Growing in popularity, Electro Swing is a relatively new and exciting pan-European music genre that can be described as a fusion of swing, jazz and electronic dance music. It’s roots trace back at least 25 years to early sampling of 1920s / 30s music within contemporary pieces however, it is only in the last few years that the distinctive sound has ‘solidified’ to provide a strong basis for Electro Swing DJ’s, artists, groups, clubs and compilation albums. Now we are witness to an explosion of Electro Swing energy with an abundance of old swing tracks being mixed and taken in a new direction via electro, drum’n’bass and hip hop. The fresh, cheeky, fun and ‘feel good’ sound usually means that floor crowds find them irresistible to get up and move to. For any proof of the popularity of this distinctive sound just type Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP into YouTube and join the 41 million, yes 41 $%£&’ing million, that have viewed their number one chart topper ‘We No Speak Americano’ a re-mix of the Renato Carosone original ‘Tu Vuo Fa L’Americano’ (You pretend to be American).

Definitely worth checking out is the Electro Swing landmark ‘White Mink : Black Cotton: Electro Swing vs Speakeasy Jazz’ double CD which contains some well known tracks from this new genre and is presented as a retrospective trawl through rare Cotton Club-style tracks on one CD (remastered from original 78′s), alongside modern remixes and 20/30′s influenced dance floor fillers on the other. Or try the ‘Electro Swing 2’ CD, again a combination of some catchy tunes from the 20s/30s mixed together with modern electronic dance beats and edits, each complimenting each other perfectly. This CD captures the sound of the moment – a mix of out-there dance tunes fused with the retro sound of Jazz and early music hall songs.

Riding a current wave of increased popularity Electro Swing has been represented on the UK Summer festival circuit over the last couple of years with artists such as The Correspondents and White Mink enjoying stage time at Glastonbury, Bestival, Secret Garden Party, The Big Chill and others.

For those new to Electro Swing, Festival tails recommends these 5 fun, funky, electro swing numbers to ‘swing your tail’ to in this summer’s Festival sunshine:

1. Kormac ‘Wash my Hands’
2. Parov Stelar ‘Hotel Axos’
3. The Correspondents ‘I Wanna be like you’ (Jungle Book)
4. MOVITS! – ‘Äppelknyckarjazz’
5. Der Dritte Raum ‘Swing Bopp’

Our recommended electro swing tail is the black cat shiny disco tail. Get yours here!

Tags: electro swing, kormac, parov stelar, the correspondents, white mink