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-- what does 'progressive' really mean?
what does 'progressive' really mean?
a lot of people (including me) seem to be getting confused by what progressive really means. i always thought that if something was progressive then it built up from one level to the next... it progresses. a lot of the music that is classified as progressive at the moment is actually anything but progressive. a better word would surely be repetitive.
your thoughts?
RR
Well I think that the term progressive refers more to the nature of the genre, rather than the actual musical aspects of it. That is, the music has progressed beyond trance and house, it is the future of music, the direction in which music is heading, it is more progressive in the everyday sense of the word than all the other genres of music.
Besides that, I could argue that the music does sound as though it's progressing somewhere anyway. Listen to a beat from a true progressive track: it always sounds like it's going somewhere, it sounds relentless. Same with the music in general actually - it just keeps on going and going, building and building, even if it doesn't peak or trough like in most other genres of music it's still got a definate direction (even though some would argue that it's flat and constant, I think that even though it is subtle, the track is always building and has definate "progression").
And that's what makes progressive so captivating to me. The fact that it just keeps on coming (way-hey) and doesn't let down. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but you have to learn how to detect all this because it's a very subtle form of music, but, at the same time, that's what makes it so satisfying to listen to.
Anyway, I've gone way off track as usual. Hope I've answered your question?
Oh yeah, one more thing.
If "progressive" simply meant that the music "progressed" and had a logical sequence from beginning to end, then you could throw just about any song ever written into this category.
Thus, even though I am unaware of where the term came from, I can only assume that progressive originated not from describing what the music was doing (i.e. progressing from beginning to end with logical succession) but describing the direction that this specific genre of music was taking culturally (i.e. it was progressing beyond all other genres of electronic music).
Feel free to tell me if you think I'm talking cod-shit, but this is just what I understand progressive music to be.
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| Originally posted by Renegade Well I think that the term progressive refers more to the nature of the genre, rather than the actual musical aspects of it. That is, the music has progressed beyond trance and house, it is the future of music, the direction in which music is heading, it is more progressive in the everyday sense of the word than all the other genres of music. Besides that, I could argue that the music does sound as though it's progressing somewhere anyway. Listen to a beat from a true progressive track: it always sounds like it's going somewhere, it sounds relentless. Same with the music in general actually - it just keeps on going and going, building and building, even if it doesn't peak or trough like in most other genres of music it's still got a definate direction (even though some would argue that it's flat and constant, I think that even though it is subtle, the track is always building and has definate "progression"). And that's what makes progressive so captivating to me. The fact that it just keeps on coming (way-hey) and doesn't let down. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but you have to learn how to detect all this because it's a very subtle form of music, but, at the same time, that's what makes it so satisfying to listen to. Anyway, I've gone way off track as usual. Hope I've answered your question? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Renegade Well I think that the term progressive refers more to the nature of the genre, rather than the actual musical aspects of it. That is, the music has progressed beyond trance and house, it is the future of music, the direction in which music is heading, it is more progressive in the everyday sense of the word than all the other genres of music. Besides that, I could argue that the music does sound as though it's progressing somewhere anyway. Listen to a beat from a true progressive track: it always sounds like it's going somewhere, it sounds relentless. Same with the music in general actually - it just keeps on going and going, building and building, even if it doesn't peak or trough like in most other genres of music it's still got a definate direction (even though some would argue that it's flat and constant, I think that even though it is subtle, the track is always building and has definate "progression"). And that's what makes progressive so captivating to me. The fact that it just keeps on coming (way-hey) and doesn't let down. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but you have to learn how to detect all this because it's a very subtle form of music, but, at the same time, that's what makes it so satisfying to listen to. Anyway, I've gone way off track as usual. Hope I've answered your question? |
yer flippin good attempt at a explanation :P
I agree renegade.
The endless debates on what "progressive" means confuse the hell outta me. 
It's got nothing to do with the "progression" of the genre (i.e. the way music is heading). We've had progressive house for ages, and what, are we suddenly doing to stop calling it progressive once it's the norm, and instead progressive will be the new music made out of car hooters that everyobody's getting into?
It's called Progressive because it does progress. The comments that the music is repetetive are quite simply wrong. The tunes do progress, they just never reach a peak like most Trance tunes we're used to. Thus a good progressive set gives the feel of constantly moving and (dare I say it) progressing without a change in pace.
That's my two cents anyways.
