How do you define "eurobeat"?

[WNight]

I was really just trynig to distinguish the fundamental parts that form a general "eurobeat" song from a "eurodance" one. In a eurobeat song, the percussion usually follows a very straight forward pattern of beat-hat-beat-hat-beat-hat... with some occasional "hits", and the offbeat usually has some sort of bassline that follows the present chord during the song. In a typical eurodance song, such as Labyrinth of Love, on the other hand, there is no such "offbeat bassline", and the percussion structure is a lot more complex, comprised often of a "clap" sound every other whole beat and a much weaker emphasis on the offbeat in general. Song structure is also usually different, not necessarily being comprised of a "synth hook".

I'm sorry if this is all just a little too complicated to understand, but basically, the overall musical feel I get from Labyrinth of Love does not make me think eurobeat at all so much as it makes me think eurodance. Granted, eurobeat and eurodance aren't horribly different genres, so I can see why you would have trouble distinguishing between songs of both genres, but in the case of Labyrinth of Love, I just can't hear, in anyway, how it's so distinctively eurobeat in such a way that deviates it from any normal eurodance track.

In short, my main question to you - can you name any songs (SEB or not) that particularly represent a eurodance context and not a eurobeat one at all?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_-edzPWkB8

I think that if you say eurobeat is versatile to someone who never heard eurobeat before and then play a couple of songs, the person would have a hard time to believe that it is not one just song you're playing. Granted, I hear the differences in style as well as you do, but people who listen to other music tend to think that all eurobeat sounds the same.

True but then there's really not much that can be done with regards to this, If the person doesn't care, You could come up with 1001 descriptions and they still won't.

[drnrg]

jay

The reason I ask is because I'll be appearing on a national TV program soon, and one of the (many) topics I'll be discussing is eurobeat. Trying to conjure a somewhat short definition of the genre has turned out to be much harder than I imagined. Some would say the genre is characterised by its fast BPMs, and, indeed, some eurobeat is very fast. However, as we all know, not all eurobeat is speedy (just look at the recent 'It's All Up To You' by Cy-Ro as a counterexample). Others would say that all eurobeat tends to possess a very upbeat mood, but once again there are so many counterexamples to this (take 'Remind Me to Forget' by Madison, for instance). This is only the start. Whenever we try to assign certain adjectives or definitions to the genre, there will almost always be at least a dozen counterexamples, which raises the question: can we give a concrete definition to "eurobeat"?

What do you think?

I think the whole point of this is because one of us is gonna try to explain Eurobeat on a public forum and try to explain what makes Eurobeat, Eurobeat. I have to agree with meagan on the subject ,that if I was to present Eurobeat to a group of friends, then songs like Labyrinth Of Love and Because Of You would not be my first choices. Why? because I think I would be fooling the public into thinking that Eurobeat doesn't diviate too much from Eurodance and Pop sound. When In reality , what one conciders traditional Eurobeat is so very different from these two styles. Sure, I might get a bigger following from the public, but what happens when the magoraty of the cd sounds like the Mad Cows and Night Of Fires that are; for the most part ,what one would concider traditional Eurobeat?

songs like Labyrinth of Love come around once in a while. I think they are the hooks AVEX uses to gain a bigger fanbase for Eurobeat, but as far as a song that represents Eurobeat? I truley believe jay would be misleading the public into thinking that Eurobeat sounds like that, when in reality it's from a totally different world.

I know some of you still want to argue your point about Eurobeat being versatile and what not, but the truth is true Eurobeat follows a format. melodywise, vocalwise, lyricwise, instrumentwise.

...and frankly , Wnight, I'm quite surprised that you are going to such extent to disagree with meagan here, when in reality one of your favourite lables; if not your favourite, (AbeatC/Sunfire)is the ultimate definition of a label that produces traditional Eurobeat.

In closing,it's best jay pulls out the Euromachs and older SEBs if he wants to give the public the true idea of what Eurobeat is and where it originated from. Let's be honest here, the songs like labyrinth...come out once in a while and represent less than 30% of what Eurobeat is..

[Jay]

The show that I'll be appearing on is actually a game show. On the opening segment of each episode we're asked to offer some interesting facts about ourselves, such as hobbies, interests, etc. I thought my interest in "eurobeat" fit the bill perfectly as it's something that I've been interested for...well, half of my life! The challenge, of course, was coming up with a short definition of what the genre is all about, because it's nigh impossible to define "eurobeat" without writing a thesis on it. And, as drnrg said, the last thing I want to do is give people the wrong impression of eurobeat, especially considering that this will quite possibly attract new listeners to the genre (hence why I posted this topic).

