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Adult contemporary music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1960s: Early roots; easy listening and soft rock#

Adult contemporary traces its roots to the 1960s easy listening format, which adopted a 70–80% instrumental to 20–30% vocal mix. A few offered 90% instrumentals, and a handful were entirely instrumental. The easy listening format, as it was first known, was born of a desire by some radio stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s to continue playing current hit songs, but distinguish themselves from being branded as “rock and roll” stations. Billboard first published the Easy Listening chart July 17, 1961, with 20 songs; the first number one was “Boll Weevil Song” by Brook Benton. The chart described itself as “not too far out in either direction”. Initially, the vocalists consisted of artists such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, Connie Francis, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, and others. The custom recordings were usually instrumental versions of current or recent rock and roll or pop hit songs, a move intended to give the stations more mass appeal without selling out. Some stations would also occasionally play earlier big band-era recordings from the 1940s and early 1950s. After 1965, differences between the Hot 100 chart and the Easy Listening chart became more pronounced. Better reflecting what middle of the road stations were actually playing, the composition of the chart changed dramatically. As rock music continued to harden, there was much less crossover between the Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart than there had been in the early half of the 1960s. Roger Miller, Barbra Streisand and Bobby Vinton were among the chart’s most popular performers. One big impetus for the development of the AC radio format was that, when rock and roll music first became popular in the mid-1950s, many more conservative radio stations wanted to continue to play current hit songs while shying away from rock. These middle of the road (or “MOR”) stations also frequently included older, pre-rock-era adult standards and big band titles to further appeal to adult listeners who had grown up with those songs. Another big impetus for the evolution of the AC radio format was the popularity of easy listening or “beautiful music” stations, stations with music specifically designed to be purely ambient. Whereas most easy listening music was instrumental, created by relatively unknown artists, and rarely purchased (especially as singles, although Jackie Gleason’s beautiful music albums sold well in the 1950s), AC was an attempt to create a similar “lite” format by choosing certain tracks (both hit singles and album cuts) of popular artists.

African heavy metal

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Southern Africa#

The author Edward Banchs traveled extensively through African countries, exploring the most prominent metal scenes, and in 2016, he published a book, titled Heavy Metal Africa: Life, Passion, and Heavy Metal in the Forgotten Continent, covering the musicians and the rise and struggles of the respective cultures in the Sub-Saharan and island countries. According to Banchs, South Africa has developed a robust metal community due to the existing music industry and a large population. South Africa In South Africa, heavy metal was introduced from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s in Johannesburg and saw the relative success of bands such as Odyssey, Ragnärok, Urban Assault, and Voice of Destruction. The arrival of metal music in the country was controversial. For example, the government and the N.G Kerk banned certain records from being imported, and fans of the genre faced hostility from the public, with accusations of Satanism. The first black metal band in South Africa with all Black members, Demogoroth Satanum, was formed in 2009 and works to change the perception of metal music as a genre for White people and to attract more Black fans. Vulvodynia is a deathcore/grindcore band with both Black and White members. Botswana The Botswana heavy metal scene started in the 1970s, with the introduction of classic rock, and evolved into a distinctive subculture with a cowboy-inspired aesthetic. Wrust, Overthrust, and Skinflint have achieved some international success and recognition. The 2014 documentary March of the Gods: Botswana Metalheads documents the heavy metal scene in the country. In 2009, South African photographer Frank Marshall made a photo exhibition called “Renegades”, documenting the metal scene in Botswana. The fashion encyclopedia Stylepedia uses the term “Renegades” as the name for the fashion movement derived from Botswana’s metal scene. Other countries Other southern African countries such as Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar have developing metal scenes as well. The documentary film Terra Pesada explores the metal community in Mozambique. Namibia held a metal festival in Windhoek intermittently between 2007 and 2014, called the Windhoek Metal Fest. Zimbabwe held its first documented metal concert in Harare in 2015, and the first album in Shona, by the band Dividing the Element, was released in 2018. The Angola metal scene was documented and featured in the film Death Metal Angola. Madagascar also has a growing metal community, covered by Banchs.

Afro fusion

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Term and widespread usage#

Vincent Mantsoe and Sylvia Glasser are the pioneering figures behind “Afrofusion,” a contemporary African movement vocabulary and technique that emerged in response to the political changes following the near-end and end of the apartheid regime, a system of racial segregation that took place in South Africa from 1948 to 1991. After the musical style was globally popularized by Freshlyground and Shakira’s Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), which showcased afrofusion and soca, the term “afro fusion” was increasingly used as a hypernym to refer to both historical and as present-day examples of African music blended with other genres, for instance, Western music. Some instances include, in 2015, John Collins described the musical style as “Afro-Fusion music of Africa itself” in his biography and music criticism book Fela: Kalakuta Notes. American rapper GoldLink’s 2019 album, Diaspora, merged African, Caribbean and North American music, inclusive of a song titled, “Zulu Screams”. “Zulu Screams” demonstrated Bibi Bourelly, a German singer-songwriter of Haitian and Moroccan descent, singing in Lingala alongside British-Nigerian musical artist Maleek Berry, who was described as an “afro-fusionist” by Pitchfork.

Afro house

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics and etymology#

Afro house may have emerged after or at the same time as Kwaito started to appear in South Africa. The BPM commonly shifts between 80 and 122 and, in some instances, can even reach 160 BPM. The etymology of the name uses the prefix ‘afro’ (meaning anything relating to Africa and African culture) and the suffix, ‘house’, referring to the main genre of house music.

Notable women in Afro house#

South African record label Afrotainment (Ezase Afro) housed one of the first notable female Afro house artists, DJ Cndo, Her 2007 debut album, Finest Lady of House Vol.1, obtained gold record status. Vocalist Bucie is regarded as “the female voice of South African house music”, including Afro house, particularly with regard her Afro house hit single “Superman” which was produced by Black Coffee in 2009 and was later sampled by Drake in 2017 for his More Life album featuring Jorja Smith. British singer Seal has stated that he likes her music and mentioned that Bucie is “a great singer and artist”. co-founded Fuse Academy, a DJ academy specifically for female DJs, together with Nomdeni Mdaki. In 2016, singer Alicia Keys enlisted Black Coffee to create a remix of her track “In Common”, which was recognized and well received internationally. Zimbabwean singer and songwriter Jackie Queens launched her record label Bae Electronica, which solely showcases female house artists such as Thandi Draai, who has been “heralded as SA house music’s femmetastic triple-threat” according to Mixmag.

Afro tech

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Name and characteristics#

The name is in direct symmetry with Afro house whereas in frame of reference the prefix ‘afro’ defines anything relating to African culture as well as Africa. The suffix ’tech’ appeared to be designated on account of the evident immediate connection to techno. Vocals or lyrics are predominantly delivered in Xhosa and Zulu. Afro-tech is a combination of Afro house and techno sounds inclusive of various African percussion.

Afro/cosmic music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Descriptions#

The Afro/cosmic mixing style is freeform in that it allows for short hip-hop style transforms as well as long, beat-matched segues; it sometimes incorporates added percussion and effects; and it permits major speed variations to force songs into a 90–110 BPM range. Baldelli would also play 45 RPM records at 33 and vice versa. The cosmic sound included a very diverse range of musical styles, from electro and funk to jazz fusion and Brazilian music. Peter Shapiro described Baldelli’s music as a “combination of spaced-out rock and tribal percussion.” One genre that was usually not part of this mix was Italo disco, which Baldelli believes was generally too mainstream and commercial. In a 2005 feature on Daniele Baldelli, one of the style’s founding DJs, music journalist Daniel Wang describes Baldelli’s style as “psychedelic, churning, hypnotic.” In the interview, Baldelli emphasizes playing diverse selections of classical, African and Brazilian folk, and synth-pop at improper speeds, mixed with effects and drum machines: Cosmic music has been cited as a “touchstone” for contemporary “space disco” artists like Lindstrøm collaborator Prins Thomas and Andy Meecham of Chicken Lips. It has also been cited as an influence on some later Italian house songs, such as Sueño Latino.

Afrobeat

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Afrobeat evolved in Nigeria in the late 1960s by Fela Kuti, who, with drummer Tony Allen, experimented with different contemporary music of that time. Afrobeat was influenced by a combination of different genres, such as highlife, fuji, and jùjú, as well as Yoruba vocal traditions, rhythm, and instruments. In the late 1950s, Kuti left Lagos to study abroad at the London School of Music, where he took lessons in piano and percussion and was exposed to jazz. Kuti returned to Lagos and played a highlife-jazz hybrid, albeit, without commercial success. Upon arriving in Nigeria, Kuti had also changed the name of his group to “Africa ‘70”. The new sound hailed from a club he established called the Afrika Shrine. The band maintained a five-year residency at the Afrika Shrine from 1970 to 1975 while Afrobeat thrived among Nigerian youth. Prevalent in his and Lagbaja’s music are native Nigerian harmonies and rhythms, taking contrasting elements and combining, modernizing, and improvising upon them. Politics is essential to Afrobeat because Kuti uses social criticism to pave the way for change. His message can be described as confrontational and controversial, which relates to the political climate of most African countries in the 1970s, many of which were dealing with political injustice and military corruption while recovering from the transition from colonial governments to self-determination. Many bands took up the style as the genre spread throughout the African continent. The recordings of these bands and their songs were rarely heard or exported outside the originating countries, but many can now be found on compilation albums and CDs from specialist record shops.

Afrobeats

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Afrobeats (with the s) is commonly conflated with and referred to as Afrobeat (without the s); however, these two are distinct, sound differently and are not the same. Afrobeat is a genre that developed in the 1960s and 1970s, taking influences from Fuji music and highlife, mixed in with American jazz and funk. Characteristics of Afrobeat include big bands, long instrumental solos, and complex jazzy rhythms. The name was coined by Nigerian afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Fela Kuti and his longtime partner, drummer Tony Allen, are often credited for laying the groundwork for what would become afrobeats. This is in contrast to the Afrobeats sound, pioneered in the 2000s and 2010s. While afrobeats takes on influences from afrobeat, it is a diverse fusion of various different genres such as British house music, hiplife, hip hop, dancehall, soca, jùjú music, highlife, R&B, ndombolo, Naija beats, Azonto, and palm-wine music. Afrobeats is most identifiable by its signature driving drum beat rhythms, whether electronic or instrumental. These beats harken to the stylings of a variety of traditional African drum beats across West Africa as well as the precursory genre Afrobeat. The beat in Afrobeats music is not just a base for the melody, but acts as a major character of the song, taking a lead role that is sometimes equal to or of greater importance than the lyrics and almost always more central than the other instrumentals. Afrobeats shares a similar momentum and tempo to house music. Usually using the 4/4 time signature common in Western music, afrobeats commonly features a 3–2 or 2–3 rhythm called a clave. Another distinction within Afrobeats is the notably West African, specifically Nigerian or Ghanaian, accented English that is often blended with local slangs, pidgin English, as well as local Nigerian or Ghanaian languages depending on the backgrounds of the performers. Sampling is sometimes used within Afrobeats music. Burna Boy and Wizkid, for example, have both sampled Fela Kuti.

Akishibu-kei

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Examples of Akishibu-Kei anime songs#

“Let me be with you” by ROUND TABLE featuring Nino (Opening theme of Chobits.Composed by Kitagawa Katsutoshi)
“Onnanoko ♡ Otokonoko” by Yuko Ogura (Ending theme for School Rumble Composed by Yasuharu Konishi)
“Neko Mimi mode” by Dimitri from Paris (Opening theme of Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase)
“Dramatic Market Ride” by Aya Suzaki (Opening theme of Tamako Market Composed by Tomoko Kataoka)
“Yukitoki” and “Harumodoki” by Yanagi Nagi (Both opening theme of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected Composed by Kitagawa Katsutoshi)
“Your Voice” by Rhodanthe
(Ending theme of Kin-iro Mosaic. Composed by Takeshi Nakatsuka)
“Rocket Beat” by Kiyono Yasuno (Ending theme of Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Composed by Kitagawa Katsutoshi)
“The Girls Are Alright!” by Saya (Opening theme of A Place Further than the Universe. Composed by Mito of Clammbon)

Alternative pop

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Americana music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definition#

The term “Americana music” was defined by the Americana Music Association (AMA) in 2020 as “…the rich threads of country, folk, blues, soul, bluegrass, gospel, and rock in our tapestry.” A previous 2016 AMA definition of the genre included rhythm and blues, with additional comments that Americana music results “in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band.”

Apala

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Apala fusion, apala pop, apala trap and street pop#

Variant styles of apala include apala pop, apala trap, and apala-fusion, with musical artists such as Terry Apala, Olamide, DJ Tunez and Seyi Vibez being prominent figures associated with apala-centered musical styles. Street pop, also known as street hop, is a genre that emerged in Nigeria in the 21st century. It blends experimental rap with vocal performance, integrating elements of Nigerian hip hop, Nigerian street music, and contemporary African genres. Street pop incorporates aspects of Western music, and its sound is notably influenced by apala music.

Arabic pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Songwriting, recording and distribution formats#

The road to Arab stardom is very different from the one in the Western world. Traditionally, a certain producer creates the full song from music to lyrics, no matter the talents of the performer. Most music is recorded in studios as is Western Pop music. But also several live albums have been popular, such as with Asalah and Egyptian legend Umm Kulthum. Music has been released as single records, later replaced with cassettes in the album format, and by the late 1990s, and 2000s, additionally on CDs. Singles were not released separately, but just airplay is common. By the mid 2010s, they have been increasingly released on streaming services which allowed singles to be released again as soon as they become available. There are no official charts or certifications due to the informal nature of the business and bootlegging. In the mid 2000s, Ringtone charts were occasionally made, but due to bootlegging, they were supposedly highly inaccurate. There are several awards in different countries awarded in different ways according to their organizations. In fact, bootlegging is so common that most bootleggers have their own brands. They are so bold that they usually put contact info on the front of the CDs. Bootlegging is such a major problem that most artists cannot rely on royalties for income. Most of the actual musical income came from ringtone downloads, which was more prevalent than in the West. Other income comes from endorsement deals and live performances. Live performances are mainly brokered through the record label. This includes public concerts, such as at arenas or major media events. However, performances at weddings and private parties are common and well paid, no matter the artist’s level of fame. Music TV channels and music shows such as Arabs Got Talent are popular in the Middle East and North Africa, where some 40 Arab music channels exist. Rotana is the most popular company, running six TV channels, a record label, and a roster of more than 100 of the top Arab pop artists.

Art pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Art pop draws on postmodernism’s breakdown of the high/low cultural boundary and explores concepts of artifice and commerce. The style emphasizes the manipulation of signs over personal expression, drawing on an aesthetic of the everyday and the disposable, in distinction to the Romantic and autonomous tradition embodied by art rock or progressive rock. Sociomusicologist Simon Frith has distinguished the appropriation of art into pop music as having a particular concern with style, gesture, and the ironic use of historical eras and genres. Central to particular purveyors of the style were notions of the self as a work of construction and artifice, The Independents Nick Coleman wrote: “Art-pop is partly about attitude and style; but it’s essentially about art. It is, if you like, a way of making pure formalism socially acceptable in a pop context.” Cultural theorist Mark Fisher wrote that the development of art pop evolved out of the triangulation of pop, art, and fashion. Robert Christgau wrote in The Village Voice in 1987 that art-pop results “when a fascination with craft spirals up and in until it turns into an aestheticist obsession.”

Assyrian folk-pop music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Assyrian folk music claims to be the descendant of the music of their ancient Upper Mesopotamian ancestors that has survived in the liturgical music of the Syriac Churches. Assyrian songs are generally sung in Iraqi Koine, a standard variety of Assyrian Neo-Aramaic. However, older songs mostly had an Urmian dialect and tribal-folk music tend to contain Tyari dialects. Themes tend to focus on longing, melancholy, strife and love issues. Assyrian songs are usually lengthy, tending to be around 5 minutes long on average.

Avant-pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definition#

“Avant-pop” has been used to label music which balances experimental or avant-garde approaches with stylistic elements from popular music, and which probes mainstream conventions of structure or form. Music writer Sean Albiez describes “avant-pop” as identifying idiosyncratic artists working in “a liminal space between contemporary classical music and the many popular music genres that developed in the second half of the twentieth century.” The Tribeca New Music Festival defines “avant-pop” as “music that draws its energy from both popular music and classical forms.” The term has elsewhere been used by literary critic Larry McCaffery to describe “the most radical, subversive literary talents of the postmodern new wave.”

Barbershop music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Ringing chords#

The defining characteristic of the barbershop style is the ringing chord, one in which certain overtones of the four voices reinforce each other, sometimes so strongly that the overtone is perceived by the listener as a distinct tone, even though none of the voices are perceived as singing that tone. This effect occurs when the chord, as voiced, contains intervals which have strongly reinforcing overtones (fifths and octaves, for example) that fall in the audible range; and when the chord is sung in perfect just tuning without excessive vibrato. Both of these characteristics are important in many styles of singing, but in barbershop there is an extreme emphasis on them that tends to override other musical values. For example, favored chords in the jazz style are characterized by intervals which do not audibly ring, such as diminished or augmented fifths. For another example, barbershop music is always a cappella, because the presence of fixed-pitch instruments (tuned to equal-temperament rather than just temperament), which is so highly prized in other choral styles, makes perfect just tuning of chords impossible. The physics and psychophysics of the effect are fairly well understood; it occurs when the upper harmonics in the individual voice notes, and the sum and difference frequencies resulting from nonlinear combinations within the ear, reinforce each other at a particular frequency, strengthening it so that it stands out separately above the blended sound. The effect is audible only on certain kinds of chords, and only when all voices are equally rich in harmonics and justly tuned and balanced. It is not heard in chords sounded on modern keyboard instruments, due to the slight tuning imperfection of the equal-tempered scale. Gage Averill writes that “Barbershoppers have become partisans of this acoustic phenomenon” and that “the more experienced singers of the barbershop revival (at least after 1938) have self-consciously tuned their dominant seventh and tonic chords in just intonation to maximize the overlap of common overtones.” However, “In practice, it seems that most leads rely on an approximation of an equal-tempered scale for the melody, to which the other voices adjust vertically in just intonation.” What is prized is not so much the “overtone” itself, but a unique sound whose achievement is most easily recognized by the presence of the “overtone”. The precise synchrony of the waveforms of the four voices simultaneously creates the perception of a “fifth voice” while at the same time melding the four voices into a unified sound. The ringing chord is qualitatively different in sound from an ordinary musical chord e.g. as sounded on a tempered-scale keyboard instrument. Most elements of the “revivalist” style are related to the desire to produce these ringing chords. Performance is a cappella to prevent the distracting introduction of equal-tempered intonation, and because listening to anything but the other three voices interferes with a performer’s ability to tune with the precision required. Barbershop arrangements stress chords and chord progressions that favor “ringing”, at the expense of suspended and diminished chords and other harmonic vocabulary of the ragtime and jazz forms. The dominant seventh-type chord is so important to barbershop harmony that it is called the “barbershop seventh”. BHS arrangers believe that a song should contain dominant seventh chords anywhere from 35 to 60 percent of the time (measured as a percentage of the duration of the song rather than a percentage of the chords present) to sound “barbershop”. Historically barbershoppers may have used the word “minor chord” in a way that is confusing to those with musical training. Averill suggests that it was “a shorthand for chord types other than major triads”, and says that the use of the word for “dominant seventh-type chords and diminished chords” was common in the late nineteenth century. A 1910 song called “Play That Barber Shop Chord” (often cited as an early example of “barbershop” in reference to music) contains the lines: ‘Cause Mister when you start that minor part I feel your fingers slipping and a grasping at my heart, Oh Lord play that Barber shop chord! Averill notes the hints of rapture, “quasi-religion” and erotic passion in the language used by barbershoppers to describe the emotional effect. He quotes Jim Ewin as reporting “a tingling of the spine, the raising of the hairs on the back of the neck, the spontaneous arrival of goose flesh on the forearm … the fifth note has almost mysterious propensities. It’s the consummation devoutly wished by those of us who love Barbershop harmony. If you ask us to explain why we love it so, we are hard put to answer; that’s where our faith takes over.” Averill notes too the use of the language of addiction, “there’s this great big chord that gets people hooked.” An early manual was entitled “A Handbook for Adeline Addicts”. He notes too that “barbershoppers almost never speak of ‘singing’ a chord, but almost always draw on a discourse of physical work and exertion; thus, they ‘hit’, ‘chop’, ‘ring’, ‘crack’, ‘swipe’, and ‘bust.’ Vocal harmony is interpreted as an embodied musicking. Barbershoppers never lose sight (or sound) of its physicality.”

Beat music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin#

The exact origins of the terms ‘beat music’ and ‘Merseybeat’ are uncertain. “Beat” alludes to the driving rhythms adopted from rock and roll, R&B, and soul music—not the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s. As the initial wave of British rock and roll was in height in the early 1960s, “big beat” music, later shortened to “beat”, became a live dance style and alternative alongside the British rock and roll balladeers like Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, and Cliff Richard who were dominating the charts. The German anthropologist and music critic Ernest Borneman, who lived in England from 1933 to 1960, claimed to have coined the term in a column in Melody Maker magazine to describe the British imitation of American rock’n’roll, rhythm & blues, and skiffle bands. The ‘Mersey’ of ‘Merseybeat’ refers to the River Mersey. Liverpool lies on the eastern side of the river’s estuary. The name Mersey Beat was used for a Liverpool music magazine founded in 1961 by Bill Harry. Harry claims to have coined the term “based on a policeman’s beat and not that of the music”. With the rise of the Beatles in 1963, the terms Mersey sound and Merseybeat were applied to bands and singers from Liverpool, the first time in British pop music that a sound and a location were linked together. The Beatles’ debut album Please Please Me (1963) is often cited as the record that most exemplifies the Merseybeat sound. The equivalent scenes in Birmingham and London were described as Brum Beat and the Tottenham Sound respectively.

Benga music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Luo, Kamba & Kenyan Modern Benga#

The Luo of Kenya have long played an eight-string lyre called nyatiti, and guitarists from the area sought to imitate the instrument’s syncopated melodies. In benga, the electric bass guitar is played in a style reminiscent of the nyatiti. As late as the turn of the twentieth century, this bass in nyatiti supported the rhythm essential in transmitting knowledge about society through music. Opondo Owenga of Gem Yala, the grandfather of Odhiambo Siangla, was known for employing music as a means of teaching the history of the Luo. The father of the popular Luo benga is George Ramogi (Omogi Wuod Weta) and CK Jazz. He helped the benga enthusiasts by recording their benga music in different labels in the capital city of Nairobi. Dr. Mengo of Victoria Jazz was a protege of George Ramogi. In 1967, the first major benga band, Shirati Jazz, was formed by Daniel Owino Misiani. The group launched a string of hits that were East Africa’s biggest songs throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Shirati Jazz’s biggest rival was Victoria Jazz, formed in 1972 by Ochieng Nelly Mengo and Collela Mazee. Despite many personnel changes, Victoria Jazz remained popular throughout the 1970s, when the Voice of Kenya radio station pushed an onslaught of East African pop. Victoria C Band of Awino Lawi was one of the splinter group of Victoria Jazz. 1997 saw the death of three prominent Luo benga artists, Okatch Biggy of Heka Heka Band, George Ramogi and Prince Jully. The Jolly Boys Band of Prince Jully was taken over by his wife Princess Jully and she has since been a leading female benga musician. Another famous benga band Migori Super Stars was formed in the mid-70s and was led by Musa Olwete which later split to form another popular benga band Migori Super Stars C with musicians such as Joseph Ochola (Kasongo Polo Menyo), Onyango Jamba, Ochieng’ Denge denge and others. More modern benga artists include Kapere Jazz Band and the rootsy Ogwang Lelo Okoth. The new millennium has seen the emergence of Dola Kabarry and Musa Juma. The latter saw his career cut short as he died in 2011. MJ, as he was popularly known to his fans, developed a kind of benga that infused elements of rumba. He was able to mold other musicians such as John Junior, Ogonji, Madanji, and his late brother Omondi Tonny. Currently, Odhiambo Tusker of Malela Kings Band is considered the superstar of Luo benga music, with all his music loved by people of all ages. There are also other benga artists based countries other than Kenya, such as the American/Kenyan group Extra Golden.

Bhangra (music)

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Origins#

The roots of modern bhangra music date back to the Sikh Punjabi community in Punjab during the 1960s. An early pop music and modern recording group of this type of music in the United Kingdom was the Bhujhangy Group, founded by Tarlochan Singh Bilga, Balbir Singh Khanpur, Gurpal, Rajinder Dhona and Dalvir Kahanpuri in Birmingham in 1971. The Bhujhangy Group’s first major hit was “Bhabiye Akh Larr Gayee”. It was written by Tarlochan Singh Bilga in the early 1970s and was released on Birmingham’s Oriental Star Agencies label. This was the first bhangra song to combine traditional Asian music with modern Western instruments.

Bikutsi

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Etymology#

The word ‘bikutsi’ literally means ‘beat the earth’ or ’let’s beat the earth’ (bi- indicates a plural, -kut- means ’to beat’ and -chi means ’earth’.) The name indicates a dance that is accompanied by stomping the feet on the ground.

Description#

Bikutsi is characterised by an intense rhythm (3+3, with a strong “two” feel), though it is occasionally Triple metre

History#

Popular bikutsi first appeared in the 1940s with the recording of Anne-Marie Nzié. Some twenty years later, the style was electrified with the addition of keyboards and guitars. The most popular performer of this period was Messi Me Nkonda Martin, frontman for Los Camaroes and known as “the father of modern bikutsi music”. In an effort to translate the sound and spirit of traditional bikutsi music to more modern terms, Messi incorporated the sound of a balafon into the electric guitar by linking together the guitar strings with lengths of cotton cord. Played in this way, the electric guitar sounded similar to the balafon. The music itself, then, was only slightly altered, while the image and outside perception of bikutsi music was changed enormously. Other bands during this time, such as Les Vétérans, were also popular. International acclaim began in 1987 with the formation of Les Têtes Brûlées by Jean Marie Ahanda. The late guitarist of Les Têtes Brulées, Zanzibar, invented the trick of damping the strings of his guitar with a strip of foam rubber to produce the music’s characteristic balafon-like thunk. (The balafon is a marimba-like instrument that is widely used in African folk music.) More modern performers include Jimmy Mvondo Mvelé and Mbarga Soukous. Present-day bikutsi as performed by artists like Lady Ponce, K-Tino, Racine Sagath and Natascha Bizo is sometimes regarded as controversial. It has been criticised for the perceived sexual content of its lyrics and dancing style. In this respect bikutsi resembles mapouka from Côte d’Ivoire, which is also considered indecent by many Africans. The main difference is that present day bikutsi is still often performed by female artists who use it as a means of self-expression in a traditionally male-dominated society. Thus a singer like K-Tino, self-styled femme du peuple (woman of the people) sees herself as having an important part to play in the emancipation and liberation of the women of Cameroon. Among the current crop of artists are Patou Bass and Ovasho Bens, the promoter of a dance and philosophy called “zig zag”. His first album is composed not only of Cameroonian traditional rhythms but also West Indian zouk and Jamaican-style reggae. Bikutsi has influenced Western musicians such as Paul Simon on his 1990 album The Rhythm of the Saints.

Bitpop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Among systems used include the Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Amiga. The sounds produced from these systems can be combined to any degree with traditional instruments, such as guitar and drums, modern synthesizers and drum machines, or vocals and sound effects. Bitpop uses a mixture of old and new equipment often resulting in a sound which is unlike chiptune although containing 8-bit sourced sounds. For example, a bitpop production may be composed almost entirely of 8-bit sounds but with a live vocal or overlaid live guitars. Conversely, a bitpop production may be composed almost entirely of live vocals and instruments but feature a bassline or lead melody provided by an 8-bit device.

Blues

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The term ‘Blues’ may have originated from “blue devils”, meaning melancholy and sadness. An early use of the term in this sense is in George Colman’s one-act farce Blue Devils (1798). The phrase ‘blue devils’ may also have been derived from a British usage of the 1600s referring to the “intense visual hallucinations that can accompany severe alcohol withdrawal”. As time went on, the phrase lost the reference to devils and came to mean a state of agitation or depression. By the 1800s in the United States, the term “blues” was associated with drinking alcohol, a meaning which survives in the phrase ‘blue law’, which prohibits the sale of alcohol on Sunday. In Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, he mentions “the blues” in the chapter reflecting on his time in solitude. He wrote his account of his personal quest in 1845, although it was not published until 1854. The phrase “the blues” was written by Charlotte Forten, then aged 25, in her diary on December 14, 1862. She was a free-born black woman from Pennsylvania who was working as a schoolteacher in South Carolina, instructing both slaves and freedmen, and wrote that she “came home with the blues” because she felt lonesome and pitied herself. She overcame her depression and later noted a number of songs, such as “Poor Rosy”, that were popular among the slaves. Although she admitted being unable to describe the manner of singing she heard, Forten wrote that the songs “can’t be sung without a full heart and a troubled spirit”, conditions that have inspired countless blues songs. Though the use of the phrase in African-American music may be older, it has been attested to in print since 1912, when Hart Wand’s “Dallas Blues” became the first copyrighted blues composition. In lyrics, the phrase is often used to describe a depressed mood.

