Progressive house

Last updated

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 North American and European house music of the late 1980s. [1] [2]

Contents

Etymology

In the context of popular music the word "progressive" was first used widely in the 1970s to differentiate experimental forms of rock music from mainstream styles. Such music attempted to explore alternate approaches to rock music production. [3] Some acts also attempted to elevate the aesthetic values of rock music by incorporating features associated with classical instrumental music. This led to a style of music called progressive rock, which has been described as "the most self-consciously arty branch of rock." [4]

In disco music, and later house music, a similar desire to separate more exploratory styles from standard approaches saw DJs and producers adopting the word "progressive" to make a distinction.[ citation needed ] According to DJ and producer Carl Craig, the term "progressive" was used in Detroit in the early 1980s in reference to Italo disco. [5] The music was dubbed "progressive" because it drew upon the influence of Giorgio Moroder's Euro disco rather than the disco inspired by the symphonic sound of Philadelphia soul. [5] In Detroit, prior to the emergence of techno, artists like Alexander Robotnick, Klein + M.B.O. and Capricorn filled a vacancy left after disco's demise in America. [5] [6] In the late 1980s, UK music journalist Simon Reynolds introduced the term "progressive dance" to describe acts such as 808 State, The Orb, Bomb the Bass and The Shamen. Between 1990 and 1992, the term "progressive" referred to the short-form buzz word for the house music subgenre "progressive house". [7]

History

Progressive house emerged after the first wave of house music. [8] The roots of progressive house can be traced back to the early 1990s rave and club scenes in the United Kingdom. [9] In 1992, Mixmag described it at the time as a "new breed of hard but tuneful, banging but thoughtful, uplifting and trancey British house." [7] A combination of US house, UK house, Italian house, Polish house, German house, and techno largely influenced one another during this era. [7] The term was used mainly as a marketing label to differentiate new rave house from traditional American house. [7] Progressive house was a departure from the Chicago acid house sound. [8] The buzz word emerged from the rave scene around 1990 to 1992, describing a new sound of house that broke away from its American roots. [7] Progressive house was viewed by some as anti-rave as its popularity rose in English clubs while breakbeat hardcore flourished at raves. [10] According to DJ Dave Seaman, the sound faced a backlash in the early 1990s because "it had gone the same way as progressive rock before it. Pompous, po-faced and full of its own self importance. But basically was really quite boring." [9] The label progressive house was often used interchangeably with trance in the early years. [7] The record label Bedrock Records released a series of "Bedrock’s ‘Compiled and Mixed’" albums featuring artists like Chris Fortier, John Creamer & Stephane K. [11] [12] Australian artist, Luke Chable has been known for his 2003 seminal remix release PQM’s "You Are Sleeping", titled "You Are Sleeping (Luke Chable Vocal Pass)". [13] [14]

AllMusic says that progressive house "led the increasingly mainstream-sounding house from the charts back to the dance floors". [15]

Notable early productions

According to American DJ/producer duo Gabriel & Dresden, Leftfield's October 1990 release "Not Forgotten" was possibly the first progressive house production. [16] The record label Guerilla Records, set up by William Orbit & Dick O'Dell, is thought to have been pivotal in the growth of a scene around the genre. [16] Renaissance: The Mix Collection in 1994 and Northern Exposure in 1996 have both been credited with establishing the genre on mixed compilation albums. As well as Guerilla Records, the labels Deconstruction Records, Hooj Choons and Soma Records contributed to the scene's development in the early to mid-1990s. [9]

In June 1992, Mixmag published a list that contained what the magazine viewed as the top progressive house tracks at that time. [7]

Stylistic elements

According to Dave Seaman, house DJs who had originally played what was known as Eurodance borrowed from that genre. [9] This led to a commercial sound that people associate with progressive house today. [9] Seaman notes that with the various lines between genres having become so blurred that true progressive house is often found "masquerading" as techno, tech house or even deep house. [9] As such, the music can feature elements derived from styles such as dub, deep house and Italo house. [17]

