I’m a big bellied, beer drinker, almost 40yo rock’n’roller, and I’m really new to dance music. I became a member to this site looking for music tech education and ended up knowing about genres I didn’t even know existed.
So, I’m kinda lost with all this nu-dis, nu-dat, electro-dis, electro-dat talk. I 'don’t know if you guys could point me out which bands/DJs I should listen to. What albums are essential for what style, etc. Just a guide so I could understand a little bit more about this type of music (which I’m really starting to enjoy).
Just for the record, I went to other places searching for info, but when I found Wikipedia’s “tiny” list of dance music styles, I gave up…
List of electronic music genres - Wikipedia
Thanks,
Raphael
Hey Raphael,
Welcome to the site! A good idea is to go through the How To Sound Like section and see who people would like to sound like. Those are great artists you could look into. Here is a brief rundown and everyone will most likely add to it.
Trance - Paul van Dyk, Tiesto, Ferry Corsten
Electro - Deadmau5, Fake Blood, MSTRKRFT, Wonk 
House - DJ Dan, Bad Boy Bill, Dave Aude
Drum & Bass - Roni Size, Goldie, Dieselboy, AK1200
Techno - Kevin Saunderson, Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman, Juan Atkins, Derrick May
Progressive - Sander Kleinenburg, Gabriel & Dresden
Check those out and everyone add to it. I hate doing this because I always draw blanks when I have to make lists. BAD BOY BILL??? hehe :hehe:
Dance music is all about the rave. It’s about djs keeping a crowd on its toes. The best music for this is Techno. Short and straight to the point tracks. Check out the new Slam track on Figure or the new Drumcode.
Avoid the likes of Paolo Mojo, Sasha or John Digweed. Once you start taking things a little too seriously and lose track of what’s it’s about, your head is up your ***. Believe me, I’ve been there. Well there and even further… into 11 min long deep house with bloody flute solos.
Too much weed is bad for music.
Sounds to me if your new to dance music,all you need to do is listen to different styles to find out what sort of thing it is that you like. Don’t worry about the pigeon hole thing as lots of styles crossover anyway and most of them just mean a repackaged version of house (term comes from raves put on in warehouses) Coming from the uk the best resource would be the radio one essential mix, its been going since the early 90s and cover all kinds of dance, house trance techno etc. It’s on Friday nights but You can get ALL the mixes from mixriot.com. When you find mixes/djs you like then dowload the tracklistings and take it from there. You’ll soon get knowledge of whos who and establish what you like
Look on sites like Beatport and check out the genres, you’ll soon pick them up.
Thanks guys! Fantastic tips. Will start my browsing imediately:)
And howiegroove, you’re becoming a friendly stalker now Thanks a bunch!
My suggestion would be to go to a festival and find out what you like that way…Or even listen to the radio… As suggested Radio 1 is a good place to find different types of dance. My favourite Radio 1 dance show in Annie Mac’s Mash Up and it’s usually a excellent reference point for me finding new music.
Looking up wikipedia sounds like doing homework.
my suggestion if your new to dance music is listen to everything with an open mind and give styles a second or maybe even a third chance as you may judge the music dependent on your mood.
you never know something you didn’t like yesterday maybe totally different to you in a day or two and also goto clubs i am totally different with which music i like in clubs compared to what i would listen to at home.
I recently stumbled on an amazing combination - mash up virtually any Chaz N Dave song with almost any Daft Punk. I kid you not - try it! The best for me was ‘The Sideboard Song’ from the immortal cockneys with ‘Around The World’. Next stop Jupiter. 
I am over 40 also and started looking into this music a few years back. I came here to learn Breaks but now I am kind of into Minimal and Electro I guess at this moment in time. I also like the Fidgety some too. I go to www.BeatPort.com also and select genres and see what I like.
I would immerse yourself in dance music. Listen to Radio 1, learn all the different styles, buy DJ mix compilations. Read magazines like Mixmag. Thats cool that your just starting your education in dance music.
The very first techno song I heard was a remix with speed racer samples in it with a breakdown in the middle of speed and trixxy doing the dirty. If anyone has heard this song you know what I’m talking about. Superstar DJ Keoki was my favorite DJ until I discovered the Gatecrasher compilations mixed by Scott Bond which are still some of my favorite dj mixes to date. I pretty much listened to every style but feel closest to house music more than trance nowadays. I hope your journey into dance music is a good and memorable experience for you. I have a lot of love for it and has made me see the world and music in a different way.
get some turntables!
Raymond
I am over 40 also and started looking into this music a few years back. I came here to learn Breaks but now I am kind of into Minimal and Electro I guess at this moment in time. I also like the Fidgety some too. I go to www.BeatPort.com also and select genres and see what I like.
Man, lots of things to do.:w00t:
And for the record, the vibe of this community is awesome, without the prejudice and word fights that abound on most web music forums. Glad I’ve found this place, one of the few on the internet that deserves the name “community”.
Will keep you posted of my discoveries and bother you with my doubts, ok?
Thank you all,
Raphael
^^^^ we hope the vibe stays the same on this forum, im sure as it grows we will see our fair share of keyboard warriors 
but its not happened yet.
Hello. And here it begins…
Did someone say Listen to Radio One and read Mix Mag?
ruh roh