Eurodance

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Eurodance [ ˈjʊrəʊˌdæns ] ( English “Eurotanz”, also Dancefloor [ ˈdænsflɔː ], English “dance floor”) describes a style within electronic dance music that was very popular in the early to mid-1990s, especially in Europe , and produced numerous chart successes. Characteristic is a combination of repetitive, fully synthetic dance instrumentation with strong influences from the techno , new beat and house music of the time, pop refrains often characterized by female soul vocals and spoken chant interludes performed by male rappers or MCs .

features

As in all other areas of electronic dance music , only synthetically generated sounds are characteristic, apart from the vocals . The typical rhythm is a monotonous dance beat in 4/4 time at 120 to 150 BPM , underlaid with synthetic surfaces and a bass line, for which electronic sound generators such as sequencers and drum computers are used, similar to synth pop . The drum machine beats are very similar to those used in styles like techno and house , with a pumping kick drum on the odd and a closed hi-hat on the even eighths, and snare and / or handclap sounds on the second and fourth fourth quarter.

The chorus melody is harmonious and is mostly interrupted by verses with rap interludes. Typical is an interplay between a female singing voice ( refrain ) and male spoken chant ( verse ). After the first successful project in this constellation, this is referred to as the " snap formula" or humorously as "Ma-ra-Fra-si" (man raps, woman sings). If there are no rap interludes, the title is usually sung by just one singer, with the rap parts being replaced by sung stanzas. The chorus is often followed by memorable instrumental chord patterns. Not infrequently , elements based on reggae or dancehall are used.

With a few exceptions, the texts are in English. Topics sung about are love, sex, music, dancing and partying. Usually only the singers and rappers, rarely more than three members, represent the dance project in public, while the producers and composers of the music usually remain in the background.

history

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In contrast to later productions, the early titles, which can be assigned to the Eurodance genre, do not come from purely commercial hit-makers. Rather, DJs and producers were behind it, often from the Frankfurt area and the area around the Dorian Gray club located there , who in their basic musical orientation were primarily specialized in club-oriented styles such as techno , EBM and trance , but also after their DJ work Were looking for ways to make this electronic club music compatible for the radio and for the charts. The Frankfurt-based DJs and producers Torsten Fenslau , Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti , Jam El Mar , Mark Spoon and DJ Dag should be mentioned here . See also: Sound of Frankfurt .

These producers "grew up" in the 1980s with modern electronic dance music such as Synthpop , Italo Disco or Euro Disco and earlier Techno music, which is why these styles had a decisive influence on their sound. The Hi-NRG dance sound, popular in the first half of the 1980s , also had an unmistakable influence.

The early forerunners of later Eurodance music, such as Pump Up the Jam (1989) by Technotronic or The Power (1990) by Snap! were in some cases still strongly hip-hop- oriented, but already showed clear connections to American house music, as for example in the track Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by the American producer team C + C Music, which was published in autumn 1990 Factory and many other productions of the time. This "preliminary phase" of Eurodance is often referred to as Hip House . As dance-oriented styles such as house and techno enjoyed growing popularity in the discos in Europe in the following years , the music of the Eurodance producers also became increasingly club-heavy. Particularly noteworthy are the "pumping" bass drum and the increasingly computer- oriented production method (in the 1980s, hardware sequencers were still used in electronic music ). The new electronic music genre, trance , also became increasingly popular in clubs from 1992 and found a corresponding impact in the more commercial productions of these days.

Even if the transition between Euro Disco, Hip House and Eurodance is fluid, the track Rhythm Is a Dancer (1992) by Snap! as the first important landmark of the genre, which also reached number 1 in the German charts. The success concept of this song (techno-heavy beat, female soul voice, male rapper) was quickly discovered by other producers, so that titles like It's My Life by Dr. Alban , More and More from the Captain Hollywood Project and Mr. Vain from Culture Beat stormed the charts in 1992/93. An early Eurodance title that got by without rap interludes was What Is Love (1993) by Haddaway . These titles were so successful (all number one hits in Germany except Haddaway; 2nd place) that the concept was subsequently adopted by other producers in many cases. In the years that followed, the genre increasingly moved away from its club-based roots and became increasingly commercial and chart-oriented. The style was widespread between 1992 and 1996 with the peak in 1993/94, when the majority of the chart hits could be assigned to this genre. The style was also very popular for rides at fairs and was therefore disparagingly called fun fair techno . After that , in contrast to previous years, VIVA hardly added any Eurodance numbers to the playlist . The sales figures fell significantly and only occasionally managed to enter the charts.

