List of All Genres & Styles

There are more than 13 million unique physical music releases in the Discogs Database. We categorize and connect releases in a few different ways at Discogs: by looking at the musicians who created them, the labels that produced them, the years that define them, and the formats you can find them recorded on. Genres and styles are another way to connect these releases, albeit in a more subjective way. Sometimes these nebulous similarities are geographic in nature; sometimes they are purely stylistic.

The genre and style definitions on Discogs are based on how releases are tagged by Contributors. Few releases have a categorical style, so they are often assigned based on subjectivity. Think about it — how hard is it to accurately describe a piece of music? How many arguments over genres have you had with your friends?

Genres: The umbrella classification that houses different styles. Genres were decided by Discogs Contributors when the Database launched in 2000. They don’t necessarily mirror genres defined by other high-profile sites (for example, Billboard). The genres on Discogs range from hip-hop to classical to stage and screen.

Styles: The more specific term that applies to different kinds of music, grouped together under genres. Discogs Contributors are consistently adding new styles to the Database, and you can too by submitting an official request. A style can be as broad as Ambient, as specific as New Jack Swing, or regional like Norteño.

Below, you’ll find an exhaustive list of all the styles in the Database broken up by their parent genre. We created this so Contributors can compare styles for new releases and as a fun way for you to unearth the different connections between releases. For an even cooler visual tool, check out our map of musical styles by region.

Explore, discover, and, if you have the knowledge to share, consider adding more information to a style page’s description!

Styles by Genre on Discogs

Explore descriptions and popular styles within each genre.

Blues

Boogie Woogie3,434 ReleasesOriginally a piano based blues/jazz instrumental style. It was first recorded during the 1920s so should not be applied to any earlier recordings. There is some debate about which was the earlest boogie recording, but certainly Pine Top Smith was an early exponent of this style. His 1928 recording “Pinetop’s Boogie Boogie” is generally regarded as the first use of the term. There was a boogie woogie “craze” during the late 1930s which saw the style become widely popular and many classic recordings were made at this time (notable performers include Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade “Lux” Lewis). During the 1930s boogie woogie also started to influence other styles of music including big band and country, and many big band and country boogie instrumentals were recorded. During the 1940s the influence of boogie woogie extended further into rhythm & blues and gospel.

Chicago Blues14,807 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Country Blues16,353 ReleasesAlso known as folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues, Country Blues is not a mix of Country music and Blues but designed a kind of acoustic blues rooted in rural places.

Delta Blues7,457 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

East Coast Blues1,079 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Electric Blues17,710 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Harmonica Blues5,261 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Hill Country Blues103 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Jump Blues4,164 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Louisiana Blues4,029 ReleasesLouisiana blues is a genre of blues music that developed in the period after World War II in the state of Louisiana. It is generally divided into two major subgenres, with the jazz-influenced New Orleans blues based on the musical traditions of that city and the slower tempo swamp blues incorporating influences from zydeco and Cajun music from around Baton Rouge.[1] Major artists in the New Orleans tradition include Professor Longhair and Guitar Slim and for swamp blues Slim Harpo and Lightnin’ Slim. Both genres peaked in popularity in the 1960s and were covered by a number of rock artists. Interest declined in the later 1960s but there have been occasional revivals since the 1970s.

Memphis Blues962 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Modern Electric Blues6,682 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Piano Blues7,127 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Piedmont Blues720 ReleasesA predominantly East Coast guitar blues, syncopated in a fashion similar to ragtime and stride piano styles.

Texas Blues5,120 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Brass & Military

Brass Band9,587 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Marches14,470 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Military7,769 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Pipe & Drum1,698 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Children’s

Educational8,361 ReleasesA recording meant to be didactic or instructional. When used in this genre, it must use children as the intended audience of the instruction.

Nursery Rhymes9,603 ReleasesTraditional poems and rhymes for children.

Story30,072 ReleasesA narrated story. It could be a fable, a fairy tale, or any other story with children as the intended audience.

Classical

Baroque80,514 ReleasesBaroque Music is a style of European Classical Music between 1600 to 1750. The baroque era followed the Renaissance period (approx. … In instrumental music the period saw the emergence of the sonata, the suite, and particularly the concerto grosso, as in the music of Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach.

Choral17,294 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Classical121,222 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Contemporary66,238 ReleasesClassical/academic music composed from 1975 onwards. Traditional instruments are sometimes used alongside computers and other electro-acustic devices. Trends include Minimalism, Spectralism, Neo-Romanticism, Atonal etc

Early1,917 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Impressionist9,999 Releasesperiod: Impressionist The term “Impressionist” was first coined in the mid-1870s, as a critically derisive term, of the light- and color-focused paintings of a small band of Paris-based artists, the so-called “Salon des Refusés” (Salon of the Refused) – among them Manet, Renoir, Degas, and especially Monet, whose “Impression, soleil levant” inspired the name. The application of the term to music, from the 1880s, was a rather predictable extension, though most composers to whom it was applied renounced its application – most famously Claude Debussy, who claimed that those critics who apply it to music are “imbeciles”, and that instead he is simply trying to do “something different.” Their protestations notwithstanding, however, there are indeed aesthetic and technical corollaries between visual and musical “impressionism” that can be identified empirically. Most prominent is the notion of “color”. In music, the more conventional term is “timbre”, which is defined largely through orchestration, but likewise through harmonic usage, texture, etc. Creative exploration of musical timbre via orchestration certainly predates the Impressionist period, but it was especially this generation that opened up timbre as a first-tier parameter, to be exploited and pursued in its own right. In orchestral works such as Debussy’s La Mer or Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, unusual usage or combinations of instruments, particularly at soft dynamic levels, are a common feature and give the works a distinctly “coloristic” sound, that would open up new possibilities to later composers. Even in works for solo piano – such as Debussy’s Preludes – new timbres are explored via extremes of register, as well as by unique and “colorful” approaches to harmony and melody. Indeed, it is in the realm of harmony that the Impressionist “sound” is most readily identified: via such techniques as parallel triads, whole-tone scales, blurring of tonal identity, extended or chromatic chords (9ths, 11ths, 13ths), etc. Another corollary between music and painting can be discerned in their mutual fascination with certain “impressionist” themes or topics – such as water, reflection, reverie, etc. More generally, though, artists in both fields were motivated by a desire to break down old conventions in order to explore new methods and techniques; in music this meant turning away from the Romantic-Germanic emphasis on traditional large-scale forms, thematic unity, and development, in favor of smaller, individual forms and work-specific techniques. Beyond the giants of the Impressionist period, Debussy and Ravel, other figures associated with the movement include the French composers Erik Satie and Paul Dukas, the Spaniard Manuel de Falla, and the American Charles Griffes, as well as – to some degree at least – Karol Szymanowski, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Frederick Delius, and Ottavino Resphigi. Among composers hailed as precursors or inspirations to later Impressionist developments include especially Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Scriabin, and Gabriel Fauré, as well as Emmanuel Chabrier and César Franck. Further, Impressionist techniques and sonorities had resurgence among Jazz composers and performers such as Bix Biederbecke, Bill Evans, Gil Evans, and Duke Ellington. Above all, the Impressionist musical language, techniques, and aesthetic had a direct and profound influence on the revolutionary Modern period that followed. Nolan Gasser, PhD Artistic Director – Classical Archive (dot) com

Medieval9,324 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Modern78,292 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Neo-Classical17,132 ReleasesNeoclassical is a subgenre of Dark Wave music that emerged in the early to mid-1980s in the UK. It is characterized by a classical approach based on acoustic instrumentation and electronic sound simulation, often generated by synthesizers and samplers. In the early 1980s, numerous Post-Punk bands showed an interest in art music and classical music but couldn’t achieve the necessary technical proficiency. At the time, Venomettes members Viginia Hewes, Anne Stephenson, and Martin McCarrick − who graduated from Royal College of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama − became influential figures of the British Post-Punk and New Wave scene and started working with a variety of seminal artists, including The Cure, The Glove, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Anne Clark, Marc Almond, This Mortal Coil, Virginia Astley, Peter Murphy, Sex Gang Children, Virgin Prunes, and Skin. The inclusion of traditional music instruments, especially chordophones such as violin, cello, and piano, became a standard for many 1980s Dark Wave productions. Shortly afterwards, UK-based post-punk acts Dead Can Dance and In the Nursery abandoned conventional rock structures in favour of instrumentation, sound simulation, and compositional techniques associated with classical music and film scores, and produced a range of essential full-length works.

Neo-Romantic9,865 ReleasesModern re-interpretation of early 19th century Romanticist ideals in music: high emotionality, folk elements, sometimes nationalism. It can be seen as a reaction to modernist avant-garde of the mid-20th century.

Opera63,350 ReleasesOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (libretto) and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting,scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. It started in Italy at the end of the sixteenth century (with Jacopo Peri’s lost Dafne, produced in Florence in 1598) and soon spread through the rest of Europe.

Operetta9,094 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Oratorio3,594 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Post-Modern5,330 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Renaissance13,309 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Romantic161,672 ReleasesCompared to its predecessors, music from the romantic era is more fluid, emotional, personal, secular, and experimental. It was written more for middle-class audiences, and it heavily influenced film music throughout the 20th Century. Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms represent the more conservative side of romanticism, and Berlioz, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Chopin, Debussy, and Holst represent the more experimental side.

Serial471 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Twelve-tone973 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Zarzuela917 ReleasesSpain’s own style of operetta, grandfather of the Musical, a mix of theatre and sung scenes.

Electronic

Abstract132,368 ReleasesAbstract generally describes a type of electronic music that doesn’t fit into any other category. It is sometimes also referred to as experimental electronic music.

Acid54,255 ReleasesThe Acid tag is usually used in conjunction with other styles like Techno or Trance or Breaks, to indicate those styles of music combined with an “acid” aesthetic. Acid House, however, has its own tag (see below). Pretty much anything that uses a Roland TB-303-type sound in the same way it was used in Acid House music is fair game for getting the Acid tag.

Acid House21,615 ReleasesA form of Chicago house music that emerged in the later 1980’s that is mainly made using a monophonic synthesizer called the Roland TB-303 Bass Line, together with the Roland TR-606 Rhythm Composer drum machine. Differs from classic “Chicago” house in that it’s very hypnotic and repetitive, and usually contains sampled or dub vocals instead of a unique, full vocal song.

Acid Jazz19,123 ReleasesUnlike other “acid” genres, the naming of Acid Jazz had nothing to do with drugs, and was just a joke by the founders of the Acid Jazz record label, who sought to distance themselves from house music and the Acid House craze in particular at the beginning of the 90’s. The popularity of the label and a series of This Is Acid Jazz compilations led to the term being used to describe anything in styles similar to the label’s acts. Acid Jazz music tends to be generally upbeat, “jazzy” pop-funk dance music played by traditional bands, and sometimes by artists who make heavy use of sampling. Often, acid jazz songs consist largely of funky basslines and upbeat hip-hop breaks, with the only improvised element being a melodic solo performance by a single instrument or vocalist.

Ambient303,691 ReleasesAmbient music refers to a kind of music that envelops the listener without drawing attention to itself. The Term is created 1978 by Brian Eno’s AMBIENT 1 “Music for Airports”. Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting. — Brian Eno (Music for Airports liner notes, September 1978).

Ballroom308 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Baltimore Club730 ReleasesA type of sample-heavy breakbeat developed in the late 1980s in Baltimore which combines hip hop with chopped, staccato house music. It is characterized by a having repetitive, looped vocal snippets, and an 8/4 beat structure with tempos of around 130 BPM, and a rather “hurried” feel. The Jersey Club style of breakbeat which arose in northern New Jersey in the 1990s and 2000s was influenced by Baltimore Club.

Bassline3,787 Releases[From the Bassline Wikipedia page] Bassline (sometimes referred to as bassline house, organ house, Niche or 4×4) is a type of music related to UK garage that originated in Sheffield in the early 2000s. Stylistically it comprises a four-to-the-floor rhythm normally at around 135–142 beats per minute, a strong emphasis on bass, and a pop music aesthetic similar to that of its precursor 2-step garage. In the scene’s early days the most prominent bassline club was the Niche nightclub in Sheffield, which became at the centre of controversy due to a police raid which resulted in the club’s closure in 2005. The club reopened in 2009, only to be closed down a year later, and then reopened a third time in 2017. Like grime, which was developing concurrently in London, bassline was associated with violence, anti-social behaviour and criminal activity during the time of its rise to popularity, which contributed to a general lack of willingness among venue owners and the police to accommodate bassline events.

Beatdown1,025 ReleasesBeatdown is a production style that cross pollinates several other genres and styles, but it firmly lives under the Electronic genre as a production style that is almost exclusively used in DJ / Electronic Dance Music productions. The production process involves taking sampled or edited material that has existing drums in it and then adding other drum elements to it by layering them on top of the existing drums. These elements would typically be Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Crash, but could also include Toms and various percussion instruments. The existing drums are greatly diminished by a variety of techniques that include (but are not limited to) EQ & Filtering, while the layering process is aided by Side Chain Compression of the sampled / edited material keyed by the new Kick Drum. The end result is a very thick and full sounding production especially in the low end of the frequency spectrum. You would typically see Beatdown listed (in tandem) on releases with genres & styles like (but not limited to) Disco, Funk, Soul, Boogie, Nudisco, House, Downtempo and Techno, but the production style could be used in almost any style or genre. The production style of Beatdown came to the forefront in the early 2000’s with the Detroit Beatdown Sound featured on “Detroit Beatdown (Volume One)” (2002) on Third Ear Recordings. While artists on the release such as Dwayne Jensen, Rick Wilhite & Mike Clarke using the technique. As a production style, Beatdown had been in use for sometime before that release, most notably in some early House & Hip-Hop. Some artists of note in the House style using it would be Miles Maeda, Johnick, Lance DeSardi, Soul Avengerz and X-Press 2. Beatdown saw an increase in the late 2000’s with the rise of the Nu Disco scene and its second edit wave (the first edit wave occurred during the Disco era of the mid to late 70’s thru the early 80’s). With releases on labels like Sleazy Beats Recordings, Super Value, It’s A Small World Disco, No More Hits, Smokecloud Records, Whiskey Disco, Editorial, Dikso Records & Diner City Sounds. And works from artists like LTJ X-Perience, Eddie C, Sleazy McQueen, Matthew Kyle / No Requests, The Ivory Boy, Rayko, Osmose, Frank Booker, byDesign, The Silver Rider, Cole Medina, B-Jam, Dead Rose Music Company, Hotmood, The Noodleman, Get Down Edits & 78 Edits.

Berlin-School9,576 ReleasesThe Berlin School is a style of electronic music that emerged in the 1970s.[1] An offshoot of Krautrock, Berlin School was so named because most of its early practitioners were based in West Berlin, Germany. It was shaped by artists such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Manuel Gottsching. Innovative Berlin School recordings were a precursor of ambient music. The genre’s identification with space music distinguished it from the more percussive and rhythm-oriented Düsseldorf School, which included Can, Cluster, Kraftwerk, and Neu!. These latter bands have had a greater impact on synthpop and techno, while the Berlin School was a wellspring for ambient, electronica, new-age and trance.

Big Beat18,858 ReleasesBreakbeat that is influenced by acid house. The name refers to the loud, bassy drum beats that make up the songs’ beats and bass lines. It was one of the more commercially successful electronic styles of the 1990s.

Bleep1,291 ReleasesCombining minimalistic aspects of Electro & Detroit Techno with rhythmic Acid House patterns and characterised by heavy sub bass and sparse electronic melodies, Bleep was one of the earliest subgenres or styles within electronic dance music. Originating in the North of England, Bleep is sometimes referred to as Yorkshire Bleep or Yorkshire Bleep and Bass. Bleep in this particular style of music began in 1988 and lasted until 1991. “The Theme” by “Unique 3” released on Chill records in 1988 is widely hailed as the first Bleep tune.

Breakbeat91,794 ReleasesBreakbeat is a primarily UK-based style that existed alongside and quickly became infused into hardcore rave/techno music, in turn leading to faster, more complex [jungle](https://www.discogs.com/style/jungle) and [hardcore](https://www.discogs.com/style/hardcore) music. Breakbeat is characterized by a prominent, syncopated 4/4 rhythm constructed from breakbeats—i.e., sampled drum breakdowns from [rock](https://www.discogs.com/genre/rock), [jazz](https://www.discogs.com/genre/jazz), [funk](https://www.discogs.com/style/funk), and [hip-hop](https://www.discogs.com/genre/hip+hop) music. Unlike jungle, breakbeat has very little variation or rearrangement of the drum patterns, and it is usually slower/mid-tempo, roughly 100 to 125 BPM, speeding up as the style evolved into jungle. The “Golden Age” of breakbeat was the early 1990s. Some Discogs users apply the Breakbeat tag to any release that utilizes breakbeat samples, but such usage is contentious, especially for releases outside the 1988–1993 timeframe; the tag was originally intended to refer specifically to the pre-jungle/pre-hardcore music that was actually called breakbeat, or as a way to differentiate breakbeat-based techno from non-breakbeat-based. There is no tag specifically for “beats and breaks” types of releases intended for DJs and music producers, nor is there a tag for other forms of dance music that contain funky drum breaks (aside from Breaks), regardless of whether it is made with samples, tape loops, drum machines, or played live. Some Discogs users nevertheless use Breaks and Breakbeat tags on these types of records, going back as far as 1982 for the first Jive Rhythm Trax release.

Breakcore18,835 ReleasesTypically fast (180BPM+), loud and distorted breakbeats. Songs structure is often non-linear: the breakbeats don’t stay the same throughout the song like in drum n bass for example, but rather different breaks are chopped, changed and mashed together. Samples from any spectrum of pop culture (Hollywood movies, Anime, video games, pop music) are also common, and Ragga-Breakcore with the reggae samples is a popular sub-genre.

Breaks74,241 ReleasesBreaks is a primarily a mid-1990s to mid-2000s style combining elements of progressive house and trance, but with syncopated percussion patterns which are electro and/or breakbeat sample-based. Sub-styles include Funky Breaks, PsyBreaks, Florida Breaks, Progressive Breaks, and Nu Skool Breaks. The breaks sound was very popular at raves in California, Florida, New York City, and the UK. It is not closely connected to the UK breakbeat/proto-jungle scene of the early ’90s, for which the Breakbeat tag is applicable. The Breaks tag often appears in conjunction with the Acid tag. The Breaks tag is also often used for some slower dance music styles based on very prominent breakbeat samples, often with a hip-hop/scratch-DJ influence, but generally steering clear of the aforementioned scenes and styles. This strain of breaks starts as early as 1987 with releases by Criminal Element Orchestra and Bomb The Bass, includes classic early ’90s releases by Depth Charge and Fatboy Slim, and continues to the present day. There is no tag specifically for “beats and breaks” types of releases intended for DJs and music producers, nor is there a tag for other forms of dance music that contain funky drum breaks (aside from Breakbeat), regardless of whether it is made with samples, tape loops, drum machines, or played live. Some Discogs users nevertheless use Breaks and Breakbeat tags on these types of records, going back as far as 1982 for the first Jive Rhythm Trax release.

Broken Beat16,187 ReleasesA melting-pot genre distinguished by its avoidance of a bass-heavy kick drum hitting on every beat; the kick patterns are lighter and syncopated with prominent staccato claps or snares. Other than its lack of steady kick drum, it often sounds more like jazzy deep house with hints of drum & bass. It was most popular in the mid-2000s.

Chillwave7,304 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Chiptune15,545 ReleasesChiptune (also commonly referred to as “chipmusic,” “chipstyle music,” or “8-bit music,” despite often involving sounds characteristic of post-8-bit systems) is a subset of electronic music created using the primitive / raw sound synthesis characteristic of early generation home computer & video game hardware. This can be achieved through modern musicmaking tools, through the original home computing / gaming consoles themselves (often making use of homebrew software and/or hardware), or a combination of the two. Some platforms commonly adopted for this style of music include home computers such as the Commodore 64, Atari ST series, and ZX Spectrum; and gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Genesis, the Nintendo Game Boy, and so forth. What most of these devices have in common is that they predate the era of home computers & gaming platforms capable of sampled audio playback; instead they relied on dedicated onboard soundchips for all audio, sound effects, and music, providing (by today’s standards) fairly simple realtime audio synthesis, with limited timbral range and polyphony generally limited to as few as three voices. Chiptune is generally considered distinct from VGM (video game music), insofar as chiptune is often stylistically and conceptually removed from the music typical of games. Of course this line can often be blurry, and the two have considerable overlap.

Dance-pop41,084 ReleasesUptempo music influenced by post-disco, synth-pop, new wave and house, characterised by strong beats and uncomplicated song structures with an emphasis on catchiness and melody. Generally produced with the intention of being both danceable and suitable for contemporary hit radio. Dance-pop should not be confused with eurodance, which in fact contains elements of techno, hi-NRG and euro disco.

Dark Ambient55,861 ReleasesDark ambient (in the 1980s also referred to as ambient industrial) is a genre of post-industrial music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones, some of which were heavily inspired by elements of ambient music. The term was coined in the early 1990s by Roger Karmanik to describe the music of Raison d’être and is strongly associated with the Cold Meat Industry record label.

Darkwave25,687 ReleasesDark Wave, also written as one word, is a term coined in the mid-’80s (probably by [EFA Distribution](http://www.discogs.com/label/2444-EFA)) to describe the dark and melancholy side of New Wave and Post-Punk music. It was applied to guitar-oriented bands such as [Cyan Revue](http://www.discogs.com/artist/560651-Cyan-Revue), [Leningrad Sandwich](http://www.discogs.com/artist/323691-Leningrad-Sandwich), [Joy Division](http://www.discogs.com/artist/3898-Joy-Division), [Fields of the Nephilim](http://www.discogs.com/artist/85994-Fields-Of-The-Nephilim), [The Mission](http://www.discogs.com/artist/99925-The-Mission) but also synthesizer-based New Wave artists such as [Attrition](https://www.discogs.com/artist/15562-Attrition), [Psyche](http://www.discogs.com/artist/43418-Psyche-2), [In The Nursery](https://www.discogs.com/artist/23686-In-The-Nursery) and [Clan Of Xymox](https://www.discogs.com/artist/58955-Clan-Of-Xymox). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a second generation of dark wave bands appeared, primarily in Germany, in particular [Deine Lakaien](http://www.discogs.com/artist/45013-Deine-Lakaien), [Girls Under Glass](https://www.discogs.com/artist/68602-Girls-Under-Glass) and [Das Ich](https://www.discogs.com/artist/36930-Das-Ich). These were followed by a a group of artists around the [Projekt](https://www.discogs.com/label/2905-Projekt) and [Tess Records](https://www.discogs.com/label/37392-Tess-Records) labels in the US who developed a more ethereal sound, including [This Ascension](https://www.discogs.com/artist/114195-This-Ascension), [Faith And The Muse](https://www.discogs.com/artist/105840-Faith-and-the-Muse), [black tape for a blue girl](https://www.discogs.com/artist/84056-black-tape-for-a-blue-girl) and [Lycia](https://www.discogs.com/artist/97667-Lycia) (both labels also released material by Attrition and Clan of Xymox, respectively). Styles that have often been associated with the term include Gothic Rock, Cold Wave, Synth-Wave, Neofolk, Ethereal and Neoclassical (cf. ‘Heavenly Voices’).

Deep House156,122 ReleasesThe term “deep house” has been used with (at least) two distinct meanings: Originally, the term was roughly synonymous with “soulful house”. Deep house, in this sense, is house music influenced by jazz, soul, and gospel. Vocals (both male and female) are common, and lyrical themes include positivity, community, love, self-belief, and overcoming hardship. Overly synthetic sounds are downplayed, in favor of pianos, organs, horns, bass guitar, etc. Tracks sometimes follow more of a conventional verse-chorus-verse structure than other forms of house. In the 2010s, “deep house” has been applied to a newer style of house that tends toward the dreamy, laid-back, subdued, atmospheric, reflective, and minimalistic. (This sense of the term is roughly synonymous with “lo-fi house”.)

Deep Techno7,492 ReleasesRelatively wide sub genre with focusing on ambient, sometimes dancing and almost always low-end aspects. Lays in styles from dub techno to abstract IDM. Especially good at proper soundsystem with no lights.

Disco376,938 ReleasesOne of the main genres of dance music of the XX century, which arose in the early 1970s.

Disco Polo2,760 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Donk3,325 ReleasesDonk, or Hard Bounce, is a sub-style of UK Hard House featuring an upbeat, energetic sound and a heavy focus on the ‘pipe’ sample as an offbeat bassline.

Doomcore1,568 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Downtempo211,321 ReleasesDowntempo (or downbeat) music is associated with a variety of different Discogs genres including electronic, jazz, rock, and some world music. It is generally 50 to 90 BPM, and sometimes there is not even any overt percussion in the music. The Downtempo tag was originally intended to refer to 1990s–2000s chillout or lounge music that has a slow, rolling, hip-hop or dub-inspired groove with sampled beats, and which can be broadly categorized as primarily jazzy, primarily dubby, or both. However, as downtempo is loosely defined, it has become an umbrella term for a broad selection of music with moody tones, chilling to passionate vocals, crossover indie vibes, and mellow beats. Usage of the Downtempo tag for music from before c. 1989 or as a generic tempo descriptor is likely to be contentious.

Drone74,504 ReleasesMusic style characterized by the use of sustained sounds and notes. Originally, a drone is a low-pitched sound supporting the main patterns of the musical piece, most typically in bagpipes. In its purest form, a drone music piece will consist of a few notes continued for several tens of minutes with only very slow distortions (for instance, The Hafler Trio’s Trilogy, Cleave, No Man Put Asunder and No More Twain, Of One Flesh). Drones are also used in Doom Metal, where the bass line remains unchanged for several minutes while sometimes lacking any tempo (for instance, Earth and Sunn O)))). Drones also feature in Noise and other experimental recordings, where the hypnotic and sometimes jarring effects of sustained notes are applied to the listener for an extended period of time (for instance, Nackt Insecten’s Sick Animal Eyes, Time Machines’ self-titled album, and Keiji Haino and Sitaar Tah!’s collaborative album, Animamima.)

Drum n Bass143,128 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Dub92,737 ReleasesDub is a genre that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s, developed in the 1970’s, and is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. The style consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually through the removal of vocals, emphasis of the rhythm section (the stripped-down drum-and-bass track), the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works. It was an early form of popular electronic music.

Dub Techno20,695 ReleasesIncorporates main elements of Minimal Techno and Dub. Usually characterized by a deep, repetitive bass line with minimal percussion and deep synth stabs.

Dubstep50,495 ReleasesDubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London, England, that generally features syncopated drum and percussion patterns with bass lines that contain prominent sub bass frequencies. The tempo is usually around 140 BPM and the snare will hit down on the third beat, this makes dubstep easily mixed with 70 or 140 BPM tunes. It emerged in the late 1990s as a development within a lineage of related styles such as 2-step garage, broken beat, drum and bass, jungle, dub and reggae. According to urban legend, the term dubstep was coined in 2002 by [Ammunition Promotions](http://www.discogs.com/label/309132-Ammunition-Promotions-Ltd) in a press release sent to [XLR8R magazine](https://www.xlr8r.com/). In the UK the origins of the genre can be traced back to the growth of the Jamaican sound system party scene in the early 1980s.

Dungeon Synth7,842 ReleasesDungeon synth (also known as fantasy music) is an Ambient genre that emerged in the early 1990s, stylistically related to orchestral Soundtracks, particularly Film Score music. Where the purpose of a film score is to set the mood accompanying visual scenery, dungeon synth can be considered a similar concept using sound only, making it a ‘score without a film’. In this sense, the genre is a highly narrative form of music, with “scenes” that are played out in almost theatrical fashion. Synthesizers and keyboards are the primary instruments of choice, with vocals, samples and acoustic instruments also frequently used. Pioneered by artists such as Mortiis, Burzum and Pazuzu, the intention of dungeon synth is generally to evoke settings of fantasy and adventure, drawing inspiration from European mythology, fantasy writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, fairy tales, as well as role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. Dark Ambient music, Western Classical Music and Darkwave are often cited as influences for the mood and atmosphere of dungeon synth. The style is also used in the soundtracks of some Video Game Music with medieval or dungeon-based settings, often being blended with Bit Music.

EBM35,603 ReleasesElectronic body music (EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of disco and dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Germany and Belgium and came to prominence in Belgium at the end of the decade. EBM was generally considered a part of the European new wave and post-punk movement and the first style that blended synthesized sounds with an ecstatic style of dancing (e.g. pogo). In the second half of the 1980s, a youth-cultural scene emerged from EBM whose followers describe themselves as EBM-heads or (in North America) as rivetheads.

Electro288,028 ReleasesA style that began as an early form of hip-hop, Electro has grown to encompass anything that uses the classic, electronic, syncopated beat found on tracks like “Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa or “White Lines” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, or as popularized by Herbie Hancock’s “RockIt”. Electro is also applied retroactively to some of the music of Kraftwerk, particularly “Numbers” and “Home Computer”—forward-looking, danceable electronic tracks which were highly regarded in early hip-hop culture. Aside from the distinctive rhythm pattern, Electro is often distinguished by an emphasis on synthesizers, vocoders, and dry, syncopated/”funky” drum sounds (as opposed to the monotonous, low-pitch bass drum of house and techno). In contrast to typical hip-hop approach of mining funky beats and warm basslines from old vinyl and emphasizing a rap vocal, the Electro vibe is more about producing new, cold, heavily synthetic-sounding beats and minimal basslines, with chanted vocals, extended instrumental passages, and minor-key lead synth themes. The funky side of Electro can include sung vocals, is also known as Electro-Funk, and was a basis of the freestyle genre (initially “Latin hip-hop”). The Techno side of Electro is rooted in the music of Cybotron and Model 500, and was defined more fully in the ’90s by artists such as Drexciya and Anthony Rother. The term or prefix Electro is also applied to synth-pop and industrial dance music with little or no hip-hop connection, but which just incorporated similarly styled beat patterns, instrumentation, and overall feel. In recent years, club and mainstream dance music has been infiltrated by a more modern and rock-influenced sound, now known as “Electro-House” and sometimes just referred to as Electro. This sound usually features a loud, four to the floor kickdrum with melodies and basslines remeniscent of 80’s synth-pop. As with Electroclash and in contrast with pure Electro, Electro-House is often dominated by lead synths or samples which use distortion as a characteristic effect; examples include some of the music of Justice or Kavinsky. On Discogs, Electro is a style tag in both the Electronic and Hip Hop genres. If in doubt which genre applies, ask in the Database Forum. During one of the major updates of the Discogs back end, Electronic genre releases with no style tag were given the tag Electro automatically. This resulted in many releases being tagged as Electro in error.

Electro House52,979 ReleasesElectro house is a music genre characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. Its origins were influenced by tech house and electro. Electro-house is typified by its heavy bass. This is often in the form of buzzing basslines, such as those created with sawtooth waves and distortion. It is also often in the form of large bass drum sounds in a four-on-the-floor pattern. The tempo of electro house is usually between 125 and 135 beats per minute. Electro house sometimes resembles tech house, but it can contain melodic elements and electro-influenced samples and synths.

Electro Swing81 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Electroacoustic1,409 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Electroclash2,321 ReleasesElectroclash fuses electro, techno, synth-pop, new wave, punk and performance art. Early examples of the style include Miss Kittin & The Hacker’s Champagne! E.P. and I-f’s “Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass”. DJ Larry Tee, who coined the term, and DJ Hell, whose International Deejay Gigolo Records label was home to many of the acts, helped create a cohesive scene in the early 2000s. The term is particularly associated with acts such as Miss Kittin & The Hacker, Fischerspooner, Tiga, and Goldfrapp. Towards the middle of the 2000s, elements of the sound became popular in mainstream music with artists such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue releasing material with an electroclash sound.

Euro House155,553 ReleasesEuro House emerged in the late 1980s as a style of vocal House music from the European continent. The style originated in songs with strong influences from Dance-pop on a House music background. It developed in parallel with Eurodance (which distinguishes itself by a high BPM and influences from Techno and Hi-NRG) throughout the 1990s and several Euro House bands, such as Cappella and 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor, were also dedicated to Eurodance or Italodance.

Euro-Disco9,793 ReleasesEuro-disco generally refers to disco-pop songs that have a strong influence from Italo-disco yet do not originate from Italy. The term suggests a relation to Europe as a whole, although most songs belonging to this genre are overwhelmingly German productions Just like Italo-disco, it includes mixing electronic sounds and disco rhythms together with a strong synth prominence to create a bittersweet tune accompanied by vocals which are often contemporary-themed. This style heavily dominated the German music industry during the mid-1980’s and gained popularity in several other European countries such as France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Although it fell into obscurity in the 1990’s, its influence lived on through the following genres such as Eurodance, Europop, Eurobeat etc.

