A primer on music of the nu millennium
Techno/House/Garage: Though many are loath to admit it, these are direct descendants of disco. In the ’80s, when disco was dumped as being too ‘poppish’, House evolved in Chicago and the underground discos of New York. A 4/4 bass pedal kick generated on a drum machine still remains the backdrop of the music. Disco with Soul is what it is all about. The basic vibe: dance and have fun. Underworld is top House act.
Deep House: Somewhere along the line jazz got in. This is music for the thinking man. Live musicians jam in. So do samples from old gospel and blues. The compositional element is not simplistic. And you can listen without dancing. Check out St Germain.
Trance/Rave: The bass kick pounds at 145 bpm (beats per minute). That’s the pace at which the heart beats when there is a rush of adrenaline. The music is looped (it keeps repeating in cycles). Vocal loops and instrumentation provide eerie sounds/chants which induce a trip. Trance is played at rave parties where drugs like Ecstasy and lsd are popular.
Electronica: A broad-spectrum term often misunderstood for synthesiser-and-drum-machine-generated music. But it now means any song recorded and embellished/treated by the use of technology. Months are spent in the studio working on the sound. So a guitar chord can be treated to give it a totally unheard tonality. Instruments can be reversed or speeded up. Check out Massive Attack and The Cinematic Orchestra.
Alternative Rock/Indie Pop/Rock: An improvement on the ’90s grunge, the alt bands follow the guitar/drums formula of Pearl Jam. Indie (independent) rock/pop are bands which work with smaller labels so that they do not have to make compromises. But when an indie act becomes popular, it becomes part of the mainstream, e.g. Oasis, Blur.
Hip-Hop/Rap: Eminem and the likes of him. Bands like Limp Bizkit. This music lays a lot of emphasis on rhythm and the vocal delivery.
Death Metal/Agro Rock: Loud, very angry. Makes Mettalica sound gentle!