Music, being such a powerful tool of expression has always had a strong link with identity. While it has long since been proven by Simon Frith and the likes that music is shaped by the identity of those who produce it, it can also be said that music made is able to represent the identity of the musical producers to those who engage with it.
This is clearly most evident with the various hip hop producers in the world who often use their music in order to express the aspects of their daily life and lifestyle. Indeed with success this can often lead to the creation of sub genres based loosely along geographical lines.
This is definitely the case within the Australian electronic music scene which saw a massive international growth explosion in mid to late 2008 amidst a wave of popularity that is still being rode.
Groups who had already previously garnered international attention such as the Bag Raiders, Presets, Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernaughts and Van She all seemed to band together and release hit after hit, as well as remix after remix which received international acclaim and prompted popular online music website such as itunes to register the genre ‘Australian Electro’.
As a result of this, many other bands came out of the wood works with a similar style that also received massive credit from overseas audiences such as Empire of the Sun, PNAU, Ladyhawke and Miami Horror. The Australian electronic sound can be described as dreamy-electronic-positive-pop, a sound that having travelled the world over now seems to create an incredible reputation for the Australian music scene that reaches as far as the music travels.
Miami Horror – Don’t be on with her ... a classic example of the Australian Electro Sound
Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars ... Without a doubt one of the most popular dance tracks of the last 9 months.
The Australian Electronic sound can also be described as having a very strong 80s influence. The positive energy, the major chords used on the synths is very similar to the same uplifting and slightly ‘camp’ feel that has forever been attributed alongside the disco movement. It is for these reasons that the ‘Nu Disco’ genre has also been able to sit comfortably alongside the Australian Electro tag.
Specifically within the dance music world there has also been two new Australian music labels which have been able to help develop the local talent across Sydney, Melbourne as well as Perth. The Bang Gang 12 inches label, a sub label within the larger Modular label, and Sweat it Out! label started by prominent Sydney DJ Ajax are helping to pave the way for the upcoming producers of tomorrows dance music today. Recently, the Bang Gang 12 inches label has just released a two-cd collection of tracks from artists signed to their label. Scheduled for worldwide distribution thanks to the modular label, the album is bound to bring further attention to the booming Australian Electro scene.
In all, nu-disco and the Australian electro sound has done a fantastic job of helping to promote the musical identity that exist down under, being fun filled and high on energy. This music is free of pretention, and its uplifting nature is completely inline with the Australian spirit and image that exists worldwide. I hope that in years to come, this fact will remain true and the nu-disco style continues to go from strength to strength.
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11/3/09
"Nu - As in Left Field"
In all, when it comes to defining “Nu Disco” and attempting to help categorise the genre, the process is not difficult. Given the inherent relationship to 1970s and 1980s disco, it is important that “Nu Disco” music pays homage in some sense. This can be done through:
• The use of sampling: by sampling a track from the period and recreating it with a modern twist it directly displays the disco influence or by;
• The use of musical instruments from the 1970s and 1980s disco period: The use of electronic synthesisers (particularly moog and roland) and drum samplers allows the artist to create a sincere connection with the disco period.
At the end of the day, as Nu Disco is merely a genre, music only needs to have a few similarities in order to gain the genre classification. For these reasons, these few tracks are considered to be “Nu Disco”.
This track, entitled ‘Grow up’ by 18 year old Melbourne producer Swick features the classic disco horn sound with whistles.
Knightlife also from Melbourne samples and Moogs as well throughout his entire EP. Check out the sweet horn action at the 1:30 mark.
This remix done by Sydney group Flight Facilities is of the aforementioned ‘Best Party Ever’ by Toecutter featuring the Kool & the Gang sample, however they’ve added a tasty saxophone solo that kicks in around the 1:50 mark, staying true to the disco roots.
In an interview conducted with Radio 94.5 FBI Presenter Ross Eldridge about the Nu-disco and Australian Electro movement within Sydney, conducted on the 27th of October 2009, he discussed how it was not difficult to understand the popularity of the genre and its growth within Australia.
