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Post-disco/dance-rock (club music or dance)^[1] is the significant period in popular music history that followed the commercial "death" of disco music that emerged during late 1970s and early 1980s.^[2][1]

The stripped-down musical trends followed from the DJ- and producer-driven, increasingly electronic and experimental side of disco,^[3] and were typified by the styles of dance-pop,^[4][5] boogie,^[3] italo disco,^[3] and the early alternative dance.^[3] Techno and house are both rooted in post-disco music.^{[4][6][7][8][9][10]}

During the late 1980s, house music followed and replaced post-disco in the music scene^{[citation needed]}.

Characteristics

Unlike disco music, post-disco is usually without typical shuffling hi-hat driven beat, walking basslines and/or string orchestration; it more features drum machines, synthesizers, sequencers and 4/4 time. Soulful vocals, however, "stayed" in this new disco music. Post-disco is not underground music at all — Madonna, New Order, Pet Shop Boys built their careers on the new ideas of disco electronic "reincarnation".^[1]

Performers

Larry Levan used dub techniques in his productions and mixes for various post-disco artists, including his own group The Peech Boys. Sinnamon's "Thanks To You", D-Train's "You're the One for Me", The Peech Boys' "Don't Make Me Wait" — all these songs and its attributes and trends of post-disco later influenced a new "never-before-heard" music style. The house music.^[12]

DJs, mixers, producers who were experimented with the new sounds are for example Leroy Burgess, Nick Martinelli, Arthur Baker^[13], François Kevorkian^[13][14], Larry Levan^[13][14], Ron Hardy^[13][15], Frankie Knuckles,^[13][15] Tom Moulton, Shep Pettibone^[13], Kashif.^[13]

Example of pop rock, electronic and R&B musicians who followed post-disco wave include Black Devil, Telex^[13], D. Train^[13][16], Patrice Rushen^[13], Freeez^[13], Mtume^[13], Nick Straker Band^[13], Skyy^[13], Unlimited Touch^[13][16], Kurtis Blow^[17], Was (Not Was)^[13], Material^[13], Liquid Liquid^[13], Imagination, Bobby O^[18], Shannon, Cheryl Lynn, Stacy Lattisaw, Central Line, Chas Jankel, Aurra, B. B. & Q. Band, Level 42, The Limit, Timex Social Club, The Deele, Dayton, The SOS Band, Shalamar, Shakatak, Instant Funk, The Whispers and many others.

Post-disco albums, featuring this "new sounds", include New York Cake (1981) by Kano, Thriller (1982) by Michael Jackson,^[19] Straight from the Heart (1982) by Patrice Rushen and Madonna (1983) by Madonna.

History

After the "Disco Sucks" movement, disco records were rejected from the airplay and its circulation have been stopped. Radio stations started to play other format of music like reggae, punk rock or new wave. Top mainstream labels and record companies like Casablanca, TK Records, RSO started to have financial problems. However, disco doesn't "give up", because of its electronic progression and splitting itself in subscenes and styles like Hi-NRG, freestyle, italo-disco and electro-funk (boogie).^[1] The last one is closely associated with post-disco more than any other offshots of post-disco.^[20]

A watershed album of post-disco was Michael Jackson's Off The Wall (produced by Quincy Jones), which helped establish a direction of R&B/dance music and influenced many young producers who were interested in this kind of new music.^[21] Parliament-Funkadelic, a funk band, also set the tone for many post-disco and post-punk bands of the 1980s and 1990s.^[22]

Term usage

The term "post-disco" was used in 1984 by Cadence Magazine when defining post-disco soul as disco without the loud bass-drum thump.^[23] In 1985, New York Magazine wrote an article about Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines who has never heard this kind of music – mentioned has been post-disco and electronic funk^[24]. "Post-disco" is also an Allmusic editorial contributor's attempt to isolate a music genre in the era between the indistinct "end" of disco music and the equally indistinct emergence of house music.^[3]

Popularity chart

Successful records (mostly R&B/pop-oriented) from post-disco movement include:

Post-disco "revival"

Later in the 2000s, Daft Punk, a house musical group, adopted post-disco, disco and synthpop sounds of early 1980s to their album Discovery^[36], another artist Les Rythmes Digitales was influenced by post-disco/electro scene of the early 1980s.^[37] Canadian musical group called Chromeo debuted in 2004 by 80s-influenced electrofunk/boogie album She's in Control. The Perfect Beats series (Vol. 1-4) are post-disco compilations of various artists (e.g. Imagination, Level 42, Afrika Bambaataa).^[38] Another compilation series are Nighttime lovers (Vol. 1-10) and mixed-up album The Boogie Back: Post Disco Club Jams.

Legacy

The 1980s post-disco sounds also inspired many Norwegian dance music producers.^[39] Some rappers such as Ice Cube or EPMD built their careers on post-disco funk music (they were inspired for example by dance-floor favorites like Zapp and Cameo).^[40] Also Sean "Puffy" Combs has been influenced by post-disco R&B in an indirect way.^[41]

In popular culture

The word "post-disco has been implicitly mentioned in a 1989 novel named Crazy Love by Elías Miguel Muñoz:

• Julian: "Now we're going American. What's the name they've given this new thing we're doing?
• Joe: "Post-punk-post-new-wave-post-disco. . ."
• Roli: "post-country -post-rapping - post-post- post-Beatles."
• Lucho: "Post-Elvis-post-Simon-and-Garfunkel-post-Billy-Idol-post-British-Invasion-post-Cyndi-Lauper-post-Blues-post-Soul-post-Michael-Jackson-post-Hustle-post-Donna-Summer-post-Gloria-Gaynor-post-Prince-post-Madonna."

Related genres

Boogie

Dance-rock

Another post-disco movement is connected with post-punk/no wave genres with fewer R&B/funk influences. An example of this "post-disco" is Gina X's "No G.D.M."^[43] and artists like Liquid Liquid, Polyrock,^[44] Dinosaur L, and Disco Not Disco [2000] compilation album.^[45][46] This movement also connects with dance-oriented rock; Michael Campbell, in his book Popular Music in America defines that genre as "post-punk/post-disco fusion."^[47] Campbell also cited Robert Christgau, who described dance-oriented rock (or DOR) as umbrella term used by various DJs in 1980s.

However, Allmusic defines "dance-rock" as 1980s and 1990s music practised by rock musicians, influenced by Philly soul, disco, and funk, fusing those styles with rock and dance.^[42] Artists like The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Duran Duran, INXS, Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, The Clash, New Order and Devo belong, according to Allmusic, to this genre.^[42] Dance-rock embraces some experimental funk acts like A Certain Ratio, Gang of Four, and also pop musicians, for example Robert Palmer and Hall & Oates.^[42] This kind of dance-rock influenced Garbage, No Doubt, Robbie Williams, Scissor Sisters,^[42] Franz Ferdinand, and The Killers.^[48]

Prominent record labels

Compilations

See also

• new wave
• electro
• old school hip hop
• garage house
• hi-NRG
• italo-disco

References

Disco Genres Disco polo • Euro disco • Hi-NRG • House • Post-disco • Italo Disco • Nu-disco • Space disco • Spacesynth • Disco-punk • Disco house • Cosmic disco • Manila Sound Related Artists • Discothèque • Nightclub • Orchestration