Eurodance

This article is about a music genre. For Eurovision Dance Contest, see Eurovision Dance Contest.

Eurodance
Stylistic origins	House Euro disco hi-NRG techno trance hip house dance-pop hip hop
Cultural origins	late 1980s, Belgium Netherlands Germany
Typical instruments	Synthesizer drum machine keyboards sequencer
Derivative forms	Happy hardcore UK hardcore
Subgenres
Euro house Euro techno Euro hop Italo dance Bubblegum dance (complete list)
Fusion genres
Euro reggae Hard dance
Regional scenes
Europe Australia Canada Japan United States Ibero-America
Other topics
List of Eurodance artists

Eurodance (sometimes known as Euro-NRG or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of techno, hi-NRG, house music and Euro disco. Eurodance production continues to evolve with a more modernized style that incorporates elements from electro music.

This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use of rich melodic vocals, either exclusively by itself or inclusively with rapped verses. This, combined with cutting-edge synthesizer, strong bass rhythm and melodic hooks, establishes the core foundation of Eurodance music.

It peaked at Ibiza's summer festivals of 1994 in Spain and its popularity spread globally through 1997.

Definition

The term "Eurodance" 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" or simply "dance".

While some use a much broader definition of what is considered "Eurodance", 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. Although the term was initially used to describe only European dance music productions, there are some examples of acts from the 1990s produced in America, which followed the same music style and became popular particularly in Europe, nowadays are also referred to as Eurodance music.

Eurodance is nightclub-oriented music that is usually produced somewhere in Europe and had a commercial enough sound to be played by radio stations and music television. Some of the more prominent Eurodance songs go international, especially if an act manages to score more than one hit.

History

Early years

Eurodance music originates in Frankfurt, Germany in 1989 when German producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III) formed the Snap! project. Snap! songs combined Rap and Soul vocals adding rhythm by using computer technology and mixing electronic sounds, bass and drums. By doing so a new genre was born: Eurodance. In the following years many other important Eurodance acts were also based in Frankfurt like La Bouche, Jam and Spoon, Magic Affair and Culture Beat and many new groups were formed in other parts of Europe in different countries like Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Belgium etc. increasing popularity in the continent which gave its name to the genre.

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 strong beat. Sometimes with non-rap vocals throughout the whole song.

Vocals

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-mid-1990s Eurodance vocals were frequently done by a solo vocalist or a mixed rapper-vocalist duet.

Many groups used variations of the rapper-vocalist theme, such as a German rapper with American singers (Real McCoy), or the use of reggae rap as in Ice MC and Fun Factory, or scat singing as in Scatman John. Solo singing artists such as Alexia, Haddaway, Lynda Thomas, Tess, Corona, Whigfield, Double You, and DJ BoBo also contributed to the genre.

Eurodance lyrics are almost always sung in English, regardless of the artist's nationalities.

Percussion

Almost all Eurodance emphasizes percussion and rhythm. The tempo is typically around 140 beats per minute, but may vary from 110 to 150.

Melody

Most Eurodance is very melody-driven. Unlike most pop music, which is usually written in major keys, most Eurodance songs are in minor keys, similarly to techno. 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.

Bubblegum dance

Bubblegum dance is a subgenre of Eurodance, named for its similarity to bubblegum pop.

Influence from other genres

Hi-NRG and Italo disco

Hi-NRG started in the United Kingdom and United States as an underground, faster form of disco after disco had lost mainstream popularity. In the late 1980s, it became associated with British record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, and by the early 1990s, bands such as Masterboy and 2 Unlimited were producing a Continental version of Hi-NRG.

Eurodance shows a strong Hi-NRG influence, such as the high tempo and strong use of female vocals. Eurodance can also be seen as a more technologically advanced form of Euro disco, just as Hi-NRG is the more technologically advanced form of disco.

