This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2012)

A DJ performing a mix.

Electronic dance music primarily known as (EDM) is an umbrella term term for "different forms of electronic music".^[1] The music is largely created for use by disc jockeys and is produced with the intention of it being heard in the context of a continuous DJ set; wherein the DJ progresses from one record to the next via a synchronized segue or "mix".^[2]

The term was created and is used primarily by Americans, to describe a set of percussive music genres that largely stem from the production methods of disco music, house music, techno music, and Trance music.^{[citation needed]} Such music was popularized via regional nightclub scenes in the 1980s, the warehouse party scene of the late 1980s, and the early rave scene of the acid house movement in the late 1980s. However, even in the later half of the 70's the Disco music dance scene began to shift away from its traditional orchestration (acoustic orchestras) on its recordings. By 1977 producer Giorgio Moroder worked with Donna Summer to release I Feel Love. The song was a dance/discotheque hit, that was made using synthesizers and drum machines. They would later collaborate and release the Donna Summer's Bad Girls Album in which tracks like Sunset People used similar techniques during production. This sound would wind up being the norm for Disco in the late 70's through to the 80's. By the mid 1990s, the presence of electronic dance music in contemporary culture was noted widely and its role in society began to be explored in published historical, cultural and social science academic studies. It was originally constructed by means of electronic instruments such as synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, and generally emphasizes the unique sounds of those instruments, even when mimicking traditional acoustic instrumentation. Currently the music is now mostly made using software that that contains the contains sequencing sampling and synthesizers, as well as effect abilities all in one. Now the ability to produce and create has become much easier economically and physically since producers no longer need to buy large amounts of equipment. It sometimes encompasses music not primarily meant for dancing, but derived from the dance-oriented styles.^[3]. The genre had a large gain in mainstream popularity in the United States in 2012 as tens of thousands of fans flocked to EDM festivals. ^[4]

Synonyms[link]

Since around the mid-1970s, electronic dance music has enjoyed popularity in many nightclubs, and is the predominant type of music played in discothèques as well as the rave scene in the mid to late 80's. As such, the related term club music, while broadly referring to whichever music genres are currently in vogue and associated with nightclubs, has become synonymous with all electronic dance music, or just those genres—or some subset thereof—that are typically played at mainstream discothèques. It is sometimes used more broadly to encompass non-electronic music played at such venues, or electronic music that is not normally played at clubs but that shares attributes with music that is. What is widely considered to be club music changes over time, includes different genres depending on the region and who's making the reference, and may not always encompass electronic dance music. Similarly, electronic dance music sometimes means different things to different people. Both terms vaguely encompass multiple genres, and sometimes are used as if they were genres themselves. The distinction is that club music is ultimately based on what's popular, whereas electronic dance music is based on attributes of the music itself.^[5]

Genres[link]

Electronic dance music is categorized by music journalists and fans alike as an ever-evolving plethora of named genres, styles and sub-styles. With many types of dance music, the number of beats per minute (BPM) helps define a separation between genres. The presence of vocals, live instrumentation vs synthetic instrumentation, and pattern of drum beats also help differentiate genres of electronic dance music. Some genres, such as Electro, Electronica, Eurodance, House, French house, Progressive House, Trance, Uplifting Trance, Psychedelic Trance, Rave, Remix, Moombahton, Breaks, Techno, Hardstyle, Dubstyle, Dubstep, Hardstep and Bassline are primarily intended to promote dancing. Others, such as Ambient, IDM, VGM, Downtempo and Drumstep, are more experimental and tend to be associated more with focused listening than dancing.

Production technology[link]

In the 1980s many genres of popular electronic music exploited the use of MIDI protocol; a technological development that expanded interactivity and synchronized functionality across a range of music related technologies. In the 1990s, following the growth of personal computing, EDM creation began migrating to computer based production systems.

Some of the most widely used synthesizers in EDM music include the Yamaha DX7, Korg M1, and Roland's Jupiter and SH-101. In addition, the most widely used bass synthesizer is the Roland TB-303, while the most widely used drum machines are Roland's TR-808 and TR-909.

