Question: Will eurobeat ever have a 'heyday' again?

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WNight
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Question: Will eurobeat ever have a 'heyday' again?

Post by WNight » 05 Dec 2014, 02:25

This is a question that has probably popped up in subtle ways in various threads around EB-P but I want to hear what the veterans (non veterans can chime in here, I myself am not a 'veteran' actually hahah) have to say about this. Take note that this is an AFAIK kind of thing, some info may be wrong or incomplete as my full time job is not being a timeline (I did not listen to eurobeat in the 1990s) so feel free to point it out.

There was a time in eurobeat, especially around the late 1990's that eurobeat was enjoying success on both the mainstream (subtly) and the indie level. 'Night Of Fire' and various other songs were practically household names throughout Japan and the para para scene (which was also booming), and the dawn of Initial D was probably what gave eurobeat such a huge boost as well. Eurobeat was at it's peak! Eurobeat producers had a lot of work with the Japanese music industry. Dave Rodgers produced many albums for Japanese artists such as MAX, V6 etc, frequently collaborated with many japanese artists and Jennifer Batten etc. Many eurobeat songs were later covered by mainstream artist into TV show openings (Dave's Take Me Higher was covered by V6 and used as the opening for Ultraman Tiga for example) and even performed live at their music shows. Sinclaire and Dave themselves had so many classic pictures with a bunch of Japanese music gurus indicative of their involvement with the Japanese music industry. There were lots more other stuff such as bonus CDs with extended tracks, basically there were multiple disc on an SEB album etc I can't remember but no matter what, this was a time when eurobeat was had a 'charm' to it that the current era could only dream about.

Didn't end there either, in the early 2000s, we see similar stuff and occasionally, we had artist messages/interviews, videos of live shows (mostly by Dave Rodgers), music videos (though cheesy as they are, it was great to see them), songs that celebrated major events such as football, car shows and loads of para para related songs. I also sort of remember Domino saying that Dave frequently stays up late to mix the tracks and was still happy about it due to the label's enormous presence on SEB albums back then.

Basically, not talking about song quality here, eurobeat in the late 1990s/early 2000s were the pinnacle of eurobeat existence, and this is not open to debate. My personal belief is that while I still love listening to the songs, everything else has got to be the worst I've ever seen from my 7th year listening to eurobeat. 2014 (now) is a far far far far far cry from the 'heyday' of eurobeat as it is with only 400+ sales, no samples, late online releases (which totally defeats the purpose of a formal release date)), the change of release to one every 2 months, frequent long breaks for new songs as a result of the new schedule, the 'not giving a shit' attitude from 'You Know Who' etc. The question is, do you think eurobeat will ever have a 'high point' ever again?
Last edited by WNight on 05 Dec 2014, 03:50, edited 7 times in total.

Bonkers
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Post by Bonkers » 05 Dec 2014, 03:22

From listening to the "Best of..." mixes, it seems that, from comparing the excitement of the tracks to that of the late 90s/early 2000s, 2007-2009 would have been its last "heyday" period. That identity the sound of late 90s/early 2000s gave eurobeat just can't be re-created. The reason I say 2007-2009 (2006 for BBB's identity), the genre had a unique sound identity again. Until eurobeat has another unique sound identity, I don't see another "heyday" happening for the genre. Plus, we all know there's no commercialism for this genre besides the Youtube trailers that don't even come out until 2 days before the album is released. Plus, there wasn't just Super Eurobeat, we also had Euromach!

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Post by M2-EB » 05 Dec 2014, 17:10

Although I'm "new" user, been lurking for several years … oh well …
Didn't live the eurobeat in the 90's too, unfortunately… but it's exactly the style from this age that will do for me.


Points to take in consideration: fanbase and producers.
I want to believe that eurobeat fans will, most likely, be in touch with it for a lifetime.
We still have most producers that made eurobeat known, still active nowadays (which is a miracle, I may say). Will they ever do something different (music-wise) in the rest of their lives? Hopefully, if they do, it'll be side by side with eurobeat.

About sales, it's natural that they will drop with time - and even more with some label's stubbornness of not making things to go digital… - clearly, I'm not saying that it is good, in any way. Money is not maintaining eurobeat alive for sure (wondering why producers are still at it… is it just the pure love that has surpassed all the obstacles over the years?)
The question is, do you think eurobeat will ever have a 'high point' ever again?
Eurobeat genre is like a big rollercoaster (popularity talking). Not long ago, we passed the "rock bottom" of it: a entire year without SEB main series' releases… For now, eurobeat is going through a straight course - nothing out of extraordinary is really happening (in Avex or indie/independent scene or italian scene). A new peak will occur soon and that's how things work, always had.
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Post by #Infinity » 05 Dec 2014, 20:36

At this point, the only thing that may give eurobeat another chance is if a eurobeat song goes viral or something. There were already internet memes for Running in the '90s and Hot Limit, but those were from over a decade ago, and eurobeat is no longer an extractable part of Japanese culture like it was back then.