The episode(s) that I'll be appearing on will be posted online on the network's website. If anybody's interested, I can give the link to it, but it might take a month or two for it to air. ;) All the information you've posted helps though, and proves that eurobeat is, perhaps, far too versatile to put into words, but I'll try my best. So thank you.

[Tiger]

The show that I'll be appearing on is actually a game show.

Which game show? Link please (sorry offtopic)

[wolftickets1969]

I Belong to You/Stephy and Labyrinth of Love/Aleky don't sound like Eurobeat IMO, more like contemporary trance. What do you think?

[para_rigby]

I Belong to You/Stephy and Labyrinth of Love/Aleky don't sound like Eurobeat IMO, more like contemporary trance. What do you think?

Umm...this has been debated alot already, dude...

[pokecapn]

In short, my main question to you - can you name any songs (SEB or not) that particularly represent a eurodance context and not a eurobeat one at all?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_-edzPWkB8

Woah, slow down. That's not eurodance. THIS is eurodance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SggHTcSOD0

[WNight]

Woah, slow down. That's not eurodance. THIS is eurodance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SggHTcSOD0

How is that not eurod okay CUT ... In all seriousness, All attempts at trying to define eurobeat or even eurodance since we're on it are futile, It's just impossible to do so and is giving me a headache. It's really all about you Sure there are guidelines, Like if you say Cascada is eurobeat then may the force be with you.

[starry]

Eurobeat is a style of the 80-s disco.

80s best dance decade ever. Trance had it's origins at the end of that decade too, same with the funky hip-hop style.

[Bonkers]

Well, here are the GENERAL characteristics I can gather from Eurobeat:

1. The singers shout the words and sing in a choppy fashion.
2. The whole tone is totally 80s/disco.
3. The synthesizers are going off the fritz between the beats.
4. The tempo is genereally between 150bpm-160bpm
5. The voclas are usually pitched.
6. The bass is lighter than in other dance genres.
7. The lyrics are usually cheesy and lead to no point except as a sing-a-long.

Those charateristics are what sets Eurobeat apart from other genres, but with most dance music, the actual lyrics tend to lead to no point, just there as an enchancer to the song, or as a sing-a-long.

This does not partain to every Eurobeat song, but as a genre, I think my list fits.

[euro up north]

For me Eurobeat:

Is an own style that grew out of 80:s eurodisco (The eurodisco of Stock Aitken Waterman and nothing else).

SAW are in a big way, the godfathers of eurobeat.

Eurodisco and eurobeat were in the beginning pretty much the same music, but it changed in the middle of 90:s.

The difference is the speed the bpm. Other characteristics:

Vocals are often pitched.

The refrain and bridge is the most important part of the songs and the verse is always just an easy way to the refrain.

The lyrics is based so it fits the melody in the refrain and is never built for anything else than the rythm and has rarly any meaning or context.

The music is a the last step to total factorymade music. Same musicans and singers make all the songs even if the "artist" has different names.

Bass is often lighter and in other dancing music

Has its own dance - parapara

[starry]

The refrain and bridge is the most important part of the songs and the verse is always just an easy way to the refrain.

The lyrics is based so it fits the melody in the refrain and is never built for anything else than the rythm and has rarly any meaning or context.

Well some of them have strong choruses and they tend to be my favourite ones. Most of them may not though.

The lyrics can have some meaning, even if it's just standard love song lyrics. But obviously the music is by far the main thing, but that's the case with most popular music to some extent anyway. There can be times where it is just bubblegum nonsense lyrics and maybe that became more prevalent over time.

[Bonkers]

Oh, and if you're an American, especially a Southern accent American, it's nearly impossible to sing a long with many of the songs on a first try, mainly because of the Italian accent and the structure of the words. We usually don't repeat the verb twice in American music.

[starry]

I think it is hard to make out exactly what is being sung. It's the accent combined with the quicker speed that makes the words so hard to make out at times (for most people, not just Americans). If the vocal is put a bit higher in the mix compared to the other parts, which is normally more in the chorus, it can be a bit easier.

[Gorgia_v]

you could always say Eurobeat is a genre of music developed from italodisco made in italy, sung in english, sold primarily in japan. used in japanese anime, and popular in japanese club scene....

trying to put a description on such a large genre would be hard to do a justice...

everyone here has a different opinion on what eurobeat it, what eurdance is, but isnt that all on the front page of the site??