Eurobeat7,491 ReleasesEarly Eurobeat from the 1980’s were mainly produced by the Italians, as well as many of the Stock, Aitken & Waterman productions. It includes many elements of Italo-disco and Hi NRG and comprised of a much slower pace when compared to the newer Eurobeat still being produced by the Italians for the Japanese market which has a very fast BPM, with some in between releases still using the more traditional “slower” BPMs as used in the 1980’s Eurobeat. Much of the Eurobeat produced in the late 80’s and early 90’s began to transform and branch off from the traditional Eurobeat by incorporating many new influences such as Italo house music, techno, and Eurodance.

Eurodance26,867 ReleasesPopular in nightclubs during the 1990s, particularly in Europe. Very formulaic, Eurodance makes heavy use of synthesizers: strong basslines, pounding beats, with a set tempo anywhere between 90 and 160 beats per minute, but usually in the 120-150 range. A typical song will have male rappers sing the verses and female singers perform the chorus, but variations are not rare. Eurodance was at its peak from 1993 to the early 2000s, with acts such as Snap!, Technotronic, Corona, Masterboy, Cappella, DJ BoBo, Real McCoy and Culture Beat being amongst the most popular names. The style was born out of cross-influence between various styles, including Hip Hop, House, Techno, Hi-NRG, Euro Disco and Italo Disco. A bulk of the production of the era was made in Italy and Germany. Entering the 2000s, the style changed drastically and branched out to be associated with new subgenres, including Italodance and Hands Up, while sometimes still being called Eurodance. Eurodance is sometimes confused with the related Euro House, which in fact draws influences from Dance-pop, rather than Techno and Hi-NRG.

Experimental454,546 ReleasesExperimental music consciously deviates from established musical norms (of a particular genre, or of music in general). Music of almost any genre can be considered experimental – but the term is most associated with the more abstract and challenging strains of electronic music, jazz, and the modernist avant-garde of the mid-20th century. Experimental music might explore new compositional techniques (e.g., John Cage’s use of the I Ching, or Steve Reich’s process music), new musical forms (e.g., drone music or free improvisation), unusual instruments (e.g., the theremin, or Harry Partch’s homemade instruments), extramusical sounds (e.g., musique concrète or Matmos), “extended technique” (playing instruments in unusual ways – e.g., Cage’s prepared piano), microtonal scales, minimalism (e.g., lowercase music), unexpected stylistic fusions, abrasive timbres and rhythms, or any other aspect of music. As such, “experimental music” isn’t really a single style with a distinct sound. It’s more of a sensibility: an effort to explore new musical frontiers, and to expand the boundaries of musical experience.

Footwork527 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Freestyle18,669 ReleasesHeavily Latin-influenced club music created in Miami and New York clubs in the mid-1980’s. A later progression of electro, it was characterized by a syncopated beat (as opposed to a typical 4/4 beat found in rock & disco music). Also featured heavy use of Latino instruments in the rhythm track (e.g., clave, maracas).

Funkot295 ReleasesFunkot / Hardfunk is a fast & pumpin dance music genre originated from Indonesia and begin to grow audience there in the early 2000s. It’s key signatures are funky drum pattern, pumpin bassline, atmospheric synths & heavy use of voice samples. Other common characteristic is the groove flow that feels quite similar to locally-popular dangdut music, also originated from Indonesia. Funkot/Hardfunk was born initially as an experiment by some Indonesia’s early generation DJs/Producers such as Jockie Saputra, Krazy Sandy & Tommy Fans. Jockie Saputra exhibited some early funkot form with his creative live-mixing and loop sampling skills which in one example he performed with live-remix of “Kolam Susu” in mid 1990’s. Later he will remix many popular dub ,soulfull & classic house music either live or digitally to became sounded more “funky” or “urban”. Tommy Fans & Krazy Sandy mostly well known for several original tracks with unique beat model (later become one of funkot’s basic beat model) such as “Lenong Groove” & “Soon Da”. Tommy Fans particularly was the most advanced thinking and professional equiped music creator in Indonesia at that time. Many yet-to-become future producers looked up to these early legends as their inspirations and also tutors. With the arrival of hard house and hard trance to Indonesia in the late 1990’s, fast & powerful dance music became increasingly more popular than conventional house music. In this particular period few creative producers such as C2 frequently modified several parts of a popular club song (chorus part for example) by replacing the usual 4/4 kick pattern with funky drum pattern & also sometimes modified the bassline to dangdut style bass. These remix method proved to be very well received by most Indonesian partygoers at the time due to its culturally familiar sound result. This modification extended over time from partial to eventually entire song utilizised various sampled materials from many classic hits such as percussion loop, instrumentals and voice phrases makes it a new unique bootleg genre. While some DJs still mention this kind of music as “House Music” or “Funky House”, most Indonesians acknowledged this genre as “Funky Kota” or simply “Funkot” due to its origin of popularity (and producers) at “Kota” district in Jakarta, the city’s dance music & nightlife central area. However nowadays alternative names are also used such as “Hardfunk” or “Funkcore” which eliminates “Kota” word thus give it more relation with the actual content rather than geographic refference. Because general club tracks in early 2000s have a universal tempo range (around 140BPM – 160BPM) means almost every song existed technically could be remixed to a club track. And because funkot in particular was not bound with any existing genre’s characteristics meaning it was a more versatile and interesting new option for a remix. Many amateur & already existed producers applied funkot remix to various pop hits at the time & also reworked classic dance hits which met by overwhelmingly positive response from the crowd. The tempo itself continued to increase every year (influenced mostly from the booming & popularity of ecstassy which makes the user always wanted to go faster and harder) until in recent state reach 180BPM as its basic tempo and sometimes featured a 130BPM downtempo section if the remix material couldn’t fit perfectly in 180BPM. Although most early funkot production quality were deemed pretty bad by today standards (both technical and creative aspects) that didn’t stop the trend to keep continue gained mass popularity in Indonesia until around year 2010. The genre itself keep changing forms and adapt many new music trends from all over the world, with its leading pioneer Jockie Saputra became its first main developer with his iconic pumping percussion sound and fat bassline style. Other brainchilds of the genre include some of the most creative minds in Indonesian funkot scene such as DJ Abaz, DJ Andi, DJ Ronny, DJ Roy B, DJ Apin, DJ Nicko, DJ Dealy and many more (later including their proteges) helped to develop the genre in their respectively distinct style and signatures. In their hands the genre reached its peak popularity and creative performance. Unfortunately until then this genre had not yet recognized outside Indonesia mainly due to poor management and lack of proper promotion skills of the producers. In most cases many independent individuals self-published their own tracks or remixes, even the ones officially published by record label were not distributed or promoted very well. Resulting in degrading production quality and image. Lately due to the extensive efforts of well designed promotion and constructive interactions between some Indonesian Funkot pioneers and other producers worldwide the genre already started to recognized by several small community groups in related countries such as Japan, India, US, Myanmar etc, and so far it generally received positive responses. Ironically while it seems to start blossom in some countries it actually begin to lost significant popularity in its own birthplace Indonesia. The main cause beside introduction of new fresh genre is funkot considered dated right now by most Indonesians after aired for more than 10 years whilst in other countries it is still a fresh and exciting new stuff. Some producers from other countries are even already active producing their own version of Funkot. The light may already started to dim at home but the story is just about to begin in other places. For those creative minds everywhere the limit of what this genre can do is endless. As for the ones who from the very beginning dedicated their career for decades to developing and bring this genre till this point, it sure will always has a special place in their hearts.

Future Jazz28,654 ReleasesArising in the second half of the 1990s and also called nu jazz, Future Jazz is higher tempo, less funky, and less live performance-oriented than acid jazz. It has stronger influences of Brazilian and Latin jazz styles, although it rarely uses horns. It often comes from producers influenced by drum & bass.

Gabber24,416 ReleasesStyle of hardcore born in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) in the early 90s as a counter-reaction towards the house scene of Amsterdam with its luxurious clubs and snobby clubgoers. Sometimes the music and its culture are linked to soccer hooliganism and the extreme right movement, and not completely without a reason, for these subcultures do possess similar characteristic elements. Also known and referred to as gabba, hardcore or gabberhouse. “Gabber” (Dutch) translates to “mate” and a similar word can be found on many Germanic languages. The most prominent and distinctive feature of gabber is a repetitive 4×4 kick drum that is usually created by a drum machine (such as Roland TR-909) or by sampling and which is then distorted/edited to bring a gabber song the distinguishable melodic bass tone. With such a bass drum, an additional or a separate bassline is seldom used. Drum fills occur oftentimes at the middle/end of each pattern. Almost as important to a gabber song is the wet-reverberated clap accompanied with a snare drum and open hi-hat. These aforementioned sounds can be played in between the kick drums, as well. Also vocal samples from rap and contemporary pop music & movies, musical loops from other subgenres of electronical dance music such as techno and trance, guitar riffs from rock/heavy music and drum loops & breakbeats are used. As drum n bass – breaking through from the UK – gained popularity worldwide, especially in the Netherlands this was reflected as a heavy use of the so-called “Amen break” in gabber productions around ’95. It is common in gabber music to play the (vocal) samples, synths and drum loops on two different octaves. All these things contribute to the drive, dynamics and the hefty, bouncing rhythm of this style. Alongside the Netherlands, gabber was and is still mostly produced and released in Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy and USA. The BPM-range varies from 130 to 230. In the heyday of gabber music (1993–1998) the leading trend was a tempo of 170–190 BPM. Towards the end of the 90s gabber of the newstyle/new school started to emerge with sounds and aesthetics leaning more towards the world of doomcore, hardcore techno and hard house instead of the traditional inspiration and influence from hard trance, (happy) hardcore and jungle/drum n bass. The Dutch sound turned into something much darker, sinister and less melodic. German gabber, on the other hand, had always been from the darker and less happy side. The mid-90s German sound was also notably faster compared to the rest of the Europe’s, bringing its ties closer to the birth of speedcore along with certain American artists. Summa summarum — gabber is the outcome from the fusion of the undergournd rave culture in Europe: the Dutch techno, the faster Belgian beats, the hardcore sound of Germany, and the whole unbridled acid house legacy from the United States, infused all together with massive sampling from the world of the contemporary pop culture and tongue-in-cheek usage of profanities à la rap acappellas that give this genre its wonderfully whacky signature imprint not far way from the realm of novelty music, in terms of certain sincerity and off-the-wall innovativity. Significant parties: Thunderdome, Goliath, Megarave, Masters of Hardcore.

Garage House38,817 ReleasesWhile classic (Chicago) house music has a very strong funk influence, Garage House music is heavily influenced by soul music. It’s more vocally and melody driven (as opposed to beat driven), and may be noted as having a disco influence as well. This style was popular in the early 1990s, up to and including around 1994. In the European record shops, it was one the first style available on the market due to the better distribution from New-Yorker labels as Nervous Records or Strictly Rhythm on the club circuit. A good Chicago answer was held by Cajmere on his label Cajual Records.

Ghetto4,372 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Ghetto House1,342 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Ghettotech724 ReleasesA style of Electronic Music which originated in Detroit in the late 1990s. Its sound combines elements of the ghetto house style of Chicago with electro, Detroit techno, Miami bass, and UK garage. It is often faster than other dance music styles, and utilizes repetitive, gritty vocals along with fast-paced mixing and turntablism. A style of dancing, known as the jit (akin to Chicago’s Juke dance style), is marked by its fast footwork, corresponding to ghettotech’s typically quick tempos, which is typically 145 to 160 BPM, with a bassy 4/4 (four-on-the-floor) beat structure.

Glitch24,231 ReleasesAn electronic music style taking advantage of the characteristics of glitchy electronics or other components used in a process to make sound. Examples include; CD drive hum, Skipping records, etc.

Glitch Hop580 ReleasesGlitch hop is a style of electronic music that combines the mid-tempo beats and rhythms of hip hop with the heavily processed electronic sounds and intentional use of unintended malfunctioning or abused audio sounds of glitch. Glitch hop started to rise in popularity in the mid-2000s with early releases from solo members of The Glitch Mob (Boreta, edIT, Ooah & Kraddy), Machinedrum, Prefuse 73, Tipper and others. The release of The Glitch Mob’s debut album Drink The Sea in 2010 marked a turning point for glitch hop, with many new artists releasing glitch hop tracks alongside other popular styles of dance and bass music of the time, including dubstep, drum & bass and house. Glitch hop spiked in popularity in the mid-2010s as the style became more influenced by mainstream electronic dance music and has since been declining in popularity as most artists have moved on to other styles.

Goa Trance13,753 ReleasesThe term Goa Trance was first used in 1994 and changed in 1996 for Psy Trance. In the beginning the terms Goa and Psychedelic became intermingled, with the full term being Psychedelic Goa Trance, later as the sound progressed after 1998-1999 the term Goa was used only in reference of the old pre1999 sound and releases. According to Goa legend DJ Chicago in an interview in mushroom magazine “… it started being known as both Goa Trance and Psychedelic Trance somewhere in the mid 90s. As i remember they were interchangeable”. Psychedelic Trance along with its sub genres was what inherited the continuity of the Goa term. The first specific labels were Dragonfly Records that edited in August 93 the compilation Project II Trance & Underground French-Kommunication. Then a lot of “Goa” labels were founded in London : TIP , Platipus, Matsuri, Flying Rhino, Blue Room Released, Bomm Records, CelticRecords, Sirius Records, Phantasm & Symbiosis Records. This explosion of labels in London was possible after Paul Oakenfold gave to the Goa sound legitimacy on « The Essential Mix », a popular Radio show on BBC Radio 1. Meanwhile in Germany, Goa artists were diffused via classical Trance labels like Gaia Tonträger, Tunnel Records, Polytox Records, Spirit Zone Recordings and Eye Q Records and the style became also very popular in Israel with groups like Astral Projection or Infected Mushroom. Lots of Goa Trance fans consider the 12″ “Etnica Tribute” as a milestone of the style. In 1998 the scene got another direction more dark & repetitive like Techno. So this style of “Goa Trance” is in fact the Psy Trance. Goa Trance is played in tempo around 130-150 bpm . This kind of Trance is hypnotic, with pulsing melodies, floating basslines and use a lot of Mid-Asiatic musical phrasing. A popular element of Goa trance is the use of samples, often from science fiction movies & all that refeer to esoterism. Most of the technology used was popular analogue synthesizers. Another caracteristic from the style is that the Djs used DAT players to execute theirs sets, because they’re more practical to travel and less sensitive to the beach sand. While the DAT didn’t have a pitch control system the mix between the songs was very short and not necessary in the tempo. Another “Goa” tradition is to make a blank between the sets so the dj’s can estimate their popularity by the dancers applause level.

Grime14,024 ReleasesGrime is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of earlier UK electronic music styles, including UK garage and jungle, and draws influence from dancehall, ragga, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated breakbeats, generally around 140 bpm, and often features an aggressive or jagged electronic sound. Rapping is also a significant element of the style, and lyrics often revolve around gritty depictions of urban life. The style initially spread among pirate radio stations (such as Rinse FM) and underground scenes before achieving some mainstream recognition in the UK during the mid-2000s through artists such as Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Lethal Bizzle, and Wiley. Other prominent artists include; P Money, Ghetts, Jme, Skepta, Stormzy, The Streets and grime crews such as Boy Better Know, Newham Generals, Roll Deep, and Ruff Sqwad. In the mid-2010s, grime began to receive popular attention in Australia. The genre has been described as the “most significant musical development within the UK for decades.”

Halftime1,466 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Hands Up4,404 ReleasesHands Up (sometimes stylized as Handz Up! or HandzUp!, also known as Dancecore in East Europe) originated during the early 2000s in Germany and various other parts of Europe. In its original incarnation, it was characterized by strong bass drums, pitch shifted vocals and 1970s disco like synths. Cascada, Groove Coverage and Italobrothers some of this scene’s most popular acts. Nowadays (post-2010), Hands Up is a thriving genre with many artists and record labels. It is today considered an alternative form of hardstyle. Hands up producers/projects: https://www.discogs.com/lists/Hands-up-producersprojects/283178 Hands up labels/series: https://www.discogs.com/lists/Hands-up-labelsseries/283169

Happy Hardcore35,106 ReleasesHappy hardcore is a genre of electronic music originally developed in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands. It is present mainly in the UK, Europe, the North American continent and Australia. In the UK, the genre emerges in the early 1990s and is originally characterized by breakbeat sound samples and variants of other musical styles such as hip hop and italohouse. Subsequently in 1996 the genre divided into two distinct sub-genres, the first focusing on the breakbeat and the second containing the codes of hardcore techno, characterized by a line of semi-distorted kicks 4/4. In 1995, the first happy hardcore singles such as I Wanna Be A Hippy and Wonderful Days, and Dutch groups Technohead and Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo, respectively, enter the national music charts and give a first timid media popularity to the genre. In 1997, happy hardcore reaches its peak of popularity in mainly British and Dutch markets through the growth in sales of music compilations like Bonkers UK, the Dutch Thunderdome and Happy 2b Hardcore in Canada, as well as the fact that many singles of the genre appear in international music charts. However, in 1998, the genre begins to decline sharply and much of the public believes it to be ‘dead’. In the early 2000s however, it revives partially in the form of a new related genus reworked named UK hardcore, mainly directed towards the euphoric trance.

Hard Beat511 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Hard House50,472 ReleasesA style of Electronic Dance Music that started to appear in, or slightly after the mid 1990’s. As with many other other styles of House Music it shares that ‘four on the floor’ beat (4/4 beat) but often featuring off beat bass stabs. Typically has a fast tempo (around 145-150 BPM). Early tracks often incorporated crowd chanting samples, a synth sound known as ‘hoover’, lengthy drum rolls and long breaks devoid of percussion. The later tracks would often have lengthy intro and outro drum and percussion for DJ mixing. It’s origins can be traced back to clubs in the UK gay scene such as Trade. The style started to spread across to the straight scene from the early 2000s with club nights such as Tidy, Sundissential and Storm. DJ’s/Producers such as former Trade resident Tony De Vit & Ian M, BK, Andy Farley, Andy Pickles & Amadeus Mozart (Tidy Boys), Lisa lashes, Rachel Auburn and Lisa Pin-Up. Subsequentially Hard House record labels were formed such as Tidy Trax, Nukleuz, Jump Wax Records, and Tripoli Trax. *Confusingly the term Hard House is sometimes used in reference to the House tracks that were being released in the US prior to the term being adopted in the UK. Typically a ‘harder’ sounding House style coming out of New York city.

Hard Techno6,454 ReleasesAt the end of the 1990s, fueled by the Schranz movement, a new, extremely hard style of Techno became popular, which is now generally referred to as Hardtechno. This style runs at very high bpm, usually 150 or more and features heavy distortion and prominent kickdrum. Not to get confused with Dark Techno. Many affluent mainstream Techno listeners often regard the darker variant of it as being called Hard Techno. It should not be confused with the new-coming Industrial/Early Techno sound produced by artists like I Hate Models or AIROD which often goes around 135-140 BPM. The BPM often makes a great difference and Hard Techno oscillates around 150 BPM or higher—as mentioned above.

Hard Trance66,865 ReleasesHard Trance falls into two distinct periods, but both have their birthplace in Germany. The original style (which became popular around 1993-94), was typified by a fast (+150bpm) tempo along with strong acid lines and prominent melodies. Popular acts around this time were Sunbeam, Komakino and Jeyênne. This progressed up until the late 90’s, when a new style of Hard Trance emerged thanks to the likes of DJ Scot Project & Kai Tracid. This new style brought the tempo down into the 140bpm range, and focused more on Euphoric Trance in construction. The kick drums & basslines were exaggerated, bringing an aggressiveness which separated the style from standard Trance. Also, producers such as DJ Scot Project pioneered extended breakdown / buildups, hightening the tension. It ceased being popular in the mid-2000’s.

Hardcore327,177 ReleasesHardcore can refer to 1a) electronic dance music style “hardcore” that is usually quite fast and always rather hard (hence the name), 4×4-beat form of techno. Originated and popular in Germany, Belgium and Holland. Also favoured and prominent since the early days in UK and US. Developed from the sounds of acid, techno, house and hardcore breakbeat of which more later. In Belgium the style of new beat should be mentioned as precedent to techno. Later faster variation of techno was being produced in Belgium which eventually led to hardcore and gabber over there. Hardcore can be fairly minimal and refined consisting of synthetic pad sounds, a (Roland TB-303) acid line, drum pattern (Roland TR-909 or TR-808, for example) and sampled vocal sounds. The beat from the drum machine is similar to any other harder variety of electronica: open and closed hi-hats, snare, clap, ride cymbal and cymbal at the beginning of a pattern and on the fills at the end. Usually used in a way that gives the style its distinctive frenzy and hardness, and making the hectic beat sound even faster than it actually is. All the drum sounds can be also heavily reverberated, echoed, flangered or being filtered up and down on the breakdowns or throughout the entire song. Distortion is extremely often used especially on the kick drum making it a highly distinguishable feature of the style. Hardcore has also another side besides the more sophisticated one with tweaking acid lines and drum machine-made beats: and equally hard but more brutal and not-so-subtle, based more on sampling of sounds and voices, synths and hoovers and breakbeats/drum loops. With the clap and snare beating each time – or on 2 & 4 – on the 4×4 beat, this variation of hardcore is closely related to gabber which is the most similar style within the electronic genre. Compared to gabber, hardcore tends to be a bit slower but the tracks are executed in a more complex way sound- and structurewise. It’s more sinister, whereas gabber can be described often quite silly, joyous and tongue-in-cheek and leaning on (melodic) rhythm patterns, although humour is not completely unknown to hardcore either. The BPM-count may be lower but the overall atmosphere of a song is darker and harder-edge. Hard techno and industrial hardcore are two other styles akin. The kick drum can be hard, sharp and technolike or harsh, distorted and raw. It can be echoed or reverbed to give it a full, pumping character that moves the track forward. The distortion can also be used in the same manner as in jumpstyle, gabber, hard trance or US hard house: making the bass drum low and booming but not turning the waveform jaded or jagged; maintaining certain roundness and softness to it. The tempo is within 130–235 BPM. German Marc Trauner (Acardipane) released the first song considered hardcore in 1990: Mescalinum United – We Have Arrived. or 1b) Hardcore breakbeat – a style of electronic dance music with a broken, mostly sampled beat structure. Emerged in the UK in the early 90s. Lots of pitched-up rap vocal samples and drumloops, hoovers, stabs, pianos and chords used. Heavy on bass; sub-bass sounds used. Predecessor of jungle and drum & bass. BPM: 120–150. or 2) Rock style – also known as hardcore punk – that was started in the late 70s by Middle Class, followed by Black Flag and then by the likes of Discharge (from Stoke-on-Trent), Circle Jerks, Minor Threat, Asocial, Dead Kennedys, Misfits, Bad Brains, The Germs and many, many more. While early hardcore punk was extremely tied to punk rock, the genre developed into a more aggressive and of shorter songs. The term “hardcore punk” was probably coined by Discharge (from Middlesborough, not the D-beat band from Stoke-on-Trent) in their 1980 split EP with The Filth, in their song “Hardcore Punx”. Canadian Band D.O.A.’s Seminal 1981 12″ “HARDCORE ’81” also forwarded the term to general use. The expression “mosh” (as in “moshing” or “mosh pit”) is attributed to H.R. – reggae/hardcore punk band Bad Brains vocalist and frontman – who used the word “mash” (pronounced “mosh” in a Jamaican accent) lyrically and on-stage, in the means of inciting and to describing the aggressive and often violent dancing that took place in concerts.

Hardstyle32,588 ReleasesHardstyle is an electronic dance genre mixing influences from hard trance and hardcore. Hardstyle typically consists of a deep, hard-sounding kick drum, intense faded or reversed basslines accompanying the beat, a dissonant synth melody, and detuned and distorted sounds. Many hardcore artists produce hardstyle tracks as well, and many newer Hardstyle tracks are written in compound time (for example older Headhunterz and Noisecontrollers work).

Harsh Noise Wall15,028 ReleasesHarsh Noise Wall is a genre of noise music. HNW is distinct in the fact that the music consists of unchanging walls of sound that can go on for extremely long periods of time. Many artists opt to distort and process white noise for their recordings, but other source material can be used. Despite the name, HNW is not always harsh and can also have a gentler sound or entirely consist of pops and clicks.

Hi NRG23,201 ReleasesAs the name implies, Hi-NRG is a higher-BPM style of dance music that was very popular in the 1980s, especially in gay nightclubs. It evolved from disco, preserving the four-on-the-floor kick drum and emphasizing strong melodies and simple octave bass lines, but also having a harder, more rock-like sound, with pop vocals and snare hits on the 2s and 4s. In addition to the main beat, there was usually an accompanying second, a syncopated “shuffle” rhythm, often made with a tambourine or similar high-pitched snare sound (or, more often, an electronic variant thereof). The early Hi-NRG repertoire was dominated by the dense, synth bass-driven sound of American producers Patrick Cowley and Bobby Orlando, and then the tighter, rapid-fire syncopated percussion of UK producers Ian Anthony Stephens and Ian Levine. The later Hi-NRG sound was defined largely by the PWL Hit Factory—producer/songwriters Stock/Aitken/Waterman and engineers Phil Harding & Ian Curnow—starting with Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” in 1984 and continuing through a string of dance-pop hits in the late ’80s. In the first half of the ’80s, Hi-NRG enjoyed mainstream success as aerobics/workout music. The style’s peak in 1986–1988 led to wider acceptance, with songs like “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room)” by Paul Lekakis and “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley enjoying long chart runs and much radio play. This coincided with an increasing influence of house music, like the use of longer, more repetitive bass lines and open hi-hat sounds on the off beat. The peak was followed by a very rapid decline as house music and Eurodance overtook the club scene in 1989.

Hip Hop52,821 ReleasesHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music, or hip-hop music, is a music genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing. While often used to refer to rapping, “hip hop” more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing and scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Hip-House13,037 ReleasesHouse music with a hip-hop influence. Vocals are usually rapped over a house beat. The actual hip-house scene was almost exclusively a Chicago phenomenon which started (on wax) in 1988 and had run its course by the end of 1990. It was created by house music producers, and featured a fast, syncopated rapping flow. This was in contrast to what pioneering hip-house producer Fast Eddie called “house rap”, in which hip-hop artists from other regions combined more traditional, slower rapping styles with house, or the European house- and techno-based club music which incorporated rapping as a “hard”/”streetwise” novelty. On Discogs, the Hip-House tag tends to be applied to any combination of rap vocals with house music, thus it includes all of these variations from 1986 to the present day.

House599,319 ReleasesIn early 1980s Chicago, club visitors named House the mixture of music played by Frankie Knuckles at the discotheque “Warehouse”. House music, as a genre of electronic dance music, originated in Chicago in the mid 1980s. In the mid-to-late 1980s, house music became popular in Europe, and then other major cities in North America, South America, and Australia.[17] Early house music commercial success in Europe saw songs such as “Pump Up The Volume” by MARRS (1987), “House Nation” by House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House (1987), “Theme from S’Express” by S’Express (1988) and “Doctorin’ the House” by Coldcut (1988) in the pop charts. Since the early to mid-1990s, house music has been infused in mainstream pop and dance music worldwide. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

IDM72,383 ReleasesIDM, or Intelligent Dance Music, is a style in electronic music emerging in the early 90’s and characterized by unusual, weird, distorted sounds, and drum lines consisting of very short bleeps and glitches. Originally applied to musicians like Future Sound Of London ; Orbital ; Aphex Twin ; Black Dog & B12 the term is now extended to a multitude of artists who produce experimental electronic music while keeping the influence of their dance-floor origins, often produced on simple laptops using only sequencer software. The term IDM is now used almost exclusively in its acronym form, as the actual meaning came to be interpreted as implying that other styles of dance music are not intelligent.

Illbient4,873 ReleasesIllbient is characterized by dub-wise layering of soundscapes, hip hop-influenced use of samples, and a progressive approach to beat programming that encompasses all genres of world groove and electronic music. It can be thought of as the dark, industrial, and often abstract, experimental side of the Downtempo genre.

Industrial152,663 ReleasesIndustrial music is a genre of experimental music that emerged in the mid-1970s. Its basic components are semi-acoustic and include the use of electronic instruments as well as unusual objects such as metal rods and pipes, and rigged power tools. It incorporates noise, tape manipulation, drones, metallic timbres, monotonous rhythms evocative of machinery, and similar “factory floor” aesthetics. Traditional instruments are sometimes used, but usually in non-traditional ways. Vocals, if present, tend to be either disaffected or angry. Lyrical content tends to embody dark themes, as well as protest, tension, uncertainty, and the like. As with many alternative styles, it generally eschews pop melodies, virtuosic solos, and romantic themes. Industrial has always had a fragmented identity, not having anywhere near as cohesive a sound as most other electronic genres, and it has long had a love/hate relationship with dance music. In its early years (mid-1970s to mid 1980s), industrial music was partly rhythmic but rarely danceclub-friendly, and was predominantly a product of the heady British, Australian, and European art-school scenes. After the split of Throbbing Gristle in 1981, Industrial music spawned several subgenres that have been described as Post-industrial music. This includes genres such as Power Electronics (Whitehouse), Ambient Industrial or Dark Ambient (Lustmørd), Martial Industrial (Laibach), Ritual music (Zero Kama), and Electronic body music, a genre that combines Industrial elements with early Electro-punk (DAF). Many of these styles have their own entry on Discogs. In the mid and especially latter half of the 1980s, bands from the New Wave/SynthPop scene such as Ministry adopted elements of Post-industrial music (e.g. EBM) and Rock music and laid the foundations of Industrial rock.

Italo House4,462 Releases Italo House is a form of ‘House music’ that originated in Italy. It was mainly popular in Italy, the U.K., and the United States in the late 80’s to early 90’s and has since become more popular all over the world. This style of music originally blended House music with the Italo Disco sound, hence the name ‘Italo House’. The main characteristic of this musical genre originally was the use of samples, especially female vocal samples over a House groove that was predominantly ruled on some tracks by electronic piano chords. Taking influences from the early Chicago House hits of the late 80s. Typically the vocals used in most Italo House tracks where sampled from early U.S. Freestyle and House tracks, such as ‘Listen Up – Listen Up’, ‘Darcy Alonso – Waited so long’, ‘Kristol – Passion of a woman’ & ‘India – Dancing on the fire’ etc. The music also featured male & female raps, or sections of raps which were lifted from Hip Hop or Hip House acapella’s from around the same time. They also sampled the big vocals from Disco Diva’s such as Aretha Franklin, Jocelyn Brown, Loleatta Holloway, Patti La Belle and Seidah Garrett. Samples came from various acapellas from tracks such as:- Aretha Franklin – Rokk-A-Lott / Jocelyn Brown – I’m Gonna Get You Boy / Loleatta Holloway – Love Sensation. These powerful vocals would usually be used for the chorus, sometimes even not making much sense, due to the Italian musicians and producers at the time not understanding English very well. A prime example is the use of Loleatta Holloways ‘Right on time’ vocal, used in the 1989 No.1 hit by Black Box called ‘Ride On Time’. In most cases the Italo House sound makes use of a melodic repeated piano chord progression, diva vocals, a 4/4 beat with a tempo of around 120-122bpm. During this time, Italo House musicians, producers also featured acid sounds within their music and ventured as far as producing Techno, some producers also incorporated the exciting piano sound that had now become the basis of Italo House within some of their Techno releases. The best known example of Italo House, as already mentioned is ‘Ride on Time’ by ‘Black Box’. Black Box, along with the ‘FPI Project’, Media Records ‘Cappella’ and the ‘49ers’ made the genre very popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s with their very uplifting songs. The original name ‘Italo House’ slowly drifted away around 1991 / 1992 and it later became known as Italian-House, especially in the UK, but the sound stayed the same ‘happy and euphoric’ pioneered essentially by the production stable of Discomagics Severo Lombardoni and Media Records Gianfranco Bortolotti. The latter carrying on the Italo House sound well into the mid-90s, whose alter egos included Cappella, RAF, East Side Beat and the 49ers to name but a few. The music produced in Italy dominated the British dance charts and clubs of the very early 90s (1990/1991) with songs like:- Asha – JJ Tribute / DJ H feat Stefy – Think About / Pierre Feroldi – Movin Now / Last Rhythm – Last Rhythm and Jinny – Keep warm, all expressing a happy vibe & atmosphere. Probably the most well known Label and Distributor of the Italo House genre would have to be Discomagic Records in Rome, which had many subsidiary labels that featured Italo House music. This was by far the largest italo Disco / House / Dance record label in Italy at the time and was run by Severo Lombardoni. This label along with Media Records set the standards for an entire genre of music. In 1991, artists such as K-Klass, Bassheads, Love Decade etc. all created excellent House music that incorporated piano chords that was typical of the time when Italo House ruled the Northern UK House music scene. DJs such as Sasha championed the Italo House sound and featured the genre heavily within his sets. Clubs like Shelley’s, the Hacienda and Legends where also well known for playing Italo House in 1990 and 1991 with Legends being well known for playing more of the obscure Italo House. To this day Italo House music is collected far and wide by keen, avid record collectors, all chasing that illusive Italo House / Italian-House track/tracks with some costing the buyer £100 +. These fanatics of Italo House have become known as ‘Italo House Aficionados’.