The 220s were marginally better than the 210s, but the quality of eurobeat being made today isn't nearly as great as it was a few years ago. Like I said a little while ago, the genre has hardly evolved at all since 2008, and it feels like the labels are producing new music because it's compulsory, not because they want to create the next hottest thing to play at Tokyo dance clubs.

I'll personally admit to having dramatically lost interest in eurobeat since roughly three months ago because there just isn't enough quality material coming out of the industry at nearly a fast enough rate anymore. I never did purchase SEB 231, and I'm not really upset that I didn't.

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Post by WNight » 06 Dec 2014, 06:22

Bonkers wrote:From listening to the "Best of..." mixes, it seems that, from comparing the excitement of the tracks to that of the late 90s/early 2000s, 2007-2009 would have been its last "heyday" period. That identity the sound of late 90s/early 2000s gave eurobeat just can't be re-created. The reason I say 2007-2009 (2006 for BBB's identity), the genre had a unique sound identity again. Until eurobeat has another unique sound identity, I don't see another "heyday" happening for the genre. Plus, we all know there's no commercialism for this genre besides the Youtube trailers that don't even come out until 2 days before the album is released. Plus, there wasn't just Super Eurobeat, we also had Euromach!
You have a point actually, I too felt that 2007-2009 were a 'high point' in eurobeat albeit not at the level of late 90's to early 2000's, the songs sounded 'up there' (even though the 170s/180s seem to be a heavily blasted time), in 2008 we had themed SEB album and many remixes and para para videos, which quirky and minor as it is, was a pretty cool measure that shows the guys at Avex still do care about the series. Not sure how to explain in much more detail, but things definitely looked a lot more 'vibrant' for the 3 whole years. It's rather sad to know that eurobeat as it is now is and may never see anything remotely close to a 'high time' again with it's major changes for the worst (not in terms of song quality), and this is not open to debate.

Sometimes you gotta wonder what certain producers like Dave Rodgers and Sinclaire who had significant presence in the Japanese music industry last time feel about the times now, haha.

@milachan:
Your questions are exactly the kind of questions I'd ask the producers at a time when SEB (not eurobeat) is as fragile as it is. I personally do not think that SEB will have a 'high' anymore, like you say, it's a miracle and a blessing that we still get to listen to their masterpiece nowadays.

@Infinity:
I'm not surprised you feel that way, I'd be willing to bet that most and even the most die hard long time eurobeaters would have felt and/or feeling that way at some point during the last 3 years or so had it not been for the fact that we're not too ready to y'know, give up on eurobeat just yet despite the 'odds'. Of course I can't speak for everyone, but this is something I'm pretty confident about saying it.

Interesting thoughts so far, keep em coming guys.

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Post by jeurobeat » 06 Dec 2014, 07:21

A long time ago, in 1989, there was a very popular trio Farina Crivellente Fadinger also known as F.C.F.. Together with Gelmetti (first) and J.J. Nesty (after Gelmetti left) they invented the eurobeat style. F.C.F. was very popular in Asia, many people knew them and there even was a lot of merchandise for sale. That was the first eurobeat boom.

During that boom, lots of new labels popped up, like High Energy, Disco Energy, Downtown, A beat C, Stil Novo. Other labels that were nearly dead (because F.C.F. left those labels) revived, like Time Records and Flea Records.

To me, this was the best era ever. Thing is, when I listen to songs from distinct years 1988-1993, I hear a truly different style for each year. And each style was unique and great! This was what kept eurobeat interesting to me.

Sound changed in 1994 and 1995 as well, but I consider those years as a decline because quality was not very consistent. There were great songs, but also very mediocre or bad songs in those years.

In 1996 things got better with the return of F.C.F. as Boom Boom Beat (people now will probably refer to them as SAIFAM), the new labels Vibration and Delta, and last but not least Luca Pernici and Davide DiMarcantonio joining Time Records. I think that most people here consider this the first eurobeat boom.

Some years later quality declined again, but I still followed eurobeat very closely. But I got annoyed that most SEB albums only got a few very good songs and the rest wasn't very good. At some point Mumo popped up and I could just buy the songs I really liked.

What I said about the truly different style over the early eurobeat years, doesn't work for me with the current eurobeat style. From those songs, I can't tell if the song was created in 2004 or 2014. I think this is a big problem. But maybe I just don't hear the differrence because I'm saturated after all those years :D

Maybe, if the style changes to something new and exciting again (as opposed to blending in an existing mainstream style, which doesn't count) a new boom will be possible. And release everything on iTunes, Juno, whatever digital medium is available outside Japan.

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Post by M2-EB » 06 Dec 2014, 17:49

+20 years of many different styles inside the same music genre (and we still have that even today). That's really cool, no matter what - as I said… ups and downs, a lot of experimentation, shaping in uniqueness.

