| Eurobeat |
Articles about Eurobeat |
Information AboutEurobeat |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT EUROBEAT | |
| music genres | |
| european music | |
|
The music sub-genre Eurobeat is closely related to Hi-NRG and Disco . It is also very closely related to the Japanese Para Para dance culture. Eurobeat, as the name implies, is a music genre from Europe . Stemming from Italo Disco , it is generally held to have originated in Italy in the late '70s and early '80s. Despite being European in origin, its main market has always been Japan , where its synthetic and emotionally upbeat stylings are popular. Even though many Europeans and Americans have heard Eurodance , Eurobeat is still a largely unknown genre in Europe where other types of music are dominant. Although highly popular in Japan, Eurobeat has become more and more popular in the Western world in the past few years. The anime Initial D by Shuichi Shigeno uses Eurobeat music regularly in its episodes during racing scenes between the characters, and because of this it has come to the attention of some anime fans outside Japan. Eurobeat's sound is its main link to its italo disco origins, where it was just one of many different experiments in pure-electronic dance. There are certain synth instruments that recur across the entire genre: a sequenced octave bass, distinctive brass and harp sounds, and tight, predictable precussion in the background. These sounds are layered with vocals and natural instruments(guitar and piano are common) into complex, ever-shifting melodies that, at their best, burst with energy. EUROBEAT GENRE Eurobeat can create a number of different genres, while still keeping its own originality intact. In the late 1970s and early 1980s there were many new genres emerging from the creation of Electronic Music . Disco was the beginning of a whole new era in music, with popular artists such as George Clinton and Earth, Wind & Fire . However when disco music quickly became unpopular in North America, it remained in the limelight in Europe. While modern music is often recognized by its lyrics, Eurobeat is recognized not primarilly by its lyrics, but by its synthesized chorus known as the Sabi (short for '''Sabishigaru''', not to be mistaken for the Japanese Wabi-sabi ), which means "''to remember someone or something''" in Japanese. This of course refers to the generally acknowledged fact that you mostly remember the Sabi as opposed to the stanzas of the Eurobeat song. This broad genre can create a great number of different "sub-genres" within it because of this combination of harmony and rhythm. Sometimes it can still sound like the old disco music we know, sometimes it can be very "fast and happy" like Happy Hardcore or Speed Music, and occasionally it even uses guitars as a method of Saiba. One peculiar thing about Eurobeat is the fact that each artist is often credited with a variety of different aliases (See "Popular Eurobeat Artists" below for details). Artists usually adopt different stage names according to the mood of each song, or depending on who wrote their lyrics. For instance, Ennio Zanini has stated on the SCP Music website that he goes by the name of "Fastway" on songs which are more upbeat and sprinkled with high-pitched female backing vocals, and goes by "Dusty" on his more "serious" tracks. Also a popular theory is that Eurobeat artists such as Clara Moroni and Giancarlo Pasquini manufacture the same acts under many different names in order to "compete with themselves". (Compare to legendary House producer Thomas Bangalter , who is infamous for the same practice). Eurobeat also has notoriety for Name Recognition , lifting titles from popular songs and using them as the names of Eurobeat tracks. Examples are "Like a Virgin", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", and "Station to Station." The Eurobeat songs that reuse song titles typically have nothing to do with the song it lifted its title from (i.e., not a cover). POPULAR EUROBEAT ARTISTS EUROBEAT COMPILATIONS There are many Eurobeat compilations series, the most famous (and longest running) are Super Eurobeat and the various "Super Eurobeat presents..." compilations by Avex Trax . Other notable compilations include:
EUROBEAT LABELS
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|