Jumpstyle is an electronic dance style and music genre popular in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, originally in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. Jumpstyling is often referred to as "Jumpen": a combination of the English word 'Jump' and the Dutch and German suffix '-en' (meaning "to jump", or "jumping"). It originated in Belgium but gathered bigger popularity in their neighbouring country the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the 2000s.

History

Jumpstyle, originally known simply as jump, was created in Belgium. It was a short-lived small genre that did not gain popularity in its original form. However, it came back to the public during the turn of the century, and fandom began increasing throughout Europe after undergoing significant changes in Germany in early 2003. After acquiring its current name, jumpstyle was reintroduced in Europe and in 2005 saw artists and groups producing and releasing its music. The first key stage of its popularity came between 2007 and 2008 due to the success of music videos such as Scooter's "

The Question Is What Is The Question? "The Question Is What Is the Question?" is a song by German musical group Scooter. It was released as the first single from their 13th studio album, '' Jumping All Over the World''. The B-side, "The Fish is Jumping", is a jumpstyle remix of "How ...

" and "

Jumping All Over the World ''Jumping All Over the World'' is the thirteenth studio album by German techno group Scooter, released in Germany in 2007. Five singles have been released from it: "The Question Is What Is the Question?", " And No Matches", " Jumping All Over t ...

", which led to their 13th studio album reaching number 1 in the UK charts. However, there are still some radio stations left, broadcasting jump in its traditional form. The oldest jumpstyle radio was founded in 2005 and remained active until 2016 under the name of JumpStation.FM. The style has also been fused with other genres, for example,

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving af ...

and

The Partysquad The Partysquad is a Dutch DJ production team. It consists of Jerry Leembruggen, Ruben Fernhout and Lorenzo Biemans. Since the early 2000s they have had 12 singles charting on the Dutch Top 40. They produced part of British rapper M.I.A.'s four ...

mixed a unique track with a

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

vocal sample in the track "

Original Don "Original Don" is a song by musical project Major Lazer and the Partysquad from their 2011 extended play of the same name. It was released as a digital download on 4 November 2011. The song charted in the Netherlands. Background An undished vers ...

", with jumpstyle/ hardstyle influences. Also, Joel Fletcher's remix of Savage's 2005 single "

Swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...

" uses jumpstyle influences.

Tournaments and leagues

There are various jumpstyle leagues across the world; mostly in the form of online video submissions and internet competitions. However, in Belgium there have been staged tournaments such as the European Jump Masters.

Music

Jumpstyle music is an offspring of tech-trance, hardstyle,

gabber Gabber (; ) is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of hardcore techno, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as Hardcore, which is characterised by fast beats, distorted & heavier kickdrums, ...

and

mákina Mákina is a subgenre of hardcore techno, originating in Spain. Similar to UK hardcore, it includes elements of bouncy techno and hard trance. The tempo ranges from 150 to 180 BPM. History Early 1990s: origins Dance music in Spain became promi ...

. Its

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

is usually between 140 and 150 BPM. However, it cannot be seen as merely a slowed down version of gabber. It is characterised by a 909 kick drum used in a

four on the floor ''Four on the Floor'' is a 1999 compilation album consisting of songs by bands on Panic Button Records. It features four tracks by four of the labels bands, Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben We ...

beat. It also has influences from

hard house UK hard house or simply hard house is a style of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1990s and is synonymous with its association to the Trade club and the associated DJs there that created the style. It often features a speedy te ...

and

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Ao ...

. Starting around 2002–03, jumpstyle began to gain influence from hardstyle sound, such as pitched basslines set at a melody, more complex, multiband distortion, and synthesizers utilising

square wave A square wave is a non-sinusoidal periodic waveform in which the amplitude alternates at a steady frequency between fixed minimum and maximum values, with the same duration at minimum and maximum. In an ideal square wave, the transitions b ...

forms.

References

{{street dance Dance culture Dance in the Netherlands Belgian styles of music Electronic dance music genres Rave