Hands Up
Fast, melodic German club music with hard kicks, supersaw leads and pop vocals.
History
Hands up is a fast, melodic form of European dance music s1. It began in Germany in the early 2000s s1s2. The name comes from the 'hands in the air' gesture at clubs s1. Tracks usually run between 138 and 155 beats per minute s1. They use hard offbeat bass, hard kicks and bright supersaw leads s1. Producers often use the Roland JP-8080 synthesizer s1. Vocals are usually sung by female singers or pitched-up male voices s1. The lyrics are about partying and romance s1. The structure is closer to pop music than to long trance tracks s1. In the mid-2000s, acts such as Cascada and Groove Coverage reached the charts s1. Cascada's 'Everytime We Touch' and Scooter's 'Nessaja' were big hits s1. Later, producers added jumpstyle and hardstyle elements s1. Some happy hardcore producers also began to make the style s1. Interest fell in the early 2010s as electro house became popular s1.
Sound
- Tempos around 140 to 150 beats per minute
- Hard offbeat bass
- Bright supersaw leads
- Pop-style sung vocals
- A short verse-chorus structure
Key figures
- Cascada — German act behind a worldwide hands up hit
- Groove Coverage — German group with several hands up hits
- Scooter — German group that mixed hands up with rave
- Mark 'Oh — German producer linked to the early sound
Labels
- Zooland Records — Germany , 2002
- Kontor Records — Hamburg , 1996
- Suprimerecords — Germany , 2003
Defining tracks
Connections
Came from: Eurodance , Happy Hardcore , Trance
Sources
- Hands up (music genre) — Wikipedia
- Artists Hands up — Generation Dance