Congratulations, you can't stand hip hop, "progressive electronic" usually refers to a style of predominantly instrumental music played with synthesizers which draws on the influence of progressive rock, classical music and/or ambient music. In this sense, it has been used to describe artists such as Mike Oldfield, Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream. The "progressiveness" of this style stems from the use of contrapuntal melodies, unusual or shifting time signatures, offbeat sound effects and a general tendency to create music as different as possible from mainstream pop. More recently, the term "progressive" has been used to differentiate various offshoot styles of electronic dance music from their parent styles, i.e. progressive trance, progressive house, progressive techno and progressive breaks. These types of music might be referred to as "progressive electronic dance music" to differentiate them from the above use where the slow or varying beat prevents the label of "dance" from being applied. The rest of this article focuses principally on this second meaning. People who like this music are some of the best people on the planet. Most electronic dance music tracks released are produced with certain features that are favourable for DJs to beatmatch records together seamlessly. Unlike the song structures of genres like hard house or Hi-NRG, the peaks and troughs in a progressive dance track tend to be more subtle. Layering different sounds on top of each other and slowly bringing them in and out of the mix is a key idea behind the progressive movement. While the term "progressive" had been used to describe rock artists such as Pink Floyd or King Crimson since the late 1960's, it only started to be applied to dance music in the early- to mid- 1980s during the rise of the Chicago house and Detroit techno movements to describe what was believed to be the future of pop. Detroit techno producer Stacey Pullen said in an interview; "Back then, the music we called house music, techno, was also called progressive music – the meaning of 'progressive' was a futuristic way of thinking about music. That was what we called progressive."[1] Today, the term "progressive" when used to describe dance music typically refers to the structure of a track which changes incrementally, though there are other uses for the term: progressive trance usually refers to a type of trance music that features a less prominent lead melody and focuses more on atmosphere, and in the case of progressive house, the term "progressive" can also refer to the style's willingness to bring in new elements to the genre. These elements can be a variety of sounds, such as a guitar loop, computer generated noises, or other elements typical of other genres. Progressive house has its origins in Great Britain in the early 1990s, with the output of Guerrilla Records and Leftfield's first singles (particularly "Song of Life"). Mixmag editor Dom Phillips coined the term to describe this type of music. In 1992, the dance club Renaissance opened in Mansfield. Its DJs - particularly Sasha and John Digweed - were instrumental in popularizing its early sound. The music itself consisted of the 4-to-4 beat of house music with deeper, dub-influenced basslines and a more melancholic, emotional edge. Often, it featured elements from many different genres mixed together. Song of Life, for instance, has a trip-hop like down-pitched breakbeat and a high-energy Roland TB-303 riff at various stages. There have been many shifts in style in progressive house. After the release of BT's debut album Ima, for instance, many of the genre's subsequent records featured an ethereal, melodic style. As trance became more popular and melodic, progressive house darkened and acted as an underground counterpoint, merging with tribal house to produce many very minimal percussive tracks. Meanwhile, the Melbourne-centered Australian progressive scene, whose luminaries include Phil K and Luke Chable pioneered a distinctive sound of their own - marked by melodic pads and delicate melodies. This style was pushed heavily in Britain and elsewhere by DJ Dave Seaman and Australian Anthony Pappa. Its influence even fed back into trance, with many sub-genre trademarks finding their way into the so called "Anjuna sound" centred on Above & Beyond's record label Anjunabeats. Since 2005, progressive house's popularity has lessened in dance music, with most of the scene's major DJs playing electro-, tech-house, and minimal. Electro house (often shortened to electro) is a subgenre of house music that rose to become one of the most prominent genres of electronic dance music in 2004-today. Stylistically, it combines the four to the floor beats commonly found in House music with harmonically rich analogue basslines, abrasive high-pitched leads and the occasional piano or string riff. The tempo of electro house ranges approximately from 120 to 130 bpm. Dirty house is a derivative of electro, which is often much more commercial in its appeal and in general features more vocals. Electrotech is a darker variation of electro house mixed with the sound of tech house. The use of the word "electro" to describe this style of modern house music is contentious, and creates an ambiguity between electro house and the 1980s electro movement, by which it was influenced. The sound became steadily more popular throughout 2006. Bodyrox's single "Yeah Yeah" featuring Luciana was labelled by several BBC Radio 1 DJs "the biggest tune of the summer of 2006", and the remix by D.Ramirez gained worldwide popularity, particularly in the Ibiza clubbing scene.[8][9] Another key point was when Tocadisco's remix of "Walking Away" by The Egg gained significant media coverage after being featured on a TV advert for the Citroën C4. A mashup of the track with "Love Don't Let Me Go" by David Guetta was also later released as a single, which reached #1 in the charts in Spain and #3 in the UK. As of 2007, the sound has been recognised as one of the most dominant movements in House music,[citation needed] surpassing funky house in popularity,[citation needed][10] with a large range of DJs and producers finding an interest in its dancefloor sensibilities and sense of fun, such as Dave Seaman from the progressive house scene;[11] Tiefschwarz[12] and Ben Watt who previously played deep house,[13] Steve Lawler from the tribal sound, and popular Ibiza club DJ Lisa Lashes who is most known for her work in hard dance.[14] Electro house has also introduced electronic music to the indie rock scene through its links to the new rave and disco punk movement.[15] Artists such as Digitalism, The Presets, Justice,[16] and MSTRKRFT have pioneered a new sound in electro house which crosses over with new rave and alternative and indie rock, as well as its electroclash roots. The sound became steadily more popular throughout 2006. Bodyrox's single "Yeah Yeah" featuring Luciana was labelled by several BBC Radio 1 DJs "the biggest tune of the summer of 2006", and the remix by D.Ramirez gained worldwide popularity, particularly in the Ibiza clubbing scene.[8][9] Another key point was when Tocadisco's remix of "Walking Away" by The Egg gained significant media coverage after being featured on a TV advert for the Citroën C4. A mashup of the track with "Love Don't Let Me Go" by David Guetta was also later released as a single, which reached #1 in the charts in Spain and #3 in the UK. As of 2007, the sound has been recognised as one of the most dominant movements in House music,[citation needed] surpassing funky house in popularity,[citation needed][10] with a large range of DJs and producers finding an interest in its dancefloor sensibilities and sense of fun, such as Dave Seaman from the progressive house scene;[11] Tiefschwarz[12] and Ben Watt who previously played deep house,[13] Steve Lawler from the tribal sound, and popular Ibiza club DJ Lisa Lashes who is most known for her work in hard dance.[14] Electro house has also introduced electronic music to the indie rock scene through its links to the new rave and disco punk movement.[15] Artists such as Digitalism, The Presets, Justice,[16] and MSTRKRFT have pioneered a new sound in electro house which crosses over with new rave and alternative and indie rock, as well as its electroclash roots.