I'm making a special topic on this forum to dedicate to dance music because I feel it is very unrepresented here and there seems to be far too much emphasis on music that is by the more conventional band format.

 

I was majorly surprised by the number of people that completely disagreed with my views on the late 80s emergence of dance and black music, with this era being snubbed as a largely disposable era of music. So I would like to know what people's general feelings are with dance music as a whole - Do you feel it's still largely unrepresented whenever the history of music is unfolded, be it a TV documentary or whatever? Is music that is made up of samples, synthesizers etc is considered less worthy? These are age-old questions but, shockingly, still seem to be very much apparent some 20 years after the summer of love!

 

 

 

Been a massive fan of dance since 2002 and I've studied a bit of early '80s New York club music!

 

One of my favorites for example:

 

Jungle Brothers obviously! :D

 

 

One of the landmark house records of that year! :D All the gays here know it like snap!

Edited March 19, 200817 yr by R.E.M.Pragmatist

What's wrong with dance music?

I think 70% (more or less) of dance music is cheesy and generic. A monotonous drum beat, some cheap synths and (sometimes) a bland voice and that's all. No soul, no emotion, nothing.

Not counting the current trend of so-called dance music: take old hits (from 70s, 80s) and remix them (usually with a faster beats). Awful.

 

But the rest of 30% is amazing. They are:

Faithless

Orbital

Underworld

Leftfield

The KLF

Depeche Mode

Sash!

Snap!

Ladytron

Goldfrapp

New Order

808 State

Daft Punk

Art of Noise

ATB

Paul van Dyk

Paul Oakenfold

Saint Etienne

Fatboy Slim

Futureshock

Playgroup

Jamiroquai

Armin van Buuren

Primal Scream (some of their songs)

The Orb

The Shamen

 

 

...and many more

I was a massive fan of dance music in the 90s courtesy of all the Techno, Hardcore and Progressive House that came out of Europe.

 

As for dance music over the past 8 years or so, I don't like most of it as it has become mostly samples and re-hashes of old hits.

 

Best dance act this decade has to be Basshunter. I love Boten Ana.

 

Acts like:

U96 - Mark'oh - Marusha - Aquagen - Captain Hollywood Project - Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Scooter - 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor - Blumchen - Mr. President - 2 Unlimited - Brooklyn Bounce - Red 5 - Sash! - DJ Hooligan - Members Of Mayday - Interactive - Pharao - Intermission and many more

Edited March 19, 200817 yr by Euro Music

I'm making a special topic on this forum to dedicate to dance music because I feel it is very unrepresented here and there seems to be far too much emphasis on music that is by the more conventional band format.

 

a good idea m8!

 

please remember though that this forum is RETRO so where possible keep referances prior y2k :)

I think it's far more productive to use the classification of electronic music, basically starting with Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder and going on from there. Only a complete idiot would deny that these have had no lasting influence on popular music. Same with the early synth pop acts like Depeche Mode and other early 80s pop acts. Then you've got the hip hop explosion in the mid80s which has had a huge effect on popular music. I think it is very arrogant to think that only guitar music produces great or lasting innovation. And this comes from such a huge indie and guitar music fan.

Edited March 19, 200817 yr by grebo69

Was never a big fan of dance music really although it was around waaaaaaaaaaaay before the late 80's, I remember Sister Sledge, Chic and so on in the 70's and stuff like Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash in the early 80's even though they the latter were more hip hop than dance music

 

Only real dance music I have ever taken to was the Chicago house music of late 80's and early 90's, Love Can't Turn Around by Farley Jackmaster Funk is still my all time fave dance tune

Edited March 19, 200817 yr by Vic Vega

I was majorly surprised by the number of people that completely disagreed with my views on the late 80s emergence of dance and black music, with this era being snubbed as a largely disposable era of music. So I would like to know what people's general feelings are with dance music as a whole - Do you feel it's still largely unrepresented whenever the history of music is unfolded, be it a TV documentary or whatever? Is music that is made up of samples, synthesizers etc is considered less worthy? These are age-old questions but, shockingly, still seem to be very much apparent some 20 years after the summer of love!