“Disco had such a huge impact on the world, I mean it’s never going to go away or be ignored so it’s only natural that it is starting to be re-done, made ‘nu’ so to speak”.
“Australia has actually been one of the last places to really re-embrace the disco movement. Groups like Prins Thomas (Norway) have been doing it around Europe for years. It as if they never ever really stopped making disco music in some places. Tim Sweeney has been making a radio show, 'beats in space' for ten years now in New York as well which is all disco”.
“It hasn’t always been disco as such but more of the sub-genres such as disco house, Disco Dub. I think when you are looking at the nu-disco, the sampling and a bit of the revamp that has been going on for the last few years then you’ve got to give credit to a couple of those French house people, Mr. Oizo, Breakbot and such. I mean even Daft Punk if you think about it, they’ve been sampling and re-making and absolutely killing it for years. I mean take Patrick 122 (a song by French Producer Mr. Oizo). That is an absolute classic, probably one of the first tunes to bring back the disco sampling thing into electro in the 21st century that was being dominated by distorted French music.”
Mr. Oizo – Patrick 122 ... Check it out from about the 20 second mark onwards.
When asked about the difference between say Patrick 122 and a modern production such as D Cup’s “Last night a DJ saved my life” (shown in the welcome post) Eldridge believed that the difference is definitely intentional by the producers.
“The difference is in the style, the backing, the instruments in the tune. You listen to Oizo and its much more of a tech feel, it’s a lot shorter and sharper and the sample is really distorted. The D Cup tune is almost giving more respect to the original sample by playing it a lot clearer. That and the dreamy synths and stuff are way more traditional disco than Patrick 122 and I suppose that the difference is there.”
In all it must be noted that while the “Nu Disco” genre is perhaps not the most inherently original genre given its strong reliance on sampling and strong roots in the 1970s/80s disco movement, it is making new strides and having s strong influence on dance music culture worldwide.
• The use of sampling: by sampling a track from the period and recreating it with a modern twist it directly displays the disco influence or by;
• The use of musical instruments from the 1970s and 1980s disco period: The use of electronic synthesisers (particularly moog and roland) and drum samplers allows the artist to create a sincere connection with the disco period.
At the end of the day, as Nu Disco is merely a genre, music only needs to have a few similarities in order to gain the genre classification. For these reasons, these few tracks are considered to be “Nu Disco”.
This track, entitled ‘Grow up’ by 18 year old Melbourne producer Swick features the classic disco horn sound with whistles.
Knightlife also from Melbourne samples and Moogs as well throughout his entire EP. Check out the sweet horn action at the 1:30 mark.
This remix done by Sydney group Flight Facilities is of the aforementioned ‘Best Party Ever’ by Toecutter featuring the Kool & the Gang sample, however they’ve added a tasty saxophone solo that kicks in around the 1:50 mark, staying true to the disco roots.
In an interview conducted with Radio 94.5 FBI Presenter Ross Eldridge about the Nu-disco and Australian Electro movement within Sydney, conducted on the 27th of October 2009, he discussed how it was not difficult to understand the popularity of the genre and its growth within Australia.
“Disco had such a huge impact on the world, I mean it’s never going to go away or be ignored so it’s only natural that it is starting to be re-done, made ‘nu’ so to speak”.
“Australia has actually been one of the last places to really re-embrace the disco movement. Groups like Prins Thomas (Norway) have been doing it around Europe for years. It as if they never ever really stopped making disco music in some places. Tim Sweeney has been making a radio show, 'beats in space' for ten years now in New York as well which is all disco”.
“It hasn’t always been disco as such but more of the sub-genres such as disco house, Disco Dub. I think when you are looking at the nu-disco, the sampling and a bit of the revamp that has been going on for the last few years then you’ve got to give credit to a couple of those French house people, Mr. Oizo, Breakbot and such. I mean even Daft Punk if you think about it, they’ve been sampling and re-making and absolutely killing it for years. I mean take Patrick 122 (a song by French Producer Mr. Oizo). That is an absolute classic, probably one of the first tunes to bring back the disco sampling thing into electro in the 21st century that was being dominated by distorted French music.”
