EU on Music Theory Print

Eurobeat

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

Use of the term#

British record producer Ian Levine’s Eastbound Expressway, released the single “You’re a Beat” in recognition of the slower tempo of hi-NRG music emerging from Europe. Many European acts managed to break through under this new recognition, namely the likes of Modern Talking, Bad Boys Blue, Taffy, and Spagna. The term “Eurobeat” was subsequently used commercially to describe the Stock Aitken Waterman–produced hits by Dead or Alive, Bananarama, Jason Donovan, Sonia, and Kylie Minogue which were heavily based on the British experience with Italo disco. During 1986–1988, it was used for specific Italian 1980s Eurodisco imports, such as Sabrina Salerno, Spagna, and Baltimora but was also used in the United States as a catch-all term for UK-based dance and electropop groups of the time such as Pet Shop Boys, purported to have a “European beat”, hence Eurobeat. By 1989, with the advent of Eurodance and Euro house, the term was dropped completely in the UK. In Japan, starting in the mid-1980s, the term Eurobeat used to refer to Italo disco imports from Italy. When Japanese label Alfa Music offered a deal with Italo disco singer, songwriter and producer Mauro Farina, he happily accepted and thus the That’s Eurobeat compilation series was born. Its name comes from Farina’s answer to a question by a spokesperson of Alfa’s. The spokesperson asked in English the name of the genre in which the songs Alfa was interested in belonged, but because they chose songs that Farina’s team tucked away worried that they would not sell well in Italy, he did not have an answer ready and so in a hurry he improvised a reply by combining the fact that he was located in Europe and the word beat, which he though was appropriate with the style of those songs, and answered to the spokesperson with that’s Eurobeat.

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”.

Eurodisco

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

History#

The term “Euro-disco” was used during the mid-1970s to describe the non-UK based disco productions and artists such as D.D. Sound, West Germany groups Arabesque, Boney M., Dschinghis Khan and Silver Convention, the Munich-based production trio Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer and Pete Bellotte, the Italian singer Gino Soccio, French artists Amanda Lear, Dalida, Cerrone, Hot Blood, Banzai (single “Viva America”) and Ottawan, Dutch groups Luv’ and Eurovision song contest winners Teach-In. In Spain, disco took off after the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, with Baccara. Swedish group ABBA gained the big hit “Dancing Queen”. 1970s Eurodisco soon had spinoffs and variations. The most notable spin-off is space disco. Another popular variation, with no specific name, appeared in the late 1970s: a “Latin”-like sound added to the genre, which can be heard in Italy’s Raffaella Carrà, La Bionda (D. D. Sound), Easy Going and France’s Gibson Brothers. German pop duo Modern Talking was an icon of Eurodisco between 1985–1987 and became the most successful Eurodisco project. That style became very popular in Eastern Europe and remained popular until the early 1990s. Next to the numerous productions of Modern Talking member Dieter Bohlen, further German-based group and artists including Arabesque, Sandra, C. C. Catch, Bad Boys Blue, and Fancy enjoyed international success. In Poland, disco polo, a local music genre relying heavily on Eurodisco was developed at the verge of the ’80s and ’90s. Meanwhile, a sped-up version of Eurodisco with dance-pop elements also became successful in the US, under the term “hi-NRG”. By the early 1990s, Eurodisco was influenced by the emergence of genres such as house, acid house and the electro music styles, and replaced (or evolved) by other music styles. Technically, the last form of Eurodisco is French house, a music style that appeared in France during the mid-1990s and slowly became widespread in Europe. French house is more of a “back to the roots” music style with 1970s Eurodisco influences.