Boy band

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The term was not established until the late 1980s when Lou Pearlman decided to form a record company to promote a new singing and dancing group after becoming fascinated with the success of New Kids on the Block. Although generally described as a rock band, the highest-selling band in history – the Beatles – have been described by several journalists as “the first” or “the original” boy band, “before anyone had thought of the term”, exclusively due to the enthusiastic response they received from their young female audience. Other critics, however, have pointed out that this assessment of the Beatles as a “boy band” could be applied to all other bands of the 1960s, saying, “if they were a (boy band), so was everyone else” and is countered by others, including Ringo Starr, who point out that, from the beginning, the Beatles wrote and exercised creative control over their own music, played their own instruments, were not manufactured by a record label, and did not feature the choreographed dance moves that later came to be associated with boy bands. which featured a music group of the same name, created for the show, that consisted of the four starring actors. The Monkees had a career as a rock and pop band after their songs from the TV series were released as successful records.

Brill Building (genre)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

List of artists#

1960s artists/songwriters Later artists * Roy Wood * Cindy Lee * Jessica Pratt

Britpop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Style, roots and influences#

Though Britpop has sometimes been viewed as a marketing tool and more of a cultural moment than a distinct musical genre, there are musical conventions and influences the bands grouped under the Britpop term have in common. Britpop bands show elements from the British pop music of the 1960s, glam rock and punk rock of the 1970s, and indie pop of the 1980s in their music, attitude, and clothing. Specific influences vary: Blur drew from the Kinks and early Pink Floyd, Oasis took inspiration from the Beatles, and Elastica had a fondness for arty punk rock, notably Wire and both incarnations of Adam and the Ants. Regardless, Britpop artists project a sense of reverence for British pop sounds of the past. The Kinks’ Ray Davies and XTC’s Andy Partridge are sometimes advanced as the “godfathers” or “grandfathers” of Britpop, though Davies disputes it. Others similarly labelled include Paul Weller and Adam Ant. Alternative rock acts from the indie scene of the 1980s and early 1990s were the direct ancestors of the Britpop movement. The influence of the Smiths is common to the majority of Britpop artists. The Madchester scene, fronted by the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, James and Inspiral Carpets (for whom Oasis’s Noel Gallagher had worked as a roadie during the Madchester years), was an immediate root of Britpop since its emphasis on good times and catchy songs provided an alternative to the British-based shoegazing and American based grunge styles of music. In 1991, James’s song “Sit Down” reached number two in the UK charts, with Flavorwire writing the song “predates the Britpop label, but it presaged the quintessentially British sound that would explode in the ’90s. Entire festival crowds used to sit down during the chorus of this song”. Pre-dating Britpop by four years, Liverpool-based group the La’s hit single “There She Goes” was described by Rolling Stone as a “founding piece of Britpop’s foundation”. Naming it his favourite song from the 1990s (“There She Goes” was originally released in 1988), Noel Gallagher once declared that “Oasis want to finish what The La’s started”. Local identity and regional British accents are common to Britpop groups, as well as references to British places and culture in lyrics and image. Stylistically, Britpop bands use catchy hooks and lyrics that were relevant to young British people of their own generation. In spite of the professed disdain for the genres, some elements of both crept into the more enduring facets of Britpop. Noel Gallagher has since championed Ride and once stated that Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was the only songwriter he had respect for in the last ten years, and that he felt their music was similar enough that Cobain could have written “Wonderwall”. By 1996, Oasis’s prominence was such that NME termed a number of Britpop bands (including The Boo Radleys, Ocean Colour Scene and Cast) “Noelrock”, citing Gallagher’s influence on their music. Journalist John Harris described these bands, and Gallagher, as sharing “a dewy-eyed love of the 1960s, a spurning of much beyond rock’s most basic ingredients, and a belief in the supremacy of ‘real music. The imagery associated with Britpop was equally British and working class. A rise in unabashed maleness, exemplified by Loaded magazine, binge drinking and lad culture in general, would be very much part of the Britpop era. The Union Jack became a prominent symbol of the movement (as it had a generation earlier with mod bands such as the Who) and its use as a symbol of pride and nationalism contrasted deeply with the controversy that erupted just a few years before when former Smiths singer Morrissey performed draped in it. The emphasis on British reference points made it difficult for the genre to achieve success in the US.

Bubblegrunge

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Bubblegrunge fuses the catchy, upbeat melodies of bubblegum pop with the distorted guitars, heavy drums and raw, emotional vocals of grunge. NPR described the style as “a blend of bedroom pop and ’90s alternative rock.” It often features confessional, introspective lyrics on love, heartbreak and self‑discovery, wrapped in a nostalgic, slightly melancholy edge.

Etymology#

Although in use by critics in the 1990s, awareness of the term increased with its inclusion in the 2021 edition of Spotify Wrapped.

Bubblegum music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definitions#

Occasionally invoked as a pejorative, There is debate concerning which artists fit the genre, especially for cases such as the Monkees. In the opinion of music historian Bill Pitzonka: “The whole thing that really makes a record bubblegum is just an inherently contrived innocence that somehow transcends that. … It has to sound like they mean it.” Music critic David Smay argued that disco is merely bubblegum by another name and that since bubblegum is “dance music for pre-teen girls”, the genre’s scope must therefore include dance-pop and such associated figures as Stock Aitken Waterman and Kylie Minogue, but “Not all dance-pop is aimed at kids and shouldn’t be presumed to be disposable anymore than bubblegum.”

California sound

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

The genesis of the California sound is said to be the Beach Boys’ debut single “Surfin’” in 1961. While the band’s leader Brian Wilson then collaborated with Jan Berry for several hit singles written and produced for other artists, they recorded what would later be regarded as the California sound. University of Southern California history professor Kevin Starr has stated that the band was historically important for embodying the era of the Silent Generation, which he described as unpolitical. He explained that the group “could not help but mythologize a landscape and way of life that was already so surreal, so proto-mythic, in its setting. Cars and the beach, surfing, the California Girl, all this fused in the alembic of youth: Here was a way of life, an iconography, already half-released into the chords and multiple tracks of a new sound.” The California sound was thus a musical translation of the California myth. In the book Pioneers of Rock and Roll: 100 Artists Who Changed the Face of Rock, Harry Sumrall summarized: The Beach Boys’ surf music was not entirely of their own invention, being preceded by artists such as Dick Dale. However, previous surf musicians did not project a worldview as the Beach Boys did. Wilson once said of its myth: “It’s not just the surfing; it’s the outdoors and cars and sunshine; it’s the society of California; it’s the way of California.” Al Jardine of the Beach Boys argued that “It’s not entirely a myth. There are still some elements that are certainly true, especially for a first-time observer. But to be able to come here and to drive that coast on Route 1 … you experience the water and the animals and the sea life, the whole thing. It’s really magical. It really is.” Capitol Records staff producer Nick Venet, who worked with the group early on, believed that most of the group’s lyrical inspiration was drawn from Hollywood films. AllMusic’s review of the group’s “All Summer Long” calls it a “potent example” of the California myth’s “idyllic dream world of sun, surf, and fun” while containing qualities of sunshine pop. Author Luis Sanchez believes that the entirety of the album All Summer Long (1964) was “the nearest the Beach Boys ever got to a perfect version of the California myth.” David Howard wrote that “Don’t Worry Baby” was a “subtle harbinger for the growing dichotomy within the California sound. While ‘I Get Around’ symbolized the sunshine ideal in all its carefree splendor, ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ suggested something entirely more pensive and even slightly dark underneath its pristine facade.”

Cambodian rock (1960s–1970s)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Post-independence period#

Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953, under the leadership of young king Norodom Sihanouk. Sihanouk was a musician and songwriter, and fostered the development of homegrown popular music in the newly independent country. Under Sihanouk’s rule, it was common for government ministries to have their own orchestras or singing groups to perform at official state functions and royal receptions. For example, Sihanouk’s mother, Queen Sisowath Kossamak, sponsored the Vong Phleng Preah Reach Troap (the classical ensemble of the Royal Treasury), and in approximately 1957 invited the young Sinn Sisamouth to join the ensemble as his first professional music job. Cambodia’s international relations with France and various countries in Latin America fostered the importation of pop records into the country, while children from wealthy Cambodian families often attended school in France and returned with French pop records that were widely traded among fans in Phnom Penh. Latin jazz, cha cha cha, and À gogo records imported from Latin America also became popular in the capital city. By the late 1950s, these genres inspired a flourishing pop music scene in Phnom Penh, featuring singers who created a unique sound by combining traditional Cambodian music forms with these new international influences. Sinn Sisamouth, Mao Sareth, So Savoeun, Chhuon Malay, Sieng Di, and Sos Math were among the earliest stars in this pop scene, with Sisamouth in particular becoming a leader of popular trends in which Cambodian musicians absorbed more international influences, eventually leading to the development of Cambodian rock music. The band originally performed crooning vocal music inspired by Paul Anka and Pat Boone, then added inspiration from the guitar-driven music of The Ventures and Chuck Berry. Sisamouth fostered the careers of younger singers and musicians, writing songs for them while also utilizing them in many of his own songs. Pen Ran (also known as Pan Ron) was one of the earliest rock-oriented female singers in the Cambodian scene, first emerging in 1963 with traditional pop songs but moving into rock music by 1966 via duets with Sisamouth as well as her own songs. Pen Ran was particularly influential, known for her flirtatious dancing and risque lyrics that subverted traditional Khmer gender roles. Sisamouth was also instrumental in launching the career of Ros Serey Sothea, who had been singing at weddings and quickly became the leading female singer in the Cambodian rock scene after her emergence in 1967. Sothea received wide recognition for her high and clear singing voice, and her ability to convey emotions from mischief and flirtation to heartbreak and tragedy. Sothea maintained an active career with her own songs as well as many popular duets with Sisamouth. Sihanouk continued to support the Cambodian music scene through his patronage of the national radio station, allowing the station to promote local music. She became a popular singer as well, known particularly for highly personal lyrics that subverted the social expectations placed on Khmer women, and a melancholic voice that Sihanouk compared to Édith Piaf. Sisamouth, Ros Serey Sothea, Pen Ran and others also maintained separate music careers concurrently. Their rock n’ roll records, which were popular with younger people, were released alongside works in other genres including traditional Cambodian music, romantic ballads, and film music, with those latter genres remaining popular with the country’s older music fans. Ros Serey Sothea and Pen Ran are both believed to have sung on hundreds of songs, and Pen Ran wrote many of her songs herself.

Canadian blues

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

Due to Canada’s proximity to the United States (there is a huge shared border), and to the fact that most of the Canadian population lives close to the border, many US blues artists have played in Canadian towns and cities. As well, many Canadian musicians and bands have been able to play in US towns, particularly Canadians who live near US cities close to the border, such as Detroit and Chicago. These two elements have given Canadian blues musicians a substantial opportunity to be directly influenced by US artists. Canadian blues is based on the major US blues styles, such as Chicago Blues and Mississippi Blues. The proximity of the two countries also facilitates collaborative projects featuring artists from both countries. For example, the Canadian bluesman JW-Jones had his third album, My Kind Of Evil (2004), produced by the US artist Kim Wilson (singer and harmonica player for The Fabulous Thunderbirds), and subsequent albums included collaborations with US saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman and US blues artists such as Little Charlie Baty, Junior Watson, Richard Innes, and Larry Taylor. Canadian harp player and band leader David Rotundo has visited many of the key US blues regions, which greatly influenced his musical development.

Cantopop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1920s to 1950s: Shanghai origins#

Western-influenced music first came to China in the 1920s, specifically through Shanghai. Artists like Zhou Xuan () acted in films and recorded popular songs. After the People’s Republic of China was founded by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, the new government quickly denounced pop music—particularly Western pop—as decadent. As a result, many first generation Cantopop artists and composers hail from Shanghai.

1960s: Cultural acceptance#

By the 1960s, Cantonese music in Hong Kong was still limited largely to traditional Cantonese opera and comic renditions of western music. Tang Kee-chan, Cheng Kuan-min (), and Tam Ping-man () were among the earliest artists releasing Cantonese records. The generation at the time preferred British and American exports. Western culture was at the time equated with education and sophistication, and Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis and The Beatles were popular. Conversely, those who preferred Cantonese music were considered old-fashioned or uneducated. and Chan Chai-chung () were two popular Cantonese singers who specifically targeted the younger generation. Connie Chan Po-chu is generally considered to be Hong Kong’s first teen idol, mostly due to her career longevity. Josephine Siao is also another artist of the era.

Canzone napoletana

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Many of the Neapolitan songs are world-famous because they were taken abroad by emigrants from Naples and southern Italy, roughly between 1880 and 1920. The music also was popularized abroad by performers such as Enrico Caruso, who took to singing the popular music of his native city as encores at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the early 1900s. Caruso also recorded many of these songs, which subsequently became part of the standard repertoire for operatic tenors, and which were performed and recorded by such notable singers as Beniamino Gigli, Francesco Albanese, Franco Corelli, Mario Del Monaco, Giuseppe Di Stefano, and Tito Schipa. The Three Tenors also performed popular songs from Naples. Plácido Domingo recorded a full CD Italia ti amo of traditional and some more modern Neapolitan and Italian songs. Luciano Pavarotti recorded three albums of Neapolitan and Italian songs: The Best: Disc 2, (2005), Pavarotti Songbook, (1991), and Romantica, (2002). Mario Lanza recorded an acclaimed selection of 12 Neapolitan songs on his 1959 album, Mario! Lanza at His Best. Opera/pop crossover tenor, Sergio Franchi recorded his very popular Billboard Top 25 RCA debut album, Romantic Italian Songs in 1962, and continued to record Neapolitan songs on most of his albums throughout his career. Andrea Bocelli recorded an album in 2009 dedicated to the style, entitled Incanto. The most important native Neapolitan performers of Neapolitan songs in the last few decades include Roberto Murolo, Bruno Venturini, Mario Trevi, Mario Abbate, Mario Merola, Giulietta Sacco, Franco Ricci, Sergio Bruni, Renato Carosone, and Mario Maglione. Murolo is known not only as a singer and guitarist, but also as a composer, scholar and collector of the music; his collection of twelve LPs, released in the 1960s, is an annotated compendium of Neapolitan song dating back to the twelfth century. Representatives of different veins, but nevertheless leading the continuing tradition of song in Neapolitan, are the jazz-rock singer-songwriter Pino Daniele and the folkloric group Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare; Almamegretta and 99 posse are representative of a blend of Neapolitan songs and dub/trip hop, with the former appearing in a song with the Bristol duo Massive Attack. All Neapolitan songs are written and performed in the Neapolitan language. Although the music is sung by many non-Neapolitan singers, it is difficult to sing correctly without knowledge of the Neapolitan dialect, which is crucial in obtaining the correct inflection. The matter of dialect has not prevented a few non-Neapolitans from writing dialect versions of Neapolitan songs. The most famous examples of this are A vucchella by Gabriele D’Annunzio and Tu sì ’na cosa grande by Domenico Modugno. Since the second half of the 2010s, a new sub-set of Neapolitan music has begun to emerge which mixed various traditional elements with aspects of hip hop, electronic, techno and urban music. Among the major representatives of this “new school” we find Liberato, Geolier and Clementino.

Chalga

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The name Chalga is derived from the Turkish word Çalgı, meaning “musical instrument”.

History#

Although it originated in parallel with ex-Yugoslav turbofolk in the 1960s and 70s, contemporary Chalga music first emerged in 1989 after the collapse of the communist regime of Bulgaria, which persecuted musicians who played western or western influenced-styles. The political freedom that came with the fall of the Iron Curtain thus enabled Chalga to emerge and enjoy commercial success as a genre. Many conservative-minded figures in Bulgaria have criticized Chalga for its lyrical themes, often revolving around sexual liberation, youth culture, and glorification of wealth and capitalism, which critics considered morally corrupt. However, in the modern day, most Bulgarians have embraced Chlaga due to its liberal attitudes and alternative subculture, viewing it as an important piece of modern Bulgarian culture. Throughout the Balkans, folk traditions have seen a process of modernization. Chalga has similarities with Greek Laiko and Turkish Arabesque music, a style with similar pop elements, incorporating Turkish music elements and lyrics, mixed with Arab influences due to religious and cultural similarities to between Turkey and the Arab world.

Chillwave

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Musical origins#

Chillwave has been classified as psychedelia, Boards of Canada, whom Abebe says pre-chillwave music was often compared to, The Paw Tracks record label, which distributed Pink’s albums, was run by Animal Collective, who signed Pink after being impressed by a CD of his home recordings, starting with The Doldrums (2000). Uncuts Sam Richard profiled Pink as “a lo-fi legend” whose “ghostly pop sound” proved influential to chillwave acts such as Ducktails and Toro y Moi. Critic Adam Harper disputed Pink’s “godfather of chillwave” status, writing that his influence on lo-fi scenes has been somewhat overstated, explaining that his music lacks “the mirror-shades-cool synth groove of chillwave … Pink’s albums are zany, personal, largely rock-based and dressed in awkward glam”. Discussing chillwave’s bedroom pop precursors, Allene Norton of Cellars opined that Pink is “definitely not chillwave but that kind of stuff influenced a lot of the artists making it, like Washed Out.” The album influenced a wide range of subsequent indie music, with its sound serving as the major inspiration for chillwave and a number of soundalikes. Animal Collective itself also contributed to the movement. Their album Merriweather Post Pavilion, released in January 2009, was particularly influential for its ambient sounds and repetitive melodies, but was not as tightly associated with the “hazy” psychedelia that chillwave was identified with. According to Flavorwires Tom Hawking, chillwave acts extrapolated “the sort of ill-defined pastoral nostalgia” from Animal Collective’s early work “and spun it into an entire genre.”

Chimurenga music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin#

The name “Chimurange music” is derived from the Shona-language word chimurenga, meaning “liberation”, which was commonly used during the 1964–1979 Rhodesian Bush War. The genre was created by the musician and political dissident Thomas Mapfumo.

Style#

An instrument commonly used in chimurenga music is the mbira, a type of “thumb piano” with a wooden body and metal tines that are plucked to produce a sound. Contemporary chimurenga incorporates electric instruments such as bass and electric guitars. It includes percussive elements like hosho shakers and various drums. The music typically builds melodies on top of folk tunes, with a danceable, fast-paced beat. The vocals tend to be emotional and can involve a call-and-response element.

Contemporary Christian music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Beginnings (1950s–1960s)#

The growing popularity of rock and roll music in the 1950s and 1960s was initially dismissed among Protestant churches and denominations, as it was believed to encourage sinfulness. However, as Baptist, Evangelical, and Pentecostal churches in the United States adapted to appeal to more people, the musical styles used in worship changed as well by adopting the sounds of this popular style. The genre became known as “contemporary Christian music” as a result of the Jesus movement revival in response to the American counterculture during the latter 1960s and early 1970s, and was originally called “Jesus music”. “About that time, many young people from the sixties’ counterculture professed to believe in Jesus. Convinced of the “bareness” of a lifestyle based on drugs, free sex, and “radical politics”, some of the Jesus ‘hippies’ became known as ‘Jesus people’”. It was during the 1970s that Christian music started to become an industry within itself, led by the Jesus movement. “Jesus music” started by playing instruments and singing songs about love and peace, which then translated into love of God. Paul Wohlegemuth, who wrote the book Rethinking Church Music, said " the 1970s will see a marked acceptance of rock-influenced music in all levels of church music. The rock style will become more familiar to all people, its rhythmic excesses will become refined, and its earlier secular associations will be less remembered." Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Charismatic artists made significant contributions to CCM in the 1960s and 1970s, Larry Norman is often remembered as the “father of Christian rock”, because of his early contributions (before the Jesus movement) to the developing new genre that mixed rock rhythms with the Christian messages. Though his style was not initially well received by some in the Christian community of the time, he continued throughout his career to create controversial hard-rock songs such as “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?” and Mylon – We Believe by Mylon LeFevre, released by Cotillion, which was LeFevre’s attempt at blending gospel music with southern rock. Unlike traditional or southern gospel music, this new Jesus music was birthed out of rock and folk music. Pioneers of this movement also included Andraé Crouch and the Disciples, the Imperials, Michael Omartian, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Phil Keaggy, Love Song, Barry McGuire, Evie, Paul Clark, Randy Matthews, Randy Stonehill, and Keith Green, among others. The small Jesus music culture had expanded into a multimillion-dollar industry by the 1980s. A number of CCM artists such as Benny Hester, Amy Grant, DC Talk, Michael W. Smith, Stryper, and Jars of Clay found crossover success with Top 40 mainstream radio play.

Country pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Beginnings: Nashville sound/50s-60s#

The joining of country and pop began in the 1950s when studio executives Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley wanted to create a new kind of music for the young adult crowd after “rockabilly stole away much of country music’s youth audience”. According to Bill Ivey, this innovative genre originated in Nashville, Tennessee and thus became known as the Nashville Sound. He believes that the “Nashville Sound often produced records that sounded more pop than country” after the removal of the fiddle and banjo. Patsy Cline, Marty Robbins, Jim Reeves, and Eddy Arnold were among the most popular artists during this time. Both Reeves and Arnold had major influence on their RCA labelmate Elvis Presley, apparent not only in secular songs but even more so in country gospel songs. Cline became famous in the early 1960s, gaining widespread acceptance from country and pop audiences alike. Other crossover hits during the 1960s included Skeeter Davis’s “The End of the World”, Sonny James’ “Young Love”, Billy Joe Royal’s “Down in the Boondocks”, Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley PTA”, and Bobby Goldsboro’s “Honey”. However, the Nashville Sound was not well received by country purists and faced competition on that front, first from the Bakersfield Sound and later the outlaw movement; on the pop side, the format was overshadowed by the British Invasion, which was taking place during the same time that Cline and Reeves died by airplane accident.

Coupé-décalé

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

Coupé-décalé derives its name from Nouchi. According to journalist Siddhartha Mitter, coupé means “to cheat” while décalé means “to run away”. Together, the phrase expressed a rebellious mindset linked to “beating the system” and escaping social or economic hardships, especially those associated with Western or colonial systems, in a way similar to the idea of “The Man” in American counterculture. Other interpretations of the genre’s name have been suggested as well. In Tradition et modernité dans la musique de l’Afrique occidentale, musicologist Olivier Rivera Micalef argued that DJ Jacob was the first person to use the words coupé (“cut”) and décalé (“shift”) to describe particular dance movements performed by the Jet Set collective. Even though DJ Jacob introduced the terms, Douk Saga is generally considered the central figure who organized, expanded, and brought coupé-décalé to international audiences.

Cowboy pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pop ballads in western films#

Following Considine’s coining of the term “cowboy pop” in the 1980s, the term was used retrospectively to describe a broad range of music recorded throughout the 20th century. In the early 2000s, music journalists such as Barry Mazor, John T. Davis, and Richard Carlin began to describe pop ballads used in western films as cowboy pop. Barry Mazor called Jimmy Wakely a “cowboy pop singer” and argued that “when singing cowboy movies ruled, Hollywood hardly made a distinction between the sounds of cowboy pop balladeers and another sound entirely, born in Texas, in which Jimmie Rodgers had a formative role.” As an actor and cowboy pop balladeer, Wakely sang in many of the western films in which he appeared, such as Riders of the Dawn and Silver Trails. Similarly, John T. Davis called Marty Robbins a “cowboy pop balladeer,” who would later act and provide music for western films such as Gun of a Stranger. Marty Robbins’ 1959 song “El Paso” was featured on Cowboy Pop, a 2011 compilation released by Ling Music Group. Similar to Jimmy Wakely and Marty Robbins, Wilf Carter’s 1949 recording “Bluebird on Your Windowsill” was described by Richard Carlin as “the kind of cowboy pop that is treasured as a kitsch classic.” Wilf Carter’s songs were also used to score cowboy films, such as John Ford’s 1939 Stagecoach. Though these popular cowboy singers preceded the coining of the term cowboy pop by music journalist J. D. Considine, they have been identified in retrospect for their singing of pop ballads in the context of western films.

Cringe pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Cringe pop has spread due to the advancement of technology, essentially allowing anyone with a laptop to be able to produce a song and a music video. The rise of social media and streaming sites, especially YouTube have provided a platform for cringe-pop writers to publish their work and these platforms are fundamental for their existence. While the origins of cringe pop are unknown, an Indian magazine credited Rebecca Black’s song “Friday” as giving birth to the genre. The song, which was released in 2011, has over 149.6 million views and 3.8 million dislikes on YouTube as of January 2021. Black was soon followed by Taher Shah, a Pakistani singer. His music video “Angel” went viral.

Cumbia pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Influences and development#

The cumbia pop genre emerged in the mid-2000s when some musical groups from Uruguay and Argentina made covers of popular songs, mixing them with cumbia and pop elements, and published them on YouTube. One of the pioneers was the Uruguayan group VI-EM, followed by the Argentine group Agapornis. However, it did not gain as much notoriety, but at that time other subgenres such as cumbia villera were more popular. Beginning in 2013–2014, cumbia pop went mainstream with the formation in Montevideo of the Uruguayan bands Rombai and Márama, which became extremely popular in Uruguay, Argentina, and other Latin American countries. They adopted danceable rhythms and lyrics related to love and youth life, as both groups were composed of people in their 20s, and included elements of pop and electropop, giving the musical genre its definitive shape. These bands toured several seaside towns and released summer hits, which increased their notoriety among young people. Since the members of the most popular bands were youngsters from the upper-middle class or upper class, and since the lyrics and music videos showcased luxury, exclusive parties, and aspirational lifestyles, this subgenre also became known as Cumbia Cheta. “Cheta”—the feminine form of the word “cheto”—is a slang from Rioplatense Spanish used to describe someone or something associated with the upper class. Cumbia pop broke away from the traditional association of cumbia with working-class and middle-class people and aligned itself with the internationally popular pop and Latin pop music. Given the rise of the genre, other bands emerged that also achieved wide popularity, such as the Uruguayan Toco Para Vos, Canto Para Bailar and Dame 5, and the Argentine .

Dance music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

Dancing to rhythmic music has long been a cherished tradition in civilizations around the world, where dynamic movements synchronized with percussion instruments such as drums, bells, and rattles serve as integral expressions of cultural identity, social cohesion, and spiritual significance. Folk dance music accompanies traditional dance and may be contrasted with historical/classical, and popular/commercial dance music. An example of folk dance music in the United States is the old-time music played at square dances and contra dances.

Dance-pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1980s#

As the term “disco” started to go out of fashion by the late 1970s to early 1980s, other terms were commonly used to describe disco-based music, such as “post-disco”, “club”, “dance” or “dance-pop” music. As the primary songwriter on her self-titled debut album and a co-producer by her third record, Madonna’s insistence on being involved in all creative aspects of her work was highly unusual for a female dance-pop vocalist at the time. The staff of Vice magazine stated that her debut album “drew the blueprint for future dance-pop.” In the 1980s, dance-pop was closely aligned to other uptempo electronic genres, such as Hi-NRG. Prominent producers in the 1980s included Stock, Aitken and Waterman, who created Hi-NRG/dance-pop for artists such as Kylie Minogue, Dead or Alive and Bananarama. During the decade, dance-pop borrowed influences from funk (e.g. Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston), new jack swing (e.g. Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul), and contemporary R&B. Other prominent dance-pop artists and groups of the 1980s included the Pet Shop Boys, Mel and Kim, Samantha Fox, Debbie Gibson, and Tiffany.

Dancehall pop

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Early developments#

As the sub-genre of its fathering music style dancehall, dancehall pop combines instrumental reggae and drum patterns of Jamaican sounds with the vocal melodies and catchy lyrics of pop music. The name of the genre itself is also credited to Jamaican music lifestyle, where artists and producers would play music from sound systems in local dancehalls. The socio-political changes after the 1970s government change in Jamaica affected dancehall styles, where lyrics moved away from political protest and more towards partying lifestyle. The dancehall genre trend of reusing beats, also known as “reworking”, is also still evident in dancehall pop as well, with many artists sampling old school dancehall track instrumentals––colloquially known as “riddims”. the dancehall pop genre combines rhythm and sounds from across in the Caribbean including that of soca, calypso and reggaeton. The fusion between dancehall and pop is attributed to the early digitisation of musical production in Jamaica, where the format of pop music––such as the melodic verse-chorus structure and repeated choruses––could be combined with the fast-paced instrumental rhythms of dancehall. Dancehall pop music did not make its mainstream arrival into the music industry until the early 2000s. Dancehall and soca songs such as Kevin Lyttle’s “Turn Me On” and Rupee’s “Tempted to Touch”, both released in 2002 and 2003 respectively, are examples of the early combinations of the digital pop style and Caribbean rhythms into the western music scene. It was dancehall pop artist Sean Paul, who released his second studio album Dutty Rock in 2002, including the hit singles “Get Busy” and “Gimme the Light” that put the genre on highly rated chart positions, with the album reaching a peak position of number 4 on the US Billboard 200. Sean Paul’s collaboration on the album with at-the-time rising pop star Beyoncé, titled “Baby Boy”, reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. This marked the beginning of the mainstream dancehall and pop fusion. Barbadian singer-songwriter Rihanna then released her debut dancehall pop single in 2005, “Pon de Replay”, which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. The genre had a small absence from the pop charts and then reemerged again in the 2010s with numerous Caribbean artists such as Kranium, Konshens, and Popcaan entering the dance-pop music charts. As these artists curated their names in the music industry, chart-topping pop artists like Drake, Rihanna, and Major Lazer incorporated the dancehall pop sounds into their respective hit singles “One Dance”, “Work”, and “Boom” which each gained top 20 spots on the US Billboard Hot 100. Drake’s dancehall pop and rap inspired track “One Dance” became a best-selling and chart-topping single, giving credit to the genre within the mainstream music scene. Named as the “song of the summer”, and spent over two months as number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, largely contributing to the mass-audience recognition of dancehall pop.

