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| Cultural origins | 1980s, Europe |
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Eurodance (sometimes referred to asEuro-NRG) is a genre ofelectronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s inEurope. It combines many elements ofrap,techno andEurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use of rich vocals, sometimes withrapped verses. This, combined with cutting-edge synthesizers, strongbassrhythm and melodichooks, establishes the core foundation of Eurodance music.[1]
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.[2] Eurodance fuses late-1980ship hop music andelectronic dance music.[3] Among dance music styles, Eurodance takes particular influence fromdisco,Hi-NRG,house music, andtechno.[1][3] Eurodance combines these elements in a way meant for chart appeal,[3] with producers utilizingpop-inspired melodies and structure[4] and focusing more on creating popular singles rather than albums.[1]
The music of Eurodance is characterized by combining dance beats with vocal hooks,[5] which often serve as the melody.[2] Similar to pop music, Eurodance songs are arranged in verse-chorus structures,[6] with the verses often performed by male rappers and the chorus often performed by female singers. Instrumentation is driven by melodic synthesizers[4] and simple and syncopated bass lines forming theharmony.[2] Drum machines are set to afour-to-the-floor beat between 120 and 150 beats per minute,[7][2] 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".[2]
During its initial inception, the Eurodance genre was referred to asdancefloor ordance music. Compilation albums started using theEurodance term after the genre's peak popularity in the mid-1990s, with one of the first beingInterhit Records'DMA Dance Vol. 1: Eurodance (1995).[8] The termEurodance uses the prefixEuro-, a commonly used prefix withinpopular music among European and American journalists and the international music industry denoting the genre's European origins.[9] Eurodance shares the prefix withEurodisco,Eurobeat, andEuropop, although the terms have different connotations among different writers.[10] The termEurodance refers to a specific genre ofelectronic dance music that originated from Europe in the late-1980s and 1990s.[6][1][11] Both Eurodance and Eurodisco shared similar cultural contexts and used electronic production, but Eurodisco predates Eurodance by two decades.[12] Both Eurodance and Europop use superficial and catchy songwriting, but Eurodance is exclusively dance music, unlike Europop.[1]
Eurodance music originated in the late 1980s in central Europe, especially in Germany, whererave parties were becoming popular. By 1987, a German party scene was started, based on the well establishedChicago house sound and Belgiannew beat. The following year sawacid house making a significant impact on popular consciousness in Germany and central Europe as it had in England.[13] In 1989, German DJsWestbam and Dr. Motte established theUfo Club, an illegal party venue, and co-founded theLove Parade.[14] The parade first occurred in July 1989, when 150 people took to the streets inBerlin.[15] It was conceived as a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through love and music.[15] On 9 November 1989, theBerlin Wall fell; free underground techno parties mushroomed in East Berlin, and a rave scene comparable to that in the UK was established.[14] East German DJPaul van Dyk has remarked that the techno-based rave scene was a major force in re-establishing social connections between East and West Germany during the unification period.[16] In the same year, German producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III) formed theSnap! project in Frankfurt. Snap! songs combined importedhip hop andsoul vocals adding rhythm by using computer technology and mixing electronic sounds, bass and drums, mainlyhouse music. By doing so a new genre was born: Eurodance.[17]
Snap!'s first single, "The Power", released in 1990, reached number one in the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and it helped to raise awareness of the genre within Europe. In the following years, other Eurodance acts formed in Frankfurt, includingJam and Spoon,Intermission andCulture Beat. After the breakthrough single "Rhythm is a Dancer" bySnap! in 1992, new groups started to appear all over Europe, mainly in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. From 1992 until the genre's decline in popularity after 1995, the sound became increasingly NRG-oriented, leading to songs raising inbeats per minute up to 150. Some of the genre's defining songs in this period, dubbed as the "golden era" of Eurodance, are "It's My Life" byDr. Alban in 1992, "No Limit" by Belgian-Dutch group2 Unlimited in 1993, "What Is Love" byHaddaway in the same year, "Cotton Eye Joe" byRednex in 1994, “Another Night” byReal McCoy and "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" byScatman John in the same year
