The Dance Music Era

Over the past couple years no music genre has come with such a force like dance music has. By dance music I mean modern pop, house, progressive house, trance etc....If you turn on the radio to any station that plays top 40 chances are that over half the songs you hear will have a dance beat to it. The majority of clubs are bumping dance tracks that make the whole building jump. It really makes you sit back and wonder "how did this happen?" Let's take a minute and look back over the course of the past decade to understand exactly how it all went down.

There are some people out there that will tell you that they have always been a fan of dance music, but not all of them are talking about the dance music we hear today. House, trance and other forms of techno music have always been big in Europe, as a matter of fact the best house and trance DJ's in the world hail from countries like The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Sweden. In the U.S. hip-hop became arguably the most popular genre in the late 90's and early 2000's. So how did the Europeans bring their flagship music genre to America? Well the same way every other type of influence got here...IMMIGRATION!!!! Don't get me wrong, dance music already existed in America but it wasn't as strong as other genres. As commercial hip-hop took a turn for the worst, people started to look to other genres. It is a known fact in this country that social trends are constantly changing. People get bored of what is in and everyone is always looking forward to what's next with each growing generation. As more and more people immigrate to the U.S. they bring their trends with them. Diverse cities such as NYC, LA, Miami, Philly and Boston see new trends come and go constantly. Foreign DJ's created their fan base in these cities, and we all know once you blow up in places like NYC, LA, and Miami the rest of the nation will take notice. 

The song Sandstorm by Darude was one of the first house tracks to rock the U.S. People became intrigued and wondered what else does this genre have to offer. Pretty soon DJ's like Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Paul Van Dyk, and Paul Oakenfold became household names. As we got closer to 2010 musical artists from other genres were taking a stab at dance music. Pitbull made a full on conversion from a rapper to laying down a couple plain verses and catchy hooks to some hot dance beats. Usher went from slow R&B jams to fast pace dance tracks. Flo Rida pretty much did the same thing Pitbull did. The change actually boosted their careers (well Usher didn't need the boost). Other artists took notice and gave dance music a try. By mid 2011 everybody was doing it. With more and more artists wanting dance beats there became a demand for producers and DJ's that could provide these beats. In came producers like RedOne (most known for beats like Just Dance by Lady Gaga and Starships by Nikki Minaj), Benny Benassi, Calvin Harris, Edward Maya, and DJ Magazine's 2012 DJ of the Year...David Guetta. Other house and trance DJ's such as Skrillex, Markus Schulz, Laidback Luke, Avicii and Swedish House Mafia have now taken the U.S. by storm and has us all fist pumping like the cast of Jersey Shore. 

Some people might say they saw it coming, while others never saw it coming and are a bit annoyed that their favorite artists are making the switch. I personally didn't see it coming but I love it because this genre has been one of my favorites since it was introduced to me by a friend (Dario Galizia) back in 5th grade. Whether you're a fan or not you can't deny that it is probably the hottest genre right now and it is nearly impossible to resist the urge to dance or at least bob your head uncontrollably when a dance track comes on. Thanks for reading and GOD bless.

Don't forget to follow me and my co-writer Abdi Guleed on twitter, @EJPOnTheBeat and @AGuleed. If you live in Mass or New Hampshire make sure to look out for my buddy DJ Darioso spinning the hottest house music at a club near you. Check out my beats on soundcloud www.soundcloud.com/jean-pierre-hudson I have some nice dance tracks in the making myself.

By Guy Hudson