Mr. Oizo – Patrick 122 ... Check it out from about the 20 second mark onwards.
When asked about the difference between say Patrick 122 and a modern production such as D Cup’s “Last night a DJ saved my life” (shown in the welcome post) Eldridge believed that the difference is definitely intentional by the producers.
“The difference is in the style, the backing, the instruments in the tune. You listen to Oizo and its much more of a tech feel, it’s a lot shorter and sharper and the sample is really distorted. The D Cup tune is almost giving more respect to the original sample by playing it a lot clearer. That and the dreamy synths and stuff are way more traditional disco than Patrick 122 and I suppose that the difference is there.”
In all it must be noted that while the “Nu Disco” genre is perhaps not the most inherently original genre given its strong reliance on sampling and strong roots in the 1970s/80s disco movement, it is making new strides and having s strong influence on dance music culture worldwide.
Would you care for a free sample?
The late Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American poet and theorist wrote an essay that examined and explained much of the discourse surrounding “originality” that still has significant meaning and relevance today. His essay, entitled “Of Quotation and Originality” carried the central premise that people’s minds were too burdened with the weight of previous creative work, so much so that they only took elements from the past and reconfigured them to their own taste in the present day. He continued on to suggest that there is no such thing as pure originality, and that there is no thread of thought that hasn’t yet already been twisted.
Although these words were written nearly 135 years ago, their continuing relevance throughout society demonstrates the brilliance behind Emerson’s argument. Within the context of this blog as well, his words can help to cool down what is a tense and on-going debate within the world of music production. I am referring of course to the practice of sampling.
To sample within music production means to take an aspect of an existing song and re-use it in a new production. It can be as simple as using a drum kick, or it can be sampling an entire guitar rift. Perhaps one of the most widely recognised uses of sampling within popular music is within “ice ice baby” by American Rapper Vanilla Ice. This songs famous bassline was sampled from the song “Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen.
The above scenario where the bassline was sampled by Vanilla Ice created controversy surrounding copyright issues over the ownership of material. In this instance however Vanilla Ice was able to get away without issue by placing a note in album notes for his record as well as making minor alterations to the bassline itself.
Beyond this example however, the controversy surrounding the issue of sampling is a debate forever raging in the hearts and minds of producers everywhere. Without recent times, one of the most prominent examples of sampling has been by Daft Punk, arguably the Beatles of the electronic dance music world, it wasn’t until a writer from a blog known as ‘Palms out Sunday’ took the time to read the insert on the album cover from their 2001 album Discovery.
Within the realms of modern popular culture, these findings sparked vigorous debate surrounding whether or not the heavy use of sampling across almost an entire album makes a group any less credible in terms of their artistic merit. As far as the essay by Emerson is concerned, all aspects of creativity are a combination of elements of the past reconfigured to suit their own taste in the present day. My personal opinion on the matter is that the process of finding and collecting samples, coupled with the process of making them popular and sound new and exciting again is requires way more talent than most people will ever have, and thus their artistic integrity should not be questioned. It must also be mentioned however that there is a difference between sampling and remixing. Remixing is the process of taking all of the samples from an original production and recreating these in a new production, whilst often adding new aspects, in order to create a new take on a production that already exists. Remixing is often done on commission, by producers who have been payed in order to add their own personal touch to a production. This can often help spark mass appeal across a multitude of genres if the remix is able to fit well across the musical spectrum. Sampling on the other hand often happens in an attempt to remix much older and classic tracks of which the original separate production recordings are not usually available. In this sense, beyond the ethical issues surrounding the use of sampling in creating productions, there are also sometimes legal issues surrounding copyrights.
To help combat this, in 2009 the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) has introduced an ARIA Reproduction Licence for format shifting by disc jockeys. This new license is based around the Copyright Act which was amended in 2006 in order to help keep up with the digital age of music in which we now live in (information available from). By obtaining a license, you can legally shift and store files and CDs electronically which is the necessary attribute for attempting to begin the sampling production process, however in order to obtain a license to reproduce music you require another license from the Australian Performing Right Association.
