Everything Viyolens publishes on Music Genres — reviews, buying guides and how-tos written for players and producers in the UK.
- 64 topics
- 170 articles
Inside Music Genres
All 64 topicsThe 12 most-searched of 64 topics. The full index is at the foot of the page.
Articles on Music Genres
All news
Drum and Bass Subgenres, Explained
Drum and bass isn't one sound wearing different outfits. Here's each subgenre broken down plainly, with a starting point for each mood.
Essential Soca Albums Explained
Ask a soca fan for their favourite album and you'll usually get a favourite song instead. Here's an honest guide to the soca albums that actually matter, and why the format sits differently here.
The History of Bossa Nova
The real story behind bossa nova — a contested first recording, two very different geniuses, and the album that took it worldwide.
A Beginner's Guide to Soca
New to soca? Here's a friendly, no-pressure introduction to Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival sound — what it is, where it came from, and what to listen for first.
The Best Phonk Songs Right Now
Ten listeners, ten different lists, but these are the phonk tracks that keep earning their place. A listening guide, not a chart.
The Best Classic Rock Songs Right Now
Not a chart snapshot — the classic rock songs that keep earning their spot on jukeboxes, dance floors and long drives, decade after decade.
The Best Highlife Songs Right Now
Forget the charts — these are the highlife songs that have earned decades of staying power at parties, weddings and radio stations.
Essential Phonk Albums Explained
A short, scrappy shelf of records carried a Memphis underground sound into a global genre. Here are the essential phonk albums, explained one by one.
Phonk Subgenres, Explained
Half a dozen labels, one confusing mess of overlapping names. Here's what actually separates each phonk subgenre, explained without the fluff.
A Beginner's Guide to Soundtrack
Score, source music, underscore — the words can sound technical, but the ideas behind them are simple once someone walks you through them slowly.
Essential Reggae Music Albums Explained
Skip the same five Marley songs. These are the reggae records that actually changed the genre — roots, dub and everything in between.
Flamenco for Newcomers: Where to Start
A proper, no-nonsense route into flamenco for beginners: listen first, feel the rhythm, pick one palo, and avoid the common early mistakes.
Essential Boogie Albums Explained
Half the story predates the album format entirely — here's how to build a genuinely useful boogie record shelf anyway.
The Ultimate Guide to Sitar
There's far more to the sitar than its famous drone. A grounded guide to how India's great long-necked lute makes its sound, where it comes from, and how to start.
Phonk for Newcomers: Where to Start
Forget the subgenre chart and the history lesson. Here's the fastest, least overwhelming way to actually get into phonk, step by step.
A Beginner's Guide to Glitch
Clicks, stutters and digital hiccups turned into music on purpose — here's a gentle, no-pressure way into glitch for anyone starting from scratch.
Punk Rock Subgenres, Explained
Punk rock split in a dozen directions almost as soon as it started — here's what separates each branch.
The Best Boogie Songs Right Now
A century-spanning playlist of the boogie tracks that still get reached for — and why the same simple trick still works.
The Best Highlife Artists to Know
A guided tour of the highlife artists worth knowing, from the genre's first international star to the band that took it global.
Soundtrack Subgenres, Explained
"Soundtrack" isn't one thing. Here's what actually separates orchestral, electronic, hybrid, song-driven, game and musical scoring — no waffle.
The Best Nu Metal Artists to Know
You can't understand this genre through one band, because no single band actually represents it. Here's the cast of nu metal artists that actually matters.
The History of Punk Rock
From CBGB's sticky floors to a mainstream breakthrough decades later — the real story of how punk rock happened.
The Best Shoegaze Artists to Know
Strip the fuzz and reverb away from these artists and real songs remain underneath. Here's the songwriting behind the genre's defining names.
The History of Grunge
How a damp, overlooked corner of the Pacific Northwest turned secondhand amplifiers and DIY singles into one of rock's defining sounds.
