Dance-punk

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Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk) is a subgenre of post-punk that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements. [2] The genre, which began originally as punk funk, is characterized by the incorporation of the angularity and syncopation of funk and the upbeat, danceable rhythms of disco into post-punk, art punk and more general punk rock. Its development is closely related to avant-funk, originally known as mutant disco. It was most prominent in punk in New York City, overlapping into the no wave movement.

Contents

History

Many groups in the post-punk era adopted a more danceable style, with dance-punk emerging as a compromised genre. Its first wave emerged from a communal and alternative scene as a critique of social standards. New York City bands who were core to this wave were ESG, Liquid Liquid, James Chance and the Contortions, [2] Cristina Monet, Bush Tetras, [3] Defunkt, Lizzy Mercier Descloux and Material. [4] [5] In addition, the Slits contributed to the genre in Britain, emphasizing the influence of reggae. These bands were influenced strongly by funk, avant-funk trends, disco, dub reggae, ska, new wave, and other dance music forms popular at the time.

More culturally prominent acts from the late 1970s into the 1980s included Talking Heads, Public Image Ltd., [6] [7] New Order [8] and Gang of Four. [2] [7] [9] Emerging from the convergence of disco and punk influences, dance-punk exhibits a strong affiliation with urban environments, particularly in the way they are romanticized and portrayed. These spaces, whether they exist in the realm of imagination or reality, conjure up a sense of cosmopolitanism, artistic liberation, and a spirit of defiance against the confines of conventional mainstream culture. [5]

Characteristics

The dance-punk genre, spanning both its first and second waves, varies rather than being a plain stylistic fusion of dance music and punk rock. [10] As a subgenre emerging from the broader post-punk movement, dance-punk shares several common features. These features include "dour (male) vocals with erudite or self-conscious lyrics, accompanied by metallic-sounding, distorted electric guitars playing texturally, not melodically; an accelerated disco beat or dance groove; a melodic bass line; and echoing sound effects borrowed from dub-reggae." [5]

One of the most notable features of dance-punk is a deliberate emphasis on the effective use of space and silence. This approach involves creating minimalist rhythms, and avoiding extended guitar solos. Within dance punk, minimalism signifies directness and systematic order, often drawing parallels with the purity associated with the clean lines and abstractions of modernist art. [5] The guitar sound in dance punk takes on a unique quality characterized by angularity, having a clean and brittle quality that departs from traditional riffing or bluesy chords. This sonic approach aligns the guitar sound with abstract shapes and architectural elements reminiscent of Constructivism, Suprematism and the Bauhaus movement. [5]

Prominent groove and syncopation are integral to the rhythm of dance punk. The genre strives to create a groove that is fluid, smooth and trance-like, offering an escape from the metrical constraints of capitalism. The groove, with its syncopations, introduces elements of human flexibility and unpredictability, giving the music an affective dimension that is felt rather than intellectually grasped. Syncopation, a key component, involves shifting and eliminating predictable accents, aligning rhythms more with speech and orality, emphasizing the human element over mechanistic precision. [5] The lyrical aspect of dance punk sets it apart from many other dance genres, often adhering to verse-chorus or narrative structures more common in rock music. At its most dance-influenced, however, dance-punk acts use repetitive phrases, derived from hooks in disco where the repetition of phrases serves to empty language and open the self to divine inspiration through heightened emotional expression, especially on the dancefloor. [5]

Dance style

In the 70s, when dance punk emerged, punk bands tried to rebel against society. In the punk scene, rebellion was often expressed through violent dance styles such as thrashing, characterized by head bobbing, flailing arms and exaggeratedly aggressive and energetic movements, and pogo dancing, characterized by jumping in a crowd by throwing oneself against other people. Punk dancing was an amalgamation of these two styles. [11]

Contemporary dance-punk

Although dance-punk faded with the rise of new pop in the early 1980s, it made a comeback in the late 1990s and early 2000s as part of the post-punk revival. Dance-punk bands emerged from the pop-punk and garage rock revivals of the late 1990s. [12] Well-known are acts such as LCD Soundsystem, Clinic, Death from Above 1979, !!!, Hockey, Liars, Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat, Foals, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Le Tigre, Bloc Party, Kasabian, You Say Party, Electric Six, the Faint, Arctic Monkeys, the Rapture, Shout Out Out Out Out, and Radio 4, joined by dance-oriented acts who adopted rock sounds such as Out Hud. [13] In the early 2000s Washington, D.C. had a popular and notable punk-funk scene, inspired by Fugazi, post-punk, and go-go acts like Trouble Funk and Rare Essence, including bands like Q and Not U, Black Eyes, and Baltimore's Oxes, Double Dagger, and Dope Body. In Britain the combination of indie with dance-punk was dubbed new rave in publicity for Klaxons and the term was picked up and applied by the NME to bands [14] including Trash Fashion, [15] New Young Pony Club, [16] Hadouken!, Late of the Pier, Test Icicles, [17] and Shitdisco [14] forming a scene with a similar visual aesthetic to earlier raves. [14] [18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Warwick, Kevin (22 June 2016). "All that sass: The albums that define the '00s dance-punk era". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984.Simon Reynolds.Faber and Faber Ltd, April 2005, ISBN   0-571-21569-6 (U.S. Edition: Penguin, February 2006, ISBN   0-14-303672-6)
  3. ↑ "Talking Heads | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. ↑ "Material | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wodtke, Larissa (2023). Dance-Punk. 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 12–21. ISBN   978-1-5013-8186-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ↑ "Metal Box – Public Image Ltd. | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  7. 1 2 Swaminathan, Nikhil (25 December 2003) – Dance-punk ends scenester dormancy Archived 22 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Billy Corgan joins New Order; in canoe.com, 2004. Access date: 11 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "Gang of Four | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  10. ↑ Wodtke, Larissa (2023). Dance-Punk. 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 101–124. ISBN   978-1-5013-8186-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. ↑ Louis, Jenny (24 December 2022). "How Does Music Affect Dance Punk". Julie Anne San Jose.
  12. ↑ "Dance-Punk Music Guide: 5 Notable Dance-Punk Acts". MasterClass. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  13. ↑ M. Wood, "Review: Out Hud: S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D.", New Music, 107, November 2002, p. 70.
  14. 1 2 3 K. Empire, "Rousing rave from the grave" The Observer, 5 October 2006, retrieved 9 January 2008.
  15. ↑ P. Flynn, "Here We Glo Again", Times Online, 12 November 2006, retrieved 13 February 2009.
  16. ↑ J. Harris, "New Rave? Old Rubbish", The Guardian , 13 October 2006, retrieved 31 March 2007.
  17. ↑ O. Adams, "Music: Rave On, Just Don't Call It 'New Rave'", The Guardian , 5 January 2007, retrieved 2 September 2008.
  18. ↑ P. Robinson, "The future's bright...", The Guardian , 3 February 2007, retrieved 31 March 2007.

Bibliography

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