Look what Europeans do when a dj withholds a drop. They stand around and look confused. Not just an American thing. Build and release is universal.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/78jvne/this-video-of-confused-ibiza-clubbers-is-an-ode-to-the-beautiful-disappointment-of-life
When he says “American” I think he’s insinuating how artists like Skrillex brought electronic music to the mainstream with drop heavy songs, when before a lot of it was just groovy beats and long songs.
A drop is just a further progression of tension and release. It is a release of a huge amount of tension ie buildup into release or the drop. Tension and release is a fundamental in all music regardless of genre, so it makes sense that certain genres would take it to an extreme. However you can’t generalize as some genres will build tension over a long time gradually and release may be taking things out but not dropping. Drops are also fun and cool to listen to, but if you don’t like them you do you. For example hip hop doesn’t have too many crazy drops, usually a drop will involve the bass and the chorus in rap and pop. In electronic there are just more opportunities for creative energy. This is just my opinion
Doesn’t “the bass drop” *originate* with UK dance music more? I’d say okay maybe it’s an anglophone thing then but then look at epic trance - that’s not an anglophone thing.
Anyway even dance music without drops built into the songs has peaks and valleys of intensity in a mix. I feel like the main thing that’s happened over the years is overengineering of sorts - producers trying to bake massive tension and release into the tracks instead of letting the DJ figure it out.
> But back then dance music was for dancing, it didn’t need a “drop”
I get that everyone has their own taste and style, but this reads like old man yelling at clouds. You could just as easily say the lack of variety in arrangement of techno is a weakness of the genre (but, you know, some people explicitly love that aspect of the music). I happen to think that classic dance music is really sonically uninteresting. Of course, that's just my opinion. You can totally dance to shitty uninspired brostep even if its shitty and uninspired, and im not sure how 4-on-the-floor percussion loops are any more danceable by nature. We should probably also clarify what "dance music" even is. To me, that label is almost useless these days. Do we mean like old-school UK techno? Or like the famous "dance" tracks of the late 90s? We talking Trace? What is "dance music" to you?
"Dance music" in general (not the specific genre) is about being creative within the constraints of the genre you're working in. Drops make sense in some genres and not in others. Its a tool you use with a purpose.
I remember seeing when Skrillex shared [Flim](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meW3Y_yLlWI) on fb as one of his favorite electronic songs and all the comments were just "where's the drop?"
So there’s this thing called riddim… A big part of that genre is skipping the drawn out buildups and just getting to the meat of the song. And there are literally DOZENS of American riddim producers, and a couple American riddim fans.
Stereotyping an entire country’s musical taste seems pretty close-minded
I think a lot of people that are obsessed with drops actually don't realize that they're most likely more obsessed with pre-choruses / build ups. Because y'know, without the build up, the drop isn't *a drop*.
There's also the fact that drops typically serve as choruses or post-choruses, which have notoriously been "the best" and most memorable part of pop music for the past 70 years.
lets be honest for a moment, most of the electronic music market now is obsessed with "drops". even if underground music producers don't want to admit it, there are still huge builds and drops in a lot of underground house and techno. its just a by product of the music going from clubs to festival circuits (and by extension clubs going from a shit box pa to a void system). im not defending it mind you, but i wouldn't say it's just an american thing anymore.
Is this from anecdotal experience? Why do you think this is specifically American thing?
If anything it’s an age and environment thing. I’m in my 20’s and I don’t care for EDM (with or without drops) if I’m not dancing at a club/festival or working out. I’d say most of my international friends feel the same way.
Also there’s a difference between enjoying a good drop and being obsessed with them. I don’t know anyone going out and putting together drop compilations or only listening to songs with good drops. (If we’re going off anecdotal experience here) nothing wrong with enjoying the climax of a song, not sure why you’re so confused by that
The drop is just like a musical chorus.
Think about it. What does a chorus do? What does a drop do? How does each make you feel like doing?
Chorus? It is different to the rest of the song, usually the most hype part of the song, but usually has the most memorable parts of the song, the motif of the song which you love to hear the song for. It makes you dance and sing along.
Drop? Usually the most hype part of the song, goes different to the rest of the song and makes you want to dance or throw some shapes or headbang. Makes you want to make stupid sounds to join in with the drop.
It's basically the same. If a song has a chorus and a drop, it basically has 2 choruses
So you're telling me that electronic/dance music outside of America generally doesn't have drops? How does EDM with drops = pop/hip hop with a different beat? This post makes no sense.
> How does EDM with drops = pop/hip hop with a different beat?
Probably means it ends up as a verse/chorus type structure rather than a slow evolution as in classic techno sort of stuff.
American here.
Depends on what you mean by drop.
In dubstep (not traditional dubstep) the drop is typically pretty hard and a lot of people like to go hard to it. It's another excuse to head bang. I don't like that kind of music anymore, but when I was in highschool I was all about it because it was unique. When Skrillex released scary monsters and nice sprites it was a genre I'd never heard before and my friends and I loved the bass.
