Paz75
In the spirit of the History of House thread copied from an article kicking around the net for a long time, I'm pasting something I wrote a while back for a magazine regarding the history of lounge.
Lounge is a pretty abused and misinformed genre which people accredit to things the 'dont dance to' with is a gross understatement....
The History of Lounge
In this day and age it seems the norm that music which doesn’t make you get up and dance is called Lounge. This could very well be for the listener, but doesn’t do justice to the scores of genres which attribute the total sum of Lounge today. Following the history of Lounge Music introduces one to styles of music isn’t normally expected but helps to appreciate whole new worlds of exposure.
Swing & Hip: The First Lounge (1920-1940)
Interestingly enough, Jazz which began in the Black American culture of the early 1900’s evolved through several phases, finally arriving at something called Swing in the 1940’s. Swing or Lindy Hop which is the authentic name from the Blacks is the first ‘fastest’ dance style reaching 160 beats per minute which wouldn’t happen until Drum and Bass at the end of the century. Lindy Hop is a basic 10-step Jazz dance step which, with skill evolved into frenetic fluid moves which took the world by storm, including aerial moves where the female partner is thrown high into the air. Though not attributed directly to Lounge, Swing was part of a movement where after World War I old traditions were disenfranchised all over the world. The result was a subculture called Hip where the Hipster had little regard for old ways and instead turned towards modern life and hedonistic pursuit. From this era came the phrases like Groovey for something good and Square for something uncool. Where this enters Lounge is where prohibited Marijuana and Alcohol (at least in the US) influenced Jazz music became known as Hip Jazz.
Literally Lounge
The most literal sense of Lounge is simply an artists who performed music in the Lounge of a hotel, piano bar or casino. Lounge musicians were low-paid and generally had only a piano player as accompaniment. They were also generally looked at as filler entertainment. Most artists who reach the highest ranks of fame started as Lounge musicians and this of course includes the Beatles. One famous song called Piano Man by Billy Joel is his rendition of his days working in Lounges, seeking stardom.
Golden Days of Lounge (1950-1960)
During the 1950’s and 60’s the most traditional Lounge artist were the crooners of the day. Enter the image of Wayne Newton, Tony Bennett and The Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.) and you have an accurate vision of what Lounge was in the golden years. In today’s context we would call this easy listening. Some of the most famous songs are Tony Bennett’s “Fly Me to the Moon” and Frank Sinatra’s “New York New York”.
Bossa Nova (1950-1960)
Also in the 50’s, the Brazilian Jazz scene would be instrumental in bringing the world a very distinct type of Lounge called Bossa Nova, literally translated as ‘new beat’. Of the most famous songs is Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Girl from Ipanema’ later performed by Stan Getz. Bossa Nova represented huge economic and political changes in Brazil for the middle and upper classes, and became the epitome of dark smoky Lounges where politics and modern thinking took hold.
Acid Jazz, Electro-Funk, Rap & Hip-Hop: Precursors to Modern Lounge (1970-1990)
During the 70’s and 80’s Lounge music seemed to disappear from the main-stream as Jazz continued to sub-divide and Rock ‘n Roll covered the world from end to end. Also with the onset of more and more electronic means to produce music like the synthesizer, artists like Gilles Peterson, Quincey Jones, Donald Byrd, Lou Donaldson & Herbie Hancock pioneered a new genre called Acid Jazz which was a combination of Soul, Funk and Disco all elegantly wrapped in the composition and improvisation style of Jazz.
Later on, also during the Motown era of Soul, Electro-Funk (the real Electro) derived from Acid Jazz and Funk with artists like Afrika Bambaataa, George Clinton & Bootsy Collins. The break dancing scene is also attributed to Electro music. Almost directly from this In the late 70’s and all through the 80’s began the emergence of Rap music with artists like Grand Master Flash. During this time, music re-connected to the ghettos and the poor downtrodden and largely invoked a new Black movement. Though Jazz for a long time was regarded as culturally inclined music for all classes, ironically enough it was also considered Black ghetto music in the early 1900’s prior to Lindy Hop and Swing.
If the 80’s brought Rap which was more lyrically than musically inclined, the 90’s brought Hip Hop which began the migration back to more intellectual and cultural nature than Rap’s general disdain for authority and education. While Rap continued to evolve into Gangsta, East Coast, West Coast (in the US) and also globally (very much in France), Hip Hop was a style which more ordained positive attributes of the same genre. It evolved a whole new genre of dance styles which is now a respected main stay of modern dance. Quite famous artists include De La Soul, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Biz Markie and Mikey D.
