The Electronic Music Web
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The Electronic Music Web

An interactive map of electronic music genres published by Learning to DJ. Each genre links to its history, key figures, labels, sources and defining tracks. Use the map above, or browse the full list below.

Roots

The styles that came before house, techno and drum & bass and shaped their sound.

  • Early Electronic — The first musicians to make popular music with synthesizers and drum machines.
  • Krautrock — Experimental German rock from the 1970s that mixed electronic sounds with repetitive rhythms.
  • Hip Hop Breaks — The short drum sections of old funk and soul records that became the building blocks of dance music.
  • Dub — A Jamaican remix style that removes vocals and adds deep bass, echo and reverb.
  • Disco — A joyful 1970s dance music built on a steady beat, lush strings and soulful singing.
  • Ambient — Calm, quiet electronic music made to change the mood of a room rather than to be the focus.
  • Industrial — An experimental, harsh style that uses noise, machines and dark themes.
  • Euro-Disco — A European form of disco with catchy melodies, clean production and electronic instruments.
  • Hi-NRG — A fast, electronic disco style with a strong beat and powerful singing, popular in gay clubs.
  • Synth-Pop — A pop style built mainly on synthesizers, drum machines and catchy electronic melodies.
  • Funk and Boogie — A smooth, electronic 1980s dance style that grew from funk and disco after disco's peak.
  • Italo Disco — A melodic, electronic Italian disco style with drum machines and dreamy synthesizers.
  • EBM — A hard electronic dance style with shouted vocals, heavy beats and a cold, serious mood.
  • Electro — A 1980s style that mixed funk with drum machines and futuristic electronic sounds.
  • New Beat — A slow, hard Belgian dance style from the late 1980s that mixed EBM, acid and samples.

House

A family of four-to-the-floor dance music that began in Chicago in the early 1980s and spread worldwide.

  • Chicago House — The first house music style, made in Chicago from disco, drum machines and soulful vocals.
  • Garage House — A soulful, vocal-heavy house style from New York and New Jersey club culture.
  • Acid House — A raw house style built on the squelchy sound of the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer.
  • Deep House — A warm, smooth house style with soft chords and a relaxed, soulful mood.
  • Balearic — A free, open-minded DJ style from Ibiza that mixes many kinds of relaxed dance music.
  • Italo House — A bright, piano-led house style made in Italy in the late 1980s.
  • Hip House — A late-1980s mix of house music beats and rapped vocals.
  • Afro House — A South African house style with deep, spiritual chords and African percussion.
  • Progressive House — A long, building British house style with layered melodies and a trance-like feel.
  • French House — A French house style built on filtered disco samples and heavy electronic effects.
  • Tech House — A club style that mixes the groove of house with the sounds and structure of techno.
  • UK Garage — A fast, chopped British style that mixes house, soul and jungle rhythms.
  • Minimal House — A stripped-back house style that uses only a few sounds and lots of space.
  • Microhouse — A quiet, detailed house style that uses tiny clicks, cuts and strange samples.
  • Electro House — A loud house style with distorted electronic bass and heavy, robotic sounds.
  • Nu-Disco — A modern dance style that rebuilds the sound and feeling of 1970s and 1980s disco.
  • Dutch House — A loud Dutch club style with hard electronic drums and simple, catchy riffs.
  • Rominimal — A Romanian take on minimal house, with long, rolling grooves and small, strange sounds.
  • Balkan Pop House — A Romanian and Balkan pop-dance style from about 2008 to 2013 with house beats and accordion hooks.
  • EDM — A mainstream 2010s umbrella term for festival dance music with big drops and pop hooks.
  • Big Room House — A very simple, loud festival style built around one big drop.
  • Deep Tech — A 2010s club style that mixes deep house warmth with tech house drums.
  • Pop Deep House — A British chart sound from the mid-2010s that put deep house beats under pop songs.
  • Future House — A 2010s style that mixes deep house warmth with a metallic, bending bass sound.
  • Organic House — A slow, soft house style with natural sounds, live instruments and a warm, dreamy mood.
  • Bass House — A heavy 2010s club style that mixes house drums with loud, low bass and garage sounds.
  • Lo-Fi House — A rough, emotional house style with hissy drums, soft chords and a homemade feel.

Techno

A family of machine-made dance music that began in Detroit in the 1980s and grew worldwide.

  • Detroit Techno — The first techno style, made in Detroit with drum machines and futuristic synthesizer sounds.
  • Bleep Techno — A short-lived British style from the north of England built on deep bass and simple electronic beeps.
  • Ambient Techno — Techno that is made for listening at home as much as dancing, with soft textures and slow beats.
  • UK Techno — A hard, dark British techno sound with rough drums and industrial textures.
  • Acid Techno — Techno built around the squelchy sound of the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer.
  • Berlin Techno — The deep, serious techno sound of Berlin clubs, built for long nights and big rooms.
  • Minimal Techno — A stripped-back techno style that uses only a few sounds and repeats them in small changes.
  • Dub Techno — Techno mixed with the echo and delay effects of Jamaican dub music.
  • Hard Techno — A fast, loud and forceful form of techno made for energetic club crowds.
  • Schranz — A very fast, hard German techno style built on heavy drums and short, sharp loops.
  • Hardgroove — Fast, loop-based techno with a strong, funky drum groove.
  • Hypnotic Techno — Slow-changing, deeply atmospheric techno that repeats small details to create a trance-like state.
  • Industrial Techno — A very heavy techno style with distorted drums, noise and industrial textures.
  • Warehouse Techno — A 2010s British style that mixes hard techno with the energy and breaks of early rave music.
  • Melodic House and Techno — A slow, emotional mix of house and techno built on strong melodies and deep bass.
  • Peak-Time Techno — A loud, direct techno style made for the busiest part of a big club night.

Drum & Bass

A fast British dance music family built on heavy bass and broken, syncopated drum breaks.

  • Breakbeat Hardcore — A fast, colourful British rave style that mixed breakbeats, piano riffs and sampled vocals.
  • Darkcore — A dark, serious form of hardcore that led towards jungle and drum and bass.
  • Jungle — A fast British style with chopped breakbeats, deep bass and a strong ragga or soul influence.
  • Ragga Jungle — Jungle mixed with Jamaican dancehall and ragga vocals, fast and full of energy.
  • Atmospheric Drum and Bass — A calm, melodic form of drum and bass with soft chords and long, floating pads.
  • Drum and Bass — A fast British style with heavy bass and broken beats, the wider name for jungle's later sound.
  • Jump-Up — A loud, simple and fun drum and bass style made to get crowds moving.
  • Techstep — A dark, mechanical drum and bass style with harsh bass and science-fiction sounds.
  • Neurofunk — A technical, aggressive drum and bass style with complex, twisted bass sounds.
  • Liquid Drum and Bass — A smooth, musical drum and bass style with soulful singing and warm chords.
  • Minimal Drum and Bass — A quiet, detailed drum and bass style that uses very few sounds and lots of space.
  • Halftime — Drum and bass played at half the speed of the drums, leaving a slow, heavy groove.