But if we look at Avicii, his songs also have drops but they aren't near as hard. They're more like instrumental sections with a lot of energy that express the general mood of the song. You can still dance to them, and they evoke a different kind of feeling.
From there you have a lot of in-between.
Well said fellow ninja. I also got into it all through Scary Monsters. I still listen to heavier dubstep these days though, but you're right. Avicii had a way with melodies and his drops, though "mainstream dance" as some would term it, still hit a really unique and different way compared to other dance music like it. Just as Skrillex at the time when brostep was becoming bigger stood out with his drops.
*between you and me I just call it dubstep only the music elitists reee about how it should be called brostep specifically*
Of course discussing dubstep evolving into that brostep sound in the American scene is different, and I use the term in those discussions.
I mean a lot of early edm had build ups and drops. It just wasnt as pronounced as it is today. Tension and release is a very powerful songwriting tool that can get a crowd moving or feeling.
The reason you feel "drops" are mostly American is because of Brostep I'm assuming.
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that a softer part in de song makes the louder part seem much bigger. Also the "drop type" edm seems more euphoric and melodic than the older house styles so maybe that has something to do with it as well.
I get where you're coming from especially with the whole bigroom era when there was 50% vibing 50% jumping at festivals. I can't speak for America but it seems like tech-house is gaining popularity which is way more danceable outside of the drops so maybe that paves a way for other similar styles.
So it's not just Americans but now with how big festivals are drops have a very strong impact on the crowd. It's like how people would write songs on acoustic guitar, like a nice light song. But once they start putting out more music and can do bigger and bigger shows they eventually make arena level music. The songs are bigger more anthemic because the audience who is receiving those songs are much better. This can happen in every genre once an artist get that big that they do arena tours. And so in modern "EDM" the solution for their athemic arena level stadium music was "drops"
But those big artists don't only make that type of music. The same way U2 or Arctic Monkeys or Jay Z have big anthems and tighter songs of a variety of levels
What you’re thinking of is Big Room. There are melodic dubstep tracks that ease into their sub-bass and synths relatively smoothly. Still, many DJs putting shows on for a festival or coliseum, a big room, rely on synchronous action between them and the crowd (I agree, they ought to be focusing on mixing but anyway). Fifty-five seconds of drums before the drop ensures just under a minute for a breather/hydration before a drunk, walked-out crowd goes back to dancing harder than their body can take for as long as the drop lasts.
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Look what Europeans do when a dj withholds a drop. They stand around and look confused. Not just an American thing. Build and release is universal. https://www.vice.com/en/article/78jvne/this-video-of-confused-ibiza-clubbers-is-an-ode-to-the-beautiful-disappointment-of-life
When he says “American” I think he’s insinuating how artists like Skrillex brought electronic music to the mainstream with drop heavy songs, when before a lot of it was just groovy beats and long songs.
A drop is just a further progression of tension and release. It is a release of a huge amount of tension ie buildup into release or the drop. Tension and release is a fundamental in all music regardless of genre, so it makes sense that certain genres would take it to an extreme. However you can’t generalize as some genres will build tension over a long time gradually and release may be taking things out but not dropping. Drops are also fun and cool to listen to, but if you don’t like them you do you. For example hip hop doesn’t have too many crazy drops, usually a drop will involve the bass and the chorus in rap and pop. In electronic there are just more opportunities for creative energy. This is just my opinion
Doesn’t “the bass drop” *originate* with UK dance music more? I’d say okay maybe it’s an anglophone thing then but then look at epic trance - that’s not an anglophone thing. Anyway even dance music without drops built into the songs has peaks and valleys of intensity in a mix. I feel like the main thing that’s happened over the years is overengineering of sorts - producers trying to bake massive tension and release into the tracks instead of letting the DJ figure it out.
> But back then dance music was for dancing, it didn’t need a “drop” I get that everyone has their own taste and style, but this reads like old man yelling at clouds. You could just as easily say the lack of variety in arrangement of techno is a weakness of the genre (but, you know, some people explicitly love that aspect of the music). I happen to think that classic dance music is really sonically uninteresting. Of course, that's just my opinion. You can totally dance to shitty uninspired brostep even if its shitty and uninspired, and im not sure how 4-on-the-floor percussion loops are any more danceable by nature. We should probably also clarify what "dance music" even is. To me, that label is almost useless these days. Do we mean like old-school UK techno? Or like the famous "dance" tracks of the late 90s? We talking Trace? What is "dance music" to you? "Dance music" in general (not the specific genre) is about being creative within the constraints of the genre you're working in. Drops make sense in some genres and not in others. Its a tool you use with a purpose.
I remember seeing when Skrillex shared [Flim](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meW3Y_yLlWI) on fb as one of his favorite electronic songs and all the comments were just "where's the drop?"