Disco polo

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Classic disco polo songs are characterised by simple chord progressions and melodies, and take further influence from the steady rhythms found in folk music. The genre is dominated by compositions in the time signature. Lyrics are often sentimental and playful, written around themes of love and sometimes holidays.

Roots of the genre#

The genre originates from music played at weddings by bands with a repertoire of Polish folk music and wedding songs. Later, electronic instruments were adopted over traditional acoustic instruments. The most common lyrical themes included melodramatic lyrics about unrequited love. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, more bands emerged, such as Akcent, Atlantis, , and . Scenes were centered in Białystok and other cities in the province of Podlaskie, with regional scenes in Żyrardów and Sochaczew.

Doo-wop

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Origins#

Doo-wop has complex musical, social, and commercial origins.

Musical precedents#

Doo-wop’s style is a mixture of precedents in composition, orchestration, and vocals that figured in American popular music created by songwriters and vocal groups, both black and white, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Composers such as Rodgers and Hart (in their 1934 song “Blue Moon”), and Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser (in their 1938 “Heart and Soul”) used a I–vi–ii–V-loop chord progression in those hit songs; composers of doo-wop songs varied this slightly but significantly to the chord progression I–vi–IV–V, so influential that it is sometimes referred to as the ’50s progression. This characteristic harmonic layout was combined with the AABA chorus form typical for Tin Pan Alley songs. Hit songs by black groups such as the Ink Spots (“If I Didn’t Care”, one of the best selling singles worldwide of all time, and “Address Unknown”) and the Mills Brothers (“Paper Doll”, “You Always Hurt the One You Love” and “Glow Worm”) were generally slow songs in swing time with simple instrumentation. Doo-wop street singers generally performed without instrumentation, but made their musical style distinctive, whether using fast or slow tempos, by keeping time with a swing-like off-beat, while using the “doo-wop” syllables as a substitute for drums and a bass vocalist as a substitute for a bass instrument. whose close four-part harmony derived from the vocal harmonies of the earlier barbershop quartet. The Four Knights’ “Take Me Right Back to the Track” (1945), the Cats and the Fiddle’s song “I Miss You So” (1939), and the Triangle Quartette’s even earlier record “Doodlin’ Back” (1929) prefigured doo-wop’s rhythm and blues sound long before doo-wop became popular.

Dub music

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Name#

The use of the word dub in a recording context originated in the late 1920s with the advent of “talking pictures” and referred to adding a soundtrack to a film; it is an informal abbreviation of the word double. Over the next 40 years or so the term found its way into audio recording in general, often in the context of making a copy of a recording on another tape or disc. It was in this sense that the term was first used in the Jamaican recording industry: new recordings were often initially copied onto one-off acetate discs, known colloquially as soft wax or dub and later as dubplates, for exclusive use by sound system operators; playing a song as an exclusive recording on a sound system was a good way for a producer to test the potential popularity of a recording before committing to the pressing of hundreds or thousands of copies of singles for retail sale. Initially, these acetates would simply be the standard recording of a song that was yet to be released on a single; around 1968–69, however, they started to be exclusive mixes with some or all of the vocal mixed out. Producer Bunny Lee notes: Yeah… it was really VERSION those days it wasn’t dub yet beca’ it was jus’ the riddim. One day an incident: Ruddy’s (sound system operator Ruddy Redwood) was cutting dub, an when it start, Smithy (recording engineer Byron Smith) look like ‘im start bring on the voice and Ruddy’s say: no, mek it run and ‘im take the whole backing track off it. ‘Im say, alright, run it again, and put in the voice. ‘Im didn’t do no more like that yet. After describing how Redwood then had his deejay first play the vocal version and then the instrumental version at a dance, and how popular this novelty was, Lee continued: The next day now, ‘im start it and just bring in the riddim. Or… down in the tune, bring a little voice and drop it out again… yes. Ruddy use to handle that part himself, drop in the voice and drop it out. All Smithy do was cut the dub… It is possible that the existing use of the word dub for other meanings in Jamaica around the time of the music’s origin may have helped to cement its use in the musical context. The most frequent meanings referred to either a form of erotic dance or sexual intercourse; such usage is frequently present in names of reggae songs, for instance, of the Silvertones’ “Dub the Pum Pum” (where pum pum is Jamaican slang for female genitalia), Big Joe and Fay’s “Dub a Dawta” ( is Jamaican patois for daughter). I-Roy’s “Sister Maggie Breast” features several references on sex: I man a-dub it on the side Say little sister you can run but you can’t hide Slip you got to slide you got to open your crotches wide Peace and love abide However, all three of these songs were recorded after the use of dub for a style of remixing was already prevalent.

Early British popular music

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Broadside ballads#

Broadside ballads were arguably the first form of commercial popular music in Britain. They were a product of the development of cheap print from the 16th century. They were generally printed on one side of a large sheet of poor quality paper. This could also be cut in half lengthways to make ‘broadslips’, or folded to make chapbooks. They were produced in huge numbers, with over 400,000 being sold in England annually by the 1660s. Many were sold by travelling chapmen in city streets or at fairs. The subject matter varied from what has been defined as the traditional ballad, although many traditional ballads were printed as broadsides. Among the topics were love, religion, drinking-songs, legends and early journalism, which included disasters, political events and signs, wonders and prodigies.

Electropop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Early 1980s#

Depeche Mode’s composer Martin Gore said: “For anyone of our generation involved in electronic music, Kraftwerk were the godfathers”. During the early 1980s, Japanese artists such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Ryuichi Sakamoto and British artists such as Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the Human League, Soft Cell, John Foxx and Visage helped pioneer a new synth-pop style that drew more heavily from electronic music and emphasized primary usage of synthesizers.

Emo revival

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Bands of the emo revival are predominately influenced by acts from the Midwest emo scene of the 1990s and early 2000s; according to Ultimate Guitar staff writer Maria Pro, the terms second-wave emo and Midwest emo are used interchangeably to describe that time period’s scene. Revival bands often display a “DIY sound” and lyrical themes ranging from nostalgia to adulthood. Pro, however, further writes that the revival only borrowed from the second wave in terms of aesthetics; sonically, it featured a distinct fusion of math rock, post-hardcore and pop punk.

Eurodance

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Eurodance songs are typically created by independent groups of European producers, accompanied by hired singers and rappers who serve as frontmen for these groups. These frontmen are often English-speaking performers of color from the United States and United Kingdom. Eurodance fuses late-1980s hip hop music and electronic dance music. Among dance music styles, Eurodance takes particular influence from disco, Hi-NRG and techno. and focusing more on creating popular singles rather than albums. with a bass drum on each beat and a quiet snare on the second and fourth beats. Musicologist Nico Thom describes the lyrics as “characteristically hedonistic”, being simplistic and often revolving around romance and partying. He also describes the production as heavily condensed, which he says leads to a “compact, superficial listening experience”.

Europop

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History#

During the 1970s and early 1980s, such groups were primarily popular in continental countries, with the exception of ABBA (1972–1983). The Swedish four-person band achieved great success in the UK, where they scored twenty top 10 singles and nine chart-topping albums, and in North America and Australia. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Europop became very popular. Roxette and Ace of Base led Europop in American mainstream audiences. In the 1990s, pop groups like the Spice Girls, Aqua, Steps, Right Said Fred, Backstreet Boys and singer DJ BoBo were strongly influenced by Europop. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Italian dance group Eiffel 65 were highly active in this genre. In the 2000s, one of the most popular representatives of Europop music was Swedish pop group Alcazar and German pop group Cascada.

Experimental pop

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Characteristics#

Author Bill Martin states that while the term “experimental pop” may sound “seemingly oxymoronic”, it is possible to identify three criteria for characterizing its music: *It is rooted in existing popular forms *It experiments with or stretches the use of these popular forms *It attempts to draw the audience of those forms toward these new developments, in the manner of the avant-garde Some tendencies among artists include the incorporation of experimental techniques such as musique concrète, aleatoric music, or eclecticism into pop contexts. Often, the compositional process involves the use of electronic production effects to manipulate sounds and arrangements. According to musicologist Leigh Landy, experimental pop settings combine sound-based work and note-based work, though not always simultaneously. Composer Nico Muhly described the world of experimental pop as “celebrations of sonic juxtapositions”.

Folk-pop

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Musical elements#

Folk-pop incorporates the sounds of the acoustic guitar and banjo of traditional folk music and combines it with the more electronic and synth beats of today’s pop genre. The folk genre is recognized for its simple melodies, story-telling nature, and cultural themes and messages, while pop music is recognized by a repetitive but catchy chorus and fast-paced tempos.

History#

Recording production values created an unblemished style that appealed to a mass audience, and thus led to commercial success as measured by high record sales, particularly as illustrated by hit records reaching the Top 40 on AM radio in the United States. Folk-pop developed during the 1960s folk music and folk rock boom. Key example of folk-pop artists include the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary with contracts with major record labels (Capitol Records and Warner Bros. Records, respectively).

Freestyle music

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1982–1987: Origin#

Freestyle music developed in the early 1980s, primarily simultaneously in the Hispanic (mainly Puerto Rican/Latin) communities of Upper Manhattan, Brooklyn, and The Bronx and in the Italian-American communities in Brooklyn, the Bronx, other boroughs of New York City, New Jersey, Westchester County and Long Island. It initially was a fusion of synthetic instrumentation and syncopated percussion of 1980s electro, as favored by fans of breakdancing. Sampling, as found in synth-pop music and hip-hop, was incorporated. Key influences include Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force’s “Planet Rock” (1982) and Shannon’s “Let the Music Play” (1983), the latter was a top-ten Billboard Hot 100 hit. In 1984, a Latin presence was established when the first song recorded in the genre by a Latin American artist, “Please Don’t Go”, by newcomer Nayobe (a singer from Brooklyn and of Cuban descent) was recorded and released. The song became a success, reaching No. 23 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. In 1985, a Spanish version of the song was released with the title “No Te Vayas”. By 1987, freestyle began getting more airplay on American pop radio stations. Songs such as “Come Go with Me” by Exposé, “Show Me” by the Cover Girls, “Fascinated” by Company B, “Silent Morning” by Noel, and “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” by Pretty Poison, brought freestyle into the mainstream. House music, based partly on disco rhythms, was by 1992 challenging the relatively upbeat, syncopated freestyle sound. Pitchfork considers the Miami Mix of ABC’s single “When Smokey Sings” to be proto-freestyle, despite that version being released in 1987. Many early or popular freestyle artists and DJs were of Hispanic or Italian descent, including Jellybean, Tony Torres, Raul Soto, Roman Ricardo, Mickey Garcia (who is of both Italian and Puerto Rican descent), Lil Suzy, and Nocera, which was one reason for the style’s popularity among Hispanic Americans and Italian Americans in the New York City area and Philadelphia.

Funk

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Etymology#

The word funk initially referred (and still refers) to a strong odor. It is originally derived from Latin (which means “to smoke”) via Old French and, in this sense, it was first documented in English in 1620. In 1784, funky meaning “musty” was first documented, which, in turn, led to a sense of “earthy” that was taken up around 1900 in early jazz slang for something “deeply or strongly felt”. Even though in white culture, the term funk can have negative connotations of odor or being in a bad mood (in a funk), in African communities, the term funk, while still linked to body odor, had the positive sense that a musician’s hard-working, honest effort led to sweat, and from their “physical exertion” came an “exquisite” and “superlative” performance. In early jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another to “get down” by telling one another, “Now, put some stank on it!” At least as early as 1907, jazz songs carried titles such as Funky. The first example is an unrecorded number by Buddy Bolden, remembered as either “Funky Butt” or “Buddy Bolden’s Blues”, with improvised lyrics that were, according to Donald M. Marquis, either “comical and light” or “crude and downright obscene” but, in one way or another, referring to the sweaty atmosphere at dances where Bolden’s band played. As late as the 1950s and early 1960s, when funk and funky were used increasingly in the context of jazz music, the terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use in polite company. According to one source, New Orleans-born drummer Earl Palmer “was the first to use the word ‘funky’ to explain to other musicians that their music should be made more syncopated and danceable.” The style later evolved into a rather hard-driving, insistent rhythm, implying a more carnal quality. This early form of the music set the pattern for later musicians. The music was identified as slow, sexy, loose, riff-oriented and danceable. The meaning of funk continues to captivate the genre of black music, feeling, and knowledge. Recent scholarship in black studies has taken the term funk in its many iterations to consider the range of black movement and culture. In particular, L.H. Stallings’s Funk the Erotic: Transaesthetics and Black Sexual Cultures explores these multiple meanings of funk as a way to theorize sexuality, culture, and western hegemony within the many locations of funk: “street parties, drama/theater, strippers and strip clubs, pornography, and self-published fiction.”

Gqom

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Lexicology and morphology#

The word gqom derives from an onomatopoeic combination of click consonants in the Zulu language (isiZulu) which could be interpreted as a “hitting drum”, “ricochet” or “bang”. Isgubhu and igqom are IsiZulu words to describe a drum sound or beat emanating from speakers, that became synonymous with Durban kwaito. The term “three-step” (3 step) was coined in the mid-2010s by gqom record producers Sbucardo and Citizen Boy to describe gqom music not only as a name, moreover attributed to a specific beat structure or pattern of gqom music preceding developing into a distinct subgenre of gqom.

Groove (music)

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Musicians’ perspectives#

Like the term “swing”, which is used to describe a cohesive rhythmic “feel” in a jazz context, the concept of “groove” can be hard to define. Marc Sabatella’s article Establishing The Groove argues that “groove is a completely subjective thing.” He claims that “one person may think a given drummer has a great feel, while another person may think the same drummer sounds too stiff, and another may think he is too loose.” Similarly, a bass educator states that while “groove is an elusive thing” it can be defined as “what makes the music breathe” and the “sense of motion in the context of a song”. In a musical context, general dictionaries define a groove as “a pronounced, enjoyable rhythm” or the act of “creat ing , danc ing to, or enjoy ing rhythmic music”. Steve Van Telejuice explains the “groove” as the point in this sense when he defines it as a point in a song or performance when “even the people who can’t dance wanna feel like dancing…” due to the effect of the music. The composer Bernard Coquelet argues that the “groove is the way an experienced musician will play a rhythm compared with the way it is written (or would be written)” by playing slightly “before or after the beat”. Coquelet claims that the “notion of groove actually has to do with aesthetics and style”; “groove is an artistic element, that is to say human,…and “it will evolve depending on the harmonic context, the place in the song, the sound of the musician’s instrument, and, in interaction with the groove of the other musicians”, which he calls “collective” groove”. Minute rhythmic variations by the rhythm section members such as the bass player can dramatically change the feel as a band plays a song, even for a simple singer-songwriter groove.

Group sounds

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External links#

Cutie Morning Moon - Dedicated to Japanese 1960s garage punk
The Video Beat - What are the Group Sounds?
Showapop - Group Sounds Record & CD articles in English
Trans World ’60s Punk:Cutie Morning Moon - Provides Information Mostly About Garage Bands From Outside the United States

Hakka popular music

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Origin of Hakka popular music#

Before the 1970s, the Hakka music scene featured commercialized Hakka traditional music records, including traditional Hakka narrative singing, mountain songs, and Hakka ballads. Inspired by the creation of Cantonese songs in a Western style in the Hong Kong music scene, Malaysia and Taiwan simultaneously embarked on the development of Hakka popular music starting from the 1970s.

Malaysia#

In 1978, Malaysian musician Chong Sau Lin met Chinese singer Chew Chin Yuin (邱清雲). Chong adapted Sam Hui’s Cantonese song “Genius and Idiot” into a Hakka version called “Ah Po Selling Salted Vegetables” for Chew to perform. The song became a sensation in Malaysia, selling over 100,000 copies. This marked the beginning of the development of Hakka music in Malaysia for more than two decades.

Heavy metal music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Heavy metal is traditionally characterized by loud, distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound, and vigorous vocals. Heavy metal subgenres variously emphasize, alter, or omit one or more of these attributes. In a 1988 article, The New York Times critic Jon Pareles wrote, “In the taxonomy of popular music, heavy metal is a major subspecies of hard-rock—the breed with less syncopation, less blues, more showmanship and more brute force.” The typical band lineup includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist. Keyboard instruments are sometimes used to enhance the fullness of the sound. Deep Purple’s Jon Lord played an overdriven Hammond organ. In 1970, John Paul Jones used a Moog synthesizer on Led Zeppelin III; by the 1990s, synthesizers were used in “almost every subgenre of heavy metal”. The electric guitar and the sonic power that it projects through amplification has historically been the key element in heavy metal. The heavy metal guitar sound comes from a combined use of high volumes and heavy fuzz. For classic heavy metal guitar tone, guitarists maintain gain at moderate levels, without excessive preamp or pedal distortion, to retain open spaces and air in the music; the guitar amplifier is turned up loud to produce the “punch and grind” characteristic. Thrash metal guitar tone has scooped mid-frequencies and tightly compressed sound with multiple bass frequencies. Most heavy metal songs “feature at least one guitar solo”, which is “a primary means through which the heavy metal performer expresses virtuosity”. Some exceptions are nu metal and grindcore bands, which tend to omit guitar solos. With rhythm guitar parts, the “heavy crunch sound in heavy metal … is created by palm muting” the strings with the picking hand and using distortion. Palm muting creates a tighter, more precise sound and it emphasizes the low end. The lead role of the guitar in heavy metal often collides with the traditional “frontman” or bandleader role of the vocalist, creating a musical tension as the two “contend for dominance” in a spirit of “affectionate rivalry”. Critic Simon Frith claims that the metal singer’s “tone of voice” is more important than the lyrics. The prominent role of the bass ‍is also key to the metal sound, and the interplay of bass and guitar is a central element. The bass provides the low-end sound crucial to making the music “heavy”. The bass plays a “more important role in heavy metal than in any other genre of rock”. Metal basslines vary widely in complexity, from holding down a low pedal point as a foundation to doubling complex riffs and licks along with the lead or rhythm guitars. Some bands feature the bass as a lead instrument, an approach popularized by Metallica’s Cliff Burton with his heavy emphasis on bass ‍solos and use of chords while playing the ‍bass in the early 1980s. Lemmy of Motörhead often played overdriven power chords in his bass lines. Heavy metal drumming is defined by a loud, consistent beat that drives the band, relying on the “trifecta of speed, power, and precision.” Heavy metal drumming “requires an exceptional amount of endurance”, and drummers have to develop “considerable speed, coordination, and dexterity … to play the intricate patterns” used in heavy metal. A characteristic metal drumming technique is the cymbal choke, which consists of striking a cymbal and then immediately silencing it by grabbing it with the other hand (or, in some cases, the same striking hand), producing a burst of sound. The metal drum setup is generally much larger than those employed in other forms of rock music. In live performance, loudness – an “onslaught of sound”, in sociologist Deena Weinstein’s description – is considered vital. Following the lead set by Jimi Hendrix, Cream and the Who, early heavy metal acts such as Blue Cheer set new benchmarks for volume. As Blue Cheer’s Dick Peterson put it, “All we knew was we wanted more power.” A 1977 review of a Motörhead concert noted how “excessive volume in particular figured into the band’s impact”. Weinstein makes the case that in the same way that melody is the main element of pop and rhythm is the main focus of house music, powerful sound, timbre and volume are the key elements of metal. She argues that the loudness is designed to “sweep the listener into the sound” and to provide a “shot of youthful vitality”. until at least the mid-1980s, with some exceptions such as Girlschool. and PopMatters’ Craig Hayes argues that metal “clearly empowers women”. In the power metal and symphonic metal subgenres, there has been a sizable number of bands that have had women as the lead singers, such as Nightwish, Delain and Within Temptation.

Highlife

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History#

The following arpeggiated highlife guitar part is modeled after an Afro-Cuban guajeo. The pattern of attack-points is nearly identical to the 3-2 clave motif guajeo as shown below. The bell pattern known in Cuba as clave is indigenous to Ghana, and is used in highlife. The origins of Highlife stem from colonialism and trading in West Africa through regional styles of music.

Palm wine music#

Palm-wine music, also known as maringa in Sierra Leone, was one style that originated on coastal locations when local musicians began using portable instruments brought by traders and fused it with local string and percussion instruments. It was usually played in a syncopated 4/4 metre. This music was played in low class palm-wine bars at ports where sailors, dock workers, and working class locals would drink and listen to the music. Palm-wine music eventually worked its way inland and a more Africanized version came containing 12/8 polyrhythms; this subgenre would be known as the “Native Blues”. This style would gain popularity up until World War II when production of the records was stopped.

Hokkien pop

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Terminology#

The historical origin of Hokkien pop comes from a Japanese enka base instead of a Chinese shidaiqu base. Because it developed from traditional Japanese enka, it has become diverse in its varieties.

Origin#

Under Japanese rule (1895–1945), Taiwanese music continued and developed its new form from the previous period. By the 1930s, vinyl records of traditional music, such as Taiwanese opera, Peking opera, Nanguan, and Beiguan were popular. The first Hokkien record to have “pop song” printed on its label was . Sung by Chiu-chan and released in March 1929, the song featured Taiwanese opera-style seven-character lines with a Western orchestral instrumentation. In March 1932, a Hokkien-language promotional jingle recorded by Sun-sun to advertise the film The Peach Girl was released, and achieved wider popularity. A new business model of the popular music industry emerged when Kashiwano Seijiro, who led the Taiwan branch of Columbia Record Company, started to market their records in new ways, such as marketing songs with silent movies. Kashiwano also recruited and made popular musical talents such as Teng Yu-hsien, , , Lee Lim-chhiu and Sun-sun. They produced important titles such as Bāng Chhun-hong (Longing for the Spring Breeze) and The Torment of a Flower (Flower of a Rainy Night). The Taiwan branch of Victor Records was an equally competitive company, delegated by the influential Lin Ben Yuan Family and headed by Chang Fu-hsing. With talents such as Chen Ta-ju, Victor produced important titles such as . This new business was led by a new generation born under Japanese rule. This generation received modern Japanese education at that time and was exposed to western musical styles and ideas. Some were active in the new music industry because of their interest in politics. Music helped them demonstrate their disapproval against the Japanese ruling and support of native culture. However, Hokkien pop was soon set back. As Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, non-Japanese songs were banned, and talents were required to write songs (and change previous songs) for military propaganda. The situation worsened in 1941 when the Pacific War broke out. The bombings of Taiwan (called Formosa at the time) by the United States, poverty, and the shortage of raw materials hit the music industry hard, a situation which drove many talents away. This period ends with the end of World War II and the handover of Taiwan to the Republic of China in 1945.

Hong Kong English pop

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History#

As English was the only official language from 1843 to 1974 in Hong Kong, it was spoken widely, especially in formal contexts, by Hongkongers in the 20th century. As a result, pop songs performed in English language were very popular among both ethnic Chinese and British Hong Kong citizens.

Pre-WWII#

Many of the bandleaders and musicians were Filipinos. Lobing Samson, who led the house band at Ciro’s in Shanghai, China for many years, later made his way to Hong Kong as did Fred Carpio, Vic Cristobal and many others.

Hyperpop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Hyperpop artists embody an exaggerated, eclectic, and self-referential approach to pop music and typically employ elements such as brash synth melodies, Auto-Tuned “earworm” vocals, and excessive compression and distortion, as well as surrealist or nostalgic references to 2000s Internet culture and the Web 2.0 era. Common features include vocals that are heavily processed; metallic, melodic percussion sounds; pitch-shifted synths; catchy choruses; short song lengths; and “shiny, cutesy aesthetics” juxtaposed with angst-ridden or ironic lyricism. According to Vice journalist Eli Enis, hyperpop is not so much about following music rules, but “a shared ethos of transcending genre altogether, while still operating within the context of pop”. The movement is often associated with the LGBTQ+ community, drawing primary influences from queer culture. The microgenre’s emphasis on vocal modulation has allowed artists to experiment with gender presentation and androgyny in their voices, Joe Vitagliano, writing for American Songwriter, said hyperpop is an “exciting, bombastic, and iconoclastic genre – if it can even be called a ‘genre and has “saw synths, auto-tuned vocals, glitch-inspired percussion and a distinctive late-capitalism-dystopia vibe”. According to Kieran Press-Reynolds writing for Pitchfork, artists in this style mix the avant-garde and pop music, often balancing between being addictively fun and a bit too much. He added that in 2024, hyperpop had become a “Frankensteinian macro-genre”. The Atlantic said the genre “swirls together and speeds up Top 40 tricks of present and past: a Janet Jackson drum slam here, a Depeche Mode synth squeal there, the overblown pep of novelty jingles throughout,” but also said “the genre’s zest for punk’s brattiness, hip-hop’s boastfulness, and metal’s noise”. According to Rolling Stone magazine, collectives such as Novagang and Helix Tears “feature artists of variously different styles and sounds, but find community with each other in their shared rejection of stylistic limits.”

Hypnagogic pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

In August 2009, journalist David Keenan, who was known as a reporter of noise, freak folk, and drone music scenes, coined the term “hypnagogic pop” in issue 306 of British music magazine The Wire. His article was entitled Childhood’s End. Keenan applied the label to a developing trend of 2000s lo-fi and post-noise music in which artists engaged with elements of cultural nostalgia, The term reportedly originated with a comment by James Ferraro about the notion that 1980s sounds had seeped into the unconscious of contemporary musicians while they were toddlers falling asleep and their parents played music in another room. Among the artists discussed in Keenan’s article were Ariel Pink, Daniel Lopatin, the Skaters, the Savage Young Taterbug, Gary War, Zola Jesus, Ducktails, Emeralds, and Pocahaunted. According to Keenan, these artists drew on cultural sources subconsciously remembered from their 1980s and early 1990s adolescence while freeing them from their historical contexts and “hom ing in on the futuristic signifiers” of the period. He alternately summarized hypnagogic pop as “pop music refracted through the memory of a memory” and as “1980’s-inspired psychedelia” that engages with capitalist detritus of the past in an attempt to “dream of the future.” In a later article, Keenan identified Lopatin, Ferraro, Clark, and ex-Test Icicles member Sam Mehran as hypnagogic pop’s “most adventurous proponents”.

Igbo highlife

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Igbo highlife in the 21st century#

From 2004 onwards, singers like Flavour N’abania, J. Martins, Bracket and Wizboyy saw even more success and acclaim for their renascent diverse styles, which, unlike earlier highlife, incorporate a wide range of neoteric influences outside of the West African music scene. One typical example was N’abania’s Uplifted album released through Obaino Music/2nite Entertainment in 2010. The album marked a change in musical direction compared to his debut effort as it exhibited a more urban feel encompassing a mixture of hip hop, R&B, techno, reggae, dancehall, and calypso. Uplifted attained commercial success worldwide. In Africa, N’abania remained in high demand at concerts and on other social events. With the genre’s rise in mainstream appeal, many emerging MCs particularly from around the South East and other neighbouring areas began integrating local highlife sounds. Acts such as Mr Raw (formerly Dat N.I.G.G.A. Raw), Slow Dogg, MC Loph and 2Shotz helped establish a much stronger link between indigenous rap, and the new highlife by providing verses to several hit songs and would often hire Igbo vocalists to sing the choruses of their own songs. During 2011, J Martins made headlines around the continent and beyond when he collaborated with Cabo Snoop from Angola and Fally Ipupa from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The songs titled “Good Tym” and “Kele Papa” drew plenty of attention that year, and would later go on to become fan favorites. By 2012, J Martins had evolved into one of the most recognized West African, internationally known music stars. His soukous-tinged approach to record production further gained him additional fan following and respect. In March 2014, Phyno’s introductory album No Guts No Glory was released. Featuring two high-profile appearances by N’abania contributing vocals to tracks “Multiply” and “Authe (Authentic)”. The album has received generally positive reviews since its release. It earned Phyno a City People Entertainment Award nomination for Best Rap Album.

Illustrated song

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

External links#

Music Video 1900 style on PBS Kids Go!
“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on YouTube
“‘Goodbye, Girlie, and Remember Me’ An Illustrated Song” with video , Going to the Show.

Indian film music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

In the earliest years of Indian cinema, film music was primarily influenced by Indian classical traditions, including Carnatic music and Hindustani classical music, as well as regional folk music. Over time, Western musical elements such as orchestration, harmony, and instrumentation became increasingly incorporated into film music, especially from the mid-20th century onward. Despite these changes, film soundtracks remain diverse, often blending multiple musical styles or returning to classical roots.