Notable artists, producers and DJs[link]

In the 1970's producers like Brian Eno and Giorgio Moroder were pushing the boundaries for synthesizers and drum machines. While Eno would go off and be one of the innovators of Ambient Music, Moroder would score his second dance hit (first being "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer) and Academy Award for best score with the song Chase which was the theme song for the film Midnight Express. By 1980's bands like Yello and artists like Gary Numan would go on to produce Electronic Dance Music hits even before the commercial advent of MIDI. MIDI (which allows for digital/electronic instruments to communicate with each other) would be the catalyst which would allow new electronic dance musicians and genres to flourish by the mid to late 80's such as Front 242 and Meat Beat Manifesto.

With the explosive growth of computers music technology and consequent reduction in the cost of equipment in the late 1990s, the number of artists and DJs working within electronic music is overwhelming. With the advent of hard disk recording systems, it is possible for any home computer user to become a musician, and hence the rise in the number of "bedroom bands", often consisting of a single person. Nevertheless notable artists can still be identified.

Influential musicians in industrial, synth pop and later electronic dance styles include Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), The Human League, Silver Apples, A-ha, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Cut La Roc, Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, and Throbbing Gristle. In Hardcore, Happy Hardcore, and Gabber notable producers and DJs include artists such as Angerfist, Neophyte, Endymion, Scott Brown, Brisk and Ham, DJ Hixxy, Darren Styles and Mark Breeze.

Musicians, producers and DJs such as Kin Dada, Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk, Tijs Verwest (aka Tiësto), ATB, Swedish House Mafia, Deadmau5^[6], Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold, Showtek, John Digweed, Sasha, Markus Schulz, Kaskade and Ferry Corsten have reached true superstar status, can command five-figure salaries for a single performance and regularly perform for hours on end. Some DJs have world wide radio, and internet broadcasted shows that air weekly, such as VONYC Sessions, a show mixed by Paul Van Dyk; Trance Around the World, a show mixed by Above & Beyond; A State of Trance, a show mixed by Armin van Buuren, Tiësto's Club Life mixed weekly by Tiësto.

In Hardstyle, influential musicians include Headhunterz, Showtek, Zany, Noisecontrollers, Donkey Rollers, The Prophet, Blutonium Boy, Technoboy, Tuneboy, Hardstyle Masterz, Dark Oscillators, Deepack.

In House, Techno and Drum and Bass, pioneers such as Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Goldie, A Guy Called Gerald, LTJ Bukem, Joey Beltram and Frankie Bones are still active as of 2008. The only electronic music album to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart is The Prodigy's The Fat of the Land. In contrast to the American charts, many dance albums have reached number 1 in the UK and european charts including Scooter, Basement Jaxx, The Prodigy, 2 Unlimited and more recently Pendulum and Example.

Increase in popularity in the United States[link]

A few years ago EDM was only known to clubgoers and ravers in the United States. Due to crossover groups such as LMFAO EDM acts such as David Guetta and Calvin Harris have become known to the mainstream public there. It has also become common now for established commercial and Top 40 artist and producers to actively infuse elements of EDM in there music such as the Hip Hop artist Flo Rida or Pitbull who both score EDM crossover hits. Or they will even remix their work to make it EDM friendly. Black Eyed Peas's will.i.am not only incorporated EDM to his bands music he even began to DJ EDM at out door summer festivals. In 2012 for the first time the Grammy Awards telecast included EDM.^[7] The Electric Daisy Carnival a touring festival is drawing tens of thousands, and 100,000 people are expected to attend the festival at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey. Other festivals including Lollapalooza and Coachella have beefed up the number of EDM acts represented. Lollapalooza festivals organizer Perry Farrell and Rawley Bornstein an MTV music and talent programmer have described EDM as the new rock and roll. Explanations for the genre sudden rise in popularity range from the genre providing a means of escape from the poor economic climate for people in their 20s that rock music cannot, and the lack of music superstars and artist development leaving a void. Ray Waddell touring editor at Billboard magazine said the genres promoters have done a excellent job at branding. Unlike for rock music events EDM festival goers purchase tickets without knowing who the acts are.^[8][9][4]

Notable record labels[link]

Until the 1980s, there were virtually no record labels that exclusively promoted electronic dance music. This changed when Larry Sherman set up house label Trax Records, techno pioneer Juan Atkins started Metroplex Records, Richie Hawtin started his influential Plus 8 imprint. In the United Kingdom, Warp Records emerged in the 1990s as one of the notable sources of home-listening and experimental music. Later arrivals include Armada, Astralwerks, BPitch Control, Cocoon Recordings, Ed Banger Records, Ninja Tune, German Kompakt, !K7, and American Ghostly International.