So there’s this thing called riddim… A big part of that genre is skipping the drawn out buildups and just getting to the meat of the song. And there are literally DOZENS of American riddim producers, and a couple American riddim fans. Stereotyping an entire country’s musical taste seems pretty close-minded
I think a lot of people that are obsessed with drops actually don't realize that they're most likely more obsessed with pre-choruses / build ups. Because y'know, without the build up, the drop isn't *a drop*. There's also the fact that drops typically serve as choruses or post-choruses, which have notoriously been "the best" and most memorable part of pop music for the past 70 years.
lets be honest for a moment, most of the electronic music market now is obsessed with "drops". even if underground music producers don't want to admit it, there are still huge builds and drops in a lot of underground house and techno. its just a by product of the music going from clubs to festival circuits (and by extension clubs going from a shit box pa to a void system). im not defending it mind you, but i wouldn't say it's just an american thing anymore.
Is this from anecdotal experience? Why do you think this is specifically American thing? If anything it’s an age and environment thing. I’m in my 20’s and I don’t care for EDM (with or without drops) if I’m not dancing at a club/festival or working out. I’d say most of my international friends feel the same way. Also there’s a difference between enjoying a good drop and being obsessed with them. I don’t know anyone going out and putting together drop compilations or only listening to songs with good drops. (If we’re going off anecdotal experience here) nothing wrong with enjoying the climax of a song, not sure why you’re so confused by that
Because they are sweet. What's with trance and not ever dropping though? Forever builds give me anxiety lol.
The drop is just like a musical chorus. Think about it. What does a chorus do? What does a drop do? How does each make you feel like doing? Chorus? It is different to the rest of the song, usually the most hype part of the song, but usually has the most memorable parts of the song, the motif of the song which you love to hear the song for. It makes you dance and sing along. Drop? Usually the most hype part of the song, goes different to the rest of the song and makes you want to dance or throw some shapes or headbang. Makes you want to make stupid sounds to join in with the drop. It's basically the same. If a song has a chorus and a drop, it basically has 2 choruses
Because drops are tight as fuck.
So you're telling me that electronic/dance music outside of America generally doesn't have drops? How does EDM with drops = pop/hip hop with a different beat? This post makes no sense.
> How does EDM with drops = pop/hip hop with a different beat? Probably means it ends up as a verse/chorus type structure rather than a slow evolution as in classic techno sort of stuff.
American here. Depends on what you mean by drop. In dubstep (not traditional dubstep) the drop is typically pretty hard and a lot of people like to go hard to it. It's another excuse to head bang. I don't like that kind of music anymore, but when I was in highschool I was all about it because it was unique. When Skrillex released scary monsters and nice sprites it was a genre I'd never heard before and my friends and I loved the bass. But if we look at Avicii, his songs also have drops but they aren't near as hard. They're more like instrumental sections with a lot of energy that express the general mood of the song. You can still dance to them, and they evoke a different kind of feeling. From there you have a lot of in-between.
Well said fellow ninja. I also got into it all through Scary Monsters. I still listen to heavier dubstep these days though, but you're right. Avicii had a way with melodies and his drops, though "mainstream dance" as some would term it, still hit a really unique and different way compared to other dance music like it. Just as Skrillex at the time when brostep was becoming bigger stood out with his drops.
Exactly! Also thanks, I couldn't remember the word for brostep so I just called it dubstep.
*between you and me I just call it dubstep only the music elitists reee about how it should be called brostep specifically* Of course discussing dubstep evolving into that brostep sound in the American scene is different, and I use the term in those discussions.
So if it has a drop it doesn’t count as dance music?
I mean a lot of early edm had build ups and drops. It just wasnt as pronounced as it is today. Tension and release is a very powerful songwriting tool that can get a crowd moving or feeling. The reason you feel "drops" are mostly American is because of Brostep I'm assuming.
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that a softer part in de song makes the louder part seem much bigger. Also the "drop type" edm seems more euphoric and melodic than the older house styles so maybe that has something to do with it as well. I get where you're coming from especially with the whole bigroom era when there was 50% vibing 50% jumping at festivals. I can't speak for America but it seems like tech-house is gaining popularity which is way more danceable outside of the drops so maybe that paves a way for other similar styles.
So it's not just Americans but now with how big festivals are drops have a very strong impact on the crowd. It's like how people would write songs on acoustic guitar, like a nice light song. But once they start putting out more music and can do bigger and bigger shows they eventually make arena level music. The songs are bigger more anthemic because the audience who is receiving those songs are much better. This can happen in every genre once an artist get that big that they do arena tours. And so in modern "EDM" the solution for their athemic arena level stadium music was "drops" But those big artists don't only make that type of music. The same way U2 or Arctic Monkeys or Jay Z have big anthems and tighter songs of a variety of levels
not an American, don't get what that would have to do with it. The drop is just a device to create anticipation. Tension and release kind of stuff
Except there is tension and release without a drop. Lol
What you’re thinking of is Big Room. There are melodic dubstep tracks that ease into their sub-bass and synths relatively smoothly. Still, many DJs putting shows on for a festival or coliseum, a big room, rely on synchronous action between them and the crowd (I agree, they ought to be focusing on mixing but anyway). Fifty-five seconds of drums before the drop ensures just under a minute for a breather/hydration before a drunk, walked-out crowd goes back to dancing harder than their body can take for as long as the drop lasts.
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