Too me, a short sentence sums up progressive:
LESS IS MORE
Alright,
Having been into Prog House for an eternity, here's the score:
'Progressive' started with 'Progressive House'. Prog House started in the early / mid-90s as:
1. Being a 'progression' from the vocal / deep house that existed before then, with less vocals, often none at all
2. Being high energy, uplifting (like all house music was at the time).
3. Having some similarities to prog rock, from the early 80s (also, moving, uplifting, and progressing to a point)
They both meant the same thing to people then and Sasha + Digweed, Paul Oakenfold, and BT played similar sets, believe it or not.
Examples (Played by Oakie, Sasha, Digweed and BT):
Billy Ray Martin - Put Your Lovin Arms (1994) [Vocals]
BT - Loving You More (1995) [Vocals + Uplifting Synths]
Grace - Not Over Yet (1995) [Vocals + Uplifting Synths]
Libra Presents Taylor - Anomaly (Calling Your Name) (1995) [Vocals + Uplifing Synths]
Faithless - Salva Mea (1995) [Vocals + Uplifting Synths]
BT - Flaming June (1997) [Uplifting Synths]
Armin Van Buuren - Blue Fear (1997) [Deep Synths]
This lead to it splitting in two around 1996-97, when I really got into it. On one side was Epic Trance, on another side was Progressive House.
Binary Finary - 1998 (1997) [Epic Trance]
Paul Van Dyk - For An Angel (1997)[Epic Trance]
Deep Dish - The Future Of The Future (1998)[Progressive House]
Push - Universal Nation (1999) [Epic Trance]
Breeder - Twilo Thunder (1999) [Progressive House]
Since that, Epic Trance has become less epic, smarter and more uplifting [Tiesto's the decendent of all that], and Prog House has gotten increasiningly less uplifting and more and more minimal (or subtle, as some people would say)
Prog Trance is based on the same minimalism, just applied to trance.
Bottom line: everyone keeps on going back to the original definition of 'progressive', when its evolved to a whole new sound. That's why it's confusing.
Hope this helps.
"a lot of the music that is classified as progressive at the moment is actually anything but progressive. a better word would surely be repetitive"
hahahaha awesome description, very true to a point..
same w/ paul griffiths' "less is more"
but the thing is some prog house is good, some bad.. (like in any music)
like breeder - twilo thunder was fit into ferry's original Trance Nation!
so that's why ppl have a tough time time drawing the line.. prog house and trance are two separate things nowadays, w/ very different sounds at times.
and sometimes you can play both in the same set, along w/ epic trance!
anyways i like prog house, because i love nick warren's sets.
(interesting how his truly prog sets are different from his more melodic Way Out West productions, eh?)
jsut a question... when someone says "progressive", do they mean progressive trance or progressive house or what?
WOW! normally i have a response to such a question. But i think that everyone has did a great job explaining it... especially in different points of view. To me it seems as though everyone is saying about the say thing but each person is elaborating on different aspects of progressive or explaining it a different way. All I have to say basically is great job guys!
pro�gres�sive (pr-grsv)
adj.
Moving forward; advancing.
Proceeding in steps; continuing steadily by increments: progressive change.
Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods: a progressive politician; progressive business leadership.
Progressive Of or relating to a Progressive Party: the Progressive platform of 1924.
Of or relating to progressive education: a progressive school.
Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases: a progressive income tax.
Pathology. Tending to become more severe or wider in scope: progressive paralysis.
Grammar. Designating a verb form that expresses an action or condition in progress.
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| jsut a question... when someone says "progressive", do they mean progressive trance or progressive house or what? |
Well, it can be either actually.
Because progressive lies somewhere between house and trance (usually) it can be quite hard to label a track as lying either more on the housey side or the trancey side, in which case just calling it "progressive" is far more convenient.
Remember, progressive is a genre in itself, the terms "progressive house" and "progressive trance" are just sub-genres of that one genre, intended to pidgeon-hole the genre of the track with a bit more accuracy. But, in reality, the lines between progressive house and progressive trance are really blurred, so best just to refer to the genre of music as progressive, so as to err on the side of caution.
Bloody hell this is getting complicated. 
i kinda consider Progressive its own genre almost i dont see it has trance or house.....
listen to seb fontain, that is progressive house, cant say i like it, bit to slow, i like it thumpin straight in there. But progressive should mean progressing, but as music is changin so fast, i should imagine a new label will come out. Whatever that will b, the next step past progressive
Renegade said it perfectly
Progressive trance means boring and repetitive. Ever heard a John Digweed set? Ever seen Max Graham or Darren Emerson live? I have, they're all BORING and repetitive.
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