Euro-Dance Music Style Overview | AllMusic (original) (raw)
Euro-Dance refers to a specific style of club/dance music produced on the European continent during the '80s and '90s. Euro-Dance is generally informed by disco, hi-NRG, and house music, and performed entirely in the recording studio on synthesizers and drum machines; the producers are much more responsible for the finished product than the singers. Like its close relative Euro-Pop, it's usually simple, lightweight, and catchy, with fluffy, repetitive lyrics that don't require much translation among listeners who speak different languages. The main difference between Euro-Dance and Euro-Pop is the exclusive and pronounced dance-club orientation of the former; while Euro-Pop is frequently informed by dance music, it doesn't have to be, and when it is, it doesn't always fit into dance-club playlists. Most Euro-Dance artists concentrate on crafting hit singles, with album releases almost an afterthought.