Boogie (genre)

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Boogie (sometimes called post-disco [1] [2] [3] and electro-funk ) [3] is a rhythm and blues genre of electronic dance music with close ties to the post-disco style, that first emerged in the United States during the late 1970s to mid-1980s. The sound of boogie is defined by bridging acoustic and electronic musical instruments with emphasis on vocals and miscellaneous effects. It later evolved into electro and house music. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Characteristics

Boogie, following the example of post-disco, generally lacks the four-on-the-floor beat, the "traditional" [9] rhythm of disco music; instead has a strong accent on the second and fourth beats, and tempo generally in the 110 to 116 beats-per-minute range. [2] Aside from applying certain technological and promotional aspects of new wave music and having been fairly exposed to its subgenre synthpop, boogie is, however, R&B-rooted [10] and predominantly draws from funk music. Other influences from a completely different music landscape include jazz. [6] Typical boogie track can be characterized by mid-tempo rhythm, prominent use of slap bass (electric—in the early 1980s—and/or synthetic—mid-1980s onwards), loud clapping sound, melodic chords and, obviously, synthesizers. [4] [5] [11] [12]

The term, coined by British DJs Norman Jay and Dez Parkes, had been used on eBay to refer a specific form of early-1980s dance music of African-American origin. [4]

History

1920s–1930s: etymology

The first documented use of the word boogie is dated back to 1929. [nb 1] Boogie, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is an occasion for dancing to the strongly rhythmic rock music that encourages people to dance. [13] Earliest association of the word boogie was with blues and later rock and roll and rockabilly genres.

1970s–1980s: current meaning

In the 1970s, the term was revitalized for disco and later post-disco subcultures. The term "boogie" was used in London to describe a form of African-American dance/funk music from the 1980s. The name boogie tended to be used as, although essentially used to describe disco records, the word disco had gained bad connotations by the early 1980s. Originally the word boogie could be found in 1970s funk, soul, R&B and disco records, most notably "Jungle Boogie"(1974), "Spirit of the Boogie"(1975) by Kool and the Gang, [14] "Boogie Down"(1974) by Eddie Kendricks, [15] "The Burtha Butt Boogie"(1975) by The Jimmy Castor Bunch [16] ", "Boogie Fever"(1976) by The Silvers, I'm Your Boogie Man(1977)", "Boogie Shoes"(1978) by KC and the Sunshine Band, [17] "Boogie Nights(1977)" by Heatwave, "Boogie Oogie Oogie"(1978) by A Taste of Honey, "Aqua Boogie"(1978) by Parliament, and "Boogie Wonderland"(1979) by Earth Wind and Fire. [2]

Kashif called to be one of the pioneers of the genre. [18] His single "I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On)" from the 1983 debut album Kashif helped to define the early 1980s boogie sound. [18] Also such 1980s tracks like "Wake Up" (Bohannon), "Act Like You Know"(Fat Larry's Band), "Give Me the Night" (George Benson, 1980), "Boogie's Gonna Get Ya" (Rafael Cameron, 1981), "I'm in Love" (Evelyn King, 1981), "You're the One for Me" (D. Train, 1981), "Don't Make Me Wait" (Peech Boys, 1982) or "Break Dancin' – Electric Boogie" (West Street Mob, 1984) helped define the musical style of boogie. [3] [4]

Throughout the 1980s, various boogie artists began experimenting with the heavy bass which anticipated the roots of house. One of these artists was Hamilton Bohannon, [19] D. Train, and Sharon Redd. While some record producers, such as François Kevorkian and Larry Levan, were polishing and extending the limits of urban-oriented boogie, others like Arthur Baker and John "Jellybean" Benitez drew their influences from European and Japanese technopop music. The latter approach paved the way for electro, and subsequently, freestyle music. [20]

Boogie had a popular following within London's underground scene, often based around nightclubs and club DJs due to a lack of mainstream radio support. Boogie records were mostly imported from the U.S. and were sometimes labeled as "electro-funk" or "disco-funk." [3]

