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What is Euro
Dance? 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. There are many types of Eurodance, and the categories are somewhat vague and many cross over one another. For more
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Categories of
Eurodance?
There are many sub-categories within the category of Eurodance.
These are not set in stone but some are commonly recognized:
Trance, House, Techno, Euro Pop, Hi NRG, Eurobeat, Bubblegum, Euro Reggae, and more.
However, before reading on, please remember that classifying anything can create stereotypes and put pre conceived notions on otherwise good music! These categories are to help you understand Eurodance, not to nail everything down to neat little categories, because things just aren't that simple!
Here are the types a little more defined:
| 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. |
| Classic Eurodance: | Often a female vocalist and a male rapper. Synths are old fashioned, often has an 80's or early 90's sound. |
| Eurobeat: | Perhaps least mainstream style. It is very fast, often over 150 bpm and contains elements of classic eurodance and high energy, but is quite fast - like sped-up 70's disco with Trance and Italian High Energy elements. It is created in Italy and very popular in Japan. There is a dance called "Para Para" that can accompany it. See the Eurobeat page for more info. |
| Euro Pop: | This is the vaguest category, as all of this is Pop music. 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. |
| Euro Reggae: | Electronic Reggae... slower than the other categories, and contains chords on the upbeats played by keyboard or guitar. Often has a tropical feel as well. |
| Euro Latin: | Another popular thing to do to an album is stick in a track or two that have Latin-derived feelings or often Spanish language |
| High Energy (Hi NRG): |
Derived from disco. An Italian creation. 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. |
| House: | Similar to Trance, but less often contains vocals, and even less frequently contains many lyrics. Harder synths and often longer, slowly changing and growing songs. Slower tempo. |
| Techno: | This is an old fashioned word, really. It meants music with electronic sounds, or technology influence. Almost all these categories could be called Techno under those standards. It tends to use more sound effects and chord hit type sounds. Crazy keyboard synths. Loud and powerful. |
| Trance: | Often vocal. 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. |
A Little History of Eurodance in the USA:
While the roots of Eurodance are 70’s dance music, such as Abba and their Dancing Queen, the genre had a revival in the early nineties with tunes most Americans would know: Be My Lover, Rhythm of the Night, Another Night, by artists like La Bouche, Corona, and Real McCoy. This sub genre is often called "classic Eurodance." Later rose groups like Aqua, Vengaboys, and Eiffel 65 with tunes like Barbie Girl, We Like to Party, and Blue. Euro Pop and Bubblegum had made it to the US.
The newest mainstream genre here seems to be Trance. Some examples are songs like Castles in the Sky and Sandstorm by Ian Van Dahl and Darude.
It is important to remember that these categories are not limited by time periods: Many artists do not fit neatly in the box; some still make classic eurodance, and others made Trance-like songs years before the others. Some make several types.
Eurodance has been creeping into the USA ever since any other imported Pop music, but it is still fairly rare for dance artists to make it here. It is still not considered mainstream pop, but it is very popular in dance clubs!
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