Indie pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Indie pop is defined by its DIY ethos, upbeat melodies, and an overarching sense of “authenticity.” It primarily takes influences from post-punk, jangle pop, and its counterpart, indie rock. While sharing overarching similarities, indie pop is more melodic, simplistic, and accessible, eschewing the more abrasive and conventional aspects of indie rock. Music journalist Nitsuh Abebe noted in Pitchfork that: Music critic Simon Reynolds says that indie pop defines itself against “charting pop”. Abebe explains: Indie pop was an unprecedented contrast from the gritty and serious tones of previous underground rock styles, as well as being a departure from the glamour of contemporary pop music. Distinguished from the angst and abrasiveness of its indie rock counterpart, the majority of indie pop borrows not only the stripped-down quality of punk, but also “the sweetness and catchiness of mainstream pop”.

Italian jazz

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

James Reese Europe’s military concerts in France in World War I in 1919 are claimed to have introduced Europeans to a new, “syncopated” music from America. Yet, Italians had an even earlier taste of a new music from across the Atlantic when a group of “Creole” singers and dancers, billed as the “creators of the cakewalk” performed at the Eden Theater in Milan in 1904. The first real Italian jazz orchestras and ensembles, however, were formed during the 1930s by musicians such as Arturo Agazzi with his Syncopated Orchestra and Carlo Andreis with his Quartetto Andreis (CETRA, 1937-1941), enjoying immediate success. In spite of the anti-American cultural policies of the Fascist regime during the 1930s, American jazz remained popular. (Even Romano Mussolini, Benito’s son, was a great jazz fan and then prominent jazz pianist.) Also, in 1935, American jazz great Louis Armstrong toured Italy with great success. In the immediate post-World War II years jazz took off in Italy. All American post-war jazz styles, from be-bop to Free Jazz and Fusion have their equivalents in Italy. The most gifted exponents of jazz music in this period (from the 1940s to 1960s) are musicians like Gorni Kramer, Giorgio Gaslini, Lelio Luttazzi and Franco Cerri, the composer Bruno Martino and great singers like Natalino Otto, Jula de Palma, Nicola Arigliano and Johnny Dorelli. The universality of Italian culture ensured that jazz clubs would spring up throughout the peninsula, that all radio and then television studios would have jazz-based “house-bands,” that Italian musicians would then start nurturing a “home grown” kind of jazz, based on European song forms, classical composition techniques and folk music (for example, in Sicily, where Enzo Rao and his group Shamal have added native Sicilian and Arab influences to American jazz). The jazz recorded in Italy from 1912 to 1950 is practically unknown, though in those years a remarkable number of recordings were made by both Italians and foreign musicians in Italy. The records, all of them 78 rpm, are rarities for collectors, as their original matrixes were destroyed either in the devastating bombings of World War II (most of the record companies were located in Milan and Turin, two cities severely damaged by the war) or due to the foolishness of the many record company directors who sent to the rettery the remaining recordings of the period. Notwithstanding, thanks to few collectors, the best jazz recorded in Italy from 1912 to 1955 has been re-edited (by Riviera Jazz Records - www.rivierajazz.it). The story of Italian jazz, from the beginning, has been written by Adriano Mazzoletti : “Il Jazz in Italia. Dalle origini alle grandi Orchestre” and “Il Jazz in Italia. Dallo swing agli anni Sessanta”, published by E.D.T., Turin. (www.edt.it). A photographic book with all the Italian musicians from the origins, “L’Italia del Jazz” have been published by Mastruzzi Editore, Rone (www.slms.it).

Italo dance

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Influences#

The sound of the genre evolved directly from Eurodance. Italo dance displays a great influence from Italo disco, a genre which was very popular in Italy during the 1980s. Italo disco was a direct continuation of disco music (which would never experience a rejection wave in Italy), incorporating the new sounds that had begun to emerge from the late 1970s. Another main influence comes from Italo house, an Italian-based form of house music also influenced by Italo disco.

Italo disco

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Terminology#

The term “Italo”, a generic prefix meaning Italian, had been used on pop music compilation albums in West Germany as early as 1978, such as Italo Top Hits on the K-Tel label and the first volume of Italo Super Hits on the Ariola label. There is no documentation of where the term “Italo-Disco” first appeared, but its origins are generally traced to Italian and other European disco recordings released in the West German market. Examples include the phrase “Original Italo-Disco” on the sleeve of the West German edition of “Girls on Me” by Amin-Peck (Rome) and “Ask The Boss” by Flowchart (Bologna) in late 1982, and the 1983 compilation album The Best of Italo-Disco. These records, along with the Italo Boot Mix megamix, were released by Bernhard Mikulski on his ZYX label, who was therefore credited with coining the term “Italodisco”. The Best of and Boot Mix compilations each became a 16-volume series that culminated in 1991. Both series primarily featured disco music of Italian origin, often licensed from independent Italian labels which had limited distribution outside Italy, as well as songs in a similar style by other European artists. The presenters of the Italian music show Discoring (produced by RAI) usually referred to Italodisco tracks as “rock elettronico” (electronic rock) or “balli da discoteca” or “musica dance”. The term “Italodisco” was not really used in Italy until the 2000s.

Italo house

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

While the name was not yet developed, early notable Italo-house acts would include Klein + M.B.O. and Alexander der Robotnick. The genre reached mainstream popularity in 1989, with Ride on Time reaching the top ten in all of Europe except Itality. “Italo-house” as it became known in the early 1990s was a happy, euphoric sound; pioneered essentially by the production stable of Gianfranco Bortolotti, whose alter egos included Cappella, R.A.F., East Side Beat, and the 49ers. Records produced in Italy dominated the UK dance charts of 1990/91 with tunes including Asha’s “JJ Tribute” (lead vocals by Joyce Chung), DJ H’s “Think About”, Last Rhythm’s “Last Rhythm”, and Jinny’s “Keep Warm” signifying the uplifting, happy vibe. Artists such as K-Klass, Bassheads, and Felix built on the Italian piano sound to create uplifting tunes still played out today, although the pioneers of the sound such as DJ Sasha have long since left the happy vibe of piano house to concentrate on other styles.

Jazz

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology and definition#

The origin of the word jazz has resulted in considerable research, and its history is well documented. It is believed to be related to jasm, a slang term dating back to 1860 meaning . The earliest written record of the word is in a 1912 article in the Los Angeles Times in which a minor league baseball pitcher described a pitch which he called a ‘jazz ball’ “because it wobbles and you simply can’t do anything with it”. Its first documented use in a musical context in New Orleans was in a November 14, 1916, Times-Picayune article about “jas bands”. In an interview with National Public Radio, musician Eubie Blake offered his recollections of the slang connotations of the term, saying: “When Broadway picked it up, they called it ‘J-A-Z-Z’. It wasn’t called that. It was spelled ‘J-A-S-S’. That was dirty, and if you knew what it was, you wouldn’t say it in front of ladies.” The American Dialect Society named it the Word of the 20th Century. Jazz is difficult to define because it encompasses a wide range of music spanning a period of over 100 years, from ragtime to rock-infused fusion. Attempts have been made to define jazz from the perspective of other musical traditions, such as European music history or African music. But critic Joachim-Ernst Berendt argues that its terms of reference and its definition should be broader, defining jazz as a “form of art music which originated in the United States through the confrontation of the Negro with European music” and arguing that it differs from European music in that jazz has a “special relationship to time defined as ‘swing. Jazz involves “a spontaneity and vitality of musical production in which improvisation plays a role” and contains a “sonority and manner of phrasing which mirror the individuality of the performing jazz musician”. Duke Ellington, one of jazz’s most famous figures, said, “It’s all music.”

Jesus music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Jesus music primarily began in population centers of the United States where the Jesus movement was gaining momentum—Southern California (especially Costa Mesa and Hollywood), San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago—around 1969–70. Large numbers of hippies and street musicians began converting to born-again Christianity. A number of these conversions, especially in southern California, were due largely to the outreach of Lonnie Frisbee and Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. was a blend of folk music and folk rock (Children of the Day, Paul Clark, Nancy Honeytree, Mark Heard, Noel Paul Stookey, Karen Lafferty, Debby Kerner & Ernie Rettino), soft rock (Chuck Girard, Tom Howard, Phil Keaggy, Scott Wesley Brown, Kelly Willard), R&B (Andraé Crouch (and the Disciples)), soul music/jazz fusion (Sweet Comfort Band), country rock (Bethlehem, Daniel Amos, Gentle Faith, The Talbot Brothers: John Michael and Terry Talbot, The Way), Ron Salsbury and JC Power Outlet and hard rock (Agape, All Saved Freak Band, Petra, Resurrection Band, Servant). Initially, the music tended to be relatively simple, as it drew largely on guitar-based folk and folk-rock influences. The message also seemed to be relatively simple, as the songwriters attempted to present the value of a Christ-centered spiritual experience without evoking the vocabulary or other trappings of ecclesiastical religion. Rather than quoting religious cliches or King James Bible verses, they used storytelling, allegory, imagery, and complex metaphors, often with a colloquial language that flustered conservatives. In addition to the basic message of salvation, the lyrics often reflected the expectation of the imminent Second Coming of Christ prominent in evangelical circles at the time, reflected and heightened by the publication of The Late, Great Planet Earth. Despite the message, the music was described by many as worldly at best or as “the Devil’s music” in the worst case. This latter position was held by conservatives such as Bill Gothard as taught in his Basic Youth Conflicts Seminars. These were some of the main factors that caused many U.S. churches to largely reject the movement and these artists at the time. This suited many artists as they wanted to bring Jesus to non-Christians, not only to church youth. Larry Norman addressed this culture clash in his 1972 song, “Why Should The Devil Have All the Good Music?” On the West Coast of the United States, Jesus music festivals began to emerge in the summer months of the early 1970s, featuring many of the artists listed above. While the music was often loud and the venue similar to the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock, the atmosphere was decidedly different and attracted large crowds of camping families as well as teenagers and young adults. By 1973, Jesus music was receiving enough attention inside the mainstream media that an industry began to emerge. By the mid-1970s, the phrase “contemporary Christian music” (CCM) had been coined by Ron Moore and the first edition of CCM Magazine was published in July 1977. CCM now was a combination of traditional gospel music, Southern gospel music, Jesus music artists, and in some cases a style of big-band music with Christian lyrics. By 1976, it was apparent that a new generation of performers who had grown up in the church wanted to play non-secular pop and rock music for other Christians. By the end of the 1970s the term “Jesus music” fell out of use as the movement was replaced by the industry.

Jùjú music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Instrumentation#

When jùjú music was first developing, groups often formed as trios. This included a bandleader who sang and played the banjo, a tambourine player, and a sèkèrè (gourd rattle) player. The style used at Christian wake keeping ceremonies was especially important. It was often characterized as having free musical expression unhampered by the strictness of keeping to a rigid four-part organization. The area boys preferred attending wake keeping ceremonies over more formal church services, which made them conversant with several hymn-tune-derived church melodies set to lyrics in Yoruba and with the concomitant melodic progressions and framework of the diatonic scale. One example of how Church melodies and melodic progressions influenced Juju is through Tunde King’s Yisa Imouru. “The elements that can be traced directly to the church hymn include the seven tone diatonic scale, the sequential treatment of the first line of the text, the parallel thirds especially at the cadence point, the free combination of voices which follows the usual form of hymn-tune singing at wakes, and the relatively free treatment of the speech tone patterns of the yoruba text. Along with church hymns, asiko music is found in the lyrical style of Tunde King. Asiko dance music is the predecessor of Juju. Abdulrafiu Tunde King was born and grew up during the height of the asiko dance music craze in the 1920s. Tunde King attended gatherings of area boys at Till Nelson’s motor-mechanic workshop to drink, make music, and, in general, have fun. Tunde King often performed musical entertainment at the gatherings, improvising on esa texts associated with asiko dance music or on such simple folksongs as Orin Kurumo, and thereby fashioning a framework for his social commentary in the Yoruba language

K-pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The term “K-pop” is the South Korean equivalent of the Japanese “J-pop,” The first known use of the term occurred in Billboard in the October 9, 1999 edition at the end of an article titled “S. Korea To Allow Some Japanese Live Acts” by Cho Hyun-jin, then a South Korea correspondent for the magazine, which used it as a broad term for South Korean pop music. Cho himself, however, is not sure if he coined the term, since some articles stated that the word ‘K-pop’ was already being used by music industry insiders, even though he had never heard it personally. The term K-pop became popular in the 2000s, especially in an international context. In South Korea, domestic pop music is referred to as gayo (), which is still widely used within the country. In 2022, the Korean Music Awards established a separate genre-specific field for K-pop, defining its “distinct aesthetic tendencies” as dance-pop music originating from the Korean idol system with a focus on performance.

Kayōkyoku

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Kayōkyoku music has simple melodies that are easy to follow and play along to. The lyrics of kayōkyoku are simple and attempt to relate to an everyday Japanese individual. Kayōkyoku singers also relate to common Japanese listeners by appearing as cute and approachable, with many aspects about their appearance and actions dictated by production companies. The base of kayōkyoku songs aims towards a sentimental feeling. The music draws on being able to relate to listeners and tries to voice the feelings that they keep bottled in due to social appearances. Kayōkyoku ’s style has become prominent due to the karaoke boom that occurred in the middle of the 1970s. A large focus of karaoke revolves around mimicking not only the song being sung, but also the image of the singer and the image brought out by the lyrics. The simple rhythm and lyrics of kayōkyoku made these songs very popular to sing at karaoke. An NHK survey conducted in 1982 revealed that around 80% of males over thirty years of age sang kayōkyoku songs through karaoke machines.

Kidandali

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Form#

Stylistically, this genre draws directly from two other music genres while indirectly drawing from another. The two genres being Kadongo Kamu and Soukous (lingala). Indirectly, Kidandali is most times cemented by the Dem Bow riddim, a result of the early Ragga influence on Ugandan pop music. The similarity and influence of Kadongo Kamu is seen in the role played by the bass guitar. The bass guitar is the most pronounced instrument and it controls the rhythm and tempo of the song just like in kadongo kamu. The playing pattern is also very similar. Another area where kadongo kamu influence is visible is in the way the vocals are delivered. The music themes are also similar to kadongo kamu. Story telling and giving of advice to listeners is common place. In regards to lingala, the influence is seen in the role the other instruments play, most notably the lead guitar and electric guitar, which are played in a pattern similar to that in lingala music. The use of trumpets is similar to that in lingala. All these factor into making it the most organic style of music in Uganda.

Laïko

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Rebetiko and elafro tragoudi#

Until the 1930s the Greek discography was dominated by two musical genres: the Greek folk music demotica and the elaphro tragoudi. The latter was represented by ensembles of singers/musicians or solo artists like Attik and Nikos Gounaris. It was the Greek version of the international popular music of the era. In the 1930s the first rebetiko recordings had a massive impact on Greek music. Markos Vamvakaris stated that they “were the first to record laïka songs”. In the years to follow this type of music, the first form of what is now called laïko tragoudi, became the mainstream Greek music.

Lao pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Lao pop music started forming itself in the late 1980s, when Laos started benefiting from an economic growth that has lasted till nowadays. Before the reforms implemented by the government, the entertainment industry was completely limited due to the tight censorship and the widespread poverty, which prevented the music scene from flourishing. From the 1970s to the late 1980s, the strictly patriotic songs, sponsored by the communist government, and the traditional Mor Lam genre were the only genres available to listen. At the start of the 1990s, the Lao music scene started transformating. The first private music labels started emerging in Vientiane, the capital city, and some live music pubs appeared. However, these labels, at first, were financially weak and had a very limited capacity to promote their artists. Although at first the traditional Lao music, was still the most popular genre, the foreign influence of Korean K-Pop music, Japanese J-Pop music, and the pop music made in the neighbouring Thailand started being felt, not only in the fashion trends, but also in the local musical scene. From the start of the 2000s, Lao pop saw a dramatic increase of popularity due to the growing strength of the mainly Vientiane based music labels such as Lao-Pride Records, KPY Entertainment, Indee Records and Muanson Media. Lao pop gained local and international spotlight through Alexandra Bounxouei, who is considered to be the first Lao pop princess. Other Lao artists popular with the younger generation include Cells, L.O.G, Overdance, Princess, Caramel, Pull-T Club, Super One, Genii, Xtreme, Dozo, Tik Keoprasert, MAY, Annita, and Aluna. From the mid-2000s, Lao Pop started benefiting itself from the growing number of musical events held in the country. For example, in 2008, was held from first time, the first edition of the Lao Music Awards, which was broadcast live by the Lao National Television. In this event, the most outstanding Lao Pop, rock and Mor Lam singers are awarded in its different categories. Since then on, this gala has been held almost annually in the National Cultural Hall of Vientiane. Apart from this event, other kinds of shows also encouraged the growth of the local music scene. Lao pop today embraces a wide variety of styles that are mainly based in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. There are also a number of Lao artists from Luang Prabang, Laos.

Latin pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Latin pop first reached a global audience through the work of bandleader Sergio Mendes in the mid-1960s, although artists like Carmen Miranda popularized Latin samba music in Hollywood decades before this. In later decades, it was defined by the romantic ballads that legendary artists such as Julio Iglesias or Roberto Carlos produced in the 1970s. Latin pop is one of the most popular Latin music genres today. Popular artists include Los del Río, Jennifer Lopez, Alejandro Sanz, Thalía, Luis Miguel, Selena, Paulina Rubio, Shakira, Carlos Vives, Ricky Martin, Gloria Trevi and Enrique Iglesias. Ricky Martin is considered to be the King of Latin Pop.

Lento violento

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

The first tracks with the lento violento sound were “Anima Ladina” by Ottomix (1991), “Panic Mouse (stress mix)” by Gigi D’Agostino (1996), “Ibiza” by Ottomix (1998) and Alex Castelli’s “Enjoy”, that was co-produced by Ottomix. Although at that time, they were not called “lento violento” yet. These tracks were influenced by the more techno and trance-oriented tracks like Mauro Picotto’s “Lizard”, “Iguana”, “Pulsar”, “Tuttincoro” or “Raggattak” by Joman (Joy Kitikonti), all from the Italian BXR label. While some individual tracks were popular in the clubs, the style itself was not established until DJ/producer Gigi D’Agostino started with a series of productions in 2003, like “Ripassa”. Indeed, he coined the name for this style, and he releases most of his lento violento songs on his own label Noise Maker, using aliases like Dottor Dag, Lento Violento Man, Uomo Suono, Orchestra Maldestra, or La Tana Del Suono, to distinguish these songs from his Italo dance work. Other artists started to create similar tracks after the success of this style. Also several compilation CDs are released with lento violento music, like the Movimentolento series.

Makossa

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The word “makossa” is originated from the Duala words “m’a” and “kossa”. “Kossa” is a term that was a term at the edge of neologism expressed initially as a cry of exhortation, and as “a kind of swear word that has the status of a stimulus, a spur. In the book Le Makossa: une musique africaine moderne, a passage including this quote is written as follows: :“En effet, le terme Makossa, dérive de « m’a kossa » qui veut dire littéralement en langue duala et au pluriel les contorsions; au singulier « di kossa » la contorsion. Ce vocable « Kossa » est un terme à la lisière du néologisme et du cri d’exhortation, mieux, une sorte de juron ayant statut de stimulus, d’aiguillon.” : “Kossa is a kind of exclamation, a cry of joy that is usually uttered to give more vigor, and more energy to the dance.” In the original French version, a passage including the translated version of this quote reads: :“Remy MINKO MBA poursuit: « Kossa est une sorte d’exclamation, un cri de joie que l’on pousse généralement pour donner plus de vigeur, plus d’énergie à la danse. Il s’agit donc d’une sorte de stimulus qui doit nécessairement provoquer une réaction positive ».”

Mandopop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Beginning of recording industry in China#

The Chinese-language music industry began with the arrival of the gramophone. The earliest gramophone recording in China was made in Shanghai in March 1903 by Fred Gaisberg, who was sent by the Victor Talking Machine Company (VTMC) in the U.S. to record local music in Asia. The recordings were then manufactured outside China and re-imported by the Gramophone Company’s sales agent in China, the Moutrie (Moudeli) Foreign Firm. The Moudeli Company dominated the market before the 1910s until the Pathé Records () took over the leading role. Pathé was founded in 1908 by a Frenchman named Labansat who had previously started a novelty entertainment business using phonograph in Shanghai around the beginning of the 20th century. The company established a recording studio, and the first record-pressing plant in the Shanghai French Concession in 1914, and became the principal record company to serve as the backbone for the young industry in China. It originally recorded mainly Peking opera, but later expanded to Mandarin popular music. Later other foreign as well as Chinese-own recording companies were also established in China. Early in the 20th century, people in China generally spoke in their own regional dialect. Although most people in Shanghai then spoke Shanghainese, the recordings of the pop music from Shanghai from the 1920s onwards were done in Standard Mandarin, which is based on the Beijing dialect. Mandarin was then considered as the language of the modern, educated class in China, and there was a movement to popularize the use of Mandarin as a national language in the pursuit of national unity. Those involved in this movement included songwriters such as Li Jinhui working in Shanghai. The drive to impose linguistic uniformity in China started in the early 20th century when the Qing Ministry of Education proclaimed Mandarin as the official speech to be taught in modern schools, a policy the new leaders of the Chinese Republic formed in 1912 were also committed to. Sound films in Shanghai which started in the early 1930s were made in Mandarin because of a ban on the use of dialects in films by the then Nanjing government, consequently popular songs from films were also performed in Mandarin.

Manele

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Early references to the terms manea and manele appear in Romanian texts from the late 18th and early 19th century, during the period of Turkish suzerainty over the Romanian principalities, as a genre of dance music brought by Roma from Istanbul. In the 1960s a type of lăutarească manea appeared, by adding texts to the geampara, a type of lăutaresc genre of Turkish origin. The modern manele originated in the 1980s and early 1990s as translations and imitations of Turkish and Arabic songs. A well known Romanian manele singer, Adrian Copilul Minune traces it to a genre known as “turceasca” (Turkish). The genre has been rocked by accusations of plagiarism a number of times, with manele singers adapting popular songs from Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey, without giving due credit. The accusations increased especially after the hit “De ce mă minți” (“Why are you lying to me?”) proved to be a mere cover of Despina Vandi’s song “M’agapas”/“Ah kardoula mou”. Further plagiarism accusations surrounded a well known manele singer’s track called “Supărat” (“Upset”) which was proven by third parties to be plagiarized from a Croatian song (Umoran by Jasmin Stavros). Although this song was not technically a manea, it furthered the controversy surrounding this music genre and Romania’s image. Most radio and television channels or media boycott manele music.

Manila sound

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Manila sound is styled as catchy and melodic, with smooth, lightly orchestrated, accessible folk/soft rock, sometimes fused with funk, country, light jazz and disco. However, broadly speaking, it includes quite a number of genres (e.g. pop, vocal music, soft rock, folk pop, disco, soul, Latin jazz, funk etc.), and should therefore be best regarded as a period in Philippine popular music rather than as a single musical style. Manila sound typified the prevailing pop sound of the era, and drew its influences from the singer-songwriter genre of American music during the 1970s. A majority of Manila sound songs were composed in Tagalog or Taglish, although some were also written entirely in English. Sometimes, these songs included “juvenile lyrics”, and less frequently, “swardspeak” (aka “gayspeak”, i.e. homosexual slang) recast with novelty, comedic or satirical undertones.

Marabi

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External links#

South African Music: Marabi

Mass song

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Musical characteristics of a mass song ensured easy comprehension and performance by non-professional “masses”. A mass song is typically an alternating sequence of four-line stanzas and refrains in a non-sophisticated musical form which employed most common vocal register. Typically these songs are of optimistic or heroic character, written in the form of a march. A significant number of mass songs were film soundtracks and later on TV movie soundtracks, sports songs and patriotic marches written for important anniversaries.

Mbaqanga

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

In Zulu, the term mbaqanga means an everyday cornmeal porridge. Mbaqanga aficionados were mostly plebeian, metropolitan African jazz enthusiasts. Many of them were not permitted to establish themselves in the city, but they were unable to sustain themselves in the rural country. Mbaqanga gave them a staple form of musical and spiritual sustenance; it was their “musical daily bread.” Mbaqanga musicians received little money. For example, Simon “Mahlathini” Nkabinde, one of the most well-known mbaqanga singers (and arguably the most famous mbaqanga “groaner”, nicknamed the “lion of Soweto”), died a poor man. This was partly due to the exploitation of black South African musicians at home and abroad as Mahlathini pointed out. Mbaqanga groups of the 1960s also found it difficult to get air time on local radio stations, and had to perform outside record stores to attract audiences. Mbaqanga developed in the South African shebeens during the 1960s. Its use of western instruments allowed mbaqanga to develop into a South African version of jazz. Musically, the sound indicated a mix between western instrumentation and South African vocal style. Many mbaqanga scholars consider it to be the result of a coalition between marabi and kwela. A South African tourist website sponsored by the government describes mbaqanga as “the cyclic structure of marabi . . . with a heavy dollop of American big band swing thrown on top.” Mbaqanga also provided a very early forum for black and white interaction in a segregated country. As a result, the “white Nationalist government brought this vital era to an end” by razing the townships that supported mbaqanga such as Sophiatown. The genre gained popularity as a result of radio play by stations under the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Early artists included Miriam Makeba, Dolly Rathebe and Letta Mbulu. Mbaqanga maintained its popularity until the 1980s when it was replaced by South African pop music known as bubblegum. Bubblegum is a genre highly influenced by mbaqanga. One of the few remaining mbaqanga bands is The Cool Crooners. This band consists of a coalition between two rival bands that eventually merged: The Cool Four and The Golden Delicious Rhythm Crooners.

Middle of the road (radio format)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology and usage#

According to music academic Norman Abjorensen, “middle of the road” has referred to a commercial radio format more often than a music genre, although “it has been used to describe a broad type of music” of numerous styles, usually characterized by vocal harmony techniques, prominent melodies, and subtle orchestral arrangements. Radio stations that played adult standards during the 1960s and 1970s were marketed as “MOR radio” in order to differentiate them from Top 40 and rock stations. Middle of the road was famously associated with MetroMedia Radio stations; their flagship station was WNEW 1130 AM in New York. The MOR genre creation was an evolutionary outcome of WNEW’s reluctance to follow the Top 40 domination and adhere to traditional male and female vocals such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee. The term “middle of the road” was the creation of WNEW program director Dick Carr. Soft rock groups like the Association, the 5th Dimension, the Bee Gees, the Johnny Mann Singers and Simon & Garfunkel infiltrated the MOR market in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s, Bread, the Carpenters and John Denver were notable performers in the middle of the road genre. Writing in Christgau’s Record Guide: The ’80s (1990), Robert Christgau said MOR “applied to radio formats that shun or put stringent tempo and volume restrictions on rock, although ’lite’ and ‘adult contemporary’ are now the preferred evasions.”

Music hall

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins and development#

Music halls had their origins in 18th century London. They grew with the entertainment provided in the new style saloon bars of pubs during the 1830s. These venues replaced earlier semi-rural amusements provided by fairs and suburban pleasure gardens such as Vauxhall Gardens and the Cremorne Gardens. These latter became subject to urban development and became fewer and less popular. From the mid-19th century music halls spread to the provincial cities, such as Bristol. The saloon was a room where for an admission fee or a greater price at the bar, singing, dancing, drama or comedy was performed. The most famous London saloon of the early days was the Grecian Saloon, established in 1825, at The Eagle (a former tea-garden), 2 Shepherdess Walk, off the City Road in east London. According to John Hollingshead, proprietor of the Gaiety Theatre, London (originally the Strand Music Hall), this establishment was “the father and mother, the dry and wet nurse of the Music Hall”. Later known as the Grecian Theatre, it was here that Marie Lloyd made her début at the age of 14 in 1884. It is still famous because of an English nursery rhyme, with the somewhat mysterious lyrics: Up and down the City Road In and out The Eagle That’s the way the money goes Pop goes the weasel. Another famous “song and supper” room of this period was Evans Music-and-Supper Rooms, 43 King Street, Covent Garden, established in the 1840s by W.H. Evans. This venue was also known as ‘Evans Late Joys’ – Joy being the name of the previous owner. Other song and supper rooms included the Coal Hole in The Strand, the Cyder Cellars in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden and the Mogul Saloon in Drury Lane.

Music of the African diaspora

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Many genres of music originate from communities that have visible roots in Africa. In North America, it was a way that the early slaves could express themselves and communicate when they were being forcibly relocated and when there were restrictions on what cultural activities they could pursue. The sorrows of song were the only freedom slaves had working on cotton fields, and overall through labor tactics. This burden of slavery became a gateway for other genres of music such as the blues. For example, Black music does not just encompass sounds of the U.S. black experience but also a global black experience that stretches from Africa to Americas. The term for many coming from places of “Black” origin can be perceived in a derogatory manner by cultures who see the term as a blurring of lines which ignores the true roots of certain peoples and their specific traditions. To refer to musical genres with strong African-American influence, such as hip hop music, is very limited in scope and is not adopted by academic institutions as a true category of music. The individual aspects and collectively of black music is surrounded by the culture in itself as well as experience. Black music is centered around a story and origin. Many artists sing about the things they have experienced firsthand. Music was a tool black people used to communicate and express themselves during hard times such as slavery. Their songs were used to give guidance to one another and tell stories. The varieties of sounds and expressions used in the music helped stress their emotions. Black music began to reflect urban environments through amplified sounds, social concerns, and cultural pride expressed through music. It combined blues, jazz, boogie-woogie and gospel, taking the form of fast paced dance music with highly energized guitar work appealing to young audiences across racial divides.

