Eurodance

Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use of rich vocals, sometimes with rapped verses. This, combined with cutting-edge synthesizers, strong bass rhythm and melodic hooks, establishes the core foundation of Eurodance music.

History

Background

Eurodance music originated in the late 1980s in central Europe, especially in Germany, where rave parties were becoming popular. By 1987, a German party scene was started, based on the well established Chicago house sound and Belgian new beat. The following year saw acid house making a significant impact on popular consciousness in Germany and central Europe as it had in England. In 1989, German DJs Westbam and Dr. Motte established the Ufo Club, an illegal party venue, and co-founded the Love Parade.Robb, D. (2002), Techno in Germany: Its Musical Origins and Cultural Relevance, ''German as a Foreign Language Journal'', No.2, 2002, (p. 134). The parade first occurred in July 1989, when 150 people took to the streets in Berlin.John Borneman & Stefan Senders, "Politics without a Head: Is the "Love Parade" a New Form of Political Identification?" ''Cultural Anthropology'' J5(2) 294-31, American Anthropological Association. 2000 It was conceived as a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through love and music. On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell; free underground techno parties mushroomed in East Berlin, and a rave scene comparable to that in the UK was established. East German DJ Paul van Dyk has remarked that the techno-based rave scene was a major force in re-establishing social connections between East and West Germany during the unification period. In the same year, German producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III) formed the Snap! project in Frankfurt. Snap! songs combined imported hip hop and soul vocals adding rhythm by using computer technology and mixing electronic sounds, bass and drums, mainly house music. By doing so a new genre was born: Eurodance.

Rise and fall

Snap!'s first single, " The Power", released in 1990, reached number one in the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and it helped to raise awareness of the genre within Europe. In the following years, other Eurodance acts formed in Frankfurt, including Jam and Spoon, Intermission and Culture Beat. After the breakthrough single " Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap! in 1992, new groups started to appear all over Europe, mainly in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. From 1992 until the genre's decline in popularity after 1995, the sound became increasingly NRG-oriented, leading to songs raising in beats per minute up to 150. Some of the genre's defining songs in this period, dubbed as the "golden era" of Eurodance, are " It's My Life" by Dr. Alban in 1992, " No Limit" by Dutch group 2 Unlimited in 1993, " What Is Love" by Haddaway in the same year, " Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex in 1994, and " Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" by Scatman John in the same year.

By 1995, Eurodance dominated European charts with 5 singles in the top 10 of the singles charts. Despite its success, many observers within the music industry said that the Eurodance sound had to change or die, and Eurodance producers and singers started to follow different paths and different sounds, such as happy hardcore and house music, but not all the groups followed this trend immediately. Notably, the group 2 Unlimited wanted to remain within Eurodance sounds in order to remain chartbusters, although the producer De Coster predicted a retreat from a pop-like to a more club-like sound.

In the late 1990s, the classic Eurodance sound gradually morphed into progressive house.

Amid 2024, an influx of videos on social media platforms would be uploaded under the guise of far-right propaganda, using snippets taken from songs of the genre. This primarily adheres to TikTok.

Definition

While some use a much broader definition of what is considered "Eurodance", over time, the term particularly came to refer to an NRG-based genre from the 1990s which included a solo vocalist or a rapper/vocalist duet.

Characteristics of the music

Most Eurodance is characterized by synthesizer riffs, one or more vocals with simple chorus, one or more rap parts, sampling and a drum machine clap beat. Sometimes non-rap vocals are used.

Eurodance often carries a positive, upbeat attitude; the lyrics usually involve issues of love and peace, dancing and partying, or expressing and overcoming difficult emotions. The early to mid-1990s Eurodance vocals were frequently done by a solo vocalist or a mixed rapper-vocalist duet such as the male–female duets of 2 Unlimited, La Bouche and Magic Affair.

Many groups used variations of the rapper-vocalist theme, such as a German rapper with American singers ( Real McCoy), or the use of reggae rap as in Ice MC and Fun Factory, or combination of rapper and reggae vocalist like in the '' Life in the Streets'' album, or scat singing as in Scatman John. Solo singing artists such as Alexia, Whigfield and DJ BoBo also contributed to the genre. Some acts like the Swedish dance-pop originated group Ace of Base use more pop vocals rather than rap/soul vocals along with Eurodance sound. Pop vocals were particularly popular in the late 1990s Eurodance productions. The Swedish group Rednex also introduced American country music elements into the sound.

Eurodance lyrics are almost always sung in English, regardless of the artist's nationalities. However, there are cases like in the Belgian group's Paradisio where Spanish lyrics are used along with latin music elements.

