Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of
electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of
hip hop,
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
,
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...
,
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
,
and
Euro-Disco
Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...
.
This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use of rich vocals, sometimes with
rapped verses. This, combined with cutting-edge
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s, strong
bass rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
and melodic
hooks, establishes the core foundation of Euro-Dance music.
History
Background
Euro-Dance music originated in the late 1980s in central Europe, especially in Germany, where
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
parties were becoming popular. By 1987, a German party scene was started by Tauseef Alam, based on the well established
Chicago house
Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s.
History and origins Disco ...
sound and Belgian
new beat
New beat is a Belgian electronic dance music genre that fuses elements of new wave, hi-NRG,Simon Reynolds: ''Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture.'' Routledge 1999, , p. 124. EBM and hip hop (e.g. scratching).Ti ...
in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. The following year saw
acid house
Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...
making a significant impact on popular consciousness in Germany and central Europe as it had in England. In 1989, German
DJs
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
Westbam and Dr. Motte established the
Ufo Club
The UFO Club ( ') was a short-lived British counter-culture nightclub in London in the 1960s. The club was established by Joe Boyd and John "Hoppy" Hopkins. It featured light shows, poetry readings, well-known rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix, ...
, an illegal party venue, and co-founded the
Love Parade
The Love Parade (german: Loveparade) was a popular electronic dance music festival and technoparade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held annually in Berlin from 1989 to 2003 and in 2006, then from 2007 to 2010 in the Ru ...
.
[Robb, D. (2002), Techno in Germany: Its Musical Origins and Cultural Relevance, ''German as a Foreign Language Journal'', No.2, 2002, (p. 134).] The parade first occurred in July 1989, when 150 people took to the streets in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
[John Borneman & Stefan Senders, "Politics without a Head: Is the "Love Parade" a New Form of Political Identification?" ''Cultural Anthropology'' J5(2) 294-31, American Anthropological Association. 2000] It was conceived as a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through love and music.
[ On 19 July 1989, ]Black Box
In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...
's single "Ride on Time
Ride may refer to:
People
* MC Ride, a member of Death Grips
* Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut
* William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicent ...
" was released. The song spent six weeks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom and it was the UK's best-selling single of 1989. It contained the Korg M1
The Korg M1 is a synthesizer and music workstation manufactured by Korg from 1988 to 1995. According to ''Sound on Sound'', it is one of the bestselling synthesizers, selling an estimated 250,000 units.
Development
Korg's chief engineer, Junichi ...
's "house piano" which can be found in many Euro-Dance releases. On 27 September 1989, Technotronic
Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert, who originally gained popularity in Europe as a solo artist with various new beat projects, including Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. Together with rapper Manuela K ...
's single " Pump Up the Jam" was released. It reached number one in Belgium and Spain, and it popularised the house variant called hip house
Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s.
British group the Beatmaste ...
in Europe. On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
fell; free underground techno parties mushroomed in East Berlin, and a rave scene comparable to that in the UK was established. East German DJ Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...
has remarked that the techno-based rave scene was a major force in re-establishing social connections between East and West Germany during the unification period. In the same year, German producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III) formed the Snap!
Snap! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by Record producer, producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, including American singers, songwriters and rappers Thea A ...
project in Frankfurt. Snap! songs combined imported hip hop and soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
vocals adding rhythm by using computer technology and mixing electronic sounds, bass and drums, mainly house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
. By doing so a new genre was born: Euro-Dance.
Rise and fall
Snap!'s first single, " The Power", released in 1990, reached number one in the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and it helped to raise awareness of the genre within Europe. In the following years, other Eurodance acts formed in Frankfurt, including Jam and Spoon
Jam & Spoon were a German electronic music duo formed in 1991 in Frankfurt. The group consisted of composers and producers Rolf Ellmer (a.k.a. Jam El Mar, classically trained composer) and Markus Löffel (a.k.a. Mark Spoon, DJ). They also worke ...
, Intermission
An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte (F ...
and Culture Beat
Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years; they achieved the most success whilst fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their ...
. After the breakthrough single " Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap!
Snap! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by Record producer, producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, including American singers, songwriters and rappers Thea A ...
in 1992 (number 1 in 12 countries), new groups started to pop up all over Europe, mainly in Belgium, Netherlands and Italy. From 1992 till the decline of popularity after 1995, the sound became more and more NRG-oriented, leading to songs raising in B.P.M. up to 150. The notable songs which defined the genre in this period, dubbed as the "golden era" of Euro-Dance, are " It's My Life" by Dr. Alban
Alban Uzoma Nwapa (born 26 August 1957), better known by his stage name Dr. Alban, is a Nigerian- Swedish recording artist and producer with his own record label, Dr. Records. His music can best be described as Eurodance/ hip-hop reggae in a d ...
in 1992 (number 1 in 8 countries), "No Limit
No Limit may refer to:
Music Record labels
*No Limit Records, a record label founded by Master P
* No Limit Forever Records, a record label founded by Romeo Miller, son of Master P
Albums
* ''No Limit'' (Art Pepper album), 1977
* ''No Limit'' ...
" by Dutch group 2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the a ...
in 1993 (number 1 in 14 countries, it was Europe's biggest-selling song for 1993), "What Is Love
"What Is Love (Baby Don't Hurt Me)" is a song recorded by Trinidadian-German Eurodance artist Haddaway for his debut album, ''The Album (Haddaway album), The Album'' (1993). The song was released in 1993 as the album's lead single. It was a hit ...
" by Haddaway
Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born 9 January 1965) is a Trinidadian-born German singer best known for his 1993 hit single "What Is Love", which reached number 1 in 13 countries.
Early life
Nestor Alexander Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago ...
in the same year (number 1 in 13 countries), "Mr. Vain
"Mr. Vain" is a song by German group Culture Beat, released in April 1993 as the lead single from their second studio album, '' Serenity'' (1993). It was written by Steven Levis, Nosie Katzmann and Jay Supreme, and produced by Torsten Fenslau ...
" by Culture Beat
Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years; they achieved the most success whilst fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their ...
also in the same year (number 1 in 13 countries), "Cotton Eye Joe
"Cotton-Eyed Joe" (also known as "Cotton-Eye Joe") is a traditional American Country music, country folk song popular at various times throughout the United States and Canada, although today it is most commonly associated with the Southern Unite ...
" by Rednex
Rednex is a Swedish musical group whose style is a mix of American country music and modern Eurodance, with their appearance and stage names taking inspiration from the American redneck stereotypes. The band originally consisted of the lead sin ...
in 1994 (number 1 in 12 countries) and "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)
"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" is a song by American musician Scatman John. It was released in November 1994 as a single, and was later re-released in July 1995 for his second album, ''Scatman's World'' (1995). The song is described as "a ble ...
" by Scatman John
John Paul Larkin (March 13, 1942 – December 3, 1999), known professionally as Scatman John, was an American musician. A prolific jazz pianist and vocalist for several decades, he rose to prominence during the 1990s through his fusion of scat s ...
in the same year (number 1 in 9 countries).["Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)", in various singles chart]
Lescharts.com
(Retrieved 6 February 2008) In the same period the popularity of the genre also expanded further to East Asia, in nations such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan; towards the end of the golden era also in Russia.
By 1995, Euro-Dance dominated European charts with 5 singles in the top 10 of the singles charts. Despite its success, many observers within the music industry said that the Euro-Dance sound had to change or die, and Euro-Dance producers and singers started to follow different paths and different sounds, such as happy hardcore
Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or "hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s.
H ...
and house music, but not all the groups followed this trend immediately. Notably, the group 2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the a ...
wanted to remain within Eurodance sounds in order to remain chartbusters, although the producer De Coster predicted a retreat from a poppy
A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...
to a more clubby sound. Nevertheless, in the second half of the decade the popularity of Eurodance started to decline, and "Scatman's World
''Scatman's World'' is the debut major-label studio album (and second overall) by American musician Scatman John, recorded after the worldwide success of his debut single "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)". It is something of a concept album deal ...
" by Scatman John
John Paul Larkin (March 13, 1942 – December 3, 1999), known professionally as Scatman John, was an American musician. A prolific jazz pianist and vocalist for several decades, he rose to prominence during the 1990s through his fusion of scat s ...
was the last major hit of the original Eurodance sound in the Eurochart Hot 100
The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...
, being number 1 for 3 weeks between late August and early September 1995.