2010s: revitalization

Much later in the 2000s and early 2010s, indietronica groups and artists such as James Pants, Juice Aleem, Sa-Ra Creative Partners had been influenced by the sounds of boogie and 1980s electronic music in general. [21] [22] [23] Chromeo, a Canadian duo, published a boogie-oriented album called She's in Control in 2004. [24] Dâm-Funk, another boogie-influenced artist hailing from Los Angeles, California, published an album Toeachizown in 2009. [25]

During the mid to late 2010s, boogie was part of the nu-disco and future funk renaissance, the former a primarily European artists-led EDM phenomenon, fusing French house with American 1970s disco and 1980s boogie, and 1980s European electronic dance music styles, [8] the latter connected to the vaporwave scene. Bruno Mars ("Uptown Funk") was one of the more mainstream 2010s artists influenced by boogie. [26]

Electro

The instrument that built electro, the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Roland TR-808 drum machine.jpg
The instrument that built electro, the Roland TR-808 drum machine.

Among electro-boogie (later shortened to electro) pioneers include Zapp, [27] D. Train, [28] Sinnamon and other post-disco/boogie musicians; especially those influenced by new wave and synthpop acts like Human League or Gary Numan, combined with the R&B sound of Herbie Hancock and George Clinton. [28] As the electronic progression continued, acoustic instruments such as bass guitar were replaced by Japanese-made synthesizers and most notably by iconic drum machines like Roland TR-808. Early uses of this drum machine include several Yellow Magic Orchestra tracks in 1980–1981, the 1982 track "Planet Rock" by Afrikaa Bambaataa, and the 1982 song "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye. [29]

About electro origins, Greg Wilson argues:

It was all about stretching the boundaries that had begun to stifle black music, and its influences lay not only with German technopop wizards Kraftwerk, the acknowledged forefathers of pure electro, plus British futurist acts like the Human League and Gary Numan, but also with a number of pioneering black musicians. Major artists like Miles Davis, Sly Stone, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, legendary producer Norman Whitfield and, of course, George Clinton and his P Funk brigade, would all play their part in shaping this new sound via their innovative use of electronic instruments during the [1970s] (and as early as the late [1960s] in Miles Davis's case). [28]

Notes

  1. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary states that the term was used as early as 1913.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disco</span> Music genre

Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funk</span> 1960s music genre

Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the mid-20th century. It deemphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. It uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, and dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths.

House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120-130 beats per minute as a re-emergence of 1970s disco. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.

Electronic body music (EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Western Europe, as an outgrowth of both the punk and the industrial music cultures. It combines sequenced repetitive basslines, programmed dance music rhythms, and mostly undistorted vocals and command-like shouts with confrontational or provocative themes.

Nu jazz is a genre of jazz and electronic music. The music blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, electronic music, and free improvisation.

Electro is a genre of electronic music and early hip hop directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines and funk. Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals; if vocals are present, they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. It palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie by being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.

Hi-NRG is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Dance-pop is a subgenre of pop music 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 combination of dance and pop with influences of disco, post-disco and synth-pop, it is generally characterised by strong beats with easy, uncomplicated song structures which are generally more similar to pop music than the more free-form dance genre, with an emphasis on melody as well as catchy tunes. The genre, on the whole, tends to be producer-driven, despite some notable exceptions.

Funky house is a subgenre of house music that uses disco and funk samples, a funk-inspired bass line or a strong soul influence, combined with drum breaks that draw inspiration from 1970s and 1980s funk records. The use of disco strings are also common in the genre, although not always. Funky house uses specific techniques and a specific sound, characterized by bassline, swooshes, swirls and other synthesized sounds which give the music a bouncy tempo with around 128 BPM.

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4 time and feature steady four on the floor beats in the tempo range of 110–130 beats per minute. French house is similar to future funk, although there are some key differences. Purveyors of French house include Daft Punk, David Guetta, Bob Sinclar, Martin Solveig, Stardust, Cassius, The Supermen Lovers, Modjo, Justice, Air and Étienne de Crécy.

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<i>Toeachizown</i> 2009 studio album by Dâm-Funk

Toeachizown is the first solo studio album by American neo-boogie musician Dâm-Funk, released on October 27, 2009 by Stones Throw Records. Album was produced by Leon Sylvers III, a record producer of SOLAR Records and a member of 70s disco group The Sylvers. The album is influenced by 1980s funk, post-disco, electro, boogie, P-funk, sci-fi music of the 1970s and the 1980s and other eighties-influenced music. The album was generally well received by critics.

