Will there ever be another new music genre??

As sure as eggs.

Don't think you can say hip hop was new though. Take a bit of Rnb, some funk drumming, some James Brown ranting, some Muhammed Ali quipping.

And most early hip hop was sampling disco/funk/soul records.

I've ben really interested the last couple of years in 80's electro and dance/boogie music. I thought house had sprung out of nowhere, but when you listen to electro, you can hear the roots all there. The 'acid' sound really was original as well.

To me, I'm interested in the next big 'movement', like Disco, like hip hop, like house. The world is a lot smaller now, new music is downloaded, pop music is manufactured and aimed at pre teens and X factor audiences.

It'll come from the underground like it always does, but I can't see anything on the horizon.

New drugs or drug crazes also seem to cause new types of music to develop as well.

Top thread Barrie.

Exactly, like the defining music styles and even fashions, they were instantly recognisable

eg) the 50's for rock n roll and teddy boys etc

the 60's - swinging 60's and mods n rockers / hippies / beatles n stones

the 70's and you think : glam rock / punk / flares n 'fros

the 80's you think new romantic / all the breakdance stuff / electro / electonicy sounds, and all the dodgy fashions that went with it, legwarmers , mullets, or maybe even the footy casuals look etc... and obviously later on the acid house / rave scene etc... that lead to

the early 90's continuing this, flares hoodies, kickers, blah blah and then all the indie / britpop scene, roses, charlatans, onto mid 90's blur, oasis , more handbag house (some would say..) and the Destroy boys / tartan trouser crew (Shooms are you listening) and hotpant and fluffy bras brigade, then even much later onto trance and *cringe* all the cyberkids etc.. (it may be cringey but for the purposes of the thread it still illustrates a defining 'look' / sound etc..)


but beyond that... I dunno , and now this decades nearly over (Wow, where did the time go?!) find it kinda sad , feel that the last decade has kinda limped along a bit IMO :| dunno if thats because i'm getting just too old and past-it nowadays lol and perhaps dont go out so much to see all this but I feel that if, in decades to come I get invited to a theme 'noughties night' or something, I couldnt really think of anything much to go with it
maybe a hoodie and a knife costume and some grimey urban shizzle, whatever all that is

I'm dreading the day that someone mixes speedcore with donk and ends up with sponk!
I think anything that could be done with dance music has already been done - I may be wrong.
Will there ever be a new wave?
Possibly but I think it will come from bands and not dance music.

was thinking similar the other day as i was trawling my collection and realised that in a short period of timemy collection went

house / piano
house / breakbeat
breakbeat / piano

which was really in a space of 3 yrs where as new genres seem to be taking a lot of time to evolve.

for me the last explosion and sudden movement was early 2000 with trance like System F , Gatecrasher , super clubs which again for me was heavily influenced by a new set of youngsters finding "E" like we did back in 90's.

totally fed up with this so called "fidget/electro" its become more mainstream than anything else and for me is less imaginative.

my new records seem to be based around old classics like italian D:vision releasing upto date version of Strictly classics but with cool new mixes.

I think we must be due a new sound but I dont think we will ever get back to the gritty breaks like Rhythm Section - comin on strong etc... just because production isnt as basic anymore its more defined and polished because anyone with a comp and get in on the act.

for me the italians are still producing best music and regulars to Juno will see that most 12" vinyl is still being produced in italy as most new releases from other countries dont ever seem to be on vinyl.

SAIFAM are still putting out quality stuff via Stop Go label some with hands in the air pianos.

I've pondered over this question many times over the years and it's hard to imagine how a new genre could be created now. I only hear reinvention now that can only be classed as sub genres.

I think we were very lucky to grow up at a time when so much was happening musically (punk rock, disco, hip hop/electro, house, new wave synth etc - assuming most of these are genres) and with all the creativity in other areas that these genres spawned, as it's going to take a stroke of genius to come up with something equally groundbreaking again

Jiglo said:

I've pondered over this question many times over the years and it's hard to imagine how a new genre could be created now. I only hear reinvention now that can only be classed as sub genres.

I think we were very lucky to grow up at a time when so much was happening musically (punk rock, disco, hip hop/electro, house, new wave synth etc - assuming most of these are genres) and with all the creativity in other areas that these genres spawned, as it's going to take a stroke of genius to come up with something equally groundbreaking again

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This is gonna be a massive thread, Well done Barrie good question with equally good answer's there is no right or wrong in this,

I totally agree with Jig's Its been a special 100 or so years with music production and how far music has evolved, And im glad to of been a part of it growing up with 80's, 90's and not so much the 00's although underground sources is where its at now-a-days, mind you its always been like that.

Im sure there will be variations to dance music but nothing quite as new as what we have heard before.

While ever there are music journalists there will be new music genres appearing, as music is constantly being pigeon holed. Ed

Presuming Ed said:

While ever there are music journalists there will be new music genres appearing, as music is constantly being pigeon holed. Ed

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Spot on the money there Ed. A lot of what we have had already has been the media devising the names for the music - handbag house, speed garage, uk 2 step garage were some they came up with and really ended up as short fads that didn't really last the time whereas house and techno are still strong.

The latest have been grime and dub-step - both of which I'm not a fan of.

Future though, I see it getting back to basics with sound, I think more producers will revert to using session musicians for the authentic live feel for drums and bass - Ralph Lawson has done this for his latest album and I think it works really well - was a great article with him in mixmag covering what he hates about the whole minimal scene which has been and gone now.

I think from hearing orbital live again they showed what is missing from the current dance music and that is layers of sounds, melodies - instead of a 4/4 beat with sparse bass here and there and the odd effect, the future lies with more musical styles and warmth with exciting crescendo's. Music that actually changes over more than 6 minutes.

Good thread

New Technology (perhaps also combined with synergistic properties of undiscovered substances) may also play a part

If you consider that house was a follow on from Disco with the addition of new drum machine technology, then parhaps there is something around the corner using new areas of sound technology, i.e. special frequencies, 3d/spherical surround sound,......

There is also the question of whether the house sounds/riffs of the late 80's early 90's were truly exhausted or whether the music moved on quicker and there are still huge resources of untapped sounds

Who knows?

I went to watch ABC with a 50 piece orchestra the other night at the Bridgewater Hall. Made me stop and think have I heard anything as good as this in 10 years plus? Probably not. That was made 27 years ago too - complete with Anne Dudley composing.

Good topic and wouldn't even know where to begin in terms of replying. Agree with Ed about the journos.

There's a massive grime / dubstep scene.

The sound of 2010 article on the BBC yesterday made me cringe too.