What’s that Genre? #3: Moombahton

More often than not a sub genre is born of the combination of two existing genres. Taking characteristics from each genre, though not being able to be categorised as either, a new genre appears (often with a ridiculous name) spawning a new, albeit heavily influenced style. A perfect example of this type of genesis is 2010’s ‘Moombahton’, a portmanteau of the words ‘Moombah’ and ‘Reggaeton’

Like many sub genres Moombahton comes complete with a fairly intriguing backstory. On a November morning in 2009, Dave Nada a resident of Washington’s progressive house scene found himself at a party surrounded by teens dancing to the slow, sauntering beat of Reggaeton. Asked by his brother to play a set, he began to realise that he couldn’t play the regular house that was a fixture of his performances, for in his words, a fear of “being jumped’. Instead he took an existing house track and pulled the BPM from 130 back to 108. This resulted in a similarly paced rhythm to Reggaeton and a fatter, deeper bass sound. From there it all took off.

Being far more from just slowed down house music, the genre grew to incorporate many elements of Reggaeton, giving it a particular flavour. While there are some shared characteristics such as thick, spread out bass lines, dramatic builds and fast drum fills the EDM style has very much moved into a club orientated, continent hopping genre. This is really evident in the work of Dutch producer, Munchi, who later introduced Colombian Cumbia and Angolan Kuduro to the sound.

Listen Below to the track that started it all: