The Electronic Music Web

Timeline

Every genre placed by the decade it started. Colours match the map.

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Every genre by decade

Roots: Early Electronic , Krautrock , Hip Hop Breaks , Dub , Disco , Ambient , Industrial , Euro-Disco , Hi-NRG , Synth-Pop , Funk and Boogie , Italo Disco , EBM , Electro , New Beat

House: Chicago House , Garage House , Acid House , Deep House , Balearic , Italo House , Hip House , Afro House , Progressive House , French House , Tech House , UK Garage , Minimal House , Microhouse , Electro House , Nu-Disco , Dutch House , Rominimal , Balkan Pop House , EDM , Big Room House , Deep Tech , Pop Deep House , Future House , Organic House , Bass House , Lo-Fi House

Techno: Detroit Techno , Bleep Techno , Ambient Techno , UK Techno , Acid Techno , Berlin Techno , Minimal Techno , Dub Techno , Hard Techno , Schranz , Hardgroove , Hypnotic Techno , Industrial Techno , Warehouse Techno , Melodic House and Techno , Peak-Time Techno

Drum & Bass: Breakbeat Hardcore , Darkcore , Jungle , Ragga Jungle , Atmospheric Drum and Bass , Drum and Bass , Jump-Up , Techstep , Neurofunk , Liquid Drum and Bass , Minimal Drum and Bass , Halftime

1960s

  • 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.

1970s

  • 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.

1980s

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Detroit Techno — The first techno style, made in Detroit with drum machines and futuristic synthesizer sounds.
  • 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.
  • New Beat — A slow, hard Belgian dance style from the late 1980s that mixed EBM, acid and samples.
  • Hip House — A late-1980s mix of house music beats and rapped vocals.
  • Bleep Techno — A short-lived British style from the north of England built on deep bass and simple electronic beeps.

1990s

  • Breakbeat Hardcore — A fast, colourful British rave style that mixed breakbeats, piano riffs and sampled 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.
  • 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.
  • Darkcore — A dark, serious form of hardcore that led towards jungle and drum and bass.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Minimal Techno — A stripped-back techno style that uses only a few sounds and repeats them in small changes.
  • Atmospheric Drum and Bass — A calm, melodic form of drum and bass with soft chords and long, floating pads.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Schranz — A very fast, hard German techno style built on heavy drums and short, sharp loops.
  • Techstep — A dark, mechanical drum and bass style with harsh bass and science-fiction sounds.
  • Minimal House — A stripped-back house style that uses only a few sounds and lots of space.
  • Hardgroove — Fast, loop-based techno with a strong, funky drum groove.
  • Neurofunk — A technical, aggressive drum and bass style with complex, twisted bass sounds.
  • Microhouse — A quiet, detailed house style that uses tiny clicks, cuts and strange samples.
  • Liquid Drum and Bass — A smooth, musical drum and bass style with soulful singing and warm chords.

2000s

  • 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.
  • Minimal Drum and Bass — A quiet, detailed drum and bass style that uses very few sounds and lots of space.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • EDM — A mainstream 2010s umbrella term for festival dance music with big drops and pop hooks.

2010s

  • 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.
  • Warehouse Techno — A 2010s British style that mixes hard techno with the energy and breaks of early rave music.
  • Pop Deep House — A British chart sound from the mid-2010s that put deep house beats under pop songs.
  • Melodic House and Techno — A slow, emotional mix of house and techno built on strong melodies and deep bass.
  • Halftime — Drum and bass played at half the speed of the drums, leaving a slow, heavy groove.
  • 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.
  • Peak-Time Techno — A loud, direct techno style made for the busiest part of a big club night.
  • Lo-Fi House — A rough, emotional house style with hissy drums, soft chords and a homemade feel.