Electronic Dance (club dance) Special focus style 2012

ORIGINS During the mid 1980’s all night dance events were common in disused warehouses throughout the USA, in particular Chicago where house music was very popular. Towards the end of the 80’s, similar dance parties know as Raves became popular throughout Europe. These were also held in warehouses, or any large open space such as a field. Electronic music started to influence the pop scene during the 1990’s with many artists such as Kylie, Madonna and the Pet shop boys drawing on various forms of electronic dance music. Most Electronic dance artists are also DJ’s and music producers, who often re-mix other artists work.

Stylistic features House, trance and techno are all up tempo forms of dance music ranging from beats per minute. This music is ‘performed’ by a DJ rather than live musicians. Frankie Knuckles ‘Your Love’. An example of early house. Tiesto, a popular Trance artist. Juan Atkins ‘Flash flood’. Juan Atkins is regarded as one of the founders of Techno as a distinct genre.

Stylistic features cont’ Although slightly different, all electronic dance styles will have certain things in common. They include: Four-to-the-floor drum beat, similar to disco. Synth bass lines Use of samples, either singing, spoken word or instrumental Euphoric feel to most pieces, with rousing melodies, over breakdowns (sections with no drums) building to a climax. Synth / piano stabs to puncuate the texture. Synth riffs and pad sounds Soul influence vocals common. Structure defined by building up and breaking down textures and rhythmic elements such as drum loops and ostinatos.

Instrumentation / production Common instruments include: Drum machines / Drum and percussion samples. Synthesisers. Samplers. Turntables. Vocals. Production techniques include: Use of computer based sequencers Audio editing effects such as, stuttering, gapping and pitch shifting Various effects such as delay, reverb and filtering used to create new timbres and rhythmic effects. Some sounds are processed beyond recognition.

Main artists MARRS: Pump up the Volume (1987) Bomb the Bass: Beat dis (1987) S-Express: Theme from S-Express (1988) Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works (1992) Basement Jaxx: Red Alert (1999) Fatboy Slim: Praise You (1999) Moby: Play (1999) The Prodigy: Firestarter (1996)

Artist profiles The Prodigy The Prodigy formed in Essex in 1990 and named themselves after the Moog prodigy synthesiser. Along with Fatboy slim, they have been labelled the founders of ‘Bigbeat’. They incorporate various styles of electronic dance including rave, techno and punk influence vocals. They have charted fairly frequently, but are mostly known for playing clubs and festivals throughout Europe. The shows are usually very energetic and feature two vocalists doing a mix of raps and chants. Prodigy ‘Fire starter’.

Fatboy Slim Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy slim is a very successful musician and producer of Electronic dance music. He played bass for the Housemartins during the 1980’s and started DJing towards the end of the decade. His first top 40 UK hit was ‘Everybody needs a 303’ which is a reference to the Roland TB-303 bass synth. His biggest UK hit was ‘Praise you’ released in 1998 and features samples which are cleverly manipulated. The music video features a fictional dance troupe who perform unannounced at public places. Fatboy slim ‘Praise you’.

Moby Richard Melville Hall, better known as Moby is an American artist well known for his use of old blues and gospel samples originally recorded by Alan Lomax in the early 1900’s, which he then incorporates into his songs. His music is characterised by drum loops and piano melodies along with synth bass lines. He has had several number one hits including ‘Porcelain’ and ‘Why does my heart feel so bad’. Moby ‘Porcelain’ Moby ‘Why does my heart feel so bad’

2 Unlimited 2 Unlimited is a Eurodance act formed in The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean- Paul De Costa and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. They were well known for there commercial fast paced, upbeat music that featured lots of drum loops and catchy synth riffs. During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart hits, including "Get Ready for This", "Twilight Zone", "No Limit" and "Tribal Dance". During their career, they have sold more than 18 million records worldwide. 2 Unlimited ‘No Limit’.