See also[link]

• Electronica

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Hewitt, Michael. Music Theory for Computer Musicians. 1st Ed. U.S. Cengage Learning, 2008. ISBN 139781598635034
• Electronic dance music glossary by Moby for USA Today published December 13, 2011

This article is about music for dancing in general. For electronic genres, see electronic dance music and its subgenre dance-pop.

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with Western culture and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (September 2009)

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music.

Origins[link]

Folk dance music is music accompanying traditional dance and may be contrasted with historical/classical, and popular/commercial dance music. An example of folk dance music in the United States is the old-time music played at square dances and contra dances. Brazilian dance music includes Samba, Pagode, and Forró.

Historical dance music[link]

While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in ancient times (for example Ancient Greek vases sometimes show dancers accompanied by musicians), the earliest Western dance music that we can still play with a degree of certainty are the surviving medieval dances such as carols and the Estampie. The earliest of these surviving dances are almost as old as Western staff-based music notation.

By period[link]

The Renaissance dance music was written for instruments such as the lute, viol, tabor, pipe, and the sackbut.

In the Baroque period, the major dance styles were noble court dances (see Baroque dance). Examples of dances include the French courante, sarabande, minuet and gigue. Collections of dances were often collected together as dance suites.

In the Classical music era, the minuet was frequently used as a third movement in four-movement non-vocal works such as sonatas, string quartets, and symphonies, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The waltz also arose later in the Classical era, as the minuet evolved into the scherzo (literally, "joke"; a faster-paced minuet).

Both remained part of the Romantic music period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the barcarolle, mazurka, and polonaise. Also in the Romantic music era, the growth and development of ballet extended the composition of dance music to a new height. Frequently dance music was a part of Opera.

Popular dance music[link]

Modern popular dance music initially emerged from late 19th century's Western ballroom and social dance music.

By genre[link]

Dance music works often bear the name of the corresponding dance, e.g. waltzes, the tango, the bolero, the can-can, minuets, salsa, various kinds of jigs and the breakdown. Other dance forms include contradance, the merengue (Dominican Republic), and the cha-cha-cha. Often it is difficult to know whether the name of the music came first or the name of the dance.

Ballads are commonly chosen for slow-dance routines. However ballads have been commonly deemed as the opposite of dance music in terms of their tempo. Originally, the ballad was a type of dance as well (hence the name "ballad," from the same root as "ballroom" and "ballet"). Ballads are still danced on the Faeroe Islands.

Dansband[link]

"Dansband" ("Dance band") is a term in Swedish for bands who play a kind of popular music, "dansbandsmusik" ("Dance band music"), to partner dance to. These terms came into use around 1970, and before that, many of the bands were classified as "pop groups". This type of music is mostly popular in the Nordic countries.

Electronic[link]

By 1981, a new form of electronic dance music was developing. This music, made using electronics, is a style of popular music commonly played in dance music nightclubs, radio stations, shows and raves. During its gradual decline in the late 1970s, disco became influenced by computerization. Looping, sampling and seguing as found in disco continued to be used as creative techniques within Trance music, Techno music, and especially House music.

Electronic dance music experienced a boom after the proliferation of personal computers in the 1980s, manifest in the dance element of Tony Wilson's Haçienda scene (in Manchester) and London clubs like Delirium,The Trip, and Shoom. The scene rapidly expanded to the Summer Of Love in Ibiza, which became the European capital of house and trance. Clubs like Sundissential and Manumission became household names with British, German and Italian tourists.

Many music genres that made use of electronic instruments developed into contemporary styles mainly due to the MIDI protocol, which enabled computers, synthesizers, sound cards, samplers, and drum machines to interact with each other and achieve the full synchronization of sounds. Electronic dance music is typically composed using computers and synthesizers, and rarely has any physical instruments. Instead, this is replaced by digital or electronic sounds, with a 4/4 beat. Many producers of this kind of music however, such as Darren Tate and MJ Cole, were trained in classical music before they moved into the electronic medium.