 

well tbh i was rather harsh on your views. i do admit that the late 80's saw the 'birth' of black music (as we know it now) and 'dance'.

 

the problem is... pop music has been dominated by 'guitar groups' ever since the beatles, not only pop but 'rock' too. and its this blues based music that has dominated british music over the last 50 odd years. it has manifested itself in many different forms and is the default setting for british pop music. therefore its obvious that it will get a large coverage here in retro.

 

dance music is by comparison 'young' and somewhat specialist. and i think this is the problem with dance and black music, there appeal is limited.

 

this is why the birth of dance and contemporary black music in the late 80's is overlooked, it didnt appeal to most of the older, or younger, music fans. so 20 years after the second summer of love it only seems to be important to one generation.

 

when done properly imho dance music is superb... but all too often we see it being dumbed down with silly samples, lazy loops, to some moronic beat.

 

i reckon about half of my fav tracks over the last 15 odd years have been dance tracks, indeed i know many 'oldies' who turn to dance.

Was never a big fan of dance music really although it was around waaaaaaaaaaaay before the late 80's, I remember Sister Sledge, Chic and so on in the 70's

 

thats 'disco'.... not the same as 'dance'.... dance as we know it was born out of the acid house/rave scene of c 88-9

Best dance act this decade has to be Basshunter.

 

Acts like:

Captain Hollywood Project - Scooter - 2 Unlimited - Brooklyn Bounce - Sash! - DJ Hooligan - Members Of Mayday - Interactive - Pharao - Intermission and many more

 

WHAAAT?! Oh please.... to even taint dance music by saying what you've said there is ludicrous.

 

Trashy Euro like Basshunter, Cascada, Scooter, 2 Unlimited - it's rubbish like this that has effectively killed off the dance genre.

 

If you're looking for truly great dance music, the best era was probably 92 - 96. This was when trance wasn't a dirty word and when it wasn't ruined with wispy, girly vocals.

 

It was before the Misery of Sound started releasing their increasingly banal compilations - then it was their 'Annual' series which, whilst at times a tad commercial, often featured truly great tracks. Now Misery of Sound have cheapened their brand to such a degree even the club itself is an embarrassment.

 

It was also before dance was taken over by the 'lads'. Then, the music was all that mattered, there were no flashy videos with tacky bints shaking their cellulite in hotpants or bending over, supposedly 'sexily', in gyms.... 92-96 was also an era before music magazine editors started trying to tell us only scantily clad women go clubbing - check the marked difference in the music mags after 96 - to say they've gone downhill is an understatement.

 

Then you didn't need free CDs or provocative photos of tarts with their tongues lolling and their nipples on show on the covers to get punters to buy the magazine. Check the club listings in every single one of the music mags - spot a guy? Only one they choose to humiliate, usually. Now it's glo-stick gimps in fluffy bras and little else - and photos of quasi-lesbians playing up for the photographer - cheap and nasty titliation from a media that's got it all horribly wrong. They seem to forget men go clubbing, too - and not only impressionable straight men buy these magazines, either. This sexist nonsense has extended to the album covers, too.... all of which I avoid like the plague if they're aiming for the cheap shot of bikini-clad lovelies draped across the artwork - even the great Azuli label has lowered to these standards - truly depressing.

 

Anyway, back to the music.... For the more experienced clubber, you had the Reactivate compilations - each and every one of these is a classic and no true dance fan can be without at least one of these in their collections. The best is probably volume 10 - it's a genre-defining album full of absolute classic tracks. Essential - in the true sense of the word. React really led the way at one point - shame they discovered the bilge that is happy hardcore and lost every shred of respect they had.

