The Song Planner

Indie Dance

tagStarted c. 2002Peak 2005-2013Last big hit active

Located in 2 routes

Electronic / Dance → Indie Dance / Alternative DanceAlternative / Indie → Indietronica / Indie Dance / Indie Electronic

Indie Dance is alternative music made dance-floor friendly: band vocals, guitar or synth hooks, disco basslines, electronic drums, remixes, and club structures. It is warmer and more song-based than electro house, less purist than indie rock, and broader than dance-punk. The tag often describes music that can sit between a DJ set and an indie playlist without feeling out of place.

History

Indie Dance grew through DFA, Modular, Kitsuné, Ed Banger, bloghouse, nu-disco, festival culture, and remix economies that connected bands to clubs. LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, Hot Chip, Cut Copy, Phoenix, Metronomy, Friendly Fires, Bag Raiders, Miami Horror, Digitalism, Soulwax, and Chromeo made the sound central to 2000s and early-2010s alternative nightlife. The style remains active in playlists and clubs because it lets guitar-pop audiences enter electronic dance culture without a hard genre border.

Defining artists

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Essential listening

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← Explore Electronic / Dance

Sources

  • Pitchfork LCD/DFA features
  • The Guardian Trash club history
  • Resident Advisor bloghouse history
  • Modular and Kitsuné release histories