From Across The Pond 04.15.08: Europe and Dance Music

Posted by Sean Reid on 04.15.2008

Forever seen as the bastard step child of music, dance music doesn’t deserve half of the flack it gets thrown at it from the so called “music-elite”. In this weeks ‘From Across The Pond’, Seán Reid looks to destroy some of the myths surrounding this misunderstood genre.


Hello everyone and welcome once again to Across the Pond, bringing you the best in European music. The feedback I have gotten from last week has been great, fantastic to hear you guys enjoyed it! Let's keep the intro short and sweet this week though; we have a big column ahead of us!

Europe and Dance Music

If there is one thing we Europeans do better than any other continent when it comes to music, its dance music. Before I began this column, I went through my album collection and noticed I only own 4 dance albums created by an American artist. (‘Play' by Moby, ‘The Private Press' by DJ Shadow, ‘Sound of Silver' and ‘LCD Soundsystem' by LCD Soundsystem). I find this very odd when I compare it other genres in my collection, I have CDs from across the globe. So what are you Yankee Doodles doing wrong when it comes to dance? Nothing really, it's just hard to compete with the wealth of dance artists we have over here, all coming from different backgrounds and creating different kinds of electronic goodness.

But it's all repetitive garbage!

Firstly, let's dispel a major rumor about dance music. Whenever I mention my love for it to my friends, the same debate arises each time: "But it's so simple, anyone can just make a simple 4/4 beat and sell it too the masses".

Very true, if you are dealing with the commercial rubbish that destroys the image of actual dance music. You know the crap I'm talking about, where it's just a bass drum, a cheesy synth line and some hype-pitched woman saying something like "Your love is a river baby" over and over again. This does not make up the bulk of dance, and once you go looking you'll find that a lot of artists and DJs who put a lot of time and effort into their music.

It's at this point that I usually let people listen to one of two fantastic British electronic artists, Aphex Twin or (My personal favorite of the two) Squarepusher . Both of these guys put a lot of thought and effort into the music they create. Aphex Twin puts so much thought in that some of his songs have images placed within the music that can be seen when you run the song through a scope! A case of having too much time on your hands maybe, but the guy is so innovative and has such an odd image to go with his music that you just don't question it. Of course little quirks do not a good musician make. Both gentlemen add layer upon layer of greatness upon on their tracks and push the boundaries on what you are to expect when it comes to dance and electronic music.

Squarepusher also takes elements from different genres of music and adds them to his unique style, including jazz, ballroom music and funk. He is actually one of the finest bass players you'll hear today, I recommend tracking down some of his bass solos on youtube, you'll be amazed. It's this level of music knowledge and patience that has caused Squarepusher to create one of the finest albums of the past 10 years, ‘Ultravisitor' .

Usually introducing the naysayers to these guys will weald two results, either they'll understand completely, or they'll go "Yeah, but that's just a lot of random noise, not music".

Ugh, narrow minded fools, we had better get more commercial then.

It's those damn robots again!

I cannot do a piece on European dance without mentioning Daft Punk. I see the same thing on a lot of peoples Myspace or Bebo: "I hate dance music…oh, except for Daft Punk." And for good reason too, Daft Punk opened a generations eyes to the wonders of synthesizers and computer programmes. And now, ahem, "thanks" to Busta Rhymes and Kayne West, a new generation are being exposed to Daft Punk. But what is it that makes Daft Punk so loved by so many different music fans? God only knows, but I hope that it's a sign of respect for how fresh they where in the 90's and how they have always managed to keep on their toes and reinvent themselves with each album. But what else do you expect from a pair of robots, other than perfection?

But stop the presses! It's revelation time! As great as Daft Punk are, there are a group of BETTER dance-music making robots! Yes, and they are older models too! And German! I am, of course, talking about the all-mighty, cycling loving group known as Kraftwerk.

Almost every electronic group that has emerged from anywhere on earth has a lot to thank Kraftwerk for. They single handily created a genre, and they set the bar very high. If you want to create a list of the ten most influential acts of all time, for any genre, it would be insulting to leave them out. In 2004, they did the impossible and actually created a great live album, something which almost all electronic artists seem to fail at. See, live, other acts will simple press play on a full 8 tracks and dance around, there is very little soul. Kraftwerk however, put on an amazing live show, one that is as visual interesting as it is aurally. But until last year, it seemed that no one learned from the masters and live dance records where awful. And that's where we come full circle on this section, as last year Daft Punk brought out ‘Alive 2007', which does a Kraftwerk and creates a live performance that has soul. And who says robots don't have souls?

Fuck ‘em and their law

Of course, that's not to say that all other dance acts are rubbish live. It just so happens that the good ones never seem to bring out a live CD or DVD. And anyone who has seen either The Prodigy or The Chemical Brothers live will tell you, we are begging for them to do so. The pioneers of the Big Beat sub-genre of dance, both of these acts come from the same background, have the same fan base, but create a very different kind of noise.

The Chemical Brothers are the masters of making anyone get onto the dance floor. They have the most infectious beats that even the hardest body will have trouble saying no too. The sheer power that comes from behind these guys can be overwhelming, and they, more so than anyone else I have mentioned, embody what dance music is and should strive to be. And they are one of the only acts that can get away with using less then 3 lyrics in a song. Until you have gone into a field with a few thousand people jumping and shouting "Here we go!" at the top of their lungs, you haven't lived.

While The Chemical Brothers can be seen as clean and polished, The Prodigy are the exact opposite. These are the guys who bullied you as a kid and set your dog on fire. They are dirty, loud, and vulgar and take no prisoners…and we fucking love them for it. The band are easily the closest you'll get to a dance act living the rock n'roll lifestyle, and for this they have found a warm place in many a metal fans heart. For many years after they came about, they where still the only dance act bringing rock and metal influences into their tracks, and it's only now that a lot of DJs are trading in their synthesizers for guitars.

The Rock and Rave Infection

(10 points to the first person who gets the above line)

A large number of modern dance acts have embraced rock and indie and are mixing it in with their own stuff. Artists such as Soulwax and Digitalism are leading the charge in this new movement, but a lot of rock and indie acts have returned the favor and added in the spirit to their brands of noise, such as Klaxons, Does it Offend You, Yeah? and Enter Shikari. With all this blending of different genres into dance, and with others finally embracing it, it's an exciting time to discover the world of dance music. Other acts such as France's Justice, England's Hot Chip and Simian Mobile Disco and Ireland's Super Extra Bonus Party are keeping the more traditional spirit of dance music alive and well, thus keeping everyone happy.

So now, it's over to you. You have just become exposed to one of European music's strongest areas. Now, expose me to yours. Maybe there are more North American dance acts that I'm missing out on. Introduce me to some; I have to have something to put me off doing college work.