In late 1990s the classic Euro-Dance sound gradually morphed into progressive house
Progressive house is a subgenre of house music. The progressive house style emerged in the early 1990s. It initially developed in the United Kingdom as a natural progression of American and European house music of the late 1980s.Gerard, Morgan; ...
. Notable examples of successful Euro-Dance songs of this era are "Coco Jamboo
"Coco Jamboo" is a song by German Eurodance group Mr. President. It was released on 29 March 1996 as the lead single from their second studio album, '' We See the Same Sun'' (1996). Music critics compared the song to Swedish band Ace of Base. A ...
" by German band Mr. President in 1996, "Freed from Desire
"Freed from Desire" is a eurodance song written and recorded by Italian singer and songwriter Gala. It was released in 1997 as the first single from her debut album, '' Come into My Life'' (1997). It was a hit in many European countries, reachi ...
" and "Let a Boy Cry
"Let a Boy Cry" is a song written and recorded by Italy, Italian singer-songwriter Gala (singer), Gala. It was released in January 1997 as the second single (music), single from her debut album, ''Come into My Life (Gala album), Come into My Life ...
" by Italian singer Gala
Gala may refer to:
Music
* ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush
*'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman
*GALA Choruses, an association of LGBT choral groups
*''Gala'', a 1986 album by T ...
and " Bailando" by Paradisio
Paradisio was a Belgian eurodance group formed in 1994. They released two albums under the now-defunct Border Breakers sublabel of Nippon Crown: the first was the eponymous ''Paradisio'', released in 1997 after its debut single " Bailando" beca ...
in the same year, "Barbie Girl
"Barbie Girl" is a song by Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua. It was released in April 1997 as the third single from the group's debut studio album, ''Aquarium'' (1997). The song was written by Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, René Dif, and Le ...
" by Danish-Norwegian group Aqua
Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to:
Arts
* Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color
Business
* Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...
in 1997, "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!
"Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys, released as a single in October 1998 from the band's debut album, '' Up & Down - The Party Album'' (1998). It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in June 1999 and p ...
" by Dutch group Vengaboys
Vengaboys () are a Dutch Eurodance music group based in Rotterdam. The group was the creation of Dutch producers Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen (known as Danski and Delmundo). It consists of lead vocalist Kim Sasabone, female v ...
in 1998, " Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Italian group Eiffel 65
Eiffel 65 is an Italian music group that was formed in 1997 in the studios of the Turin record company Bliss Corporation, consisting of Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte. They gained global popularity with their singles " Blue (Da Ba ...
in 1999 and "Around the World (La La La La La)
"Around the World (La La La La La)" is the debut single of German-based international Eurodance group ATC (also known as A Touch of Class). The song is a cover of the Russian hit "Pesenka" by Ruki Vverh! and uses the song's melody with addition ...
" by German group ATC in 2000. Basshunter
Jonas Erik Altberg (; born 22 December 1984), known professionally as Basshunter, is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ.
Basshunter has recorded five studio albums: ''The Bassmachine'' (2004), ''LOL (Basshunter album), LOL'' (2 ...
, Scooter and Cascada
Cascada (, Spanish for "Waterfall", stylized as CASCADA, CASC''A''DA and cascada) is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They are best known for their hit singles " Everyti ...
saw significant success during the 2000s, however, by the early 2010s, popularity waned, and by about 2012, Euro-Dance music disappeared almost completely from the majority of European radio airplay.
Definition
The term "Euro-Dance" gradually became associated with a specific style of European dance music. During its golden years in the mid-1990s, it was referred as "Euro-NRG"; in Europe it was often called "dancefloor".
While some use a much broader definition of what is considered "Euro-Dance", over time, the term particularly came to refer to an NRG-based genre from the 1990s which included a solo vocalist or a rapper/vocalist duet.
Characteristics of the music
Most Eurodance is characterized by synthesizer riffs, one or more vocals with simple chorus, one or more rap parts, sampling and a drum machine clap beat. Sometimes non-rap vocals are used. Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
, Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...
, and Silver Convention
Silver Convention were a German Euro disco recording act of the 1970s. The group was originally named Silver Bird Convention or Silver Bird.
