Electro Swing Music: A Guide to the Sounds of Electro Swing

Electro swing, or swing house, is an umbrella term for several subgenres of electronic dance music (EDM) that incorporate elements of vintage swing dance music and big band jazz. Though each subgenre—such as glitch swing, swing ’n’ bass, and swing hop—has its distinct sound, all electro swing tracks are built around the fusion of house music and hip-hop beats with swing samples.

The electro swing genre of music took shape in the early 1990s when vintage swing music was enjoying a revival in the United States and abroad. But it would be another decade before electro swing gained widespread popularity through European artists, such as Caravan Palace and Parov Stelar. “We No Speak Americano,” a 2010 single by Australian EDM duo Yolanda Be Cool, solidified electro swing’s popularity. The song topped charts in the UK and Australia and broke into the Billboard Mainstream Top 40.

The origins of electro swing date back to the early 1990s and the revival of vintage swing music.

• Electro swing in the ‘90s: Early experiments with swing and EDM, such as the Dutch house group Doop’s eponymous single in 1994 and “Get a Move On!” (1999) by UK DJ Mr. Scruff, were largely considered part of the nu jazz subgenre. Nu jazz combined house and jazz elements, and this early electro swing prototype faded at the end of the 1990s.
• Swing meets EDM in the 2000s: EDM artists continued to experiment with swing sounds in the mid-2000s. New music by the British label Freshly Squeezed and compilations of electro swing tracks by French label Wagram piqued dance floor interest. In 2008, French band Caravan Palace mixed house and hot-club style jazz a la Django Reinhardt on their eponymous debut album. Two years later, Yolanda Be Cool’s “We Speak No Americano” scored airplay around the world. In 2013, Austrian DJ Parov Stelar’s “Booty Swing” brought electro swing to mainstream American audiences, courtesy of a television commercial for the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas casino and hotel.
• Contemporary electro swing: Parov Stelar’s 2020 release Voodoo Sonic Part 2 topped the iTunes Electronic chart in the United States, Meanwhile, new performers like Jamie Berry and Swing Republic expand the genre’s boundaries.

As with many forms of EDM, electro swing has numerous and evolving subgenres. Among these are swing ’n’ bass, which blends the breakbeats of drum and bass with swing, and swing hop, which folds swing samples into hip-hop tracks.

There are several characteristics that define the various subgenres of electro swing music. These include:

1. 1. Hip-hop and house beats: Electro swing creators rely on a mix of traditional 4/4 (or “four-on-the-floor”) beats or hip-hop samples. Hip-hop elements like DJ scratches can also be employed.
2. 2. Live element: Electro swing is often best appreciated in a live format, which—depending on the artist and venue—can include a live band supporting the DJ’s remixes of vintage sounds. Enthusiasts frequently adopt a retro look and style, as well as classic dance moves, for events in London and through the United Kingdom.
3. 3. Swing samples: The swing element of electro swing is typically represented by the sound of Depression-era jazz—reeds and brass, and shuffled percussion with occasional vocal elements as well. DJs and producers frequently focus on a single, buoyant phrase or “hook” to serve as the backbone for their track.

There are many notable electro swing artists that have risen to prominence since the 1990s. Among them are:

• Caravan Palace: Hailing from Paris, France, the electronic band Caravan Palace drew attention for their ebullient mix of “hot” jazz and house music in the mid-2000s. Performances on the jazz and EDM festival circuit preceded the release of their eponymous debut in 2008. Since then, they’ve issued three additional albums, including 2019’s Chronologic, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
• Caro Emerald: Dutch jazz singer Caro Emerald scored an electro swing hit in 2009 with “Back It Up,” which broke into the Top 20 in Netherlands and Italy. The track was featured on her 2009 album, Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor, which spent 30 weeks at No. 1 on the Dutch charts, besting the record held by Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
• Parov Stelar: Prolific Austrian DJ Parov Stelar has won nine Amadeus Awards (the Austrian music industry’s highest honor) for a string of electro swing releases between 2012 and 2020. His track, “Booty Swing,” brought American attention to electro swing and gave him the chance to remix tracks by Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey.
• Wolfgang Lohr: The German producer has worked in numerous EDM forms since 2011, including deep house and tech house, but has gravitated towards electro swing in recent years. His complex but highly danceable tracks have featured some of the best new electro swing acts, including The Swinghoppers and Electric Swing Circus.

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