe, developing a new sound driven by repetitively inspired 4/4 rhythms and marked by drum machines such as the Roland 808. Defining such as Marshall Jefferson’s ‘Move’ Your Body ‘and Mr. Fingers’ ‘Can You Feel It’ appeared on labels such as Tracks Records.
In the 90s, the house became noisier, funkier, rancher – and faster. It evolved from dance frenzy to ghetto house to juke and eventually footwork. This upbeat – 150bpm and more – hybrid of hip hop and ghetto house is now a permanent part of the city’s music story: not least because footwork parties are often paired with dance fights, where you’ll find open-mouthed speeds. Will be abandoned and the agility of the dancers. RP Boo, DJ Rashad and Jalin are the most acclaimed exponents of this exhilarating sound.
Berlin
There is a dynamic somewhere that can develop in the absence of time to be seen more clearly than close culture which has been the heart of Berlin’s listening since the wall came down. This absence is an essential element in Berlin’s own image as a place where freedom is a way of life.
All of this reverted to the war-era curfew that had ended in both the East and West in 1949, and was amplified by a more historically and politically unique position 40 years earlier. There were unused places and buildings everywhere in the eastern part of the city, just waiting to be filled with new life.
The fact is that it took years for the city’s municipal officials and administrative offices to reorganize themselves, as a whole generation of creatives, ravers and artists was involved in the Big Bang of Reunification. This enabled the development of a unique club and cultural landscape that, more than ever, became an important part of Berlin’s identity.
In recent years, arguments about the timing of the closure have flared up again, and it seems that the era of unrestrained inner-city party may be ending soon. But to see itself again as dance-music, the cities still see Berlin as a shining example of what might be possible when freedom comes before anyone else.
London
Dubstep can now be installed in every corner of the world, but the scene has a humble beginning with heavy sound systems in small clubs in London. An important place in the genre’s history is the Croydon area of South London; In particular, Big Apple Records, a small underground dance music shop with a banana skin logo. The first few releases of the Big Apple label, which began in 2002 with the artwork’s ‘Red’, reveal how darker and more experimental the garage evolved, eventually reaching a place where you can call it dubstep.
Horsepower productions were often sampled from Flaunt, Percussion, and Bird-Call, cult films that were important in this. The London duo’s work had a similar feel, as heard in Hatcha’s Dubstep Allstars Vol. 1, which came to define the early years of dubstep. Other young regular names in the Big Apple were now considered stalwarts of the genre: Plasticion, Scream & Banga, N-Type & Walsh, Chef, Distance, Mala & Koki (Digital Misties), Lofiska and Sgt. Poke and Chromester.
Birdping Sound’s first regular night in 2001 was Weekly Forward >>, which began in 2001 by Tempa and Sarah Lockhart. Later it was moved to the plastic ones, a 200-capacity basement with a weighty sound system and a pitch-black dance floor. By 2005, dubstep was being broadcast on London’s airways on Gennanus and Slimzy’s pirate station Rinse FM. Meanwhile, back on the ground, labels and nights like Hotflush, DMZ, Skull Disco and Reflex were opening even more.
The HydeDub label of Code 9 is quickly known for its roster defined in style and conceptual approach. The Bug, Darkstar, Iconica, Coolie Ji, Martine, LV Such as represent the manufacturer. And Scratcha DVA, the label is also responsible for familiarizing Burial with the world. His 2007 album ‘Unreal’ really shook things up. Characterized by erratic beats, video game samples, crackle sound, and boastful vocals, it earned him a Mercury Award nomination and influenced an entire generation of artists, many of whom are associated with the term ‘post-dubstep’.
Now often associated with the heavy, edgy and metallic styles of artists such as Russo and Skrillex, Dubstep’s influence can be heard widely throughout dance music and pop culture.
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv has always distinguished itself from the mainstream. Club music developed slightly later here than elsewhere: it was not until the early 2000s that legal visual structures began to emerge. Trance dominated for a while, but a bold and distinctly Tel Aviv hybrid style soon came into existence.
To begin with, many of the scenes focused on low backtrear bar microtronics (sadly not with us) located under a cheap hostel. The place changed club music forever – and not only in this city: traditional Turkish, Arab and Israeli samples combined with electronic sounds combined with guitar, rhythm and bass. The now famous Microtronics Regulars included Red Axis, Autaric and Moskoman. Thanks to labels such as Disco Halal and Malka Tutti, this part-analog, part-electronic sound is now popular worldwide.
Bucharest
In late disputes, Romania became associated with an eccentric and unfamiliar musical genre. The so-called ‘Romanian sound’ – or ‘ro-min’ – is distinct for its focus on loops and novel scenes of rhythm. Each track is long, hypnotic and often full of melody.
A few years ago, a small community of Romanian DJs started experimenting with genres following a peer-to-peer file-sharing network, allowing greater access to international music. DJs Ridu and Pedro were also spending their summers in Ibiza, and brought bags of minimum technical records to play in clubs. Frustrated by the lack of material emanating from his country, he and others started making their own.
Laxman licensing laws meant that parties in Romania could last more than 48 hours, with DJs hitting the deck for five or six hours each. Sonic arcs of this length did not lend themselves to explosive moments; Instead he gradually provided DJs to produce the narratives. So a small yet inspired piece of pioneers, including Pedro, Rhadoo, Cezar, Kozo and Pralea, began mimicking the minimalist sounds prevalent on Ibiza in their studios and also releasing on the Sunrise label (now a huge summer festival) Started. .
His music is almost never digitally released. Instead it is rolled on vinyl, and only for a limited pressure. This guarantees the audience – often the only way to hear this music is to watch these artists perform live. Underground DJs all over the world now take the ‘Bucharest approach’.
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Frequently asked Questions About Dance Music
Q. What is dance music called?
A – Electronic dance music (EDM), also known as dance music, club music, or simply dance, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres made largely for nightclubs, raves, and festivals.
Q. Why is dance music popular?
A – Another reason that electronic dance music has become so popular is that it can play on different equipment and sets. … These new music styles have become very popular and they’ve helped to change the face of EDM forever. Electronic music has even become so popular that some people refer to this as “the new hip-hop“
Q. What is the best style of dance?
A – The Top 8 Types of Dance
- Ballet. Tutus, pointe shoes and men in tights are what come to mind when someone mentions ballet.
- Tap. Tap is best described as “musical feet”.
- Jazz. Jazz is the most popular style of dance among dancers.
- Modern.
- Lyrical.
- Hip Hop.
- Contemporary.
- Highland Dancing.
Q. Is dance a music genre?
A – Latin freestyle
