| Hi-NRG | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | electronic, synthpop, disco, space disco, dance, glam rock, pop |
| Cultural origins | Late 1970s United States |
| Typical instruments | Keyboard • synthesizer • drum machine • sequencer |
| Mainstream popularity | Moderate worldwide early to mid-1980s |
| Derivative forms | Synthpop • Electropop • Eurodance • House • Downtempo (ambient) |
| Fusion genres | |
| Hard NRG • New Beat • Eurobeat • Techno[1] | |
| Regional scenes | |
| New York City · San Francisco · London · Tokyo | |
| Other topics | |
| Artists and songs | |
Hi-NRG (short for High-Energy)[2] describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s. The genre consists of high-tempo four-to-the-floor beats usually accompanied by a steady TB-303 bassline, reverberated vocals and, sometimes, keytar riffs.
Starting late 1980s, hi-NRG (along with electrofunk) also served as basis for the more popular house music genre.
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In 1977, Donna Summer was interviewed about her single "I Feel Love", which was a mostly electronic, relatively high-tempo disco song without a strong funk component. In the interview, she said "this song became a hit because it has a high-energy vibe".[3] Following that interview, the description "high-energy" was increasingly applied to high-tempo disco music, especially songs dominated by electronic timbres. The tempo threshold for high-energy disco was around 130 to 140 BPM. In the 1980s, the term "high-energy" was stylized as "Hi-NRG". Eurobeat, dance-pop, and freestyle artists like Shannon, Stock Aitken Waterman, Taylor Dayne, Freeez or Michael Sembello were also labeled as "Hi-NRG" when sold in the United States.[4]
In the 1980s "Hi-NRG" referred not just to any high-tempo disco/dance music, but to a specific genre, only somewhat disco-like. Hi-NRG is, however, typified by an energetic, staccato, sequenced synthesizer sound of octave basslines or/and where the bass often takes the place of the hi-hat, alternating a more resonant note with a dampened note to signify the tempo of the record.[5][6] There is also often heavy use of the clap sound found on drum machines.
Ian Levine, one of Hi-NRG's pioneering DJs & producers in the UK, defines Hi-NRG as "melodic, straightforward dance music that's not too funky."[7] Music journalist Simon Reynolds adds "The nonfunkiness was crucial. Slamming rather than swinging, Hi-NRG's white European feel was accentuated by butt-bumping bass twangs at the end of each bar."[7]
High-tempo disco music dates back to the mid-1970s. Early examples include several British disco songs by Biddu and Tina Charles in 1976.[8][9] From 1979 to 1987, unlabeled high-tempo disco music was especially popular among LGBT communities in American coastal cities such as New York and San Francisco. In particular, DJ/producer Patrick Cowley helped popularize this kind of music at the The EndUp club in San Francisco. The genre knew moderate mainstream popularity in Europe, despite being the icon of British and American LGBT communities around 1983-85, while opposing both eurodisco and electro on the dance scene. Examples of hi-energy disco acts include Claudja Barry, Miquel Brown, Amanda Lear, France Joli, Sylvester, Divine, and The Weather Girls.
During the same period, a form of Hi-NRG (EDM) became popular in Canada and UK. The most popular groups of this style are Trans-X and Lime. The genre is closely related to space disco. Bands include Koto, Laserdance and Cerrone. Hi-NRG sound also influenced techno and house music.[2]
In 1983 in the UK, music magazine Record Mirror began publishing a weekly Hi-NRG Chart. Hi-NRG entered the mainstream with hits in the UK and US pop and dance charts, such as Hazell Dean's "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" and Evelyn Thomas's "High Energy".[10][11] In the mid-1980s, Hi-NRG producers in the dance and pop charts included Ian Levine and trio Stock Aitken Waterman, both of whom worked with many different artists. Stock Aitken Waterman had two of the most successful Hi-NRG singles ever with their productions of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (UK #1 & US #11 in 1985) and Bananarama's "Venus" (US #1 & UK #8 in 1986).[12] They also brought the genre full circle, in a sense, by writing and producing Donna Summer's 1989 UK and US hit "This Time I Know It's For Real" (UK #3 and US #7).
American music magazine Dance Music Report published Hi-NRG charts and related industry news in the mid to late 1980s as the genre reached its peak.[13] By 1990, however, house music and eurodance have superseded Hi-NRG in popularity in many danceclubs. Despite this, Hi-NRG music is still being produced and played in various forms, including many remixed versions of mainstream pop hits, some with re-recorded vocals. Later in the 1990s, Nu-NRG music, a fusion of Hi-NRG and trance, was born.[14]
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