Schaffel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Schaffel (the German phonetic spelling of "shuffle") is a term used to describe a trend in progressive electronic music in which the time signatures are heavily shuffled. Often triplet eights are used to create the swinging rhythms. As a description of a genre, the term became popular in European nightclubs in the mid-2000s.
[edit] History
Originating from swing and R&B roots, the beat was popularized by glam rock performers like T.Rex with their 1971 hit "Hot Love" and Gary Glitter in his 1972 hit Rock and Roll Pt 2. An early use of the beat in an electronic pop song was Iggy Pop's "Nightclubbing," from his album The Idiot. New wave/synthpop band Depeche Mode used a similar feel in their 1989 single Personal Jesus.
The Schaffel beat remained moderately popular among underground synthpop, industrial music, electronic body music, gothic rock and dance music artists, and is found in such notable releases as "Like Tears in Rain" by Covenant (Subspace, Sweden 2000), "Mitternacht" by E Nomine (Zeitgeist [Universal], Germany 2001) and "Wasted (Naghavi Mix)" by And One (Virgin Records, Germany 2000).
The more recent club-hit making influence is accredited to performers such as T. Raumschmiere, Goldfrapp, and Electronicat, as well as remixers including Superpitcher and the Wighnomy Bros. The schaffel beat has emerged in modern noise-based industrial as well, via artists such as Wumpscut and Combichrist. Other recent examples from North American producers include artist/remixers such as Zombie Girl and dj addambombb.
[edit] External links
- Audio examples of modern "Schaffel" beat, including many mentioned artists: dj addambombb: Schaffelklatsch (60 minutes of live DJ mix, recorded New Year's Eve 2006). Playlist.
- "Could It Be?" by dj addambombb (Example of triplet feel over a 4/4 beat. Original music and performance copyright dj addambombb, permissions granted by artist.)
- Schaffel Beat Resuscitates Techno by Martin Turenne, April 1, 2004.