Career
The group was initiated in Munich by producers and songwriters Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze ...
were early examples of pre Euro-Dance musicians. Swedish disco and pop group ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
gained disco hits such as "Gimme Gimme Gimme", "Summer Night City", and "Voulez-Vous".
Eurodance often carries a positive, upbeat attitude; the lyrics usually involve issues of love and peace, dancing and partying, or expressing and overcoming difficult emotions. The early to mid-1990s Eurodance vocals were frequently done by a solo vocalist or a mixed rapper-vocalist duet such as the male–female duets of 2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the a ...
, La Bouche
La Bouche (French for "The Mouth", ) is a Germany, German-America, American Eurodance, Euro-Dance duo best known for the hits "Be My Lover (La Bouche song), Be My Lover", "Sweet Dreams (La Bouche song), Sweet Dreams", "You Won't Forget Me (song), ...
and Magic Affair
Magic Affair is a German eurodance project formed in Frankfurt, Germany in 1993 by music producer Mike Staab. German singer Franca Morgano and American rapper Burnell Keith Herring (A.K. Swift) fronted the project in the early stages. Magic Affai ...
.
Many groups used variations of the rapper-vocalist theme, such as a German rapper with American singers (Real McCoy
"The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies.
History
The phr ...
), or the use of reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
rap as in Ice MC
Ice MC (born Ian Campbell, 22 March 1965) is a British rapper who started his professional music career in Italy when he got signed to Robyx and made his debut with the single " Easy". He's best known for the Eurodance hit singles " Take Away ...
and Fun Factory, or combination of rapper and reggae vocalist like in the ''Life in the Streets
''Life in the Streets'' is the debut album by reggae/ragga recording artist Prince Ital Joe and the third album by rapper Marky Mark. The album was released in 1994 for Ultraphonic Records and blended Prince Ital Joe's reggae with Marky Mark's h ...
'' album, or scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...
as in Scatman John
John Paul Larkin (March 13, 1942 – December 3, 1999), known professionally as Scatman John, was an American musician. A prolific jazz pianist and vocalist for several decades, he rose to prominence during the 1990s through his fusion of scat s ...
. Solo singing artists such as Alexia, Whigfield
Whigfield is an Italian dance act fronted by Danish singer, songwriter and record producer Sannie Charlotte Carlson (born 11 April 1970), known by her various stage names including Whigfield, Naan, or simply Sannie. She is best known for her 1993 ...
and DJ BoBo
Peter René Baumann (born 5 January 1968), better known under his stage name DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 12 studio albums as well as several ...
also contributed to the genre. Some acts like the Swedish dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
originated group Ace of Base use more pop vocals rather than rap/soul vocals along with Eurodance sound. Pop vocals were particularly popular in the late 1990s Euro-Dance productions. The Swedish group Rednex
Rednex is a Swedish musical group whose style is a mix of American country music and modern Eurodance, with their appearance and stage names taking inspiration from the American redneck stereotypes. The band originally consisted of the lead sin ...
also introduced American country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
elements into the sound.
Euro-Dance songs are mostly sung in English, regardless of the artist's nationalities. However, there are cases like in the Belgian group's Paradisio
Paradisio was a Belgian eurodance group formed in 1994. They released two albums under the now-defunct Border Breakers sublabel of Nippon Crown: the first was the eponymous ''Paradisio'', released in 1997 after its debut single " Bailando" beca ...
where Spanish lyrics are used along with latin music
Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...
elements, or Italian act Mo-Do
Fabio Frittelli (24 July 1966 – 6 February 2013), better known by his pseudonym Mo-Do, was an Italian musician. Mo-Do appeared in the 1990s as an Italian electronic music act. Although Mo-Do was Italian, his songs were in German.
History Or ...
with lyrics exclusively in German.
Almost all Euro-Dance emphasizes percussion and rhythm. The tempo is typically around 140 beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
, but may vary from 110 to 150.
Most Euro-Dance is very melody
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
-driven. Most Euro-Dance songs are in minor key
In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor.
Intervals
Some intervals ...
s, similarly to techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
. This, along with positive lyrics, helps contribute to the overall powerful and emotional sound of Eurodance. Besides the contribution of the female or male vocals, there is often a noticeable use of rapid synthesizer arpeggios
A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.
An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
.
