Explore Genres
House
House is a large subgenre of EDM that was introduced in Chicago and developed out of Disco in the 1980s, notably featuring four-on-the-floor kicks and synthesized basslines. House generally has a more relaxed feel than the intricate beats and high-energy synths of techno or trance. House typically is produced in a range of 115-135 BPM and is produced to be easily mixed during DJ sets. The genre gained popularity in Europe in the late 1980s, spawning many subgenres. House music subgenres continue to grow as producers discover new ways to spin the traditional format.
Popular subgenres: Acid House, Afro House, Bass House, Deep House, Electro House, Euro House, French House, Future House, Garage House, Hard House, Italo House, Outsider House, Progressive House, Tech House, Tribal House
Popular house artists: Daft Punk, Justice, Jamie xx, Floating Points, Disclosure, Fred again.., 808 State, Four Tet
Downtempo
Downtempo features relaxed, chill beats that is influenced by ambient, dub, house, or hip-hop production styles. Because downtempo is a mellow genre, it tends to focus on textured production and creating a calm atmosphere through groove. Downtempo was developed alongside the subgenre trip hop – both have their roots in the late 1980s Bristol, UK. Trip hop, the only established descendent of downtempo, places more focus on using hip-hop beats, samples, and turntablism to evoke a more surreal or dream-like mood than downtempo would. Trip hop has more of a vocal lean than downtempo and often features R&B or soul-inspired vocals.
Related subgenre: Trip Hop
Popular downtempo artists: Portishead, Massive Attack, Moby, Bonobo, Tricky, DJ Shadow, AIR, Röyksopp
IDM (Intelligent Dance Music)
IDM is an experimental take from the 1990s in response to the increasing popularity of EDM. Despite the genre’s name, IDM’s complex, technical beats make it difficult to dance to and most IDM is listened to through headphones. Thus, IDM’s name is sometimes disputed or scorned, and genre leader Aphex Twin suggests the alternative name “braindance” for the genre. IDM is defined by experimental, intricate melodies inspired by glitch and techno production, and is sometimes paired with aspects of ambient, house, breakbeat or drum-and-bass music.
Related subgenres: Drill and Bass, Glitch Pop, Glitch Hop
Popular IDM artists: Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, Autechre, Flying Lotus, Jon Hopkins, µ-Ziq, Plaid