Ok so to clear things up, and I’m sure some DJs will appreciate this article as we all collectively get requests about genres that don’t exist at ALL.
So here is:
Trance:
Possibly, the most popular electronic music genre (just ask Tiesto ) , and yes it is what your mom called noise or started worrying about you being possibly possessed ( basically anything by Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren , Cosmic Gate, etc.)
Beats per minute help distinguish Trance from the rest. Trance has a tempo of 130 to 165 BPM (beats per minute) , and 32 beat phrase, somewhat faster than house music .
Trance music typically follows a formula that allows the track to flow, progress, and build to reach epic climaxes and deep low points.
Techno:
Known to emphasize rhythm it is a mainly instrumental genre. Techno was developed in and around Detroit, Michigan in the 1980s, and utilizes a countless synthesizers, drum machines, interesting loops, editing and mixing .Techno is by no means what you think it is, yes it may be repetitive to some, but some of the biggest club nights worldwide are now Techno driven and some of the greatest names in the industry produce or play Techno (Adam Beyer, Nicole Moudaber, Dubfire, Sven Vath, etc.)
What you don’t know is that some techno tracks are slow as 121 bpm.
House:
The electronic dance music genre that is now known to all, originated in Chicago Illinois, USA in the late 70’s early 80’s reaching its popularity by mid 80’s. In general, house music mimics disco’s percussion using a bass drum on every beat with the added synthesizer, bassline, electronic drums, effects and vocal or pop samples (think David Guetta, Pink fluid , Alex Kenji , etc.)
House music is up-tempo music for dancing and has a tempo range of between 118 and 135 bpm in general.
Here are some of House Music sub genres or styles that you may encounter or be confused about:
Funky House: Funky can be sub-divided into many other types of house music French house, Italian house, Disco house, Latin house and many other types of house have all contributed greatly to what is today known as Funky house. It is recognizable by its often has very catchy bassline, a bouncy tempo, and female vocals or disco samples (think: Seamus Haji)
Progressive House: Best known for accelerating peaks and sharp lows through a track's duration .Layering different sound on top of each other and slowly bringing them in and out of the mix is the key idea behind the progressive movement. Some of this genre is known to sound like a cousin to trance music. (Think Sasha, cPryda, Panadol please , etc.)
Tech House: brings together deep or minimal techno music and the soulful and jazzy end of house, increasingly becoming popular with producers and party goers alike (think: PleasureKraft) It is one of those genres that a lot of partygoers in Cairo like, but just don’t know it!
Electro House: is a fusion genre of house music and electroclash. It has the beats commonly found in house music with analogue or digital basslines derived from electrotech. The tempo it follows lies under house and usually ranges from 125 to 140 BPM (think Afrojack or kalaksat and soda3)
Deep house:
Do I really have to? Oh well, it appeared as a genre in the early 90’s with influences from jazz and soul, it has been known today to have less vocals, deeper basslines, heavy organ chords and hypnotic synths and a touch of underground sounds. Also known to be Cairo’s favorite music genre lately (Think: Calptone, Hot Since 82, Maceo Plex, etc.)
* The DJs/ producers mentioned do not limit themselves to a particular genre of electronic music and may have changes their style over the years; I used these examples for your ease of reference
The point of this article is that when you come up to a Dj and ask for an uplifting vocal house, energetic pumping house or groovy whatever, we honestly have no idea what you are talking about. I suggest taking a look at Beatport’s genre list for reference and if the genre is not there is a very high possibility we don’t have it either.
Inventing new genres is permitted if you are someone like Amin Edge (check out G -house) or Washington Dcs first breakout electronic music genre Moombahton at the hands of Dave Nada.