do young people still listen to dance genres?

[willbo]

I remember in my teens I had classmates who only listened to a particular dance genre, like jungle, happy hardcore, trance or whatever, and bought compilations of it. Is that a relic of 90s culture now?

[earl_sleek]

Bashment and reggaeton?

[M-CORP]

Think there's still individual underground movements, dance scenes, dubstep and so on, and dance music in general is still popular... not sure if people restrict themselves to specific genres though, certainly don't know anyone personally. I'm expecting Orbital's new remix album to arrive in the post imminently, and that's got a lot of club bangers on it, but I listen to all kinds of electronic music.

Basically I think that, although there must be some people into specific subgenres, with all recorded music available alongside each other under the current streaming model, it's easier for various genres of music to bleed together.

I'm thinking how that might pan out over the next few decades - like, our musical tastes are influenced by what our parents listened to, whether we embrace that or consciously move away to find our own identity. That used to be easy when they generally only listened to rock or whatever pop music was on the radio, but it's going to be a nightmare for the next generation, who won't be able to tell so easily what their parents listen to cos every song is so different. Anyway, I digress. Not sure I answered your question.

[ProvanFan]

Blackface warning

But it is the answer

Spoiler alert

[close]

[The Mollusk]

I have a mate who's getting pretty successful in the garage and jungle scenes, as a producer and a DJ of both genres (and he's been plugging away at it for over a decade) so there's absolutely still scenes thriving for both and in my experience the crossover between fans of those and other genres like dubstep/140 are quite broad. Still a decent number of young people turning out for nights as well, lot of folks in their 20s.

Techno seems to have taken a dive recently as it's become extremely corporate and the scene needs to straighten itself out again. The other side of that is darker weirder abstract stuff which, I dunno, just by it's very nature also seems quite shadowy and exclusive?

[The Mollusk]

Hyperpop among younger people has also spurned a big resurgence in genres like trance, donk and happy hardcore as well. Artists like Hannah Diamond and Dorian Electra are doing a lot to keep that stuff booming and it's super well received.

[phes]

I started DJing again for fun recently and it's a wonderful fucking nightmare trying to get a handle on what kids are up to these days. I am pretty taken with all the pop bending i.e the aforementioned hyperpop and related genres. Feels like there's been a healthy artistic mix of nostalgia, good pop music and sonically ground breaking stuff. Currently listening to stuff by DJ Sabrina the Teen DJ, SOPHIE, jamesjamesjames, QRTR, Daphni, Model Man and Overmono.

[purlieu]

The almost tribal attitude of only listening to one or two genres or subgenres seems to be far less prevalent these days, largely down to the aforementioned ease of availability and awareness due to the internet. I was always a bit of a weirdo at school because I crossed the unspoken boundaries of liking indie, dance and pop, but it seems par for the course in everything I see from young music fans today.

[buttgammon]

The boundaries between a lot of those genres have collapsed. Even within genres, it seems a lot harder to pin things down into particular styles or subgenres than was once the case; the sense of 'this is minimal techno but that's tech-house' has become something more cosmopolitan, which I like. That's not to say there aren't still cookie cutter people who stick to a rigid genre template, but things seem to have become noticeably heterogenous.

[The Mollusk]

Never before has the musician's law been more appropriate.

[steveh]

On trains to the Kent seaside the past two summers there have been several occasions when groups of teenagers have been playing early nineties style hardcore on their phones. Sounded like contemporary mixes, occasionally with more of an EDM edge but not quite like the less breakbeat-oriented happy hardcore sound from the later nineties. Not sure if it's a Medway towns thing or more widespread but intrigued me.

[monkfromhavana]

Hyperpop among younger people has also spurned a big resurgence in genres like trance, donk and happy hardcore as well. Artists like Hannah Diamond and Dorian Electra are doing a lot to keep that stuff booming

The Happy Hardcore "scene" (well UK hardcore, it hasn't been called happy hardcore within that scene since about 2001) is about as far from booming as it's possible to be. Unless you're referring to the type of garbage that Gammer makes and plays that is pretty far removed from the scene.

As for other genres, it seems like the new 90s style hardcore / jungle is booming, but I'm really not sure how much of that boom is generated by people under 35. I don't think the liking of dance music is as widespread as it was in the 90s, when it seemed that everyone knew of dance music, even if they didn't like it, but i think that there is still a hardcore of people who are really into it.

Having said all that, I'm 44 years old, so I have zero fucking clue.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I have a mate who's getting pretty successful in the garage and jungle scenes, as a producer and a DJ of both genres (and he's been plugging away at it for over a decade) so there's absolutely still scenes thriving for both and in my experience the crossover between fans of those and other genres like dubstep/140 are quite broad. Still a decent number of young people turning out for nights as well, lot of folks in their 20s.

I've been getting into some Rnb/Rap/Trap Queen type stuff and noticed some Garage sounding stuff and have wondered if a revival might take off stateside.

[Sonny_Jim]

Garage, DnB, old skool is all just ticking away nicely, it feels really fucking weird to think kids see it as I used to see 60's pop and 70's disco.

I think what with the interwebs, music has been so democratised (not sure if that's the right word).  People are no longer reliant on radio/TV to find new stuff to listen to, so I guess what kids are listening to is much more diverse nowadays.

Got a 500W sub in the car, been trying to get my 14yr old kid into DnB.  He's more into Tyler the Creator if that helps with the thread.

[The Mollusk]

The Happy Hardcore "scene" (well UK hardcore, it hasn't been called happy hardcore within that scene since about 2001) is about as far from booming as it's possible to be. Unless you're referring to the type of garbage that Gammer makes and plays that is pretty far removed from the scene.

Having said all that, I'm 44 years old, so I have zero fucking clue.

^{okay boomer sorry}

I didn't say it was booming, I said those artists are pushing it quite strongly in their DJ sets and it appears to have been a success as a lot of the younger generation who frequent these sorts of nights - PC Music, or Planet Fun which I know well as they're friends of mine - respond to it really well.

These promoters and DJs are definitely an extension of the revivalist/return to unpretentious daftness that Bangface capitalised on, but where BF has got itself stuck in a bit of a rut and isn't as progressive as it could have been in the last decade, the smaller events popping up seem a lot more focused on inclusivity. This of course brings in a lot of younger people, and the artists pushing it have feet planted pretty firmly in both the absurd donk remixes and the more classic euphoria of the old scenes which goes down well for a generation of people who grew up on a diet of memes and compassionate thinking.

Sorry if this is a bit rambly, it's by no means a comprehensive post nor an argument, just trying to get across my own personal experiences with this stuff as like I said I have a lot of mates who are really into it.

[Sonny_Jim]

Not at all rambly.  The bit about kids being raised on memes is spot on.  I'm quite glad the Bangface 'vibe' has become more widespread.

[bgmnts]

Isn't it called EDM now?