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References

  1. ↑ "DJ Spinna: The Boogie Back: Post Disco Club Jams (by Andrew Martin)". Popmatters. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  2. 1 2 3 Reynolds, Simon (2011-05-03). "Name it on the 'boogie' – the genre tag that won't sit still (2011)". The Guardian . London. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Electro Funk Roots: The Building Blocks of Boogie (history)". electrofunkroots.co.uk. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Serwer, Jesse (2009) XLR8R: Jesse Serwer in an interview with Dam-Funk. Retrieved on 2-2-2010.
  5. 1 2 "Explore music...Genre: Post-disco". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  6. 1 2 Depuydt, Francis. "Boogie, Funk & Modern Soul from the 80s". Danceclassics.net. Archived from the original on 2015-08-26. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
  7. ↑ "Rap meets Techno, with a short history of Electro". Archived from the original on 2009-12-19. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  8. 1 2 "Beatport launches nu disco / indie dance genre page" (Press release). Beatport. 2008-07-30. Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2008-08-08. Beatport is launching a new landing page, dedicated solely to the genres of "nu disco" and "indie dance". ... Nu Disco is everything that springs from the late ′70s and early ′80s (electronic) disco, boogie, cosmic, Balearic and Italo disco continuum...
  9. ↑ Shapiro, Peter. (2000) Modulations: a History of Electronic Music: Throbbing Words on Sound , London: Distributed Art Publishers, ISBN   1-891024-06-X, p. 40
  10. ↑ "Various Artists—Disco Discharge: Disco Boogie". Rovi Corp. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  11. ↑ ""Back to the Future: Dam-Funk in Wax Poetics" by Danny Holloway". Stones Throw . Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  12. ↑ Cateforis, Theo (2011). Are We Not New Wave?: Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s. The University of Michigan Press. p. 10. ISBN   9780472034703.
  13. ↑ "Term "Boogie" on Merriam-Webster". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  14. ↑ Wild and peaceful album All music. Retrieved 28 March 2023
  15. ↑ "Kendricks' tenor made it impossible to resist Temptations APPRECIATION" . Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  16. ↑ The Jimmy Castor Bunch All music. Retrieved 29 March 2023
  17. ↑ KC and the Sunshine Band All music. Retrieved 28 March 2023
  18. 1 2 Kalia, Ammar (2016-10-04). "Cult heroes: Kashif – inspirational pioneer of boogie and R&B". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  19. ↑ Bohannon Biography AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2023
  20. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (July 16, 1999). Generation ecstasy: into the world of techno and rave culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 35. ISBN   0-415-92373-5. "The band's -Peech Boys- ambient-tinged post-disco epics like "Don't Make Me Wait" and "Life is Something Special" are notable for their cavernous reverberance and dub-deep bass. Peech Boys were on the cutting edge of the early-1980s New York electro-funk sound like D-Train, Vicky D, Rocker's Revenge, Frances [sic] Joli, and Sharon Redd, labels like West End and Prelude, and producers like Arthur Baker, Francois Kevorkian, and John "Jellybean" Benitez.
  21. ↑ BasicSoul.co.uk - Features - James Pants. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  22. ↑ Stone Throw Records - Website - James Pants. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  23. ↑ David, Drake (January 6, 2011). "Tensnake - In The House". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
  24. ↑ Juzwiak, Rich (2004). "Reviews >>> Chromeo - She's In Control". CMJ New Music Monthly . 64 (120): 50. ISSN   1074-6978.
  25. ↑ MacPherson, Alex (2009-11-26). "Dam Funk - Toeachizown (review)". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  26. ↑ Ross, Sean (24 November 2014). "From Sugarhill Gang to Trinidad James, a Look at the Influences of Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars' 'Uptown Funk'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  27. ↑ "Zapp". Vibe . 6: 84. August 1999.
  28. 1 2 3 "Electro-Funk > WHAT DID IT ALL MEAN ?". Greg Wilson on electrofunkroots.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  29. ↑ "Slaves to the rhythm". CBC News. November 28, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
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