Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CMC Senior Theses CMC Student Scholarship 2010 From Disco to Electronic Music: Following the Evolution of Dance Culture Through Music Genres, Venues, Laws, and Drugs. Ambrose Colombo Claremont McKenna College Recommended Citation Colombo, Ambrose, "From Disco to Electronic Music: Following the Evolution of Dance Culture Through Music Genres, Venues, Laws, and Drugs." (2010). CMC Senior Theses. Paper 83. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/83 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you by Scholarship@Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in this collection by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Table of Contents I. Introduction 1 II. Disco: New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit in the 1970s 3 III. Sound and Technology 13 IV. Chicago House 17 V. Drugs and the UK Acid House Scene 24 VI. Acid house parties: the precursor to raves 32 VII. New genres and exportation to the US 44 VIII. Middle America and Large Festivals 52 IX. Conclusion 57 I. Introduction There are many beginnings to the history of Electronic Dance Music (EDM). It would be a mistake to exclude the impact that disco had upon house, techno, acid house, and dance music in general. While disco evolved mostly in the dance capital of America (New York), it proposed the idea that danceable songs could be mixed smoothly together, allowing for long term dancing to previously recorded music. Prior to the disco era, nightlife dancing was restricted to bands or jukeboxes, which limited variety and options of songs and genres. The selections of the DJs mattered more than their technical excellence at mixing.