Here's an article from our latest recruit, who will be filling you in on the latest production techniques, genres, and styles, also, looking at interesting aspects of the music industry...let's see what he has to say about this new (or old?) genre!
I have been dancing to this genre for years without realising it.
Only recently after starting to research it have I twigged - there are a lot of artists that use the same sexy sound on their club bangers. This genre can keep the people dancing without missing a beat, taking them from the funky to the robotic and everything in between.
Electro House is the sound of the 2000 decade. It's time to understand it. Let's ask some questions...
What's it all about?
Dancing. Derived, shockingly enough, from House music, it retains the four-on-the-floor (one bass drum on every beat) structure of 90% of club music - meaning it instantly has that irresistable pump to it.
What separates it from regular house music though, is the harshness of the synths, the depth of the basses and in general the quality of the production. Though there are some retro elements in there as well - a combination of the new and the old. Electro house is the natural evolution of house music now that producers aren't limited by their gear - only their imagination.
All cheesy quotes aside, it's Electronic Dance music with the focus on dancing rather than emotion (Trance) or the mechanical (Techno).
When did it start?
The House movement evolved steadily throughout early 2000, bringing together the retro sounds of synth pop along with new production techniques into the mix to create the beginnings of what would become Electro House.
However, you would not find people calling themselves Electro House artists until a bit later...
How did it get popular?
Two major breakthroughs took place in 2006. The Electro House anthem "Yeah Yeah" from Bodyrox featuring Luciana (freakin' AWESOME voice on that girl) became a smash hit, and on an advert for the Citroen C4 car where a car transformed and began ice skating, the music it was dancing to was an Electro House remix of "Walking Away" by David Guetta.
From then on it was seen as one of the most prominent genres of Electronic Dance Music, going from strength to strength and is still at the time of writing hitting the clubs hard.
Why is Electro House so brilliantly danceable?
The loops are generally funky, with a tendancy for that vibrato lead effect and excessive portamento that make it feel sexy. That was always the word I used to describe the sound before I knew what the genre was called. Sexy dance music. Because it really is; it sounds intense, cool and you cannot help but be physically moved by it.
Do you produce Electro House, check out these sample packs here