Italo-Disco43,077 ReleasesGenerally, Italo-Disco consists of English pop vocals (often sung a little weirdly by non-native English speakers) over mid-tempo, heavily synthetic disco or hybrid disco-electro rhythms, with emphasized lead synths. It was mostly produced by Italians in the mid-1980s. This style/scene is said to have been named by ZYX Records boss Bernhard Mikulski to market licensed releases and numerous compilations, although not always strictly Italian productions. Thus, the term is sometimes used more broadly to describe dance music from outside of Italy and from different eras and in more diverse styles. On Discogs, fans of the style generally prefer to limit the term’s use to 1980s Italian productions and newer material that is clearly a tribute to the original sound, although there are no clear boundaries.

Italodance30,800 ReleasesItalodance is essentially Eurodance (or Euro House) music produced in Italy. More specifically, it is a subgenre of House music that was popular in nightclubs during the 1990’s in most of Europe, but particularly in Italy. Very formulaic, this style makes heavy use of synthesizers: strong basslines, pounding beats, with a set tempo anywhere between 120 and 160 beats per minute. A typical song will have male rappers sing the verses and female singers perform the chorus, but variations of that formula are frequent. Songs featuring heavy sampling are not rare. Instrumental releases were also fairly frequent. While Eurodance was born out of cross-influence between various genres, including Hip-Hop, House, Disco and Hi-NRG, Italodance takes heavier inspiration from the 1980’s Italo Disco, with several producers from the Italo Disco era crossing over, giving Italodance a distinct sound from Eurodance. Italodance production covers the entire span of the 1990’s, but reached its peak in 1993 up to 1996. During this era, production was absolutely massive; many records were being quickly produced, which leaded to inconsistent output quality between releases. Nevertheless, the Italodance wave created a fair amount of internationally successful acts, such as Whigfield, Ice MC, Corona, Da Blitz, U.S.U.R.A., Double You, Alexia, Gala and others. The genre is sometimes expanded to include late 90’s/early 2000’s acts such as Eiffel 65, the latter work of Gigi d’Agostino and Paps & Skar, which were also very successful overseas.

J-Core1,452 ReleasesJ-Core is a hardcore techno style that emerged during the mid 90’s and was popularized by labels such as Sharpnelsound and ALiCE’S EMOTiON. Specifically, J-Core is a variation of Happy Hardcore and Gabber. It’s known for fast-paced heavy sampling, often high-pitched vocals and incorporates many “otaku” themes, such as anime, videogames or typical japanese pop culture. More broadly, the term is also used as an umbrella term for a wide range of hard electronic music featuring these themes, ranging from jungle/breakbeat to speedcore. For a long time there was no term coined for this kind of music, but when this style gained international fame the term was coined around 2005 and from then on this style of music was referred to as J-Core. During the mid 90’s, Japan had a rich underground hardcore scene, but at one point the Japanese scene began to divide with one movement sticking to the original european style of hardcore (such as Bass2 Records and Teikoku Records), and another moving towards a “geek culture” kind of hardcore (such as Sharpnelsound, Toy Label and Murder Yacht School). This second movement was very much about self-made doujin (fandom) releases, not bothered by copyright since it was a very underground niche culture at the time. As a result, many albums feature unlicensed remixes and in recent years some labels have had to shut down the production of these albums or face consequences. During the 2000’s record labels such as ALiCE’S EMOTiON, C.H.S and X-Treme Hard started to emerge which brought a more polished sound to the scene and started to become more mainstream as the years progressed. At this time the scene also gained international fame. Various stores sold the albums internationally and events across the border started to happen too (such as Hardcore Synergy at Anime Central). Nowadays, many of the artists that made a name for themselves in the 90’s and early 2000’s are commissioned for official remixes of anime or videogames or have original songs released on videogames like Beatmania IIDX, but the unofficial scene is still going strong and releases hundreds of new fan-made albums a year at events such as Comiket or M3 (Mixed Media Market) alongside the professionally licensed albums. Despite the amount of releases though, it is still a very fleeting and underground scene.

Jazzdance9,071 ReleasesOn Discogs, Jazzdance is a vague synonym for Acid Jazz and other music in a similar style. When first added to Discogs, it was envisioned as another name for late 1990s Acid Jazz, or the slower side of Future Jazz. However, the term is also said to have been used in the 1980s among Northern Soul nightclub DJs, in reference to some of the 1950s–1980s funk, soul, and jazz music they curated for the dancefloor. Relatively obscure selections from that scene became known as Rare Groove by 1985, and the terms Acid Jazz and Dancefloor Jazz were coined soon after to market contemporary acts playing in a Jazzdance/Rare Groove style. Some background: In early 2001, former Discogs user SayVegin [proposed Future Jazz](https://www.discogs.com/forum/thread/1205) as an Electronic style tag for bands like Jazzanova, Fila Brazillia, and A Forest Mighty Black. He then [proposed Jazzdance](https://www.discogs.com/forum/thread/1231#11569) “for acts like Mr. Gone, Down To The Bone, Soulstance which have a more dance-oriented tempo”. With these examples, there is little to differentiate jazzdance from acid jazz. At that time, the uptempo bossa and samba-infused nu-jazz/future-jazz music of Jazzanova was very similar to that of Mr. Gone and Soulstance. Meanwhile, Fila Brazillia’s midtempo, funky, sometimes-housey acid jazz sound was not much different from the music of Down To The Bone. In mid-2017, Discogs user cheebacheebakid, a former DJ in the genre, [provided the broader definition](https://www.discogs.com/forum/thread/748381#7424627), saying Jazzdance encompassed all styles of jazz that were dancefloor friendly in the 1980s and beyond: “Jazzdance (without the space) was one way Gilles, Forge, et. al. referred to Rare Groove in the early 80s as played at Dingwall’s, Ronnie Scott’s, The Jazz Cafe, etc. Like Northern Soul (from which it kind of branched off), they were catch-all terms for highly danceable jazz (usually Latin or Brazilian inflected). Often Dancefloor Jazz was used as well, moreso by labels like Mojo, LuvNHaight, etc.. It morphed into Acid Jazz as a marketing term when Acid House got huge in late 80s. Then soon after Acid Jazz meant modern acts playing Jazzdance/Rare Groove style music (e.g., Snowboy, BNH, JTQ, etc) and now it iseems Jazzdance is used on anything remotely toe-tappable with a horn or Hammond.”

Jersey Club31 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Juke3,362 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Jumpstyle5,998 ReleasesHardcore spin-off with slower than usual tempos (140-150 BPM). Loud claps are layered over the kicks, thus creating a stomping beat that encourages dancers to jump to it. Bass and melody are usually arranged in a shuffle beat, which supports the stomping character. Jumpstyle became one of the most popular Hard Electronic music genres during the period 2002-2005. During that period many Hardstyle & Hard Dance producers switched to Jumpstyle.

Jungle34,436 ReleasesJungle is a mainly sample-based style of Electronic music that emerged during the mid-90’s in the UK. The genre emerged out of styles such as Hardcore, often using the same breakbeats and the same equipment. Jungle is characterized by high tempos (160 to 175 BPM being the average), chopped-up and often seemingly random breakbeat sequencing, heavy basslines, Reggae influence, and the iconic sound of Akai cyclic timestretch. Jungle also focuses on a sense of atmospheric intelligence contrasting with the violent sound of high tempo drums and basslines, juxtaposing the sounds of Romplers and samples of New-Age songs with the heavy, relentless chopping of breaks such as the famous Amen break. It is said to have given birth to such genres as Drum And Bass and Breakcore.

Latin27,237 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Leftfield53,697 ReleasesOn Discogs, this term tends to be applied to anything with a “quirky” component, or anything that’s atypical of its genre, or to which no style really seems to apply. Sometimes it is used as a less-alienating alternative for the term Experimental. In many cases, it features acidic, wave-y sounds which sometimes might make the sound seem like seapunk/vaporwave-house/techno.

Lento Violento437 ReleasesLento Violento is a style of electronic dance music that developed in Italy. Its name means Slow & Violent, as this style typically has a tempo between 70 and 130 BPM. It consists of a hard kick, like the ones present in Hardcore or Hardstyle, but played at a very slow tempo, with vocal samples and dark acid sounds on loop.

Makina9,088 ReleasesSpanish blend of hard house, happy hardcore and hard trance. Usually quite fast, bouncy and with over-the-top happy melodies. Originated in the early 90’s, still being produced today. When it arrived to Britain, the genre became hugely popular especially in the North East of England and Scotland but also attracts ravers from as far as Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands to name but a few

Minimal123,072 ReleasesMinimal is an adjective, and as such must be used to sharpen the style descritpion (minimal techno for instance). The term was first time used on a track from Speedy J. E.P.’s Intercontinental on the label Plus 8 Records know for have a colder and minimalistic sound than early Michigan Lake labels. While minimalism is hard to define precisely, its aesthetic can be summarized by the saying “less is more”, like cold-wave bands looking for a empty sound in the 80’s. When used by itself, it generally denotes electronic music that uses only one synthesizer and one drum machine, without complex, layered melodies and instruments. Usually no vocals.

Minimal Techno12,559 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Modern Classical48,116 ReleasesOn Discogs, this is used for music that emphasizes traditional orchestral instruments, but that has an electronic component, such as tape loops, samples, noticable effects, drum machines, and so on. It is sometimes also used for things like string quartet or brass band covers of electronic music, even though the music itself isn’t electronic. Better not to be used for academic composers for whom you should use Musique concrète if it’s an electronic composition or Contemporary (genre: Classical) for instrumental music or both genres and styles if this is a composition mixing electronic sounds / effects and instruments.

Moombahton61 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Musique Concrète18,944 ReleasesVery early electronic music that used tapes, tubes, transistors and other electronic equipment to make music. Nowadays, Musique concrète uses natural sounds (from field recordings for instance), often heavily treated, and/or pure electronic sounds (analog / digital synthesis) in abstract compositions, mostly without melody and rhythm. Used on Discogs for different kinds of music, not only the actual musique concrète: early electronic music as pioneered by Stockhausen, electroacoustic / acousmatic music, tape music and other kinds of electronic academic music. Can also be used for field recordings and other soundscapes.

Neo Trance787 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Neofolk14,791 ReleasesNeofolk, also known as post-industrial folk or apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumentation with various other sounds. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neofolk

Nerdcore Techno444 ReleasesNerdcore Techno is not to be confused with Nerdcore Hip Hop. It is coincidental that these were named similarly. Nerdcore Techno is a style of Techno that emerged in Japan in the early 90’s and was popularized by labels such as [全日本レコード](https://www.discogs.com/label/936329) and [Toy Label](https://www.discogs.com/label/69643) as well as Jungle/Techno collective [サイケアウツ](https://www.discogs.com/artist/1116830). It is most often seen as a combination of Techno, Breakbeat and Jungle, known for remixing melodies/heavy sampling of typical Japanese (and occassionally western) pop culture and incorporating a comedic and/or nostalgic undertone. Often referencing either campy 80’s and 90’s pop culture or otaku/nerd culture such as anime or videogames, there is some overlap with [J-Core](https://reference.discogslabs.com/style/j-core) artists/labels, and Nerdcore Techno can be seen as the foundation of [J-Core](https://reference.discogslabs.com/style/j-core). But while [J-Core](https://reference.discogslabs.com/style/j-core) focuses on the Hardcore side of things, Nerdcore Techno focuses on the Techno and Jungle side of music. The BPM can vary a lot depending on the artist’s personal style but it often ranges between 130 and 160 BPM, leaning towards the higher BPMs and can sometimes go as high as 180 BPM. Nerdcore Techno’s origins seem to draw inspiration from early techno acts like [Yellow Magic Orchestra](https://www.discogs.com/artist/22061-Yellow-Magic-Orchestra) and [Kraftwerk](https://www.discogs.com/artist/4654-Kraftwerk). One of the earliest known examples of what could be reasonably be considered nerdcore is a track called サイバー長介 by 猛毒 (https://youtu.be/q7440o6YTkk), released in 1992. Many underground events focused on Nerdcore Techno were held and articles appeared on Nerdcore Techno during the 90’s in Quick Japan, a prolific music magazine. At the peak of its popularity it had a significant following in Japan, though it remains largely an unseen, fleeting and mysterious movement outside of Japan. Today, Nerdcore Techno continues to live on mostly on the internet in the form of netlabels such as [Anything Records](https://www.discogs.com/label/178394), but there are still examples of labels that organize parties and release (pressed) physical releases. Toy Label (among others) still regularly releases physical albums, and overseas it has gained some traction as well in the form of labels such as [NiTEFLARE](https://www.discogs.com/label/188528) and [Allkore](https://www.discogs.com/label/150242).

New Age40,556 ReleasesNew Age is a marketing term used for various forms of soft, melodic, instrumental music, often intended for relaxation or “easy” listening. It tends to be made with synthesizers or digital keyboards, played in traditional styles (as a piano ordinarily would be), although it can lean toward the experimental as well. On the experimental side, it includes a broad range of ambient music, space music, field recordings of nature sounds (rainfall, lightning, trees rustling, animals, etc.), and may feature chanting or drone noises. However, it almost always emphasizes tonal sounds and a lead melody. Strong modal harmonies may be present. It does not resemble dance music and is usually made by people with no connection to underground or even mainstream dance scenes.

New Beat7,474 ReleasesNew Beat was a wave of electronic dance music specific to the Belgian club scene from around 1987 and into 1990, with its greatest popularity in 1988 and 1989. New Beat was often characterized by a relatively slow beat incorporating samples, synths and hypnotic bass lines. There’s not a lot of “pure” New Beat music; it was always a fusion genre, constantly incorporating the sounds of other popular dance music of its era, including synth-pop, EBM/industrial dance, electro, house, acid house, and to a lesser extent, Detroit techno. New Beat had a significant, reciprocal influence on the stabby, buzzy “rave” aesthetic in techno music. Influences from New Beat evolved into the foundation of trance music (e.g. Age of Love’s “The Age of Love” and Revelation’s “First Power”/”Synth-It”). New Beat faded into history as its artists increasingly converted to making higher-tempo music more strongly associated with techno or trance. In between of New Beat and Belgium Techno around 1989 there was Hard Beat, also named Skizzo but mostly used is the term Hard Beat for that transition sound of 1988 New Beat to 1990 Belgium Techno sound. (e.g. Boy Toy – Touch My Body and Nasty Thoughts – Rock The House)

Noise192,917 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Nu-Disco10,168 ReleasesNu-Disco emerged in the early 2000s as a contemporary, mostly electronic interpretation of disco music. Most nu-disco has no named sub-style or clearly defining characteristics, other than being rhythmically disco-based and not fitting into any other genre. Nu-Disco often makes use of the standard disco rhythm (kick drum on every beat and a closed hi-hat on every eighth note), rather than the “high-energy” disco rhythm which underpins much house music (same kick but with an open hi-hat on the “off beat”, i.e. every eighth note in between). It may also incorporate 1980s Italo Disco-style synths & drum machines. Some nu-disco is simply re-edits (sometimes with added effects) of original-era disco & boogie tracks. Some nu-disco is in a slowed-down “slow motion”/”cosmic” style. Some is quite fast and “hard” and can be more precisely described as “electro-disco” or “electro-house” depending on its resemblance to electro, electroclash, disco, and house. Some nu-disco has a very retro, Italo-Disco inspired sound but probably should not be tagged as Italo-Disco.

Power Electronics19,255 ReleasesPower electronics was originally coined by William Bennett as part of the sleevenotes to the Whitehouse album Psychopathia Sexualis, and is related to the early Industrial Records scene but later became more identified with noise music. It consists of static, screeching waves of feedback, analogue synthesizers making sub-bass pulses or high frequency squealing sounds, and screamed, distorted, often hateful and offensive lyrics. Deeply atonal, there are no conventional melodies or rhythms.

Progressive Breaks1,536 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Progressive House141,636 ReleasesProgressive House’s roots are primarily in the U.K. in the beginning of the ’90s, typified by producers like William Orbit, with his Guerilla label, and Leftfield, with their Hard Hands label. Two British DJs, Sasha & John Digweed helped popularize the sound in the club “Renaissance”. The label Limbo Records launched from legendary Glasgow record store 23rd Precinct was also a major actor of the style. One of the biggest hits of the genre was “Passion” by Gat Decor. Typical elements of the style are house rhythms around 125 BPM; a dubby, galloping/chugging bassline; and a dreamy, spacey atmosphere. In a sense, it is a combination of house and trance, with the soulful, booty-shaking elements toned down and replaced by long chords and dubby ear candy. It evolved into a more minimalistic aesthetic with the emergence of a new scene in 2003 led by musician/DJs such as James Holden & Nathan Fake from the label Border Community. Related styles are Progressive Breaks, Progressive Trance, and Progressive Psytrance. It’s often difficult to say a particular track is strictly progressive house, progressive breaks, or progressive trance, so people often lump the three genres together under a single “progressive” catch-all.

Progressive Trance83,897 ReleasesProgressive trance often very close to the musically progressive house is a style of Trance appeared well after acid trance, goa, and hard trance. Progressive trance is melodious but without synth arpeggios & less vocals. With a beat and a bassline faster to the house (134-142 BPM), the songs are long and have an interesting construction where different elements are brought gradual and gentle way (hence the name of this style). First down compared to the Uplifting, this style has become the style of Trance most likely at the end of the decade 2000-2010

Psy-Trance47,361 ReleasesHeritage from the Goa Trance, Psychedelic Trance is more dusky & repetitive than the original orientation of the style. There are also less multi-layered melodies; making the sound more techno-like. The style emerged during the year 1998 with German productions from X-Dream or Planet BEN. The Scandinavian artists also brought a major influence to the style with a colder and harder sound. Artists like Atmos, Koxbox or Son Kite made it popular till 2002. With technology the style has developed immensely, starting to sound like the modern psy-trance at around 2003-2004. Among the most influential artists in the genre are Infected Mushroom, GMS, Astral Projection, 1200 Mics and Talamasca. Some of the most popular names that have been active the past 15 years are artists such as Sesto Sento, Vibe Tribe, Phanatic, InterSys, Soniq Vision, Electro Sun, Space Buddha, Cosmic Tone, UltraVoice, Astrix, Safi Connection, Audiotec and Space Cat.

Rhythmic Noise11,903 ReleasesRhythmic Noise is a form of Industrial music and a fusion of Noise with various styles of Electronic dance music. Rhythmic Noise, aka power noise, should not be confused with Power Electronics, which is not influenced by Electronic dance music and is closer to harsh Noise. Its origins are predominantly European. Rhythmic Noise takes inspiration from a number of Industrial artists. Some of the most influential include Esplendor Geométrico from Spain, active since 1980, and Le Syndicat from France, active since 1982. The Belgian artist Dive also anticipated the style in the early 90s and went on to also form a purely Rhythmic Noise parallel project, Sonar, in the mid-90s. Some releases on the harder and harsher end of the Techno spectrum have also been influential such as the early EPs by Aphex Twin. EBM music (also known as Industrial dance music) and electro-Industrial music styles have also been big influences on the style’s development. The synonymous term “power noise” was coined by Raoul Roucka of Noisex in 1997, with the track “United (Power Noise Movement)”. The genre gained larger exposure to the U.S. industrial scene by the electro-Industrial act Wumpscut, who signed Noisex to the label Mental Ulcer Forges. Some other notable Rhythmic Noise artists operating around that time included Imminent Starvation, P·A·L, Sonar, Winterkälte, and various projects from members of Ars Moriendi. Some notable Rhythmic Noise artists that emerged during the turn of the century include Converter, Antigen Shift, Iszoloscope, Mono No Aware and Terrorfakt. The two most prominent labels known for Rhythmic Noise are Ant-Zen and Hand Productions. Both labels starting focusing more on releasing Rhythmic Noise during the late 90s. There have often been very similar sounds coming from the harder, harsher or more experimental areas of the Techno spectrum which, at times, has been embraced by those into Rhythmic Noise. Examples of this such would be late 90s/Y2K era Speedy J, or releases on labels like Uncivilized World or Zhark Recordings. However, since these scenes were somewhat insulated from each other, they often didn’t use the same style descriptions. DJ and Techno producer Adam X started trying to bridge the gap between these scenes around the year 2000. Some artists producing harder, harsher, or more experimental sounds in other styles, such as Drum n Bass artist Panacea, have crossed over and have also been an influence in the style’s development. Characteristics: Typically, Rhythmic Noise is instrumental, based upon distorted sounds with distorted drums and other distorted percussive sounds often being the primary focus. Sometimes a melodic component is added, but this is usually secondary to the rhythm. Rhythmic Noise tracks are typically structured and danceable, but are occasionally more abstract and experimental. The genre is showcased at the annual Maschinenfest festival in Oberhausen, Germany, as well a number of other festivals. Some groups, such as Combichrist and Dulce Liquido, merge Rhythmic Noise along with aggrotech (an EBM/electro-Industrial style) or even merge Rhythmic Noise with more commercial dance styles. Others, such as Tarmvred, meld the style with Breakcore. Others still, merge elements of IDM, such as Endif. The 2010s has seen a resurgence of the harder, harsher and more experimental sounds in Techno which crosses over a lot with the sounds of Rhythmic Noise, although this is usually just known as industrial Techno, instead of Rhythmic Noise (or power noise or noize) because people in these two scenes were often unaware of each other’s music. However, the Techno artist Ancient Methods (one of the artists responsible for the resurgence of industrial Techno), sampled Rhythmic Noise artist P·A·L’s track Gelöbnis on their second release from 2008, and Ancient Methods later released some music on Hands Productions which is one of the first labels that started heavily pushing the Rhythmic Noise sound back in the 90s. An example of an artist that was once known more primarily in the Rhythmic Noise scene and is now well-known within the Techno scene would be Orphx. Ancient Methods and Orphx have also collaborated together under the name Eschaton with releases on the Techno label, Token. Newer artists such as Ontal and Tomohiko Sagae have been releasing music on both Techno labels and Rhythmic Noise labels. There has also been and continues to be crossovers within other sounds and scenes such as the Breakcore and IDM scenes.

Schranz1,331 ReleasesSchranz is a hard, minimalist and fast (mostly between 140 and 160 BPM) style of electronic dance music, which is mainly enriched with sounds and machine-like sounds. It is distinguished by repetitive, distorted percussion loops and a mostly monotonous character. Schranz represents a variant of the tool and loop technology and can be described as a pioneer of Hardtechno.

Skweee496 ReleasesSkweee is a musical style, with origin in Sweden and Finland. Skweee combines simple synth/chiptune leads and basslines with funk, R&B or soul-like rhythms, overall rendering a stripped-down funky sound. The tracks are predominantly instrumental, though there are exceptions.

Sound Collage5,610 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Speed Garage5,726 ReleasesEssentially, speed garage is relatively fast, brash UK house music that was popular in the mid to late 1990’s. What differentiates it from other house music is an emphasis on jungle-style basslines, and its simple house rhythms with prominent hi-hats. Some of the more commercial examples include Armand Van Helden’s remix of “Spin Spin Sugar” by Sneaker Pimps and Double 99’s “Ripgroove”.

Speedcore10,046 ReleasesSpeedcore is a form of hardcore that is characterized by a high tempo and aggressive themes. The genre was created in the early to mid 1990s and the name originates from the genre hardcore as well as the high speed tempo used. This music rarely drops below 300 beats per minute (bpm). Earlier speedcore tracks often averaged at about 250 bpm, which could be defined as terror(core), whereas some tracks sometimes exceed 1000 bpm where it then becomes known as extratone, the world’s fastest music genre.

Synth-pop435,764 ReleasesSynth-pop, as a Discogs style tag, can apply to pretty much any [pop music](https://www.discogs.com/genre/pop) dominated by synthetic sounds. Before non-electronic music was allowed in the database, the tag was applied quite liberally in order to justify the inclusion of dance records from the pop and [R&B](https://www.discogs.com/style/contemporary+r%26b) club scenes, and is still used fairly broadly. The synth-pop genre, though, primarily originates in late 1970s/early 1980s [New Wave](https://www.discogs.com/style/new+wave), the post-punk “alternative” rock movement that encompasses a wide range of styles and attitudes. There are some non-New Wave synth-pop bands like Pet Shop Boys, but on the whole, the synth-pop scene of the 1980s was dominated by a faction of New Wave bands that embraced the use of electronic instruments and relatively light, dance-oriented songwriting, yet still retained a fairly typical four-piece rock-band structure (percussion, lead instrument, bass instrument, vocal). Most synth-pop combines electronic and other instruments, plus strong vocals and melodies, and elements of whatever dance music styles are popular at the time. The music generally isn’t very experimental, serious, or dark, but some synth-pop bands like [The Human League](https://www.discogs.com/artist/10383-The-Human-League) and members of the “minimal wave” scene explored a more alternative, moody sound at times. Synth-pop enjoys revivals now and then, with new bands deliberately paying homage to the old sounds, or just stumbling onto a similar aesthetic in their experimentation with styles.

Synthwave19,968 ReleasesSynthwave is a term that has been applied to a subgenre of New Wave music that began in the late-1970s with the rise of affordable electronic instruments such as synthesizers and sequencers. It became popular in the 1980s with artists such as Depeche Mode, Anne Clark, KaS Product, Gary Numan, John Foxx, Fad Gadget and others. The term is related to/overlaps with subbranches such as Minimal wave, Cold wave, and Dark wave. In the mid-2010s, the term also became associated with an ’80s revival style that draws on Italo-disco music and electronic soundtracks of many 1980s films, video games, cartoons and television shows. It incorporates or closely imitates the sound of vintage analogue synthesizers, drum machines, and effects and has been described as “retrofuturistic”. Despite being named as if it were a branch of synthesizer-based New Wave music, there is no direct relationship between the latter revivalist genre and aforementioned New Wave style, nor with New Wave generally.

Tech House171,248 ReleasesThis genre is a bit difficult to define, since there are different schools of thought regarding its production and sound. Some of the earlier tracks of the genre tried to integrate a 1/2 tempo dub sample, whereas some Chicago DJs early on in the scene wanted to create a “harder” sound (e.g. releases from Relief Records). Techno and House music have a shared history and compatible sounds, so Tech House releases often combine elements from both styles, usually inconsistently; some releases borrow more heavily from techno, others from house. This lends itself to a gray area in defining a recognizable sound that has persisted since its conception, through the 90’s and 00’s, and into today.

Tech Trance9,158 ReleasesA subgenre of trance that developed in the mid-1990s that is heavily influenced by techno. It is characterized by the emphasis of synthesizers, rhythms, percussions and basslines rather than melodies. Tech Trance is sounds like the name also suggests how it would sound like; Typically nowadays has a Trance song structure following with Techno sounds. The purest form of Tech Trance has a Techno song structure and trancy sounds. This type of Techno used to be called Trance back in the early 00’s and and in the 90s, but as time had also passed by, Tech Trance took a complete 180 and instead went into a full blown scene. It wasn’t experimental no more. It was a sensation, Energy, Trance energy. Very notable artists of the genre would defintly be Sander van Doorn aka Sam Sharp, Mark Sherry, Marco V, and Marcel Woods. In the late 00’s Tech Trance started to evolve into Electro Trance by the very Marcel Woods himself. Sander van Doorn was very keen to the emerging Electro trend aswell and also went along with him. In the very late 00’s Tech Trance has gone underground again, even if there was any sign of it, it still wasn’t truly Tech Trance no more. In the early 2010’s Tech Trance or may I even say Electro Trance took another course. It started to sound very bland, overcompressed and kind of cheap. Trance fans noticed the change and quickly were calling the genre Trouse (Trance and House. Well, the internet was wrong once again since the emrging sound had nothing to do with Trance nor House. We could say that what came, was just like another wave of rave. It actually sounded very much alike to the old skool Rave aswell, however the genre got a name – Big Room House. Nowadays it’s EDM, because this seems to be the most politically correct gentrification, right? Well, thats the breif history of Tech Trance. How it really sounds like? Take the advise from me and never trust Armin van Buuren’s words about Trance nor Armada’s. Armin ruined Trance once, Armada once again. No, Tech Trance does not sound like a melacholic squarewave symphony what Armada seems to pull onto people, but rather fast-paced, percussive, systematic and complex from sound design. What separates Techno from Tech Trance is that Tech Trance creates a sensation, while Techno doesn’t. What separates Trance from Tech Trance is the atmosphere and thus it’s not classified as a subgenre of Techno, but rather Trance. How does Techno sound like? Cold, systematic, futuristic, percussive, hypnotic. How does Trance sound like? Hypnotic, spiritual, somewhat melodic, somewhat could be euphoric, sensational. Combining two doesn’t take a genius to understand how the result would sound like.

Techno384,624 ReleasesThe first proto-Techno/Electro release was Cybotron’s ‘Alleys Of Your Mind’ in 1981. That same year, a group by the name of ‘A Number Of Names’ released another important and influentional song called ‘Sharivari’. While both of those songs aren’t pure Techno, they are the roots of the sound and a very important part of the history. The term Techno (specifically relating to the music genre) was first used on the 1984 EP by Cybotron called ‘Techno City’. It was also used on the 1988 compilation ‘Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit’. Juan Atkins, one half of Cybotron, was the first person to use the term to specifically describe the regional dance sound of Detroit. Atkins and the other purveyors of the sound – Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, and Eddie Fowlkes – comprise what is known as ‘The First Wave’ (pre-1988). Other notable early artists are Blake Baxter, James Pennington, and Anthony Shakir. The second wave of Techno artists, from 1988 onward, notably consisted of Jeff Mills, Mike Banks (of Underground Resistance), Carl Craig, Richie Hawtin, Rob Hood, Dave Angel, Kenny Larkin, Dan Bell, Drexciya, Stacey Pullen, Orlando Voorn, Kelli Hand, and Octave One (to name just a few).

Trance244,101 ReleasesTrance emerged as a form of electronic dance music around 1990, with the advent of music that was essentially techno or house, but had simplified percussion, extreme repetition, and other hypnotic effects such as sustained chords and long echoes. Trance generally has no “bump” in its percussion or “groove” in its basslines — that is, the hi-hats and the bass in the kick drum are generally de-emphasized as compared to house or techno, and the basslines tend to consist of flat tones, with no modulation, confined to a small range of notes. Trance tempos are generally a little faster than techno, but can vary considerably. Additional info: Trance Production section of the Trance article on Wikipedia. In trance’s early years (1990-1992), it wasn’t always clear whether a track was just “trancey” techno (or even beat-laden “ambient” or “deep” house), or was actually an example of what would later be called simply “trance”. Consequently, on Discogs, such music might be tagged as (for example) both Trance and Techno. Example artists in this category and time period include The Shamen, Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia, The Irresistible Force, and Speedy J. From the New Beat scene, Age of Love’s 1990 self-titled hit single is sometimes pointed to as the earliest “pure” trance track. Similarly, some tracks from the Acid House era, such as original versions of The KLF’s “What Time Is Love?” (issued in sleeves that say “Pure Trance”) were called house or acid house at the time, but are retroactively considered by some to be trance or proto-trance. The first wave of what many now consider to be “classic” trance peaked in 1992 and waned in 1994, and was dominated by producers and labels from Germany and the UK. Key labels include Eye Q/Harthouse, Rising High, FAX, ESP, and MFS. Hits include Jam & Spoon “Stella”, Jaydee “Plastic Dreams”, Sequential “Prophet”, Transform “Transformation”, Cygnus X “Superstring”. Other artists of note from this wave include Sven Väth, Cosmic Baby, The Drum Club, The Sabres of Paradise, Horizon 222, Biosphere, Lumukanda, James Bernard, and Oliver Lieb. On Discogs, this music is generally tagged as just Trance. In the mid-1990s, although it wasn’t new, harder-edged, faster, more aggressive sounding trance (Hard Trance, Acid Trance) became more popular than the mellower, more tonal classic sound. Similarly, it was in the mid-1990s that busier, more psychedelic/ear-candy-laden forms of trance became the norm rather than the exception. On Discogs, this music is generally tagged according to which style it is Goa Trance, Progressive Trance, and Psy-Trance), but plain old Trance can be used if the specific variety isn’t known. When these styles became more popular, the more basic, classic sound became marginalized, and it did not really re-emerge until the early 2000s, when classic trance-infused techno/tech-house (sometimes called Neo-Trance) became popular. This newer sound is generally tagged with Trance, along with whatever other style applies, indicating it has elements of both. Meanwhile, the mid and late 1990s also saw commercial, “clubby” forms of trance or trance/house hybrids become very popular, especially in Europe. These tracks often include vocals, overt melodies, and traditional A-A-B-A song structures, and may include remixes of 1980s pop hits. This category of commercial trance music encompasses a range of styles, and boundaries are a bit blurred. Tags on such items tend to include, in various combinations, Progressive Trance, Progressive House, Euro House, Trance, House, and sometimes Techno. Example artists in this commercial/clubby category from the late 1990s and early 2000s include DJ Tiësto, Ferry Corsten, ATB, William Orbit, Dirty Vegas, Tall Paul, Peter Rauhofer.

Tribal31,335 ReleasesTribal as a tag on Discogs is generally used in combination with other styles, like House, Techno, or Trance, to indicate a “primitive” aesthetic. It may emphasize straightforward, monotonous rhythms dominated by toms, bongos, and shakers, and may be devoid of build-ups, fills, hi-hats, claps, or other sounds that offset or distract from the main beat. However, there are always exceptions.