Nashville sound

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

According to Dave Lifton of Ultimate Classic Rock, the Nashville sound “had more in common with mainstream 50s vocal pop than Western swing or rockabilly.” Upon being asked what the Nashville sound was, Chet Atkins put his hand into his pocket, shook his loose change, and said “That’s what it is. It’s the sound of money.”

Origins#

The Nashville sound was pioneered by staff at RCA Victor, Columbia Records and Decca Records in Nashville, Tennessee. RCA Victor manager, producer and musician Chet Atkins, and producers Steve Sholes, Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, and recording engineer Bill Porter invented the form by replacing elements of the popular honky tonk style (fiddles, steel guitar, nasal lead vocals) with “smooth” elements from 1950s pop music (string sections, background vocals, crooning lead vocals), and using “slick” production, and pop music structures. The producers relied on a small group of studio musicians known as the Nashville A-Team, whose quick adaptability and creative input made them vital to the hit-making process. The Anita Kerr Quartet was the main vocal backing group in the early 1960s. The term “Nashville sound” was first mentioned in an article about Jim Reeves in 1958 in the Music Reporter and again in 1960 in a Time article about Reeves. Other observers have identified several recordings that helped establish the early Nashville sound. The country historian Rich Kienzle identified that “Gone”, a Ferlin Husky hit recorded in November 1956, as a possible precursor. The writer Colin Escott argued that Reeves’ “Four Walls”, recorded February 1957, as the “first ‘Nashville sound’ record”, and Chet Atkins, the RCA Victor producer and guitarist most often credited with being the sound’s primary artistic creator, pointed to his production of Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me” later the same year. In an essay published in Heartaches by the Number: Country Music’s 500 Greatest Singles, David Cantwell argues that Elvis Presley’s rock and roll recording of “Don’t Be Cruel” in July 1956 was the record that sparked the beginning of the era now called the Nashville sound. In 1960, Time reported that Nashville had “nosed out Hollywood as the nation’s second biggest (after New York) record-producing center.”

Nederbeat

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

In the 1960s, The Beatles and the Merseybeat sound began to dominate the Dutch charts. The popularity of such music led to interest among Dutch musicians in forming bands to play this type of rock music, replacing a previous genre Indorock performed by Indonesian immigrants in the Netherlands. The interest was further spurred on by the Beatles concerts in the Netherlands in 1964 that drew large crowds, followed by a performance by The Rolling Stones at the Kurhaus in Scheveningen disrupted by an excited audience. The Hague was the country’s beat capital, where bands such as “the Golden Earrings” (the predecessor of Golden Earring), InCrowd, Q65, Het, Sandy Coast and The Motions were formed, along with its neighbouring coastal town Scheveningen. The clubs on its boulevard, from where Veronica’s pirate ship was constantly visible, became the locus for Dutch talent. Other bands such as the Outsiders also emerged in Amsterdam. These bands generally performed in English, with the exception of a few such as Het who performed in Dutch. Their guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen would later form Shocking Blue. Other popular groups were the Outsiders, Q65, Golden Earring, Ro-d-ys, The Shoes, and Cuby & the Blizzards. Nederbeat had association with the psychedelia and counterculture of the 1960s in the Netherlands. The beat sound was popular for a few years before the sound started to change, and the musical style of the bands evolved. Soul and Rhythm and blues became more popular, groups that performed in such style include Rob Hoeke Rhythm & Blues Group. The Cats shifted into the palingsound they created, while Cuby & the Blizzards developed their own distinct style of blues. The bands were mostly popular only in the Netherlands, but a few bands found success internationally. In 1970, Tee-Set had a top 10 hit with “Ma Belle Amie” in many countries, while Shocking Blue did better with “Venus”, which became the first ever No. 1 single by a Dutch band on Billboard Hot 100. Later in 1973, Golden Earring also had a worldwide hit with “Radar Love”. However, despite the successes, the genre had faded in the 1970s as popular music moved on to other genres and tastes such as Disco.

Neo-medieval music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

16th–19th centuries#

Though there is some scholarly disagreement about the extent to which a revival and study of medieval music existed in the 16th and 17th centuries, studies from the late 18th and early 19th century show comprehensive efforts to come to terms with various forms of medieval music. German scholar Martin Gerbert wrote a study De cantu et musica sacra on medieval ecclesiastical music in 1774, followed shortly by the volume of histories General History of Music written by Charles Burney between 1776-1789 and the Essai sur la musique ancienne et moderne by composer Jean-Benjamin de La Borde in 1780. Activity increased in the 19th century with the beginning of the academic discipline of musicology, while in 1814 French musician and music historian Francois-Louis Perne “attempted a complete transcription of a polyphonic mass for the first time”. Edmond de Couseemaker would publish a monograph of medieval music in 1852, and Richard Wagner’s music would further increase interest in musical medievalism.

Neomelodic music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Style#

It is a peculiar borderland of aesthetics concerning music and everything else in the society in which it is created. Most artists that may be considered neomelodics often have more musical differences between them than common denominators. Neomelodic music is a celebration for those involved and a pejorative term with political implications for those outside. The geographical area that is its homeland consists of every suburb, smalltown, and province between Romanina (Rome, Lazio, Italy) and Catania (Sicily, Italy) with its absolute epicenter in the working-class inner-city and peripherical areas of Naples (Campania, Italy). Neomelodic music draws on Naples’ long history of street entertainment including Commedia dell’arte and La sceneggiata napoletana. The first wave of what is considered as neomelodic was a renaissance of the sceneggiata form, including its typical themes of betrayal, class society, and crime, in the early 1970s. The main pioneers of the neomelodica were the singers Mario Merola and Nino D’Angelo with their numerous collaborations and duets, in films and in pop songs, as well as in musicals, in the 1970s and 1980s. The duet is typical for the neomelodic form as it continues and develops the dramatic form of the sceneggiata in which a troubled main character always must struggle against an antagonist to make his way forward. Apart from the duet being a common form, there are chord progressions that are commonly used in neomelodica. The first wave of neomelodica (ca 1970–1985) often mixed traditional Neapolitan forms of music, like the neoclassical Neapolitan music including world famous songs such as “‘O sole mio”, “Tu si na cosa grande” and “O surdato nnammurato”, that itself is a combination of general European aesthetic, occasionally with Spanish and Arabic influences. The second wave (late 1980s until present) however has a fixation on the melodic progressions typically starting the verses on the VI chord in the major scale and progressing over the 4ths, and the choruses starting on the II chord in the major scale and progressing over the same 4ths. The complete dominance of a specific chord progression serves many purposes: # any bar pianist or busking guitar player can play 50% of modern-day neomelodica without ever before having heard the song that a singer requests # the crowds at the concerts can attend (and sing along to) any concert without having had to listen to the artists’ songs before as they already know which note that follows # professional musicians in the genre become interchangeable so it matters less if someone is absent at the time of a performance # the songwriters can focus on putting as much sentiment as possible into the lyrics, and decoration, since the chords and melody are already there # the singers can perform long medleys covering their whole careers, without barely changing chord progression The theme of a neomelodic lyric is always direct. The message is clear and there is little room for allegory or irony. A typical theme is that of betrayal, taking the recipe from la sceneggiata in which women are the ones that destroy decent families. (e.g. “Nun voglio fà l’amante” by Nancy and Nico Desideri). Other themes include forbidden love (e.g. “Maestra e pianoforte” by Nino D’Angelo and “L’amica e mammà” by Luciano Caldore), class betrayal (e.g. “Faje ammore cu Secondigliano” by Ida Rendano), celebrating love and the desire to marry (e.g. “Per sempre” by Raffaello and “Un ragazzo da sposare” by Emiliana Cantone), and numerous other themes that however always stick to a perceived reality of one or more young persons living in Naples. It is to a great extent the absence of conceptualism that is the trademark of neomelodica, and this absence, in turn, becomes an ever-present presence. Perhaps a good example of this non-ironic irony is the song (and the music video) “Nun t’ho negà” by Mimmo Dany. The more the singers manage to make their listeners suffer with them as they get to hear their private phone conversations (e.g. “Dammi un’occasione” by Emiliana Cantone and Alessio or “Basta” by Emiliana Cantone and Leo Ferrucci) or get to read their text messages (e.g. “Sms” by Alessio), the more they have succeeded in creating the cultural loop of “napolitanità” between people that already are Neapolitans.

New pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Many new pop artists created music that blended less commercial and experimental elements with a pop appeal. The concept of entryism became popular among groups of the time, reflecting their attempts to infiltrate mainstream culture with unconventional styles. New Music acts were characterized by danceable rhythms, an androgynous aesthetic, heavy use of synthesizers and drum machines, and lyrical themes exploring the darker side of romance. These acts were predominantly British and drew inspiration from rockabilly, Motown, ska, and reggae, incorporating African rhythms to create what was described as a “fertile, stylistic cross-pollination.” Author Simon Reynolds observed that the new pop movement represented “a conscious and brave attempt to bridge the separation between ‘progressive’ pop and mass/chart pop – a divide which has existed since 1967, and is also, broadly, one between boys and girls, middle-class and working-class.” The terms “New Music” or “new pop” were used loosely to describe various styles and artists, including synth-pop groups such as the Human League, soul-disco acts such as ABC, new wave performers like Elvis Costello and the Pretenders, and jangle pop bands like Orange Juice. American MTV stars, including Michael Jackson, were also associated with the movement. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that New Music was more about the artists themselves than their specific sound. It attracted teenage girls and males disillusioned with traditional, “phallic” guitar-driven rock. New Music was a singles-oriented phenomenon, emphasizing both 7-inch and the then-new 12-inch formats, in contrast to the 1970s emphasis on album-oriented rock.

New Romantic

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

The New Romantic movement is sometimes characterized as a reaction to the direction in which the punk rock movement was evolving, and was heavily influenced by former glam rock stars of the 1970s such as David Bowie and Roxy Music. In terms of style, it rejected the austerity and anti-fashion stance which was becoming increasingly predominant in punk. Both sexes often dressed in androgynous clothing and wore cosmetics such as eyeliner and lipstick, partly derived from earlier punk fashions. Russian constructivism, Bonnie Prince Charlie, French Incroyables and 1930s’ Cabaret, Hollywood starlets, Puritans and the Pierrot clown, with any look being possible if it was adapted to be unusual and striking. Common hairstyles included quiffs, and Helen Robinson’s Covent Garden shop PX, Unlike some other bands of the early 1980s, particularly those of the predominantly Midlands-based 2 tone ska revival (the Specials, the Selecter, the Beat) who wrote lyrics addressing social issues such as unemployment and urban decay, the New Romantics adopted an escapist and aspirational stance. With its interest in design, marketing and image, the movement has been seen by some as an acceptance of Thatcherism; style commentator Peter York even suggested that it was aligned with the New Right. Alan Bissett also made the connection, opining “Where New Wave and Ska still represented something of a challenge to the emerging Thatcherite creed, the New Romantics embraced it,” whilst Spandau Ballet were labelled “The sound of Thatcherism” by Guardian writer Michael Hann.

Nonsense song

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History#

The roots of this song type can be traced as far back as “Shoo, Fly, Don’t Bother Me” and “Jimmy Crack Corn” to the 1890s “Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay”. The Jazz Age created many nonsense songs, such as “Ja-Da”.

Examples#

“Sarasponda”, a children’s folk song
“Nonsense Song (Titine)” a song written by Charlie Chaplin, used in Modern Times (1936)
“Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood Mama)”, written by Edward Robinson; Jerry Brandow; Lenny Kent; Leonard Ware; Willie Spottswood in 1938
“Three Little Fishies”, written by Josephine Carringer and Bernice Idins; with music by Saxie Dowell in 1939
“Mairzy Doats”, composed by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston in 1943
“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”, written by Al Hoffman, Mack David and Jerry Livingston in 1948
“Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo”, written by Helen Deutsch in 1952
“Rubber Biscuit”, written by Charles Johnson and first recorded by The Chips in 1956; later known from the Blues Brothers cover version.
“Surfin’ Bird”, written by Al Frazier, Carl White, Sonny Harris and Turner Wilson Jr. in 1963. Performed by The Trashmen and the Ramones.
“Chim Chim Cher-ee”, written by the Sherman Brothers in 1964
“The Name Game”, written by Shirley Ellis in 1964
“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, written by the Sherman Brothers in 1968
“I Am the Walrus”, written by John Lennon in 1967
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”, written by Paul McCartney in 1968
“Dig a Pony”, written by John Lennon in 1969
“Prisencolinensinainciusol”, written by Adriano Celentano in 1972
The Israeli rock band Kaveret, active 1973–1976, are known with their songs with nonsense, wordplays and surrealistic stories.
“Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot”, by novelty band Caramba, released in 1981 on the self-titled album. Other songs on the album are also of the same nonsense song genre.
The closing theme song of the 1970s-80s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati by Jim Ellis features gibberish lyrics.
“Monster In The Mirror” from Sesame Street (1989)
“The Gibberish Song” from Judy and David’s Boombox (1999/2000)
“Gibberish”, from the 2003 Relient K album Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right…but Three Do
“Chacarron Macarron”, written by “El Chombo” in 2006
“Why This Kolaveri Di”, an Indian song from 2011 by actor Dhanush.
“Ja Ja Ding Dong”, a song from the 2020 film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Igowallah”, written by Daniel Thrasher in 2023
“The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)”, written by Las Ketchup in 2002 has a nonsensical chorus that hides as Spanish to non-native speakers.

Novelty piano

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Novelty song

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Late 19th century – 1960s#

Novelty songs were a major staple of Tin Pan Alley from its start in the late 19th century. They continued to proliferate in the early years of the 20th century, some rising to be among the biggest hits of the era. Varieties included songs with an unusual gimmick, such as the stuttering in “K-K-K-Katy” or the playful boop-boop-a-doops of “I Wanna Be Loved By You”, which made a star out of Helen Kane and inspired the creation of Betty Boop; silly lyrics like “Yes! We Have No Bananas”; playful songs with a bit of double entendre, such as “Don’t Put a Tax on All the Beautiful Girls”; and invocations of foreign lands with emphasis on general feel of exoticism rather than geographic or anthropological accuracy, such as “Oh By Jingo!”, “The Sheik of Araby”, and “The Yodeling Chinaman”. These songs were perfect for the medium of Vaudeville, and performers such as Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker became well known for such songs. Zez Confrey’s 1920s instrumental compositions, which involved gimmicky approaches (such as “Kitten on the Keys”) or maniacally rapid tempos (“Dizzy Fingers”), were popular enough to start a fad of novelty piano pieces that lasted through the decade. The fad was brought about by the increasing availability of audio recordings by way of the player piano and the phonograph; whereas much of Tin Pan Alley’s repertoire was sold in the form of sheet music and thus had to be simple enough for an amateur pianist to play, novelty piano brought virtuoso-level performance to the home and to those who would not normally attend classical concerts. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, “Hitler Has Only Got One Ball” (set to the tune of British Army bandmaster F. J. Ricketts’s popular World War Iera “Colonel Bogey March”) was sung by British troops. A 1940s novelty song was Spike Jones’ 1942 “Der Fuehrer’s Face”, which included raspberries in its chorus. Tex Williams’s “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” topped the Billboard best-sellers chart for six weeks and the country music chart for 16 weeks in 1947 and 1948. Hank Williams Sr.’s “Move It On Over”, his first hit song, has some humor and novelty elements (about a man having to share the doghouse when his lover kicks him out of the house), but contemporaries (among them Jerry Rivers) disputed this and noted that many men had been faced with eviction under similar circumstances. The 1953 #1 single “(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?” became notable both for its extensive airplay and the backlash from listeners who found it increasingly annoying. Satirists such as Stan Freberg, Allan Sherman, and Tom Lehrer used novelty songs to poke fun at contemporary pop culture in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1951, Frank Sinatra was paired in a CBS television special with TV personality Dagmar. Mitch Miller at Columbia Records became intrigued with the pairing and compelled songwriter Dick Manning to compose a song for the two of them. The result was “Mama Will Bark”, a novelty song performed by Sinatra with interspersed spoken statements by Dagmar, saying things like “mama will bark”, “mama will spank”, and “papa will spank”. The recording even includes the sound of a dog yowling. It is regarded by both music scholars and Sinatra enthusiasts to be perhaps the worst song he ever recorded. Sinatra would record a few others before he left Columbia and joined Capitol Records in 1952. Dickie Goodman faced a lawsuit for his 1956 novelty song “The Flying Saucer”, which sampled snippets of contemporary hits without permission and arranged them to resemble interviews with an alien landing on Earth. Goodman released more hit singles in the same vein for the next two decades including his gold record RIAA certified hit “Mr. Jaws” in 1975, which charted #1 in Cash Box and Record World and was based on the movie Jaws. Among the more far out songs of this genre were the two released in 1956 by Nervous Norvus, “Transfusion” and “Ape Call”. The Coasters had novelty songs such as “Charlie Brown” and “Yakety Yak”. “Yakety Yak” became a #1 single on July 21, 1958, and is the only novelty song (#346) included in the Songs of the Century. “Lucky Ladybug” by Billy and Lillie was popular in December 1958. Lonnie Donegan’s 1959 cover of the 1924 novelty song “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)” was a transatlantic hit, reaching #5 on the Billboard charts two years after its release; it was one of the earliest top-5 hits to come from the United Kingdom in the rock era, preceding the British Invasion. Three songs using a sped-up recording technique became #1 hits in the United States in 1958–59, Sheb Wooley’s “The Purple People Eater” and two by David Seville: “Witch Doctor” and “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”. Seville sped up his voice on his two number-one tracks to invent the title characters to each song, the latter of which would introduce the breakout characters that came to dominate Seville’s career, Alvin and the Chipmunks. The technique (which Dickie Goodman had also used on “The Flying Saucer”) would inspire a number of other knockoffs, including The Nutty Squirrels and Russ Regan’s one-off group Dancer, Prancer and Nervous. In 1960, 16-year-old Brian Hyland had a novelty hit with the song “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”, by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, which topped the Billboard single chart. The Trashmen reached the top 5 with “Surfin’ Bird”, a surf rock medley of two novelty songs originally recorded by The Rivingtons. In 1964, the Grammy for Best Country and Western Album was awarded to Roger Miller. Miller was known to sing novelty songs. The British actor Bernard Cribbins had multiple novelty hits, starting with a satirical song from the revue And Another Thing entitled “Folk Song”, written by Ted Dicks and Myles Rudge. The show brought Cribbins to the attention of Parlophone head George Martin, who signed Cribbins to the label to record a single. Subsequently, Rudge and Dicks were asked to provide new material for Cribbins; their compositions “The Hole in the Ground”, about an annoyed workman who eventually buries a harasser, and “Right Said Fred”, about three workmen who struggle to move an unspecified heavy and awkward object into or out of a building (later also the name of a pop novelty band who named themselves after the song ), were top ten hits on the UK Singles Chart in 1962. The song spent a total of 13 weeks on the UK Singles Chart peaking at No. 23 in the chart of 17 February 1965. The song’s composers were granted an Ivor Novello Award in 1966 for the Year’s Outstanding Novelty Composition.

Old-time music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Reflecting the cultures that settled North America, the roots of old-time music are in the traditional musics of the British Isles, Europe, and Africa. African influences are notably found in vocal and instrumental performance styles and dance, as well as the often cited use of the banjo; in some regions, Native American, Spanish, French and German sources are also prominent. While many dance tunes and ballads can be traced to European sources, many others are of North American origin.

Operatic pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

According to music historians, operatic pop songs became most prevalent with the rise of Tin Pan Alley musicians during the early 1900s. One influence was the large influx of Italian immigrants to the United States who popularized singers such as Enrico Caruso and inspired the creation of “novelty songs” using Italian dialect. The songs often used operatic repertory “to make a satirical or topical point”. Other singers, including Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, and Katherine Jenkins, also recorded the number. while his famous duet partner, British soprano Sarah Brightman, also gravitated considerably towards this combination of opera and pop music. In the 2000s, singers and singing groups devoted primarily to operatic pop built on this renewed success. Groups like Il Divo and Amici Forever have achieved popularity with the mix of “contemporary pop with operatic style” characteristic of operatic pop.

Orchestral pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

During the 1960s, pop music on radio and in both American and British film moved away from refined Tin Pan Alley to more eccentric songwriting and incorporated reverb-drenched rock guitar, symphonic strings, and horns played by groups of properly arranged and rehearsed studio musicians. The rapid development of multitrack recording in the mid 1960s also drove the ability of producers to create recordings with ever more complex and sonically sophisticated arrangements. Pop arrangers and producers worked orchestral pop into their artists’ releases, including George Martin and his strings arrangements with the Beatles, and John Barry for his scores to the James Bond films. Also in the 1960s, a number of orchestral settings were made for songs written by the Beatles, including symphonic performances of “Yesterday” by orchestras. Some symphonies were specifically founded for playing predominantly popular music, such as the Boston Pops Orchestra. Nick Perito was one of orchestral pop’s most accomplished arrangers, composers, and conductors. According to Chris Nickson, the “vital orchestral pop of 1966” was “challenging, rather than vapid, easy listening”. Spin magazine refers to Burt Bacharach and the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson as “gods” of orchestral pop. In Nickson’s opinion, the “apex” of orchestral pop lay in singer Scott Walker, explaining that “in his most fertile period, 1967–70, he created a body of work that was, in its own way, as revolutionary as the Beatles’. He took the ideas of Henry Mancini Henry Mancini and Bacharach to their logical conclusion, essentially redefining the concept of orchestral pop.” In the 21st century, few artists explore the genre, with the most notable being English supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets (formed by Arctic Monkeys frontman, Alex Turner and solo artist Miles Kane), American artist Cody Fry, American artist Amadour and Korean artist IU.

Orthodox pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

Orthodox pop has its roots in the 1950s and early 1960s, when traditional Hasidic nigunim began to be recorded for the first time, such as Ben Zion Shenker’s recordings of Modzitz melodies and cantor David Werdyger’s recordings of Ger and other Hasidic melodies. Werdyger also founded the label Aderet Records in 1950, which was later inherited by his son Mendy Werdyger and which, along with its retail outlet Mostly Music, would become a major distributor of Orthodox music. Another influential figure around that time was Shlomo Carlebach, who pioneered the use of secular styles in Jewish religious music by combining Hasidic nigunim with a contemporary folk rock sound; artists like The Rabbis’ Sons, Mark III, Ruach, Simchatone, and Abie Rotenberg’s D’veykus followed in his style soon after, and many of Carlebach’s compositions became standards and would be covered by countless Orthodox and non-Orthodox artists. Another development was the Hassidic Song Festival, begun in 1969 in Israel; winners included Nurit Hirsh’s “Ose Shalom”, Svika Pick’s “Shema Yisrael”, Carlebach’s “Od Yishama” and “V’haer Enenu”, and David Weinkranz’s “Y’varech’cha”, and these compositions were popularized in America via annual recordings and touring performances. In the post-World War II generation of the 1960s, many Orthodox Jews were caught between the desire to maintain a traditional Orthodox way of life while also being “modern” and not living in the past, and from a musical standpoint this left a vacuum between the existing liturgical and cantorial music and more contemporary and secular styles. This led to the development of a new type of Jewish music that was not intended for the synagogue but instead for professional recording. According to historian Haym Soloveitchik: Rock music sung with “kosher” lyrics was heard at the weddings of the most religious. There had been no “kosher” jazz or “kosher” swing, for music is evocative, and what was elicited by the contemporary beat was felt by the previous generation to be alien to a “Jewish rejoicing” (yiddishe simche). This was no longer the case. The body syncopated to the beat of rock, and the emotional receptivities that the contemporary rhythm engendered were now felt to be consonant with the spirit of “Jewish rejoicing.” Indeed, “Hassidic” rock concerts, though decried, were not unheard of.

Parlour music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Many of the earliest parlour songs were transcriptions for voice and keyboard of other music. Thomas Moore’s Irish Melodies, for instance, were traditional (or “folk”) tunes supplied with new lyrics by Moore, and many arias from Italian operas, particularly those of Bellini and Donizetti, became parlour songs, with texts either translated or replaced by new lyrics. Many parlour songs of the time were derived from children’s folk tunes, and the history of the origin of these folk tunes are heavily debated today. Various other genres were also performed in the parlour, including patriotic selections, religious songs, and pieces written for the musical stage. Excerpts from blackface minstrel shows, arranged for voice and keyboard, were particularly popular. Also, a handful of the better-known art songs, such as Schubert’s “Serenade,” became part of the parlour repertory. Lyrics written for parlour songs often have sentimental themes, such as love songs or poetic meditations. Fantastical or exuberant themes were also common, as was commentary on incidents and events of the day, such as “Bryan Free Silver March”, “Homeless Tonight” or “Shootin’ Craps”. As the 19th century wore on, more and more songs were newly composed specifically for use by amateurs at home, and these pieces (written originally as parlour songs, rather than being adapted from other genres) began to develop a style all their own: similar in melodic and harmonic content to art songs of the day, but shorter and simpler in structure and making fewer technical demands on singer and accompanist. Stephen Foster’s “Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway” and “Come with Thy Sweet Voice Again” are early and elegant examples of the genre. The high point of the parlour song came in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the Victorian era in North America and the British Isles. Songs of this genre became more complex and sophisticated in their melodic and harmonic vocabulary, and in addition to their continuing use in the parlour, they were also often sung in public recitals by professional singers. Characteristic and popular parlour songs include “Home, Sweet Home,” composed by Henry R. Bishop with lyrics by John Howard Payne, “The Old Arm Chair” by Henry Russell, “When the Swallows Homeward Fly” by Franz Abt, “Kathleen Mavourneen” composed by Frederick Nicholls Crouch with lyrics by Marion Crawford, “The Lost Chord” composed by Arthur Sullivan with lyrics by Adelaide A. Proctor, “Take Back the Heart” by Claribel (Mrs. Charlotte Barnard), “Oh Promise Me” by Reginald de Koven, “I Love You Truly” and “A Perfect Day” by Carrie Jacobs-Bond, and “The Rosary” by Ethelbert Nevin. “Just Awearyin’ for You” (see insets) exemplifies the parlor song. Note the sentimental lyrics by Frank Lebby Stanton, the plaintive but well matched tune by Carrie Jacobs-Bond, and the conscious artistry (including the operatic trilled “r"s) by singer Elizabeth Spencer. In addition to dissemination as individual pieces of sheet music, parlour songs were also collected into anthologies and sold in this format. The most notable collection was Heart Songs, first published in 1909 by Chapple Publishing Company of Boston and repeatedly revised and republished for the following several decades. The publisher claimed that this selection of songs “Dear to the American People” was selected from entries submitted by 25,000 people.

Pimba

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The genre began to have a greater popularity in the 1980s and reached its apogee in the 1990s. Pimba bands and musicians or singers are influenced by the rural areas of the Portuguese countryside and the economic emigration phenomenon which was common place in Portuguese life and the society throughout the 20th century. The Pimba genre is characterized by humorous lyrics, usually charged with sexual metaphors (like Rosinha’s, Quim Barreiros’ and Toy’s songs), but it can also be used to refer to singers of overly sentimental lyrics (such as Marco Paulo, Tony Carreira, Dino Meira, Mónica Sintra and Ágata) who play in local festivities across the country, usually during the Summer season, where the overly vulgar or saucy music performances were also displayed. At the onset and for many years, Pimba music and musicians or bands were object of negative criticism by some music erudites and cultural authorities, although being often much more popular and profitable across Portugal and the Portuguese expat communities abroad than other more reputable genres. The origins of Pimba as a genre are hard to define with precision, but Portuguese singer Emanuel’s 1995 single called Pimba Pimba is regarded as a milestone in the genre’s popularity explosion even after Quim Barreiros’ 1991 and 1992 songs Bacalhau à Portuguesa (O Bacalhau Quer Alho) and O Sorveteiro (Chupa Teresa) have reached such a huge success that the genre started to be widely sought-after and appreciated nationwide by then, although still just known as Portuguese folk (or popular) music instead of Pimba music. The single Pimba Pimba eventually gave its name to this music genre. Always present in local festivities and holidays of villages and towns across the entire country, that are often connected with religious holidays in honor of a patron saint of a local community, almost always in the Summer, Pimba singers also became a must in several major university and college festivals or festivities, such as the Queima das Fitas. Other names who were highly successful throughout the glory days of the genre include Ana Malhoa and her father José Malhoa, the band Diapasão, Iran Costa, Fernando Correia Marques, Ruth Marlene, Micaela, Romana and Nel Monteiro. Actress Maria João Bastos character Liliane Marise, a pimba music singer in the Portuguese telenovela Destinos Cruzados (2013/14), was so remarkable that the actress, impersonating the character, released a CD that reached first place in the Portuguese album chart and performed in Lisbon’s MEO Arena in October 2013, and also in Guimarães on 2 November 2013. In 1998 and 1999, the pimba music scene, at its most mediatic point, was parodied in RTP’s sitcom Débora, starred by Ana Bola.

