Eurodance

Eurodance is a colloquial term for European dance music, a popular Techno-House style with vocals. It has achieved popularity in Europe, Oceania, South America, Canada, as well as parts of Asia between 1992 to 1996 and up until now. Between 1993 and 1995, the original genre was considered a mainstream phenomenon being diversified and mixed with other electronic music genres. In terms of musical style, Eurodance is closely related to Euro-Techno, Euro-pop and Euro-rap. All three are predominately represented by Western European and Scandinavian artists, and garner a good portion of their audience from these regions.

Eurodance originated in several countries such as Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Italy. More recently, Eastern European countries such as Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, and Russia have emerged into the Euro-music scene.

History

Eurodance is the more technologically advanced form of Euro disco. Just as Hi-NRG is the more technologically advance form of Disco. Eurodance is produced and performed predominantly by synthesizers, this instrumentation are influenced by Techno. This new form of the style officially emerged in the late 1980's. Beginning in 1989-1990, innovative producers, deejays, singers, rappers and songwriters began to create this new form of secular music. It started in mainland Europe. Soon, it started to become popular with DJ's in the States. Like fire, it caught on in the U.S. This phenomenon is referred to as the "Euro-Dance Crossover Revolution".

These groups include Technotronic, Culture Beat, Maxx, Capital Sound,La Bouche, Le Click, Pharao, Real McCoy, Ice MC, JK, Cappella, 2 Unlimited, Dr. Alban, Masterboy, Basic Element, Fun Factory, Mr. President, and Snap. These bands included emphasis of the combo female chorus together with male rap performances. Hence, the duo revival. Still, none of these groups were the same, only similar. Each group featured their own signature sound, persona, visual imagery and vocal approch. Essentially, Eurodance is dance or club oriented music that is usually produced somewhere in Europe and sounds commercial enough 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. The prefix "Euro-" is still a common reference to the genre, despite the introduction of the Euro currency in 2002 and although in Europe itself this style is simply called dance music. Solo artists who performed Eurodance include Amber, Sydney Youngblood, Haddaway, Whigfield, and Gina G.. Rozalla supported Michael Jackson during his European "Dangerous" tour. In 1994, Amber made history becoming the first singer in Eurodance history to be signed to a label as a solo artist, not a singer who is bound to a producer. Mostly, producers are the ones signed to the label, not the singer or rapper themselves. Amber parted ways with Tommy Boy Records in 2003 over artistic differences.

Eurodance reached its commercial peak in Europe from 1992 to 1997, and in United States between 1993-1998 with the Rhythmic Top 40 and Billboard Hot 100 radio success of many Eurodance artists, most of which are listed below. In the early nineties, the American group C&C and the Music Factory, and presented a successful equivalent of the European sound of the time that was well-received in Europe. The group was/is fronted by rapper Freedom Williams and veteran dance music artist, Martha Wash. Rap music had been popularized in central Europe by Falco but the American variety only gained a more widespread acceptance when Technotronic landed their hit "Pump Up the Jam", followed by Snap's "The Power". This helped pave the way for Vanilla Ice's and MC Hammer's success in Europe. The songs also enabled previously club-bound techno music to begin a continual rise in most of Europe.

In America sales reached into the hundreds of thousands for the compilation series DMA Dance: Eurodance released by the U.S. independent dance label Interhit (formed by Jeff Johnson and Chris Cox of Thunderpuss). This, in conjunction with support from Dance Music Authority magazine, was to further fuel popularity of the eurodance sound in the USA and Canada. Furthermore, the popularity of Eurodance music was enhanced by the Deep Dance and Deep Magic Dance mixes in the late 1980's and 1990s created by DJ Deep, one of the most famous dance music DJs. While Eurodance singles regularly went to Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum status, it is more difficult to get a full length album to get to the same level of success. The culprit is usually the album tracks don't live up the strength of the singles, the performers are not charismatic enough to hold the attention of millions of people or weak or lax promotion after the singles have become hits.

Techno music/Euro-Techno always had an important influence on Eurodance music, which at times was basically its more commercial counterpart (2 Unlimited). From the late 1990s onwards Trance/Euro-Trance began to take more influence from Eurodance as well, while techno music was in decline since the late 90's. By 2006, Trance started slowly losing popularity as quality releases that lived up to the early 2000's sound declined. Interest in Eurodance reignited. Although, this would be considered the second generation of Eurodance, (the third generation if you include Eurodisco), the 2000's saw renewed interest in Eurodance. Such groups as Milk Inc., Groove Coverage, Cascada, Sylver, Danijay, Colonia, T.M.-Joy, and solo artists such as Kate Ryan, Ashley Jade, Tony Reed, Mark Ashley, Kylie Minogue, Mario Lopez, Luca Zeta & Jessy among others, represent some of the best of the second generation of Euro-Dance artists. Most of them have released hit singles and/or albums Stateside. In the new millennium musicians have increasingly used repeating, manipulated snippets of existing music as the basis of their tracks, something which was eventually picked up by Madonna when she used a song by ABBA to supplement her world hit "Hung Up" (2006).