Associated with dance music are usually commercial tracks that may not easily be categorized, such as "The Power" by Snap!, "No Limit" by 2 Unlimited, "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by C+C Music Factory, and the Beatmaster's "Rok Da House" but the term "dance music" is applied to many forms of electronic music, both commercial and non-commercial.

Some of the most popular upbeat genres includes House, Techno, Drum & Bass, Jungle, Hardcore, Electronica, Industrial, Breakbeat, Trance, Psychedelic Trance, UK Garage, and Electro. There are also much slower styles, such as Downtempo, Chillout and Nu Jazz.

Many sub-genres of electronic dance music have evolved. Sub-genres of House include Acid House, Electro House, Hard House, Funky House, Deep House, Tribal House, Hip House, Tech House and US Garage. Sub-genres of Drum & Bass include Tech Step, Hard Step, Jump Up, Intelligent D&B/Atmospheric D&B, Liquid Funk, Sambass, Drum Funk, Neuro Funk and Ragga Jungle. Sub-genres of other styles include Progressive Breaks, Rave Breaks, Booty Bass, Goa Trance, Euro Trance, Hard Trance, Hardstyle, Minimal Techno, Gabber Techno, Breakcore, Broken Beat, Trip Hop, Folktronica and Glitch. Speed Garage, Breakstep, Bassline, Grime and the Reggae-inspired Dubstep are all sub-genres of UK Garage.

By decade[link]

1900s–1910s[link]

During the early 20th century, Ballroom dancing gained popularity among the working class who attended public dance halls.

1920s[link]

Dance music became enormously popular during the 1920s. Nightclubs were frequented by large numbers of people at which a form of jazz, which was characterized by fancy orchestras with strings instruments and complex arrangements, became the standard music at clubs. A particularly popular dance was the fox-trot. At the time this music was simply called jazz, although today people refer to it as "white jazz" or big band.

1930s–1940s[link]

Genres: Swing music, Western swing

1950s[link]

Genres: Rock and roll

1960s[link]

The late 1960s saw the rise of soul and R&B music which used lavish orchestral arrangements.

Genres: Funk, Motown, R&B

1970s[link]

It was with the rise of disco in the early 1970s that dance music once again became popular with the public. Disco was characterized by the use of real orchestral instruments, such as strings, which had largely been abandoned during the 1950s because of rock music. In contrast to the 1920s, however, the use of live orchestras in night clubs was extremely rare due to its expense. Disc jockeys (commonly known as DJs) played recorded music at these new clubs. The disco craze reached its peaked in the late 1970s when the word disco became synonymous with "dance music" and nightclubs were referred to as discos.

Other genres: Funk, Hip hop

1980s[link]

Genres: New Wave, Synthpop, Funk, House, Acid house, Techno, Freestyle, Electro, Eurodisco, Italo disco, Hi-NRG, Madchester, EBM, Cosmic Disco

1990s[link]

Genres: Eurodance, Euro house, Progressive house, Techno, Trance, New jack swing, Drum & bass, Happy hardcore, UK garage, Italian House

2000s[link]

Genres: Trance, Electropop, Snap music, Crunk, Dance punk, Nu-disco, Electro house, Minimal techno, Dubstep, R&B, Hip hop, Drum and bass, Electronica, Progressive House, Hardstyle

2010s[link]

Genres: Electropop, Electro Hop, Nu-Disco, Synthpop, Trance, New Wave, House (UK Garage in UK), Hi-NRG, Dance Pop, New Rave, Electroclash, Dubstep, Electro-Industrial, Drum and Bass, Electro House, Electroflow, Breakbeat, Hardstyle, Drumstep, Technopop, Hip Hop, Moombahton.

Radio formats[link]

The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart tracks the most popular tracks played by radio stations using a "dance music" format. Dance music is also part of the mix of related formats, such as rhythmic adult contemporary and rhythmic contemporary.

Dance clubs[link]

The Hot Dance Club Play chart tracks which songs are currently most popular in nightclubs.

See also[link]

• List of ballroom and social dance albums
• Dance competition music