Afro House is a sub-genre of house music that originated in South Africa and incorporates African elements and rhythms into the electronic dance music framework. Sub-genres: Afro Tech, Afro Deep, Afro Soulful, Afro Tribal, Afro Funk, Afro Latin, Kwaito, Gqom, Amapiano.

Afro House

Amapiano

Bass House is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes heavy basslines and hard-hitting beats. Here's a list of some of these styles: UK Bass House, Future House, Wobble House, Garage House, Breaks-infused Bass House, Dark Bass House.

Bass House / Future House

Rhythmic, beat-driven electronic music with syncopated patterns.	Sub-genres: Big Beat, Nu Skool Breaks, Progressive Breaks, Florida Breaks, Atmospheric Breaks.

Breaks / Breakbeat

Dance / Pop

A soulful, melodic variant of house music with smooth chords. Sub-Genres: Tribal Deep House, Afro Deep House, Deep Tech House.

Deep House

Tracks or elements designed for DJs to use in live performances. Acapellas, Loops, Samples, DJ Intros/Outros.

DJ Tools

Fast-paced electronic music with breakbeats and heavy basslines. Liquid, Neurofunk, Jump Up, Jungle, Techstep, Darkstep, Drumfunk, Atmospheric DnB, Dancefloor DnB.

Drum and Bass

Electronic music with heavy basslines, and syncopated rhythms. Sub-genres: Brostep, Riddim, Chillstep, Melodic Dubstep, Wonky, Deathstep, Glitchstep, Deep Dubstep.

Dubstep / Bass / Grime

An early form of electronic dance music with futuristic themes. Detroit Techno, Electro Funk, Electro Breaks, Electroclash.

Electro (Classic / Detroit)

Energetic, hard-hitting dance music with heavy basslines. Sub-Genres: Progressive Electro House, Complextro, Dutch House, Fidget House, Dirty Dutch, Melbourne Bounce.

Electro House / Big Room

Diverse, experimental electronic music with various influences: IDM, Ambient, Downtempo, Glitch, Trip Hop, Breakcore, Experimental, Soundscapes.

Electronica

Upbeat house music with disco, funk, and soul elements. Sub-Genres: Disco House, French House, Filter House, Glitch House, Chicago House.

Funky / Jackin' House

High-energy electronic music with aggressive beats and tempo. Happy Hardcore, Gabber, Hardstyle, UK Hardcore, J-core, Powerstomp, Speedcore, Terrorcore, Breakcore.

Hardcore / Hard Dance

Intense techno variant with faster tempos and heavier beats. Sub-Genres: Schranz, Industrial Techno, Dark Techno, Power Noise.

Hard Techno

Electronic dance music with 4/4 beats and repetitive rhythms. Classic House, Acid House, Vocal House, Chicago House, New York House, Swing House.

House

Electronic music with indie, alternative, and disco influences. Sub-Genres: Synthwave, Italo Disco, Coldwave, Dark Wave, New Wave, EBM.

Indie Dance / Dark Disco

Experimental, unconventional electronic music. Sub-Genres: Leftfield Bass, Leftfield House & Techno, Avant-garde, Musique Concrète, Drone Music.

Leftfield

Relaxing, downtempo electronic music for casual listening. Ambient House, Trip Hop, Downtempo, Balearic, Lo-fi, Nu Jazz.

Lounge / Chill Out

A blend of house and techno with strong melodies and harmonies.	Sub-Genres: Progressive Melodic House, Deep Melodic Techno, Uplifting Melodic Techno.

Melodic House / Techno

Minimalist house music with intricate, glitchy sounds. Minimal Techno, RoMinimal, Clicks & Cuts, Glitch House, Intelligent Dance Music (IDM)

Microhouse

Sparse, stripped-down electronic music with repetitive patterns. Sub-Genres: Minimal House, Microhouse, RoMinimal, Glitch, Ambient Techno

Minimal / Deep Tech

Modern disco and funk-inspired electronic music. Disco House, Funky House, Re-edits, Modern Funk, Boogie, Future Funk, Electro Funk.

