The Score Magazine October 2019 | Page 27

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 25