Within the genre of Nu Disco, sampling is also an inherent characteristic of the style. As previously shown, artists will often sample aspects of songs from both the 70s and 80s disco era, re-creating them in a manor more befitting of the 21st century. This facet is indeed at the very heart and soul of the new genre.
A good example of this is the song “Best Party Ever” produced by a Sydney artist known as Toecutter. This original song has been in rotation for over 12 months but has only recently gained recognition within recent months following a slew of remixes by fellow brethren of the Australian Electro scene. The original song features an absolute multitude of samples, the main one being “Tonight” by Kool & the Gang. Kool & the Gang were Disco heavyweights, present throughout the course of the disco movement from the early 1970s right through until the mid 80s. Here is a video showing the original production by Kool & the Gang.
Here is what the artist Toecutter drew from his inspiration.
Although these words were written nearly 135 years ago, their continuing relevance throughout society demonstrates the brilliance behind Emerson’s argument. Within the context of this blog as well, his words can help to cool down what is a tense and on-going debate within the world of music production. I am referring of course to the practice of sampling.
To sample within music production means to take an aspect of an existing song and re-use it in a new production. It can be as simple as using a drum kick, or it can be sampling an entire guitar rift. Perhaps one of the most widely recognised uses of sampling within popular music is within “ice ice baby” by American Rapper Vanilla Ice. This songs famous bassline was sampled from the song “Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen.
The above scenario where the bassline was sampled by Vanilla Ice created controversy surrounding copyright issues over the ownership of material. In this instance however Vanilla Ice was able to get away without issue by placing a note in album notes for his record as well as making minor alterations to the bassline itself.
Beyond this example however, the controversy surrounding the issue of sampling is a debate forever raging in the hearts and minds of producers everywhere. Without recent times, one of the most prominent examples of sampling has been by Daft Punk, arguably the Beatles of the electronic dance music world, it wasn’t until a writer from a blog known as ‘Palms out Sunday’ took the time to read the insert on the album cover from their 2001 album Discovery.
Within the realms of modern popular culture, these findings sparked vigorous debate surrounding whether or not the heavy use of sampling across almost an entire album makes a group any less credible in terms of their artistic merit. As far as the essay by Emerson is concerned, all aspects of creativity are a combination of elements of the past reconfigured to suit their own taste in the present day. My personal opinion on the matter is that the process of finding and collecting samples, coupled with the process of making them popular and sound new and exciting again is requires way more talent than most people will ever have, and thus their artistic integrity should not be questioned. It must also be mentioned however that there is a difference between sampling and remixing. Remixing is the process of taking all of the samples from an original production and recreating these in a new production, whilst often adding new aspects, in order to create a new take on a production that already exists. Remixing is often done on commission, by producers who have been payed in order to add their own personal touch to a production. This can often help spark mass appeal across a multitude of genres if the remix is able to fit well across the musical spectrum. Sampling on the other hand often happens in an attempt to remix much older and classic tracks of which the original separate production recordings are not usually available. In this sense, beyond the ethical issues surrounding the use of sampling in creating productions, there are also sometimes legal issues surrounding copyrights.
To help combat this, in 2009 the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) has introduced an ARIA Reproduction Licence for format shifting by disc jockeys. This new license is based around the Copyright Act which was amended in 2006 in order to help keep up with the digital age of music in which we now live in (information available from
Within the genre of Nu Disco, sampling is also an inherent characteristic of the style. As previously shown, artists will often sample aspects of songs from both the 70s and 80s disco era, re-creating them in a manor more befitting of the 21st century. This facet is indeed at the very heart and soul of the new genre.
A good example of this is the song “Best Party Ever” produced by a Sydney artist known as Toecutter. This original song has been in rotation for over 12 months but has only recently gained recognition within recent months following a slew of remixes by fellow brethren of the Australian Electro scene. The original song features an absolute multitude of samples, the main one being “Tonight” by Kool & the Gang. Kool & the Gang were Disco heavyweights, present throughout the course of the disco movement from the early 1970s right through until the mid 80s. Here is a video showing the original production by Kool & the Gang.