The progressive sound can be distinct from the later uplifting trance and vocal trance. It tends to lack anthemic choruses, crescendos and drum rolling, [17] but holds an emphasis on rhythmic layers. [9] Intensity is added by the regular addition and subtraction of layers of sound. [18] Phrases are typically 4, 8, or 16 bars long and often begin with a new or different melody or rhythm. [19]

Later progressive house tunes often featured a build-up section which can last up to four minutes. This is followed by a breakdown and then a climax. [19] "Strobe" by Deadmau5 is a good example, which had been cited by Billboard Dance as the artist's all-time best song and one of the reasons for EDM's resurgence in the 2010s mainstream. [20] [21] [22] [23] Elements drawn from the progressive rock genre include the use of extended or linked-movement tracks, more complexity and reflection but almost always within the four on the floor rhythm pattern. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture that consisted of Black gay men 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.

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from EBM in Frankfurt, Germany, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and quickly spread throughout Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rave</span> Dance party

A 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 music scene when DJs played at illegal events in musical styles dominated by electronic dance music from a wide range of sub-genres, including drum and bass, dubstep, trap, break, happy hardcore, trance, techno, hardcore, house, and alternative dance. Occasionally live musicians have been known to perform at raves, in addition to other types of performance artists such as go-go dancers and fire dancers. The music is amplified with a large, powerful sound reinforcement system, typically with large subwoofers to produce a deep bass sound. The music is often accompanied by laser light shows, projected coloured images, visual effects and fog machines.

Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mills, Kevin Saunderson, Blake Baxter, Drexciya, Mike Banks, James Pennington and Robert Hood. Artists like Terrence Parker and his lead vocalist, Nicole Gregory, set the tone for Detroit's piano techno house sound.

Goa trance is an electronic dance music style that originated in the early 1990s in the Indian state of Goa. Goa trance often has drone-like basslines, similar to the techno minimalism of 21st century psychedelic trance (psytrance). Psychedelic trance developed from Goa trance. The typically long songs built on progressive beat changes are said to put the listener in a “trance”.

Hardcore is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorted sawtooth kick, the intensity of the kicks and the synthesized bass, the rhythm and the atmosphere of the themes, the usage of saturation and experimentation close to that of industrial dance music. It would spawn subgenres such as gabber.

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

Balearic beat, also known as Balearic house, Balearic, Ibiza house or Ibizan chillout, is an eclectic blend of DJ-led dance music that emerged in the mid-1980s. It later became the name of a more specific style of electronic dance/house music that was popular into the mid-1990s. Balearic beat was named for its popularity among European nightclub and beach rave patrons on the Balearic island of Ibiza, a popular tourist destination. Some dance music compilations referred to it as "the sound of Ibiza", even though many other, more aggressive and upbeat forms of dance music could be heard on the island, such as Balearic trance.

Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and festivals. It is generally produced for playback by DJs who create seamless selections of tracks, called a DJ mix, by segueing from one recording to another. EDM producers also perform their music live in a concert or festival setting in what is sometimes called a live PA. Since its inception EDM has expanded to include a wide range of subgenres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance music</span> Music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music. While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in ancient history, the earliest Western dance music that we can still reproduce with a degree of certainty are old-fashioned dances. In the Baroque period, the major dance styles were noble court dances. In the classical music era, the minuet was frequently used as a third movement, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The waltz also arose later in the classical era. Both remained part of the romantic music period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the barcarolle, mazurka, ecossaise, ballade and polonaise.

Techno is a genre of electronic dance music which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (BPM). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often characterized by a repetitive four on the floor beat. Artists may use electronic instruments such as drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers, as well as digital audio workstations. Drum machines from the 1980s such as Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 are highly prized, and software emulations of such retro instruments are popular.

Radio Record is a Russian radio station that broadcasts on 106.3 FM from Saint Petersburg. It airs an electronic dance music format with primarily trance and house offerings now expanded to variety of different genres including Deep House, Future House, Dubstep.

Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 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, and Deadmau5.

Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrumentation into their music. Electronic rock acts usually fuse elements from other music styles, including punk rock, industrial rock, hip hop, techno and synth-pop, which has helped spur subgenres such as indietronica, dance-punk and electroclash.