Popularity
In Europe
From the early to mid-1990s, Euro-Dance was popular in Europe; the style received extensive airplay on radio stations and television shows, resulting in many singles appearing in the charts. For example, in Italy there were seven singles in the top ten of the chart at the end of May 1995. Technotronic from Belgium had hits with ”Pump Up the Jam" and "Get Up" (featuring Ya Kid K).
By 1996, the popularity of this genre had started to decline. From then, the classic Euro-Dance sound gradually morphed into progressive house
Progressive house is a subgenre of house music. The progressive house style emerged in the early 1990s. It initially developed in the United Kingdom as a natural progression of American and European house music of the late 1980s.Gerard, Morgan; ...
. By 1997 and towards the end of the millennium house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
music increased popularity over Euro-Dance in Europe's commercial, chart-oriented dance records. In the early 2000s, the mainstream music industry in Europe moved away from Euro-Dance in favor of other styles of dance music such as nu-disco, electro house
Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aoki ...
, dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
and R&B.
Italy
Italo-Dance is an offshoot of the Euro-Dance music genre. One of the first examples is Black Box’s "Everybody Everybody" which climbed the charts and was a big hit in 1990. Italo Dance was popular in Italy in the late 1990s to the early 2000s and gained some popularity after the release of the single " Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65
Eiffel 65 is an Italian music group that was formed in 1997 in the studios of the Turin record company Bliss Corporation, consisting of Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte. They gained global popularity with their singles " Blue (Da Ba ...
. The genre had its infancy from 1993 to 1995 and its golden age from 1999 to 2005. Although Italo hits by Eiffel 65
Eiffel 65 is an Italian music group that was formed in 1997 in the studios of the Turin record company Bliss Corporation, consisting of Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte. They gained global popularity with their singles " Blue (Da Ba ...
, Prezioso and Gabry Ponte
Gabriele Ponte (; born 20 April 1973) is an Italian DJ, remixer, record producer, and radio personality, best known for his membership in the Italian dance band Eiffel 65.
With Eiffel 65's rise to fame in the late 1990s, his celebrity status w ...
still receive substantial airplay, the genre is far from mainstream today where it has been replaced by mostly electro and house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
.
Italo-Dance is predominantly nightclub-oriented music and mainly produced exclusivley in Italy. The genre never really became mainstream enough for the whole European market, but received much airplay on Italian radio, especially the dance radio station m2o, and in southern parts of Europe plus in the German speaking European countries.
United Kingdom
After Cappella's Gianfranco Bortolotti
Gianfranco Bortolotti (; born 2 May 1959) is an Italian electronic music producer and manager of Media Records and Media Studio. He was a member of Cappella, and 49ers who had several hits, and Fits of Gloom, who had a UK No. 47 hit with "Heave ...
set up Media Records in Brescia, northern Italy to release his 'commercial European dance music' (a set-up which included fifteen studios featuring various production teams working almost non-stop on a huge number of records) he decided to take the label into other markets and set up a UK office in the UK. Run by Peter Pritchard and featuring many records by Stu Allan's British Eurodance act Clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
, this record company would eventually turn into hard house label Nukleuz
Nukleuz is a dance record label based in the Clapham area of London, UK. Nukleuz is the home to many artists and compilation series in various genres including trance, UK hardcore, tech house and hard house.
Nukleuz was established as the new ...
(known for its DJ Nation releases).
As Media turned into Nukleuz, it would fall to All Around the World Productions
Xploded Music is a British record label set up by Cris Nuttall and Matt Cadman. The label is a joint venture with Universal, and has developed from their previous partnership with the All Around the World dance music label. All Around the Wor ...
to be the label in the 21st Century which was more likely to release Euro-Dance tracks in the UK than other, with its Clubland TV
Clubland TV is a British free-to-air Dance music channel. It is based from the Clubland compilation albums. Clubland TV airs various sub-genres of dance/EDM from the 90's to the late 2010s, such as electronica, techno, trance, eurodance, house, ...
music channel still having regular blocks of Euro-Dance videos in 2020 (though extending its scope to include hits by David Guetta as well as Cascada
Cascada (, Spanish for "Waterfall", stylized as CASCADA, CASC''A''DA and cascada) is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They are best known for their hit singles " Everyti ...
and Scooter)
North America
Canada
During the 1990s, Euro-Dance became popular in Canada, which produced its own variant called Candance (although it was mostly referred to as "Euro-Dance" or "dance music"). Euro-Dance received significant airplay on radio stations in the Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...
such as Power 88.5, Energy 108 and Hot 103.5. Montreal was also a major Eurodance market, with MC Mario
Mario Tremblay, better known under his moniker MC Mario, is a Canadian song producer, disc jockey, and a former Virgin radio host from Montreal.
