In July of 1518, a mass hysteria event known as the “Dancing Plague” took over the French city of Strasbourg. A woman named Frau Troffea simply stood in the town’s center and danced. For nearly a week straight, fighting off hunger, pain, exhaustion, and more, she danced. She was far from the only one; by the time she eventually stopped, hundreds had joined her. No reason, no rhyme, not even a tune. Just dancing for the sake of dancing.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say this is another mass hysteria event, but I would say we have another dancing plague upon us. This one, at least, has some music behind it, but similar to the original plague, this seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere.
Dance-pop, electronic, EDM, house music, etc. have all been around for several decades now.After the disco sound of the 1970s, the sound evolved into more upbeat, club-natured tunes, while also appealing to mass audiences through the radio. Think back to stars like Madonna,Cher, and more that appealed to both with frequent and heavy use of synthesizers and catchy melodies.
Of course, within every niche, there would be lots of room for exponential growth of the sound.Acts like Daft Punk, Calvin Harris, DJ Snake, Major Lazer, and David Guetta all had massive hits throughout the 2000s and 2010s that had roots in dance. Even looking into the underground, the scene has never left prominence, especially now with software and technology freely available for all to begin making music. Even the device you’re reading this on most likely has a music app pre-installed like Garage band that you could begin on.
But through all that time, it’s been since the ‘70s and the disco era that club music was at its cultural peak. I’d argue, however, that we’re going to see a resurgence of electronic music in the mainstream. We might even be in the middle of it right now.
This year, there have been several albums, movies, and moments in pop culture that center heavily around dance and electronic music. I don’t think anyone needs any introduction to “brat”after brat Summer has finally come to a close. Two movies, “Challengers” early in the year and“The Substance” have both heavily featured upbeat, electronic music in the most intense scenes. Even if you ignore the electronic aspect, mass audiences are still going wild for catchy, high-tempo songs, like Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” or Dua Lipa’s “Houdini.”
Is there an explanation for this resurgence? Possibly. Apps like TikTok and Musically before it were centered around dancing and short-form content that’s perfect for a catchy chorus of a dance song. And it’s not like this resurgence has come completely from left field, as previously mentioned. The big question at hand is if this is another flash in the pan, or if we as a culture are finally going to make some club classics for future generations.