01
115-130 BPM
House
A steady four-on-the-floor pulse with warm grooves that can feel soulful, sleek, or built for a huge singalong.
Branches
- Deep house
- Tech house
- Progressive house
- Afro house
LX 307 · Music & Culture Find your sound. Know the room.
Ten genre families, explained by tempo, texture, and the feeling they create on a dance floor.
Meet the genresStart with the drums
Genre names are shortcuts for the rhythm, energy, and sound design you are likely to hear. They help you choose a stage, but they do not lock an artist into one lane.
Use the tempo as an orientation point and the descriptions as listening clues. A bassline, drum pattern, or drop will usually tell you more than the label on a lineup poster.
BPM note: Each range is a usual zone, not a rule. Some bass music is written at double the tempo you naturally feel.
Ten ways into the night
Start with a name you know, then follow the neighboring sounds.
02
120-150 BPM
Techno
Driving and hypnotic, with repetition, texture, and machine-like momentum doing more work than a big vocal hook.
Branches
- Detroit techno
- Acid techno
- Minimal techno
- Hard techno
Names to know
Jeff Mills , Charlotte de Witte , Richie Hawtin , Amelie Lens
03
128-142 BPM
Trance
Long builds, bright arpeggios, and emotional breakdowns turn the dance floor into one shared, hands-up release.
Branches
- Progressive trance
- Uplifting trance
- Tech trance
- Vocal trance
Names to know
Armin van Buuren , Above & Beyond , Ferry Corsten , Paul van Dyk
04
135-150 BPM
Bass / Dubstep
Half-time drums leave space for chest-rattling sub-bass, sharp sound design, and drops that range from deep to feral.
Branches
- Deep dubstep
- Brostep
- Riddim
- Tearout
Names to know
Skream , Skrillex , Excision , Subtronics
06
130-160 BPM
Trap
EDM trap pairs booming 808s, quick hi-hat rolls, and half-time swagger with the scale and impact of festival drops.
Branches
- Festival trap
- Hybrid trap
- Hard trap
- Wave
Names to know
RL Grime , Baauer , Flosstradamus , ISOxo
07
145-200+ BPM
Hard Dance
Distorted kicks and maximum-pressure energy drive everything from euphoric hardstyle melodies to relentless hardcore.
Branches
- Hardstyle
- Rawstyle
- Hardcore
- Frenchcore
Names to know
Sub Zero Project , Da Tweekaz , D-Block & S-te-Fan , Angerfist
08
138-150+ BPM
Psytrance
A fast rolling bassline, acid-shaped leads, and constantly morphing effects make the groove feel playful and psychedelic.
Branches
- Goa trance
- Progressive psy
- Full-on
- Darkpsy
Names to know
09
125-140 BPM
Garage / Breaks
Swung, skippy, bass-forward drums break away from the constant kick, bringing bounce and shuffle to the room.
Branches
- UK garage
- 2-step
- Speed garage
- Electro breaks
Names to know
10
130-160 BPM
Melodic / Future Bass
Emotional vocals and wide, shimmering chords swell into bass-heavy drops built for catharsis as much as impact.
Branches
- Future bass
- Melodic bass
- Melodic dubstep
- Chillstep
Names to know
Flume , Illenium , San Holo , Seven Lions
LX 317 · Crossfade Genres are neighborhoods, not fences
Artists borrow drums, bass textures, and song structures from the music next door. That is why one set can move from house to techno, or from melodic bass into dubstep, without feeling like a hard reset.
If two labels seem right, they probably describe different parts of the same track.
Four on the floor
HouseTech HouseTechno
Big emotion
TranceMelodic BassDubstep
Broken rhythm
GarageBreaksDrum & Bass
LX 331 · Your next stage Explore festivals by genre
Pick the sound you want more of. Festival Finder will show you events where it belongs on the lineup.