Nu-Disco / Soul / Funk

House music with natural, organic sounds and world music elements. Downtempo, Ethnic House, World Electronica, Afro House, Tribal House

Organic House / Downtempo

Evolving, melodic house music with long builds and breakdowns. Sub-Genres: Dream Progressive House, Dark Progressive House, Progressive Trance, Progressive Breaks.

Progressive House

Psy-Trance

House music with a strong soul, gospel, and jazz influences. Sub-Genres: Gospel House, Vocal Soulful House, Jazzy House, Latin House.

Soulful House

Electronic-infused soul, R&B, and hip-hop tracks. Neo-Soul, Future R&B, Instrumental Hip-Hop, Alternative R&B, Trap, Trip Hop, and Grime.

Soul / R&B / Hip-Hop

A fusion of house and techno with an emphasis on percussion. Sub-Genres: Tribal Tech House, Deep Tech House, Minimal Tech House, Acid Tech House, Dub Tech House.

Tech House

Energetic techno with driving beats and strong rhythmic elements. Hard Techno, Detroit Techno, Minimal Techno, Acid Techno, Rave Techno.

Techno (Peak Time)

More stripped-down, atmospheric, and dub-influenced techno. Sub-Genres: Dub Techno, Hypnotic Techno, Ambient Techno, Deep Techno, Experimental Techno.

Techno (Raw, Deep, Dub)

Melodic, uplifting electronic dance music with a fast tempo. Progressive Trance, Uplifting Trance, Psytrance, Vocal Trance, Hard Trance, Tech Trance, Goa Trance.

Trance

A fusion of house, R&B, and jungle, characterized by syncopated beats. Sub-Genres: 2-Step, Speed Garage, Grime, UK Funky, Future Garage, Bassline, Breakstep.

UK Garage / 2-Step

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Rob Perry

You know Armand Van Helden, right? The self-styled ‘bad boy’ of house, the man with a mountain-size ego, the six-pack framed poser with his joke of an Ali G-like pencil beard, the money-hunger remixer who famously cleared the dancefloor at Space, who really wants to make hip-hop, but can’t.

You know Armand Van Helden, right? The same Armand Van Helden that doesn’t own a flat, or a car, who chooses to walk around his adopted home of New York, rather than chug about in a chrome-plated SUV. The homeboy who was championing the raw, energetic, fun sound of hip-house long before it became a fashion accessory. The straight-talking, no-nonsense trainspotter who still spends hours thumbing through thrift stores in search of tunes to sample, the music fan that owns thousands of rock records. You what?

“I love classic rock,” says the 33-year old producer. “I love digging in the crates. If you’re going to make music then you’ve got to know music. But I won’t pay more than a dollar for the classics. That’s my whole thing. It’s about the digging aspect, the challenge - the fun of it. The Steve Millar Band, Led Zeppelin, Blondie… I could go on about my favourite rock music all day long. If you’re a house head, true at heart, and you don’t like the White Stripes then you’re out of your head. The groove, the bass..it is house music. Now rock’s fun again and it’s making the club scene fun. I think we’re going to find a balance between house and rock.”

Yes, Armand’s been less than complimentary about dance music in the past. Yes, he’s sometimes indulged in his own fantasies and come up short with underwhelming house and hip-hop ‘concept’ albums. Yes, he pissed off several hundred European clubbers in Ibiza. And, yes, he has been as he admits “cheap” at times.

“I can be blunt and aggressive,” he concedes. “I don’t have a lot of sarcasm in my conversation. I’m not all ‘Mr Funny’. In fact, I’m always dead to the point. But that’s because I have a deep love of what I do and I’m not playing games.”

And yet beyond the misconceptions rest the tunes themselves, a lasting legacy of house music master strokes that are so brazen they virtually slap you in the chops and command you to swing your hips and shuffle your feet.

And they stretch back virtually as far as his career itself.

