ADITI SARAWAGI
Offbeat Genres
of Fusion Music
Music is ever evolving and artists are
creating novel sounds in newer styles
every day. Fusion music is essentially
combining two or more genres. Not
confining oneself to a particular
genre often results in extraordinary
sounds and that is why fusion music
is extremely popular today. Fusion
Music is sometimes also referred to as
‘cross-over’ music wherein a piece of
music appeals to listeners of different
genres of music. It helps in reaching
a wider audience and also enables
the establishment of a new or unique
sound.
The most well-known genres of fusion
music are jazz fusion, blues rock,
jazz fusion, reggae rock and sufi rock
amongst others. These genres have
made a place of their own in the music
world and are renowned everywhere.
There are some sub genres which are
unusual and are an acquired taste.
There are various types or genres
of fusion music and here we list the
most unusual types of fusion music.
This will only be a partial list as the
combinations of genres are unlimited.
Dubstyle
One of the newer entrants in the
electronic music scene, Dubstyle is a
combination of dub step and hard style.
It takes the beats of the two genres to
create an entirely new type of sound.
Headhunterz was the first DJ to release
the first official dubstyle in 2010 with
the song “The MF Point of Perfection
(Original Dubstyle Mix)” and this
where the genre gained traction.
Folktronica
Folktronica is a combination of folk
and electronic music. This style
originated in the early 2000’s in the UK
and this fusion genre has been made
mainstream by bands like Animal
Collective, Four Tet, and Tunng.
The spirit of folk music is carried
effortlessly into electronic music and
this genre of fusion music is truly
unique.
Jazz Rap
Jazz Rap is an immensely popular
genre of fusion music which replaces
the hip-hop background score of rap
with instrumental jazz tracks. The
lyrics are also more positive when
compared to a normal rap song. One of
the most famous jazz rap songs of all
time is Cantaloop by US3. Overall, jazz
rap is an upbeat form of music, great
for dancing!
Glitch
Glitch is one of the most creative
forms of fusion music. This genre is
a fusion of electronic music and the
sounds of the errors popping up on
computer screens or any electronic
device whatsoever like records and
CD’s which have been damaged.
This disarray of sounds are brought
together to form a piece of music. The
style arose in the 1990’s in Germany
and was popularized by artists like
Aphex Twin and Autechre. This genre
is an acquired taste but has a huge fan
following nevertheless.
Drag
Drag is an amalgamation of house
music, hip-hop, noise music, dark
ambient music and even industrial
music. This genre basically
incorporates the occult in some form
in its songs, the yesteryear goth bands
being a strong point of influence. This
term was invented by the electronic
artist Pictureplane in 2009.
Today, several styles of music are
considered to be in the fusion genre,
many of which started with basic
jazz or rock elements. From time
immemorial, people have invented
new genres of music by mixing two or
more different styles of music. These
unorthodox fusion genres have created
exciting new content.
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
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