Instrumental Hip-Hop: Beginning Modern Lounge (1990-2000)
Most Hip Hop LPs on the market would usually have an instrumental version of tracks. Artists like the Beasty Boys, DJ Shadow & DJ Krush would begin to stress these instrumental tracks as musical outlets taking on a whole sub-genre of Hip Hop which departed from the whole dance and lyrics aspect. During this time, the ideas which purists of music still thought anything electronic was not music was finally changing. Hip Hop also began to enter the heights of mainstream and began to be respected by even those not of the generation.
Trip Hop (1995-Present)
Now dawns the age of today’s Lounge music. With Instrumental Hip Hop re-embracing the old school of Jazz and intellect, sub-genres were quickly borne. The Trip-Hop era quickly emerged from Bristol, UK where a departure from Hip-Hop’s quite regulated beat structure. Contributing environmental factors were the largescale migration of Jamaicans to the UK in the 70’s and 80’s bringing in massive amounts of Dub & Reggae. Mainstream Trip Hop artists like Tricky, Massive Attack & Portishead emerged, bringing Britain back into the limelight of music, where America had dominated since the time of the Beatles and the “British Invasion”.
We now enter the beginnings of what we call Lounge today. While Trip Hop started as a distinct combination of Dub, Jazz, Electro-Funk & Hip Hop it went further to absorb ethnic sounds of South America, Africa & Europe. It was this sound that drew upon all genres previously described in the most electronic format of them all. Today, some of the most famous artists are Kruder & Dorfmeister, Nicola Conte & Thievery Corporation. Each of these artists contributed to bringing both old and new into the Trip-Hop genre.
Deep House (1990-Present)
While House Music followed it’s path into the mainstream club-scene around the world during this time, it also followed a slower path almost haphazardly into Lounge music over a longer period of time than Trip Hop. Famous House vocalist’s like Robert Owens brought a certain brand which was considered ‘Soulful House’ which in the early years was the vocal version of house music. This sub-genre over the years progressed towards the idea of chic and soul, while other forms of house music delved into the drug scene. Today, Deep House differentiates itself from other forms by diversifying between fast and slow, vocal and instrumental, dubby and tracky. Famous artists include Miguel Migs, Soldiers of Twilight, Lisa Shaw, Chuck Love, Mark Farina and countless others. Popular labels include Naked Music, Om Records, Loveslap, Gotsoul & King Street Records who all specialize in the Deep Sound whereas larger labels like NRK and Junior Boys Own have had some of the earliest releases.
Though it includes down-tempo music which is more sit-down, a good majority of Deep House in 2007 is still club-speed and can definitely get people on the dance floor. However few scenes outside of the U.S truly appreciate Deep House as a Dance music, and most clubs around the world shun this genre from the dance floors, thus quite unfairly pushing Deep House into the forum of Lounge music.
Minimalism, Ambient & Chillout (1800’s to Present)
And last but not least; Ambient music is something far removed but very much a part of the progression of Lounge. Going as far back as the 1800’s, Classical Avant Garde is can be attributed as the oldest form of the Ambient genre going with certain compositions by Claude Debussy, Beethoven and Bach. It represents the truly minimalist views of composers and musicians who seek to find beauty with the least and most pure sounds that exist in nature and the human soul. Remaining in the shadows for half of the 20th century, it merged finally into Western Music in the 1960’s with artists like Philip Glass, Brian Eno and Michael Oldfield. They composed eclectic music using attempting to use the most unusual sources of sound.
This mindset can be seen as one of the precept contributions to modern day electronic music and instruments, the idealization truly represented by bands like Kraftwerk. Up into the 1990’s and beyond, minimalist electronic music had a wide range of uses between relaxation music (dubbed as Chillout Music) to connections with down tempo Trance music and event a subgenre called Avant Garde Techno. This eclectic genre is very much part of the Lounge scene, but has very few true holds in the mainstream eye of music.
Conclusion
Though this article is a limited opinion on how Lounge has progressed, it does indicate it’s long a tricky path towards modern definition. We see that in all music, unexpected things happen which attributes to the evolution of what we consider a style of music to be today. Now, Lounge is a huge industry that covers a wide range of styles and interests. Some of the most popular labels include Café Del Mar, Eighteenth Street Lounge, Ninja Tune, & Warp Records. The more you know about the definition of Lounge, the more likely you are to find your niche in the market.