Pinoy pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

In the early 1970s, Pinoy music or Pinoy pop emerged, often sung in Tagalog. It was a mix of rock, folk and ballads making political use of music similar to early hip hop but transcending class. The music was a “conscious attempt to create a Filipino national and popular culture” and it often reflected social realities and problems. “Pinoy” gained popular currency in the late 1970s in the Philippines when a surge in patriotism made a hit song of Filipino folk singer Heber Bartolome’s “Tayo’y mga Pinoy” (“We are Pinoys”). This trend was followed by Filipino rapper Francis Magalona’s “Mga Kababayan Ko” (“My Countrymen”) in the 1990s and Filipino rock band Bamboo’s “Noypi” (“Pinoy” in reversed syllables) in the 2000s. Nowadays, Pinoy is used as an adjective to some terms highlighting their relationship to the Philippines or Filipinos. Pinoy rock was soon followed by Pinoy folk and later, Pinoy jazz. Although the music was often used to express opposition to then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and his use of martial law and the creating of the Batasang Bayan, many of the songs were more subversive and some just instilled national pride. Perhaps because of the cultural affirming nature and many of the songs seemingly being non-threatening, the Marcos administration ordered radio stations to play at least one – and later, three – Pinoy songs each hour. Pinoy music was greatly employed both by Marcos and political forces who sought to overthrow him.

Pop kreatif

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definition#

The term “pop kreatif” first appeared in Indonesian media in the 1980s. Other terms associated with the genre include “contemporary pop,” “trendy pop,” and “high-class pop” (pop kelas atas). The ban on pop melankolis had created an opportunity for musicians experimenting with jazz fusion and new wave styles, characterized by heavy use of synthesizers, to rise to prominence. To academic Kitano, he draws parallels between pop kreatif and the work of Japanese artists like Yamashita Tatsuro, likening it to the evolution of Japanese pop into what is often referred to as “new music.” He suggests that pop kreatif represents a form of contemporary or trendy pop, characterized by its innovative approach. Whilst at its core, pop kreatif stands out as a genre that caters to urban, cosmopolitan audiences, reflecting modern influences and tastes that set it apart from traditional mainstream music.

Pop melankolis

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definition#

The term “pop melankolis” was coined by Indonesian songwriter Rinto Harahap to describe his style of music, which was described as “cengeng” (whiny or weepy) by Harmoko. It is also known as “pop manis” (sweet pop). The music of pop melankolis is characterized by elementary chord progressions harkening back to American traditional pop from the 1950s-1960s, as heard in songs like “Unchained Melody”, which follows the progression of C major – A minor – F major – G major, sometimes with additional variations like E minor or D minor. This structure gives pop melankolis its signature sentimental and sorrowful feel, making songs in this genre easily recognizable for their evocative and poignant mood. Instruments used include guitars, keyboards and drums, and often include synthesizers especially in the 1980s. Answer songs, a staple of country music in the 1950s, was also a common trend in this subgenre.

Pop metal

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Pop metal is a variation of heavy metal which emphasizes catchy pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs. It was influenced by the anthemic choruses of arena rock. In the “definitive metal family tree” of his documentary Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, anthropologist Sam Dunn differentiates pop metal, which includes bands like Def Leppard, Europe, and Whitesnake, from glam metal bands that include Mötley Crüe and Poison.

History#

The catchy hard rock of Kiss and Van Halen in the 1970s helped spawn the genre, The arrival of grunge in 1991 largely turned audiences away from pop metal. Andrew W.K., Architects, Bring Me the Horizon, Coheed and Cambria, Dead by April, Evanescence, Halestorm, Ghost, In Flames, In This Moment, Issues, Lacuna Coil, Poppy, Shinedown, The Pretty Reckless, We Are the Fallen, and Weezer.

Pop rap

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

AllMusic describes pop rap as “a marriage of hip-hop beats and raps with strong melodic hooks, which are usually featured as part of the chorus section in a standard pop-song structure.” Pop rap also tends to have less aggressive lyrics than street-level rap music. However, some 1990s artists fused pop rap with a more aggressive attitude to defuse backlash on their own accessibility.

History#

In the 1980s, rap artists including Run-DMC and LL Cool J set up the blueprints and origins of pop rap as they suddenly broke into the mainstream. Later, rap artists such as Tone Loc, Young MC, and Fresh Prince then made party tunes and used their storytelling abilities as they became popular. During the 1990s, pop rap began to expand even more as hip-hop music also began to connect strongly with dance music and R&B. They caused pop rap to be “derided (and, occasionally, taken to court) for its willingness to borrow” from best-known hit singles. By the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, rappers such as Ja Rule fused gangsta rap themes with 1980s pop and soul elements; pop rap was dominated by many artists. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, many rap artists who used pop rap in their music had emerged such as Nicki Minaj, Drake, will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas, LMFAO, Illslick, Flo Rida, Pitbull and Wiz Khalifa.

Pop rock

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics and etymology#

Much pop and rock music has been very similar in sound, instrumentation and even lyrical content. The terms “pop rock” and “power pop” have been used to describe more commercially successful music that uses elements from, or the form of, rock music. Writer Johan Fornas views pop rock as “one single, continuous genre field”, rather than distinct categories. The term “pop” has been used since the early 1940s to refer to popular music in general, but in the mid-1950s, it began to be used for a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll. As of the 2010s, “guitar pop rock” and “indie rock” are roughly synonymous terms. “Jangle” is a noun-adjective that music critics often use in reference to guitar pop with a bright mood.

Pop-punk

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definition and characteristics#

Pop-punk is variously described as a punk subgenre, Writers at The A.V. Club described pop-punk as a punk subgenre that has “essentially been around as long as punk itself” with roots in the “classic pop of the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Beach Boys, often pitting sweet harmonies against bratty, rowdy riffs.” According to Ryan Cooper of About.com, “pop-punk is a style that owes more to The Beatles and ’60s pop than other sub-genres of punk”. There is considerable overlap between power pop and pop-punk, and the two styles are often conflated. In Brian Cogan’s The Encyclopedia of Punk Music and Culture (2006) pop-punk is characterized as “a catchy, faster version of power pop.” AllMusic defines “punk-pop” as “a post-grunge strand of alternative rock” that combines the textures and fast tempos of punk rock with the “melodies and chord changes” of power pop. In the 1990s, there was overlap between pop-punk and skate punk. Music journalist Ben Myers wrote that the two terms were synonymous. Rock writer Greg Shaw, who wrote extensively about power pop and took credit for codifying the genre in the 1970s, originally defined power pop itself as a hybrid style of punk and pop. Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who described power pop as “the greatest music on Earth that no one likes”, whether it’s something like Cheap Trick or another band “. opined that the pop-punk term was an oxymoron: “You’re either punk or you’re not.” Writing in Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Guide to Power Pop (2007), actor Robbie Rist felt that much of the genre merely consisted of pop bands who “add the ‘punk’ moniker so the kids will think they are pissing off their parents.” Rolling Stone, in an article about pop-punk, wrote that the term was a retroactive label for punk bands who had “always championed great songwriting alongside their anti-authoritarian stance. And punk’s focus on speed, concision and three-chord simplicity is a natural fit with pop’s core values.” Bill Lamb, also from About.com, writes that pop-punk is a variant of punk music that features “a hard and fast guitar and drums base but powered by pop melodies like much of ’70s punk rock.” Lyrically, pop-punk often addresses adolescent themes of lust, romantic relationships, heartbreak, drugs, suburbia, and rebellion. Some pop-punk lyrics make an emphasis on jokes and humor. The New Yorkers Amanda Petrush summarized that the “rawness” of pop-punk “lies not in the music” but by conveying the “spectrum of human experience, all that longing and self-doubt.”

Popcorn (Belgian music style)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

The Popcorn music scene first developed from dances held at the Groove discotheque in Ostend, where mid-tempo soul and ska music played by DJ Freddy Cousaert became popular in the late 1960s. Cousaert was later responsible for Marvin Gaye’s move to Belgium in the early 1980s. In September 1969, a café, De Oude Hoeve, opened in a converted farm barn at Vrasene near Antwerp, and began holding dance competitions on Sunday afternoons. Soon up to 3,000 people began attending each week, dancing in a “slow swing” style to soul and funk records. The café was renamed the Popcorn – after the James Brown hit “The Popcorn”—and DJ Gilbert Govaert began playing more early soul and other records from the 1960s to suit the dance style. Following the Popcorn club’s popularity, other clubs sprang up playing music in a similar style. These included the Festival in Antwerp, the Gatsby in Vliermaal, and the Versailles, beside the beach at Ostend. As well as Cousaert and Govaert, other leading DJs included Jeff Callebaut, Gerry Franken, and Georges Toniotti. Radio stations were set up to play the music, and rare music on obscure labels became especially prized. The scene in Belgium, in many ways, paralleled the Northern soul scene in Britain, but with a slower swing style of music favoured, rather than the fast dance styles characteristic of Northern soul. In some cases, DJs slowed down records, by pitch control and by playing 45 rpm discs at 33 rpm, to achieve the desired tempo and rhythm. The range of the music also broadened, to include some British and Italian pop music from the early 1960s, and eventually local bands were formed to emulate the style.

Popular music in Croatia

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1940s and 1950s#

Ivo Robić was one of the first acclaimed popular music artists in Yugoslav Croatia. He emerged in the late 1940s and later launched a very successful international career as well, closely cooperating with the famous composer and Polydor producer Bert Kaempfert, whom he convinced to produce the then upcoming act The Beatles after seeing them performing in the Top Ten Club in Hamburg. Robić is the author of the famous schlager that was later popularized by Frank Sinatra as Strangers in the Night. The Croatian rock music began in the 1950s, and one of the first classic rock-n-roll performers was Karlo Metikoš from Zagreb. He moved to Paris, France where he started a successful international career under the pseudonym Matt Collins. He recorded for Philips Records and had an opportunity to meet legends such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Anka.

Post-noise

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology and characteristics#

In August 2009, writer David Keenan coined the term “hypnagogic pop” in the article Childhood’s End in issue 306 of the British music magazine The Wire. Keenan also noted the commonalities between hypnagogic pop and noise music, stating that “Like Noise before it, Hypnagogic pop fetishises the outmoded media of its infancy, releasing albums on cassette, celebrating the video era and obsessing over the reality-scrambling potential of photocopied art.” In 2009, musician Daniel Lopatin described post-noise as a move away from “macho” noise music. Hypnagogic pop has been cited as growing out of post-noise music. On September 28, 2009, writer Emilie Friedlander would post an article on hypnagogic pop stating, “I commend Keenan a hundred times over for putting into words something that was on the tip of many a critical tongue over the past year but that no one had the guts articulate as something so sweeping as a cultural movement: the rise of a lo-fi post-noise psychedelia that moves past noise’s rejection of consonance and sort of unconscious adherence to the 20th century high modernist ideal of autonomous art (art that engages in discourse with contemporary culture precisely by refusing such a discourse, though noise typically refuses a discourse with academic constructs of this kind as well)”. In Boring Formless Nonsense: Experimental Music and the Aesthetics of Failure (2013), author Eldritch Priest describes “lo-fi post-noise psychedelia” as “often drone-heavy and noise-inclined, this music is characterized by a logic of deformation that aims to disfigure without obliterating samples, timbres, and impressions noticeably culled from a musical past that never was.” Priest refers to what writer David Keenan labelled “wasteland 1980s cultural signifiers” to describe how “Indulgence in these warped signifiers is what gives the music its spectral identity.” Additionally, Priest stated that the style blends “outmoded media’s high noise to signal ratio with an affected anti-virtuosity”, and elaborated “Rather than sampling 1980s pop culture with contemporary technology, one can hear composers recycling the tropes of experimental art music from the 1950s and 1970s, tropes that Michael Nyman compiled and categorized as ‘indeterminacy,’ ‘process,’ ’ephemerality,’ and the ’non-identity’ of a work. But we can also hear the debt to conceptual art and free jazz that helped evolve experimental music in the 1970s into sound art, something that Hauntology and Hypnagogic Pop don’t exhibit owing to the rock and dance background of their practitioners.” In Sounds of the Underground: A Cultural, Political and Aesthetic Mapping of Underground and Fringe Music (2016), author Stephen Graham defines post-noise as a wide subgenre of noise music which breaks apart noise music’s orthodoxies, “inserting newer influences and references from popular culture alongside dyschronic affects … and subliminal modalities.” It can even add “some commercial appeal.” alongside German progressive electronic and kosmische musik artists such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Vangelis and Edgar Froese. In 2010, The Guardian published an article by music critic Simon Reynolds where he stated “post-noise microscenes like glo-fi” were maintaining “the tape trade tradition, releasing music in small-run editions as low as 30 copies and wrapping them in surreal photocopy-collage artwork”.

Post-punk revival

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definitions and characteristics#

The term post-punk was coined to describe groups who took punk and experimented with more challenging musical structures and lyrical themes, and a self-consciously art-based image, while retaining punk’s initial iconoclastic stance. In the early 2000s, a new group of bands that played a stripped down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock emerged into the mainstream. They were variously characterized as part of a garage rock, new wave or post-punk revival. Inspired by the original sounds and aesthetics of garage rock of the 1960s and new wave and post-punk of the late 1970s and early 1980s, They shared an emphasis on energetic live performance and used aesthetics (in hair and clothes) closely aligned with their fans, often drawing on fashion of the 1950s and 1960s, There was an emphasis on “rock authenticity” that was seen as a reaction to the commercialism of MTV-oriented nu metal, hip hop Because the bands came from countries around the world, cited diverse influences and adopted differing styles of dress, their unity as a genre has been disputed. For garage rock historian Eric James Abbey, these were diverse bands that appropriated (or were given) the label “garage” to gain a degree of credibility. Additionally, cultural theorist Mark Fisher opined that Franz Ferdinand were taking influences from the ’80s Scottish post-punk scene by comparing their sound to bands like Josef K. Subsequently, Franz Ferdinand would go on to cover the song “Get Up and Use Me” by Scottish post-punk band the Fire Engines. Others identified this movement as another wave of garage rock revivalism, with NME in 2003 designating it a “new garage rock revolution”, or simply a “new rock revolution”. According to music critic Jim DeRogatis, the Strokes, the White Stripes and the Hives all had a sound “to some extent rooted in Nuggets-era garage rock”.

Power pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Power pop is an energetic variant of pop rock based on melodic hooks, encapsulated as “catchy tunes with an attitude”. AllMusic describes the style as “a cross between the crunching hard rock of the Who and the sweet melodicism of the Beatles and the Beach Boys, with the ringing guitars of the Byrds thrown in for good measure”. Virtually every artist of the genre has been a rock band consisting of white male musicians who engaged with the song forms, vocal arrangements, chord progressions, rhythm patterns, instrumentation, or overall sound associated with groups of the mid-1960s British Invasion era. An essential feature of power pop is that its cheerful sounding arrangements are supported by a sense of “yearning”, “longing”, or “despair” similar to formative works such as “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (the Beach Boys, 1966) and “Pictures of Lily” (the Who, 1967). This might be achieved with an unexpected harmonic change or lyrics that refer to “tonight”, “tomorrow night”, “Saturday night”, and so on. Power pop was also noted for its lack of irony and its reverence to classic pop craft.

Progressive pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

The term “progressive” refers to the wide range of attempts to break with standard pop music formulas through methods such as extended instrumentation, personalized lyrics, and individual improvisation. Treblezines Ryan Reed acknowledged that the genre “sounds like an oxymoron” and is difficult to discern from other genres “without squinting”. He explained that such “elusiveness is what makes ‘prog-pop’ a slippery term”, although the genre is definable to a set of characteristics which follow: Similar to rock and roll, the tonal structure of progressive pop overthrows harmony as its basic organizing structure. However, unlike rock and roll, progressive pop inverts received conventions, playing with them ironically, disrupting them, or producing shadows of them in new and unexpected forms. Some stylistic features include changes in key and rhythm or experiments with larger forms. Electronic techniques such as echo, feedback, stereo, loudness, and distortion may be used to give the music the impression of space and lateral extension.

Psychedelic music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

“Psychedelic” as an adjective is often used loosely, with many acts playing in a variety of styles. Acknowledging this, author Michael Hicks explains: A number of features are signatures of psychedelic music. Eastern instrumentation, with a particular fondness for the sitar and tabla, is common. Songs often have more disjunctive song structures, key and time signature changes, modal melodies, and drones than contemporary pop music. There is often a strong emphasis on extended instrumental segments or jams. There is a strong keyboard presence, in the 1960s especially, using electronic organs, harpsichords, or the Mellotron, an early tape-driven ‘sampler’ keyboard. Elaborate studio effects are often used, such as backwards tapes, panning the music from one side to another of the stereo track, using the “swooshing” sound of electronic phasing, long delay loops and extreme reverb. In the 1960s there was a use of electronic instruments such as early synthesizers and the theremin. Later forms of electronic psychedelia also employed repetitive computer-generated beats.

Psychedelic pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

According to AllMusic, psychedelic pop was not too “freaky”, but also not very “bubblegum” either. It appropriated the effects associated with straight psychedelic music, applying their innovations to concise pop songs. The music was occasionally confined to the studio, but there existed more organic exceptions whose psychedelia was bright and melodic. AllMusic adds: “What’s strange is that some psychedelic pop is more interesting than average psychedelia, since it had weird, occasionally awkward blends of psychedelia and pop conventions – the Neon Philharmonic’s 1969 album The Moth Confesses is a prime example of this.”

Q-pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Kazakhstan experienced the Korean Wave when South Korean dramas and movies started entering the country in the mid 2000s. This phenomenon, assisted by the increasing accessibility of the internet, sparked more interest in South Korean pop culture among Kazakhstanis, which helped the popularization of the K-pop music genre in Kazakhstan. K-pop is regarded as an attractive, less-restrictive and unique genre. The high popularity of K-pop in Kazakhstan spurred the creation of the first Q-pop project in 2014, when JUZ Entertainment formed Ninety One. After the group debuted in 2015, it became instantly popular among youth, due to its high quality music and the use of Kazakh in its songs.

Raï

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

Raï is a type of Algerian popular music whose origins in the port city of Oran go back to the 1920s. Raï later emerged as a major genre of Algerian popular music whose early development was shaped by cheikhs and cheikhas and later by younger singers called cheb or – for women singers – chebba. The lyrics often address social, religious, and cultural change. Following a long period of marginalization, the genre spread internationally through Algerian migration to Europe, eventually gaining global recognition and becoming associated with the world music market. Raï ran counter to accepted artistic and social mores and appealed to young people who sought to modernize the traditional Islamic values and attitudes. Regional, secular and religious musical traditions, melodies, and instruments were blended with Western electric instrumentation. Raï emerged as a major world music genre in the late 1980s. In the years just following World War I, the Algerian city of Oran (known as “little Paris”) was a melting pot of various cultures, full of nightclubs and cabarets; it was the place to go for a bawdy good time. Out of this milieu arose a group of male and female Muslim singers called chioukhs and cheikhates, who rejected the refined, classical poetry of traditional Algerian music. Instead, to the accompaniment of pottery drums and end-blown flutes, they sang about the adversity of urban life in a raw, gritty, sometimes vulgar, and inevitably controversial language that appealed especially to the socially and economically disadvantaged. The cheikhates further departed from tradition in that they performed not only for women but also and especially for men. The music performed was called raï. It drew its name from the Algerian Arabic word (‘opinion’ or ‘advice’), which was typically inserted—and repeated—by singers to fill time as they formulated a new phrase of improvised lyrics. By the early 1940s Cheikha Rimitti el Reliziana had emerged locally as a musical and linguistic luminary in the raï tradition, and she continued to be among the music’s most prominent performers into the 21st century. In the early 20th century, Oran was divided into Jewish, French, Spanish, and Native Algerian quarters. By independence in 1962, the Jewish quarter (known as the Derb), was home to musicians like Reinette L’Oranaise, Saoud l’Oranais, and Larbi Bensari. Sidi el Houari (the old quarter where Sidi El Houari has his shrine) was home to Spanish fishermen and many refugees from Spain who arrived after 1939. These two areas had active music scenes, and the French inhabitants of the city went to the Jewish and Spanish areas to examine the music. The Arabs of Oran were known for al-Andalous, a classical style of music imported from Southern Spain after 1492. Hawzi classical music was popular during this time, and female singers of the genre included Cheikha Tetma, Fadila D’zirya and Myriam Fekkai. Another common musical genre was (‘Bedouin’) or (‘Western’), which originated from Bedouin chants. Bedoui consisted of Malhun poetry being sung with accompaniment from guellal drums and gaspa Flutes. Bedoui was sung by male singers, known as s, who were dressed in long, white jellabas and turbans. Lyrics came from the poetry of people such as Mestfa ben Brahim and Zenagui Bouhafs. Performers of bedoui included Cheikh Hamada, Cheikh Mohammed Senoussi, Cheikh Madani, Cheikh Hachemi Bensmir and Cheikh Khaldi. Senoussi was the first to have had recorded the music in 1906. French colonization of Algeria changed the organization of society, producing a class of poor, uneducated urban men and women. Bedoui singers mostly collaborated with the French colonizers, though one exception from such collaboration was Cheikh Hamada. The problems of survival in a life of poverty were the domain of street musicians who sang bar-songs called zendanis. A common characteristic of these songs included exclamations of the word and variations thereof. The word implies that an opinion is being expressed. In the 1920s, the women of Oran were held to strict code of conduct. Many of those that failed became social outcasts and singers and dancers. They sang medh songs in praise of the prophet Mohammad and performed for female audiences at ceremonies such as weddings and circumcision feasts. These performers included Les Trois Filles de Baghdad, Soubira bent Menad and Kheira Essebsadija. Another group of female social outcasts were called , who were known for their alluring dress, hedonistic lyrics, and their display of a form of music that was influenced from meddhahates and zendani singers. These cheikhas, who sang for both men and women, included people such as Cheikha Remitti el Reliziana, Cheikha Grélo, Cheikha Djenia el Mostganmia, Cheikha Bachitta de Mascara, and Cheikha Ouachma el Tmouchentia. The 1930s saw the rise of revolutionary organizations, including organizations motivated by Marxism, which mostly despised the earlier generation of raï singers. At the same time, Arabic classical music was gaining huge popularity across the Maghreb, especially the music of Egypt’s Umm Kulthum. When first developed, raï was a hybrid blend of rural and cabaret musical genres, invented by and targeted toward distillery workers and peasants who had lost their land to European settlers, and other types of lower class citizens. The geographical location of Oran allowed for the spread of many cultural influences, allowing raï musicians to absorb an assortment of musical styles such as flamenco from Spain, gnawa music, and French cabaret, allowing them to combine with the rhythms typical of Arab nomads. In the early 1930s, social issues afflicting the native population in the colony, such as the disease of typhus, harassment and imprisonment by the colonial police, and poverty were prominent themes of raï lyrics. However, other main lyrical themes concerned the likes of wine, love, and the meaning and experiences of leading a marginal life. From its origins, women played a significant role in the music and performance of raï. In contrast to other Algerian music, raï incorporated dancing in addition to music, particularly in a mixed-gender environment. In the 1930s, Raï, al-Andalousm, and the Egyptian classical style influenced the formation of wahrani, a musical style popularized by Blaoui Houari. Musicians like Mohammed Belarbi and Djelloul Bendaoud added these influences to other Oranian styles, as well as Western piano and accordion, resulting in a style called bedoui citadinisé. Revolt began in the mid-1950s, and musicians which included Houari and Ahmed Saber supported the Front de Libération National. After independence in 1962, however, the government of the Houari Boumédienne regime, along with President Ahmed Ben Bella, did not tolerate criticism from musicians such as Saber, and suppression of Raï and Oranian culture ensued. The number of public performances by female raï singers decreased which led to men playing an increased role in this genre of music. Meanwhile, traditional raï instruments such as the gasba (reed flute), and the derbouka (North African drums) were replaced with the violin and accordion.

Recession pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The term “recession pop” first gained prominence during the Great Recession and 2008 financial crash, a global financial crisis that significantly impacted economies worldwide. As individuals and communities grappled with unemployment, housing instability, and financial insecurity, popular music began to reflect these changes. Artists crafted songs characterized by a danceable sound and an emphasis on nightlife and partying, providing a sense of escapism, while others focused on themes of survival, frustration, sadness, and hope, often wrapped in an optimistic message. Music journalists noted the popularity of dance tracks, particularly those with narratives about clubbing and feeling positive during hard times, in pop music in the early 2010s being seen as a response to the 2007–2008 financial crisis or 2012 phenomenon, with the colloquial term “recession pop” used to define the popular songs of this decade. The Guardian stated that times of economic downturn or global recessions were categorized by an influx of upbeat, fun and happy dance-pop music: Additionally, Vice described recession pop songs as “meant to be screamed along to, danced to, used as a soundtrack to a chaotic night out. To be a recession banger means to offer your listeners a place of escape within your music, turning every party into an extravagant, maximalist club experience even if you’re broke.” Some music critics argue that the genre reflects popular culture, music, and art during times of economic downturns drawing parallels between the Great Depression and the rise of swing and big band music in the 1920s-30s.

Revivalist artist

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List of notable revivalist artists#

The Beau Hunks – Dutch orchestra who have recorded overlooked works by American composers Raymond Scott, Leroy Shield, Ferde Grofe, Edward McDowell, and others, as well as reconstructing and recording themes from Hal Roach 1930s film comedies.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – one of the major swing revival bands
The Black Crowes – started in 1984 as revivalists of 1970s blues-rock – eventually became writers of their own material
The Blues Brothers – started in 1978 as revivalists of 1950s and 1960s blues, soul and R&B music
Michael Feinstein – began his performing career in 1986 as a revivalist of the genre of American songs written between 1920–1960 (known colloquially as the Great American Songbook)
The Jam – started in 1972 and evolved into the leading band of the late-1970s mod revival
Imelda May – Irish singer noted as a revivalist of rockabilly in the 2000s
Pete Seeger, along with his associated act The Weavers, revitalized American folk music in the 1940s and 1950s.
Leon Redbone – singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor specializing in jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alley classics.
Joshua Rifkin – played a central role in the ragtime revival in the 1970s by treating the works of Scott Joplin as serious classical music rather than as nostalgia or novelty
Sha Na Na – started in 1969 as revivalists of 1950s doo-wop music
The Sheepdogs – started in 2007 as revivalists of early-1970’s roots rock
Simple Plan – Canadian band that was noted as punk rock revival
Steel Panther – formed in 2000 as revivalists and a parody of the 1980s ‘glam metal’ scene.
The Stray Cats – a major player in the rockabilly revival of the early 1980s
Tiny Tim – performed historic and regional American music in his natural baritone, in addition to novelty songs sung falsetto.
Cedric Watson has helped to revive Creole music.

Rock and roll

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Terminology#

The term “rock and roll” is defined by Greg Kot in Encyclopædia Britannica as the music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed “into the more encompassing international style known as rock music”. The words rock and roll had become associated in the late eighteenth century, when “Rock and Roll” brimstone (i.e. sulfur) was advertised ; rock brimstone being the naturally-occurring form and roll brimstone being in the form of sticks or blocks, made by allowing liquid sulfur to solidify in (esp. cylindrical) moulds. The phrase “rocking and rolling” originally described the movement of a ship on the ocean, but by the early 20th century was used both to describe the spiritual fervor of black church rituals and as a sexual analogy. A retired Welsh seaman named William Fender can be heard singing the phrase “rock and roll” when describing a sexual encounter in his performance of the traditional song “The Baffled Knight” to the folklorist James Madison Carpenter in the early 1930s, which he would have learned at sea in the 1800s; the recording can be heard on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. Various gospel, blues and swing recordings used the phrase before it became widely popular. “Bosom of Abraham”, an African-American spiritual that was documented no later than 1867 (just after the Civil War), uses the phrase “rock my soul” frequently in a religious sense; this song was later recorded by musicians from various genres, including various gospel musicians and groups (including The Jordanaires), Louis Armstrong (jazz/swing), Lonnie Donegan (skiffle), and Elvis Presley (rock and roll/pop/country). Blues singer Trixie Smith recorded “My Man Rocks Me with One Steady Roll” in 1922. It was used in 1940s recordings and reviews of what became known as “rhythm and blues” music aimed at a black audience. In 1934, the song “Rock and Roll” by the Boswell Sisters appeared in the film Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round. In 1942, before the concept of rock and roll had been defined, Billboard magazine columnist Maurie Orodenker started to use the term to describe upbeat recordings such as “Rock Me” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe; her style on that recording was described as “rock-and-roll spiritual singing”. By 1943, the “Rock and Roll Inn” in South Merchantville, New Jersey, was established as a music venue. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio, disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style, and referring to it as “rock and roll” on his mainstream radio program, which popularized the phrase. Several sources suggest that Freed found the term, used as a synonym for sexual intercourse, on the record “Sixty Minute Man” by Billy Ward and his Dominoes. The lyrics include the line, “I rock ’em, roll ’em all night long”. Freed did not acknowledge the suggestion about that source in interviews, and explained the term as follows: “Rock ’n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on the levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm”. In discussing Alan Freed’s contribution to the genre, two significant sources emphasized the importance of African-American rhythm and blues. Greg Harris, then the executive director of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, offered this comment to CNN: “Freed’s role in breaking down racial barriers in American pop culture in the 1950s, by leading white and black kids to listen to the same music, put the radio personality ‘at the vanguard’ and made him ‘a really important figure. After Freed was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the organization’s Web site offered this comment: “He became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll”. Not often acknowledged in the history of rock and roll, Todd Storz, the owner of radio station KOWH in Omaha, Nebraska, was the first to adopt the Top 40 format (in 1953), playing only the most popular records in rotation. His station, and the numerous others which adopted the concept, helped to promote the genre: by the mid 50s, the playlist included artists such as “Presley, Lewis, Haley, Berry and Domino”.