European free jazz

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

American origin#

Free jazz got its name from the album Free Jazz (Atlantic, 1961) by Ornette Coleman to describe American avant-garde jazz of the 1960s. Besides “avant-garde”, it was called “the New Wave”, “the New Thing”, “action jazz”, and in Europe “improvised music”. Due to the lack of commercial success of the free jazz music as well as the racial issues, like the Civil Rights Movement, many American free jazz musicians began touring the European continent, playing and spreading their new avant-garde style throughout Europe. Jazz musicians like Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Bud Powell, Don Byas traveled and performed throughout Europe. In contrast to the lack of commercial success in America, many American free jazz musicians experienced both commercial success and acceptance in Europe, leading to tours of Europe and extended residencies. “A number of jazz musicians migrated to other parts of the world, where they received an opposite response, being considered the ultimate expression of high culture. Thus, many of them remained in exile, and they enjoyed unparalleled success in France, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands after the world wars”. Although much of American public believed this music to be structure-less, provocative, and ridiculous, some European listeners enjoyed the “dissonant and seemingly chaotic music”. “Many Europeans viewed free jazz as the descriptor most used by the media on both sides of the Atlantic for a musical movement that ignited like a flare in the African-American… and Western European…jazz communities. The social context in both cases included a reaction by musicians against a mainstream jazz culture they felt to be colluding with an oppressive Western hegemony that was intrinsically racist, historically imperialistic and exploitive, venally decadent and vicious as its power was challenged”. Due in part to the provocative nature of the music as well as the freedom it granted both the musician and the listener, many Europeans associated the backlash toward American society conveyed in free jazz with the counter-culture and anti-imperialist movements in Europe during the late 1960s.

European hip-hop

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

Denmark#

Hip hop music in Denmark has seen significant growth in popularity over the past fifteen years, beginning with Danish-language acts such as MC Einar and Rockers by Choice. Other early contributors included lesser-known groups like Rip Rap & Rock, Flopstarz, Humleridderne, and Faktaposen. Danish rap music gained broader acceptance in the 1980s, particularly with the release of “Rap Nu,” a rap song by Gunnar “Nu” Hansen, a well-known Danish football commentator. This song was released in conjunction with the European football championship and helped introduce rap to a wider Danish audience. In the early 1990s, English became the preferred language for underground hip hop acts in Denmark, with artists like Dope Solution, Kidnap, and No Name Requested—one of the first groundbreaking female rappers—blending rap with reggae well before other Danish artists adopted the style. By the late 1990s, Danish-language rap experienced a resurgence, driven by artists such as Jokeren and his group Den Gale Pose. The Funky Fly record label played a significant role in this evolution. Unlike in many other countries, hip hop in Danish has been as successful, if not more so, than English-language acts locally. Some Danish rappers who perform in English, such as Static and NATiLL, have gained more recognition abroad, particularly in Germany and other parts of Scandinavia, than they have in Denmark. Prominent Danish-language hip hop artists include members of Full Impact Productions (F.I.P.), such as Orgi-E, Bai-D, Troo.L.S, L.O.C., Rune Rask, and U$O. This group often refers to themselves as F.I.P.G.C. (Full Impact Productions Gangster Click). The rap group Suspekt, consisting of F.I.P. members Orgi-E, Bai-D, and Rune Rask, has been a notable force in Danish hip hop, with L.O.C. frequently collaborating as a guest artist and Troo.L.S producing most of their tracks alongside Rune Rask. In 2005, Troo.L.S and Orgi-E released an album titled Forklædt Som Voksen (“Disguised As Adult”). Although the group has not officially disbanded, they have stated that they do not plan to release any new albums, though they continue to perform together. L.O.C., a member of F.I.P., is considered the most successful solo rapper in Danish hip hop history, with his albums achieving significant sales. His first album, Dominologi, included popular tracks such as “Absinthe” and “Drik Min Hjerne Ud” (“Drink My Brain Away”). His second album, Inkarneret (“Incarnated”), was also a major success, featuring hits like “Undskyld” (“Sorry”), “Hvem” (“Who”), and “Pop Det Du Har” (“Pop out What You’ve Got”). His third album, Cassiopeia, was released on September 15, 2005, with the song “Frk. Escobar” (“Miss Escobar”) becoming a major hit. Producers Rune Rask and Troo.L.S. have been instrumental in creating many of F.I.P.’s most successful tracks and have been recognized as one of the best producer teams in Denmark. In 2006, they produced the song “Gangsta Bop” by Akon, which was featured on his second album, Konvicted (2006).

Europop

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

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.