Lounge is a pretty abused and misinformed genre which people accredit to things the 'dont dance to' with is a gross understatement....
The History of Lounge
In this day and age it seems the norm that music which doesn’t make you get up and dance is called Lounge. This could very well be for the listener, but doesn’t do justice to the scores of genres which attribute the total sum of Lounge today. Following the history of Lounge Music introduces one to styles of music isn’t normally expected but helps to appreciate whole new worlds of exposure.
Swing & Hip: The First Lounge (1920-1940)
Interestingly enough, Jazz which began in the Black American culture of the early 1900’s evolved through several phases, finally arriving at something called Swing in the 1940’s. Swing or Lindy Hop which is the authentic name from the Blacks is the first ‘fastest’ dance style reaching 160 beats per minute which wouldn’t happen until Drum and Bass at the end of the century. Lindy Hop is a basic 10-step Jazz dance step which, with skill evolved into frenetic fluid moves which took the world by storm, including aerial moves where the female partner is thrown high into the air. Though not attributed directly to Lounge, Swing was part of a movement where after World War I old traditions were disenfranchised all over the world. The result was a subculture called Hip where the Hipster had little regard for old ways and instead turned towards modern life and hedonistic pursuit. From this era came the phrases like Groovey for something good and Square for something uncool. Where this enters Lounge is where prohibited Marijuana and Alcohol (at least in the US) influenced Jazz music became known as Hip Jazz.
Literally Lounge
The most literal sense of Lounge is simply an artists who performed music in the Lounge of a hotel, piano bar or casino. Lounge musicians were low-paid and generally had only a piano player as accompaniment. They were also generally looked at as filler entertainment. Most artists who reach the highest ranks of fame started as Lounge musicians and this of course includes the Beatles. One famous song called Piano Man by Billy Joel is his rendition of his days working in Lounges, seeking stardom.
Golden Days of Lounge (1950-1960)
During the 1950’s and 60’s the most traditional Lounge artist were the crooners of the day. Enter the image of Wayne Newton, Tony Bennett and The Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.) and you have an accurate vision of what Lounge was in the golden years. In today’s context we would call this easy listening. Some of the most famous songs are Tony Bennett’s “Fly Me to the Moon” and Frank Sinatra’s “New York New York”.
Bossa Nova (1950-1960)
Also in the 50’s, the Brazilian Jazz scene would be instrumental in bringing the world a very distinct type of Lounge called Bossa Nova, literally translated as ‘new beat’. Of the most famous songs is Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Girl from Ipanema’ later performed by Stan Getz. Bossa Nova represented huge economic and political changes in Brazil for the middle and upper classes, and became the epitome of dark smoky Lounges where politics and modern thinking took hold.
Acid Jazz, Electro-Funk, Rap & Hip-Hop: Precursors to Modern Lounge (1970-1990)
During the 70’s and 80’s Lounge music seemed to disappear from the main-stream as Jazz continued to sub-divide and Rock ‘n Roll covered the world from end to end. Also with the onset of more and more electronic means to produce music like the synthesizer, artists like Gilles Peterson, Quincey Jones, Donald Byrd, Lou Donaldson & Herbie Hancock pioneered a new genre called Acid Jazz which was a combination of Soul, Funk and Disco all elegantly wrapped in the composition and improvisation style of Jazz.
Later on, also during the Motown era of Soul, Electro-Funk (the real Electro) derived from Acid Jazz and Funk with artists like Afrika Bambaataa, George Clinton & Bootsy Collins. The break dancing scene is also attributed to Electro music. Almost directly from this In the late 70’s and all through the 80’s began the emergence of Rap music with artists like Grand Master Flash. During this time, music re-connected to the ghettos and the poor downtrodden and largely invoked a new Black movement. Though Jazz for a long time was regarded as culturally inclined music for all classes, ironically enough it was also considered Black ghetto music in the early 1900’s prior to Lindy Hop and Swing.
If the 80’s brought Rap which was more lyrically than musically inclined, the 90’s brought Hip Hop which began the migration back to more intellectual and cultural nature than Rap’s general disdain for authority and education. While Rap continued to evolve into Gangsta, East Coast, West Coast (in the US) and also globally (very much in France), Hip Hop was a style which more ordained positive attributes of the same genre. It evolved a whole new genre of dance styles which is now a respected main stay of modern dance. Quite famous artists include De La Soul, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Biz Markie and Mikey D.