Big room house or simply big room is a fusion subgenre of house music that gained popularity in the early 2010s. Although the term "big room" started appearing in news articles circa 2007, the current state of this subgenre emerged around 2010—12 and was popularized by songs such as "Epic" and "Cannonball". From 2013 on, artists like Martin Garrix, KSHMR, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Hardwell, Nicky Romero, Afrojack, and R3HAB began experimenting with this sound in their compositions.

Belgian hardcore techno is an early style of hardcore techno that emerged from new beat as EBM and techno influences became more prevalent in this genre. This particular style has been described as an "apocalyptic, almost Wagnerian, bombastic techno", due to its use of dramatic orchestral stabs and menacing synth tones that set it apart from earlier forms of electronic dance music. It flourished in Belgium and influenced the sound of early hardcore from Netherlands, Germany, Italy, UK and North America during the early-1990s, as a part of the rave movement during that period.

References

  1. ↑ Gerard, Morgan; Sidnell, Jack. Popular Music and Society 24.3 (Fall 2000): 21–39.
  2. ↑ "Open Your Mind! 35 stunners from back when progressive house wasn't terrible". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Kevin Holm-Hudson (2008).Genesis and the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,Ashgate, p.75, ( ISBN   0754661474).
  4. ↑ Michael Campbell (2008).Popular Music in America, Schirmer, p.251, ( ISBN   0495505307)
  5. 1 2 3 Reynolds, S., Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture (New York: Routledge, 1999), p. 16.
  6. ↑ Reynolds, S., Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture (New York: Routledge, 1999), p. 22.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Phillips, Dom, Trance-Mission Archived 5 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Mixmag, June 1992.
  8. 1 2 Bogdanov, Vladimir (2001). All music guide to electronica: the definitive guide to electronic music . Backbeat Books. p. xiii. ISBN   0879306289 . Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Simon Huxtable (11 August 2014). "What is Progressive House?". Decoded Magazine. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Scott, Mireille (1999). Rave America: New School Dancesscapes. ECW Press. p. 134. ISBN   1550223836 . Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Greenberg, Alexandra (23 August 2002). "Bedrock/Pioneer Set to Release "Bedrock 'Compiled and Mixed' John Creamer & Stephanie K"". Mitch Schneider Organization. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  12. ↑ Greenberg, Alexandra (18 April 2002). "Bedrock/Pioneer Set to Release "Bedrock 'Compiled and Mixed' Chris Fortier" on June 11". Mitch Schneider Organization. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "PQM – You Are Sleeping remixes". PA. 8 August 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  14. ↑ Sen, Priya (6 March 2016). "Feature Interview : Luke Chable – I love all different types of electronic music. There's a line that I wouldn't cross, but I've never been an 'underground only' person". Decoded Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  15. ↑ "Progressive Trance". AllMusic .
  16. 1 2 Gabriel & Dresden (1 October 2014). "How to Talk to Your Kids About Progressive House". Insomniac. Insomniac Holdings. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  17. 1 2 Reynolds, Simon (2012). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Soft Skull Press. ISBN   978-1593764777 . Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  18. ↑ Price, Emmett George (2010). "House music". Encyclopedia of African American Music. Vol. 3. ABC-CLIO. p. 406. ISBN   978-0313341991 . Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  19. 1 2 "Electronica Genre Guide: Progressive". Music Faze. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Decoding The Mix: Strobe - Deadmau5". Mastering The Mix. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  21. ↑ "Rewind: Deadmau5 - "Strobe"". Telekom Electronic Beats. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "deadmau5 iconic song 'Strobe' turns 11 years old - We Rave You". weraveyou.com. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  23. ↑ Deacon, John (15 February 2012). "Student Music Review: Deadmau5 - Strobe. Electro, Drum N Bass Reviews". The Rockhaq Community. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  24. ↑ Borthwick, Stuart; Ron Moy (2004). Popular Music Genres: An Introduction. Edinburgh University Press. p. 75. ISBN   0748617450 . Retrieved 20 April 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.