Biography
Born circa 1970, Mario studied in sound tracking/acoustic equipment at the UQAM. Upon gr ...
's famous radio show on Mix 96, called "Party Mix" and ''Bouge de là'', a popular TV show on MusiquePlus
Elle Fictions (stylized ELLE Fictions) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Remstar Media Group. The channel broadcasts general entertainment programming targeting young adult women.
It was first established in 1986 as the mus ...
. Beginning in mid-1992, Euro-Dance began to dominate the ''RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' dance chart in Canada, with acts such as 2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the a ...
, Snap!
Snap! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by Record producer, producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, including American singers, songwriters and rappers Thea A ...
, Captain Hollywood Project, Culture Beat
Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years; they achieved the most success whilst fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their ...
, Haddaway
Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born 9 January 1965) is a Trinidadian-born German singer best known for his 1993 hit single "What Is Love", which reached number 1 in 13 countries.
Early life
Nestor Alexander Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago ...
, Whigfield
Whigfield is an Italian dance act fronted by Danish singer, songwriter and record producer Sannie Charlotte Carlson (born 11 April 1970), known by her various stage names including Whigfield, Naan, or simply Sannie. She is best known for her 1993 ...
, each reaching number-one.
From approximately 1992 to 2000, Canadian acts such as Capital Sound
Capital Sound was a Canadian Eurodance band from Ottawa, Ontario - the capital city of Canada and the genesis for their name."Ottawa's Capital Sound No. 1 in high-energy dance music". ''Ottawa Citizen'', March 30, 1995.
The group's core members ...
, Love Inc., Jacynthe
Jacynthe Millette-Bilodeau (born September 13, 1979) is a Canadian pop music, pop singer who records as Jacynthe. She records material in English, French and Italian, and has had Top 40 hits on both the English language, anglophone and francopho ...
and Emjay
Marie-Josée Riel also known as Emjay (born December 9, 1974) is a Canadian eurodance musician.
Musical career
After fronting a local Ottawa band for several years, she recorded a solo project in 1994 and signed a recording contract. She released ...
had success with the Euro-Dance sound. The Toronto sound was more pop-oriented, while the Montreal one was more house-oriented.
United States
Euro-Dance is not well known in the United States outside of the major cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. Exemplifying this is the Euro-Dance classic "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)
"Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" is a song by American musician Scatman John. It was released in November 1994 as a single, and was later re-released in July 1995 for his second album, ''Scatman's World'' (1995). The song is described as "a ble ...
", by Scatman John
John Paul Larkin (March 13, 1942 – December 3, 1999), known professionally as Scatman John, was an American musician. A prolific jazz pianist and vocalist for several decades, he rose to prominence during the 1990s through his fusion of scat s ...
, an American artist; despite topping the charts in multiple European countries and reaching number 3 in the United Kingdom, it only reached as high as "number 60" on the US Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
. Another notable example is the ''Life in the Streets
''Life in the Streets'' is the debut album by reggae/ragga recording artist Prince Ital Joe and the third album by rapper Marky Mark. The album was released in 1994 for Ultraphonic Records and blended Prince Ital Joe's reggae with Marky Mark's h ...
'' album, a combined Euro-Dance music project from American rapper Marky Mark
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...
and Caribbean reggae vocalist Prince Ital Joe
Joe Paquette (May 5, 1963 – May 16, 2001), better known by his stage name Prince Ital Joe, was a Dominican rapper of reggae and ragga best known for his collaborations with Marky Mark and Death Row Records artists. Prince Ital Joe also did so ...
, which was not released in the United States, but was a huge success in several European countries including singles like "Happy People" and "United
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
" that topped the German charts.
A few Euro-Dance artists including 2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the a ...
, Haddaway
Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born 9 January 1965) is a Trinidadian-born German singer best known for his 1993 hit single "What Is Love", which reached number 1 in 13 countries.