Tribal House17,685 ReleasesTraditional house music combined with world music, tribal house is characterised by heavy use of percussion (typically conga drums or their synthesized derivative) over a house tempo (120/125 BPM). Tribal house roots are primarily in Florida, where the Caribbean percussive sound hugely influenced the post-electro scene; Rey Rodriguez, Tony Carrasco, MURK and George Acosta were the forerunners there and contributed to establishing Miami as a major clubbing town. Tribal house gained popularity from the early 90s into the early 00s, especially in New York, due to producers like Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez, Eric Kupper (alias K-Scope), Danny Tenaglia, Hex Hector and Mac Quayle (alias HQ2), Barry Harris and Chris Cox (alias Thunderpuss), Peter Rauhofer (alias Club 69), Little Louie Vega, Ralphi Rosario and Abel Aguilera (alias Rosabel), Victor Calderone and Junior Vasquez, amongst others. There is also a Benelux school, which is a legacy of carnival tradition similar as in Central & South America; the labels Wonka Beats, Touché, Outland and Global Cuts are representatives of it. The London UK school takes more influences from Jamaican sounds like raggamuffin and integrated them in progressive house with leftfield; examples being Fabio Paras and KLF.

Trip Hop43,123 ReleasesTrip hop (sometimes used synonymously with “downtempo”) is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as “a fusion of hip hop and electronica until neither genre is recognizable”, and may incorporate a variety of styles, including funk, dub, soul, psychedelia, R&B, and house, as well as other forms of electronic music. Trip hop can be highly experimental. Deriving from later idioms of acid house, the term was first used by the British music media to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat emerging from the Bristol Sound scene in the early 1990s, which contained influences of soul, funk, and jazz. It was pioneered by acts like Massive Attack, Tricky, and Portishead. Trip hop achieved commercial success in the 1990s, and has been described as “Europe’s alternative choice in the second half of the ’90s.”

Tropical House2,465 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

UK Funky543 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

UK Garage33,176 ReleasesUK garage (also known as UKG) is a genre of electronic music originating from England in the early 1990s. The genre usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with ‘shuffling’ hi-hats and beat-skipping kick drums. Garage tracks also commonly feature ‘chopped up’ and time-shifted or pitch-shifted vocal samples complementing the underlying rhythmic structure at a tempo usually around 128 to 140 BPM. UK garage was largely subsumed into other styles of music and production in the mid-2000s, including dubstep, bassline and grime. The decline of UK garage during the mid-2000s saw the birth of UK funky, which is closely related. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Vaporwave17,774 ReleasesVaporwave is a genre that emerged in the early 2010s. It is often characterized by a nostalgic fascination with retro cultural aesthetics, commercial fragments, and technology, as well as a critical or parodic preoccupation with consumer capitalism, popular culture, ’80s yuppie culture, and new-age tropes. Vaporwave grew out of styles such as witch house and chillwave, as well as related internet communities. Musically, it is often characterized by its heavy use of samples from late ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s popular music as well as lounge, smooth jazz or elevator music. Samples are often pitched, layered or altered in classic chopped and screwed style. Vaporwave is also home to a multitude of sub-genres, which include the following: mallsoft, which combines the typical vaporwave style with a reverb-heavy, atmospheric sound, and utilizes themes of shopping and the buildings in which it occurs – vaportrap, which typically puts ambient synths and pads with trap-styled drum patterns atop its samples – future funk, a more upbeat take on vaporwave that is reminiscent of nu-disco both in production and sound – vapornoise, which typically lathers the original vaporwave style with distortion and glitches – broken transmission, a sub-genre that takes any one of these styles (typically the chopped-and-screwed approach) and applies it to samples taken from commercials and similar media – utopian virtual, an approach that tends to involve sounds akin to MIDI sequencing and a heavily electronic sound, mostly themed around the concept of perfect life – hypnagogic drift, a more ambient take on the chopped-and-screwed style, making copious use of phasers and delay – late night lo-fi, a style that primarily samples funk and R&B to create a soulful atmosphere, and VHS pop, a style that combines the typical vaporwave style with punchy hip-hop beats.

Witch House4,393 ReleasesWitch house is an occult-themed dark electronic music genre and visual aesthetic that emerged in the early 2010s. The music is heavily influenced by chopped and screwed hip-hop soundscapes, industrial and noise experimentation, and features use of synthesizers, drum machines, obscure samples, droning repetition and heavily altered, ethereal, indiscernible vocals. The witch house visual aesthetic includes occult, witchcraft, shamanism and horror-inspired artworks, collages and photographs as well as significant use of typographic elements such as Unicode symbols. Many works by witch house visual artists incorporate themes from horror films, the television series Twin Peaks, and mainstream pop culture celebrities. Common typographic elements in artist and track names include triangles, crosses, and other Unicode symbols, which are seen by some as a method of keeping the scene underground and harder to search for on the Internet.

Folk, World, & Country

Aboriginal2,938 ReleasesTraditional music from the native Aboriginals of Australia. Used often at ceremonies. Played with unique instruments such as the didgeridoo, clapsticks, gum leaf and bull roarer.

African58,999 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Andalusian Classical1,052 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Andean Music1,090 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Appalachian Music1,801 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Bangladeshi Classical136 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Basque Music982 ReleasesBasque music refers to the music made in the Basque Country, reflecting traits related to its society/tradition, and devised by people from that territory. While traditionally more closely associated to rural based and Basque language music, the growing diversification of its production during the last decades has tipped the scale in favour of a broad definition.

Bengali Music850 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Bhangra3,000 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Bluegrass28,704 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Cajun4,876 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Cambodian Classical124 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Canzone Napoletana8,222 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Carnatic1,039 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Catalan Music1,908 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Celtic27,736 ReleasesCeltic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe.

Chacarera702 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Chamamé779 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Chinese Classical2,446 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Chutney713 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Cobla169 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Copla1,747 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Country248,331 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Cretan1,522 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Dangdut942 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Éntekhno11,000 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Fado8,734 ReleasesFado music is a typical form of Portuguese singing that is often played in pubs, cafés or restaurants. Considered Portuguese musical patrimony.This music genre has much earlier origins but is generally placed as being originated in the 1820’s in Portugal. Fado is generally known for how expressive in nature it is, as well as being profoundly melancholic. Typical fado ensemble is: one singer, 2 Portuguese Guitars (= Guitarra), one Acoustic Guitar (= Viola), one Acoustic Bass (= Viola-baixo)

Filk92 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Flamenco16,819 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Folk274,201 ReleasesIn a nutshell, Folk music is “local music from out there” or “someone else’s local music”.

Funaná288 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Gagaku356 Releases Traditional Japanese music.

Galician Traditional222 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Gamelan1,514 ReleasesThe traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat.

Għana83 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Ghazal658 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Griot543 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Guarania642 ReleasesThe Guarania is a popular genre created and developed by [José Asunción Flores](https://www.discogs.com/artist/841111-Jos%C3%A9-Asunci%C3%B3n-Flores) in 1925 after several experiments. Originally, was conceived as a symphonic poem on which, a [Flores](https://www.discogs.com/artist/841111-Jos%C3%A9-Asunci%C3%B3n-Flores)’ friend, the poet [Manuel Ortiz Guerrero](https://www.discogs.com/artist/841108-Manuel-Ortiz-Guerrero) provided the lyrics and sometimes Flores composed over the [Ortiz Guerrero](https://www.discogs.com/artist/841108-Manuel-Ortiz-Guerrero)’s lyrics. The most popular composition on this style is “India”. Other world favorites are “Recuerdos De Ypacarai” and “Mis Noches Sin Ti”, recorded by notorious pop artists around the world such as [Julio Iglesias](https://www.discogs.com/artist/67331-Julio-Iglesias), [Gal Costa](https://www.discogs.com/artist/83770-Gal-Costa), [Nino Bravo](https://www.discogs.com/artist/388516-Nino-Bravo), [Nana Mouskouri](https://www.discogs.com/artist/188983-Nana-Mouskouri), [Gato Barbieri](https://www.discogs.com/artist/177049-Gato-Barbieri) and [Roberto Carlos](https://www.discogs.com/artist/286945-Roberto-Carlos) among others. However being urban (the Guarania was originated in the capital city of Asunción, far away of rural areas) it’s considered a paraguayan folk style.

Gwo Ka64 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Hawaiian5,326 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Highlife8,641 ReleasesHighlife is a music genre that originated in Ghana at the turn of the 20th century and incorporated the traditional harmonic 9th, as well as melodic and the main rhythmic structures in traditional Akan music, and married them with Western instruments. Highlife was associated with the local African aristocracy during the colonial period. By 1930s, Highlife spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia and Nigeria via Ghanaian workers, amongst other West African countries, where the music is now very popular. Highlife is characterized by jazzy horns and multiple guitars which lead the band. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound (see Daddy Lumba). Igbo highlife and Joromi are subgenres. This 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 Nigeria, and is used in Highlife.

Hillbilly3,674 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Hindustani19,366 ReleasesHindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music. The style is sometimes called North Indian classical music or Shāstriya Sangīt. It is a tradition that has been evolving since the 12th century CE, in North India.

Honky Tonk8,493 ReleasesA more upbeat form of country music that you can dance to. Usually lots of fiddle involded.

Huayno14 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Indian Classical11,076 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Jota597 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Jug Band117 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Kaseko982 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Keroncong721 ReleasesKeroncong (various other spellings include Kronchong, Kroncong, etc.) is a popular music style which originated in the region now known as Malaysia and Indonesia. It was reputedly derived from local attempts to copy Portuguese popular songs brought to Malacca by traders and usually involved the use of stringed instruments. A local variant on the European lute resembling a ukulele was called the keroncong, so this may be how the style acquired its name. Obvioulsy the style must have developed considerably over the time between the earliest European influences in the 16th century and modern times but there are no recorded examples before the early 20th century. By the time the earliest recordings were made (in Singapore in 1903 by The Gramophone Co. and in Batavia and Singapore in 1906 by Beka) keroncong was primarily a vocal style. Many similar recordings were made up until the early 1940s when all recording activity stopped due to the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia. By this time accompaniments varied considerably and were not necessarily by the traditional group of stringed instruments (in some cases more modern instruments like the piano and saxophone were used). On most recordings the term keroncong applies to any popular vocal in the keroncong style whether stringed instruments were involved or not. After WWII the recording of this style continued, but post-war recordings already show some new developments. While most pre-war keroncong records are played fast and sung in a high-pitched nasal voice, later recordings tend to be slower in tempo and the singing style is also different (becoming more similar to other forms of popular songs of that time). The keroncong style was still popular, but it began to lose it’s dominant role in the local culture as other types of music gained more influence. For post-war recordings if the performance is not specified as keroncong (or some variant of that term) this tag should not be used. Although recordings of keroncong music continue up to the present day, by the late 1970s it had been largely overtaken by other forms. In the 1970s & 1980s the dominant form in Indonesia was Dangdut. Although both Keroncong and Dangdut are well known forms of Indonesian popular music, they should be regarded as distinct styles and these tags would not normally be used together.

Kizomba341 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Klasik138 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Klezmer2,980 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Korean Court Music152 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Laïkó26,725 ReleasesLaïkó is a Greek music genre composed in Greek language in accordance with the tradition of the Greek people. Also called folk song or urban folk music, in its plural form is a Greek music genre which has taken many forms over the years. Laïkó followed after the commercialization of Rebetiko music. It is strongly dominated by Greek folk music and it is used to describe Greek popular music as a whole. When used in context, it refers mostly to the form it took in the period from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Lao Music120 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Liscio1,305 Releases Liscio (italian for “plain”) refers to a ballroom dance music born in Romagna (historical region of Italy) in the early years of 1900. Usually performed by orchestras and bands. Tempos are fast and it’s prominent the use of instruments such as Clarinet and Saxophone (sometimes Accordian or Violin) as leaders. As years went on singers started to appear (mostly male from 1930 until 1950 and then both genders). Liscio had a golden period between 1960 and 1970 when more than 400 Liscio small orchestras were touring from city to city. Most prominents Liscio artists/bands are Secondo Casadei and Raul Casadei both leaders of Orchestra Spettacolo Casadei, Orchestra Castellina-Pasi and Orchestra Venturi Depending on the rhythm and cadence the songs can be devided in Mazurka, Polka, Tango and Valzer. Usually this information is written after the title in physical releases and spoken in live before playing so that the dancers could know witch kind of dance to perform.

Luk Krung1,184 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Luk Thung3,405 ReleasesLuk Thung, or Phleng Luk Thung (Thai: ลูกทุ่ง or เพลงลูกทุ่ง [pʰle:ŋ luk tʰuŋ], “Child of the Field song”), often known as Thai country music, is an acculturated song genre that emerged after World War II in the central region of Thailand.

Maloya587 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Mbalax340 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Min’yō3,349 ReleasesMin’yō / Minyou is generic name of Japanese old trad song. Since Min’yō is Japanese original music that continues from ancient times to the present, it does not have a Western scale and Western instruments are not used. As rare case, singer sometimes sing along with Western instruments for contemporary music, but it will be Kayōkyoku. Fusion, Jazz, and Easy Listening also has cover of Min’yo songs using Western instruments. Even Disco and Funk have cover of Min’yo songs. They are crossover music using Min’yo famous songs. The Western scale is seven scales. However, the Japanese scale is five scales. The Japanese scale “ヨナ抜き” (Yona-nuki : “Yo” means 4, “Na” means 7, “Nuki” means Without) It without using 4 “Fa” and 7 “Si”. Also other Japanese scale “ニロ抜き” (Niro-nuki : “Ni” means 2, “Ro” means 6, “Nuki” means Without) It without using 2 “Re” and 6 “La”. The vocal does not have Kobushi (Enka vibrato). You can judge Min’yō from this sound. Or in many cases 民謡 is printed on cover and label so you can judge Min’yō. 民謡 is old trad song from all over Japan. The area name is printed next to “民謡” credit. These are the types of Minyou. 追分 Oiwake means the branch point of the Japanese country road. It is a traditional song that was sung in that area. As a musical characteristic of 追分 Oiwake, Rhythm does not have a clear meter (You can not hit a crap hand well) Wide range (there are many songs from high voice to low voice) Extend the vowel (one-tone and multiple-voice type, often one character of lyrics etc. is extended for a long time like a Melisma) 甚句 Zinku (都々逸 Dodoitsu) It is estimated that it occurred during the Edo period. It is characterized by lyrics constituting 1 chorus with 7, 7, 7 and 5 (都々逸 Dodoitsu). Various lyrics were invented. 5, 7, 7, 5 in some cases. Many folk songs throughout the country have this form. There are both a melisma type and a syllable type. A shout is inserted, which is often inserted before and after lyrics. シマ唄 Shima-uta is Min’yō from 鹿児島県奄美群島 (Amami Islands) which 沖縄 Okinawa and 鹿児島 Kagoshima people’ trad song. And 労働歌 Roudouka = Work song. It belong under the Min’yō. These traditional work songs are songs that have been inherited by workers from a long time ago. 馬子唄 Mago-Uta is a song for a person to sing while leading a horse. It also called 馬追い歌 (Umaoi-Uta)、馬喰節 (Bakurou-Bushi). Many lyrics are in Zinku style (1 chorus with 7, 7, 7 and 5) It is difficult because it has melisma style and does not have a constant rhythm. Likewise, cow songs fall into this category. 舟歌 Funa-Uta is Sailor’s song. It’s kind of Work song. 木遣唄 Kiyari-Uta is song for carrying heavy logs, workmen’s chant while pulling a heavy load. 地突唄 Zitsuki-Uta, According to Japanese trad music classification, it is one of work songs. It’s the workers singing with shout when hardening the construction site before building the house. We will hang a weight of about 112.5 kilograms by assembling a large wooden scaffold. 16 to 30 people with rope attached to this are pulled up rhythmically when singing it with shout. This will facilitate integration of work. ユンタ Yunta is is a form of trad song transmitted to 八重山諸島 / the Yaeyama Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, which is a work song in which men and women sing alternately. Also 舞踊 = Buyō, It belong under the Min’yō. 舞踊 = Buyō is old trad dance song with Japanese instruments Shamisen, Koto etc. In many cases 舞踊 is printed on cover and label so you can judge 舞踊. 盆踊りの歌 Bon-Odori song, Bon Odori meaning simply Bon dance, is a style of dancing performed during Obon. Originally a Nenbutsu folk dance to welcome the spirits of the dead, the style of celebration varies in many aspects from region to region. Each region has a local dance, as well as different music. The music can be songs specifically pertinent to the spiritual message of Obon, or local min’yō folk songs. Consequently, the Bon dance will look and sound different from region to region. 音頭 Ondo, An “Ondo,” usually refers to a kind of song with a distinct swung 2/2 rhythm. This “swing” can be referred to as “Ukare” in Japanese. “Ondo” is a term used in older Japanese genres, but it is still used today when referring to songs written in this swinging style. Sometimes the rhythm is NOT swung and it is played straight through. This is called “Kizami”. There are other names used to describe older Japanese genres of music. For example, “Fushi” or “Bushi” (節), with its literal meaning of “node,” “knuckle,” or “joint,” refers to the nodes found in bamboo, usually found at a steady sequence. Thus “Fushi” can also have the abstract idea of “sequence” to refer to notes and beats in a sequence, i.e., a melody. Not every old Japanese melody with a swung rhythm is called an “Ondo,” as sometimes the term “Fushi” or “Bushi” is used to refer to a tune with a swung 2/2 rhythm, both of these having more or less the same meaning of “tune” or “melody.” The folk song Goshu Ondo, for example, does not follow this rule, as the rhythm is NOT played in a swung fashion. The folk song Tankō Bushi has a swung 2/2 rhythm, even though it has “bushi” in its name. In Japanese folk music, “Fushi” and “Ondo” follow the name of the song. For example, Tokyo Ondo, Mamurogawa Ondo, and Hanagasa Ondo all have “Ondo” in their names. Kushimoto fushi, Burabura Bushi, and Soran Bushi all have a rendering of “Bushi” or “Fushi” in their names. Part of the Japanese Obon celebration involves participating in the local community dance. The tradition of the Bon dance, or Bon odori (盆踊り), dates back a few hundred years, and it is usually accompanied by the local tune. In recent times, new music has been used for Bon dance accompaniment, including late enka hits and music written specifically for bon dancing. The “Ondo” rhythm has always been common in Japanese folk music, but even the newer music written for Bon dances has been written in this style. It is common to find names of newer music with the word “Ondo” attached to it. For example, Japanese franchises such as anime, video games and Tokusatsu TV series have their own ondo: the Pokémon Ondo, the Naruto Ondo, the Hunter x Hunter Ondo, the Doraemon Ondo, Ojamajo Doremi Ondo, Shiawase Kyoryu Ondo, the Love Live! Sunshine!! Sunshine Pikkapika Ondo and even the Super Sentai series has several Ondo songs such as Carranger Ondo, Bomb Dancing Megaranger, Hurricane Ondo, Bakuryu Kazoeuta, Let’s Go On-do, Minna Summer DAY Ondo, Kyutama Ondo. There is fan-made Touhou Ondo and DoDonPachi Ondo. Ondo were commonly used as the opening themes for anime in the 1960s and 70s, especially with Tatsunoko Productions. Even non-ondo music is starting to make the bon dance scene. The selection ranges from traditional sounding Enka, such as Hikawa Kiyoshi’s “Zundoko-bushi,” to more modern non-Japanese hits, such as the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo.” 音頭 Ondo is a congratulatory song. For that reason Japanese major record companies have 演歌 Enka singers singing 音頭 Ondo. Because 音頭 Ondo belongs to 舞踊 Buyō, and it must be 民謡 Min’yō for the style. However, 音頭 Ondo which has been released in recent years has no 民謡 Min’yō identity due to the diversity of Western musical instruments. It should be a 歌謡曲 Kayōkyok. 騒ぎ唄 Sawagi-Uta. Geisha sing to play with customers. Tempo is fast, lively and bright sound. Geisha sang this to warm banquet up with shamisen and Japanese drum. 今様 Imayou / Imayō A style of Japanese old songs. 今様 Imayou / Imayō means “Modern and Contemporary” and it was the name meaning “Modern epidemic song” at the time. In the Heian period (794 – 1185) 今様 Imayou / Ima yō occurred in the middle of the Heian period. In the latter half of the Heian period, it was left in the record of the history book that 後白河天皇 (Emperor Go-Shirakawa) loved it, he was too passionate and had sore throat for 今様 Imayou / Imayō. The lyrics are characterized by 7, 5, 7, 5, 7, 5, 7 and 5 constituting one chorus, and various lyrics were produced. Songs are syllables and melisma types. Geisha sings old Japanese songs in response to customer requests. That is not necessarily only Minyou. Geisha was singing 歌謡曲 Kayōkyoku、長唄 Naga-Uta、清元 Kiyomoto / Kiyomoto-bushi、民謡 Minyou、端唄 Ha-Uta、小唄 Kouta、宮薗節 Miyazono-bushi / 薗八節 Sonohachi-bushi. If 三味線 Shamisen is used, these kinds are often collectively called Min’yō / Minyou. These all are the 舞踊 Buyō that geisha sang. It belongs to 民謡 Min’yō. 長唄 Naga-Uta, The official name is 江戸長唄 (Edo Nagauta). 長唄 Naga-Uta, literally “long song”, is a kind of traditional Japanese music which accompanies the kabuki theater. It was developed around 1740. Influences included the vocal yōkyoku style used in noh theater, and instruments included the shamisen and various kinds of drums. 小唄 Kouta, The official name is 江戸小唄 (Edo Kouta). 小唄 Kouta is 俗謡 (Popular song) originally derived from the 端唄 Ha-Uta. It was the Meiji (1868 – 1912) to Taisho (1912 – 1926) years that established as an abbreviation. 端唄 Ha-Uta uses 撥 Bachi (the plectrum for stringed instruments such as the shamisen and biwa) for the shamisen. But 小唄 Kouta is finger picking. In some cases, “小撥 Ko-Bachi” (Small Bachi) may be used. 端唄 Ha-Uta uses percussion instruments. But 小唄 Kouta is a song only with a shamisen. In recent years, there are also playing percussion instruments in special cases. 端唄 Ha-Uta sings flat. But 小唄 Kouta sings skillfully. In this case, in order to give out the coolness which is the characteristic of the song, this technique must be not disgusting and disconcerting. 端唄 Ha-Uta is a collective term for short songs from the middle of the Edo period (1603 to1868). Until the 1920s, songs were also called by the name of 小唄 Kouta, but later it became clearly distinguishable from 端唄 Ha-Uta / 小唄 = 俗謡 (Popular song). It was the Meiji (1868 – 1912) to Taisho (1912 – 1926) years that established as an abbreviation. 清元 Kiyomoto / Kiyomoto-bushi is one of the shamisen music, a kind of 浄瑠璃 Jōruri (Jōruri is a form of traditional Japanese narrative music in which a 太夫 tayū sings to the accompaniment of a shamisen. As a form of storytelling, the emphasis is on the lyrics and narration rather than the music itself.) It is mainly used as accompaniment music of 歌舞伎 Kabuki and 歌舞伎舞踊 Kabuki Buyō (Kabuki’s dance tune). 宮薗節 Miyazono-bushi / 薗八節 Sonohachi-bushi. One of the old songs of 浄瑠璃 Jōruri, the ancestor of 宮古路薗八 (Sonohachi Miyakoji. the first generation, unknown birth and death year) in the middle of the Edo period (1603 to1868).

Mizrahi929 ReleasesrMizrahi music (Hebrew: מוזיקה מזרחית‎ muzika mizrahit [ˈmuzika mizraˈ ħit], “Eastern/Oriental music”) refers to a music genre in Israel that combines elements from Europe, North Africa and the Arab world, and is mainly performed by Israelis of Mizrahi descent. It is usually sung in Hebrew, literary Hebrew, or colloquial Arabic. The literal translation of Mizrahi from Hebrew is “Eastern”.

Mo Lam536 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Morna656 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Mouth Music268 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Mugham451 ReleasesMugham (Azerbaijani: Muğam) is one of the many folk musical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashiks. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific local modes. Mugham is a modal system.Unlike Western modes, “mugham” modes are associated not only with scales but with an orally transmitted collection of melodies and melodic fragments that performers use in the course of improvisation. Mugham is a compound composition of many parts. The choice of a particular mugham and a style of performance fits a specific event. The dramatic unfolding in performance is typically associated with increasing intensity and rising pitches, and a form of poetic-musical communication between performers and initiated listeners.

Népzene3,032 ReleasesNépzene is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional folk music from Hungary and Hungarian minorities living in modern-day Austria, the, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, central Romania (Transylvania) (Székely), Moldova (Csángó), and Serbia. It includes a broad array of Central European styles, including the recruitment dance verbunkos, the csárdás and nóta.

Nhạc Vàng636 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Nordic8,121 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Ottoman Classical1,325 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Overtone Singing670 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Pacific10,050 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Pasodoble1,725 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Persian Classical1,156 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Philippine Classical234 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Phleng Phuea Chiwit707 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Piobaireachd162 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Polka23,251 ReleasesEuropean dance style characterized by 2/4 time signature. Popularized in the USA in 1930s with many regional styles (Chicago, Cleveland and more). Also includes obereks, waltzes and others.

Progressive Bluegrass135 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Qawwali591 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Raï2,982 ReleasesAlgerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s

Rebetiko3,792 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Romani5,849 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Rune Singing224 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Salegy601 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Sámi Music354 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Sea Shanties1,576 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Séga3,730 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Sephardic597 ReleasesSephardic music is an umbrella term used to refer to the music of the Sephardic Jewish community. Sephardic Jews have a diverse repertoire the origins of which center primarily around the Mediterranean basin. In the secular tradition, material is usually sung in dialects of Judeo-Spanish, though other languages including Hebrew, Turkish, Greek, and other local languages of the Sephardic diaspora are widely used. Sephardim maintain geographically unique liturgical and para-liturgical traditions. Songs which are sung by women are traditionally sung while performing household tasks, without accompaniment or harmony. Tambourines and other percussion instruments are sometimes used, especially in wedding songs. Oud and qanún are also used in some instrumentations of Sephardic music, and more modern performers incorporate countless other imported instruments.

Soukous6,698 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Taarab40 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Tamil Film Music61 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Thai Classical558 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Volksmusik23,404 ReleasesVolksmusik (German: literally, “people’s music” or as a Germanic connotative translation, “folk’s music”) is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional folk music from the Alpine regions of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and South Tyrol (Italy). It tends to be dialect-heavy and invokes local and regional lifestyles and traditions, particularly those of the Alpine farmers and peasants. Originally transmitted by oral tradition, the oldest historical records like the Appenzell Kuhreihen by Georg Rhau (1488–1548) date back to the 16th century. Volksmusik is characterized by improvisation and variation, uncomplicated major key melodies and simple harmonies. Typical instruments range from alpenhorns to hackbretts, zithers and acoustic guitars, and even violas and harmonicas. Harmonized singing is frequent, but other pieces may require yodeling, while instrumental arrangements are particularly frequent for fast dances or brass pieces. Volksmusik continues to be performed by many local ensembles and bands throughout the European Alps and should not be confused with Volkstümliche Musik, which is largely to be found in broadcasting media and on ancillary merchandise. Since the 1970s, artists of a Neue Volksmusik genre, such as Werner Pirchner or Biermösl Blosn, attempt to combine traditional styles with jazz, folk, hip hop, rock et al. as a kind of world music. Popular proponents include Hubert von Goisern, Attwenger and Christine Lauterburg. Additionally, also e.g. a Czech variant (Oberkrainer, Dechovka) does exist. There has been much mix-up for this style, since ‘Volksmusik’ is the verbatim translation of ‘Folk music’. This style, however is very specific, the correct translation for ‘Folk music’ into German is ‘volkstümliche Musik’. This discrepancy is described amongst others in the German Wikipedia article. The requested style is the specific style for the alpine branch, well described by the English Wikipedia aricle.

Waiata52 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Western Swing2,690 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Yemenite Jewish204 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Zamba668 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Zemer Ivri151 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Zouk7,339 ReleasesDance music from the French West Indies, came from the Beguine style.

Zydeco2,247 ReleasesZydeco (pronounced /ˈzaɪdɪˌkoʊ/ zy-dih-koh or /ˈzaɪdiˌkoʊ/ zy-dee-koh) is a musical genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native people of Louisiana.

Funk / Soul

Bayou Funk2,520 ReleasesRhythmically driven musical form where creole/bayou phrasing and lyrical storytelling meet percussive bass fundamentals and electric guitar played in an aggressive, staccato manner.

Boogie13,587 ReleasesPost-Disco Funk/R&B music prevalent in the early 1980s. Commonly misidentified as ‘Disco’. Notable artist include Imagination, Skyy, “D” Train, Freeez, Kashif, Evelyn King, Sharon Redd, The S.O.S. Band, Yarbrough & Peoples, Leroy Burgess.

Contemporary R&B21,237 ReleasesContemporary R&B evolved from traditional Rhythm & Blues and urban R&B, and combines elements of soul, funk and pop with an integrated approach and a slick modern production. Many contemporary R&B musicians are obsessed with bringing back the grit, spirit, and ambitiousness of classic soul and R&B. Contemporary R&B emerged in the US in the early 1980s.

Free Funk2,769 Releases1970s music mixing Avant-Jazz and Funk. Notable artists include Ornette Coleman, Ronald Shannon Jackson, James Ulmer…

Funk188,091 ReleasesFunk is a music genre that originated in the mid to late 1960s when African-American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and R&B. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. Funk songs are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord, distinguishing them from R&B and soul songs, which are built on chord progressions. Funk uses the same extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Gogo781 ReleasesGo-go was another word for nightclub, but as a music genre it applies to any funk, R&B, or hip-hop song that features the distinctive go-go rhythm pattern popularized by Washington, DC-based artists like Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers. This pattern uses syncopated mix of kick, snare, and relatively tonal elements like cowbell and congas. It has a loose, loping feel that alternates between high and low pitches. Go-go hits include “Da Butt” by E.U. and “Hey, Fellas” by Trouble Funk. This tag is not appropriate for music associated with go-go dancing, burlesque, dancers in cages, mid-1960s imagery of women in mini-skirts and knee-high boots, “twist”/”ye-ye”/”a-go-go” records, and so on. On Discogs, there is the “Gogo” tag under Funk/Soul/R&B, and “Go-Go” under Hip-Hop. These are referring to the same thing and ideally would both be named “Go-Go”. The one under Hip-Hop existed first and is just for go-go in more of a rap context.

Gospel88,942 ReleasesGospel Music is a genre in and of itself, that crosses style boundaries. Various selections may be based on Country, Bluegrass, Hip Hop, Classical, Urban Contemporary, and even Jazz. The common denominator throughout is the focus on the Christian belief system. Various song themes come from Biblical concepts, with Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, as the principle guide for one’s life. The songs themselves are considered to provide inspiration, instruction, strength and peace to the listener that may or may not have accepted the Christian belief system for themselves.

Minneapolis Sound1,395 ReleasesThe Minneapolis sound is a subgenre of funk with elements of new wave, rock or disco, that was pioneered by Prince in the beginning of 1980s in Minneapolis (hence the name). Most of the Minneapolis Sound artists were produced by Prince (The Time, Vanity 6, Jill Jones, Mazarati, The Family …) or the Jimmy Jam / Terry Lewis duo (Janet Jackson, Cherelle, The SOS band …).

Neo Soul12,573 ReleasesThough it’s roughly analagous to contemporary R&B, Neo-Soul artists pay more devotion to the era of classic soul, often seeking a sound and a style of songwriting with few concessions to events in the music world post-1975.

New Jack Swing7,602 ReleasesImmensely popular from about 1989-1992, it’s a style of R&B that focuses on a very prominent swingbeat made with an electronic drum machine. Vocals are usually harmonized.

P.Funk5,289 ReleasesP.Funk is a shorthand term for the distinctive style of funk music that George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective performed.

Psychedelic13,267 ReleasesMusic genre that emerged in the late 1960s in which soul musicians embraced elements of psychedelic rock, including its production techniques, instrumentation, effects units (fuzz, wah-wah, phaser, etc.), as well as drug influences.