Instrumental Hip-Hop: Beginning Modern Lounge (1990-2000)
Most Hip Hop LPs on the market would usually have an instrumental version of tracks. Artists like the Beasty Boys, DJ Shadow & DJ Krush would begin to stress these instrumental tracks as musical outlets taking on a whole sub-genre of Hip Hop which departed from the whole dance and lyrics aspect. During this time, the ideas which purists of music still thought anything electronic was not music was finally changing. Hip Hop also began to enter the heights of mainstream and began to be respected by even those not of the generation.
Trip Hop (1995-Present)
Now dawns the age of today’s Lounge music. With Instrumental Hip Hop re-embracing the old school of Jazz and intellect, sub-genres were quickly borne. The Trip-Hop era quickly emerged from Bristol, UK where a departure from Hip-Hop’s quite regulated beat structure. Contributing environmental factors were the largescale migration of Jamaicans to the UK in the 70’s and 80’s bringing in massive amounts of Dub & Reggae. Mainstream Trip Hop artists like Tricky, Massive Attack & Portishead emerged, bringing Britain back into the limelight of music, where America had dominated since the time of the Beatles and the “British Invasion”.
We now enter the beginnings of what we call Lounge today. While Trip Hop started as a distinct combination of Dub, Jazz, Electro-Funk & Hip Hop it went further to absorb ethnic sounds of South America, Africa & Europe. It was this sound that drew upon all genres previously described in the most electronic format of them all. Today, some of the most famous artists are Kruder & Dorfmeister, Nicola Conte & Thievery Corporation. Each of these artists contributed to bringing both old and new into the Trip-Hop genre.
Deep House (1990-Present)
While House Music followed it’s path into the mainstream club-scene around the world during this time, it also followed a slower path almost haphazardly into Lounge music over a longer period of time than Trip Hop. Famous House vocalist’s like Robert Owens brought a certain brand which was considered ‘Soulful House’ which in the early years was the vocal version of house music. This sub-genre over the years progressed towards the idea of chic and soul, while other forms of house music delved into the drug scene. Today, Deep House differentiates itself from other forms by diversifying between fast and slow, vocal and instrumental, dubby and tracky. Famous artists include Miguel Migs, Soldiers of Twilight, Lisa Shaw, Chuck Love, Mark Farina and countless others. Popular labels include Naked Music, Om Records, Loveslap, Gotsoul & King Street Records who all specialize in the Deep Sound whereas larger labels like NRK and Junior Boys Own have had some of the earliest releases.
Though it includes down-tempo music which is more sit-down, a good majority of Deep House in 2007 is still club-speed and can definitely get people on the dance floor. However few scenes outside of the U.S truly appreciate Deep House as a Dance music, and most clubs around the world shun this genre from the dance floors, thus quite unfairly pushing Deep House into the forum of Lounge music.
Minimalism, Ambient & Chillout (1800’s to Present)
And last but not least; Ambient music is something far removed but very much a part of the progression of Lounge. Going as far back as the 1800’s, Classical Avant Garde is can be attributed as the oldest form of the Ambient genre going with certain compositions by Claude Debussy, Beethoven and Bach. It represents the truly minimalist views of composers and musicians who seek to find beauty with the least and most pure sounds that exist in nature and the human soul. Remaining in the shadows for half of the 20th century, it merged finally into Western Music in the 1960’s with artists like Philip Glass, Brian Eno and Michael Oldfield. They composed eclectic music using attempting to use the most unusual sources of sound.
This mindset can be seen as one of the precept contributions to modern day electronic music and instruments, the idealization truly represented by bands like Kraftwerk. Up into the 1990’s and beyond, minimalist electronic music had a wide range of uses between relaxation music (dubbed as Chillout Music) to connections with down tempo Trance music and event a subgenre called Avant Garde Techno. This eclectic genre is very much part of the Lounge scene, but has very few true holds in the mainstream eye of music.
Conclusion
Though this article is a limited opinion on how Lounge has progressed, it does indicate it’s long a tricky path towards modern definition. We see that in all music, unexpected things happen which attributes to the evolution of what we consider a style of music to be today. Now, Lounge is a huge industry that covers a wide range of styles and interests. Some of the most popular labels include Café Del Mar, Eighteenth Street Lounge, Ninja Tune, & Warp Records. The more you know about the definition of Lounge, the more likely you are to find your niche in the market.
Inviato Tue 13 Nov 07 @ 1:54 pm
jimmy b
Nice work Paz75.
Nice reading and very informative.
Thanks,
Jimmy b
Inviato Wed 14 Nov 07 @ 5:56 am