By 1995, Eurodance dominated European charts with 5 singles in the top 10 of the singles charts. Despite its success, many observers within the music industry said that the Eurodance sound had to change or die, and Eurodance producers and singers started to follow different paths and different sounds, such ashappy hardcore and house music,[18] but not all the groups followed this trend immediately. Notably, the group2 Unlimited wanted to remain within Eurodance sounds in order to remain chartbusters, although the producer De Coster predicted a retreat from a pop-like to a moreclub-like sound.[19]
In the late 1990s, the classic Eurodance sound gradually morphed intoprogressive house.[20]
Amid 2024, an influx of videos on social media platforms would be uploaded under the guise offar-right propaganda, using snippets taken from songs of the genre, called "Save Europe". This primarily adheres toTikTok.[21]
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From the early to mid-1990s, Eurodance was popular in Europe; the style received extensive airplay on radio stations and television shows, resulting in many singles appearing in the charts. Technotronic from Belgium had hits with "Pump Up the Jam" and "Get Up" (featuring Ya Kid K).
By 1996, the popularity of this genre had started to decline. From then, the classic Eurodance sound gradually morphed intoprogressive house.[20] By 1997 and towards the end of the millenniumhouse andtrance music increased popularity over Eurodance in Europe's commercial, chart-oriented dance records.[22][23][24] In the early 2000s, the mainstream music industry in Europe moved away from Eurodance in favour of other styles of dance music such asnu-disco,electro house,dance-pop andR&B.[25][26]
AfterCappella'sGianfranco Bortolotti set up Media Records in Brescia, northern Italy[27][28][29] to release his 'commercial European dance music' (a set-up which included fifteen studios featuring various production teams working almost non-stop on a huge number of records) he decided to take the label into other markets and set up a UK office in the UK. Run by Peter Pritchard and featuring many records byStu Allan's British Eurodance actClock, this record company would eventually turn into hard house labelNukleuz (known for its DJ Nation releases).
As Media turned into Nukleuz, it would fall toAll Around the World Productions to be the label in the 21st Century which was more likely to release Eurodance tracks in the UK than other, with itsClubland TV music channel still having regular blocks of Eurodance videos in 2020[30][31] (though extending its scope to include hits by David Guetta as well asCascada andScooter)
During the 1990s, Eurodance became popular in Canada, which produced its own variant called Candance (although it was mostly referred to as "Eurodance" or "dance music").[32] Eurodance received significant airplay on radio stations in theGreater Toronto Area such asPower 88.5,Energy 108 andHot 103.5. Montreal was also a major Eurodance market, withMC Mario's famous radio show onMix 96, calledParty Mix andBouge de là, a popular TV show onMusiquePlus. Eurodance featured prominently onElectric Circus, a dance-party TV show broadcast nationally in English and French versions.[33] Beginning in mid-1992, Eurodance began to dominate theRPMdance chart in Canada, with acts such as2 Unlimited,Snap!,Captain Hollywood Project,Culture Beat,Haddaway, Whigfield, each reaching number-one.
From approximately 1992 to 2000, Canadian acts such asCapital Sound,Love Inc.,Jacynthe andEmjay had success with the Eurodance sound. The Toronto sound was more pop-oriented, while the Montreal one was more house-oriented.
Compilation albums such as theDMA Dance: Eurodance series (1995–1997) from Interhit Records andDance Music Authority magazine were popular and helped to define the genre as well as to make it accessible in the U.S. and Canada.[34]
It was then that the DJs who used to play what was previously known as Euro dance hi jacked the genre and it mutated into the commercial sound people tend to call Progressive House today.
Electro House rose to prominence in the early to mid 2000s as a heavier alternative to other house subgenres that were prevalent at the time.