Rhythm & Blues150,381 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Soul346,241 ReleasesSoul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combined elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, and often jazz. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States—where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax labels were influential during the period of the civil rights movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Swingbeat3,034 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

UK Street Soul762 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Hip Hop

Bass Music15,745 ReleasesFor the Hip Hop style, see Miami Bass or read further down below. For the Electronic style: Bass Music is an umbrella term that refers to various styles of music including drum and bass, bassline, dubstep and UK garage among others. The phrase began to be used in response to the blending of sounds between these genres. The key characteristic shared among these genres are an emphasis on basslines, groove and rhythm. Hip Hop Bass Music (sometimes referred to as Miami Bass) is a musical style that originated in the U.S. State of Florida in the mid-eighties. It is directly linked with electro-funk music from the early eighties and is known for its use of the Roland TR-808 kickdrums, sped up tempo and frequently sexually explicit lyrical content. The style originated in Miami’s historically black neighborhoods such as Liberty City and Overtown, but also had shared influence from nearby Ft. Lauderdale, as well as Tampa Bay and Orlando. Maggotron a.k.a DXJ, Maggozulu 2, Planet Detroit and Bass Master Khan are considered pioneers of the sound, while it was popularized by acts such as the 2 Live Crew, Jam Pony Express, Gucci Crew II and DJ Magic Mike. Other well-known artists of the genre include the 69 Boyz, Truck Stop Boyz and the Quad City DJ’s In the mid-eighties pirate radio was popular in Miami, where DJ’s would hijack radio airwaves and broadcast provocative and sexually explicit bass music from the safety of nearby boats off of the coast. This helped the style to gain further recognition, while adding to its controversial appeal. The style eventually spread to neighboring States, such as Georgia (mainly Atlanta) and the Carolinas as well as other nearby States.

Beatbox463 ReleasesBeatboxing is using the human voice to mimic electronic percussion and record scratching. The Beatbox tag can be applied to any hip-hop music which features this vocal style. One of the most famous acapella beatbox songs is “La-Di-Da-Di” by Doug E. Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew.

Bongo Flava100 ReleasesBongo Flava is the nickname for Tanzanian hip-hop music. Bongo is the plural form of the Swahili word ubongo, meaning “brain”, referring to the ‘street smarts’ contained in the lyrics and is also a nickname for the Capital city Dar Es Salaam, from where the style originated. The term was first coined in 1996 by Radio One’s 99.6 FM’s DJ Mike Mhagama, who was seeking to distinguish the local movement from American hip-hop and R&B. It is the most popular musical style amongst the Tanzanian youth today, having been pioneered by the likes of Mawingu Band, Dar Young Mob, DJ Boni Love, DJ Kim Magomelo and the Boyz, Adili a.k.a Nigga One and Mr. II. Bongo Flava also draws on traditional Tanzanian musical styles like taarab and dansi, creating it’s own unique sound within the African hip-hop landscape. It is also a popular musical style in culturally related neighboring Kenya.

Boom Bap14,122 ReleasesBoom bap is a style of production in hip-hop music. The term “boom bap” is an onomatopoeia for the drum sounds prominent in boom bap. It is usually recognized by an acoustic drum loop/break that is then chopped up and played using a sampler such as the Akai MPC or the SP1200. The term was popularized by the album Return of the Boom Bap by KRS-One. Boom bap production was associated with producers from New York City in the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, KRS-One, Q-tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, EPMD, RZA, Marley Marl, Large Professor, Prince Paul and Scott La Rock. The production style was also employed by producers outside of New York City, such as J Dilla in Detroit and People Under The Stairs in Los Angeles. Although it is still made, boom bap is no longer the dominant style of hip-hop production, remaining somewhat prominent in alternative hip hop but rarely appearing in Top 40 hip hop singles.[citation needed] In recent years the boom bap production style has made a slight comeback through artists such as Joey Bada$$,[1] Pro Era and associated acts. ·Having a “drunken” or “trippy” quality to its rhythm. Most other hip-hop beats has even eighth and sixteenth notes, but many examples of boom-bap are only even at the quarter note level — the eighth notes may be offbeat. ·Soul music, jazz, R&B and reggae sampling is utilized. This could be said about 90s hip-hop in general though. Boom-bap beats are most often funky. ·Relatively less dense drum loops. Often, a boom-bap measure is just quarter notes (kick-snare-kick-snare). Eighth-notes are less emphasized but are crucial to making the boom-bap sound because they are placed offbeat to create that drunken or trippy quality. However, less dense drums does not mean it’s simpler — it takes craftsmanship to find samples that go well with snare drums. ·Pick-up notes. They tend to be very close to the upbeat of the note it picks up to, especially noticeable in the kick drum. Sometimes the note it picks up to is even substituted completely by the pick-up note.

Bounce2,783 ReleasesBounce is a sub-genre of rap that started in the projects of New Orleans, Louisiana. During its first years it did not have an official name, however sometime between (or after) DJ Jimi’s record and Everlasting Hitman’s “Bounce Baby, Bounce!”, everybody started calling the genre ‘bounce’. DJ Jimi, MC T Tucker & DJ Irv are considered ‘founding fathers’ of bounce, although it started with artists rapping over a DJ looping breaks from The Showboys’ “Drag Rap” record (which is colloquially referred to as “Triggerman”). While typically comprised from samples of “Triggerman”, The Soul Searchers’ “Ashley’s Roach Clip”, and/or Derek B’s “Rock The Beat (Bonus Beats)” (or Cameron Paul’s “Brown Beat”, which is the same as Derek B’s “Rock The Beat (Bonus Beats)” but with various James Brown samples added to it), Bounce is more of a transparent expression of cultural aspects of New Orleans: Secondlines, party music, hood representation, call and response, comedy, witty lyrics, roast sessions, dances, chants, etc. – a good, ‘hood’ (and sometimes raunchy) cultural celebration. The first known bounce recording that was distributed to the public was DJ Irv’s “Live At Ghosttown” tape which featured a 15-minute version of “Where Dey AT?” by MC T Tucker.

Britcore1,503 ReleasesBritcore is a subgenre of Hip Hop which stands for British Hardcore Hip Hop. The term came up in the early 90’s (from the maker of German hip hop magazine MZEE – Ralf Kotthoff) and was adapted by the European scene (got mentioned in magazines, on flyers, releases, lyrics). Two of the earliest releases of that subgenre were ‘Hold No Hostage’ by ‘Hijack’ and ‘Bring Forth The Guillotine’ by ‘Silver Bullet’, both later classified as Britcore. The majority of crews came from the UK but the main market appeared to be the European mainland, especially Germany and Switzerland. So were some crews releasing their records on German labels towards the mid 90’s (Gunshot, Killa Instinct, First Down, Suspekt, Blade). The Britcore style was adapted by bands from other countries, mainly Germany and The Netherlands but there also have been bands in Switzerland, Belgium and other European countries, such as Sweden or Norway. The lyrics are mostly in English, even from those crews not being from the UK. But there has been a minority of crews rapping in their native language, for example in Dutch or German. In Germany the term Germcore came up but didn’t prevail, although the Germans invented their own style and a lot of crews were overproducing their beats and rapping on beats up to 165 BPM. Towards the mid 90’s the support for the scene in the UK decreased and to the end of the 90’s the strong Britcore scene on the European mainland was nearly not existent anymore. Due to the internet and the ability to bundle the interest in Britcore there has been a little revival of Britcore and old crews revived (new releases of Killa Instinct, Dookie Squad, The Criminal Minds, Hideouz Newcome, Suspekt to name a few) as well as a few new bands were formed and Jams appeared all over Europe. From back then up to today, Britcore stands for originality, unwillingness to compromise and riotousness. Britcore is way faster than ‘usual’ hip hop, often about 110-130 BPM or even faster. It’s mostly based on funk breaks and is using samples from movies such as horror movies. The rapping is aggressive and fast (mainly male rappers), tongues twisting was used by several MC’s. The lyrics were higher-than-average political, sociocritical and often based on the movie theme that was used (horror, war etc). A Britcore groups appearance can be very militant. Also, DJ’s got longer parts for scratching (even special styles were created such as ‘drills’) than on ‘other’ hip hop tunes, a lot of crews had more than one DJ (No Remorze, Son Of Noise, Killa Instinct to name a few). At all Britcore is way more aggressive, more dark and way faster than other Hip Hop. It’s often overproduced (especially the German stuff) and often very low in sound due to the lack of recording-possibilities and the lack of money and/or interest from big labels and the music industry. Hardly any crews appeared on major labels (Hijack, Caveman, Silver Bullet being some of the very few exceptions here), most crews were either on small independent labels or used to put out releases on their own, that didn’t change up to today.

Cloud Rap2,534 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Conscious42,847 ReleasesConscious hip hop, or socially conscious hip-hop, is a subgenre of hip hop that challenges the dominant cultural, political, philosophical, and economic consensus,[4] and/or comments on social issues and conflicts. Lyrics are used to create consciousness and awareness with the audience. Often themes are relating to community, spirituality, economics, and politics, sometimes with underlying elements of activism, and on the other end, humour. Generally stemming out a desire for positivity, and to change the prevailing socio-economic structure. Conscious music seeks to inspire its listeners, particularly youth, for positive awareness in their lives and the world we share, if not for action, then simply for awareness through the dopest music without negative messages. This classic American artform stems from the blues with rich detailed wordplay about personal growth, determination, and overcoming great obstacles, storytelling about injustice, self respect, making mistakes, growing, and sharing of knowledge to raise people up.

Crunk3,190 ReleasesCrunk is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop’s more dance and club oriented subgenres. An archetypal crunk track frequently uses a main groove consisting of layered keyboard synths, a drum machine rhythm, heavy basslines, and shouting vocals, often in a call and response manner. The term “crunk” is also used as a blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre’s breakthrough to the mainstream. The word derives from its African-American slang past-participle form, “crunk”, of the verb “to crank” (as in the phrase “crank up”). Outkast has been attributed as the first artist to use the term in mainstream music, in the 1993 track “Player’s Ball”. A seminal year for the genre was 1996, with the releases of Three 6 Mafia album Chapter 1: The End (featuring “Gette’m Crunk”), and Memphis-based underground hip hop artist Tommy Wright III’s album On the Run, which featured the Project Pimp track “Getting Crunk”. Artist Lil Jon was instrumental in bringing the term further into the mainstream with his 1997 album titled Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. He later released other songs and albums using the term, and has been credited by other artists and musicians as galvanizing use of the term as well as mainstreaming the music genre itself. Lil Jon further popularized the word with his 2004 album Crunk Juice, and has been credited with inventing the potent alcoholic cocktail by that name. This use of “crunk” became synonymous with the meaning “crazy drunk”. Non-alcoholic drinks, to which alcohol could be added, were manufactured and marketed under the Crunk brand name, with Lil Jon as spokesman. The term has continued to evolve, taking on a negative stigma with police, parents and the media. In 2011, the company which manufactured “Crunk” drink brought out an alcoholic version named “Crunk Juice”. This drink was allegedly marketed towards 19- to 21-year-olds – those under the US legal drinking age – resulting in Crunk Juice drinking being blamed as a cause of crime or becoming a victim of crime. The mainstream media began publishing stories in which the term “crunk” was used to refer to “crazy and drunk” criminals. Crunk music arose from Miami bass music before 1996 in the southern United States, particularly in African American strip clubs of Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis-based hip hop group Three 6 Mafia were “instrumental for the emergence of the crunk style” in the mid-to-late 1990s. Two mixtape DJs from Memphis, DJ Paul and Juicy J, started making their original music, which was distinctive with its “spare, low-BPM rhythms, simplistic chants… and narcotically repetitive, slasher-flick textures”. This duo soon became known as Three 6 Mafia. Frequently featuring rappers such as Project Pat, Lord Infamous, and Gangsta Boo on their releases, they became instrumental in the formation of crunk music. In 1997, in Atlanta, Lil Jon, with his group The East Side Boyz, released their first album titled Get Crunk, Who U Wit. These were the first of six albums released by Lil Jon and The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon states that they were first to use the word “crunk” in a song hook; he claimed that they had started to call themselves a “crunk group” due to this album. However, The New York Times denied that Get Crunk, Who Are You With was the first crunk album ever. He was one of the key figures in popularizing crunk during 1998 and 1999, and produced two gold records independently, before signing to TVT Records in 2001. After being named the “King of Crunk”, Lil Jon went on to make collaborations with many popular artist such as Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Ludacris and Britney Spears. Nevertheless, crunk was not exclusively associated with Lil Jon and Three 6 Mafia. In its early stages, such artists as Ying Yang Twins, White Dawg, Bone Crusher, Lil Scrappy, Trillville, Youngbloodz and Pastor Troy from Atlanta, and David Banner from Mississippi also helped to popularize crunk music.

Cut-up/DJ11,522 ReleasesCut-Up/DJ tags on Discogs refer to recordings that were released as DJ Mixes, such as mixtapes or compilation CD’s/records that were mixed by a DJ. It can also refer to recordings of turntablism or otherwise recordings where the DJ is taking an active role of cutting up, mixing and blending songs. Cut-Up DJ is also often used in reference to DJ Battle tool records, which are usually soundbytes and breaks that are used by battle DJ’s in direct competition.

DJ Battle Tool3,532 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Favela Funk624 ReleasesFunk carioca, favela funk, and in other parts in the world, baile funk, is a music genre from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil derived from Miami bass and gangsta rap music, which emerged in the mid-eighties. “Baile funk”, in Brazil, refers not to the music, but to the actual parties or discothèques in which the music is played. Although originated in Rio, favela funk has become increasingly popular amongst working classes in other parts of Brazil. In the whole country, funk carioca is most often simply known as funk, although it is very different musically from what funk means in most other places.

G-Funk9,955 ReleasesG-funk, or gangsta-funk, is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged from West Coast Gangsta rap in the early 1990s, heavily influenced by 1970s funk sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Originating in Los Angeles, California in the early nineties, G-funk (which uses funk with an artificially altered tempo) incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-Funk tunes, and a high-pitched portamento saw wave synthesizer lead. The lyrical content depended on the artist and could consist of sex, drugs, violence, vandalism and women, but also of love for a city, love for friends and relaxing words. There was also a slurred “lazy” or “smooth” way of rapping in order to clarify words and stay in rhythmic cadence. Unlike other earlier rap acts that also utilized funk samples (such as EPMD and The Bomb Squad), G-funk often utilized fewer, unaltered samples per song. Music theorist Adam Krims has described G-funk as “a style of generally West Coast rap whose musical tracks tend to deploy live instrumentation, heavy on bass and keyboards, with minimal (sometimes no) sampling and often highly conventional harmonic progressions and harmonies”. Dr. Dre, a pioneer of the G-funk genre, normally uses live musicians to replay the original music of sampled records. This enabled him to produce music that had his own sounds, rather than a direct copy of the sample

Gangsta59,259 ReleasesGangsta rap or gangster rap (also referred to as reality rap by its performers) is a style of hip hop music whose themes and lyrics primarily deal with the gangster lifestyle.

Go-Go1,287 ReleasesGo-go was another word for nightclub, but as a music genre it applies to any funk, R&B, or hip-hop song that features the distinctive go-go rhythm pattern popularized by Washington, DC-based artists like Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers. This pattern uses syncopated mix of kick, snare, and relatively tonal elements like cowbell and congas. It has a loose, loping feel that alternates between high and low pitches. Go-go hits include “Da Butt” by E.U. and “Hey, Fellas” by Trouble Funk. This tag is not appropriate for music associated with go-go dancing, burlesque, dancers in cages, mid-1960s imagery of women in mini-skirts and knee-high boots, “twist”/”ye-ye”/”a-go-go” records, and so on. On Discogs, there is the “Gogo” tag under Funk/Soul/R&B, and “Go-Go” under Hip-Hop. These are referring to the same thing and ideally would both be named “Go-Go”. The one under Hip-Hop existed first and is just for go-go in more of a rap context.

Hardcore Hip-Hop22,269 ReleasesAggressive lyrics and dirty sound beats characterize this kind of Rap. But the one that stands out in particular is that Hardcore rappers follow a discipline dictated by themselves and keep us representing it best. The dissing is very common, where a rapper devastates another rapper with extremely sharp rhymes to show which is the superior technique. Lyrical themes include violence, prostitution, selling drugs, criminal activity, religion (in blasphemy term), and government conspiricies. They see violence not as a crime but as a simple confrontation, who loses die who wins survive. Hardcore is a lifestyle.

Hiplife943 ReleasesHiplife is a musical style from Ghana (West Africa) that fuses Ghanaian highlife music with hip hop. Recorded predominantly in the Ghanaian Akan language, hiplife gainined popularity throughout West Africa and abroad, especially in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, where the Ghanaian diaspora can be found. Highlife music evolved in the seventies and early eighties, when people began fusing traditional Akan folk music with Western pop-music, using Western instruments. The further evolution of the sound came in the late eighties/early nineties, when producers such as Jay Q, Zapp Mallet and Chief G began to incorporate Ghanaian highlife music into their production, thus creating the sound known as hiplife today. Rapper/MC Reggie Rockstone is widely considered the Godfather and originator of the hiplife sound.

Horrorcore6,453 ReleasesHorrorcore is a subgenre of hip hop music whose lyrics depict acts of horror, such as murder and violence. It derived from gangsta rap and hardcore rap. It openly references horror works of art, such as slasher films and horror stories.

Hyphy934 ReleasesThe term hyphy (/ˈhaɪfiː/ HY-fee) is Oakland slang meaning “hyperactive”. More specifically it is an adjective describing the music and the culture associated with that area. The term was first coined by Oakland rapper Keak da Sneak. Originating the San Francisco Bay Area, California in the late nineties. It is distinguished by gritty, pounding rhythms, and has been compared to crunk music. An individual is said to “get hyphy” when they dance in an overstated, fast-paced and ridiculous manner, or if they get overloud with other people. The phrase “to get hyphy” is similar to the southern phrase “to get crunk”. Those who consider themselves part of the hyphy movement strive for this behavior. Ghost riding, frequently used in the context of “ghost riding the whip” (a “whip” being a vehicle) or simply ghostin’, is when a person exits their moving vehicle, and dances beside and around it. Originating in Northern California, specifically the Bay Area, the act is commonly related to the culture surrounding the Hyphy movement.

Instrumental48,544 ReleasesInstrumental hip hop is hip hop music without vocals. Hip hop as a general rule consists of two elements: an instrumental track (the “beat”) and a vocal track (the “rap”). The artist who crafts the beat is the producer (or beatmaker), and the one who crafts the rap is the MC (emcee). In this format, the rap is almost always the primary focus of the song, providing most of the complexity and variation over a fairly repetitive beat. Instrumental hip hop is hip hop music without an emcee rapping. This format gives the producer the flexibility to create more complex, richly detailed and varied instrumentals. Songs of this genre may wander off in different musical directions and explore various subgenres, because the instruments do not have to supply a steady beat for an MC. Although producers have made and released hip hop beats without MCs since hip hop’s inception, those records rarely became well-known. Jazz keyboardist/composer Herbie Hancock and bassist/producer Bill Laswell’s electro-inspired collaborations are notable exceptions. 1983’s Future Shock album and hit single “Rockit” featured turntablist Grand Mixer D.ST, the first use of turntables in jazz fusion, and gave the turntablism and record “scratching” widespread exposure. The Mix-Up is the seventh studio album by the Beastie Boys, released in 2007. The album consists entirely of instrumental performances and won a Grammy Award in 2008 for Best Pop Instrumental Album. The release of DJ Shadow’s debut album Endtroducing….. in 1996 saw the beginnings of a movement in instrumental hip hop. Relying mainly on a combination of sampled funk, hip hop, and film score, DJ Shadow’s innovative sample arrangements influenced many producers and musicians. In the 2000s and 2010s, artists such as RJD2, J Dilla, Pete Rock, Large Professor, MF Doom, Danny!, Nujabes, Madlib, Wax Tailor, Denver Kajanga, DJ Krush, Hermitude, and Blockhead have garnered critical attention with instrumental hip hop albums. Due to the current state of copyright law, most instrumental hip-hop releases are released on small, independent labels. Producers often have difficulty obtaining clearance for the many samples found throughout their work, and labels such as Stones Throw are fraught with legal problems.

Jazzy Hip-Hop15,527 ReleasesA style of Hip-Hop that comes from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s which heavily uses samples and musical styles from Jazz music. Sound could be described as having a mellow or laid back feel. Later releases began to use live instrumentation over sampled loops. Lyrical content often sides on more Afrocentric and racially positive subject matters.

Kwaito939 ReleasesGenerally referred-to as a domesticated flavour of hip-hop, the kwaito style emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa during the early 90’s. Bass-heavy, it borrows much from US hip-hop as well as house music (comparable to having a 45RPM Chicago-house record slowed down to 33RPM). It often features some typical reggae tinges and includes traditional African beats (or samples). Wikipedia’s article on kwaito is rather accurate. Popular amongst the largely black township dwellers, this musical style is slowly spreading overseas.

Miami Bass1,539 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Motswako56 ReleasesMotswako is Southern African style of hip-hop music popular in Botswana and South Africa performed with lyrics in a mix of Setswana and English. The style has since grown to see artists’ perform with lyrics in Sesotho, Zulu, French and Afrikaans, depending on the origin. The style developed in the late nineties when artists such as HHP and Baphixile started rapping in their native Setswana language. It has since grown to become one of the more popular music sub-genres in Southern Africa, with notable artists such as Nomadic, 91 Emcees Street, BTP, Dramaboi, Cassper Nyovest, Tuks Senganga, Khuli Chana, Fifi Cooper, Mo’Molemi and Zeus among some of the more poular performers.

Phonk15 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Pop Rap59,057 ReleasesPop-rap is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music’s preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes, which gained mainstream popularity during the 1990s. The lyrics are often lighthearted, with choruses similar to those heard in pop music. The influences and roots of pop rap trace back to late 1980s hip hop artists, such as Run DMC, LL Cool J, and Beastie Boys. In the 1980s, rap artists including Run DMC, Beastie Boys and LL Cool J set up the blueprints and origins of pop-rap as they suddenly broke into the mainstream. LL Cool J has been described as the very first “pop-rapper” in history, when he rose to prominence on his 1985 debut album Radio. MTV has described LL Cool J’s 1987 single “I Need Love,” as “one of the first pop-rap crossover hits”. Later, rap artists such as Tone Loc, Young MC, and Fresh Prince then made songs with lots of party tunes and storytelling abilities as they became very 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. In the early 1990s, MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice broke into the mainstream with songs like “U Can’t Touch This” and “Ice Ice Baby”, respectively. They caused pop-rap to be “derided (and, occasionally, taken to court) for its willingness to borrow” from well-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 early 2000s, pop-rap returned with a whole different style. It then went back into the mainstream with the success of The Black Eyed Peas who had smash singles such as “Where Is the Love?” which came off their Elephunk album. During the late 2000s, pop-rap had many artists such as Drake, will.i.am, Nicki Minaj and Wiz Khalifa emerge.

Ragga HipHop10,925 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

RnB/Swing101,309 ReleasesThis style was an older database entry that amalgamated [Contemporary R&B](https://www.discogs.com/style/contemporary+r%26b) and [New Jack Swing](https://www.discogs.com/style/new+jack+swing). Please consider using either of those two styles instead.

Screw4,008 ReleasesChopped and screwed (very rarely also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed), is a technique of remixing hip hop music which developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s. This is accomplished by slowing the tempo down to between 60 and 70 quarter-note beats per minute and applying techniques such as skipping beats, record scratching, stop-time, and affecting portions of the music to make a “chopped-up” version of the original. DJ Screw is largely recognized as the innovator behind the chopped and screwed genre. DJ Screw’s key technique involved playing the same record on both turntables with a delay between them of one beat and quickly moving the crossfader side to side. This created an effect where the words or beats in a song were repeated without interrupting its tempo. In Houston, a different approach of slowing music down, rather than speeding it up, developed. It is unknown when DJ Screw definitively created “screwed and chopped” music: Screw said he started slowing music down in 1990 and also in Tulsa, Oklahoma, DJ Dinero And DJ Z-Nasty helped popularize chopped and screwed music in the Mid South. There is no debate, however, that DJ Screw invented the music style.” He discovered that dramatically reducing the pitch of a record gave a mellow, heavy sound that emphasized lyrics to the point of almost storytelling. After messing around with the sound for a while Screw started making full length “Screw Tapes”. At first the music was only referred to as “screw music”, was limited to the South Side of Houston, and was seen as laid-back driving music. As Screw’s tapes started to gain popularity he started selling his tapes for around $10. Screw was known to feature some of Houston’s most renowned rappers from the South Side. This eventually led to the formation of the Screwed Up Click. Between 1991 and 1992, there was a large increase in use of purple drank in Houston. Purple drank has been considered to be a major influence in the making of and listening to chopped and screwed music due to its perceived effect of slowing the brain down, giving slow, mellow music its appeal. DJ Screw, however, repeatedly denounced the claim that one has to use purple drank to enjoy screwed and chopped music. Screw, a known user of purple drank, said he came up with chopped and screwed music when high on marijuana. Purple drank was very popular in Houston because of two factors; a lot of strict drug laws in Texas kept the more popular drugs like cocaine and marijuana from crossing state lines which spared Houston the worst effects of the crack epidemic, and the cheap availability of cough syrup in supermarkets in the 1980s. In the mid-1990s, chopped and screwed music started to move to the north side of Houston by way of DJ Michael “5000” Watts, and later OG RON C. It wasn’t long until a rivalry between north and south Houston started over who were the “originators” and who were the “adopters”. Michael “5000” Watts always gave credit to DJ Screw as the originator of chopped and screwed music, which is he calls the genre “screwed and chopped”. In the late 1990s, with the help of P2P groups such as Napster, chopped and screwed music spread to a much wider audience.

Spaza50 ReleasesSpaza is a South African style of hip-hop music that originated in Gugulethu on the Cape Flats, on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa around the turn of the century. The style is named after the spaza shops, informal corner stores on the flats, where often times rappers can be found performing with lyrics in a mix of Xhosa and township slang. Early proponents of the style were artists such as Driemanskap, Backyard Crew, Rattex, Middlefinga, Manqoba, Baby Brown and Kritsi Ye’Spaza. The style has since gained nationwide popularity with some artists even achieving International acclaim and touring overseas.

Thug Rap21,428 ReleasesLyrics describe the criminal life or mind of the rapper, or at least what they claim. The purpose of the lyrics is to prove the rapper’s street credit by saying how tough and bad they are.

Trap15,797 ReleasesTrap started in the early 2000s, and it was much closer to standard hip hop than the trap we know today. The only main difference between the two at this time is that trap music had different lyrical content. Trap was about creating and selling crack cocaine in a home dedicated to the cooking/selling of crack cocaine, which was known as a trap. It still used the same sampling techniques, but as time went on, producers started making the bass heavier and heavier. Important artists from this time include Young Jeezy, T.I., and Gucci Mane. The breaking point was when the big producers of Atlanta (Zaytoven, Shawty Redd, etc) started to lengthen the release of an 808 drum machine kick, which when played on speakers that could play low frequencies, made for very heavy bass. They then started using this lengthened 808 kick as a bassline, creating the backbone of modern trap music. The quickly timed and constantly changing rhythm hi hat patterns followed. during this change, the instrumentation started to abandon traditional hip hop stylings, and move towards a less sample based, more instrument based production. The producers started relying heavily on strings and brass to create this new heavy sound. Eventually, each producer would find their own sound, making trap a very diverse genre. Over time, trap has become very experimental, leading to the many different styles we see today.

Turntablism2,105 ReleasesTurntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system for live events and/or broadcasting equipment (if the DJ is performing on radio, TV or Internet radio) so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist’s music. Turntablists manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth (the popular rhythmic “scratching” effect which is a key part of hip hop music), all while using a DJ mixer’s crossfader control and the mixer’s gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records. Turntablists, who are often called DJs (or “deejays”), generally prefer direct-drive turntables over belt-driven or other types, because the belt can be stretched or damaged by “scratching” and other turntable manipulation such as slowing down a record, whereas a direct drive turntable can be stopped, slowed down, or spun backwards without damaging the electric motor. The word turntablist was originated by Luis “DJ Disk” Quintanilla (Primus, Herbie Hancock, Invisibl Skratch Piklz). After a phone conversation with Disk, it was later popularised in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who simply plays and mixes records and one who performs by physically manipulating the records, stylus, turntables, turntable speed controls and mixer to produce new sounds. The new term coincided with the resurgence of hip-hop DJing in the 1990s. John Oswald described the art: “A phonograph in the hands of a ‘hiphop/scratch’ artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needle as a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced—the record player becomes a musical instrument.” Some turntablists use turntable techniques like beat mixing/matching, scratching, and beat juggling. Some turntablists seek to have themselves recognized as traditional musicians capable of interacting and improvising with other performers. Depending on the records and tracks selected by the DJ and his/her turntablist style (e.g., hip hop music), a turntablist can create rhythmic accompaniment, percussion breaks, basslines or beat loops, atmospheric “pads”, “stabs” of sudden chords or interwoven melodic lines.

Jazz

Afro-Cuban Jazz8,270 ReleasesAfro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban jazz first emerged in the early 1940s with the Cuban musicians Mario Bauzá and Frank Grillo “Machito” in the band Machito and his Afro-Cubans, based in New York City. In 1947, the collaborations of bebop innovator Dizzy Gillespie with Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo brought Afro-Cuban rhythms and instruments, most notably the tumbadora and the bongo, into the East Coast jazz scene. Early combinations of jazz with Cuban music, such as Dizzy’s and Pozo’s “Manteca” and Charlie Parker’s and Machito’s “Mangó Mangüé”, were commonly referred to as “Cubop”, short for Cuban bebop.[1] During its first decades, the Afro-Cuban jazz movement was stronger in the United States than in Cuba itself.[2] In the early 1970s, the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna and later Irakere brought Afro-Cuban jazz into the Cuban music scene, influencing new styles such as songo.

Afrobeat14,213 ReleasesAfrobeat is a music genre which involves the combination of elements of West African musical styles such as fuji music and highlife with American funk and jazz influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion.

Avant-garde Jazz15,696 ReleasesAvant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the mid- to late 1950s among a group of improvisors who rejected the conventions of bebop and post bop in an effort to blur the division between the written and the spontaneous. It came to be applied to music differing from free jazz, emphasizing structure and organization by the use of composed melodies, shifting but nevertheless predetermined meters and tonalities, and distinctions between soloists and accompaniment. Musicians identified with this early stage of the style include Cecil Taylor, Lennie Tristano, Jimmy Giuffre, Sun Ra, and Ornette Coleman. Originally synonymous with free jazz, much avant-garde jazz was distinct from that style. Provided by [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant-garde_jazz) under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0.

Big Band89,642 ReleasesShould be used to describe recordings by a large orchestra which feature brass sections with multiple trumpets and trombones and a large reed section. A feature is that whole sections (the brass, the reeds) often play some parts of the tune in unison while leaving room for soloists at certain times. This style of orchestra began to be developed in the early 1920s by prominent dance band leaders such as Paul Whiteman and Fletcher Henderson, but the majority of 1920s dance bands were smaller groups and did not play in the “big band” style. It was not until 1929/30 or so that the majority of dance bands adopted this configuration (examples are the Casa Loma Orchestra, Mills Blue Rhthm Band, Duke Ellington’s Orchestra) and big bands became the norm from the mid-1930s onwards. This style should be use sparingly before about 1930 as while there were other orchestras recorded similar to those led by Whiteman and Henderson (already mentioned) the majority of 1920s dance bands are not “big bands”. From the 1930s onwards this style can be applied to recordings by any large orchestra. There were both jazz big bands (such as Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Lunceford, Count Basie, etc.) and “sweet” big bands (such as Freddy Martin, Sammy Kaye, and Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians). This style is often linked to the “swing” style (as in “big bands of the swing era”) but it is better to avoid use the big band and swing tags together as they do not mean exactly the same thing. In reality not all swing groups were big bands, and some big bands featured small groups made up of star musicians from the larger orchestra (Benny Goodman Trio/Quartet/Sextet, Tommy Dorsey’s Clambake Seven, Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five, etc.) and it is these smaller groups which played in the “swing” style. A useful distinction is that big band recordings feature large amounts of section work (notably the brass and/or the reeds) while smaller “swing” groups were more about featured soloists backed by a rhythm section. The big band style was most prominent during the 1930s and 1940s but was still very popular up into the 1950s and many big band style recordings continued to be made during the 1960s and later.

Bop45,437 ReleasesUptempo, improvisational form of jazz that emerged as an offshoot of Swing in the 1940’s. Served as an antithesis to the Swing / Big Band sound that was popular at the time by focusing on harmonies instead of melodies. Features complex chord progressions and freeform improvisation. Also known as “bebop.”

Bossa Nova20,075 ReleasesBossa nova Bossa nova is a genre of Brazilian music, which developed and was popularized in the 1950s and 1960s and is today one of the best-known Brazilian music genres abroad. The phrase bossa nova means literally “new trend” (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbɔsɐ ˈnɔvɐ] .A lyrical fusion of samba and jazz, bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially among young musicians and college students.

Cape Jazz715 ReleasesCape jazz (more often written Cape Jazz) is a genre of jazz that is performed in the very southern part of Africa, the name being a reference to Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Jazz began to emerge in 1959 with the formation of The Jazz Epistles, many of whom were from Cape Town,[1] including Abdullah Ibrahim, then known as Dollar Brand. Cape Jazz is similar to the popular music style known as marabi, though more improvisational in character. Where marabi is a piano jazz style, Cape Jazz in the beginning featured (though not exclusively) instruments that can be carried in a street parade, such as brass instruments, banjos, guitars and percussion instruments.

