The Sounds of Nu Disco

Music genres have created offspring of musical proportions for centuries. The epic nail-biting sounds of Led Zeppelin could be seen as being heavily moulded from the southern blues sounds of Muddy Waters. 

But who knew that these different artists were made from the same musical cloth? As new generations continue to create upcoming trend, there will always be strong respect for the original influential genres that embody these future sounds.

 In the electronic music world, popular dance genres are experimented with daily. From the sounds of synth-wave to the chill, relaxing sounds of lo-fi, electronic music can circulate sounds from as far back as the 1970s! This particular electronic genre is called Nu Disco! 

The History of Nu Disco 

It is a 21st Century version of the late 1970s American disco sound. From the times of the early 1970s, disco edits and re-edits hit the music listener’s sound waves as DJs were looking for more efficient ways to mix music projects. DJ Edits were done with scissors and tape during this time. 

Music editors such as Walter Gibbons made various edits even more popular than the original records from which they came. 

DJ editing services began to emerge as labels such as Razormaid, Hot Tracks, and Rhythm Stick gained popularity. 

The labels remained popular the following years. As Nu Disco continues to develop with additional heavy incorporation of synthesizers, paired with the 1980s early 1990s electronic music aesthetic, the genre generally became popular at the beginning of the 2000s, while managing to rapidly grow of interest through the 2010s. 

With the prominent help from DJ Harvey and Gerry Rooney, Nu Discos’ early development has been linked with the Black Cock Records, a disco edit label active from 1993 to 1998. 

The label focused heavily on releasing non-official re-edits that consisted of disco tracks and funk rock-influenced edits. 

This notion later served as a strong impact on the later generation of house music producers and creators. In the mid-1990s, British label Nuphonic Records aided in the push of Nu-disco to the music listener masses. 

Artists such as Idjut Boys, Faze Action, Raj Gupta, and Crispin J Glover embodied the Nu Disco sound as the genre began reaching much of the underground electronic music scene. In the early 2000s, the Nu Disco sounds made mainstream popularity with its influence on popular tracks such as Kylie Minogue’s Spinning Around, Freemason’s Love on My Mind, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Take Me Home. 

In terms of written (print) success, The Independent further described Nu Disco as ‘the result of applying modern technology and pub sharp production to 1970s disco and funk’. 

Brooklyn-based house band, Metro Area’s self-titled album in 2002, has been deemed as one of the most influential albums of the genre so far.  

 What Is This Sound? 

However, there are several musical scenes associated with nu-disco. The original musical sounds have been characterised as house music moulded together with the disco elements of Balearic music, also known as Ibiza House. 

This notion is why it can find music listeners confused with other disco house music genres. Norwegian disco gained notable influence from Bu disco as it is a fusion of space disco and Nu Disco. 

For example, French house is heavily sample-based while Nu-disco focuses on more live original instrumentation. While modern production is filled with epic electronic sounds, Nu-disco records are driven by guitar and bass licks.

Another key difference surrounds the Nu-disco song’s structure. Nu-disco usually embodies pop song structure with various breakdowns. Music listeners may find that Nu-disco often has verses and choruses. 

The genre prides itself on being an electronic cousin as it incorporates some repercussions sections that slowly elevate to a strong chorus section. 

The popular song by electronic dance group Daft Punk, One More Time has been seen as a prime example of Nu disco’s musical happenings. Other disco-house implications have more of a constant and unpredictable sound throughout, as most house music portrays. 

European synth-driven Nu Disco, heavily moulded by Italo Disco, later grew into the prominent synth-wave movement along with the indie dance sounds of the Australian Nu-disco scene.

So, as newer electronic genres continue to be re-birthed in the modern music world, we can see that many of their biggest influences span back from decades prior, to give the new generation some sensational sounds. 

Through its sounds, many genres such as Norwegian disco have given artists more opportunities to define and create experimental electronic music.

Overall, it is a great example of how music will never grow old Music will and always will be the sounds of the people.

Want more from Isaac Herron, how about this on spirituality in music?

The Marriage of Music and Spirituality

Support us!

All your donations will be used to pay the magazine’s journalists and to support the ongoing costs of maintaining the site.