Here is what the artist Toecutter drew from his inspiration.
Disco Disco Skitzo Dancer
To many a child of Generation Y (another brilliant use of Genre), the name disco means big hair, bell bottoms and an exaggerated use of overwhelming emotion befitting the camp nature of tunes from the likes of the Village People. While this isn’t necessarily too far from the truth, the truth of the matter that the disco genre was so enormous it defined an era, creating a sound that lasted for the best part of a decade.
1973 is the year most commonly credited with spawning the first disco tracks which gained immense popularity in New York City particularly within gay club culture. The music mainly consisted of a moderate tempo (between 110 and 120 beats per minute), a slapping bass guitar line, a four-four time signature (used mainly for its consistency and continuity [have you ever tried dancing in three-four or a time signature that changes?]), electric pianos and synthesisers as well as strings and horns. Lead guitar was rarely used unlike most popular music up to that point, and instead a more orchestral feel with pan flutes and xylophones were used to do instrumental solos and back the tracks up. Disco had strong roots in the soul and funk movements which had mass popularity within many subcultures associated with night clubs during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Perhaps one of the most famous and successful groups of the era were the Bee Gees. There hit ‘Staying Alive’ from 1977 reached #1 on the pop music charts in most countries across the world.
Within a contemporary setting, the ‘camp’ and ‘playful’ nature of the disco style of music has allowed the tunes to live on still in clubs and parties worldwide. Beyond the nostalgia, the combination of funk and soul roots coupled with recognisable riffs and lyrics (all too often a missing link in modern dance styles) is a style that is enjoyed by most anyone.
Across the internet, a range of differing websites offer their opinion regarding the top disco tracks of all times, however out of all of these, my personal favourite is no doubt ‘Love in C Minor’ by Cerrone mainly as its the perfect combination of strings, bass and jazz percussion.
Given it’s inherent and lasting popularity it is no surprise that contemporary producers of music are again mimicking the style of disco made popular within the 70s and 80s. The instruments of these days, the Moog Keyboard and Synthesisers, the Cassio Wave Pads still exist and there stature as rare collectors items with incredible value ensures that the era will never go away.
1973 is the year most commonly credited with spawning the first disco tracks which gained immense popularity in New York City particularly within gay club culture. The music mainly consisted of a moderate tempo (between 110 and 120 beats per minute), a slapping bass guitar line, a four-four time signature (used mainly for its consistency and continuity [have you ever tried dancing in three-four or a time signature that changes?]), electric pianos and synthesisers as well as strings and horns. Lead guitar was rarely used unlike most popular music up to that point, and instead a more orchestral feel with pan flutes and xylophones were used to do instrumental solos and back the tracks up. Disco had strong roots in the soul and funk movements which had mass popularity within many subcultures associated with night clubs during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Perhaps one of the most famous and successful groups of the era were the Bee Gees. There hit ‘Staying Alive’ from 1977 reached #1 on the pop music charts in most countries across the world.
Within a contemporary setting, the ‘camp’ and ‘playful’ nature of the disco style of music has allowed the tunes to live on still in clubs and parties worldwide. Beyond the nostalgia, the combination of funk and soul roots coupled with recognisable riffs and lyrics (all too often a missing link in modern dance styles) is a style that is enjoyed by most anyone.
Across the internet, a range of differing websites offer their opinion regarding the top disco tracks of all times, however out of all of these, my personal favourite is no doubt ‘Love in C Minor’ by Cerrone mainly as its the perfect combination of strings, bass and jazz percussion.
Given it’s inherent and lasting popularity it is no surprise that contemporary producers of music are again mimicking the style of disco made popular within the 70s and 80s. The instruments of these days, the Moog Keyboard and Synthesisers, the Cassio Wave Pads still exist and there stature as rare collectors items with incredible value ensures that the era will never go away.