Almost all Eurodance emphasizes percussion and rhythm. The tempo is typically around 140 beats per minute, but may vary from 110 to 150.

Most Eurodance is very melody-driven. Most Eurodance songs are in minor keys, similarly to techno. This, along with positive lyrics, helps contribute to the overall powerful and emotional sound of Eurodance. Besides the contribution of the female or male vocals, there is often a noticeable use of rapid synthesizer arpeggios.

Music videos

Eurodance music videos were often seen with dance acts by the main vocals of the songs (or models ad-libbing), often dancing in bright-coloured infinity cove studios or wide, urban spaces (stations, parking garages) with high visual contrast, or in empty nature scenes.

Electronicbeats describes the cliché Eurodance music video as having "strobe-lit rave scenes, pixelated ‘90s computer graphics and, of course, an urban montage: cue the subway stations, streetlights and business commuters". " Pump up the Jams music video is described as having a "colour scheme of brilliant reds, greens and purples in a staggering array of chequered backdrops .. t isa great insight tot the power of music videos on party wardrobes". Bright, sometimes over-saturated colour schemes were used, with contemporary party clothing or outfits referring to space-age, with videos that were fully or in part using computer-generated imagery elements and effects.
Large, sometimes digitally multiplied, dance troupes also frequently featured.

As the music is largely electronically generated, shots of artists in studios or playing at concerts, frequent in videos of other genres, were infrequent.

Popularity

In Europe

From the early to mid-1990s, Eurodance was popular in Europe; the style received extensive airplay on radio stations and television shows, resulting in many singles appearing in the charts. Technotronic from Belgium had hits with "Pump Up the Jam" and "Get Up" (featuring Ya Kid K).

By 1996, the popularity of this genre had started to decline. From then, the classic Eurodance sound gradually morphed into progressive house. By 1997 and towards the end of the millennium house and trance music increased popularity over Eurodance in Europe's commercial, chart-oriented dance records. In the early 2000s, the mainstream music industry in Europe moved away from Eurodance in favour of other styles of dance music such as nu-disco, electro house, dance-pop and R&B.

United Kingdom

After Cappella's Gianfranco Bortolotti set up Media Records in Brescia, northern Italy to release his 'commercial European dance music' (a set-up which included fifteen studios featuring various production teams working almost non-stop on a huge number of records) he decided to take the label into other markets and set up a UK office in the UK. Run by Peter Pritchard and featuring many records by Stu Allan's British Eurodance act Clock, this record company would eventually turn into hard house label Nukleuz (known for its DJ Nation releases).

As Media turned into Nukleuz, it would fall to All Around the World Productions to be the label in the 21st Century which was more likely to release Eurodance tracks in the UK than other, with its Clubland TV music channel still having regular blocks of Eurodance videos in 2020 (though extending its scope to include hits by David Guetta as well as Cascada and Scooter)

North America

Canada

During the 1990s, Eurodance became popular in Canada, which produced its own variant called Candance (although it was mostly referred to as "Eurodance" or "dance music"). Eurodance received significant airplay on radio stations in the Greater Toronto Area such as Power 88.5, Energy 108 and Hot 103.5. Montreal was also a major Eurodance market, with MC Mario's famous radio show on Mix 96, called ''Party Mix'' and ''Bouge de là'', a popular TV show on MusiquePlus. Eurodance featured prominently on '' Electric Circus'', a dance-party TV show broadcast nationally in English and French versions. Beginning in mid-1992, Eurodance began to dominate the '' RPM'' dance chart in Canada, with acts such as 2 Unlimited, Snap!, Captain Hollywood Project, Culture Beat, Haddaway, Whigfield, each reaching number-one.

From approximately 1992 to 2000, Canadian acts such as Capital Sound, Love Inc., Jacynthe and Emjay had success with the Eurodance sound. The Toronto sound was more pop-oriented, while the Montreal one was more house-oriented.

United States

Compilation albums such as the ''DMA Dance: Eurodance'' series (1995–1997) from Interhit Records and '' Dance Music Authority'' magazine were popular and helped to define the genre as well as to make it accessible in the U.S. and Canada.

See also

* Reggae fusion (Euro reggae)
* List of Eurodance artists
* List of Eurodance songs

References

External links

EuroDanceHits.com

Eurodance Magazine

The Eurodance Encyclopedia
by Karine Sanche

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1980s in music
1990s in music
2000s in music
Electronic dance music genres
Pop music genres
European music genres