The term “Eurodance” came into being after the commercial downturn in this genre. The name was chosen for samplers on which former chart successes were marketed again. Previously, this style of music was more often referred to as "dance floor" or simply "dance".

In 2003, several Eurodance artists such as SNAP! ( Rhythm Is a Dancer 2003 ), Culture Beat ( Mr. Vain Recall ) or Masterboy ( Feel the Heat of the Night 2003 ) new versions or remixes of their greatest hits. But nobody made a real comeback.

From the Eurodance time, DJ BoBo and Scooter are two of the few artists who to this day successfully publish singles and albums at regular intervals, but which for the most part other genres of electronic dance music such as. B. belong hands up or jump style .

Just as the 1980s are often associated with synth pop, today Eurodance is often seen - alongside other styles such as techno - as typical music of the 1990s. This is expressed, for example, at so-called "90s parties", where Eurodance is one of the most popular styles. On the radio, however, the music genre has practically completely disappeared from the programs of the major radio stations.

Even in recent times, songs are still being produced that are attributed to Eurodance. In addition, established artists of the 90s appear in "best of" concerts. New compilation CDs serve the existing Eurodance following, as do specialized apps, internet radio stations and channels on video portals with video clips from the 1990s.

Related styles

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Before Eurodance became successful, there were already styles of music with similar stylistic elements. Several of the later Eurodance formations previously released tracks in a style also known as hip house . These formations include Technotronic ( Pump Up the Jam , This Beat Is Technotronic ), Snap! ( The Power , Ooops Up ) and Twenty 4 Seven ( I Can't Stand It ). With these titles there is already an interplay between vocals and rap parts, but the Eurodance-like techno rhythm is not yet there and the choruses are usually less pop. Techno-heavy are The KLF ( What Time Is Love? ) And The Shamen ( Love Sex Intelligence ).

Around the same time as the wave of success of Eurodance, there were several dance formations from the USA that were internationally successful. The music of these groups is known as the US dance floor . Well-known artists are Reel 2 Real ( I Like to Move It ), 20 Fingers ( Short Dick Man ) and Outhere Brothers ( Boom Boom Boom ).

In the course of the success of the typical Eurodance concept, a similar style was also successful. However, he did without rap interludes , was faster and used pitched voices for vocal interludes. Well-known representatives of this sound, often referred to as Happy Hardcore , are Mark 'Oh ( Tears Don't Lie ), Dune ( Hardcore Vibes ), Interactive ( Living Without Your Love ) and Scooter ( Endless Summer ). Another eurodance-like sound kept the rap parts, but swapped techno for hip-hop beats and between 1996 and 1998 brought under the heading "Euro-Rap" artists like C-Block ( Time Is Ticking Away ), Down Low ( Jonny B ) and Nana ( Lonely ). Occasionally, however, typical Eurodance titles made it into the charts even after 1997, especially those from Modern Talking , which dedicated themselves to this style of music after their reunification in 1998.

In the early 2000s, Eurodance and elements of uplifting trance gave rise to the musical genre Hands up . Tracks in this genre usually contain harsh SuperSaw tones. Typical representatives of this genre are Basshunter and Cascada .

Well-known titles

Number one hits in Germany , Austria and Switzerland , with dwell time at number one (excerpt):