Early life
Nestor Alexander Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago ...
, La Bouche
La Bouche (French for "The Mouth", ) is a Germany, German-America, American Eurodance, Euro-Dance duo best known for the hits "Be My Lover (La Bouche song), Be My Lover", "Sweet Dreams (La Bouche song), Sweet Dreams", "You Won't Forget Me (song), ...
and Ace of Base made the Rhythmic Top 40
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine.
The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...
, Top 40 Mainstream
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...
and the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 during the early to mid-1990s. However, the sound tended to be more house and the rap-oriented artists received airplay. For instance, the German hip-house
Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s.
British group the Beatmast ...
project Snap!
Snap! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by Record producer, producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, including American singers, songwriters and rappers Thea A ...
, the Belgian hip-house project Technotronic
Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert, who originally gained popularity in Europe as a solo artist with various new beat projects, including Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. Together with rapper Manuela K ...
and the Dutch techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
dance project L.A. Style
L.A. Style was a Dutch electronic dance music group, consisting of founder, producer and radio DJ Wessel van Diepen (who later also created Nakatomi and the successful Vengaboys), composer Denzil Slemming (a.k.a. Michiel Van Der Kuy of Laser ...
received quite a bit of airplay early on.
The more Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...
-oriented artists were typically played only during special "mix" shows, and it was often necessary to go to a club to hear Euro-Dance music. While Euro-Dance did become popular with club DJs in the United States, radio stations were cautious about playing anything that sounded too much like disco during most of the 1980s and 1990s. By the end of the 1990s, however, some of the later acts such as Italian group Eiffel 65
Eiffel 65 is an Italian music group that was formed in 1997 in the studios of the Turin record company Bliss Corporation, consisting of Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte. They gained global popularity with their singles " Blue (Da Ba ...
and Danish group Aqua
Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to:
Arts
* Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color
Business
* Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...
did receive extensive airplay.
Despite lack of widespread radio play, many Hi-NRG and Euro-Dance songs are popular at professional sporting events in the United States, especially ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
and basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
.
Compilation albums, such as the ''DMA Dance: Euro-Dance'' series of compilation albums (1995–1997) from Interhit Records and '' Dance Music Authority'' magazine, were popular and helped to define the genre as well as to make it accessible in the U.S. and Canada.
Hands Up
Hands Up (also known as handz up! (stylized as HandzUp!) or dancecore in East Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
) is a style of trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes.
Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ( ...
, and a derivation of Eurodance. The genre comes from its name, meaning music that requires listeners to "put their hands up", as well as fitness and danceability.
The genre developed in Germany in the mid- to late 1990s as part of the emerging trance music scene. Representatives of Eurodance such as Starsplash and Mark 'Oh
Marko Albrecht (born 23 June 1970), known by his stage name Mark 'Oh, is a German disc jockey and electronic music producer.
Biography
Starting out with a rock band titled "Line Up", Albrecht decided to turn to the ever-growing rave scene under ...
are sometimes regarded as forerunners of Hands Up. The biggest commercial success was the music until the mid-2000s.
The synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
melodies are often catchy and simple. Often the vocal melody is accompanied by a synthesizer. In contrast to techno, short, high-pitched synthesizer tones are used. Hands Up does not rely on the structure of tension build-up, but rather is based on the typical verse-chorus pop music scheme. The main elements are the bassline
Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...
, drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
and a catchy lead sound. A typical stylistic device of Hands Up is pitched female or resulting feminine vocals, but male vocals are also common. In addition, distorted, autotuned, chopped and repeated spoken phrases are common characteristics.
See also
* Reggae fusion
Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin.
Origin
Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...
(Euro reggae)
* List of Eurodance artists
The following is a list of Eurodance artists. Eurodance, which is also known as Eurohouse or Euro-NRG, is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s primarily in Europe. It combines elements from house, techno and hip ...
* List of Eurodance songs
References
External links
EuroDanceHits.com
Eurodance Magazine
The Eurodance Encyclopedia
by Karine Sanche
The Eurodance Community
by Sylver Cheetah 53
{{Disco music-footer
1980s in music
1990s in music
2000s in music
Electronic dance music genres
Hi-NRG
Pop music genres
European music genres