Rock and roll revival

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

As the Sixties ended, several early rock and rollers like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Bill Haley & His Comets and Bo Diddley, who had been out of fashion since the British Invasion, experienced a resurgence in popularity, performing their old hits to a mix of old and new fans. Rock and roll revival festivals became popular, and anticipated the “oldies show” package tours of later years. Bo Diddley announced “I’m back and I’m feelin’ fine” in his comeback single titled Bo Diddley 1969, released by Checker Records. Sha Na Na performed “At the Hop” at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, in the revival spirit. John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a surprise hit album in 1970 with Live Peace in Toronto 1969, recorded at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in September 1969. Appearing on the spur of the moment, with a hastily assembled band (composed of Lennon, Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and Alan White), Lennon led off their set with familiar songs (like “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Money (That’s What I Want)”) that suited the mood of the program. In 1970, Dave Edmunds scored a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic with his cover of “I Hear You Knocking”, and Chuck Berry’s only song to hit #1 on the Billboard charts, his 1972 single “My Ding-a-Ling”, were both written in the 1950s by Dave Bartholomew. Elton John’s 1972 hit “Crocodile Rock” was an homage to early rock ’n ‘roll. In 1977 and 1978, British band The Darts scored three top-10 singles on the UK charts with covers of early rock/doo-wop oldies. Showaddywaddy, a rock and roll group formed in Leicester, England, in 1973. Specialising in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. They have spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and had 10 Top Ten singles, one reaching number one, “Under the Moon of Love”, in 1976. The popularity of the movement peaked with the release of the George Lucas film, American Graffiti, in 1973, with the soundtrack featuring rock and doo-wop hits from the late 1950s and early 1960s. By the mid-1970s, however, record sales of rock ’n’ roll reissues and retro releases had greatly declined as the music industry turned its attention to other musical trends.

Rock music

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Characteristics#

The sound of rock is traditionally centered on the amplified electric guitar, which emerged in its modern form in the 1950s with the popularity of rock and roll. It was also greatly influenced by the sounds of electric blues guitarists. The sound of an electric guitar in rock music is typically supported by an electric bass guitar, which pioneered jazz music in the same era, and by percussion produced from a drum kit that combines drums and cymbals. This trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, the Hammond organ, and the synthesizer. The basic rock instrumentation was derived from the basic electric blues band instrumentation (prominent lead guitar, second chordal instrument, bass, and drums). Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple syncopated rhythms in a meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies often originate from older musical modes such as the Dorian and Mixolydian, as well as the major and minor scales. Harmonies range from the common triad to parallel perfect fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. and particularly from the mid-1960s onwards, rock music often used the verse–refrain structure derived from blues and folk music, but there has been considerable variation from this model. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock. Because of its complex history and its tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that “it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition.” In 1981, music journalist Robert Christgau said, “the best rock jolts folk-art virtues—directness, utility, natural audience—into the present with shots of modern technology”. Unlike many earlier styles of popular music, rock lyrics have dealt with a wide range of themes, including romantic love, sex, rebellion against the establishment, social concerns, and life styles. Christgau characterizes rock lyrics as a “cool medium” with simple diction and repeated refrains, and asserts that rock’s primary “function” “pertains to music, or, more generally, noise.” The predominance of white, male, and often middle class musicians in rock music has often been noted, and rock has been seen as an appropriation of Black musical forms for a young, white and largely male audience. As a result, it has also been seen to articulate the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, “rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality and aggression”. Since the term “rock” started being used in preference to “rock and roll” from the late 1960s, it has usually been contrasted with pop music, with which it has shared many characteristics. However, rock is often distanced from pop: the former has an emphasis on musicianship, live performance, and a focus on serious and progressive themes as part of an ideology of authenticity that is frequently combined with an awareness of the genre’s history and development. According to Simon Frith, rock was “something more than pop, something more than rock and roll” and “rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the romantic concept of art as artistic expression, original and sincere”. Christgau has used the term broadly to refer to popular and semipopular music that caters to his sensibility as “a rock-and-roller”, including a fondness for a good beat, a meaningful lyric with some wit, and the theme of youth, which holds an “eternal attraction” so objective “that all youth music partakes of sociology and the field report.”

Rock music in Italy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1960s and 1970s#

The first distinctively Italian singer-songwriter was Piero Ciampi, whose style was reminiscent of the French chansonniers. The United States and United Kingdom during the 1960s were in the midst of the psychedelic rock boom, which inspired Italian psychedelic bands such as Mario Schifano and Le Orme. At the time of the 1968 student uprisings, many young and educated Italians began to identify with the counterculture in France, Mexico, the US and across the world. Young Italians still had a well-educated familiarity with classical music composers like Bach. The result was an influx of classically influenced rock bands which fit right into the international move towards progressive rock. Italian progressive bands include: *Banco del Mutuo Soccorso *Celeste *Devil Doll *Goblin *Jacula *Latte e Miele *New Trolls *Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) *Reale Accademia di Musica *Saint Just *Le Orme Some bands, like Osanna, Area, Perigeo and Arti & Mestieri (Arti e Mestieri), fused progressive rock with jazz, fusion and world music. Il Balletto Di Bronzo’s YS is one of the most debated Italian prog-rock albums; Some calling it trash and others extolling it as one of the greatest progressive albums ever made. Another important album of the time was Arbeit macht frei by Area. They merged agit-prop lyrics, jazz-rock jamming, raw electronics, middle-eastern scales and psychotic warbling, creating an original mixture of different music styles. Area were fronted by Demetrio Stratos, one of the most original singers of his age, who recorded experimental albums entirely devoted to the human voice such as Cantare la Voce. The same period, the early 1970s, also saw the rise of Italian singers and songwriters like Lucio Battisti, Fabrizio De André, Franco Battiato, Paolo Conte and Francesco Guccini. By the end of the 1970s, Italian punk and comedy rock pioneers Skiantos had released 1978’s Monotono, which kickstarted the Italian punk scene. Later bands like The Confusional Quartet and Gaznevada fused new wave and Italian varieta with punk and other influences.

Roots revival

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The British folk revival was an academic movement to transcribe and record traditional British songs during the late 19th and early 20th century. Pioneers of this movement were the Harvard professor Francis James Child (1825–96), compiler of The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1882–92), Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924), Frank Kidson (1855–1926), Lucy Broadwood (1858–1939), and Anne Gilchrist (1863–1954). The Folk Song Society was founded in 1898 to promote this new endeavour. A major figure in this movement was Cecil Sharp who was the most influential on the repertoire of subsequent performers and defining the nature of folk song. His lectures and other publications attempted to define a musical tradition that was rural in origin, oral in transmission and communal in nature. The American folk music revival, which focused on culture and entertainment, began in the 1930s and 1940s. During the Great Depression, folk music styles were disseminated around the country, as Delta blues, Latino and Cajun musicians, and itinerant honky tonk singers spread to cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. The growth of the music industry in the same period was also important; higher potential profits from music placed pressure on artists, songwriters, and label executives to replicate previous hit songs. This meant that musical fads, such as Hawaiian slack-key guitar, never died out completely, since a broad range of rhythms, instruments, and vocal stylings were incorporated into disparate popular genres. The movement became global in the 1960s and 1970s. In most cases, the folk songs being revived were not quite extinct, though some had not been played for years or were moribund; such cases include the Celtic songs of Cornwall and the Isle of Man, for example. In other cases, such as Cameroon and the Dominican Republic, no revival was necessary as the music remained common, and was merely popularized and adapted for mainstream audiences at home and abroad.

Roots rock

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

In 1966, as many rock artists moved towards expansive and experimental psychedelia, Bob Dylan spearheaded the back-to-basics roots revival when he went to Nashville to record the album Blonde on Blonde, using notable local musicians like Charlie McCoy. Other acts that followed the back to basics trend in different ways were the Canadian/American group The Band and the California-based Creedence Clearwater Revival, both of which mixed basic rock and roll with folk, country, and blues, to be among the most successful and influential bands of the late 1960s. At the same time the Grateful Dead, a band previously associated with the San Francisco sound and known for ferocious psychedelic improvisation, followed in the footsteps of Crosby, Stills & Nash to focus on Americana-styled songwriting for their 1970 albums Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. The same movement saw the beginning of the recording careers of Californian solo artists like Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, and Lowell George.

Russian chanson

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The Russian chanson originated in the Russian Empire. The songs sung by serfs and political prisoners of the Tsar are very similar in content to the songs sung in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation today. However, during the Soviet Union, the style changed, and the songs became part of the culture of samizdat and dissent. During the Khrushchev thaw, the Soviet Union released a lot of prisoners from the gulag. When the former prisoners returned from the gulags back to their homes in the 1950s, the songs that they had sung in the camps became popular with Soviet students and nonconformist intelligentsia. Then, in the second half of the 1960s, the more conservative Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin made a slight reversal to this process, albeit never reaching the tight, stringent controls experienced during the Stalin era. This, combined with the influx of cheap and portable magnetic tape recorders led to an increase in the popularity and consumption of the criminal songs. These songs were performed by Soviet bards; folk singers who sung with simple guitar accompaniment. Since Soviet culture officials did not approve of the songs, many of the bards initially became popular playing at small, private student parties. The attendees at these gatherings would record the concert with a tape recorder. The songs of the bards spread through the sharing and recopying of these tapes. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the establishment of the Russian Federation, the musical style of the songs began to shift, although the content did not. Modern artists affiliated with the Chanson genre often sing not in the traditional style used even by the Khrushchev-era performers, but more professionally, borrowing musical arrangements from pop, rock, and jazz. Although the strict cultural control of the Soviet Union has ended, many Russian officials still publicly denounce the genre. Russia’s prosecutor general, Vladimir Ustinov, referred to the songs as “propaganda of the criminal subculture”. However, there is a radio station called Radio Chanson that broadcasts chanson round the clock. Radio Chanson is also the founder of the Chanson of the Year awards ceremony held annually at Russia’s main concert venue, the State Kremlin Palace, awarding artists performing in the genre. Many politicians are fans of the genre, and one of the popular modern chanson singers, Alexander Rosenbaum, was a member of the Duma as part of the United Russia Party. Rosenbaum was also awarded the title of People’s Artist of Russia by a decree of Vladimir Putin. In the Russian music industry, the term “Russian chanson” was introduced as a euphemism in the 1990s, when criminal songs began to be heard on stage, radio, and television , and were popularized by the Moscow radio station of the same name, the St. Petersburg radio station Night Taxi, and the production companies Master Sound Records (which existed from 1997 to 2017) and “Russian Chanson” (2002–2016), along with their subsidiaries. The founder and director of Russian Chanson, who remained active until his death in 2006, was businessman and producer Yuri Nikolaevich Sevostianov (1961–2006) . Since 2002, the Song of the Year award ceremony has been held at the State Kremlin Palace with the participation of these production companies, and its official founder was the management of Radio Chanson. The participants were performers of a wide variety of genres and styles, sometimes loosely related to song .

Russian pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Since the mid-1970s and 1980s, Russian-language pop music has experienced development. Many musical compositions, such as “Lavender” and “Moon” (Sofia Rotaru), “Million Roses”, “Iceberg” and “Ferryman” (Alla Pugacheva), “I Want Change” (Kino), created during this period, will become signature a card of Soviet and then Russian pop music in the world. Russian music is becoming popular in Eastern Europe, the Baltics, Scandinavia and Central Asia. In 1990, the song “Moscow Calling” by Gorky Park became an international hit. From the mid-1980s, into the 1990s and 2000s, in addition to Russian performers in Russia, performers from other countries in Europe, Asia and America became popular, including Marylya Rodowicz from Poland, Army of Lovers and Roxette from Sweden, Gloria Gaynor from USA, Ricky Martin from Puerto Rico, In-Grid from Italy, Natalia Oreiro from Uruguay, Dan Balan from Moldova, Patricia Kaas from France, Laima Vaikule from Latvia, Thomas N’evergreen from Denmark, Svetlana Loboda and Verka Serduchka from Ukraine, A-Studio from Kazakhstan, Tarkan from Turkey, Arash from Iran, Avraam Russo from Syria and others. For several years, one of the most popular music programs on Soviet television was the show Melodies and Rhythms of foreign pop, which also showed the best performances from the Sanremo festival in Italy.

Ryūkōka

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1914–1927: Origin#

In 1914, Sumako Matsui’s song “Katyusha’s song”, composed by Shinpei Nakayama, was used as a theme of the rendition Resurrection in Japan. The record of the song sold 20,000 copies. One theory holds that this was the first ryūkōka song, which was made by Hogetsu Shimamura’s order: “the tune between Japanese popular folk music and Western music”. However, street performers called had been popular until record labels such as the Victor Company of Japan began to produce songs in the early Shōwa period. Although Matsui committed suicide after Shimamura’s death, Nakayama continued to develop his music. During his career, he composed about 3,000 songs such as the 1921 song “Teru teru bozu”. Nakayama transferred Japanese traditional music to staff-style by main force. His 1921 song was later covered by various singers, but was at first best known for being covered by violin enka-shi featuring Orchestra. The pentatonic scale used in this song was “Minor scale without forth and seventh degree”. However, the music based on the scale had difficult in presenting chord and harmony because traditional Japanese music didn’t adopt equal temperament. Nakayama’s songs were based on Japanese folk music called min’yō, but also adopted Western musical style. Therefore, his music was called .

Sakara music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History and development#

Sakara music started to develop in the 1930s, which was a time period of rapid cultural exchange in colonial Lagos. As a result of this, Yoruba musicians started to adapt indigenous style performances to their urban audiences. Sakara also started to emerge as a bridge between traditional Yoruba oral poetry and early Nigerian popular music. Abibu Oluwa was one of the earliest known Sakara performers who influenced the establishment of the genre’s fundamental musical structure and the style people performed in. However, after he died in 1964, his leadership passed to Salami Alabi Balogun (Lefty) http://www.mattin.org/essays/lagos.html#:~:text=Salamo%20Alabi%20Balogun%20(1913%E2%80%931981,percussion%20traditions%20and%20Islamic%20chants. . Salami was a highly influential talking drummer who recorded extensively and helped preserve Sakara music during its peak commercial period. At this time, Sakara was becoming more popular and present in Africa. Another very central figure in the genre’s quick expansion was Yusuf Olatunji. Yusuf was born in 1909, and he died in 1978. However, there are some questions about his actual place of birth, but some people claimed that he was a native of Iseyin in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria. He was born a Christian, but he converted to Islam and changed his name. After changing his name, his life drastically changed because his music started to really boom in the music industry. Through numerous recordings and performances, he brought Sakara music to a wider national audience. His influence was such that a street in Abeokuta was later named in his honor.

Salegy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Artists and bands#

Anziza Salema
Arsène Félix
Dr. J.B. and the Jaguars
Fenoamby
Eusèbe Jaojoby
Fredy de Majunga
Gérard Tsapalôko
IO Anay
Jaojoby Junior
Joacin-tapaka
Lazard
Mily Clément
Mister Rotsirotsy
Ninie Doniah
Olga del Madagascar
Paskaal Japhet
SISCA
Tianjama
Vaiavy Chila
Wawa

Sapphic pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sawt (music)

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History#

It is said that sawt was established in Kuwait by the poet, composer, singer and oud player Abdallah al-Faraj (1836-1901/1903). The Bahraini historian Mubārak al-‘Ammārī believes that sawt was known in Kuwait before 1766, and in Bahrain since 1783.

Description#

Sawt is a complex form of urban music, originally performed on the ‘ud (plucked lute) and mirwas (a drum), with a violin later supplementing the arrangement. Two men perform the dance, which is called “Zaffan”. Al-Sout is performed only at night gatherings of men. It is called “Samra” (nightly chat). Sawt also contains a special type of clapping called sherbaka, which means “intertwined,” and is usually performed by spectators only on Arabic and Levantine scales. The poetry used in sawt is usually classical Arabic poetry, or khamini poetry, which is similar to mushah, but with scales characteristic of ancient Yemeni poets and their local language. Most Arabic and Levantine sawts end with a fragment called Tawshih, which is the beginning of the end of the sawt and can be lyrical or musical only. Tawshih also contains improvised rhythms, and some end it with a specific melody to finish the sawt. Some sources indicate that the history of the art of sawt began before the advent of Abdullah al-Faraj, and that it is related to the sound singing that was prevalent in the Abbasid era, as Ahmed Ali notes in his book Music and Singing in Kuwait. As for Mubarak al-Omari, in his book “Muhammad bin Faris: The Most Famous Sawt Singer in the Persian Gulf”, points out that sawt arrived in Bahrain from Kuwait in 1766.

Schlager music

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Etymology#

Schlager is a loanword from German (from schlagen ’to hit’). It also came into some other languages (such as Bulgarian, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Czech, Croatian, Finnish, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Serbian, Turkish, Russian, Hebrew, and Romanian ), where it retained its meaning of a hit".

Central Europe#

The roots of German schlager are old. Originally, the word meant a hit or a strike. The first use of the word applied to music, in its original meaning, was in an opening night critique in the newspaper Wiener Fremden-Blatt on 17 February 1867 about The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II. One ancestor of schlager music in its current meaning may be the operetta, which was highly popular in the early twentieth century. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Comedian Harmonists and Rudi Schuricke laid the foundations for this new music. Well-known schlager singers of the 1940s, 50s and early 60s include Lale Andersen, Freddy Quinn, Ivo Robić, Gerhard Wendland, Caterina Valente, Margot Eskens and Conny Froboess. Schlager reached a peak of popularity in Germany and Austria in the 1960s (featuring Peter Alexander and Roy Black) and the early 1970s. From the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, schlager also saw an extensive revival in Germany by, for example, Guildo Horn, In Hamburg in the 2010s, Schlager fans still gathered annually by the hundreds of thousands, dressing in 1970s clothing for street parades called “Schlager Move”. The Schlager Move designation is also used for a number of smaller schlager music parties in several major German cities throughout the year. (This revival is sometimes associated with kitsch and camp.) In the meantime, private radio has brought Schlager back to the radio. Schlager Radio is a station that broadcasts its program terrestrially in Germany via transmission towers on both FM and DAB+. Stylistically, schlager continues to influence German “party pop” or “party-schlager” (e.g. “Layla”, 2022): that is, music most often heard in après-ski bars and Mallorcan mass discos. Contemporary schlager is often mingled with Volkstümliche Musik. If it is not part of an ironic kitsch revival, a taste for both styles of music is commonly associated with folksy pubs, fun fairs, and bowling league venues. In the English-speaking world, the most popular group to have included elements of schlager in their style is probably ABBA, a band that mixed traditional Swedish music, schlager, and pop-rock to create their own sound.

Secular hymn (genre)

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Sentimental ballad

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Early history#

Sentimental ballads have their roots from medieval French chanson balladée or ballade, which were originally “danced songs”. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of the British Isles from the later medieval period until the 19th century. They were widely used across Europe, and later in the Americas, Australia and North Africa. As a narrative song, their theme and function may originate from Scandinavian and Germanic traditions of storytelling. Musically they were influenced by the Minnesinger. The earliest example of a recognizable ballad in form in England is “Judas” in a 13th-century manuscript. A reference in William Langland’s Piers Plowman indicates that ballads about Robin Hood were being sung from at least the late 14th century and the oldest detailed material is Wynkyn de Worde’s collection of Robin Hood ballads printed about 1495.

Serbian pop

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Beginning of the pop music in Serbia#

Pop music in Serbia existed before Second World War. It is known that in late 1920s guest of Serbian capital Belgrade was a famous singer and actress Josephine Baker which suggests that in Serbia there were many gramophone records of this style of music and similar music styles such as jazz. It also confirms the statement of the actress Ognjenka Het in the radio show of Radio Belgrade called Two white pigeons in 1986 and is also confirmed by other direct and indirect sources. While the first singer-songwriters appear in other parts of Yugoslavia in that time in Serbia were performed romances, starogradska muzika, and folk music by the singers Edo Ljubić, Fulgencije Vucemilović, Milan Timotić, Olga Jančevecka and others. Mijat Mijatović, Sofka Nikolić, Bora Janjić – Šapčanin mostly performed folk songs, sevdalinka, starogradska muzika, but sometimes they also performed pop music. Bora Janjić – Šapčanin recorded the cover of Hungarian schlager Sad Sunday.

Shibuya-kei

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Etymology#

Shibuya-kei ( “Shibuya style”) that developed from the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, a center of youth culture, fashion, and nightlife known for its concentration of fashionable restaurants, bars, record shops, and bookshops. A common misconception holds that the name reflected Shibuya’s status as a fashionable neighborhood; according to scholar W. David Marx, young residents had by then moved from Harajuku designer fashion toward a casual style known as shibu-kaji. Scholar Anne McKnight writes that the term described “an atmosphere” delineated from the mainstream kayōkyoku industry and rooted in a 1970s-era “musical infrastructure … underwritten by an urban street culture of design, public space and commerce”. Although Shibuya-kei is usually described as a music genre, most of the leading acts were not formed in Shibuya and Shibuya’s record stores accounted for more than half of their sales. The exact origin of the phrase “Shibuya-kei” is not definitively known; it was first used in promotional materials by stores like HMV and Wave in 1993 and possibly inspired by the 1992 appearance of visual-kei.

Shidaiqu

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Terminology#

The term literally translates to ‘songs of the era’ in Mandarin Chinese. When sung in Cantonese, it is commonly referred to as ; in Amoy Hokkien, it is known as . These terms incorporate the native names for the dialects. The term is believed to have originated in Hong Kong to describe a genre of popular Chinese music that gained prominence in Shanghai during the early to mid-20th century. This genre emerged as a fusion of traditional Chinese melodies, Western musical elements, and influences from jazz and popular music of the time.

Skiladiko

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Chryspa
Lefteris Pantazis
Giorgos Mazonakis
Nancy Alexiadi
Dionysis Makris
Kelly Kelekidou
Maro Litra
Vasilis Karras
Paola Foka
Zafeiris Melas
Anna Vissi
Angela Dimitriou
Antypas (singer)
Themis Adamantidis

Sophisti-pop

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Characteristics#

Sophisti-pop is characterized by its extensive use of electronic keyboards, synthesizers, and polished arrangements. Artists also utilized cutting-edge studio technology and perfectionist recording methods. The genre has been described as mellow, romantic, and atmospheric, with artists often adopting a sharp, well-dressed and well-groomed visual presentation.

History#

Stylus Magazine suggested that acts had been influenced by the work of Roxy Music (such as 1982’s Avalon, often cited as the first sophisti-pop album), and Bryan Ferry’s Boys and Girls (1985) and Bête Noire (1987). Sweetwater named major artists in the genre as including the Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout, the Style Council, Scritti Politti, Everything but the Girl, and Danny Wilson. Its popularity declined in the 1990s.

Soul music

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Origins#

Soul music has its roots in traditional African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues and as the hybridization of their respective religious and secular styles – in both lyrical content and instrumentation – that began in the 1950s. The term “soul” had been used among African-American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African American in the United States. According to musicologist Barry Hansen, Though this hybrid produced a clutch of hits in the R&B market in the early 1950s, only the most adventurous white fans felt its impact at the time; the rest had to wait for the coming of soul music in the 1960s to feel the rush of rock and roll sung gospel-style. According to AllMusic, “Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the ’60s.” The phrase “soul music” itself, referring to gospel-style music with secular lyrics, was first attested in 1961. The term “soul” in African-American parlance has connotations of African-American pride and culture. Gospel groups in the 1940s and ’50s occasionally used the term as part of their names. The jazz style that originated from gospel became known as soul jazz. As singers and arrangers began using techniques from both gospel and soul jazz in African-American popular music during the 1960s, soul music gradually functioned as an umbrella term for African-American popular music at the time. According to the Acoustic Music Organization, the “first clear evidence of soul music shows up with the “5” Royales, an ex-gospel group that turned to R&B and in Faye Adams, whose “Shake A Hand” becomes an R&B standard”. Important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter, Hank Ballard, and Etta James. Singer Bobby Womack said, “Ray was the genius. He turned the world onto soul music.” Charles was open in acknowledging the influence of Pilgrim Travelers vocalist Jesse Whitaker on his singing style. Little Richard, who inspired Otis Redding, and James Brown both were equally influential. Brown was nicknamed the “Godfather of Soul Music”, Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also are often acknowledged as soul forefathers. Cooke became popular as the lead singer of the gospel group the Soul Stirrers, before controversially moving into secular music. His recording of “You Send Me” in 1957 launched a successful pop music career. Furthermore, his 1962 recording of “Bring It On Home to Me” has been described as “perhaps the first record to define the soul experience”. Jackie Wilson, a contemporary of both Cooke and James Brown, also achieved crossover success, especially with his 1957 hit “Reet Petite”. He even was particularly influential for his dramatic delivery and performances.

Sovietwave

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History#

At the height of the trance music boom in the 2000s, Russian trance duo PPK used the melodies of Soviet electronic music as the basis of their compositions, pioneering the fusion of contemporary electronic music with Soviet-era nostalgia. Until 2014, the groups of the “Soviet wave” — N.E.M.O., , PPVK — were often classified as indie, lo-fi or other type of electronics. One of the first performers who took a course to isolate themselves from the rest of electronic music was the Kharkiv project “Mayak”. The main inspirations for Sovietwave artists are typically the collective cultural memories associated with the Soviet era. Lyudmila Shevchenko of Jan Kochanowski University considers the genre a manifestation of romanticized “nostalgic myth”. Sovietwave became popular in post-Soviet countries in the latter half of the 2010s, drawing on synthwave and nostalgia for mid-century Soviet culture in the region. In September 2017, on Moscow City Day sovietwave compositions were used in the musical design of the Crafts Park pavilion. In August 2018, the first music festival “Volna-1” (“Wave-1”) dedicated to the genre was held in St. Petersburg; “Volna-2” was held on August 10, 2019, in Moscow. On July 22, 2019, an Olympic Night concert party was held in the abandoned SKA pool in Novosibirsk, decorated in the style of Soviet nostalgia; most of the collectives belonged to local sovietwave groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sovietwave experienced a growth in popularity, along with related forms of vaporwave and synthwave. This upsurge was driven in large part by the success of the Belarusian post-punk band Molchat Doma, whose song from the album Etazhi became a popular meme on TikTok. According to Cat Zhang of Pitchfork, the song connected with Generation Z’s “deep pessimism towards the future”. Molchat Doma’s entry into the mainstream spawned multiple compilations of the genre on streaming platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, which feature more overt nostalgia for Soviet and Space Age aesthetics despite the band’s criticism of the genre for “fail ing to recognize the harsh realities of life in the region”. Sovietwave gained popularity primarily with younger Millennials and Generation Z in post-Soviet states. Hungarian lifestyle writer Zsófia Tóth noted that Sovietwave “playlists are usually listened to by young people who were born just before the fall of the Soviet Union or have only experienced its aftermath.” Gamble notes that Sovietwave was brought to an international audience by “the wide accessibility of YouTube music mixes.”

Space age pop

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External links#

The Space Age pop-music page
Gallery of Space Age pop album covers

Styles of pop music

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Traditional pop#

Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western popular music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards or American standards. The works of these songwriters and composers are usually considered part of the canon known as the “Great American Songbook”. More generally, the term “standard” can be applied to any popular song that has become very widely known within mainstream culture. AllMusic defines traditional pop as “post-big band and pre-rock & roll pop music”.