Contemporary Jazz81,877 Releases Contemporary Jazz is essentially a catch-all term for the various permutations of popular, mainstream jazz of the 1980s and ’90s. While those years were certainly not devoid of complex, cerebral jazz recordings, music referred to as contemporary jazz does not usually share those sensibilities, nor is the term generally used to describe music centered around hard bop or the avant-garde. Instead, instrumental contemporary jazz is usually informed by some combination of a) fusion — often slickly produced, with an emphasis on rock and funk rhythms; b) pop-jazz, with its almost exclusive concentration on memorable melodies; c) smooth jazz, with its primary goal of creating pleasant, mellow textures; and d) crossover jazz and contemporary funk, with their blend of polished production and R&B influences. Not all contemporary jazz artists completely discard improvisation and challenging experimentation, but by and large, most instrumentalists emphasize shiny production, melody, and accessibility. In the realm of vocal jazz, artists may or may not possess an improvisational flair, but in most cases, their recordings attempt to evoke an aura of stylish sophistication, sometimes drawing upon pop and R&B in addition to jazz. Taken from Allmusic.com style page.

Cool Jazz33,232 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Dark Jazz15 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Dixieland24,831 ReleasesCombines elements of Ragtime and brass band marches. Also influenced by French quadrilles. Prominent trumpet, trombone or clarinet played over a rhythm section (piano, guitar, drums, banjo, double bass). May also be known simply as “Dixie.”

Easy Listening163,735 ReleasesA very soft style that features organs, strings or other very “light” instruments. May be instrumental or with a vocalist. Not to be confused with smooth jazz.

Free Improvisation42,149 ReleasesFree improvisation is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its own right. ## History Free improvisation, as a genre of music, developed in the U.S. and Europe in the mid to late 1960s. The musical advancements made through improvisation through Free Jazz served as inspiration to European musicians, who then created “Free Improvisation” as a differentiation. Exponents of free improvised music include saxophonists Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, Peter Brötzmann and John Zorn, drummer Christian Lillinger, trombonist George Lewis, guitarists Derek Bailey, Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith and the improvising groups Spontaneous Music Ensemble, The Art Ensemble of Chicago and AMM. ## Characteristics In an atonal context, free improvisation refers to where the focus shifts from harmony to other dimensions of music: timbre, melodic intervals, rhythm and the spontaneous interaction between musicians. Although performers may choose to play in a certain style or key, or at a certain tempo, conventional songs are highly uncommon in free improvisation; more emphasis is generally placed on mood, texture or more simply, on performative gesture than on preset forms of melody, harmony or rhythm. These elements are improvised at will, as the music progresses. At the same time, Free Improvisation is a problematic term. It is neither free nor improvised as in their strict definitions. Musicians who play free improvisation develop highly individualized musical vocabulary which are then played without the restriction of a score. In this sense, the freedom implied by the term Free Improvisation is more of an aesthetic of playing towards notions of freedom than freedom in the pure sense. As it has influenced and been influenced by other areas of exploration, aspects of modern classical music (extended techniques), noise rock (aggressive confrontation and dissonance), IDM (computer manipulation and digital synthesis), minimalism and electroacoustic music can now be heard in free improvisation. Provided by [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_improvisation) under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0.

Free Jazz37,221 ReleasesFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music of free jazz composers varied widely, a common feature was dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz that had developed in the 1940s and 1950s. Free jazz musicians attempted to alter, extend, or break down jazz convention, often by discarding fixed chord changes or tempos. While usually considered avant-garde, free jazz has also been described as an attempt to return jazz to its primitive, often religious, roots and emphasis on collective improvisation. Free jazz is strongly associated with the 1950s innovations of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor and the later works of saxophonist John Coltrane. Other important pioneers include Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Joe Maneri and Sun Ra. Coleman pioneered many techniques typical of free jazz, most notably his rejection of pre-written chord changes, believing instead that freely improvised melodic lines should serve as the basis for harmonic progression in his compositions. Some of bassist Charles Mingus’s work was also important in establishing free jazz. Typically this kind of music is played by small groups of musicians, although some examples use larger numbers. Other forms of jazz use clear regular meters and strongly pulsed rhythms. Free jazz normally retains a general pulsation but without regular meter, and we encounter frequent accelerando and ritardando, giving an impression of the rhythm moving in waves. Previous jazz forms used harmonic structures (usually cycles of diatonic chords). Free jazz almost by definition is free of such structures, but also by definition (it is, after all, “jazz” as much as it is “free”) it retains much of the language of earlier jazz playing. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Fusion63,304 ReleasesFusion or Jazz Fusion is a subgenre of Jazz with elements of Progressive, Psychedelic rock music. It also has elements of Funk, Bebop, and 20th Century Classical Music. The Genre’s Orgins come from The Late 1960s.

Gypsy Jazz5,480 ReleasesCombination of swing and jazz, with guitars and violins as prominent instruments. Often said to have been started by guitarist Django Reinhardt in the 1930s. May also be referred to as Jazz Manouche.

Hard Bop38,123 ReleasesHard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or “bop”) music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in saxophone and piano playing. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Jazz-Funk56,900 ReleasesJazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre whose spectrum is quite wide and ranges from strong jazz improvisation to soul, funk or disco with jazz arrangements, jazz riffs, and jazz solos, and sometimes soul vocals. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Jazz-Rock44,886 ReleasesNot to be confused with Jazz-Rock Fusion: https://www.discogs.com/style/fusion

Latin Jazz39,359 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Modal15,301 ReleasesModal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is epitomized by Miles Davis’s “Milestones” (1958), Kind of Blue (1959), and John Coltrane’s classic quartet from 1960-64. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Post Bop31,482 ReleasesPost-bop is jazz from the mid-1960s onward that assimilates hard bop, modal jazz, avant-garde and free jazz without necessarily being immediately identifiable as any of the above. Post-bop can refer to a variety of Jazz music that is post-bebop chronologically but in the common understanding post-bop music reflects these influences: the more open approach to the jazz ensemble crystallized by the second Miles Davis quintet, and the modal intensity of that group as well as of the classic John Coltrane Quartet.

Ragtime11,874 ReleasesRagtime (sometimes spelled rag-time or rag time) is a musical style that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1919. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or “ragged” rhythm. Wikipedia Originally developed in the U.S. in the late 19th century by various composers of whom one of he best known is Scott Joplin (whose most famous work is “Maple Leaf Rag”). In it’s earliest period ragtime was also associated with the cakewalk (a dance). After 1900 the ragtime style became very popular worldwide and there are many recordings of ragtime from the UK, Europe and elsewhere in the period before 1920 (but mostly before WWI). Ragtime, while an obvious precursor of jazz, is a written [ie. composed] music rather than an improvised form of music. Despite sharing the syncopated base that was an essential element in later jazz, ragtime was performed as written and had a strict form (usually with an “A” section followed by a “B” section and then a return to the “A” section – or some variation of this) and was often played by military or brass bands. During it’s peak period (before 1920) most ragtime recordings are by orchestras or bands or are vocal recordings of ragtime songs. Ragtime recordings can frequently (but not always) be identified by the use of the word rag or ragtime in the title. Although rags continued to be recorded in the period from 1920s to the 1940s, ragtime was no longer a common form during this period as jazz and later big bands or swing had became dominant. The ragtime tag should be used very sparingly after 1919. It should NOT be applied to any early jazz or popular music records unless the titles are specifically ragtime compositions. Just having a rhythmic or syncopated sound does not make a record ragtime and jazz or pop (or both) would be more appropriate. During the 1920s & 1930s many recordings of novelty syncopated piano solos were made by artists such as Zez Confrey, Roy Bargy & Rube Bloom (in the U.S.) and many others worldwide including Billy Mayerl & Raie Da Costa (in the UK), Willie Eckstein (in Canada), Jean Wiener & Clement Doucet (in France), Mischa Spoliansky (in Germany), or Gil Dech & Beryl Newell (in Australia). While obviously influenced by ragtime these are not ragtime recordings and should be given the pop tag. The ragtime influence on jazz was very significant and some early jazz performers (such as Jelly Roll Morton) both wrote and recorded rags. Some jazz pianists were more ragtime influenced than others with James P. Johnson and Thomas Waller (later better known as Fats Waller) recording in what is known as the stride style, while other jazz piansts such as Earl Hines and Duke Ellington created totally new styles of jazz piano. The ragtime tag does not aply to these or other similar jazz records. By the 1950s interest in the ragtime style was re-emerging and there was something of a revival with many ragtime compositions being recorded (and some new ones written and recorded). An off-shoot of the ragtime revival was Honky-tonk which is not strictly ragtime and is more appropriately tagged pop. Ragtime is a very well defined style and the tag should not be applied broadly unless it is a ragtime composition from the peak peak (1895-1919) or a ragtime composition recorded later. If jazz, pop or some other tag is applicable this should be preferred.

Smooth Jazz31,068 ReleasesR&B and funk influenced jazz that is usually considered a very “poppy” and commercial form of the genre. Usually very downtempo and mellow, and features prominent bass. Almost always instrumental. Melodies are usually made with saxophones, but may also include trumpets, clarinets or oboes. Synthesizers and electronic drums are very common. The style appeared in the mid 70s to the early 80s. Not to be confused with easy listening.

Soul-Jazz50,172 ReleasesSoul-Jazz is a kind of jazz that take its roots in hard bop, with rhythm & blues and gospel influences. Soul-jazz generally uses Hammond organ and is played in small formations. Do not confuse soul-jazz with soul singers that have some jazz influences (jazzy soul)

Space-Age9,762 ReleasesOriginating in the space age of the 1950s and 1960s, Space-Age incorporates exotic electronic instruments like the theramin and innovative stereo recording techniques to create a “futuristic” sound. On spaceagepop.com, the following description for Space-Age is listed: “It’s rarely simple enough in structure and instrumentation to be called rock (and certainly retains enough of a sense of humor to be disqualified as art rock). It’s not serious or straightforward enough to be called jazz. It’s often too esoteric or extreme to be called pop. It’s in some middle ground between all of these, which means it’s populated with the outcasts from other well-established genres,” concluding that Space-Age as a result “is full of brilliant, bizarre, and exciting sounds, which are particularly striking to ears accustomed to the stereotypes that populate the more familiar genres.”

Stride155 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Swing89,135 ReleasesThe swing style developed in the 1930s and should not be used for earlier records such as 1920s jazz. While the swing style has its roots in the 1920s as jazz developed due to the emergence of musicians such as Lous Armstrong, it took some time for the many different regional jazz styles typical of the 1920s to evolve into the more unified and sophisticated style known as swing. Eventually the “swing craze” of the mid-1930s when big bands like Benny Goodman became hugely popular with younger dancers brought jazz into the mainstream. It is from this period onwards that the swing style can be applied to many jazz records and while opinions about how to define swing obviously vary, it is most typified by the many jazz small groups that recorded from the 1930s onwards (examples are Fats Waller & His Rhythm, Wing Manone’s Orchestra, Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra, and the many records by the Benny Goodman Trio/Quartet/Sextet). The swing style began in the U.S. but was quickly adopted by musicians worldwide who made recordings in their own countries (UK examples would be Joe Daniels & His Hot Shots or Nat Gonella & His Georgians). Although many members of the small swing groups worked in big bands, the two styles are distinct. By definition a big band was a large orchestra of at least 12 musicians (and often larger), while a typical swing group of the 1930s was usually a trio, quartet or sextet and most swing recording groups were by at most 7 or 8 musicians. A useful distinction is that a big band featured soloists in the context of tight arrangements using whole sections of the orchestra such as the brass or reeds (seperately or together) while a swing group was more oriented to featuring the musicians as soloists with the backing of a rhythm section only. Of course in some cases big band recordings featured soloists extensively, while small band swing records sometimes featured section work as well as solos – so there is not always a clear distinction. However, the swing tag is most usefully applied to recordings which feature one or more jazz soloists extensively (especially in a small group context). The swing style was most popular during the 1930s and 1940s, but swing style recordings continued to be made well after that period. Mosty swing is associated with insttumental recordings (although some small band swing records also featuted vocals) however from the 1940s onwards the role of jazz or jazz-influenced singers became more dominant and swing can in some cases also be associated with recordings by pop vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole. As early as the 1930s swing blended with other genres to create new music styles. In country music, artists such as Bob Wills introduced many elements of swing along with blues to create a genre called Western Swing. In the blues style there were groups which added elements of swing in their recordings such as the Harlem Hamfats. Gypsy Jazz is a style based on the string jazz of Venuti and Lang’s recordings. Swing revivals have occurred periodically from the late 1960s to the 2000s. In the late-1980s (into the early 1990s) a trendier, more urban-styled swing-beat emerged called New Jack Swing, spearheaded by Teddy Riley. In the late 1990s and into the 2000s there was a swing revival, led by Squirrel Nut Zippers, Brian Setzer, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Lavay Smith.

Latin

Afro-Cuban12,707 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Aguinaldo230 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Axé1,490 ReleasesAxé (Portuguese pronunciation: [a’ʃɛ]) is a popular music genre originated in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in the 1980s, fusing different Afro-Caribbean genres, such as marcha, reggae, and calypso. It also includes influences of Brazilian music such as frevo, forró and carixada.

Bachata2,057 ReleasesBachata is a genre of Latin American music that originated in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century with primarily Spanish influences and also remnants of Indigenous and African musical elements, representative of the cultural diversity of the Dominican Republic population. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Bachata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachata_(music)), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Baião1,074 ReleasesThe most genuine and popular folk style of Northeast Brazil, Baião is a genre and dance style based on the pulse of the zabumba, a flat, double-headed bass drum played with a mallet in one hand and a stick in the other, each striking the opposite head of the drum for alternating high and low notes, frequently accompanied by an accordion and a triangle pattern. The baião rhythm is integral to the genres of forró, repente and coco (or embolada). It is mostly associated with the state of Pernambuco. Baião was popularized via radio in the 1940s, reaching peak popularity in the 1950s. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Baião](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bai%C3%A3o_(music)), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Bambuco88 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Batucada2,249 ReleasesBatucada is a substyle of samba and refers to an African-influenced Brazilian percussive style, usually performed by an ensemble, known as a bateria. Batucada is characterized by its repetitive style and fast pace.

Beguine3,569 ReleasesOr Biguine, dance music born in the French West Indies (Martinique, and Guadeloupe) in the end of 19th century. It became popular from the 1930s. Cole Porter jazz composer wrote “Begin The Beguine” in 1935, and Biguine is also considered to have influenced jazz music. More recently evolved to the dance music style Zouk.

Bolero35,809 ReleasesBolero refers to two distinct genres of slow-tempo Latin music and their associated dances. The oldest type of bolero originated in Spain during the late 18th century as a form of ballroom music, which influenced art music composers around the world, most famously Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, as well as a flamenco style known as boleras. An unrelated genre of sung music originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. This genre gained widespread popularity around Latin America throughout the 20th century and continues to thrive.

Bomba309 ReleasesBomba is both a traditional dance and musical style of Puerto Rico. Its origins are rooted in the island’s history of African slavery but today has evolved into a community expression of Afro-Puerto Rican culture. While Bomba can be used as the generic name for a number of rhythms, it is truly about a creative, interactive relationship between dancers, percussionists and singers. Today it’s practiced as a communal activity in its centers of origin in Loíza, Santurce, Mayagüez and Ponce. Also, Puerto Rican migrants have brought the tradition to some parts of the US mainland. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Bomba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomba_(Puerto_Rico)), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Boogaloo5,122 ReleasesBoogaloo is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage Hispanic and Latino Americans. The style was a fusion of popular African American R&B and soul music with mambo and son montuno, featuring songs in both English and Spanish. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Boogaloo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Bossanova16,658 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Candombe334 ReleasesCandombe is an Uruguayan music and dance style that comes from African slaves. It is considered an important aspect of the culture of Uruguay and was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage of humanity. This Uruguayan music style is based on three different drums: chico, repique and piano drums. This music style is usually played in February during carnival in Montevideo, Uruguay at dance parades called “Llamadas” and “Desfile Innaugural del Carnaval”. In the late 1960s and early 1970s candombe was mixed with elements from 60s pop music and bossa nova to create a new genre called candombe beat. The origin of this genre was largely said to be the work of Eduardo Mateo, a Uruguayan singer, songwriter and musician. This style was later adopted by Jaime Roos and Ruben Rada, as well as several Montevideo-based bands that further mixed it with rock. To a lesser extent, Candombe is practiced in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. In Argentina, it can be found in Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Paraná, and Corrientes. In Paraguay this tradition is continued in Kamba Kua (Camba Cua), an Afro-Paraguayan community in Fernando de la Mora near Asuncion. Also, in Brazil, it still retains its religious character and can be found in Minas Gerais State.

Carimbó305 ReleasesCarimbó is a Brazilian dance and music style. The dance was common in the northern part of Brazil, from the time that Brazil was still a Portuguese colony. It originated in the Brazilian region of Pará, around Marajó island and the capital city of Belém. This article uses material from the Wikipedia article [Carimbó](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carimb%C3%B3), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Cha-Cha19,678 ReleasesCha-cha-chá is a genre of Cuban music. It has been a popular dance music which developed from the Danzón-mambo in the early 1950s, and became widely popular throughout the entire world. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [cha-cha-cha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha-cha-ch%C3%A1_(music)), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Champeta314 ReleasesChampeta is a style of dance originating in the Caribbean coastal region of Colombia. Champeta originated among inhabitants of African descent of the Colombian city of Cartagena de Indias, particularly the Kongo peoples, and was linked with the culture of the Palenque of San Basilio district. It shows influences from African colonial settlements and particularly from the African nation of Congo. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Champeta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champeta), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Charanga3,207 ReleasesCharanga is a style in Latin music which is played WITHOUT any brass instruments. It can be a Cha Cha, Son, Montuno, Guaguanco, the entire spectrum of Latin music, to include what is recognized as Salsa.

Choro943 ReleasesChoro (in Portuguese, “cry” or “lament”), is an instrumental Brazilian music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a fast and happy rhythm. It is characterized by virtuosity, improvisation and subtle modulations, and is full of syncopation and counterpoint. Choro is considered the first characteristically Brazilian genre of urban popular music. The serenaders who play choros are known as chorões. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article about [Choro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choro), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Compas2,808 ReleasesCompas (Haitian Creole: Konpa Dirèk), is a dance music and modern Méringue of Haiti. The genre was popularized following the creation of Ensemble Aux Callebasses in (1955). Compas is a common music style with regional versions in many countries including the Dominica and the French Antilles. This méringue style is influential in parts of Africa, the Caribbean, Portugal, France, part of Canada, South and North America. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Compas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compas), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Conjunto1,843 ReleasesMexican conjunto music, also known as conjunto tejano, was born in south Texas at the end of the 19th century, after German settlers introduced the button accordion. The bajo sexto has come to accompany the button accordion and is integral to the conjunto sound. Many conjuntos are concentrated in the Southwestern portion of the United States, primarily in Texas and California. In Mexico the term conjunto is associated with norteño and tejano music. Since tejano was bred out of norteño music originally this association is not entirely false. However, due to various cultural and socioeconomic developments in the 1900s, norteño musicians began trailblazing the tejano genre as a tangent to conjunto. In the United States and Mexico, a conjunto band is composed of four main instruments: the button accordion, the bajo sexto, an electric bass, and a drum kit. They are popular in northern Mexico and southern Texas. German and East European settlers brought their accordions, waltzes and polkas to the region, which were adapted by the local population. Texas accordion player Flaco Jiménez is probably the best-known conjunto musician in the United States, with a career spanning sixty years and earning him six Grammy awards. “Chulas Fronteras” is a documentary film from the 1970s which illustrates how the music meshed into the lives of families in south Texas and northern Mexico. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Conjunto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjunto), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Corrido3,300 ReleasesThe corrido (Spanish pronunciation: [koˈriðo]) is a popular narrative song and poetry that form a ballad. The songs are often about oppression, history, daily life for peasants, and other socially relevant topics. Found in the repertoires of groups who perform in the small-group, folk-based conjunto and norteño styles, although it’s especially preferred in the latter (other popular song forms in these styles include the ranchera, cumbia, and bolero). This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Corrido](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrido), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Cuatro421 ReleasesCuatro is an umbrella term for Puerto Rican music. Cuatro can also reference the name of 2 different stringed instruments, one from Venezuela and one from Puerto Rico. Cuatro as a style on Discogs is typically used to classify the many albums of Puerto Rican music that are played on the Cuatro instrument.

Cubano6,185 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Cumbia30,760 ReleasesCumbia is a folkloric music style that originated in Colombia and Panama. Colombian cumbia and Panamanian cumbia sound different since they developed on opposing sides of the nearly unpassable [Darién Gap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap). Heavy drums and the tamborito play a part in each country’s cumbia – yet Panama’s variant has a more loose, easy-going feel, unlike the rapidly-paced Colombian ensembles.

Danzon2,148 ReleasesDanzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba. It is an older Cuban style, typically played with 3 violins, vocals plus coro, timbales, piano, bass, guiro, and conga. It is usually fairly ‘gentle’ sounding. Written in 2/4 time, the danzon is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring set footwork around syncopated beats and incorporating elegant pauses while the couples stand listening to virtuoso instrumental passages, as characteristically played by a charanga or tipica ensemble. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Danzón](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danz%C3%B3n), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Descarga4,097 ReleasesA descarga (literally discharge in Spanish) is an improvised jam session consisting of variations on Cuban music themes, primarily son montuno, but also guajira, bolero, guaracha and rumba. The genre is strongly influenced by jazz and it was developed in Havana during the 1950s. Important figures in the emergence of the genre were Cachao, Julio Gutierrez, Bebo Valdés, Peruchín and Niño Rivera in Cuba, and Tito Puente, Machito and Mario Bauzá in New York. Originally, descargas were promoted by record companies such as Panart, Maype and Gema under the label Cuban jam sessions. From the 1960s, the descarga format was usually adapted by large salsa ensembles, most notably the Fania All-Stars. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Descarga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descarga), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Forró4,876 ReleasesForró (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɔˈɦɔ]*) is a genre of Brazilian music that originated in Northeastern Brazil. It encompasses various dance styles as well as a number of different musical beats. This music genre has gained widespread popularity in all regions of Brazil. Forró is closely associated with Brazilian June Festivals, which celebrate a number of Christian saints. The most celebrated is Saint John’s day.

Gaita690 Releases La Gaita Zuliana is an original musical genre from the Zulia state in Venezuela, declared Heritage of Cultural and Artistic Interest of Venezuela, in some regions of Venezuela and in the communities of Venezuelans around the world it’s related to Christmas, but nowadays it’s a genre that runs throughout the year.  It’s most famous interpreters are Gran Coquivacoa, Guaco and Maracaibo 15, and the topics covered by this genre range from songs to love and religious figures to humorous themes and denunciations. The political element is also the protagonist of many issues. It was executed initially with cuatro, furro, tambora, charrasca and maracas. Soon they added the bass, the piano, the electric guitar, the congas, the bongo, the cowbell and even brass (trumpet, trombone and saxophone) and drums. Although the Gaita was born as a folkloric expression, it’s evolution became at the beginning of the 70’s a Latin style influenced by Caribbean music, especially salsa and merengue. Most of the Gaita music that was recorded can be registered in the Latin genre. *Note: Don’t confuse with the musical instrument.*

Guaguancó8,991 ReleasesGuaguancó was coined in the turn of the 19th century after the abolition of slavery in Cuba. It’s the purest form of Afro-Caribbean percussion. Rumba is an evolved version of Guaguancó which sports other instruments and is generally considered the mother genre to salsa.

Guajira3,247 ReleasesGuajira is a music genre derived from the Punto cubano, a sung genre of Cuban music, akin to a poetic art with music. Guajiro is slang for “campesino” (peasant), guajira makes reference to the countryside origins and themes of the music, which is also referred as ‘peasant music’ or ‘**Cuban country**’.

Guaracha10,245 ReleasesGuaracha is a genre of Cuban popular music. Guarachas were played and sung in musical theatres and in dance salons. Guarachas became popular again in the 60’s and 70’s in South America most notable Peru and in the USA with salsa artists covering old guarachas. The guaracha survives today in the repertoires of some trova musicians, conjuntos and Cuban-style big bands. .

Jibaro644 ReleasesJibaro incorporates a variety of styles from the countryside of Puerto Rico that fall into the category of “Musica Jibara”. This includes Seis (many varieties exist), Aguinaldo, Plena, Mazurca, Mapeyé, and Decimas. These styles also fall under [Cuatro](https://www.discogs.com/style/cuatro) music and are often categorized as “Musica Navideña” (Christmas music from Puerto Rico) as well on vinyl releases.

Joropo831 ReleasesJoropo is a folk sound from the “Llano” (plains) regions of Venezuela and Colombia. Joropo is performed primarily with a harp (used to create hard-hitting percussive rhythms), guitar, maraccas, percussion and very rarely, a keyboard. Joropo is the best known substyle of Musica Llanera, which is considered music of the cattle-herding folks of Venezuela & Eastern Colombia.

Lambada1,656 ReleasesLambada is a latin musical style with origins in the Northern Region of Brazil, more specifically in the state of Pará in the 1980s. It has, as base, the carimbó and the guitarrada. It was influenced by rhythms such as cúmbia and merengue.

Mambo15,247 ReleasesSure, we all know of Lou Bega’s smashing hit “A Little Bit of Mambo,” but did you know that the music style Mambo has a deep cultural history connected 1930’s Havana, Cuba? An offshoot of [Danzon](https://www.discogs.com/style/danzon), Mambo quickly spread both through Cuba and the greater Americas in the mid-1950s. Often played socially to dancing revellers.

Marcha Carnavalesca324 ReleasesMarchinha Carnavalesca, also called “Marchinha de Carnaval” or simply “Marchinha” is one of several genres of music typical of urban Carnival in southeast region of Brazil. Regularly played by a solo vocalist or choir accompanied by a band of brass and percussion, the lyrics / themes were mostly comic, satirical and spicy, ironizing the conservative behavior and politics of everyday life. Initially composed to be played and sung in the carnival blocks that paraded through the streets of the cities, they were adopted as soundtracks for the carnival balls in closed halls, called “Bailes de Carnaval”. Because of the simplicity of the lyrics, almost always in one or two verses and chorus, most of the recordings were made in the form of medleys, grouping several songs into few tracks, as played on the balls. The first Marchinha was the composition (in 1899) of Chiquinha Gonzaga entitled “O Abre Alas,” made to the Cordão Carnavalesco “Rosa de Outro.” The most famous song in style is “Cidade Maravilhosa,” the official anthem of Rio de Janeiro, composed in 1934 by André Filho.

Mariachi5,914 ReleasesA mariachi is a Mexican (street) orchestra comprised of 2 violins, 2 trumpets, a guitar or vihuela, a gitarron and singers. The name is used for both the type of orchestra and the style of music they produce. Mariachi music originated from picaresque folk ensembles in the mid 19th century. Traditional Mariachi consists of a string and violin ensembles with several traditional mexican instruments and guitarresca performance style. Around the 1930s, Mariachi went through a step evolution adopting winds and radically changing sound texture. Both traditional and modern styles of Mariachi are performed in Mexico in modern days and are considered pivotal to Mexican identity.

Marimba788 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Merengue16,902 ReleasesMerengue is a type of music and dance originating in the Dominican Republic, which has become a very popular genre throughout Latin America, and also in several major cities in the United States with Afro-Latino communities. Merengue developed as a genre circa the middle of the 19th century of Central African, particularly Congo, stylistic origins and has evolved and reached many different markets since. The genre was later heavily promoted by Rafael Trujillo, the dictator from 1930 to 1961, who turned it into national music and dance style of the Dominican Republic. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Merengue Music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merengue_music), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

MPB32,764 ReleasesMPB is short for Música popular brasileira

Musette642 ReleasesMusette has been traced backed to at least 1170. The name is derived from the instrument musette, however accordion replaces it in modern compostions. In general there are no singer/lyrics, it is made for dancing. These are generally happy popular songs, musette should be combined with other styles to form a more precise classification.

Música Criolla1,522 ReleasesMúsica Criolla or Canción Criolla is a varied genre of Peruvian music that exhibits influences from African, European, and Andean music. The genre’s name reflects the coastal culture of Peru, and the local evolution of the term criollo into a more socially inclusive element of the nation. Afro-Peruvian music was first created by African slaves in Peru during the Colonial Period and beyond. The rhythms include Festejo, Landó, Socabon, Pregon, Zamacueca, and Alcatraz. Many of those were played with a mixture of Spanish and Indian instruments and used the Spanish coplas as lyrics. They were practiced only in private black gatherings until the 1950s, when efforts of some scholars studying the Peruvian community, such as Lucha Reyes, Nicomedes Santa Cruz, Victoria Santa Cruz and Jose Durand, compiled songs and dances after struggling with racism and poor recognition. Interpreters such as Lucila Campos, Caitro Soto, Susana Baca, Eva Ayllon, and the Peru Negro dance company, among others, have brought these genres to the world’s attention. The most popular dance themed movement of música criolla in Perú is the marinera, often called the national dance of Perú. Other main dance themed movements are the Peruvian vals and tondero, festejo, polka, zamacueca, coplas de amor fino, and landó. Peru’s national Día de la Canción Criolla takes place on October 31. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Música Criolla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BAsica_criolla), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Norteño3,819 ReleasesNorteño is a prominent Northern Mexican folk genre that has evolved into a distinctly modern form. The primary instrument is the accordion. It originated as a hybrid of German folk and polka brought in by migrant German workers and local Northern Mexican music.

Nueva Cancion3,286 ReleasesThe Nueva Canción Chilena or “New Chilean Song” was a movement and genre of Chilean traditional and folk music incorporating strong political and social themes. The movement was to spread throughout Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s, in what is called “Nueva canción” sparking a renewal in traditional folk music and playing a key role in political movements in the region. The foundations of the Chilean New Song were laid through the efforts of Violeta Parra to revive over 3,000 Chilean songs, recipes, traditions, and proverbs, and it eventually aligned with the 1970 presidential campaign of Salvador Allende, incorporating the songs of Víctor Jara, Inti-Illimani and Quilapayun among others. Other key proponents of the movement include Patricio Manns, Rolando Alarcón, Payo Grondona, Patricio Castillo, Homero Caro, and Kiko Álvarez, as well as non-Chilean musicians, such as César Isella and Atahualpa Yupanqui from Argentina and Paco Ibañéz of Spain.

Nueva Trova1,290 ReleasesTrova translates to folk song, and is generally associated with Cuban folk. Nueva Trova is a Cuban folk revival that happened during the 1960s.

Occitan87 ReleasesOccitan Music refers to the traditional music of a great part of south of France, north of Spain and some valleys of Italy, where Occitan was a common language.

Pachanga3,943 ReleasesPachanga is a genre of music which is described as a mixture of [son montuno](https://www.discogs.com/style/son+montuno) and [merengue](https://www.discogs.com/style/merengue). This type of music has a festive, lively style and is marked by jocular, mischievous lyrics. The name Pachanga originated in Cuba in 1959 after the release of [Eduardo Davidson](https://www.discogs.com/artist/1522872-Eduardo-Davidson)’s track [La Pachanga](https://www.discogs.com/composition/a91cedd3-3e6a-43df-b894-7d5a4b0b10fb-la-pachanga). In 1961, three covers of La Pachanga brought worldwide attention to the style and kicked off a dance-trend amongst Latin populations in the United States. In the US, the style was popularized in New York City Cuban dance halls, along with other Latin-influenced styles such as [Mambo](https://www.discogs.com/style/mambo). Pachanga is also a Cuban dance style.

Plena1,417 ReleasesPlena is a Puerto Rican music style with African roots. Played on a cuatro, tres, and other guitars, accompanied by drums and guiro. Over time the accordion and brass instruments were incorporated into Plena. It’s sung in a peculiar style.

Porro3,421 ReleasesThe porro is a musical style and dance from the Caribbean region of Colombia. It is a Colombian [cumbia](https://www.discogs.com/style/cumbia) rhythm that developed into its own subgenre. It was originally a folkloric expression from the Sinú River area that evolved into a ballroom dance. It is played mostly by brass bands or orchestras, and danced in couples. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Porro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porro), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Quechua2,095 ReleasesRefers to native folk music made by Peruvian Quechua people.

Ranchera11,878 ReleasesRancheras are Mexican folk songs that make use of wind instruments and are heavily linked to [Mariachi](https://www.discogs.com/style/mariachi) music, but posses much slower tempos and sing about folk topics.

Reggaeton5,566 ReleasesReggaeton is a music style which originated in Puerto Rico during the late 1990s. It evolved from dancehall and is influenced by American hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music. Vocals include rapping and singing, typically in Spanish. Reggaeton is regarded as one of the most popular music genres in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, in countries including Puerto Rico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Reggaeton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggaeton), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Rumba20,065 ReleasesRumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, namely Abakuá and yuka, as well as the Spanish-based coros de clave. Traditionally performed by poor workers of African descent in streets and solares (courtyards), rumba remains one of Cuba’s most characteristic forms of music and dance. Vocal improvisation, elaborate dancing and polyrhythmic drumming are the key components of all rumba styles. Cajones (wooden boxes) were used as drums until the early 20th century, when they were replaced by tumbadoras (conga drums). This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Cuban Rumba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_rumba), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Salsa41,800 ReleasesSalsa music is a popular dance music that initially arose in New York City during the 1960s. Salsa is the product of various musical genres including the Cuban son montuno, guaracha, cha cha chá, mambo, and to a certain extent bolero, and the Puerto Rican bomba and plena. Latin jazz, which was also developed in New York City, has had a significant influence on salsa arrangers, piano guajeos, and instrumental soloists. Salsa is primarily Cuban son, itself a fusion of Spanish canción and guitar and Afro-Cuban percussion, merged with North American music styles such as jazz. Salsa also occasionally incorporates elements of rock, R&B, and funk. All of these non-Cuban elements are grafted onto the basic Cuban son montuno template when performed within the context of salsa.