 

In the early to mid 90s you had Tony de Vit rocking dancefloors across the world (surely one of the, if not the. best ever DJ)... for the more proggy tranceheads, you had John Digweed and Sasha - who released the seminal first Renaissance compilation at the start of this era. It was deleted for years and an original copy, even now, can change hands for over £100, but it was re-released a few years ago - minus the gorgeous original artwork, unfortunately. Other DJs from this era who were always worth seeing? Mrs Wood, Blu Peter, Jody Wisternoff, Nick Warren, Billy Nasty, Wayne G..... there were so many others, too, but those are the ones off the top of my head.

 

Classic tracks from this era? Too many to mention.... bu I'll single out a couple.....

 

Marmion - Schoneberg, Age of Love - Age of Love, Virtualmismo - Mismoplastico, Tony de Vit - The Dawn, Friends Lovers and Family - Tribute, Li Kwan - Point Zero, Way Out West - Ajare...

 

 

WHAAAT?! Oh please.... to even taint dance music by saying what you've said there is ludicrous.

 

Trashy Euro like Basshunter, Cascada, Scooter, 2 Unlimited - it's rubbish like this that has effectively killed off the dance genre.

 

If you're looking for truly great dance music, the best era was probably 92 - 96. This was when trance wasn't a dirty word and when it wasn't ruined with wispy, girly vocals.

 

It was before the Misery of Sound started releasing their increasingly banal compilations - then it was their 'Annual' series which, whilst at times a tad commercial, often featured truly great tracks. Now Misery of Sound have cheapened their brand to such a degree even the club itself is an embarrassment.

 

It was also before dance was taken over by the 'lads'. Then, the music was all that mattered, there were no flashy videos with tacky bints shaking their cellulite in hotpants or bending over, supposedly 'sexily', in gyms.... 92-96 was also an era before music magazine editors started trying to tell us only scantily clad women go clubbing - check the marked difference in the music mags after 96 - to say they've gone downhill is an understatement.

 

Then you didn't need free CDs or provocative photos of tarts with their tongues lolling and their nipples on show on the covers to get punters to buy the magazine. Check the club listings in every single one of the music mags - spot a guy? Only one they choose to humiliate, usually. Now it's glo-stick gimps in fluffy bras and little else - and photos of quasi-lesbians playing up for the photographer - cheap and nasty titliation from a media that's got it all horribly wrong. They seem to forget men go clubbing, too - and not only impressionable straight men buy these magazines, either. This sexist nonsense has extended to the album covers, too.... all of which I avoid like the plague if they're aiming for the cheap shot of bikini-clad lovelies draped across the artwork - even the great Azuli label has lowered to these standards - truly depressing.

 

Anyway, back to the music.... For the more experienced clubber, you had the Reactivate compilations - each and every one of these is a classic and no true dance fan can be without at least one of these in their collections. The best is probably volume 10 - it's a genre-defining album full of absolute classic tracks. Essential - in the true sense of the word. React really led the way at one point - shame they discovered the bilge that is happy hardcore and lost every shred of respect they had.

 

In the early to mid 90s you had Tony de Vit rocking dancefloors across the world (surely one of the, if not the. best ever DJ)... for the more proggy tranceheads, you had John Digweed and Sasha - who released the seminal first Renaissance compilation at the start of this era. It was deleted for years and an original copy, even now, can change hands for over £100, but it was re-released a few years ago - minus the gorgeous original artwork, unfortunately. Other DJs from this era who were always worth seeing? Mrs Wood, Blu Peter, Jody Wisternoff, Nick Warren, Billy Nasty, Wayne G..... there were so many others, too, but those are the ones off the top of my head.

 

Classic tracks from this era? Too many to mention.... bu I'll single out a couple.....

 

Marmion - Schoneberg, Age of Love - Age of Love, Virtualmismo - Mismoplastico, Tony de Vit - The Dawn, Friends Lovers and Family - Tribute, Li Kwan - Point Zero, Way Out West - Ajare...

 

i have to agree... scooter, 2 unlimited etc were more euro pop then 'dance' wernt they?..

I'm very funny when it comes to dance music, I tend to hate some of it when it is in the charts and then love it years later! Dance music I like are Basement Jaxx, Chemical Bros. One of my fave dance acts of the 90s was Livin Joy and Alex Party. Also like stuff like Alison Limerick, Martha Wash, Todd Terry, some Jocelyn Brown. K Klass were good too.

