Progressive house

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Progressive house is a style (subgenre) of house music.[1] The progressive house style emerged in the early 1990s.[1] It initially developed in the United Kingdom as a natural progression of American and European house music of the late 1980s.[2] The genre was heavily influenced by trance in the 1990s and later by Eurodance in the mid-2000s.[3] As of November 2014, the genre is rated first in a list of top genres at TopDeejays.[4]


In the context of popular music the word "progressive" was first used widely in the 1970s to differentiate experimental forms of rock music from mainstream styles. Such music attempted to explore alternative approaches to rock music production.[5] Some acts also attempted to elevate the aesthetic values of rock music by incorporating features associated with classical instrumental music. This led to a style of music called progressive rock, which has been described as "the most self-consciously arty branch of rock." [6]

In disco music, and later house music, a similar desire to separate more exploratory styles from standard approaches saw DJs and producers adopting the word "progressive" to make a distinction. According to the DJ and producer Carl Craig, the term "progressive" was used in Detroit in the early '80s in reference to Italo disco.[7] The music was dubbed "progressive" because it drew upon the influence of Giorgio Moroder's Euro disco rather than the disco inspired by the symphonic sound of Philadelphia soul.[7] In Detroit, prior to the emergence of techno, artists like Alexander Robotnick, Klein + M.B.O. and Capricorn filled a vacancy left after disco's demise in America.[7][8] In the late 1980s, UK music journalist Simon Reynolds introduced the term "progressive dance" to describe album oriented acts such as 808 State, The Orb, Bomb the Bass and The Shamen. Between 1990 to 1992, the term "progressive" referred to the short-form buzz word for the house music subgenre "progressive house".[9]

Stylistic elements[edit]

(credit: Gat Decor - Passion)

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The genre was distinctly English with harmonic and trancey sounds such as extended synthesizer washes. It features elements of dub, deep house, Italo house, big riffs and extended track lengths.[10] Track tempos typically range from 120 to 134 beats per minute (bpm).[11] The style distinguished itself from dream trance and vocal trance by the lack of anthemic choruses, crescendos and drum rolling.[10] Intensity is added by the regular addition and subtraction of layers of sound.[12] Phrases are typically a power of two number of bars and often begin with a new or different melody or rhythm.[13]

Progressive house tunes often feature a build-up section which can last up to four minutes. This is followed by a breakdown and then a climax.[13] Elements drawn from the progressive rock genre include the use of extended or linked-movement tracks, more complexity and reflection but almost always within the four on the floor rhythm pattern.[14] The more experimental parts of house music are described as progressive.[15] Detractors of the genre have described it as elitist and over-produced.[16][3]


Progressive house emerged after the first wave of house music.[17] The roots of progressive house can be traced back to the early 1990s rave and club scenes in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and Northern America. A combination of US house, UK house, Italian house, German house, and techno largely influenced one another during this era.[9] The term was used mainly as a marketing label to differentiate new rave house from traditional American house.[9] Progressive house was a departure from the Chicago acid house sound.[17] The buzz word emerged from the rave scene around 1990 to 1992, describing a new sound of house that broke away from its American roots.[9] Gabriel & Dresden described Not Forgotten by Leftfield as the first progressive house track which was released in October 1990[18] and that Guerilla Records set up by Will Orbit was pivotal in the growth of a scene around the genre.[18] Renaissance: The Mix Collection in 1994 and Northern Exposure in 1996 have both been credited with establishing the genre on mixed compilation albums. As well as Guerilla Records Deconstruction Records, Hooj Choons and Soma Records were also considered crucial.[19]

The label progressive house was often used interchangeably with trance in the early years.[9] Progressive house has been described as anti-rave as its popularity rose in English clubs as the more hardcore, dance focused styles flourished at raves.[16] At Discogs the genre has around 20 releases mostly in Germany, the UK and Europe in 1989.[20] In the 1990s an average of around 1,500 progressive house tracks were being released each year. The genre's popularity was sustained from 2000 onwards with a rough average of 4,500 tracks annually and a peaking of listings occurring in 2010. This growth correlates with the mainstream acceptance of house music and electronic dance music globally. In recent years, the term "progressive house' has started to be used as a broader term, encompassing a wide array of genres that would have not been considered "progressive" in the original meaning of the term.[19]

Notable early productions[edit]


See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c d Ishkur (2005). "Ishkur's guide to Electronic Music". Retrieved May 10, 2015. 
  4. ^ "Top Genres". TopDeejays. Retrieved 22 November 2014. 
  6. ^ Michael Campbell (2008).Popular Music in America, Schirmer, p. 251 (ISBN 0495505307).
  11. ^ "Progressive House". Beat Explorer's Dance Music Guide. Retrieved 20 December 2014. 
  19. ^ a b Simon Huxtable (11 August 2014). "What is Progressive House?". Decoded Magazine. Retrieved 20 December 2014. 
  20. ^ "Progressive House from 1989". Discogs. Retrieved 22 November 2014. 
  21. ^ a b Reynolds, Simon (2013). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Soft Skull Press. By early 1992, the hipsters were busily erecting bulwarks of 'good taste' against the hooligan hordes. Some, in an unfortunate echo of prog rock, rallied to the banner of 'progressive house' (labels like Guerrilla and Hard Hands, artists like Leftfield and Spooky); 

External links[edit]