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New beat

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New Beat
Stylistic originsEBM, acid house, techno, Hi-NRG, synthpop, new wave, dark wave, industrial, post-punk
Cultural originsBelgium, mid/late 1980s
Typical instrumentsKeyboard - Synthesizer - Drum machine - Sequencer - Electronic drum
Derivative formsRave
Subgenres
Hard Beat, Schizzo
Fusion genres
Italodance
Regional scenes
Belgium
Other topics
Big beat

New Beat is a term that was used in the 1980s to refer to two different genres of electronic dance music, one US based and the other Europe. The term is still used to refer to the underground Belgian music scene during the 1980s.[1]

Terminology

The term New Beat was first used in the USA during the early '80s. At the time, this New Beat music was a contemporary genre to techno from Detroit and house from Chicago, although not intrinsically linked. The Americans at the time used the term to describe those music styles that they never heard before. It was the new beat of the time, the new sound, very different from Hi-NRG disco, New Wave, synthpop, and rap. The term was soon replaced by other terms, so virtually any U.S. hits once described as "New Beat" are today considered a part of another music style, most of the time simply house or techno.

The second time that the term New Beat was used, was in Europe. It first appeared in Belgium around 1987, to describe a local music style that mainly developed out of 'Bodybeat' heralded by the early formation of Front 242 and other such acts as Praga Khan and Lords of Acid. When MTV Europe began in the summer of 1987, it brought the term to the UK. In the UK, the term New Beat was used in 1987–1988 for various local acid house/techno rave productions, to point out that this was a new sound of dance music and a less commercial alternative to UK's Eurobeat. Eurobeat was at the time used in the UK for the Stock Aitken Waterman productions. Eventually, the term became mainstream, especially between the summer of 1989 and the summer of 1990, but faded fast after Eurohouse took over. Because of the relation of "New Beat" and acid house in the UK during 1988, the later commercial "New Beat" European productions sported the Smiley as a symbol of love in the British related markets. Various British "New Beat" productions eventually migrated to the 'Bacalao' scene in Valencia, Spain.

Before the term New Beat began to fade (during 1990-1991), it was used one last time to describe many Belgian and German dance groups like Technotronic, Snap!, Confetti's, The Adventures of Stevie V, MC Sar & the Real McCoy and Twenty4Seven on the minor European (and related) markets (Greece, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Southern France). The term in this case was used again like the way it was used in the U.S., almost a decade before to describe the overall "new" dance sound of the time and not so much a music style. It was generally used to fill the "gap" between 80s Euro disco and 90s Euro-house.

U.S. fans of 90s Eurohouse (in the U.S. the term "90s Eurodance" is used) testify that the term New Beat was also used for a short while during the early 90s, to describe various early 90s imports on the USA market, like 2 Unlimited, Quadrophonia, T99, etc.

Definition

The New Beat sound originated in Belgium in the late 1980s, especially in 1987 and 1988.

The Belgian New Beat was an underground danceable music style, well known at clubs and discos in Europe. It is a local crossover of EBM, acid and mid-80s underground house music. The 80s Dark Wave also became an aesthetic influence (for example Depeche Mode's videos from 1985–1989). At the time, EBM was popular in German speaking countries and The Netherlands, acid/acid trance was popular in the UK, and house music (in an 80s Eurodisco French twist) was popular in France. Belgium created this unique music sound, with huge underground success all over Europe.

Legend has it that the Belgian New Beat genre was invented in the nightclub Boccaccio in Destelbergen near Ghent when DJ Marc Grouls played a 45 rpm EBM record at 33 rpm, with the pitch control set to +8. The track in question was Flesh by A Split-Second.

In addition to A Split-Second, the genre was also heavily influenced by other Industrial and EBM acts such as Front 242 and The Neon Judgement, as well as New Wave, and Dark Wave acts such as the likes of Fad Gadget, Gary Numan and Anne Clark.

In 1989–1990, the genre spawned some short-lived sub-genres or successor genres Hard Beat and Schizzo - the latter being a techno-influenced style, considerably faster than the original slow new beat style.

The most commercially successful New Beat groups were Confetti's and The Lords of Acid, which had heavy airplay on the MTV Europe show "Party Zone". MTV Europe's VJ Steve Blame was a great fan of New Beat and through his position on MTV News, promoted the Belgium's New Beat sound through his reports.

Many Europeans consider New Beat as a forerunner of European House (Euro-House). Others consider "New Beat" to have been the first true European dance music style that had no Euro disco (Italo Disco - Eurobeat) influences. New Beat incorporated more Techno and Acid house influences, as opposed to Euro House incorporating disco.

Film

In the 2012 documentary The Sound of Belgium, director Jozef Devillé describes the rise and extreme popularity of the genre. It features many pioneers and original producers of the era, complemented by an exemplary selection of tracks, as well as an explanation of the musical roots of the genre. The film was received very well by audiences at IDFA in the same year.

Artists

Video clips

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sounds of Belgium – day one: a history of Belgian pop in 10 songs". The Guardian. 2 July 2012.

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