label descripts

randy (lilbro@groundzero.net)
Thu, 05 Jun 1997 19:16:28 -0700


The problem with labels is that sometimes people interpret them
differently. For practical purposes, these are the labels I use.

Acid Jazz- can cover any thing roughly hip-hop paced, mostly
instrumental, sometimes with vocals, melodic sounding. Has a Jazzy feel
to it

Ambient- usually very electronic, can be melodic, sometimes has beats,
sometimes doesn't, usually not danceable, has an "airy" feel to it

Abstrakt- rougher sounding than Acid Jazz, more focus on beats and
scratches and space within the music than on instruments and melodies,
has a Hip Hop feel to it

Experimental- Very atypical use of sounds, sometimes no melodies at all,
can be abrasive, speeds vary, sometimes within the same song, not
usually for dancing, Hard to describe the feeling you get from this

Trip-Hop- high energy beats, sound is more cluttered and faster than
acid jazz, usually more electronic sounding and less turntablized than
Acid Jazz/Abstrakt. Has a noisier, more techno-y feel to it

Head Music- This is a catch all term for all sounds Acid
Jazz/Abstrakt/Experimental/Trip-Hop/Ambient that are Non-Dance. The
focus is more on mental space within the track than on groove
maintainance, A more subtle feel than the above

Instrumental Hip Hop- catch all, but for beats with a groove, made for
dancing, anything with a dancey feel, around Hip Hop speed, and not too
electronic sounding

DownTempo-collective term for all the above, anything below 100BPM, or
anything within a faster genre that sounds slower than the majority,
(ie...a jungle track at 33 would be DownTempo Jungle, or a house track
with a BPM of 100 would be DownTempo House)

I think thats all for now. Are these consistent with the rest of
peoples defs?

randy (Avery)