Yes, I should have been clearer. Of course the original meaning of the term "progressive" with respect to house (and rock) was always about "taking music forward" and that. But, as proven by the "constant bullshit you have to correct" it has gained a widely used alternative meaning from the literally progressive nature of the tracks. Terms evolve, people. In any case, the confusion over meanings makes it rather a crap term. Shame a better alernative hasn't yet superseded it.

It has gained a widespread alternative meaning amongst people who just make up shit from the top of their head. I used to think progressive meant that, when I was 14 years old, I'd just read the term and invented some plausible explanation.

I doubt that anyone discovering prog in a post-minimal world would come to this conclusion, because progressive doesn't actually "progress" much differently to most dance music. As near as I can tell, this idea of progressive is exclusive to the '99-05 school of trance fans to whom progressive house was the next rung up on the dance music ladder. Compared to the exaggerated breakdown-build-drop super-structures of epic trance, progressive probably did sound extremely drawn-out and incremental, but it neither invented nor did anything new with this idea of adding and building layers over several minutes.

This isn't a term evolving, it's a term being misunderstood and misused by a small demographic of people who happen to populate this forum.

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Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

You may well be right about all that mate. A rather large number of people I've known have used the "made up" meaning of the term, but I don't get out much, so you must be working off a much better dataset In any case, the music commonly called "progressive anything" has always struck me as drawing structurally on a lot of the same principles. Yes, most dance music involves slow builds and development, but around 1990 when I heard the earliest glimmers of what would become progressive house, before the term was coined I believe, it always seemed to me to particularly emphasise those aspects. If I could have named the emerging style back then, I very likely would have named it something similar to "progressive house" for purely structural reasons. So it may not be quite exclusively epic trance heads suddenly discovering slow-building dance music. But then I do tend to be more irritatingly creative in making up terminology than the average

Early progressive house really wasn't notable for drawn-out track structures at all. Do I have to do that thing where I post a few classics and ask people to find the common structure to them again?

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

I dunno. I noticed a fair amount of subtle structural unity emerging in that whole scene as the early 90s carried on. Off the top of my head, follow, say, the thread that runs from tracks like Leftfield's "Not Forgotten" (1990) and gradually splits into the more repetitive, hypnotic side of prog-house e.g. KXP - Ain't No Mountain High Enough (DOP Dub), and the more anthemic, build-and-build side e.g. React 2 Rhythm - I Know You Like It, both from 1992. I hear a strong stylistic unity between all three of those tracks despite their considerable superficial differences. And, perhaps strangely, they all conjure up associations with certain tracks by Pink Floyd and many of the other trippy 70s prog bands. I am an odd one, yes.

I really don't hear the progressive structure in those tracks (quite the opposite, especially with Scenes From A Fractal Blotter) and I especially don't hear any resemblence to Pink Floyd.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

Yeah, I always seem to come up with the strangest associations, sometimes get myself in some trouble over it! I once made the awful mistake of drawing a connection between Katy Perry's "Ur So Gay" (fucking loathe her normally but that one is a fantastic piece of work if you ignore the gag worthy lyrics) and an obscure old jazz standard in the company of jazz snobs. One of those regretting-it-before-it-fully-leaves-the-mouth moments, obviously. The response was predictable, but I KNOW I was right

Ah well...gotta step out for now, hopefully not returning to a permban for praising a Katy Perry song

Subgenres, something we (okay, I) could live without, certainly if they are confusing and examples plenty that they are.

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Longest (classic) Trance playlist on YouTube (5000 tracks released up to and including 1997), click here

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J It has gained a widespread alternative meaning amongst people who just make up shit from the top of their head. I used to think progressive meant that, when I was 14 years old, I'd just read the term and invented some plausible explanation. I doubt that anyone discovering prog in a post-minimal world would come to this conclusion, because progressive doesn't actually "progress" much differently to most dance music. As near as I can tell, this idea of progressive is exclusive to the '99-05 school of trance fans to whom progressive house was the next rung up on the dance music ladder. Compared to the exaggerated breakdown-build-drop super-structures of epic trance, progressive probably did sound extremely drawn-out and incremental, but it neither invented nor did anything new with this idea of adding and building layers over several minutes. This isn't a term evolving, it's a term being misunderstood and misused by a small demographic of people who happen to populate this forum.

When I or any of my mates call something progressive, we are refering to the track structure.

When I have spoke to other people in clubs chatting about what X DJ played, they may say to me something along the lines of "he started funky, then went quite proggy." When they say proggy, they mean progressive and they are talking about the track style and structure.

The term may have meant something different back in the 90's but nowadays, many (but not all) people use it to describe tracks with a slow building "proggy" arrangement.

Why you always feel the need to tell people who think this that they are wrong, I have no idea.

Times change, words take on new meanings and uses. Deal with it.

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Listen to and download all my tracks at www.gregnicot.bandcamp.com

I'm going to have to side with the "Drawn out Structural" definition of Progressive. I never heard the term, I just started to use it myself.

I would say "This sounds like Trance, but more Progressive, or This sounds like House, but more Progressive". I NEVER like to use Progressive to describe other Genres, Progressive in and of itself IS a genre. Minimal sounds too dead to be progressive.

John Digweed, Henry Saiz, That stuff I consider Progressive. The Genre...

Everything else about "New innovative sound" doesn't mean shit to me. Progressive IS A GENRE!! Fuck all the Elitism...

Judging by what I read on forums these days I thought the current interpretation of 'progressive' means 'below 133bpm'.