Samba29,790 ReleasesSamba is a Brazilian music genre and dance style, with roots in African religious traditions, particularly of Congo. Samba is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival. Considered one of the most popular Brazilian cultural expressions, the samba has become an icon of Brazilian national identity This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Samba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samba), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Samba-Canção717 ReleasesSamba-canção (literally ‘samba song’) is the denomination for Brazilian popular songs with some sort of samba rhythm. This article uses material from the Wikipedia article [Samba-canção](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samba-can%C3%A7%C3%A3o), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Seresta161 ReleasesChoro, bolero or slow samba music, with powerful vocal soloists. Popular during the 1930’s to the 1960’s in Brazil.

Son9,139 ReleasesSon is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are the vocal style, lyrical metre and the primacy of the tres, an instrument derived from the Spanish guitar. On the other hand, its characteristic clave rhythm, call and response structure, and percussion section (bongo, maracas, etc.) are all rooted in traditions of Bantu origin. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Son Cubano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_cubano), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Son Montuno3,103 ReleasesSon Montuno is a subgenre of [Son Cubano](https://www.discogs.com/style/son). In addition, it is perhaps the most flexible of all forms of Latin-American music, and is the foundation of many Cuban-based dance forms, and salsa. Its great strength is its fusion between European and African musical traditions. Instruments are important to define differences between Son (Cubano) and Son Montuno. Son Montuno often features more diverse instruments band formats.

Sonero370 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Tango27,268 ReleasesBorn in Argentina, end of the19th century, embodied by the figure of Carlos Gardel. Expanded from the 1920s in ballrooms all over the globe, but always remains as the emblematic popular Argentine style. Also evolved from the 1960s with jazz influence to “nuevo tango”.

Tejano3,357 ReleasesTejano music or Tex-Mex music (Texan-Mexican music) is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas. With roots in the late 19th century, it became a music genre with a wider audience in the late 20th century thanks to artists such as Selena, often referred to as “The Queen of Tejano”, Mazz, Elida Reyna, Los Palominos, Ramón Ayala, Elsa García, Laura Canales, La Mafia, Oscar Estrada, Jay Perez, Emilio Navaira, Alicia Villarreal, Gary Hobbs, Shelly Lares, Stefani Montiel, David Lee Garza and Jennifer Peña, La Fiebre La Sombra. **Origins** Europeans from Germany (first during Spanish time and 1830s), Poland, and what is now the Czech Republic migrated to Texas and Mexico, bringing with them their style of music and dance. They brought with them the waltz, polkas and other popular forms of music and dance. However it was not until the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917) that forced many of these Europeans to flee Mexico and into South Texas, that their musical influence was to have a major impact on Tejanos. At the turn of the century, Tejanos were mostly involved in ranching and agriculture. The only diversion was the occasional traveling musician who would come to the ranches and farms. Their basic instruments were the flute, guitar, and drum, and they sang songs that were passed down through the generations from songs originally sung in Mexico. One of these musicians was Lydia Mendoza, who became one of the first to record Spanish language music as part of RCA’s expansion of their popular race records of the 1920s. As these traveling musicos traveled into areas where the Germans, Poles, and Czechs lived, they began to incorporate the oom-pah sound into their music. Narciso “El Huracan del Valle” Martinez, known as the father of conjunto music, defined the accordion’s role in conjunto music. Central to the evolution of early Tejano music was the blend of traditional forms such as the corrido and mariachi, and Continental European styles, such as polka, introduced by German and Czech settlers in the late 19th century. In particular, the accordion was adopted by Tejano folk musicians at the turn of the 20th century, and it became a popular instrument for amateur musicians in Texas and Northern Mexico. Small bands known as orquestas, featuring amateur musicians, became a staple at community dances. Norteño/conjunto accordion pioneer Narciso Martínez learned many tunes from German and Czech brass bands and transposed them to his accordion. Martínez gave accordion playing a new virtuosity in the 1930s, when he adopted the two button row accordion. At the same time, he formed a group with Santiago Almeida, a bajo sexto player. Their new musical style, known as conjunto, soon became the popular music of the working class Tejano. Flaco Jiménez carried on Martinez’s tradition of accordion virtuosity and became a fixture on the international World Music scene by the 1980s. In the 1950s and 1960s, rock and roll and country music made inroads, and electric guitars and drums were added to conjunto combos. Also, performers such as Little Joe added both nuances of jazz and R&B, and a Chicano political consciousness. During the 1970s, the music was known as “La Onda Chicana;” it was later rebranded as “la Onda Tejana” in the late 1980s-90s. The 1960s and 1970s brought a new fusion of cultures and the first La Onda Tejana Broadcasters. Popular Tejano musician and producer Paulino Bernal of the Conjunto Bernal discovered and introduced to the Tejano music scene the norteño band Los Relampagos Del Norte with Ramon Ayala and Cornelio Reyna on his Bego Records. Ayala still enjoys success on both sides of the border. Reyna enjoyed a very successful career as an actor and singer and resurfaced in the Tejano scene with a major hit with his collaboration with Tejano artist La Mafia. He toured constantly until his death. In the 1960s and 1970s, the first La Onda Tejana broadcasting pioneers hit the airwaves including Marcelo Tafoya (first recipient of the Tejano Music Awards “Lifetime Achievement Award), Mary Rodriguez, Rosita Ornelas, and Luis Gonzalez, shortly followed by an influx of broadcasters including the Davila family of San Antonio. This central Texas support by popular broadcasters helped fuel La Onda. La Onda continued to surge in the early to mid-1980s with the fusion progression of tejano music coming to the forefront regionally with “tejano ballads” like Espejismo’s hit “Somos Los Dos”, written and sung by McAllen native Rudy Valdez, and La Sombra with their Tex-Mex English & Spanish brand of tejano. As the 1990s dawned, La Mafia, already holding over a dozen Tejano Music Awards, originated a new tejano style later to become a tejano standard. La Mafia combined a pop beat to the popular Mexican cumbia and achieved success never before seen in the tejano industry, becoming the first tejano artist to sell over one million albums with Estas Tocando Fuego in 1992. With extensive touring from as early as 1988, they eventually opened the doors for such artists as Selena, Emilio Navaira, Jay Perez, and Grupo Mazz. Electronic instruments and synthesizers increasingly dominated the sound, and tejano music increasingly appealed to bilingual country and rock fans. In the wake of her murder, Selena’s music received attention from a mainstream American audience as well. Selena, known as “Queen of Tejano Music”, became the first female tejano artist to win a Grammy and her Ven Conmigo became the first tejano album by a female artist certified gold. Since 1998, tejano has seen a decline of dedicated radio stations across the USA, due to several factors. Among these is the success of Intocable. As a result, many radio stations across the U.S., especially in Texas, have converted to Norteño/Banda. This has caused tejano internet radio to become popular. This description uses material from the Wikipedia article [Tejano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejano_music), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Timba841 ReleasesRelated to Salsa, Timba is from Cuba and developed in he mid 80′ to early 90’s now the prominent style of salsa music from Cuba. Timba is constructed on [Son Cubano](https://www.discogs.com/style/son) rhythm and clave.

Trova1,199 Releases Trova translates to folk song, and is generally associated with Cuban folk.

Vallenato3,846 ReleasesVallenato, along with [cumbia](https://www.discogs.com/style/cumbia), is a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia’s Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means “born in the valley.” The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in north-east Colombia.

Non-Music

Audiobook17,712 ReleasesAlso called a “book on tape.” A recorded, narrated version of a novel or text. Normally read by one or two narrators and usually devoid of any sound effects. Not to be confused with a Radioplay, where each character in the story is spoken by a specific voice actor.

Comedy49,431 ReleasesCan describe a recording of stand-up comedy, comedy skits, or comedic radio recordings.

Dialogue9,778 ReleasesUsually used to describe excerpts of dialogue from other media (TV, movies, radio) that are released in audio-only format.

Education13,255 ReleasesA recording meant to be didactic or instructional.

Erotic1,065 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Field Recording30,489 ReleasesField recording is a style of non-music. Field recordings are audio recordings of sounds, often non-musical, but music can be recorded as well. Artists of this style typically have zero involvement with the sound of the piece, they are simply recording “the field”. Field recordings can be of nature (bird songs, rain, the ocean, etc), of locations (markets, factories, restaurants, etc), of events (parades, family gatherings, etc), and countless other subjects. Field recordings can also include recordings of electrical systems, space noise, and so on. Field recordings can also be musical if the subject is of music; but only when the field recorder is recording music that they themselves are not involved in. Artists such as [a=Kink Gong] are well known for their musical field recordings. If the field recorder is involved in the music they are recording, it is no longer a field recording, but special exceptions do occur (such as an artist field recording themselves playing with toy instruments with their child). An alternate name of field recording is phonography, the sound equivalent of photography. In the case of field recordings, typically it is of things the artist is not directly involved in. Or if the artist is involved it is naturally occurring sounds such as movement, talking, eating, and so on. The concept of field recording being “sound photography” should help you know when to apply this style tag and when to not.

Health-Fitness2,323 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Interview16,450 ReleasesA recording of an interview conducted between two or more people.

Monolog7,120 ReleasesA monologue is presented by a single character, most often to express their mental thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media (plays, films, etc.), as well as in non-dramatic media such as poetry.

Movie Effects2,150 ReleasesRecordings of sound effects used in motion picture and television productions.

Poetry18,041 ReleasesReadings or interpretations of poetry.

Political8,426 ReleasesCan describe a recording of a political speech, political advertisements, propaganda, debates, or campaign promotions. Can be used for records containing propaganda songs, in conjunction with music styles such as Vocal, Neo-Romantic etc.

Promotional8,972 ReleasesA commercial or (usually paid) advertisement for a product or service. Use in conjunction with the Political tag for political advertisements.

Public Broadcast4,673 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Public Service Announcement1,223 ReleasesA recording made for use on public broadcast stations or in public areas. Contains information or suggestions concerning civic responsibility issues (e.g. joining the army, cleaning up trash, volunteerism).

Radioplay26,457 ReleasesAlso known as Radiodrama or Hörspiel. Form of audio storytelling. With no visual component, Radioplay depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the story. Newer radioplays and also classics are distributed on all available media today and for newer productions it is not needed that they were ever broadcasted or even intended for radio airplay. Attention: Sound material that was broadcasted on the radio is not automatically a Radioplay.

Religious51,513 ReleasesA recording about a religious subject, but not necessarily preaching or a sermon. For sermons, use the Sermon style tag.

Sermon2,998 ReleasesA recording of a religious service or preaching.

Sound Art4,111 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Sound Poetry1,525 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Special Effects5,407 ReleasesA recording containing sound effects or foley for use in TV, radio, movies, etc.

Speech7,402 ReleasesA recording of a speech or series of speeches delivered on any topic. For political speeches, use the Political style tag.

Spoken Word46,736 ReleasesMay describe any spoken-word content that doesn’t fit into another Non-Music category.

Technical3,388 ReleasesItems that have media such as test signals or audio manuals for workplace training/practice, such as typewriting or shorthand.

Therapy4,751 ReleasesA recording made for therapeutic reasons. It may be spoken word, white noise (nature sounds, tones, etc.), or a combination of both.

Pop

Ballad258,048 ReleasesA popular narrative song passed down orally. In the English tradition, it usually follows a form of rhymed (abcb) quatrains alternating four-stress and three-stress lines. Folk (or traditional) ballads are anonymous and recount tragic, comic, or heroic stories with emphasis on a central dramatic event; examples include “Barbara Allen” and “John Henry.”

Barbershop1,141 Releases4 part vocal harmony, acapella music performed by both men and women. Popularized in the USA in the late 1930s by Owen Cash when he started the SPEBSQSA (now known as the Barbershop Harmony society).

Bollywood16,833 ReleasesBollywood songs, more formally known as Hindi film songs or filmi songs, are songs featured in Bollywood films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with dance, are a characteristic motif of Hindi cinema which gives it enduring popular appeal, cultural value and context. Linguistically, Bollywood songs tend to use a colloquial dialect of Hindi-Urdu, or Hindustani, mutually intelligible to both Hindi and Urdu speakers, while modern Bollywood songs also increasingly incorporate elements of Hinglish. Urdu poetry has had a particularly strong impact on Bollywood songs, where the lyrics draw heavily from Urdu poetry and the ghazal tradition. In addition, Punjabi is also occasionally used for Bollywood songs. Bollywood music covers a variety of styles and covers almost all styles of formal music which would include, Rock, Pop, Classical and Traditional. Most of the older films’ songs were sung in the Traditional Ragas and contributed heavily to its longevity. Today the styles have been westernised to cater to the younger audiences, but the traditional elements still remain. Instrumentation-wise, Bollywood music still contain majority of the traditional classical instruments like Sitar, Santoor, Tabla etc yet the versatility of these instruments also translates very well into the western styles of music. Fusion music between western and eastern instruments already occurred through the 1950’s and was met with great appreciation.

Break-In257 ReleasesA ‘Break-In’ or ‘Cut-In’ record is a type of novelty record where snippets of recordings are used as dialogue in a skit, such as a faux news broadcast.

Bubblegum4,427 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Cantopop599 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Chanson226,020 ReleasesA chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specializing in chansons is known as a “chanteur” (male) or “chanteuse” (female); a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.

City Pop1,115 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Enka3,976 ReleasesThe term Enka (演歌) was originally used to refer political protest songs from the late 19th century; however, from the 1960s onwards, it has referred to Japanese popular music in a minor key, sung with no accompaniment, in a “melisma” style (where a single syllable of text is sung while moving between several different notes in succession). In Japanese, this vocal style is known as “kobushi”. To put it more simply, it means that the pitch of the singer’s voice fluctuates irregularly; this compares with vibrato, which vibrates in a perfectly regular cycle. Although the kobushi technique is most widely associated with enka, is not limited to enka, as it can also be heard in the Italian song “Santa Lucia.” The “kobushi” vocal style developed in the late 1930s, and was influenced by Scottish, Irish, Italian and Russian folk melodies, chanson and big band, as well as drawing on Japanese musical traditions. Koga Masao, a very popular and influential composer primarily active in the late 1930s and 40s, began to include Buddhist “shoumyou” chanting style vocals into his songs, because his record label asked him to produce more popular music; this shoumyou-type vocal is kobushi-like. As the nascent genre developed, however, the vocals moved away from shoumyou and more towards the “modern” type of kobushi. The Western music scale has 7 notes, the well-known “Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti”, but the native Japanese scale only has 5: “Do-Re-Mi-So-La”. For this reason, the Japanese scale can be referred to as “ヨナ抜き” (Yona-nuki : “Yo” means 4, “Na” means 7, “Nuki” means “without”): it means that notes four and seven in the western scale are “removed”. Throughout the 1950s-1970s, artists like Misora Hibari, Kitajima Saburou, solidified enka’s place in Japanese pop music (sometimes with songs that had to be retroactively labelled “enka”), but past the 1970s, enka’s market share dropped off significantly, even as notable artists continued to make hits in the 80s and beyond. Often confused for Enka are related genres like “盛り場ポップス” (sakariba pops / bar pops) and “ムード歌謡” (mood kayou). Some labels even tried to push these (often short-lived) subgenres as a marketing strategy. RCA and Nippon Crown were particularly known for this; RCA pushed Fuji Keiko, Uchiyamada Hiroshi & his Cool Five, and Kaji Meiko as “enka” artists, although strictly speaking, they were singing enka-influenced kayoukyoku songs. (Not that most people are particularly bothered.) Another similar genre is the nagashi-uta, a subgenre of songs with darker themes which is also influenced by traditional Japanese music; this made a resurgence with the popularity of folk-rock in the 1960s and 70s. Other musically-related kanji that are pronounced “enka” occasionally confuse the naive reader as well. “艶歌” means “sexy, bewitching, voluptuous” and is occasionally used in easy-listening “pornogroove” type kayoukyoku albums (which are often enka-influenced, but usually lacking kobushi vocal style, or any vocals at all). “怨歌” is rarely used, but it means “resentment song”; the resentment song has very dark or negative themes, and is enka-styled, but may or may not fall under the formalistic enka umbrella. The “resentment song” was very popular during the 60s and 70s as an expression of the rage of Japanese youth against the Japan-US Security Treaty and the Vietnam War. A third set of kanji is “援歌” or “cheer song”, which is generally enka-like, but sung in an upbeat major key and at a faster “marching” style tempo, and often with backup singers, like Suizenji Kiyoko’s “三百六十五歩のマーチ”.

Ethno-pop1,124 ReleasesHybrid style combining modern popular music with ethnic/Celtic themes, musical structures, or instruments.

Europop112,754 ReleasesA style of Pop music which incorporates different elements from Euro House and Dance music styles. Typical Europop projects include boy bands like No Mercy, Worlds Apart, Backstreet Boys and N’Sync, as well as formations like Ace Of Base, Army Of Lovers and ATC.

Hokkien Pop40 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Indie Pop61,093 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Indo-Pop49 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

J-pop29,349 ReleasesJ-pop is not a technical term indicating the structure of music and sound style. J-pop is Japanese pop music after Shōwa era (AD 07 Jan 1989). In around 1993 when this term became popular it mainly refers to dance music. “J-pop” is not simply shorthand for “Japanese Pop” – rather, it is a term that started to be used around 1990, and has since come to be applied to most popular music sung in Japanese using contemporary instrumentation and recording techniques, though the term is usually applied to more dance-oriented music. The term was coined by record companies in order to describe the changing nature of the Japanese music business, and to replace the older terms Kayōkyoku (歌謡曲) and Shōwa Kayō (昭和歌謡) (‘Shōwa’ being the name of the era corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, 25 Dec 1926 to 07 Jan 1989). As the Shōwa era changed to the succeding Heisei era, the Japanese music market was at the same moment shifting from vinyl records to CDs as the primary music format. This change of era, along with stylistic and marketing changes in the Japanese music industry, prompted the need for a new term. After the Shōwa Emperor’s death on January 7, 1989, Most industries in Japan have been subject to mourning and refrained from selling. the market for popular music — and particularly upbeat danceable music — became subdued; this effect lasted well into the summer of 1989, when dance tunes gradually made the market active again. At this time, the Tokyo-based radio station J-Wave popularized the term “J-pop” and helped it become widespread. Although J-wave played only Japanese dance music, it diffused the new term “J-pop” and helped promote it in the wider Asian market. This followed a pattern which began around the same period of using “J” to identify Japan and Japanese products, for example, the J-League (Japan Professional Football League – 1993), JT (Japan Tobacco – 1985), JR (Japan Railways Group- 1987), amongst others. J-wave diffused a new technical term “J-pop” which a music genre after 1990. but it was not immediately packaged for their products. In the feverish climate of the Japanese asset price bubble (1986-1992), the Japanese music market made these dance tunes called J-pop a symbol of the prosperity of the Japanese economy. In 1993, Tower Records Japan created a dedicated section in its shops for J-pop, and its subsequent popularity cemented the term in common use at home and abroad. The success of genre J-pop has meant that, even now, Japanese major record companies tend to abuse the term to sell related Japanese music products. There has been confusion in the market due to the ever-expanding scope of the term. Japanese major record companies will often label older music “J-pop” to help the sale of back-catalog titles (which is becoming an increasingly large part of the market). This has created resistance amongst people who want Shōwa period music to be recognised in its own right, and not incorporated ‘ex post facto’ into an amorphous concept of J-pop. That meant a departure from the Showa era. It divided people of the Showa era and young dance pop fans.Those who rely on Showa’s pop music thereby want to incorporate it into J-pop, but that is a mistake. Japan has a different culture and history than the Western market. the Japanese market has big wholesale companies. 星光堂 (Seikodo), WINT (日本レコード販売網 JARECS, Lilac trading). The retailers must go through either wholesale company. If the retailer does not pass the wholesale company, the retail store can not purchase the record / CD released by the major company. Japanese wholesaler has not sales division / category for J-pop in 1989. Naturally Japanese major companies did not even have a sales strategy for J-pop for retailers. They did not have the technical term J-pop for that. Physically J-pop can not exist on products before 1990. To put it briefly, since the summer of 1989, J-wave spread the terminology of J-pop for dance music, However it shared the ambiguous outline of J-pop in the consciousness of Japanese listeners, It was in 1990. So the concept of J-pop was born after the summer of 1989 that J-wave announced “J-pop” for spread immediately in the Asian market. but in 1993 J-pop products began to spread for sale. J-pop cannot exist on original time of the vinyl record release before 1990. J-pop does not exist on the vinyl record and tracks of vinyl record era. This sources: Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) and Japan Record Commerce Association, JASRAC. The term has spawned similar descriptors K-Pop (Korea) and C-Pop (China) or Canto-Pop (Hong Kong)

K-pop4,083 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Karaoke3,020 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Kayōkyoku9,151 ReleasesThe little brother of Enka, kayoukyoku started as “western styled” songs in the 1920s. After the war, kayoukyoku became the dominant form of popular music until the mid-late 1970s, when overtly “western” songs with no traditional Japanese musical influence became dominant.

Levenslied1,408 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Light Music9,739 ReleasesMost often instrumental, light music is also sometimes called concert music or mood music. While it originates in the 18th and 19th century, the style of light music has been referred to as such since the end of WWII and the beginning of the 1950’s. Since then, it has been flourishing as a specific style. Considered to be especially played and appreciated in Western countries (Europe, US…), light music is so-called not only for its easy-listening side, but also because it is considered as less technical and much more accessible to a broader audience than other forms of music such as the symphony or the concerto. Media such as the radio or the television have widely contributed to the success of the style, with for instance the BBC broadcasting light music on a regular basis in the mid-20th century. Examples of artists and composers typical of light music include Franck Pourcel, Percy Faith, Mantovani, Charles Ancliffe, Ronald Binge, Eric Coates, Frederic Curzon, Trevor Duncan, Robert Farnon, Adalgiso Ferraris, Ron Goodwin, Albert Ketèlbey, Billy Mayerl, Angela Morley, Ernest Tomlinson, Sidney Torch, Edward White, Charles Williams, Alberto Semprini, André Kostelanetz or Haydn Wood.

Mandopop1,656 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Music Hall8,278 ReleasesA popular form of entertainment in British theatre in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It consisted of a series of performances by comedians, singers, and dancers. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place.

Néo Kyma210 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Novelty27,871 ReleasesComical or nonsensical songs with light, lilting melodies, performed principally for their comical effect and typically telling a brief story. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s, and had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. Ray Stevens is noted for his novelty songs such as “Guitarzan” and “The Streak”. Humorous songs, or songs containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs.

Ryūkōka3 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Schlager174,026 ReleasesSchlager is the German word for “Hit”, initially it has the same meaning, a big success. Later “Schlager” became the term for a kind of easy listening pop music, trying to please most people as possible in German speaking countries and Benelux. In “Schlager” nearly all kinds of music styles are possible. Songs from the musical genres Country, Rock’n’Roll, Pop, Swing (and in few cases Hard Rock) counts as Schlager, when the English lyrics are exchanged by German or Dutch. Also in the other direction, where a Schlager became with English lyrics a pop song. Would the Band ABBA sung their songs in German, this music would count as Schlager. Much Schlagers are from USA, UK, other European countries, especially Netherlands, in some cases the German version is more popular, than the original. By the way, German Schlagers were exported, much of the Dutch Schlagers are German Schlagers with Dutch Lyrics. Few German Schlagers became successfull in the USA. Some Schlager songs are sentimental. Some Schlager songs refers to German folk and German drinking songs. Some Schlager songs are arrangements of classical music. Schlager songs were very popular from the 1920’s till the 1970’s. In this time, songs in German language almost counts as Schlager. This changed in the 1980’s, where the “New Wave” reached Germany and much bands began to sing in German, this was called “Neue Deutsche Welle” and was beside singer/songwriters the first German music without the “Schlager” label. Germany’s answer to “New Wave” lasts few years, but was door opener and encouraging much bands to sing in German. And today it’s common, that Germany has much different music in German language that isn’t seen as Schlager. In East Germany it was different. There was the rule “When you want to sing on a record, you have to sing German”, so in East Germany was a German pop music beside Schlager, long before West-Germany discovered this way. Much Schlagers of today are in the style of electronic Dance music “Disco Fox”. Arrangement and orchestration: Many things are possible, from a small band with drums, bass and two guitars to a big orchestra with brass and strings. Most songs are sung, most of them by one main singer, some with two main singers, often some accompaniment by a choir and in few cases a choir as the main singers. In the 1980’s they began to use electronic instruments and sequencers more and more frequently. In the 1970’s, there were TV shows and sampler records containing both, German Schlager and English Pop music, this was possible and worked. The famous German TV show “hitparade im ZDF” showed the most successful pop songs in German language, till the coming of “Neue Deutsche Welle” this were Schlagers. It was a show, where the vocal performance had to be live, accompanied by tapes with the orchestral backing from the original recording. Later they tried to open the show to other music from Germany in English language and also the use of full playback, so the vocal performance was prerecorded. Few years later, they turned back to semi playback and German language. But in the 1990s Schlager wasn’t so much popular anymore, so the show “hitparade” wasn’t continued. At least, Schlager was a collective term for different kinds of pop music with German lyrics.

Villancicos187 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Vocal447,507 ReleasesAlthough nearly all pop music involves sung vocals, in Vocal pop music, there is an exceptional emphasis on a virtuosic, solo vocal performance which carries almost the entire melody. The backing music is often a relatively simple accompaniment by chords in a lower register, although it can include lush orchestral or big-band arrangements as well. Rhythm sections tend to be very subdued, if present at all. Record shops and collectors typically use the term Vocal in reference to mainstream, “white”, “adult” English-language pop music of the 1950s and 1960s: mainly ballads and standards which continue the tradition of vocal jazz, without the improvisational elements. The style’s peak coincided with the early rock & roll era, after which most Vocal pop became regarded as “easy listening” music, but it continues to enjoy waves of popularity throughout the world to the present day. On Discogs, perhaps due to unfamiliarity with the style, the Vocal tag is not used so strictly. It is found on all kinds of pop releases from all eras, whenever a vocal solo dominates the performance. However, it should not be used on just any pop music with vocals. It is inappropriate for especially highly rhythmic pop or music which is better tagged with a regional style such as Chanson (French-language vocal pop) or a style under the Folk, World & Country genre.

Reggae

Azonto35 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Bubbling146 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Calypso14,401 ReleasesCalypso orginated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to mid-20th century.

Dancehall81,259 ReleasesDancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. Two of the biggest stars of the early dancehall era were Yellowman and Eek-a-Mouse. Dancehall brought a new generation of producers, including Linval Thompson, Gussie Clarke and Jah Thomas. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall (or “ragga”) becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. (The word “bashment”, a term originating in the 1990s, was used to describe a particularly good dance; for example “to go to a bashment dance”. In the Dancehall vernacular, “bashment” is therefore an adjective instead of a noun.) Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Dub Poetry1,008 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Junkanoo278 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Lovers Rock12,576 ReleasesA style of reggae music focused on romantic themes, both in sound and lyrical content, this was most prominent through the mid-1970s in the UK. The roots of this style are based in early 1970s reggae versions of popular love songs, performed by artists such as John Holt & Ken Boothe. At a time when reggae was becoming more conscious with the lyrical focus being turned to Rastafarianism and politics, lovers rock was a counterpoint to this, being a continuation from the soul-influenced, love themed Rocksteady.

Mento784 ReleasesMento is a style of Jamaican folk music that has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box.

Ragga11,056 ReleasesRaggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music, in which the instrumentation primarily consists of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Ragga is now mainly used as a synonym for dancehall reggae or for describing dancehall with a deejay chatting rather than singjaying or singing on top of the riddim.

Rapso169 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Reggae70,226 Releases“Reggae” came into focus in Jamaica in 1968 as a stage in a continuum of musical styles after ska and rock steady. These were the first locally originated music forms in post-independence Jamaica. The previously distinct colonial-era Jamaican music was known as mento, which evolved from the music of 19th century French set dance called quadrille, which was popular among the English ruling class in Jamaica. Mento emerged as the “fifth figure” of quadrille and has an important connection to reggae, specifically the rhythm pattern strummed on the banjo in mento. The reintroduction of this rhythmic pattern helped move rocksteady into a new identity as reggae. “Reggae” was initially spelled “reggay” when it appeared on records. Singer Toots Hibbert (of the Maytals) has explained the term reggay was an adaptation of ‘streggay,’ a derogatory reference to women. The drummer Leroy Horsemouth Wallace has said the term was adapted from musician Alva Reggie Lewis’s style of rhythm guitar. Reggae become distinct for the rhythm guitar pattern described above, and the guitar’s close relationship with an organ ‘shuffle’ attributed to keyboardist Glen Adams. The drums emphasized beats two and four, as had rocksteady. Reggae became the dominant popular music in Jamaica for the next twenty years until the mid-1980s when it evolved rhythmically to the point that a newly dominant pattern distinguished it as “dancehall.” An additional point of transition from reggae to dancehall was the introduction and popularity of computer programmed rhythms, which replaced what had been live drums, bass and horns during reggae’s first 16-17 years. As a marketing term, ‘reggae’ has been used, misleadingly, as a catchall for all Jamaican music and other Carribean music.

Reggae Gospel1,004 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Reggae-Pop19,812 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Rocksteady15,094 ReleasesJamaican music that evolved from ska in late 1966 and had it’s glory until 1968 when it lay the ground to, and was replaced with, reggae. Even if rocksteady is the successor to ska the differences are striking. Rocksteady is slower, more refined and cooler. The walking bassline that ska inherited from R&B changed and didn’t play on every beat with equal emphasis. Instead it played a repeated pattern that syncopated the rhythm. Both the bass and the drums plays a prominent role in rocksteady and it is sometimes referred to as Jamaican drum and base. The style is also known as “rock steady” (instead of rocksteady) which also referred to the bass and the drums as a steady rock in the rhythm. The vocals are often sweet, soulful and romantic., Some of the prominent producers during the short rocksteady era was Prince Buster, Clement “Coxsone” Dodd and Duke Reid but the style also opened the door to new producers as Joe Gibbs, Bunny Lee and Sonia Pottinger

Roots Reggae59,307 ReleasesSubgenre of reggae with lyrics dealing with Rastafarian thematics (Jah, Babylon, Panafricanism, spirituality…)

Soca7,686 ReleasesSoca is an offshoot of kaiso/calypso, with influences from Latin, cadence, funk and soul. Soca music (defined by Lord Shorty, its inventor, as the “Soul of Calypso”) is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s. It was initially developed in an effort to revive traditional calypso, the popularity of which had been flagging among younger generations in Trinidad due to the rise in popularity of reggae from Jamaica and soul and funk from USA. It has since developed into a range of styles.

Steel Band1,901 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Rock

Acid Rock8,237 ReleasesAcid Rock is a form of Rock Music which evolved from Psychedelic Rock and Psychedelic Music in general. Although Acid Rock is very similar to Psychedelic Rock, Acid Rock has more Blues, Folk, and Hard Rock aspects, than most Psychedelic Music. Just like Psychedelic Rock, Acid Rock also has its origins in the mid-1960s. It has also been noted that Acid Rock is considered to be more Heavy, Harsh, Hard, and Louder sound than its Psychedelic influences. Also, the lyrics usually contain drug references, and has long, usually improvised guitar solos, with distinct effects.

Acoustic101,383 ReleasesAcoustic is any music that has a focus on acoustic instruments instead of electronics.

Alternative Rock397,794 ReleasesAlternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s. The “alternative” definition refers to the genre’s distinction from mainstream rock music, expressed primarily in a distorted guitar sound, subversive and/or transgressive lyrics and generally a nonchalant, defiant attitude. The term’s original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style, or simply the independent, D.I.Y. ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music. At times, “alternative” has been used as a catch-all description for music from underground rock artists that receives mainstream recognition, or for any music, whether rock or not, that is seen to be descended from punk rock (including some examples of punk itself, as well as new wave, and post-punk). Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

AOR18,882 ReleasesAlbum-Oriented Rock. A style of music associated with an FM Radio format in which album tracks, rather than released singles, are played. It’s roots originate in the underground-FM stations of the late 1960s – early 1970s, such as KPPC-FM (Los Angeles) and WNEW-FM (New York City).

Arena Rock27,439 ReleasesPop-oriented rock music that’s harder than Pop Rock. Key elements usually include prominent electric guitar and drums, guitar solos, and keyboards.

Art Rock66,271 Releasesrock music that incorporates elements of high art, particularly from classical realms

Atmospheric Black Metal3,695 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Avantgarde62,649 ReleasesAvant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of experimentation or innovation in its field.

