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Contents |
History
Its roots are drawn from the mostly rap performances of 2 Unlimited, Dr. Alban Masterboy or Snap, which were the first to emphasis the combo female chorus - male rap. The current style has expanded, as performances can be included in rap, trance, techno, or house. It is essentially dance or club oriented music that is usually (but not always) is produced in Europe. Hit songs often go international. The genre "Eurodance" can also be used interchangeably with the term "Euro".
Its "mainstream" can be characterized by female vocals, with
simple chorus, male rap parts 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 or expressing and overcoming difficult emotions.
Almost all Eurodance emphasizes percussion and rhythm. Most
Eurodance is also very melody-driven. Strangely, lyrics are
in English 90% of the time, no matter what country the
artist is from. Some artists will also release their songs
in both English and their native language.
Eurodance is very much commercial music. It can be even seen as a some kind of culmination of commerciality in music business. Some producers, like Swedish Max Martin or Italian Larry Pignagnoli, were behind dozens of bands. If band members became too demanding, they could be fired and replaced by others. Only few bands survived more than one or two records. The most successful 90's eurodance groups are arguably the Dutch group 2 Unlimited, Italian groups Cappella, Ice MC and Eiffel 65, and German groups Snap!, Culture Beat, Real McCoy and La Bouche.
It has been suggested that many female vocalists were selected for their looks more than for talent. Live performances were mostly playbacks, sometimes different female singers 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 its erotic lyrics and music videos.
Some artists, like Aqua, Daze or Hit'n'Hide are not usually considered mainstream eurodance, but fall into the bubblegum pop category.
Other in between cases are Blümchen and Scooter, approaching the happy hardcore genre. Although sometimes considered eurodance, projects such as Sash!, ATB or Antiloop were mostly progressive house and trance groups.
Eurodance reached its commercial peak in the United States in 1995/1996 with the Top 40 radio success of artists such as La Bouche ("Be My Lover"), Real McCoy ("Another Night" and "Runaway") , 2 Unlimited ("Get Ready For This") and Corona ("Rhythm Of The Night") among others. Sales in the hundreds of thousands of the first Eurodance CD compilation series, DMA Dance: Eurodance, released on U.S. independent label Interhit (formed by Jeff Johnson and Chris Cox of Thunderpuss) in conjunction with Dance Music Authority magazine, provided further evidence of the popularity of the eurodance sound in the USA.
Later into the 90s trance was starting to influence Eurodance which rebirthed into euro-trance, which also incorporated some elements from progressive house. Artists like Scooter, Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo and E-Type began the trend which lead to the birth of hundreds of projects in this subgenre.
Today, Eurodance music has evolved and the categories may cross over one another. Sub-categories within the genre of Eurodance are not set in stone but are commonly recognized as:
Classic Eurodance - As mentioned earlier, often a female vocalist and a male rapper. Synths are old fashioned, often has an early to mid 90's sound.
Bubblegum - Started 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.
Eurotrance - Often vocal and sometimes rap. Usually not chorus, verse lyrics - more 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.
Eurotechno - Tends to use more sound effects and chord hit type sounds with minimal vocals. Crazy keyboard synths. Loud and powerful.
High Energy (Hi-NRG) - Derived from disco. An Italian creation, sometimes called "Italo". It is Pop, Classic Eurodance, and Trance combined, and perhaps sped up a little bit. It is very uplifting. The vocals are very full sounding and so are the synth arrangements.
Euro Pop - Basically it is Pop music with elements of Classic Eurodance or Trance but isn't quite one of the other categories. Often Chorus, verse style lyrics.
Eurohouse - Similar to eurotrance, but less often contains vocals, and even less frequently contains many lyrics. Uses harder synths and often has longer, slowly changing and growing songs at a slower tempo. The current trend has been 'Tek-house' style a la Benni Bennassi.
ITALODANCE-Has its roots from 80's groups like Valerie Dore, Savage, Sabrina, Miko Mission and Radio Rama. Italo in the 90's took a Eurodance form. Groups like Cappella, Alexia, 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.
Notable Internet Radio Stations:
- Euro Connection Internet Radio
- Digitally Imported Eurodance Channel - Digitally Imported wikipedia page
- Planet Euro
- Marky's Eurodance
See also
- Euro disco - for Euro dance of 80s.
- Vocal Trance