Italo disco and its later evolution, Eurobeat, are sometimes thought to be subgenres of Eurodance, but rather they are offshoots of the European version of Hi-NRG, called "space disco". Italo disco was influential on the production of Eurodance in general, while Italian-produced Eurodance artists, such as Alexia, Cappella, Double You and Playahitty. tended to preserve features such as operatic female vocals. Later artists such as Eiffel 65 adopted a sort of "marching" beat in their productions. The term "Eurobeat" appears to be more common in Japan, where this style of music is featured in the video game Dance Dance Revolution, as well as in some anime soundtracks, for example the street racing scenes in Initial D.

House music

House music, an underground genre in the United States, was first mainstream in Europe, even though it had initially come from the U.S. to the UK and continental Europe with the rise of acid house and "rave" house in the late 1980s. By the early 1990s, with the rise of the Belgian New Beat, house then became associated with Belgium and the Netherlands.

Some of the first songs with elements of what would later be called Eurodance are house music. Songs such as "C'mon and Get My Love" by D Mob (1989), "Strike It Up" by Black Box (1990), "3 a.m. Eternal" by The KLF (1990) and "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited (1991) all have the duet characteristic of Eurodance, and "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" by Rozalla (1991) has the characteristic synthesizer riff.

Hip hop music

Rap verses has been one of the main distinguishing elements of Eurodance. While Eurodance makes use of rap vocals, it does not contain the lyrical themes of "gangster rap", nor does it follow many of the instrumental conventions of rap music, such as turntable scratching or heavy basslines. It does, however, focus on danceability similar to funk music which was a critical basis to the hip hop genre, since many songs from that genre were sampled by hip hop artists.

Eurodance has, however, served to popularize rap music in Europe. While rap had been made in Europe at least as far back as Falco's Einzelhaft album (1982), the American variety only gained a more widespread acceptance when Technotronic landed their hit "Pump Up the Jam" and Snap! scored the hit single "The Power". The combination of house music with rap vocals in general came to be referred to as "hip house" or "house rap".

Reggae

In the early 1990s, blending elements of reggae also became a trend in Eurodance music. The origin was "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base. The success of this song led to others such as "Coco Jamboo" by Mr. President, "Sex on the Beach" by T-Spoon, "Sweet Sweet Smile" by Tatjana, "It's My Life" by Dr. Alban, "Ole Ole Singin' Ole Ola" by Rollergirl and "Fat Boy" by Max-A-Million.

Other related and influential styles

• Synthpop – This style emerged during the late 1970s. A type of dance music with futuristic synths and a lighter electro aesthetic resembling new wave or early electro pioneers but with a simpler pop/rock template often centring on a vocal part. Synthpop somewhat lost its popularity in the mainstream by the early 1990s but has never been dormant. It continues to be a popular style having seen a major resurgence in the 2000s, and remains even more popular to the present day.
• Europop – Popular music related to dance-pop with elements of classic Eurodance or trance but is not a lot like one or the other. Chorus and verse structure prevalent. Nearly always incessantly catchy with infectious melodies, synths and beats.

Characteristics of the bands and business

Eurodance is widely commercialized. Some producers, like Max Martin or Larry Pignagnoli, have managed dozens of bands. From thousands of records released, only a few bands have existed in the mainstream beyond two records. Many acts, such as Captain Jack and Jonny Jakobsen (Dr. Bombay), had a carefully planned humorous image. A group called E-rotic received attention with sexually provocative lyrics and music videos.

While Eurodance singles regularly went to Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum status, it had been more difficult to get a full-length album to get to the same level of success. Typical problems cited include the album as a whole not up to the strength of the singles, the performers not being charismatic enough to hold the attention of millions of people past a song or two, or weak promotion of the remainder of the album after the singles have become hits.

Popularity

In Europe

From the early to mid-1990s, Eurodance 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.

By the late 1990s, the popularity of this genre had started to decline slowly. At this time, the classic Eurodance sound gradually morphed into Bubblegum dance and Uplifting trance. Finally in the 2000s the mainstream music industry in Europe moved away from Eurodance in favour of other styles of dance music such as Nu-disco, Electro house, Dance-pop and R&B. Today, Eurodance is generally an underground genre, and in most European countries it does not receive airplay on mainstream radio.