Interpreter title 1st place in Germany 1st place in Austria 1st place in Switzerland
Snap! Rhythm is a dancer May 25 - July 27, 1992 May 31 - June 13, 1992 June 28 - October 3, 1992
Dr. Alban It's my life August 3 - September 21, 1992 June 14th - July 25th 1992 (max. 2nd place)
Captain Hollywood Project More and more December 21, 1992 - January 11, 1993 (max. 3rd place) (max. 3rd place)
2 Unlimited No limit (max. 2nd place) March 7th - March 27th 1993 March 21 - April 24, 1993
Haddaway What is love (max. 2nd place) May 9 - July 10, 1993 June 13 - July 17, 1993
Culture Beat Mr. Vain June 21 - August 16, 1993 July 11th - July 17th 1993 July 18 - August 14, 1993
Magic Affair Omen III March 14 - May 9, 1994 (max. 2nd place) (max. 3rd place)
Mon-Thu One two police September 26 - October 17, 1994 July 3 - August 20, 1994 (max. 5th place)
Rednex Cotton Eye Joe November 7, 1994 - January 9, 1995 November 6-12, November 27, 1994 - January 7, 1995 November 27, 1994 - March 4, 1995
La Bouche Be my lover March 14 - May 9, 1995 (max. 3rd place) (max. 5th place)
Mr. President Coco Jamboo (max. 2nd place) June 16 - July 27, 1996 June 2 - June 8, June 16 - June 22, June 30 - July 13, 1996
Aqua Barbie girl November 10 - December 21, 1997 (max. 2nd place) November 30, 1997 - January 10, 1998
Eiffel 65 Blue (Da Ba Dee) August 16 - October 17, 1999 August 22 - October 9, 1999 August 22 - November 6, 1999
ATC Around the World (La La La La La) July 24th - September 3rd, 2000 July 28 - August 31, 2000 August 13 - August 26, 2000

Well-known artists

Overall, there is a very large number of performers in this genre. However, many of them could not record any major chart successes in German-speaking countries and are therefore not listed here. In addition to Eurodance, several of the above-mentioned formations have also published titles in other styles.

literature

  • Nico Thom: Electronic dance music. In: Ralf von Appen u. a .: Popular music. History - contexts - research perspectives. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2014, pp. 176–189.
  • Nico Thom: The popularization of electronic dance music. German artists / producers and the the eurodance phenomenon. In: Michael Ahlers, Christoph Jacket: Perspectives on German Popular Music. Routledge, Abingdon (Oxon) / New York 2017, pp. 111–115.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Nico Thom: The popularization of electronic dance music. German artists / producers and the the eurodance phenomenon. In: Michael Ahlers, Christoph Jacket: Perspectives on German Popular Music. Routledge, Abingdon (Oxon) / New York 2017, pp. 111–115, on p. 112.
  2. ↑ a b c Marc Pendzich: From the cover version to the hit recycling. Historical, economic and legal aspects of a central phenomenon in pop and rock music. Lit-Verlag, 2004, p. 232.
  3. ↑ Marcel Feige: Deep in Techno. The whole story of the movement. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, 2000, p. 91.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Nico Thom: The popularization of electronic dance music. German artists / producers and the the eurodance phenomenon. In: Michael Ahlers, Christoph Jacket: Perspectives on German Popular Music. Routledge, Abingdon (Oxon) / New York 2017, pp. 111–115, on p. 114.
  5. ↑ Placement Rhythm Is a Dancer , austriancharts.at
  6. ^ It's My Life placement , austriancharts.at
  7. ^ A b c d Nico Thom: The popularization of electronic dance music. German artists / producers and the the eurodance phenomenon. In: Michael Ahlers, Christoph Jacket: Perspectives on German Popular Music. Routledge, Abingdon (Oxon) / New York 2017, pp. 111–115, at p. 113.
  8. ^ Placement Mr. Vain , austriancharts.at
  9. ^ A b Gary Caos, Francesca Sanzo: Il Caos… tra Dj e producer. Giraldi Editore, 2018, p. 13.
  10. ^ Ansgar Jerrentrup: Popular music as a medium of expression for young people. In: Dieter Baacke: Handbook of youth and music. Leske + Budrich, Opladen 1998, pp. 58-91, pp. 67-68.
  11. ^ A b Philipp Krohn, Ole Löding: Sound of the Cities. A pop music voyage of discovery. Rogner & Bernhard, Berlin 2015. Section Stockholm .
  12. ↑ a b c d Lisa Seelig, Elena Senft: We were young and needed the gel. The lexicon of youthful sins. S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2011, entry Euro-Dance , pp. 77-79.
  13. ↑ Lonely peak. MC Sar & The Real McCoy. In: Zitty No. 23/94, p. 44.
  14. ↑ Colin Larkin (Ed.): The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music. Virgin, 1998, p. 336, Whigfield entry .

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