How “Jack to the Sound of the Underground” Sparked Dutch DJ Culture and helped to Change Dance Music

The Twelve Inch 158 : Jack To The Sound Of The Underground (Hithouse)

In the evolution of dance music, some years act like major intersections, moments when styles collide, shift, and spark entirely new scenes. One of those key intersections was 1987–1988.

Freestyle was dominating dancefloors in New York, LA, and Miami. House music was bubbling up from Chicago and Detroit. Across the Atlantic, the UK was on the cusp of the Second Summer of Love, Acid House was catching fire, and Ibiza’s Balearic influence was starting to reshape Europe’s sonic palette. In the south, Italo disco was still going strong, and in Germany, the early foundations of Eurodance were being laid.

Even pop royalty joined in, with extended dance mixes of chart hits becoming the norm, remixed by the era’s top studio wizards. Sampling was exploding, giving DJs and producers a new toolkit and paving the way for the DJ to become artist, not just selector.