A b-boy at heart, Armand’s move toward house was geared by both an open admiration for Todd Terry’s aggressive cut-and-paste dynamics and a passion for the late 80s hip-house of the Jungle Brothers, Tyree and Fast Eddie.

“One of the good aspects of hip-house was that it was lyrical,” he says now. “It had a great impact on people. Those records are still memorable now.”

After spending his childhood at army bases in Europe before settling in Boston, it was hip-house’s mix and match ethos that provided the basis for the tough, sample-heavy cuts with the city’s X-Mix Productions outfit that first drew attention his way. By 1992 he had become both promoter and DJ for the after-hours Loft club and made his solo debut – ‘Stay On My Mind/The Anthem’ – for New York’s Nervous records.

It wasn’t long before the call came from the then-dominant Strictly Rhythm stable, via whom Armand soon built up a rock-solid fan base with both English and American DJs, thanks to a stream of tuff club cuts – including 1994’s ‘Witchdoktor’ EP - that amplified tribal house’s template and sounded devastating on the dancefloor of the best club in world, the Sound Factory.

Then came the Armand basslines. You know, the ones that fused jungle’s colossal sub-bass with razor-edged, steel-rimmed beats and virtually commanded your arse to kindly make its way to the dancefloor: Tory Amos’ ‘Professional Widow’ (a UK number 1 back in 1996), Sneaker Pimps’ Spin Spin Sugar’, CJ Bolland’s ‘Sugar Is Sweeter’ and Nu Yorican Soul’s ‘It’s Alright, I Feel It!’

“I have attention deficit syndrome,” he laughs by way of explanation. “I get bored quick.”

In a sea of ‘faceless’ artists, Armand floated adrift by a mile, and the UK’s dance music media promoted him as a superstar. FFRR signed him up thinking they’d found a new wallet lining. Expectations were raised. But while Armand embraced the attention behind the scenes he continued to do what he’d always done, “make beats”.

In 1999 one of them ‘You Don’t Know Me’ – reached number 1 in the British pop charts. A top-drawer house album – ‘2 Future 4 U’ – followed with Armand continuing to mix–up styles. He continued to dent the UK charts too, with club crossover hits like ‘Flowerz’, ‘Koochy’ (a top 5 hit in 2000) and ‘Why Can’t You Free Some Time?’ While as a remixer, Armand turned tricks for a string of platinum-selling artists, including Puffy, Janet and the Stones.

Just when it looked like house music’s star had fallen from grace, one of the world’s most sought-after DJs returned in 2004 with a bang. A two year hiatus was over. His mix album, ‘New York: A Mix Odyssey’ on Southern Fried was the first outburst. Fusing Armand’s passion for the rock and house scene of downtown New York, its cut-and-paste party dynamic received a rave reaction. Two huge singles, Hear My Name and My My My followed and left dancefloors and radio stations quivering in their wake.

Now in 2005, Armand Van Helden releases a new album. The natural next step. Incredibly Nympho is Armand’s first proper artist album for five years. It’s been worth the wait. Times may have changed, but it seems Armand’s instinctual knack for soaking up various musical influences and spitting them out again in the form of an undeniably gut-wrenching killer track hasn’t. One listen to this new album, the undeniable feeling is still the same. The same as it ever was. Armand’s music is the sound of someone having FUN. Answering their calling. Enjoying what they do best.

“Before I go make a song I listen to some old records,” he says. “Sometimes I don’t even know who the artist is. Sometimes the cover just looks good y’know, with the dudes with the skinny leather ties – you just know that gotta’ be some good ‘80s shit.”

“I just do what I feel,” Armand continues. “Honestly when I wake up – in the afternoon usually – I love to make music in my studio. That is the number one thing in my life. Everything else is secondary. I love to lay down whatever is in my head – to get what ever is in my head out there into the public eye.”

Armand – a true original.

Rob Perry

Overview

Top tracks

Latest releases

Do You Want It - OOhh Baby

Best Of Exhilarated Recordings 2010 - 2015

Four Walls and a Roof - The Strictly House Selection, Vol. 1

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