 

Though the BEST dance song ever IMO was Passion by Gat Decor, which was basically a cover of Do You Want It Right Now by Degrees Of Motion. Never get tired of that one!

 

Not so keen on stuff like cascada snap and 2 unlimited and most euro dancey trash.

 

I love disco music, which I would consider to be dance music, alot of post 80's dance was influenced by disco!

Edited March 20, 200817 yr by fiesta

Though the BEST dance song ever IMO was Passion by Gat Decor, which was basically a cover of Do You Want It Right Now by Degrees Of Motion. Never get tired of that one!

 

Quite right about it being a great dance song but 'Passion' actually came out before 'Do You Want It Right Now' if I recall and the version you're talking about was a bootleg mix made up using the acapella of the latter on the former - which was originally an instrumental...and one hell of a lot better for it.

Quite right about it being a great dance song but 'Passion' actually came out before 'Do You Want It Right Now' if I recall and the version you're talking about was a bootleg mix made up using the acapella of the latter on the former - which was originally an instrumental...and one hell of a lot better for it.

 

I'll have to agree here. (on goes the trainspotter anorak...).

 

Gat Decor 'Passion' was originally released in 1992 as an instrumental and was a small chart hit purely on the buzz made on the underground scene and it spawned a new micro-genre: progressive house. In the same year, Degrees Of Motion also had small hit with 'Do You Want It Right Now' - both later establish themselves as stone-cold club classics.

 

The bootleg did the rounds for a fair while and it was only in 1996 when it was officially developed, except the original vocal wasn't cleared so they had to bring in Beverley Skeete to do the new vocal and it was a top ten hit!

 

It worked great as a bootleg but I prefer the two tracks individually, especially Degrees Of Motion who were also responsibly for my favorite track of all time, 'Shine On'.

I'm very funny when it comes to dance music, I tend to hate some of it when it is in the charts and then love it years later! Dance music I like are Basement Jaxx, Chemical Bros. One of my fave dance acts of the 90s was Livin Joy and Alex Party. Also like stuff like Alison Limerick, Martha Wash, Todd Terry, some Jocelyn Brown. K Klass were good too.

 

Though the BEST dance song ever IMO was Passion by Gat Decor, which was basically a cover of Do You Want It Right Now by Degrees Of Motion. Never get tired of that one!

 

Not so keen on stuff like cascada snap and 2 unlimited and most euro dancey trash.

 

I love disco music, which I would consider to be dance music, alot of post 80's dance was influenced by disco!

 

Very much on your side here. Livin Joy, for me, were the eptitome of empty-headed dance/pop bliss! 'Dreamer' and 'Don't Stop Movin' will remain 2 of my all time favorite tracks. K-Klass also had a decent run of singles, 'Let Me Show You' was a great! And Basement Jaxx are my favorite band - I've seen them live three times!

............ lol.... i hate basement jaxx , :lol:

............ lol.... i hate basement jaxx , :lol:

 

Bonkers!

 

They're one of those bands that everyone seems to like or atleast likes a handful of their tracks. What is it about them you don't like?

Bonkers!

 

They're one of those bands that everyone seems to like or atleast likes a handful of their tracks. What is it about them you don't like?

 

i cant relate to the sound, they seem too 'hard' and 'in your face'... i find them unpleasant to listen to.

i cant relate to the sound, they seem too 'hard' and 'in your face'... i find them unpleasant to listen to.

 

Fair point, I'd be more likely to replace those terms as 'energetic' and 'full of life'. I suppose they maybe guilty of being 'eager to please', but that can only be a good thing. I love dance music that has a chunky beat and the carnival thing is great, even though it seems very passe, I can't knock them for doing what they want to do and ignoring whatever is cool.

i cant relate to the sound, they seem too 'hard' and 'in your face'... i find them unpleasant to listen to.

You took the words right out of my mouth :D

Edited March 24, 200817 yr by Alin