11/2/09
Genre Genre
Before beginning this assignment, I believe it is important to preface this research with a short word about genre study. Despite the influence and the ability that the term 'genre' has to organise and coordinate similar things, in all it is just a word with incredibly vague boundaries. To say that a particular song fits within a certain genre is merely to say that particular characteristics are evident within the song that are similar and in-common with another type of song. For example, if the comment was made to describe a song as fitting within the Disco Genre, it simply means that the song in question displays characteristics that are similar to other songs that have previously been categorised into a particular genre. Other genres beyond disco include rock, hip hop, R n B and dance to name but a few.
Within this realm of genre classification however it is impossible to consider that all pieces of music could possibly be categorised simply. To help and fix this problem, there are an endless number of sub-genres that exist. These ensure that the large genres such as dance can be broken up to allow different styles of dance music to be appropriately categorised. For example, within the dance music genre, there may be several sub-genres such as electro, fidget, dub-step etc. If these sub-genres can gain enough popularity it is likely they can grow to form their own unique genre which in itself can spawn sub genres. In all this discussion however it is important to keep in mind that genre is just a word used to help categorise and organise similar things into categories and it is no way binding. If a genre is not defined by the artist themselves, then it is more than likely categorised by a record store clerk, or a blogger attempting to appear knowledgeable.
Amongst all this talk of genre where does ‘Nu Disco’ lay you ask???
It is not difficult to believe that it does have a strong connection to the immensely popular 1970s and 80s genre known as disco, but within the name itself lays a key to demonstrate that it is in fact not a sub genre, but rather an independent revolution quite different in style and ideals despite its heavy influence. But as much as that may sound like a similar excuse used by the likes of Oasis to defend their Beatles roots, the term ‘nu’ in front of the word disco creates a distinguishing difference far greater than its two letters of difference.
The term ‘Nu’ in this sense is used to mean ‘revamped’, ‘revitalised’, ‘out of left field’, ‘same but different’. While the bass funk, uplifting slightly cheesy hooks and lyrics remain, ‘nu disco’ has ben re-rubbed and is spicy compared to its much older, slightly funky uncle. And while the two can interact and bust a move together on the same dance floor, the differences as well as the new found popularity are enough to have earned the term nu-disco the title of a new musical genre as according to prominent online music stores such as beat port and itunes.
For your enjoyment, here is one of the first tracks that ever turned me onto a smoother style of dance music, by an American Group known as Treasure Fingers, who have gained immense popularity for helping to pioneer to revitalisation of nu-disco worldwide.
Within this realm of genre classification however it is impossible to consider that all pieces of music could possibly be categorised simply. To help and fix this problem, there are an endless number of sub-genres that exist. These ensure that the large genres such as dance can be broken up to allow different styles of dance music to be appropriately categorised. For example, within the dance music genre, there may be several sub-genres such as electro, fidget, dub-step etc. If these sub-genres can gain enough popularity it is likely they can grow to form their own unique genre which in itself can spawn sub genres. In all this discussion however it is important to keep in mind that genre is just a word used to help categorise and organise similar things into categories and it is no way binding. If a genre is not defined by the artist themselves, then it is more than likely categorised by a record store clerk, or a blogger attempting to appear knowledgeable.
Amongst all this talk of genre where does ‘Nu Disco’ lay you ask???
It is not difficult to believe that it does have a strong connection to the immensely popular 1970s and 80s genre known as disco, but within the name itself lays a key to demonstrate that it is in fact not a sub genre, but rather an independent revolution quite different in style and ideals despite its heavy influence. But as much as that may sound like a similar excuse used by the likes of Oasis to defend their Beatles roots, the term ‘nu’ in front of the word disco creates a distinguishing difference far greater than its two letters of difference.
The term ‘Nu’ in this sense is used to mean ‘revamped’, ‘revitalised’, ‘out of left field’, ‘same but different’. While the bass funk, uplifting slightly cheesy hooks and lyrics remain, ‘nu disco’ has ben re-rubbed and is spicy compared to its much older, slightly funky uncle. And while the two can interact and bust a move together on the same dance floor, the differences as well as the new found popularity are enough to have earned the term nu-disco the title of a new musical genre as according to prominent online music stores such as beat port and itunes.
