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New beat is a Belgian electronic dance music genre that fuses elements of new wave, hi-NRG,Simon Reynolds: Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. Routledge 1999, , p. 124. EBM and hip hop (e.g. scratching).Timor Kaul: Electronic Body Music. In: Thomas Hecken, Marcus S. Kleiner: Handbook Popculture. J.B. Metzler Verlag 2017, , pp. 102–103. It flourished in Western Europe during the late-1980s.
New beat spawned a subgenre called "hard beat" (a blend of EBM, new beat and acid house)Nikki van Lierop: Hard Beat 1st Compilation., 1989.
"Hard Beat is the perfect link between Electronic Body Music and New Beat." and became a key influence on the evolution of European electronic dance music styles such as Belgian techno, hardcore techno and gabber.
The genre was "accidentally invented" in the nightclub Ancienne Belgique (AB) in Antwerp when DJ Dikke Ronny (literally " Fat Ronny") played the 45 rpm EBM record "Flesh" by A Split-Second at 33 rpm, with the pitch control set to +8. New Beat: One Nation Under A (Slowed Down) Groove - A NME article by Richard Norris of the Grid Dikke Ronny, godfather van de New Beat, Studio Brussel (2 September 2013) In addition to A Split-Second, new beat was also heavily influenced by other EBM acts such as Front 242, Signal Aout 42 and the Neon Judgement, as well as new wave acts such as Fad Gadget, Gary Numan, New Order, Boytronic and Anne Clark. Nightclubs such as the Boccaccio soon made the genre a major success.
In contrast to EBM, new beat records did not appear within a certain subcultural context and were mostly produced to enter the international music charts. In Belgium, compilations such as New Beat Take 1 sold 40.000 units. The Belgian sound was re-introduced to the United States market in 1989 through a compilation album known as This Is the New Beat, released through Polygram Records.
From 1988 to 1990, new beat spawned two short-lived subgenres with hard beat, a style that incorporated more elements of EBM (e.g. the Concrete Beat – "I Want You"; Major Problem – "I Still Have a Dream"; Tribe 22 – "Acid-New Beat"), and skizzo, a techno-influenced style, considerably faster than the original slow new beat style.
The most commercially successful new beat groups were Confetti's and Lords of Acid, who received heavy airplay on the MTV Europe show Party Zone. A memorable novelty song was "Qui...?" (1989) by Brussels Sound Revolution, who sampled parts of a press conference speech by former prime minister Paul Vanden Boeynants after he was kidnapped by the gang of Patrick Haemers.
New beat artists and bands include Lords of Acid and Technotronic, while Belgian hardcore techno bands that emerged from the hard beat and skizzo subgenres include T99, Praga Khan, Cubic 22, and the Immortals.
Record labels
The rise of the new beat genre did not only launch new artists, it also coincided with the emergence and increased prominence of several independent record labels within the Belgian electronic music scene. Some of these labels became closely associated with new beat releases during the late 1980s, achieving notable success within European club markets, particularly in Belgium and the United Kingdom . Roland Beelen and Maurice Engelen founded Antler and its subsidiary Subway Records, which played a central role in releasing new beat material . Other Belgian labels such as R&S Records were active during the same period and contributed to the broader electronic music ecosystem, although their catalogues extended beyond new beat. Additional labels that released or distributed related material include ARS and PIAS .
Related genres
Hard beat
Hard beat (also known as hardbeat) is a subgenre of new beat that emerged in the late 1980s, encompassing more prominent influences from industrial music, EBM music and acid house.
Notable musicians
See also
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