Synth Evolution are proud to announce a new poster - ‘DANCE EVOLUTION’ at Synthfest|UK 2020!
Oli says:
When one has been living and breathing synthesizers and electronic music for long enough, and have participated in the music scenes they drive, it’s inevitable that one starts thinking about the history of the music - what were the preceeding genres, and how did we get to the diversity of dance music today (which is basically an electronic music scenee dependent on synths and digital sound technology) .
That certainly happened to me: I realised I didnt’t know enough about the origins of disco - I had a vague knowledge of David Mancuso, the Loft, the Paradise Garage, Saturday Night Fever and Studio 54, and so on. But where did it all come from exactly?
And even techno - sure, I know like most people, that it came from Detroit, had its roots in Chicago house, and that ‘May, Saunderson and Atkin's’ are credited as the originators, but the details were shamefully sketchy.
So I set out to answer these basic questions, and the thing soon ballooned into a survey of the main dance styles of the entire 20th century, and this is the result!
Now - it’s important to bear some important facts - possibly even caveats - when looking and thinking about this poster, and they are these:
With a topic as broad as ‘the history of 20th century dance music’, it can never be compressed onto an A2 poster and be considered ‘complete’. There will be missing styles - perhaps your favourite ones - and the post-2000 years are somewhat compressed, with the years 1960-1999 being the most detailed.
Similarly, this is one journey through the story. There are other linkages to make and other stories to tell. I think the main story of this particular version is that there are overarching styles - soul, disco, house - which comprise a number of sub-genres that are usually considered to be part of those higher level categories - eg, jump-up is a style of jungle, and Motown is a style of soul. Further, it generally possible to sequence these higher level styles chronologically - disco happened after the blues, trance happened after musique concrete, acid house happened after Chicago House. Of course, there is blurring, overlapping and genre straddling, but I think the overarching progression is ‘true enough’, and that is one story within this poster.
The linkage between styles are intended to convey influence and a sense of the torch being carried forward, but again not every single link can be shown. Indeed, at the lowest level of a musician or band, it would be impossible to represent every influence and intention with regards the music they make, and how a scene coalesces around a sound, fashion, technology and dance style.
Examples of a genre are given under each - I will have course missed off your favourite, or could have used a better example in your opinion. This is to be expected - music is personal and everyone carries their own personal ‘story of music’ with them, some of which may map onto this poster, and some not. I hope that the poster is taken with this in mind and that it’s a conversation starter, not the final word, and a celebration of some of the most dynamic music ever made, and not an attempt to freeze it in aspic.
As a final point, I think one of the most interesting aspects to consider is how - right from the start - the music on the poster is always a blending of culture, ideas and people - and to be specific dance music is generally a blending of African music and European music (and other indigeneous musics). From the blues to ska, to soul, disco and jungle, all these influences are ever-present in varying proportions and weights.
Despite the unforgivable brutality of slavery by which African music was introduced into the Americas and the Carribean Islands this poster can still transmit the postive message that human culture is at its very best when cultures share ideas and when people of all races, colours and ideas can mingle and are able generate new things that are greater than the sum of their parts.
i’d love to hear your thoughts, comments and observations. I’m sure there will opinions!