Five styles where the synthesizer, the sampler or the drum machine sets the sound: two from the late 1970s, one from Bristol's sound systems and two that took African pop to the world's playlists.
| Style | Where and when | Tempo | Core instruments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambient | Japan and the UK, 1960s–70s; named by Brian Eno in 1978 | Often no beat at all | Synthesizers, tape, emulated piano, strings and flute |
| Synth-pop | Germany, Japan and the UK, 1977–1980 | Not stated in our sources | Synthesizers, drum machines such as the TR-808, voice |
| Trip hop | Bristol, England, late 1980s to early 1990s | Slow, "down tempo" | Breakbeats, samples, dub bass, Rhodes piano, horns, strings |
| Afrobeats | Nigeria, Ghana and the UK, 2000s | Close to house music | Driving drum programming, electronic or played, voice |
| Amapiano | South Africa (Gauteng, disputed), mid-2010s | Not stated in our sources | Piano, log drum bass, synths, percussion |
Ambient
Ambient puts tone and atmosphere ahead of structure and rhythm; it often has no beat and no set melody. It grew in the 1960s and 1970s as the synthesizer reached a wider market, drawing on furniture music, musique concrète, minimalism and dub. Brian Eno named and popularised it in 1978 and wrote that it "must be as ignorable as it is interesting".
Defining records. Eno's "Discreet Music" (1975), meant to be played at very low levels, and "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" (1978). Laurie Spiegel's "The Expanding Universe", made between 1974 and 1976 on the GROOVE computer system. In the 1990s, Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works Volume II" and Global Communication's "76:14", both 1994.
Production notes. Think in layers and time, not bars: long, slow pieces, often compared to drone music. Piano, strings and flute may be imitated on a synthesizer. Suzanne Ciani and Laurie Spiegel worked on Buchla and computer systems; a soft synth and a long reverb will get you started.
Synth-pop
Synth-pop, also called techno-pop, puts the synthesizer at the centre of the song. It became prominent in Germany, Japan and the UK between 1977 and 1980, prefigured by Kraftwerk, progressive rock and disco, and broke through in the UK charts after Gary Numan's success in 1979.
Defining records. Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" reached number 11 in the UK. Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (1977), produced by Giorgio Moroder, set the programmed beat. Yellow Magic Orchestra's self-titled album (1978) and "Solid State Survivor" (1979); the Human League's "Being Boiled" and the Normal's "Warm Leatherette", both 1978.
Production notes. Yellow Magic Orchestra brought the TR-808 to popular music. The sequencer is the rhythm section; write the bass and arpeggios as patterns and let the voice carry the melody.
Trip hop
Trip hop is a psychedelic fusion of hip-hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound, born in Bristol in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an experimental strand of breakbeat. The name was first used in Mixmag in June 1994, about DJ Shadow's 1993 single "In/Flux".
Defining records. Massive Attack's "Blue Lines" (1991) and "Protection" (1994); Portishead's "Dummy" (1994); Tricky's "Maxinquaye" (1995).
Production notes. Bristol's sound-system DJs drew on dub: a laid-back, slow, heavy drum beat with dub-style bass. Tracks often add Rhodes piano, saxophone, trumpet and flute, and sometimes theremin or Mellotron.
Afrobeats
Afrobeats, not to be confused with Fela Kuti's afrobeat, is an umbrella name for popular music from West Africa and its diaspora that developed in Nigeria, Ghana and the UK in the 2000s.
Defining records. P-Square's "Game Over" (2007). D'banj's "Oliver Twist" reached number 9 in the UK in 2012, the first afrobeats top 10 there. Wizkid's "Ojuelegba", remixed with Drake and Skepta (2014); Drake's "One Dance" (2016) with Kyla and Wizkid became Spotify's most streamed song; Wizkid and Tems' "Essence" reached the Billboard Hot 100.
Production notes. The drum pattern leads, electronic or played, sometimes as important as the lyric, with a momentum and tempo close to house music.
Amapiano
Amapiano is a South African genre that became popular in the early 2020s, a hybrid of kwaito, deep house, gqom, jazz, soul and lounge. Its beginnings are placed in the mid-2010s, though where in Gauteng is disputed.
Defining records. Kabza De Small is named as a pioneer. Mellow & Sleazy's "Trust Fund", with Kabza De Small, Mpura, Focalistic and DJ Maphorisa, marked the New Age Bacardi blend around 2021; "Overdue" (2021) by Kooldrink, DJ Lag and Tyla showed popiano.
Production notes. Piano melodies over the log drum: an electronic version of the West African log drum, used as a wide, percussive bass line. Live guitar, saxophone, violin and trumpet often join the programmed parts.
Sources
Every date, name, tempo and origin on this page comes from these pages, read on 2026-10-24.