Everything Viyolens publishes on Music Genres — reviews, buying guides and how-tos written for players and producers in the UK.
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Inside Music Genres
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The Best Soul Music Songs Right Now
Older than most people streaming them, and still defining the sound today — these are the soul songs that never really left.
The Best Grunge Artists to Know
Grunge was never one band or one sound. Here's the honest rundown of who actually shaped it, from the household names to the ones history nearly skipped.
A Beginner's Guide to Trance Music
If trance music has ever left you somewhere between dancing and daydreaming, that's the point. Here's what you're actually hearing, explained simply.
Glitch for Newcomers: Where to Start
A patient, in-order listening path for anyone new to glitch — five records, why each one comes where it does, and what to do if a step doesn't click straight away.
Essential Classic Rock Albums Explained
The albums, not just the singles: six essentials, one pick from every subgenre, and honest advice on how to actually listen to them.
The Best Prog Rock Songs Right Now
Timeless, not just of-the-moment: the prog rock songs that still show new listeners exactly why this genre has such staying power.
The Best Classic Rock Artists to Know
No fifty-deep countdown — just the classic rock artists worth your time, grouped by strand, with one record apiece to start with.
The Best Drum and Bass Artists to Know
From Goldie to Andy C, here's a practical map of the drum and bass artists behind every corner of the genre, grouped by what they actually do.
The Best Gregorian Chant Songs Right Now
No weekly chart, no streaming numbers, and honestly that feels right. Here are the essential Gregorian chant pieces genuinely worth knowing.
The Best Dubstep Songs Right Now
These aren't this week's playlist additions – they're the tracks that actually defined dubstep, era by era. Here's the essential list, in the order to hear it.
The Best R&b Music Songs Right Now
R&B songs age differently to most pop hits. Here are the tracks that keep proving themselves, decade after decade, whenever someone new discovers them.
Afrobeats for Newcomers: Where to Start
A short, deliberately gentle playlist and a proper listening order. No homework, no lyric sheet, just five tracks worth hearing properly.
The Best Bluegrass Artists to Know
Every name here earned its place through decades of playing, not a single hit. Take your time getting to know the essential bluegrass artists properly.
Amapiano Subgenres, Explained
Stop treating this genre as one interchangeable sound. It isn't. Here's the honest map of the different camps sitting underneath the log drum and piano loops.
Blues Music Subgenres, Explained
Call something "blues" and you've told me almost nothing. Here's each subgenre explained straight, no padding.
Essential R&b Music Albums Explained
R&B is best understood through full records, not singles. Here are the essential albums that trace the genre from its soul breakthrough to its neo-soul reinvention.
Essential Highlife Albums Explained
Highlife's golden age ran on singles, not albums. Here's how to build an essential highlife albums collection that's actually honest about that.
A Beginner's Guide to Amapiano
A warm, jazzy piano loop over a deep, breathing bass note that seems to wobble rather than just thump — here's a gentle introduction to amapiano.
The Best Progressive Rock Songs Right Now
A lot of what still matters was recorded fifty years ago, and it's still what a new listener hears first. Here's why that's not a bad thing.
A Beginner's Guide to Afrobeats
Afrobeats and Afrobeat aren't the same thing. Here's the fast, no-nonsense guide to what the genre actually is, how it sounds, and where to go next.
The Best House Music Songs Right Now
Forget rankings. These are the house music tracks that genuinely defined a moment, from Chicago's earliest 12-inches to Disclosure's modern crossover.
Essential Progressive Rock Albums Explained
These are the records worth sitting with, start to finish, the way they were actually written to be heard.
The Best Reggaeton Songs Right Now
Forget the weekly chart — these are the reggaeton songs with genuine staying power, from the genre's dancehall roots to its current global hits.
The History of Jazz Music
Jazz reinvented its own rules roughly once a decade for the best part of a century. Here's how it actually moved from dance halls to the avant-garde.