Characteristics

Most Eurodance is characterized by Techno instrumental, female vocals, with simple chorus, male rap parts, samples and a strong beat from 110 to 150 BPM with synthesizer riffs. It is often very positive and upbeat; the lyrics often involve issues of love and peace, dancing and partying, or expressing and overcoming difficult emotions. Almost all Eurodance emphasizes percussion and rhythm. Most Eurodance is also very melody-driven. Lyrics are in English 90% of the time, regardless of the artist's nationalities. However, some artists release their songs in both English and their native language.

Eurodance is widely commercialized. Some producers, like Max Martin or Larry Pignagnoli, have fronted dozens of bands. From thousands of records released, only a few bands have existed in the mainstream beyond two records. Live performances consist mostly of mimed playbacks, with different female singers sometimes performing in studio recordings than on stage. Many acts, like Captain Jack and Jonny Jakobsen (Dr. Bombay) had a carefully planned humoristic image. A group called E-rotic received attention with sexually provocative lyrics and music videos.

Notable Eurodance bands

Below is a list of successful Eurodance acts and solo artists, grouped according to nationality. Note that many of the bands overlap somewhat with other genres such as happy hardcore, pop, house and trance; these bands are listed here for possessing elements indicative of Eurodance.

For a lengthier list of artists, refer to List of Eurodance artists.

Australia

Belgium

Brazil

Canada

Cyprus

Anna Vissi

Croatia

Denmark

Finland

France

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Russia

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom

United States

Subgenres

As of 2006, Eurodance music has split into several subgenres:

Classic Eurodance - As noted, often a female vocalist and a male rapper. Synths are catchy and generally not bombastic. The music features thicker production because it is slighty slower than most Eurodance that appeared afterward. Features arrangements, production touches and/or synths, bassline unique to the early-mid 1990's. This sound is strongly favored by previously novice, casual and hardcore Eurodance fans.

Bubblegum Pop/Bubblegum Dance - Originated in Denmark. Usually female artists with silly lyrics and happy sounds. Chorus, verse style lyrics. Not to be taken seriously, but often amusing and cheerful. This style has become very popular in Japan, China, etc., finding an audience with Anime, a kind of Asian cartoon artform such as Pokémon and Initial D. A similar but mostly unrelated style called C-pop also exists.

Euro-Trance - Often vocal and sometimes rap; structure is without verse or chorus; often vague or repetitive; simple lyrics; a lot of effects and echoes on the vocals; Driving percussion and ethereal chords; often has a strong synth line with addicting rhythm. This style became popular during the 2000's featuring kick drums and Trance-like synths. Is not as timeless or classy in production style as classic Eurodance. It has made an impression in the American mainstream but is not as strong or as memorable as classic Eurodance's effect in the American mainsteam Dance & Pop worlds.

Euro-Techno - Tends to use more sound effects and chord hit type sounds with minimal vocals; Crazy keyboard synths; Loud and powerful. Somewhat similar to a style known as Rave.

High Energy aka (Hi-NRG) - A variation of Disco that emerged during the early 1980's. Derived from Disco; Italian; sometimes called "Italo". It is pop, classic eurodance, and trance combined, usually sped up. Has pop sensiblities but is not mainstream Pop music. It is a commercially viable music style that can exist successfully outside of a Discoteque. Substantial vocals and infectious synthisized arrangements. Some singers feature strong charisma & vocal personality while others are faceless vocalists who are difficult to tell one vocalist from another if you are not familiar the artists' music.

Euro-pop - 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 and infectious melodies, synths and beats.

Euro-House - Similar to eurotrance, but contains less vocals; often very few lyrics. Uses harder synth and often has longer, slowly changing and growing songs at a slower tempo. The current trend has been 'Tek-house' style, similar to Benassi Bros. and Benny Benassi.

Italo-Dance - Has its roots from 1980s groups like Valerie Dore, Savage, Sabrina, Miko Mission and Radio Rama. Italo in the 1990s took a Eurodance form. Artists like Cappella, Alexia, Spagna, Taleesa, Mollella, CO.RO, DA Blitz, and Double You burst into the scene with success. The newer Italo style today has a sort of a marching beat to it. Some claim Eiffel 65 and GiGi Da'Gostino were the fathers of this style.

Synth-Pop - This style emerged during the mid 1980's. Exclusively performed by male singers which is rare within other similar styles & sub genres. A type of dance music with futuristic synths and resembling rock music. Synth-Pop did lose its popularity in the mainstream by the early-90's but has never been dormant. It continues to be a popular style seeing a resurgance in interest beginning in the early 2000's.

Italo-Disco and its modern evolution, Eurobeat, are often thought to be sub-genres of Eurodance, but this is in fact incorrect. They are offshoots of Disco, with Italo-Disco evolving into Eurobeat sometime in the early 1990s. Italodisco and Eurobeat remain popular in the sub culture of various countries it was once very popular in. Italo-Disco appeared on the scene during the mid 1980's.

Notable internet radio stations

External links