Electronic/Dance

By 1981, a new form of electronic dance music was developing. This music, made using electronics, is a style of popular music commonly played in dance music nightclubs, radio stations, shows and raves. During its gradual decline in the late 1970s, disco became influenced by computerization. Looping, sampling and seguing as found in disco continued to be used as creative techniques within Trance music, Techno music, and House music.

Many music genres that made use of electronic instruments developed into contemporary styles mainly due to the MIDI protocol, which enabled computers, synthesizers, sound cards, samplers, and drum machines to interact with each other and achieve the full synchronization of sounds. Electronic dance music is typically composed using computers and synthesizers, and rarely has any physical instruments. Instead, this is replaced by digital or electronic sounds, with a 4/4 beat.

Some of the most popular upbeat genres includes House, Techno, Drum & Bass, Jungle, Hardcore, Electronica, Industrial, Breakbeat, Trance, Psychedelic Trance, UK Garage, and Electro. There are also much slower styles, such as Downtempo, Chillout and Nu Jazz.