Techno and House

Mid 1980s onward

Techno was a specific form of dance music - influenced by both Disco music and Dub - developed by DJs in the dance clubs of Detroit. It featured samples or cuts from tracks, loops and digital effects produced on synthesisers and computers - together with driving, repetitive drum-and-bass lines.

House music (named from the Warehouse club in Chicago) was developed by DJs out of Disco and Dub in the early 1980s. UK House hits of the late 1980s included 'Love Can't Turn Around' and 'Jack Your Body'. Records like this made stars of the DJs and engineers who produced and played the music.

A later spin-off was Acid House, which featured a wobbly baseline and trance-like sound and was very influential in the UK Rave scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Techno band Orbital

From the 1990s onwards electronic dance music spawned numerous variants including Techno Trance, Goa Trance, Dub, Hardcore and Gabba.

In the mid 1990s a different dance music form, Jungle became popular, this grew around the London club scene, and is influenced by Techno, Hip-hop and Ragga. It is now known as Drum and Bass and features a fast tumbling beat and an emphasis on the drum and bass sounds, a good example is music by Goldie or Roni Size.