Beat55,470 ReleasesBeat music, British beat, or Merseybeat (after bands from Liverpool and nearby areas beside the River Mersey) is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll (mainly Chuck Berry guitar style and the midtempo beat of artists like Buddy Holly), doo-wop, skiffle and R&B. The genre provided many of the bands responsible for the British Invasion of the American pop charts starting in 1964, and provided the model for many important developments in pop and rock music, including the format of the rock group around lead, rhythm and bass guitars with drums.

Black Metal151,245 Releases‘Black Metal” came to life and took his name also in 1982 from the album [Black Metal](https://www.discogs.com/Venom-Black-Metal/master/57707), that also influenced the creation of other extreme Metal styles such as Thrash, Speed and Death. A form of overtly occult extreme metal that propagated widely in the 1990s as a reaction to the popular death metal and grind of the time, influenced by more primitive metal styles of the early to mid ’80s (sometimes retroactively labeled as “first wave black metal”). The style is typified by high-pitched screaming/shrieking vocals, distorted, trebly guitar often tremolo-picked, and fast, often simple drumming. Also its lyrically it focuses in Satanism.

Blues Rock158,821 ReleasesA Soul, Blues, and Rock mixture. Usually a form of Blue-Eyed Soul.

Brit Pop20,408 ReleasesBrit Pop was a British movement from early 1990s onwards (a term coined by the press and much debated which release spearheaded it; with Suede’s debut album or Blur’s Popscene single). It grew out of the indie and Madchester scenes of the previous decade and was heavily influenced by the British rock bands of the 1960s, in particular The Beatles, The Kinks and The Small Faces. It was seen as a backlash against American styles, most particularly Grunge. Heavily melodic, with a traditional bass / guitar / drums /keyboard lineuup, Oasis and Blur took the style around the world with much success. It was, as a style, essentially finished by 2000. Brit Pop should not be applied to bands / acts from the sixties or outside this defined era. Just because a band is British, or British and recorded in this era, that does not make them Brit Pop. Use carefully.

Classic Rock216,255 ReleasesClassic Rock was a genre mostly defined by US FM radio formats in the 1970s, growing out of the earlier Album Oriented Rock (AOR) format. It was a harder, often Blues and Prog influenced style and was a reaction against both Punk / New Wave and Disco. This style is not correctly applied to sixties or 70s Pop Rock, Beat or Garage Rock bands, such as The Beatles, The Yardbirds or The Rolling Stones (pre 1970).

Coldwave3,714 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Country Rock88,469 Releases“The typical country-rock song was an identifiable “rock” creation that used at least one element of standard country instrumentation, be it pedal steel or fiddle, kept the arrangement largely acoustic except for bass, and utilized countryish, Appalachian-style harmonies.” https://www.thoughtco.com/overview-of-country-rock-genre-2522362

Crust11,256 ReleasesCrust (or crust punk) is a form of music influenced by hardcore punk and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the mid-1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on political and social ills. The term “crust” was coined by Hellbastard on their 1986 Ripper Crust demo. Crust is partly defined by its “bassy” and “dirty” sound. It is often played at a fast tempo with occasional slow sections. Vocals are usually guttural and may be grunted, growled or screamed. Crust punk takes cues from the anarcho-punk of Crass and Discharge and the extreme metal of bands like Venom, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost and Motörhead. While the term was first associated with Hellbastard, Amebix have been described as the originators of the style.

Death Metal134,801 ReleasesA form of extreme metal that usually uses low pitched growling vocals with thickly distorted guitars playing at ranging speeds (usually extremely fast or slow), and with fast brutal drumming.

Deathcore5,316 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Deathrock3,169 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Depressive Black Metal2,445 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Doo Wop31,862 ReleasesCriterion elements of doo-wop: Vocal Group Harmony Wide Range of Voices Nonsense Syllables Simple Beat & Light Instrumentation Simple Music & Lyrics. This information is from the book “Doo-Wop The forgotten third of Rock ‘n Roll” by Dr. Anthony J. Gribin & Dr. Matthew M. Schiff. Library of Congress 91-77560, ISBN 0-87341-197-8, Page 17 of chapter 2. Published by Krause Publications of Iola, WI. 1992.

Doom Metal59,336 ReleasesIn this genre, slow-burning electric guitars crunch walls of thick and heavy riffs, played sostenuto, creating effects of darkness, evil, or misery. Sometimes combined with the sounds of psychedelic rock, noise or drone genres, Doom Metal sounds exactly as its title suggests: with or without harsh vocals, there is always a sense of impending doom, an ominous malaise or menace, in its undertow. Doom Metal presents itself as a high art form of heavy metal.

Dream Pop4,176 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Emo36,180 ReleasesEmo is a genre of rock music characterized by an emphasis on emotional expression, sometimes through confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of post-hardcore from the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement in Washington, D.C., where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace. In the early 1990s, emo was adopted and reinvented by alternative/indie rock and pop punk bands such as Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate, Weezer and Jimmy Eat World. By the mid-1990s, emo bands such as Braid, the Promise Ring and the Get Up Kids emerged from the burgeoning Midwest emo scene, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the genre. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Ethereal14,367 ReleasesNew Wave- and Gothic Rock-related style, developed in the early 1980s by [4AD](http://www.discogs.com/label/634-4AD) bands such as [Cocteau Twins](http://www.discogs.com/artist/12373-Cocteau-Twins) and [Dead Can Dance](http://www.discogs.com/artist/12368-Dead-Can-Dance). Typical of the style is the use of delay- and echo-drenched guitar textures and female vocals.

Folk Metal6,496 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Folk Rock208,398 ReleasesFolk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s. The genre was pioneered by the Los Angeles band The Byrds, who began playing traditional folk music and Bob Dylan-penned material with rock instrumentation, in a style heavily influenced by The Beatles and other British bands. The term “folk rock” was itself first coined by the U.S. music press to describe The Byrds’ music in June 1965, the same month that the band’s debut album was issued. The release of The Byrds’ cover version of Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” and its subsequent commercial success initiated the folk rock explosion of the mid-1960s. Dylan himself was also influential on the genre, particularly his recordings with an electric rock band on the Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde albums. Dylan’s 25 July 1965 appearance at the Newport Folk Festival with an electric backing band is also considered a pivotal moment in the development of folk rock. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Funeral Doom Metal1,613 ReleasesFuneral doom is a style of doom metal that crosses death-doom with funeral dirge music. It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair. Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted and dark ambient aspects such as keyboards or synthesizers are often used to create a “dreamlike” atmosphere. Organs are also utilized in keeping with dirge music. Vocals consist of mournful chants or growls and are often in the background.

Funk Metal9,416 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Garage Rock121,124 ReleasesRaw, energetic and primal variety of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s as many young people, inspired by The Beatles, decided to form bands. Precursor to psychedelic rock, garage rock is characterized by sometimes aggressive and unsophisticated lyrics and delivery, typically using guitars distorted through a fuzzbox. At the time there was no specific label and garage rock was not recognized as a separate genre, but critical recognition in the early 1970s through the release of the the Nuggets compilation albums did much to define and memorialize the style. The term derives from the perception the groups were young amateurs who rehearsed in their family garage, although many were professionals and never played in a garage at all.

Glam50,147 ReleasesThe original Glam was a poppy UK (and NYC) pre-punk style that was often rhythm heavy, albeit with short snappy, almost Rock & Roll, songs. The artists wore heavy makeup and often outrageous costumes. It heavily influenced the second style below, and the UK punk revolution of 1976. Poppy heavy metal music popular throughout the later 1980’s and the first part of the 1990’s. Vocals are usually harmonized and the songs are very accessible by mass audiences.

Goregrind6,875 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Goth Rock50,033 ReleasesGoth rock first appeared in the UK in the late 1970’s, it is generally a dark and serious form of rock music, with style elements stemming from ‘Post Punk’, ‘Post Rock’ and ‘Psychedelic Rock’, later on incorporating elements of ‘Synth Wave’, with bands and releases using more electronic elements and fusing elements from other styles into the sound. Sometimes synonymous with “Death Rock”, “Goth Rock” bands’ sound can vary quite a bit from artist to artist, album to album and song to song. Song structures, tempos and instrumentation are fairly experimental, and the style is mostly cohesive due to it’s themes, aesthetics and lifestyle. Themes incorporate a spectrum of issues from political angst to alienation in the modern world to romantic tragedy, most of the lyrics and vibe tending to be gloomy and depressing (like some might interpret, describe or express much of England’s weather). Later becoming in some ways more of a counter-culture/underground movement than just a musical style by individuals who felt alienated by mainstream society and wished to express their rejection of the status quo through music, art and fashion. ‘Ethereal’ (sometimes called ‘Ethereal Goth’) is a closely related and similar style.

Gothic Metal9,805 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Grindcore52,327 ReleasesGrindcore is an extreme genre of music that originated in the early to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive-sounding genres – including hardcore punk, thrash metal, crust punk, industrial and noise rock. Grindcore is characterized by a noise-filled sound that uses heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups like Napalm Death are credited with laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.

Groove Metal1,274 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Grunge28,301 ReleasesAn alternative rock sub-style/offshoot that surfaced in the early 90’s in the NW coast United States, the epicenter of which being Seattle, WA.

Hard Rock284,519 ReleasesHard rock (or heavy rock) is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock. It is typified by a heavy use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric guitars, bass guitar, drums, and often accompanied with pianos and keyboards. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Heavy Metal232,764 ReleasesHeavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are often associated with masculinity, aggression, and machismo. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Horror Rock805 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Indie Rock337,286 ReleasesIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include indie pop, jangle pop, C86, and lo-fi, among others. Originally used to describe record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US, and then Britpop bands in the UK, broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, a number of indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Industrial Metal1,388 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

J-Rock1,138 ReleasesJapanese rock (Japanese: 日本のロック, Hepburn: Nihon no Rokku), sometimes abbreviated to J-rock (ジェイ・ロック, Jei Rokku), is rock music from Japan. Influenced by American and British rock of the 1960s, the first rock bands in Japan performed what is called Group Sounds, with lyrics almost exclusively in English. Folk rock band Happy End in the early 1970s are credited as the first to sing rock music in the Japanese language. Punk rock bands Boøwy and The Blue Hearts and hard rock/heavy metal groups X Japan and B’z led Japanese rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s by achieving major mainstream success.

Jangle Pop670 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

K-Rock173 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Krautrock21,936 ReleasesKrautrock is a musical genre emerged in the late 1960s, mainly represented by groups from West Germany. It is a general term used for bands playing experimental, partly electronic type of music. Krautrock is originally a subgenre to the progressive rock, but instead of adding components of jazz and classical music (as happened in US and UK), the German musicians created a more mechanical and electronic sound. The word “krautrock” was coined by the English music press, and was initially insulting as the word kraut was slang for a German person, referring to the German dish “sauerkraut”. The negative connotation dissappeared as the music made by these bands since then was highly appreciated. Today, the word is honoring rather than insulting. Typical krautrock bands in the early 1970s were Amon Düül II, Tangerine Dream, Faust, Can and other bands associated with the Cologne-based producer Conny Plank, like Neu!, Kraftwerk and Cluster. The composer Karlheinz Stockhausen also had influence on this experimental scene.

Lo-Fi51,886 ReleasesLo-fi music includes sounds that would normally be considered imperfections in the context of a professional studio recording. Examples include misplayed notes, a degraded quality, audible tape edits, and background noises (coughing, laughing, chair squeaks, passing cars, machine humming …). The standards of lo-fi have evolved throughout the decades and the term itself only began to describe a style of music in the 1990s. Even though some older examples may not have been originally recognized as lo-fi, the qualifier may still be applicable.

Lounge13,564 ReleasesLounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The range of lounge music encompasses beautiful music–influenced instrumentals, modern electronica (with chillout, and downtempo influences), while remaining thematically focused on its retro-space-age cultural elements. The earliest type of lounge music appeared during the 1920s and 1930s, and was known as light music. In the 21st century, the term lounge music may also be used to describe the types of music played in hotels (the lounge, the bar), casinos, supermarkets, several restaurants, and piano bars. **Retrospective usage** Exotica, space age pop, and some forms of easy listening music popular during the 1950s and 1960s are now broadly termed lounge. The term lounge does not appear in textual documentation of the period, such as Billboard magazine or long playing album covers, but has been retrospectively applied. While rock and roll was generally influenced by blues and country, lounge music was derived from jazz and other musical elements borrowed from traditions around the world. Exotica from such artists as Les Baxter, Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman sold millions of records during its heyday. It combined music that was popular outside the USA, such as various Latin genres (e.g., Bossa nova, Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo as in Cal Tjader’s fine Latin jazz efforts), Polynesian, French, etc. into a relaxed, palatable sound. Such music could have some instruments exaggerated (e.g., a Polynesian song might have an exotic percussion arrangement using bongos, and vocalists imitating wild animals). Many of these recordings were portrayed as originating in exotic foreign lands, but in truth were recorded in Hollywood recording studios by veteran session musicians. Another genre, space age pop, mimicked space age sound effects of the time and reflected the public interest in space exploration. With the advent of stereophonic technology, artists such as Esquivel used spatial audio techniques to full effect, creating whooshing sounds with his orchestra. Allmusic describes lounge as less “adventurous” than exotica or space age pop, but not as “watered-down” as Muzak. “Instead, it occupied the middle ground, appealing to fans of traditional pop as well as space age pop.” A good deal of lounge music was pure instrumental (i.e., no main vocal part, although there could be minor vocal parts). Sometimes, this music would be theme music from movies or TV shows, although such music could be produced independently from other entertainment productions. These instrumentals could be produced with an orchestral arrangement, or from an arrangement of instruments very similar to that found in jazz, or even rock and roll such as the Hammond Organ or electric guitar. **Lounge singers** “Swinging” music of the era is also considered “lounge” and consisted of a schmaltzy continuation of the swing jazz era of the 1930s and 1940s, but with more of an emphasis on the vocalist. The legendary Rat Pack of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr., along with similar artists such as Bobby Darin, Jackie Gleason, Wayne Newton, Louis Prima, Sonny King, and Sam Butera are notable examples. The music of Burt Bacharach was soon featured as part of many lounge singers’ repertoires. Such artists performed mainly at featured lounges in Las Vegas casinos. Documented pioneers of the Las Vegas lounge scene, the Mary Kaye Trio were first on the scene in the early 50’s. Lounge singers have a lengthy history stretching back to the decades of the early twentieth century. The somewhat derisive term lounge lizard was coined then, and less well known lounge singers have often been ridiculed as dinosaurs of past eras and parodied for their smarmy delivery of standards. In any event, these lounge singers, perhaps performing in a hotel or cocktail bar, are usually accompanied by one or two other musicians, and they favor cover songs composed by others, especially pop standards, many deriving from the days of Tin Pan Alley. Many well-known performers got their start as lounge singers and musicians. Although he claims not to have worked for very long, Billy Joel worked as a lounge musician and penned the song “Piano Man” about his experience. Not all lounge singers, however, sing lounge music. **Resurgence** Lounge emerged in the late 1980s as a label of endearment by younger fans whose parents had listened to such music in the 1960s. It has enjoyed resurgences in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, led initially by iconic figures such as Buster Poindexter and Jaymz Bee. In Japan, producer Yasuharu Konishi became popular for his work with Pizzicato Five, and is often considered “the Godfather of Shibuya-kei,” a genre mostly derived from 1960s lounge music. In the early 1990s the lounge revival was in full swing and included such groups as Combustible Edison, Love Jones, The Cocktails, Pink Martini, the High Llamas, Don Tiki, and Nightcaps. Alternative band Stereolab demonstrated the influence of lounge with releases like their 1993 EP Space Age Bachelor Pad Music and their 1997 album Dots and Loops, and in 1996 Capitol Records began issuing the Ultra-Lounge series of lounge music albums. The lounge style was starkly in contrast to the grunge music that dominated the period. These groups wore suits and played music inspired by earlier works of Antônio Carlos Jobim, Juan García Esquivel, Louis Prima and many others. In the 2000s Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine has added to this resurgence by covering (usually profane) hit songs of other genres (primarily metal and hip hop) in the style of a lounge singer. In 2004, the Parisian band, Nouvelle Vague, released a self-titled album in which they covered songs from the ’80s post-punk and new wave genres in the style of Bossa Nova. Other artists have taken lounge music to new heights by recombining rock with pop, such as Jon Brion, The Bird and the Bee, Triangle Sun, Pink Martini, the Buddha-Lounge series, and the surrounding regulars of Café Largo. The movie The Rise and Fall of Black Velvet Flag (2003) is a documentary about three older punk rockers who created a lounge-punk band. **In film** In the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers, most of the members of the band were reduced to performing as “Murph and the Magictones” (headlining at a Holiday Inn) after bandleader Jake Blues went to prison. When the band takes a break to speak with Jake and his brother Elwood, Murph switches on a Muzak version of “Just the Way You Are,” performed by Billy Joel, a former lounge musician himself. Later, when Jake and Elwood are in an elevator, Jobim’s “The Girl from Ipanema” is heard on Muzak. The 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys starred Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges, and Michelle Pfeiffer as a successful lounge act. The film Swingers was set during the mid-1990s lounge and swing revival in Los Angeles, and featured legendary performers like Dean Martin, Louis Jordan and Tony Bennett, as well as modern lounge acts like Love Jones, Joey Altruda and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The soundtrack of the 1994 anthology film Four Rooms consists of lounge music. **Comedy** Andy Kaufman created a character called Tony Clifton. A parody of show biz entitlement and excess, Clifton is untalented, lazy (often not bothering to remember the words to the songs), and abusive to his audiences. Bill Murray also portrayed a particularly bad lounge singer on Saturday Night Live, Nick The Lounge Singer, best known for providing his own lyrics to the John Williams theme from Star Wars and performing an over-the-top version of the Morris Albert hit “Feelings”. Later, Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer portrayed a goofy married duo of lounge-style musicians, but in unlikely venues such as high school dances. Part of the humor derived from the incongruous application of their “nerdy” and outdated style to performances of current pop-music hits. British comedians Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones appeared as a cheesy keyboard and bass duo during the end credits of one series of their long-running sketch show. Richard Cheese and The Lounge Kittens specialize in playing lounge-style arrangements of recent popular rock, metal and hip hop songs, sung in a croony traditional swing vocal style, contrasting an elegant jazz treatment of the music with often profane and ribald lyrics to create a humorous dissonance.

Math Rock14,820 ReleasesMath rock is a rhythmically complex, often guitar-based, style of experimental rock and indie rock music that emerged in the late 1980s, influenced by progressive rock bands like King Crimson and 20th century minimalist composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), counterpoint, odd time signatures, angular melodies, and extended, often dissonant, chords.

Melodic Death Metal7,969 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Melodic Hardcore7,345 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Metalcore21,606 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Mod17,579 ReleasesThe actual subculture that encompassed music, fashion, and the love of Vespa motor scooters started in 1958 in London. The influences to mod consist of Jazz, R&B, psychedelic rock and soul. The first bands that define the music are The Who, Small Faces, and The Jam. The Who’s album Quadrophenia and the movie by the same name is a must listen and a must watch.

NDW637 ReleasesNDW or “Neue Deutsche Welle” (translated New German Wave”) is a genre of German rock music originally derived from post-punk and new wave music with electronic influences. It started as an underground wave in Germany around 1981. It reached its peak around 1983/1984 after lots of one-hit-wonders.

New Wave163,575 ReleasesNew wave is a genre of rock music and a term which became popular in the late 1970s and the early 80s with connections to punk rock, disco, and electronic music. New wave was a cultural shift away from the blues, classic rock, and progressive rock sounds which were dominant in the early and mid 70s. The term refers to both this shift and the great amount of cross pollination happening in music in the late 70s when non-mainstream musicians began incorporating a wide range of seemingly disparate sounds with a DIY rawness. Early punk, dub reggae, funk, art rock, glam pop, kraut rock, and experimental electronic music were all very influential on this new wave of rock musicians. For a very short period in the 70s the term was interchangable with Punk, especially in the US where the industry was wary of the “punk fad”. There were also different usages in the UK and the US mainstream media. Some music journalists consider New Wave to be a genre that takes the energy and ethos of Punk and combines it with more sonic and structural experimentation. Still, many consider New Wave to be such a broad umbrella term that it loses any defining power, similar to Alternative Rock which came later. As a result many artists and fans use related subgenres like Synth-Pop, Post-Punk, Goth-Rock, New Romantic, and Dark Wave to point to more specific qualities embodied in the diverse New Wave sound. By the mid 80s the term was less frequently used by both the music industry and journalists, but in the late 1990s and into the 21st century a resurgence and nostalgia for popular 80s music has brought the term back into popular usage.

No Wave4,944 ReleasesA avant-garde subgenre of the punk scene that formed in the late 1970’s in New York.

Noisecore4,394 ReleasesNoisecore is a derivation of Grindcore/Hardcore Punk. Has been use as a term since mid/late 80’s and stabilized itself as a own genre. The songs are usually chaotic short blasts of noise, accompanied by screamed, growled, or shouted vocals. While there is some instrumental variation (some groups use drum machines, others use completely non-musical noise sources), Noisecore acts tend to use a guitar and/or bass guitar. Earlier releases tagged as “Noisecore” tend to be a raw, chaotic, and lo-fi form of Hardcore; artists in this style include Tranquilizer (2), Kuolema, and Brigada Do Ódio. Napalm Death’s “You Suffer” is generally considered the blueprint for most later Noisecore, being approximately one second long. Tracks can go to even couple dozen of seconds, but hardly ever reaches length of 1 minute or so. Typical Noisecore releases (whether singles or LPs) can contain forty or more songs, with some releases claiming to contain thousands of tracks. Lyrical content varies from highly political (Seven Minutes Of Nausea, Fear Of God) to the gross/offensive (later Anal Cunt, Gore Beyond Necropsy) to the absurd/surreal (Sore Throat, Minch); some acts (early Anal Cunt, Genital Masticator, The Gerogerigege) use wordless vocal sounds.

Nu Metal23,955 ReleasesPopular in the later 1990’s/early-2000’s, after Grunge and Alternative Rock left the mainstream. Typically, this describes harder rock or metal that’s influenced by hip-hop.

Oi33,351 Releases Oi or Oi! is known as skinhead or workers class Punk in the UK. It is a subculture of Punk and was formed in the 1970’s.

Parody24,187 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Pop Punk26,555 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Pop Rock726,414 ReleasesPop Rock grew out of Rock & Roll and Beat in the 1960s. This term can be used to describe rock music that follows the traditional “rock” format: Drums, guitar, bass & vocals, with catchy hooks / riffs, & vocals.

Pornogrind1,802 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Post Rock49,274 ReleasesPost-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and “guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures” not traditionally found in rock. Post-rock bands are often without vocals. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Post-Hardcore12,153 ReleasesPost-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. The genre took shape in the mid to late 1980s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black and Jawbox that stuck closer to post-hardcore’s noise rock roots.

Post-Metal3,300 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Post-Punk50,555 ReleasesPost-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad type of rock music that emerged from the punk movement of the 1970s, in which artists departed from the simplicity and traditionalism of punk rock to adopt a variety of avant-garde sensibilities. Inspired by punk’s energy and DIY ethic but determined to break from rock cliches, artists experimented diversely with sources including electronic music and black styles like funk, disco, dub, and free jazz; novel recording and production techniques; and ideas from art and politics, including critical theory, modernist art and literature. Communities that produced independent record labels, visual art, multimedia performances and fanzines developed around these pioneering musical scenes, which coalesced in cities such as London, New York, Manchester, and San Francisco. The early post-punk vanguard was represented by groups such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire, Public Image Ltd, the Pop Group, Cabaret Voltaire, Magazine, Pere Ubu, Gang of Four, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Throbbing Gristle, the Slits, the Cure, the Fall and Au Pairs. The movement was closely related to the development of ancillary genres such as gothic rock, neo-psychedelia, no wave and industrial music. By the mid 1980s, post-punk had dissipated while providing the impetus for the New Pop movement as well much subsequent alternative and independent music.

Power Metal17,810 ReleasesPower metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contrast with the heaviness and dissonance prevalent for example in extreme metal. Power metal bands usually have anthem-like songs with fantasy-based subject matter and strong choruses, thus creating a theatrical, dramatic and emotionally “powerful” sound. The term was first used in the middle of the 1980s and refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a later more widespread and popular style based in Europe (especially Scandinavia, Germany, Greece, Spain and Italy), South America (especially Brazil and Argentina) and East Asia with a lighter, more melodic sound and frequent use of keyboards.

Power Pop46,305 ReleasesHeavily influenced by The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Who, The Kinks, Power Pop was a style that first appeared in the very late 1960s with bands like The Rasberries and Badfinger. Vocally driven rock music that has very poppy melodies and vocal stylings. Guitar riffs are prominent, as is the drum track. The term is common for the music of the British 1979 Mod revival (Secret Affair, The Chords, Lambrettas, early Jam). That era’s anthem may very well be “Time for Action” by Secret Affair (see Youtube link) U.S.-American The Knack, who where similarily 1960s-influenced (but unrelated to the “Mod” movement) had a massive hit with “My Sharona” in 1980, a well-known prime example of the style.

Power Violence2,221 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Prog Rock195,260 ReleasesProgressive rock is a rock music subgenre that originated in the United Kingdom and United States throughout the mid to late 1960s. It developed from psychedelic rock, and began as an attempt to give greater artistic weight and credibility to rock music. Songs were replaced by musical suites that often stretched to 20 or 40 minutes in length and contained symphonic influences, extended musical themes, fantasy-like ambience and lyrics, and complex orchestrations.

Progressive Metal18,053 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Psychedelic Rock217,396 ReleasesPsychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It often uses new recording techniques and effects and draws on non-Western sources such as the ragas and drones of Indian music. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Psychobilly11,472 ReleasesPunk rock music with rockabilly influence. Often found on soundtracks to 1970’s and 1980’s horror films.

Pub Rock4,330 ReleasesPub rock is a rock music genre that was developed in the early to mid-1970s in the U.K. A back-to-basics movement which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock and flashy glam rock. Although short-lived, pub rock was notable for returning live rock to the small intimate venues (pubs and clubs) of its early years. With pub rock’s emphasis on small venues, simple, fairly inexpensive recordings and indie record labels, it was the catalyst for the development of the British punk rock scene. By 1975, the standard for mainstream rock album recordings was expensive, lengthy studio recording processes overseen by highly-paid record producers, with the goal of creating highly polished end products, with overdubs, double-tracking and studio effects. Some mainstream bands spent months in the studio perfecting their recording, to achieve a meticulously crafted and perfect product. Pub rockers rejected this type of costly, complex recording process; instead, with pub rockers, the goal was simply to capture the band’s “live” sound and feel in the studio. Australian Pub Rock is similar, hard rock, blues rock, and/or progressive rock. It waspopular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music in the 2000s. The term came from the venues where most of these bands originally played — inner-city and suburban pubs. These often noisy, hot, small and crowded venues were not always ideal as music venues and favoured loud, simple songs based on drums and electric guitar riffs.Though Australia has a relatively small population, the proportionally high number of venues that bands could play in, meant that a band could tour extensively, often playing every night for long periods. This would allow bands such as AC/DC, Cold Chisel, INXS, Midnight Oil, Rose Tattoo and others to take their live skills into large venues in the US and Europe with ease.

Punk442,512 ReleasesPunk rock (or “punk”) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom / Western Europe, and Australia. Rooted in 1960s garage rock and other forms of what is now known as “proto-punk” music, punk rock bands rejected perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent record labels.

Rock & Roll247,159 ReleasesRock music is a genre of popular music that originated as “rock and roll” in the United States in the 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s’ and 1950s’ rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such as blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other musical sources. Provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0

Rock Opera535 ReleasesA rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been adapted as rock musicals. The use of various character roles within the song lyrics is a common storytelling device.

Rockabilly56,794 ReleasesEarly Rock N’ Roll that was heavily influenced by country. Has a swingbeat rather than a typical 4/4 rock beat. Very reminiscent of boogie-woogie blues music, but done with Rock & Roll instruments. Popular in the Western and Southern US. Revived in the early 1980s.

Shoegaze32,875 ReleasesShoegaze has an overwhelmingly loud sound, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappear into the walls of guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument is distinguishable from the other.

Ska51,139 ReleasesJamaican music played in the early 60’s, influenced by American jazz swing and New Orleans Rhythm & Blues. After 1966, there was no more ska in Jamaica, but ska did a come-back in the late 1970’s in UK with the 2 Tone label, combining the sound of Jamaican ska and the energy of Punk Rock. In the 1980’s, a third wave of ska incorporated punk rock (and sometimes hardcore) sounds. Typical 4/4 timing, but the offbeat is always accentuated.

Skiffle1,873 ReleasesA style of Folk Rock that features homemade instruments like washboards, jugs and musical saws. Popular in the USA in the 1920’s and 1940’s, in Britain in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and experienced a resurgence in popularity in the USA in the early 1990’s.

Sludge Metal13,922 ReleasesSludge metal is an extreme genre of music that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes Southern rock. Sludge metal is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted or screamed vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting tempos.

Soft Rock129,563 ReleasesSimply put, it features the instruments and elements of Pop Rock, but it’s much softer/lighter in nature. May also be referred to as “light rock” or “easy rock.”

Southern Rock26,424 ReleasesPop rock with country or southern undertones.

Space Rock21,692 ReleasesSpace Rock is a style of rock music. The style evolved off of Psychedelic, and Progressing rock music. The style is known for having lyrics related to Space, and Sci-Fi topics. It’s also known for having spacey effects in their music.

Speed Metal21,719 ReleasesSubgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) (Motörhead, Judas Priest) that will influence thrash metal.

Stoner Rock36,407 ReleasesStoner Rock is a fusion genre, of Doom Metal, Psychedelic Rock, and Acid Rock, known for its slow, heavy sound, Distorted Guitars/Bass, and Melodic Vocals.

Surf34,491 ReleasesSurf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture which originated in California in the early 1960s. It has two major forms: largely instrumental surf rock, with an electric guitar or saxophone playing the main melody and vocal surf pop, including both surf ballads and dance music, often with strong harmonies.

Swamp Pop1,699 ReleasesSwamp pop is a musical genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s and early 1960s by teenaged Cajuns, it combines New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and traditional French Louisiana musical influences. 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.

Symphonic Metal910 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Symphonic Rock35,040 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Technical Death Metal2,009 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Thrash102,179 ReleasesThrash (or thrash metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work.

Twist8,588 ReleasesIn 1959, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters released the original version of “The Twist” as a b-side. Later that same year, Chubby Checker released a cover which became a hit. Over the next few years, hundreds of records with a “twist beat” were released around the world, with the craze peaking in 1962. The novelty quickly began to fade in the wake of the British Invasion before a “twist revival” briefly took hold in the 1980s.

Viking Metal6,377 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Yé-Yé2,976 ReleasesA Rock & Roll sound with basic Doo Wop backing vocals, often “Yeah-Yeah,” which in French is pronounced Yé-Yé. Close to Twist, which was the a term for the Rhythm & Blues / Pop mainstay employed by many bands in Quebec during the 60s. France had similar francophone Pop Rock artists.

Stage & Screen

Cabaret45 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Musical37,132 ReleasesMusic from a musical theater performance. Find the film that the albums are associated with on [Filmogs](https://filmo.gs) and add a link to the soundtrack or score on the Film page. For example: _Hairspray_ on [Filmogs](https://www.filmo.gs/film/947-hairspray) and [Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/Various-Hairspray-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/master/105995).

Score49,093 ReleasesA score is original music written specifically to accompany a dramatic presentation, such as a movie, television program, play, or video game. In the case of a medium recorded on film or video, the written score may be recorded and used as part of the soundtrack, which also includes dialogue and/or sound effects. Alternatively, the written score may be re-recorded for release to the public, so that the released recording is separate from the soundtrack. For example, John Williams’s Star Wars is a score used as a film soundtrack. Franz Waxman’s The Bride Of Frankenstein is a newly recorded version of the original score, and is not a film soundtrack. Cecil Payne’s The Connection was written as the score for a play. Find the film that the albums are associated with on [Filmogs](https://filmo.gs) and add a link to the soundtrack or score on the Film page. For example: _Jackie Brown_ on [Filmogs](https://www.filmo.gs/film/3575-jackie-brown) and [Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/Various-Jackie-Brown-Music-From-The-Miramax-Motion-Picture/master/101755)

Soundtrack184,525 ReleasesMusic accompanying, featured in or inspired by a motion picture, television program or video game. Find the film that the albums are associated with on [Filmogs](https://filmo.gs) and add a link to the soundtrack or score on the Film page. For example: _Jackie Brown_ on [Filmogs](https://www.filmo.gs/film/3575-jackie-brown) and [Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/Various-Jackie-Brown-Music-From-The-Miramax-Motion-Picture/master/101755)

Theme45,463 ReleasesThe main theme or signature song from a motion picture, television program, video game or musical.

Vaudeville7 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️

Video Game Music2,879 ReleasesHelp contribute to Discogs by writing this style’s description 🖋️