Underground music can be used to refer to a particular set of genres, but it can also be used to refer to any artist or band that makes a conscious effort to avoid mainstream attention. Since, in a way, all artists that sell albums (however few) are commercial, and the objective of art is to grab the attention of a target audience, here at robotunderground.net we will focus on some of the most important genres that have been labeled as underground music, such as rave, trance, and house music. Here, you will be able to find the most complete info about these, as well as other genres that have been grouped under the category of underground music.
Rave is a type of underground music that is most closely identified with trance music, featuring samples, loops and synthesizers, the kind of beats that one can encounter at a rave party. However, there are other types of mellower rave music, such as ambient rave and chillout rave, which are also used during rave parties, in so-called rave chill rooms, to give rave attendants a chance to rest and relax. Rave music was originally thought of as a mix of acid house, fast breakbeat and more hardcore forms of techno. However, in a rave party, there may be different rave sections that play different types of rave music, like the aforementioned rave chill rooms. Rave music has branched out into several genres, including acid house and acid techno, breakbeat, breakbeat hardcore, drum and bass, jungle, funky house, goa trance, hard trance, hardstyle and dubstyle, speed garage and bassline and UK funky, as well as variations of hardcore techno like happy hardcore, hardcore house, gabber and Frenchcore. Other than ambient rave, the rave chill rooms would feature rave dubstep, electro, techno and electro hop, IDM and UK garage and grime. Some well known acts that can be classified as rave bands are The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy.
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronica rave duet made up of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, who go occasionally by the names of Chemical Tom and Chemical Ed. Formerly known as The Dust Brothers, the changed the name in 1995 and started releasing a series of rave records that would allow them to become pioneers of big beat electronic dance and rave, and achieve a good measure of popularity. The Prodigy have also been considered trailblazers in the rave scene, combining rave with harcore techno, industrial and breakbeat, later throwing electronic rock and punk vocal elements into the mix. They are known for the rave hit singles Firestarter, and the controversial Smack My B*** Up, which the Beastie Boys infamously asked them not to play at the 1998 Reading music festival. There are many other rave bands and rave artists that have made their mark in the rave scene.
Trance is a style of electronic dance music developed in the nineties, it is widely favored by a number of famous DJ’s, including Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, Tiesto, Paul van Dyk and Armin van Buuren, who usually perform in a series of trance festivals all around the world, mainly in the Netherlands (Armin Only in Utrecht, where only the aforementioned van Buuren mixes; Tiesto in concert in Arhem, similar to the previous but with Tiesto; Full on Cherry in Rotterdam; Mystery Land in Floriade Park Haarlemmermeer; Dance Valley in Spaarnwoude; Qlimax at the Geiredome in Arnhem, Sensation at the Amsterdam Arena; and Energy in Utrecht), United Kingdom (Global Gathering trance festival, Creamfields trance festival, Gatecrasher, South West Four, and PlanetLove in Northern Ireland), and North America (Electric Daisy Carnival, mostly in Los Angeles but also in Denver and Dallas; Monster Massive at the Los Angeles Sports Arena; Together As One also at the Los Angeles Sports Arena; Nocturnal Festival in Southern California; Ultra Music Festival in Miami Florida; Electric Zoo Festival in New York; DEMF Detroit Electronic Music Festival; World Electronic Music Festival in Canada; Winter Music Conference in Miami; Love Fest in San Francisco; USC in Seattle; Global Dance Festival in Denver). Other trance festivals include the Transahara Festival in Morroco, Boom Festival in Portugal, Full Moon Trance Festival in Germany, the Eargasm Festival in Belgium, and many, many others.
The electronic dance music known as house started in the early eighties in Chicago, spreading from there to Detroit, New Yourk City, Los Angeles and Miami. Characteristics of house music include prominent bass and drum, synthesizer bassline, electronic drums, electronic effects, funk and pop samples and reverb or delay-enhanced vocals. Another element that typifies house music is its tendency to convey political messages through lyrics, as well as messages of freedom for the black community. The house sound was originally developed in a large part thanks to the efforts of of DJ, record producer and remix artist Frankie Knuckles, who collaborated with on hits like Your Love and Baby Wants to ride and You Can’t Hide with the likes of Jamie Principle and Chip E.
Feel free to read all the information here on Robotunderground.net to learn more about rave, trance, and other genres of underground music.