Sunshine pop

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Origins and definition#

Sunshine pop originated from California-based pop songwriters and producers. The West Coast music scene of the mid- to late 1960s had provided a fertile environment for studio-oriented pop musicians experimenting with rock, folk, and psychedelic influences. Within this milieu were numerous artists who contributed to the development of sunshine pop, including Brian Wilson, leader of the Beach Boys, and John Phillips, leader of the Mamas & the Papas, who combined idealistic themes with undercurrents of melancholy, along with lesser-known acts that achieved fleeting commercial success. A.V. Club contributor Noel Murray argued in 2011 that records by Phillips and Wilson had attained a cultural stature so large “that it’s hard today to hear them as part of any kind of trend”, in direct contrast to the less successful contemporaneous work of producer-songwriter-performer Curt Boettcher. The genre’s boundaries remain loosely defined partly due to the absence of contemporary self-identification by artists as “sunshine pop” practitioners. Many of the groups straddled multiple styles, including folk rock, bubblegum pop, garage rock, and psychedelia. In addition to receiving limited critical attention during their initial activity, many acts had existed briefly while adapting to evolving musical trends. Other rock and pop bands not normally associated with the genre occasionally produced singles or albums that integrated its sound. Music critic Richie Unterberger defined the genre as “the most ridiculously optimistic, commercial outgrowth of folk-rock that could be imagined”, adding that the style “was not so much folk-influenced rock as folk-rock-influenced pop, sometimes very much in an easy listening, Mamas-&-the-Papas mold, such as Spanky & Our Gang”. Author David Howard characterizes “soft pop” as a “harmonic, slightly psychedelic vocal music genre” that modernized “traditional pop vocals via hip lyrics, breezy harmonies, and an effervescent production style”. Associated acts usually drew elements from easy-listening, commercial jingles, and countercultural themes, often juxtaposing idyllic imagery with a subtle awareness of societal change, and bore names referencing fruits, colors, or “cosmic concepts”. While occasionally incorporating elements of psychedelia, they generally avoided overt drug-related imagery, instead drawing from what AllMusic termed the “whimsical” and “warm” aspects of psychedelic pop. Stylistically, sunshine pop also intersected with baroque pop, folk-pop, and Brill Building pop. Author and musician Bob Stanley, who identifies sunshine pop as an early soft rock variant, frames the genre as developing upon the progressive “instrumentation”, “musical complexity”, and subversion of rock traditions exemplified by the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds (1966) and the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). Stanley additionally traces the genre’s preoccupation with exotic arrangements and unorthodox combinations of instruments to the work of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. According to AllMusic, the “star” sunshine pop acts included the Beach Boys circa Pet Sounds, the Association, and the Mamas & the Papas, among others, with later reappraisals bringing renewed attention to lesser-known groups like Sagittarius, the Yellow Balloon, and the Millennium. While Wilson’s production techniques substantially influenced subsequent sunshine pop developments, the Beach Boys’ output largely diverged from the genre’s core characteristics. Murray states that Phillips, to a clearer extent than Wilson, “practically created the blueprint for sunshine pop, with little of Wilson’s uncommercial weirdness.” Howard traces the genre to Boettcher and his collaborations with Gary Usher—especially Boettcher’s reconfigurations of the “California sunshine sound” originally formulated by Wilson and Terry Melcher. Compilation albums and retrospectives have since anthologized works from the genre, though some recordings appear interchangeably across “bubblegum pop” collections. Murray felt that while sharing superficial similarities with bubblegum, the latter’s repetitive structures and superficial themes contrast with the “emotional richness” of the “best” examples of sunshine pop. In Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth (2001), contributor Chris Davidson writes that the “most blinding sunshine pop matches bubblegum’s oomph”, although “where bubblegum says, ‘I got love in my tummy,’ s-pop exclaims: ‘I love the flower girl.’”

Swamp pop

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Characteristics#

The swamp pop sound is typified by highly emotional, lovelorn lyrics, tripleting honky-tonk pianos, undulating bass lines, bellowing horn sections, and a strong rhythm and blues backbeat. It is exemplified by slow ballads such as Cookie and his Cupcakes’ “Mathilda” (recorded 1958), considered as the unofficial swamp pop anthem. But the genre has also produced many upbeat compositions, such as Bobby Charles’ “See You Later, Alligator” (1955), popularly covered by Bill Haley & His Comets. During the genre’s heyday (1958–1964), several swamp pop songs appeared on national U.S. record charts. These included Jimmy Clanton’s “Just A Dream” (1958), Warren Storm’s “Prisoner’s Song” (1958), Phil Phillips’ “Sea Of Love” (1959), Rod Bernard’s “This Should Go On Forever” (1959), Joe Barry’s “I’m a Fool to Care” (1960), and Dale & Grace’s “I’m Leaving It Up to You” (1963). In swamp pop’s south Louisiana–southeast Texas birthplace, fans regarded many songs that never became national hits as classics. These include Johnnie Allan’s “Lonely Days, Lonely Nights” (1958), Buck Rogers’ “Crazy Baby” (1959), Randy and the Rockets’ “Let’s Do the Cajun Twist” (1962), T. K. Hulin’s “I’m Not a Fool Anymore” (1963), and Clint West’s “Big Blue Diamond” (1965), among numerous others.

Swing revival

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History#

In Canada, the swing revival is associated with the popularity of new dance band recordings by Peter Appleyard’s All Star Swing Band and Dal Richards in the early 1980s. The Spitfire Band, a neo-swing outfit that included composer and musician Jackie Rae, trumpeter Micky Erbe, and trombonist Laurie Bower, was founded in 1981 and issued a series of LPs for Columbia Records. The roots of the swing revival in the United States are generally traced back to 1989, which saw the formation of several of the scene’s most prominent figures: Los Angeles’ Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, who often stuck close to playing traditionally-styled jump blues and rockabilly; San Francisco’s swing scene included Lee Presson and the Nails who started performing at local clubs in 1994 and Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, who showcased vocal jazz and blues influences, emerging in 1996; and Eugene, Oregon’s Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, who incorporated elements of punk rock and ska into swing and jazz music. California soon emerged as the center of the burgeoning neo-swing movement, with such clubs as Los Angeles’ The Derby and San Francisco’s Club DeLuxe regularly hosting swing and jazz bands as well as offering free swing dancing lessons. By the early 1990s, swing music had started appearing in popular culture, serving as the focal point of the 1993 drama Swing Kids while featuring heavily in the 1994 comedy The Mask, in which Royal Crown Revue made an on-screen cameo. By this time, retro swing had started expanding outside of its West Coast roots, leading to the formation of swing bands in such places as Texas (8½ Souvenirs, The Lucky Strikes), Michigan (The Atomic Fireballs, The Deluxtone Rockets), North Carolina (Squirrel Nut Zippers) and Canada (including Big Rude Jake in Toronto, Ontario and Johnny Favourite Swing Orchestra in Halifax, Nova Scotia). In 1996, the American comedy Swingers, which featured scenes filmed at The Derby and a musical performance by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, became a critical and commercial success and is frequently credited with bringing the swing revival further into the cultural mainstream. In April 1997, the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ 1996 single “Hell” appeared on the Billboard charts, effectively becoming the first hit song of the swing revival; their album Hot would achieve platinum sales of one million units by the RIAA by December 1997. In March 1997, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies released their swing compilation Zoot Suit Riot, attaining platinum status in August 1998 and double-platinum status in January 2000 while its titular single peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Brian Setzer Orchestra, which was founded by former Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer in 1992, also achieved double-platinum sales with their 1998 album The Dirty Boogie, whose cover of Louis Prima’s 1956 song “Jump, Jive an’ Wail” became the highest-charting single of swing revival, peaking at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. At the same time in 1998, The Gap used Prima’s version of “Jump, Jive an’ Wail” in a “Khakis Swing” commercial; according to Stereogum, Gap’s commercialization of the revival in particular was considered by some as signifying the end of the 90s swing revival or movement, though not before Big Bad Voodoo Daddy performed “Go Daddy-O” for a national audience during the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show in January, 1999. Examples of neo-swing in general continue to be produced beyond the 90s.

Synth-pop

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Characteristics#

Synth-pop is defined by its primary use of synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, sometimes using them to replace all other instruments. Borthwick and Moy have described the genre as diverse but “characterised by a broad set of values that eschewed rock playing styles, rhythms and structures”, which were replaced by “synthetic textures” and “robotic rigidity”, often defined by the limitations of the new technology, Many synth-pop musicians had limited musical skills, relying on the technology to produce or reproduce the music. The result was often minimalist, with grooves that were “typically woven together from simple repeated riffs often with no harmonic ‘progression’ to speak of”. Early synth-pop has been described as “eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing”, using droning electronics with little change in inflection. Because synthesizers removed the need for large groups of musicians, these singers were often part of a duo where their partner played all the instrumentation. Although synth-pop in part arose from punk rock, it abandoned punk’s emphasis on authenticity and often pursued a deliberate artificiality, drawing on the critically derided forms such as disco and glam rock. It owed relatively little to the foundations of early popular music in jazz, folk music or the blues, Later synth-pop saw a shift to a style more influenced by other genres, such as soul music.

Synthwave

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Synthwave is a microgenre of electronic music that draws predominantly from 1980s films, video games, and cartoons, as well as composers such as John Carpenter, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream. Other reference points include electronic dance music genres including house, synth, and nu-disco. Some artists, like Dance With The Dead and Zombie Hyperdrive also include elements of 1980s rock and metal music. It is primarily an instrumental genre, although there are occasional exceptions to the rule. Common tempos are between 80 and 118 BPM, while more upbeat tracks may be between 128 and 140 BPM. “Outrun” is a subgenre of synthwave that was later used to refer more generally to retro 1980s aesthetics such as VHS tracking artefacts, magenta neon, and gridlines. The term comes from the 1986 arcade racing game Out Run, which is known for its soundtrack that could be selected in-game and its 1980s aesthetic. According to musician Perturbator (James Kent), outrun is also its own subgenre, mainly instrumental, and often contains 1980s clichéd elements in the sound such as electronic drums, gated reverb, and analogue synthesizer bass lines and leads—all to resemble tracks from that time period. There is also a visual component on synthwave album covers and music videos. According to PC Gamer, the essence of outrun visuals is “taking elements of a period of ’80s excess millennials find irresistibly evocative, and modernizing them so they’re just barely recognizable.” Other subgenres include dreamwave, darksynth, and scifiwave. Invisible Oranges wrote that darksynth is exemplified mainly by a shift away from the bright “Miami Vice vibes” and “French electro house influences” and “toward the darker electronic terrains of horror movie maestro composers John Carpenter and Goblin” also infused with sounds from post-punk, industrial and EBM.

Tallava

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History#

Tallava originated in the 1980s and 1990s within the Albanian-speaking areas of Kosovo region, created by the Romani ethnic minority community. The name is derived from Romani tel o vas, meaning “under the hand”, referring to the čoček dance where the hands are waved delicately. Kosovo Albanian refugees of the Kosovo War in North Macedonia had brought their music with them, including Tallava. It has since also been adopted by the non-Albanian-speaking Roma in North Macedonia.

Teen pop

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Characteristics#

Structurally, teen pop may include influences from a variety of other genres, such as R&B, rock, electronic, or hip hop. Auto-Tuned or pitch-corrected vocals, and upbeat melodies. Stylish fashion, popular hairstyles, and choreographed dance crazes are important commercial elements of teen pop.

Background#

Teen pop has a rich and evolving history that extends beyond its commercial success. Characterized by its simple, catchy melodies and mainstream appeal, teen pop has been a staple of the music industry since the 1940s, with artists like teen idol Frank Sinatra paving the way. However, it wasn’t until the late 1980s and early 1990s that the genre experienced a significant resurgence, coinciding with the widespread use of the term “teen pop” to describe this particular style of music. Nevertheless, the early 2000s marked a peak in pop dominance, with teen pop becoming even more popular. Artists like Britney Spears became iconic figures, influencing not only music but also fashion trends of the 2000s.

Thai hip-hop

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History#

The origin of Thai hip hop can be traced back to Thailand in the mid-1980s. “Moo Kang Thong” (หมูแข้งทอง, Moo’s Golden Kick) by Mr. Tang Mo (มิสเตอร์แตงโม, real name Pratchaya Srithanyarat) in 1985 is credited as the first song to feature hip hop music in the Thai language. However, there were earlier pop records that experimented with rap, such as Thaneth Warakulnukroh’s “Buea Kon Bon” (เบื่อคนบ่น), and Rewat Buddhinan’s “Mun Plak Dee Na” (มันแปลกดีนะ). The Thai hip hop scene began in the early 1990s, with artists like Jetrin Wattanasin and Touch Na Takuatung. While they were more representative of Thai pop, the earliest Thai hip hop group, TKO (Technical Knock Out), was signed to KITA Records. Their first album, Original Thai Rap, released in 1993 and produced by Kamol Sukosol Clapp (later one of the founders of Bakery Music), was commercially unsuccessful but helped introduce Thai hip hop, heavily influenced by US hip hop. Joey Boy’s first album for Bakery Music in the same name, had hip hop influences from R&B and reggae and became a hit on Thai radio stations during the mid-1990s. For this distinction, Joey Boy became known as the Godfather of Thai hip hop. One underground hip hop artist, Dajim, became very famous among underground music listeners in the early 2000s. He was signed to GMM Grammy’s Genie Records division and released his first hit album, Rap Thai. During the 2000s, rap groups such as Southside, Sing Neua Seua Tai, Buddha Bless, and Thaitanium became primarily popular among hip hop fans. One prominent Thai rapper and singer is Illslick, who competed in the S.E.A. Audio Battle in 2006 and initially created mixtape records. Illslick’s popularity began to grow after the successful underground single “Jai Rai” (ใจร้าย) featuring Southside, which had a more slow jam and R&B influence. He later became widely known in Thai hip hop and has been cited as an influence on several Thai hip hop artists. Although Illslick’s songs in later years leaned more towards a pop and R&B style, he was also synonymous with diss tracks and violent lyrics, drawing comparisons to Tupac Shakur. Since crossing over into the mainstream in the 2010s, Thai hip hop has become one of the most popular in the internet and streaming era, with artists such as D Gerrard, Youngohm, Younggu, PMC, and RachYO. In mid-2021, “Ton” (ทน) a single of duo Sprite x GUYGEEGEE debut #89 on the Billboard Global. In September 2021, Lisa of Blackpink released her debut single album Lalisa. The first single, “Lalisa”, and the second single, “Money” both charted in the top ten of the Billboard Global 200. It was also her first album to achieve this milestone, making her the first female artist to sell 736,000 copies of an album in its first week in South Korea. In October 2021, Thai hip-hop musicians F.HERO and Milli released single “Mirror Mirror,” featuring Changbin of the South Korean boy group Stray Kids. With the social media app TikTok contributing to the song’s international popularity, the music video for “Mirror Mirror” reached 53 million views as of February 2022. Additionally, the female rapper Milli performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2022, making her the first Thai solo artist to perform there.

Thai pop music

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1960s: Origin of Thai pop and shadow music#

The foundation of Thai pop was heavily influenced by British and American rock and roll. These early groups gained popularity with Thai youth by playing for US troops during the Vietnam War. These Thai pop groups played a combination of string combo, instrumental music and surf music, which was influenced by bands like The Ventures and The Shadows. This style was locally known as wong shadow (shadow music) and more broadly as string music. Prominent Thai pop groups from the mid-to-late 1960s included The Impossibles, and PM5.

Thai rock

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1960s: Western rock music adaptation#

The earliest Thai pop rock music emerged from western music influenced form both the United States and United Kingdom. The earliest Thai rock combo groups played a combination of instrumental music and surf music influenced by The Ventures and The Shadows which was known locally as Wong shadow. The international popularity in the 1960s with bands such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, and musician Jimi Hendrix influenced the creation of some of the earliest western style groups. The most popular Thai beat, garage rock, and psychedelic rock groups include The Impossibles, The Cat, and The Dynamics in the mid to late 1960s.

Tin Pan Alley

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Origin of the name#

There are conflicting explanations regarding the origins of the term “Tin Pan Alley”. The most popular account holds that it was originally a derogatory reference made by Monroe H. Rosenfeld in the New York Herald to the collective sound made by many “cheap upright pianos” all playing different tunes being reminiscent of the banging of tin pans in an alleyway. The Grove Dictionary of American Music also cites Rosenfeld as originator of the term, dating its first use from 1903. However, while an article on Tin Pan Alley can be found in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from May of that year, this is unattributed and no piece by Rosenfeld that employs the phrase has been discovered. Simon Napier-Bell quotes an account of the origin of the name published in a 1930 book about the music business. In this version, popular songwriter Harry von Tilzer was being interviewed about the area around 28th Street and Fifth Avenue, where many music publishers had offices. Von Tilzer had modified his expensive Kindler & Collins piano by placing strips of paper down the strings to give the instrument a more percussive sound. The journalist told von Tilzer, “Your Kindler & Collins sounds exactly like a tin can. I’ll call the article ‘Tin Pan Alley’.” In any case, the name was firmly attached by the fall of 1905, when The Evening World published an article titled “The Song Claque Nuisance” about 28th Street. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, “tin pan” was slang for “a decrepit piano” (1882), and the term came to mean a “hit song writing business” by 1907. With time, the nickname came to describe the American music publishing industry in general. The term then spread to the United Kingdom, where “Tin Pan Alley” was also used to describe Denmark Street in London’s West End. In the 1920s the street became known as “Britain’s Tin Pan Alley” because of its large number of music shops.

Toytown pop

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Characteristics#

Toytown pop has been described as a microgenre and noted for appearing on the British singles chart between 1967 and 1974. According to writer Ian Rushbury of PopMatters, “If the band had a cute, lengthy name and the song had the word ’toy’ in the title or was named after a missing chapter in The Wind in the Willows, it was a safe bet you were in the ballpark.” Hann remarked that the shortcomings of pretending to be children would have been “evident to musicians,” though labels, producers and artists capitalized on the growing trend in British pop while groups who had previously performed rough British rhythm and blues switched to songs evoking “childlike whimsy”.

Traditional pop

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Origins#

Traditional pop includes the song output of the Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and Hollywood show tune writers from approximately World War I to the 1950s, such as Irving Berlin, Frederick Loewe, Victor Herbert, Harry Warren, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, Dorothy Fields, Hoagy Carmichael, and Cole Porter.

Mid-1940s to mid-1950s: height of popularity#

The swing era made stars of many popular singers including the young Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Jo Stafford, Perry Como, Peggy Lee, Patti Page, David Whitfield, and Bing Crosby. Two notable innovations were the addition of string sections and orchestral arrangements and more emphasis on the vocal performance. The addition of lush strings can be heard in much of the popular music throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

Tropical rock

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Description#

Instrumentation is usually based around an acoustic guitar (as well as electric instrumentation), and often includes steel drums, congas, marimbas, vibraphones, steel guitars, or other percussion instruments to create an “island sound”. While country and other musical styles focus on falling in love/falling out of love themes, Trop Rock’s main focus is on “escapism”—a laid back lifestyle, tropical places, boating, simplifying and having fun. Buffett is often referred to as the “Pop of Trop Rock” alongside his Coral Reefer Band. They, along with other artists like Higgins, helped create a tropical sub-culture beginning in the early to mid-1980s. Mainstream artists Jack Johnson, Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson, and Kenny Chesney also have songs in the genre as well.

Tropipop

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Early development#

Since the early emergence of Colombian rock in the 1960s and 1970s, bands like Genesis (Colombian rock band) began to experiment fusing traditional Colombian music with pop rock. In the following decades, rock bands like Aterciopelados continued bringing elements of Colombian folklore into rock music.

Carlos Vives and La Provincia#

The stylistic origins of tropipop can be traced back to 1993 when Carlos Vives released the album Clásicos de la Provincia. This very popular album was notable for the use of rock instruments like electric guitars to sing traditional vallenato songs. Vives’ and his band, La provincia, continued experimenting the fusion of vallenato and cumbia with pop, rock and funk in their subsequent albums La Tierra del Olvido and Tengo Fe. For his following album, El Amor de Mi Tierra, Vives hooked up with the successful Cuban American producer Emilio Estefan. Estefan stylized Vives music into a more pop-oriented sound, with less instrumental breaks, more prominent vocal parts, and less dominant vallenato and cumbia elements. Vives continued this sound in his next two albums, gaining a lot of success. It was this stylized fusion style, heard in Vives songs such as “Tu Amor Eterno”, which was later adopted by tropipop artists. Vives’ influence and success was so big that it has been said that all the artists that came after him playing fusions of pop rock and vallenato are either “imitators or part of the school that he formed”.

Tsapiky

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Festivals#

Tsapiky festivals primarily occur in urban centers, such as Toliara. These festivals last for several days to a week, and consist of several concerts played for hours, supposedly inducing trance-like states from audience members. Typically, entire families come along, bearing gifts.

Turkish hip-hop

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History#

Before Turkish hip-hop took hold in Turkey, specifically Istanbul and Ankara, it originally grew out of Turkish ethnic enclaves in Germany. Owing its large population to the Turkish migrants that came to Germany in the 1960s as Gastarbeiter (guest-workers), 2/3 of all Turks in Germany are under the age of 35 and half are under 25. Exclusionary practices on behalf of the government, particularly in terms of citizenship status, create systematic discrimination of Turks in Germany that fuels racism against migrant workers. Although born in Germany, the children of these Gastarbeiters are not recognized as citizens by Germany or their parents’ country of origin. Often living in dilapidated neighborhoods and marked as outsiders by their “eastern” traditions and poor command of the German language, Turkish urban youth gravitate towards hip-hop as means of expressive identity construction. From the first rap vinyl recorded in the Turkish language—‘Bir Yabancının Hayatı’ (The Life of a Foreigner) by King Size Terror—to the creation of an entire subgenre—Oriental hip-hop—Turkish youth in Germany have embraced and moved beyond pure imitation of African American hip-hop culture. Localizing hip-hop, Turks in Germany have reworked it to “act as a mode of expression for a range of local issues” particularly those related racism and the problem of national identity experienced by younger members of ethnic minority groups. Turkish hip-hop had risen to prominence in Germany with the success and popularity of the Turkish rap group Cartel in the mid 1995s throughout Turkey. After the success of their first album, the members of Cartel had a fight almost killing some of their members. The group was forbidden to perform together again and the members of Cartel were jailed. Cartel’s album was banned from the music market. In Turkey, Ceza, Dr. Fuchs (formerly “Nefret”), Fuat Ergin and Sagopa Kajmer were spearheads of the genre. Sansar Salvo, Pit10, Şehinşah, Hayki, Saian, Allâme are popular figures of second wave contemporary rap music in Turkey. New generation or ‘Drill’ include Ezhel, UZI, Ben Fero and LVBEL C5.

Twee pop

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Etymology#

Merriam-Webster defines “twee” as something “excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental”. The word derives from the speech of babies.

Characteristics#

According to NPR, twee pop “was fervently informed by punk: snappy riffs, fast-track tempos, propulsive drums”. Artists such as Heavenly, Talulah Gosh, and Marine Girls were primarily women who wrote about love, relationships, and personal empowerment. While the music sounded lighthearted and naive, the subject matter was often gritty and dark. A retrospective fascination with the genre in the US saw Americans eagerly defining themselves as twee. According to The A.V. Club’s Paula Mejia: The author Marc Spitz suggests that the roots of twee stem from post-war 1950s music. While the culture categorized itself under the moniker of “indie” (short for independent), many major twee powerhouses gained mainstream critical acclaim for their contributions to the twee movement.

Vaporwave

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Vaporwave is a hyper-specific subgenre, or “microgenre”, that is both a form of electronic music and an art style; however, it is sometimes suggested to be primarily a visual medium. The genre is defined largely by its surrounding subculture, with its music inextricable from its visual accoutrements. Academic Laura Glitsos writes, “In this way, vaporwave defies traditional music conventions that typically privilege the music over the visual form.” Musically, vaporwave reconfigures dance music from the 1980s and early 1990s The name derives from “vaporware”, a term for commercial software that is announced but never released. It builds upon the satirical tendencies of chillwave and hypnagogic pop, while also being associated with an ambiguous or ironic take on consumer capitalism and technoculture. incorporates 1990s Web design and imagery, glitch art, and cyberpunk tropes, and 3D-rendered objects. VHS degradation is another common effect seen in vaporwave art. Generally, artists limit the chronology of their source material between Japan’s economic flourishing in the 1980s and the September 11 attacks or dot-com bubble burst of 2001 (some albums, including Floral Shoppe, depict the intact Twin Towers on their covers).

Visayan pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definitions and etymology#

The term “Vispop” is derived from Visayan pop or Visayan popular music. Lorenzo “Insoy” Niñal, a member of the Visayan Pop Songwriting Campaign committee, said in 2019, “We have different languages in the Visayas. We accept that. We are sensitive to nuances, that’s why it is called Bisaya, not Cebuano pop.” However, various sources still use the term Vispop in reference to popular music written specifically in Cebuano. Many artists and songs from the Mindanao region are associated with Vispop, due to their use of Cebuano. Examples include the band Oh! Caraga, whose members hail from Caraga, as well as Maris Racal, KZ Tandingan, who are all from Davao. Writing for Nusasonic, Dominic Zinampan noted that “most” budots songs were written in Cebuano, although the musical style originated in Davao. He explained that its history was “deeply rooted in Bisaya culture”. In an article published on February 18, 2025, The Philippine Daily Inquirer ’s Gabriel Pabico Lalu identified budots as a “Visayan pop dance craze”. In the late 2010s, distinct pop music movements emerged in Iloilo and Mindanao. The former was called Ilonggo Pop and focused on songs written in the Hiligaynon language. The latter, called Mindanao Pop or Minpop, aimed to “hyper-localize” pop songs to Mindanao, although some Minpop songs still feature Cebuano lyrics. Founders of both movements have acknowledged Vispop as their inspiration.

Wong shadow

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Wonky pop

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Definitions#

“Wonky” is a British English word meaning “unsteady, shaky, awry, or wrong.” The BBC reported that the term “wonky pop” was both coined by and is owned by Mika’s manager, while The Independent reported the term was coined by Peter Robinson, founder of the blog Popjustice. The BBC describes a UK wonky-pop club night as involving “cutting-edge pop, dance, hip hop and everything in between”; club organiser René Symonds states that “the iPod shuffle generation will not be limited to one genre and wants a return to authenticity after years of manufactured pop”. The wonky pop website sets out a manifesto that states, “We want to show the world that pop is not a four letter word, and for every flaky reality TV winner there’s a myriad of cool, credible and weird acts.”

Worldbeat

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Definition#

Worldbeat is akin to world fusion and global fusion, each of which primarily manifest as a blend of non-Western music tradition and Western, popular music. These particular music genres can also reflect in a cross-blend of more than one “traditional” flavor, producing innovative, hybrid expressions of world music. As with most “world”-laden genre categories, worldbeat is not clearly defined as are the many classic world music subgenres, such as gamelan, or calypso. In general, the expanding family of ethnic music subgenres under the world music umbrella represents an intrinsically nebulous terminology, which depending on how one interprets a particular hybrid of world music, can be interchangeable to a significant degree. Worldbeat defines a hybrid of what can be listed under the generalized world music term, even though it features a prominent interbreeding with elements of Western, pop music. As an ethnically coloured genre, worldbeat is a part of the world music movement that is steadily influencing popular music in every corner of the globe. This is partially due to the advance of digital music production and the availability of high-quality ethnic music samples to artists and producers in the recording arts. The globalization of texture and style between indigenous and modern music genres has rapidly expanded the scope of 21st century, popular music, and continues to reshape how the world defines the increasing number of genres conceived with world music elements.

Xinyao

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Birth#

The local xinyao movement started in the early 1980s by students from secondary schools, junior colleges and polytechnics. They were influenced primarily by minyao (民謠), a Taiwanese folk songs movement in the 1970s, school campus songs (校園民歌) from Taiwan. The Taiwanese folk genre sought an authentic native Taiwan identity exemplified by songs such as “Grandma’s Penghu Bay” (外婆的澎湖灣). The rise in popularity of the campus folk song especially among the Chinese students and schools came at a time of major education reforms led by Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Goh Keng Swee which sought to streamline and align Chinese education into the national syllabus. Xinyao groups had their first exposure on radio and television in April 1982, on the half-hour Chinese radio programme, Our Song Writers, in April 1982. In September the same year, Nanyang Technological University’s Chinese-language newspaper, Nanyang Business Daily, organised a seminar titled The Songs We Sing (我們唱著歌). The seminar revolved around discussing the trend of xinyao’s emergence.

Zhongguo feng (music)

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History#

It is hard to pinpoint the exact origins of Zhongguo feng music, although Jay Chou is largely credited as an influential figure in modern Zhongguo feng music in the early 2000s. Music ethnographers and researchers have also studied Zhongguo feng in relation to the sociocultural and political conditions in different time periods such as the May Fourth movement and the end of Cultural Revolution. Departing from the days of revolutionary and ultra-nationalistic songs during Mao’s dictatorship until the end of the 1970s, the 1980 saw the introduction of rock music into China, with its people beginning to embrace new steady and upbeat rhythms. Featured in his debut album Jay in 2000, “Wife” is one of Jay Chou’s most famous songs in the Zhongguo feng music genre. Leehom Wang is also known for his brand of Zhongguo feng music, known as “chinked-out”, since 2004. Other factors that contributed to the popularity of Zhongguo feng music include the efforts of the Chinese state in building a sense of nationalism, and national pride from the successful 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Zouglou

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The export of the phenomenon#

It was in 1989 that the zouglou as dance, language and philosophy, exports of the city of Yop to that of Abobo. Opokou N’ti, with real skills choreographic was blessed by Joe Christy to “liberate” (dance) to the city of Abobo to demand “teachers” who had invited them to fraternize. A few weeks later comes the demonstration zouglou in non-student in the hall of Kumasi, when the Ziguehi was a reality in Côte d’Ivoire, facilitated by Alain Gaston Lago and Tahi (Commissioner Tricot). The man of letters and culture Alain Tahi (student at the time) would already spread phenomenon. Evolving in time, zouglou created and proposed successively dance steps without changing the truly musical form: Gnakpa, Kpaklo. Although in 1999 the zouglou achieved international renown thanks to Magic System, the genre remains relatively unknown. It currently has several dozen groups or artists and zouglou: Yodé & Siro (Best Album 2009 Zouglou sign with Zo, Mèlèkè Lago Paulin Khunta & Cisco (Gochinago) Patterns, New Leaders, Coco Hilaire, Old gazère, Oxygen, Hope 2000, The mechanics … Zouglou emerged in the ’90s as a musical genre and innovative Ivorian made by and for young people. If until that time singers like Bailly Spinto or Alpha Blondy much better known had managed to wear the colors of the Ivorian music, their songs were either inspired French folklore for some or all reggae for others. Rock, with such Gnahoré Jimmy at that time was also trying to get a place. Other traditional songs also drew them out of the game but this time music “Ivorian” was born, music is purely outcome of the cultural and Ivorian Abidjan.