Unfortunately, the major (and only) ongoing italian eurobeat compilation is SEB.
Contracts are exclusively for Avex and only Avex. Producers, practically, have no freedom because of that - I risk to say. That label made the style known worldwide and they could make more, but they won't. I'm not sure why (is it money again?).

Anyway, I like to see SEB and eurobeat music separately.
Why is that? Super Eurobeat can't survive without eurobeat. The opposite is not true. I used to see them together but eurobeat is much more than a great music genre in old japanese CD compilation made by italian musicians and sung in english.

I don't really care if current eurobeat is "garbage" or something.
To me, god tier eurobeat stopped in the 90's and that will suffice.
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Post by Darkholme » 06 Dec 2014, 18:42

I think the question to ask is: Why did eurobeat decline in popularity in Japan? I listen to some newer j-pop hear the traces of eurobeat influence. Could it be that eurobeat was essentially "replaced" as the fad died down?
DANGEROSS! GOT TO FESS DE RESS!

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Post by M2-EB » 06 Dec 2014, 18:52

I'm really curious. Could you share some of these with us?

I believe that that decline happens with almost everything that goes "trendy" in Japan:
it appears, have a huge boom, it goes down, it fades and disappear. It's such an industry… dictated by money, of course…
Eurobeat is a lucky survivor - maybe, because the real fans don't consider it a trendy thing.
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Post by para_rigby » 06 Dec 2014, 22:24

Darkholme wrote:I think the question to ask is: Why did eurobeat decline in popularity in Japan? I listen to some newer j-pop hear the traces of eurobeat influence. Could it be that eurobeat was essentially "replaced" as the fad died down?
EDM destroyed niche genres. Remember that Avex had Super Best Trance, Cyber Trance, House Nation, and all those Hyper Techno albums. More generic dance music is making the popularity of eurobeat decrease.

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Post by Mindsweeper » 07 Dec 2014, 00:04

para_rigby wrote:
EDM destroyed niche genres. Remember that Avex had Super Best Trance, Cyber Trance, House Nation, and all those Hyper Techno albums. More generic dance music is making the popularity of eurobeat decrease.

And I've been hearing a bit of EDM/trance influences in eurobeat lately too (which is ultimate music boner killer for me personally...)

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Post by para_rigby » 07 Dec 2014, 02:42

Mindsweeper wrote:
para_rigby wrote:
EDM destroyed niche genres. Remember that Avex had Super Best Trance, Cyber Trance, House Nation, and all those Hyper Techno albums. More generic dance music is making the popularity of eurobeat decrease.

And I've been hearing a bit of EDM/trance influences in eurobeat lately too (which is ultimate music boner killer for me personally...)
I don't have a problem with influences. SCP has been putting sprinkles of other genres in their music since their arrival on SEB back in the 140s. They've done trance, hyper techo, italo, 80s, etc.

I have to give kudos to them and Sinclaire for recognizing international fans through the use of Facebook and music shops. Feel that HI NRG Attack has kinda been done with that for a while like Dima. I think the genre will never reach another heyday. Seems totally negative, but I'm just looking at reality.

I think once Avex ends it's series, the labels should/would band together to release digital compilations. I could see SCP, GGM, and Sinclairestyle doing this together, at least.

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Post by eXtaticus » 07 Dec 2014, 03:59

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Last edited by eXtaticus on 19 Dec 2017, 23:52, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by M2-EB » 07 Dec 2014, 04:24

eXtaticus wrote:If we're following that scenario, in the not-too-distant future, eurobeat'll be known as "hypertrance", "power-party", or something like that, simply due to hipster re-branding.
Eurobeat is very singular. I'm not in favor of that but, as a way of surviving, I'll probably take that much (as all the other cancerogenous internet based stuff - it's awful, but it's bringing new audience to eurobeat)
eXtaticus wrote:I mean, I'd suggest that eurobeat could become like Happy Hardcore, and start commercialising and pop-ifying until it carves a wider, more consistent niche for itself (…)
I thought I'd be the only person in the world doing this comparison. I see the future in eurobeat, more or less, being as the Happy Hardcore scene.
eXtaticus wrote:Turning it into a chart/pop success will set a death clock for it, though, as it has with so many other dance genres. It's a "kill or cure" scenario, because like it or not, eurobeat's dying anyway; if it does, it might as well be spectacular.
I'm sorry but…
1. The day eurobeat turn into a chart/pop success it'll stop being eurobeat (talking about the sounding, the music - it'll change drastically and, who knows, become unrecognizable).
2. It's not dying. If you're talking about italian eurobeat, well, it may be agonizing- producers keep on going due to long-term contract (…?). At any rate, eurobeat isn't Italy only: people around the world make it, people around the world listen to it. As long as this happen, nothing is dead yet.
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Post by jp75 » 07 Dec 2014, 10:47

Eurobeat is a rare gem, I hope it never gets main streamed, generic and popular!!!!!!!!!

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