•              
  • Progressive

    Progressive is the umbrella term for a variety of genres that were influenced by the sounds and structures found in Progressive House during the 1990s. Between 1990 to 1992 when the term was coined, Progressive referred to the short-form buzz word for Progressive House. Roots of Progressive can be traced back to the 1990 to 1992 rave and club scene in England, Ibiza, mainland Europe, America, Canada. A combination of US House, UK House, Italian House, European Techno, and Trance largely influenced one another during this era. The term was used mainly as a marketing label to differentiate new rave House from traditional American House. The buzz word emerged out of the rave scene around 1990 to 1992, describing a new sound of House that broke away from its American roots. The label Progressive House was often used interchangeably with Trance in the early years. Progressive genres of electronic dance music are defined by their song structure which, instead of being divided into verses and choruses, generally constitutes a build-up, a climax, and a cooldown.

    Progressive house/trance (sometimes referred to as Progressive House or Progressive Trance) is the main derivative of the progressive wing. Although no firm classification rules exist, the structure is generally reminiscent of house with notable variations. For example, phrases are usually a power of two number of bars and begin with the introduction of a new or different melody or rhythm. The tempo is a theoretical fusion of both, ranging from approx. 128 to 140 bpm (which is faster than typical earlier house, but slower than the one featured in more recent trance tracks). Such structure is intuitively described as consisting of three major structural elements: (1) build-up; (2) breakdown ; (3) climax. These three structural elements are expressed either temporally or in their intensity, if not both. A 'build-up' sequence can sometimes last up to 3 or even 4 minutes. Subtle incremental/decremental acoustic variations (i.e., gradual addition/subtraction of instruments) anticipate the transition to each subsequent structural element of the track. The initial build-up and the final break-down are generally very similar, adding a feel of symmetry to the general structure of the melody. Furthermore, a progressive trance/house track is usually longer than a regular composition, ranging in length from 8 to 12 minutes (as opposed to 56 of radio format).

    Progressive breaks essentially grew out of nu skool breaks and progressive house. Due to its origins in those genres, progressive breakbeat typically features atmospheric pads and melodies. Most artists working in this genre also work in other closely related genres such as breakbeats and progressive house. Hybrid is one of the most popular artists in this genre. Other popular breaks artists include Digital Witchcraft, Luke Chable, Momu, and Way Out West.

    There are a few forms of drum & bass considered progressive. Neurofunk, a variant of the techstep subgenre, incorporates elements of jazz, funk, and multiple electronic influences, including techno and house. The style also follows the progressive form found in other genres. Drumfunk, a relatively new subgenre, could also be considered progressive. Contemporary atmospheric drum'n'bass and Liquid funk have also been described as progressive. Progressive techno (short "progtech") is a very limited term for a subgenre of progressive appearing in 199900, which consisted of mixing progression into elements of techno, usually resulting in half-dance compositions. Progtech songs tend to feature steadier than regular techno beats (ranging from around 100 to 120 BPM), but usually derive on higher tones where their electronic sound becomes heard. This has a purpose of indicating that the instruments themselves are electronic in nature. There are no notable definite progtech artists, however both Moby and The Prodigy used elements of progtech in their later albums.

Hosted by uCoz