Everything Viyolens publishes on Music Genres (General) — reviews, buying guides and how-tos written for players and producers in the UK.
- 97 topics
- 86 articles
- Music Genres
Inside Music Genres (General)
All 97 topicsThe 12 most-searched of 97 topics. The full index is at the foot of the page.
Articles on Music Genres (General)
All news
Essential Flamenco Albums Explained
Three landmark flamenco albums, explained plainly, plus how to build your own collection out from them by palo rather than by name.
The History of Sea Shanty
This is the real sea shanty history — working people's music, borrowed rhythms, and a genre that outlived the ships that ever needed it.
Sea Shanty for Newcomers: Where to Start
You don't need a trained voice or a history lesson to join in — just three songs, one chorus, and the nerve to sing louder than feels comfortable.
The Best Rocksteady Artists to Know
From Alton Ellis to the too-often-overlooked Phyllis Dillon, here are the rocksteady artists whose Kingston studio sessions genuinely built the bridge from ska to reggae.
Essential Classical Music Albums Explained
The essential classical music albums worth knowing, era by era, and a practical guide to choosing between the many recordings of each.
Highlife for Newcomers: Where to Start
Not sure where to start with highlife? Follow this five-stop listening path, built specifically for beginners, in order.
Everything You Need to Know About Steel Band Drums
From a battered oil drum to a chromatic orchestral instrument — here's how steel band drums are built, tuned and played, and where the whole tradition began.
The History of Phonk
A raw, unglamorous Memphis sound that nearly disappeared, then came back louder than ever. Here is phonk's history, told properly, era by era.
Reggaeton Subgenres, Explained
Reggaeton isn't one sound. Here's a clear guide to its main subgenres, from underground and perreo to reggaeton romántico and beyond.
Bachata for Newcomers: Where to Start
No overthinking required: three songs, seven simple steps, and where to actually go and dance it for the first time.
The Ultimate Guide to Claves
Two wooden sticks that organise a whole family of music: how to hold and strike claves, the difference between son and rumba clave, and what 3–2 and 2–3 really mean.
The Best Bossa Nova Songs Right Now
The songs that built the genre's songbook, in the order they're worth hearing, from the obvious hit to the deeper cuts.
Soundtrack for Newcomers: Where to Start
You don't need homework to get into soundtrack music. You need four different listens and about an hour of your evening. Here's the order.
Bachata Subgenres, Explained
No dance-school marketing here: the honest, plain-spoken breakdown of traditional, modern and sensual bachata, and where each one actually came from.
Essential Soundtrack Albums Explained
The best soundtrack albums do two jobs at once — serve the film, and stand up perfectly well without it. Here's the honest shortlist.
A Beginner's Guide to Sea Shanty
Never sung a sea shanty in your life? Start here — a clear, patient walk through what the songs are, how they work, and where they came from, with nothing assumed.
Essential Bossa Nova Albums Explained
No filler, just the records that actually built bossa nova and why each one earns its place on the list.
The Best Sea Shanty Songs Right Now
No trends, no filler — just the sea shanty songs that have earned their place at every singaround for the best part of two centuries.
The Best Bachata Artists to Know
No hype, just the honest rundown of which bachata artists built the genre, which ones roughed it up, and which ones took it global.
Classical Music Subgenres, Explained
From Baroque to minimalism: a map of the main classical styles, sorted by era, by performing forces, and by twentieth-century departures.
The Best Boogie Artists to Know
The pianists who built the sound, the trio who took it to Carnegie Hall, and the guitar bands who wouldn't let it die.
A Beginner's Guide to Flamenco
Cante, toque, baile, compás and palos, explained simply: everything a newcomer needs to make sense of flamenco before diving deeper.
Essential Glitch Albums Explained
Ranked on substance, not novelty: the glitch albums that actually changed what the genre could sound like, from the contested "first" record to the coldest, most precise extreme.
Sea Shanty Subgenres, Explained
Every split in this family exists because a different job on deck needed a different rhythm — here's the real breakdown of sea shanty subgenres.