Australia

Eurodance was popular in Australia in the early 1990s, particularly during the time of the emergence of warehouse parties and raves. Its popularity in the country waned in the late 1990s and early 2000s, however the interest redeveloped around 2009 thanks to artists such as Melbourne DJ Havana Brown, who went on to achieve international success.

North America

Canada

Canada was a major Eurodance market, the largest outside Europe, which produced its own variant called Candance. From about 1992 to 2000, acts such as Capital Sound, Jacynthe, Shauna Davis, Emjay, Love Inc., Temperance, Jefferson Project, Big Bass, DFS, Kim Esty, The Boomtang Boys, Solina, Joée, Roxy, and BKS among others; originating mainly in major cities of Central Canada such as Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa were hitting the airwaves. The Toronto sound was more pop-oriented, while the Montreal one was more house-oriented. Eurodance received significant airplay on radio stations in the Greater Toronto Area such as Power 88.5, Energy 108 and Hot 103.5. Montreal was also a major Eurodance market, with MC Mario's famous radio show on Mix 96, called "Party Mix" and "Bouge de là" a popular TV show on MusiquePlus.

United States

Eurodance is not well known in the United States outside of the major cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston etc. Exemplifying this is the Eurodance classic "Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)", by Scatman John, an American artist; despite topping the charts in multiple European countries, it only reached as high as #60 in the Hot 100. Another notable example is the "Life in the Streets" album, a combined Eurodance music project from the American rapper Marky Mark and the Caribbean reggae vocalist Prince Ital Joe, which was not released in the United States, but was a huge success in several European countries including singles like "Happy People" and "United" that topped the German charts.

A few Eurodance artists (including La Bouche, 2 Unlimited, Real McCoy, Cartouche and Ace of Base) made the Rhythmic Top 40, Top 40 Mainstream 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 project Snap!, the Belgian hip-house project Technotronic and the Dutch techno dance project L.A. Style received quite a bit of airplay early on.

The more Hi-NRG-oriented artists were typically played only during special "mix" shows, and it was often necessary to go to a club to hear Eurodance music. While Eurodance did become popular with club DJ's 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 and Danish group Aqua did receive extensive airplay.

Despite lack of widespread radio play, many Hi-NRG and Eurodance songs are popular at professional sporting events in the United States, especially ice hockey and basketball.

Compilation albums, such as the DMA Dance: Eurodance 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.

Ibero-America

Eurodance was popular in Ibero-America during the early and mid-1990s, mainly in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico; XHFAJ-FM best known as "Alfa 91.3", the top rated radio station at the time in Mexico, played a format that included 60 percent Eurodance music.

Notable Eurodance artists

Some examples of Eurodance acts that emerged from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s are 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor, 2 Fabiola, 2 Unlimited, Ace of Base, Alexia, Bad Boys Blue, Blue System, Cappella, Captain Hollywood Project, Centory, Colonia, Corona, Culture Beat, Dee Monk, DJ Bobo, Double You, Dr. Alban, E-rotic, E-Type, Electro Team, First Base, Fun Factory, Gina G, Haddaway, Ice MC, Imperio, Indra, J.K., Jam & Spoon, JX, La Bouche, Le Click, Leila K, Lobby, Lynda Thomas, Magic Affair, Marky Mark, Masterboy, Maxx, Melodie MC, Mr. President, N-Trance, Nicki French, No Mercy, Paradisio, Pandora, Playahitty, Rednex, Real McCoy, Reel 2 Real, Scatman John, Snap!, Technotronic, The Outhere Brothers, TristanV, Twenty 4 Seven and Whigfield.

Examples of Eurodance artists and groups that gained popularity mostly in the late 1990s until early 2000s are Aqua, ATC, Daddy DJ, Daze, Eiffel 65, Sash! and Vengaboys.

Solo artists who performed Eurodance include Amber, DJ Bobo, Dr. Alban and Haddaway.

See also

• Reggae fusion (Euro reggae)
• List of Eurodance artists

External links

• EuroDanceHits.com
• Eurodance Magazine
• DMOZ: Styles: Euro Dance
• The Eurodance Encyclopedia, by Karine Sanche