For your enjoyment, here is one of the first tracks that ever turned me onto a smoother style of dance music, by an American Group known as Treasure Fingers, who have gained immense popularity for helping to pioneer to revitalisation of nu-disco worldwide.
10/23/09
Hello World
Hello world, and firstly I'd like to start by welcoming myself to the world of blogging.
This is the second blog I've set up, but the first I aim to truly keep up and running, and I'm extremely excited about the possibilities that lay ahead.
The purpose of this blog is to conduct a study on a new style of music that has gained increasing popularity within Australian culture, for the purpose in order to fulfill the requirements of Assignment 3 for the subject 'Music & Popular Culture' of which I am in currently enrolled in.
Over the week and a half I will be blogging constantly in order to delve into the world of Nu-Disco, a genre of music that has gained vast notoriety within the past couple of years, and a genre that has come to represent the Australian musical identity within our club scene to the world. While it is not an entirely new genre, an extremely ever growing list of prominent musical stars within Australia embrace the style everyday, demonstrating its ability to represent and fulfill our desires as musical Australians.
In order to properly understand the genre, I will first delve back into its roots which lay firmly within the disco movement of the late 1970s and 1980s. I will also discuss the use of sampling within the genre before detailing how Nu-Disco has spawned a lasting Australian identity leading to the creation of a new genre known as 'Australian Electro' (also Oz Electro).
P.S Having previously gained a vast understanding of Genre Study during my tenure in High School, I am well aware of the difficulties of pigeon-holing songs under one umbrella, however for the first post I wish to demonstrate an example of a song that I believe shows distinct characteristics of the Nu-Disco phenomenon.
This song, "Last night a dj saved my life" by a relatively new Sydney artist known as D Cup shows multiple aspects of the Nu Disco genre. This is evident in its 1980s style synths, and also its use of sampling. The songs sampled are 'Let's groove tonight' by Earth, Wind and Fire and also the main back track also named "Last night a DJ saved my life from a ghost" performed by Indeep and later by 90 Day Men.
In all I hope this blog to display how a group of Australian individuals are able to represent ideals of the Australian Musical identity to the world, demonstrating the power and success of the Australian musical scene. I'm looking forward to the journey!
This is the second blog I've set up, but the first I aim to truly keep up and running, and I'm extremely excited about the possibilities that lay ahead.
The purpose of this blog is to conduct a study on a new style of music that has gained increasing popularity within Australian culture, for the purpose in order to fulfill the requirements of Assignment 3 for the subject 'Music & Popular Culture' of which I am in currently enrolled in.
Over the week and a half I will be blogging constantly in order to delve into the world of Nu-Disco, a genre of music that has gained vast notoriety within the past couple of years, and a genre that has come to represent the Australian musical identity within our club scene to the world. While it is not an entirely new genre, an extremely ever growing list of prominent musical stars within Australia embrace the style everyday, demonstrating its ability to represent and fulfill our desires as musical Australians.
In order to properly understand the genre, I will first delve back into its roots which lay firmly within the disco movement of the late 1970s and 1980s. I will also discuss the use of sampling within the genre before detailing how Nu-Disco has spawned a lasting Australian identity leading to the creation of a new genre known as 'Australian Electro' (also Oz Electro).
P.S Having previously gained a vast understanding of Genre Study during my tenure in High School, I am well aware of the difficulties of pigeon-holing songs under one umbrella, however for the first post I wish to demonstrate an example of a song that I believe shows distinct characteristics of the Nu-Disco phenomenon.
This song, "Last night a dj saved my life" by a relatively new Sydney artist known as D Cup shows multiple aspects of the Nu Disco genre. This is evident in its 1980s style synths, and also its use of sampling. The songs sampled are 'Let's groove tonight' by Earth, Wind and Fire and also the main back track also named "Last night a DJ saved my life from a ghost" performed by Indeep and later by 90 Day Men.
In all I hope this blog to display how a group of Australian individuals are able to represent ideals of the Australian Musical identity to the world, demonstrating the power and success of the Australian musical scene. I'm looking forward to the journey!
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