This started out being a silly moment in techno post. But it’s grown into something far more important. Something that trend watchers and marketeers around the world have to pay heed to.
It started with this clip from Malaysia:
A few things things I noted:
1.These Malaysian guys seem to have a fresh new dance style that’s evolved purely from playing Dance Dance Revolution
2. It sounds like the music they’re playing is a hard level of Dance Dance Revolution
3. There is no Dance Dance Revolution machine in sight
4. The clip has had nearly a million views!
But the I noticed that I’d opened up some odd portal to a new dimension of music, dance and culture! And I found a bunch of videos that seemed to talk about Hardstyle, Hardjump and Jumpstyle. 3 slightly different parts of seemingly the same subculture. I’m not going to try to explain what the bits are because I’ll get it wrong and one day a Jumpstyle fan might find this page and make me look like a tit ;-)
And the more I looked and watched. The more I realised that I’ve discovered the Parkour of the noughties. All that free running is so over. And you need loads of fancy buildings to jump off. And its dangerous. And it doesn’t have a music scene attached to it.
And you don’t have to be out and about to do it. Look Jumpstyle at home:
But you can also do it with a friend and it becomes Duojump. Now they really do look like 2 skilled DDR players… Or is it like a Gabba Riverdance…
And you can do it with 3 people!
Or if you’ve got a few mates you can all do it together!
And it appears they’re teaching it in schools – to groups of kids!
It’s become so big it’s spawned it’s own remixes and stuff – check Jumpstyle Borat:
So now you’re tuned into the latest global youth craze you’ll be wanting a how-to guide right? Of course, YouTube can provide (thanks to Patrick Jumpen, one of the stars of Jumpstyle):
And for those of you who are more into studying from the sidelines don’t forget to check Wikipedia – the page on Jumpstyle is the most informative. It has a list of different sub-styles as well as some useful links to some of the top dudes in the scene.
But of course, like any great trend, there are the nay-sayers, those who want to kill a beautiful thing before big brands have sponsored it and generated reveue out of it. Boo to them. Sites like http://www.fuckjumpstyle.com/ are demanding the end of jumpstyle. How could they. Well they say:
We all know it. Jumpstyle sucks. At the beginning it was fun, but now it’s just too commercial. I know it, you know it.
Jumpstyle begun in Belgium. The dance is now known in almost whole Europe. Now, it’s trying to take over whole America. Do you want to stop jumpstyle to take over America? Do you want jumpstyle to die? Do you think jumpstyle is too commercial? Do you think: FUCK JUMPSTYLE!?
God damn. It’s sold out before I even started!
I’d love to do a documentary on the whole scene. If I could make films. Of course some of my comments above are a bit tongue in cheek. But if you hunt around YouTube you’ll see stacks of clips with millions and millions of views. It’s a very real scene, which lots of kids (in parts of Europe and Asia mainly by the looks of it) seem to be totally into. So who am I to say it’s a silly moment in techno?
Or does everyone in the world know about Jumpstyle and I’m the last one to hear? Damn I hope not…
US Version? – “Footworking” (as featured on Chicago community TV)
Try searching for “tecktonik”, the french hard style. Its been totallyt huge in France since last summer and these kids are first generation internet natives : they use skyrock blogs and youtube (or even more : dailymotion) like they are breathing.
Its gone mainstream at the beginning of fall, with dance moves in Lorie’s music video (a teenage star), and already its been featured in some mainstream branded content comic videos with french comic superstar Jamel.
Jey Jey : 6M views on youtube
Us Belgianites have been over this 5 years ago, so yes, you look like a tit.
What’s fun now is that what started with pill-poppin’ derelict youth in shady nightclubs is now a widely accepted phenomenon. They teach it on our version of Blue Peter. So I can understand the earlies proclaiming it’s dead.
By the way, the Malaysian kids seem to be doing a mix between jumpstyle and Melbourne shuffle (youtube it).
Christian – I might have guessed that the Belgians were at the heart of it, like most important trends ;-p
And Thibaut – thanks for the French update.
But it’s certainly not hit the mainstream over here in the UK.
Actually how the hell would I know?
I’ve not watched Blue Peter since 1986.
Nah man, we waz doin’ that years ago innit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGPibfYnB5c
Leroy and Keef had it nailed. Kids today, I don’t know…derivative ;)
Yeah, maybe you wuz doin’ it. But you didn’t have 6m fans on YouTube.
In fact I bet you only had 3 fans (including your mum).
man it’s freaking dance O.o it evolvs all the time. i came over jumpstyle like a year ago and have been dancing for quite a long time now. now im trying to learn the malaysian shuffle ^^ so this site is like a bullseye (good or bad).
I wrote about this last year, looks like it started in the Netherlands. The tecktonik trend is more impressive, I think….lots of videos on that on YouTube as well.
http://gab-gab.com/?p=62
Back in 1990’s Sydney we used to call it the Running Man. *Sigh*
I would love to know if jumpstyle came from DDR fans, or was least inspired by it.
from my limited knowledge of the bored suburban dorky white parts of europe where jumpstyle originated, I’m not sure DDR is that big out there (compared to asia) ??
it’s like the total cultural opposite of krumpin
My geordie mate told me about New Monkey, looks like this:
Eu gosto de hardjump
why wuld anyone want jumpstyle to die its fukin brilliant and it will never die in my generation, cos they love, it makes raves. Christian is rite u are a tit nd its not rele comercialised like shitty dance music u here in night clubs its unique. So nowedon all think jumpstyle sucks. GET A LIFE
the whole scene goes from netherlands out and now they are taking over austria.
netherland is the birthplace of electronic music!!!!!
this kind of music is liked in germany, NETHERLANDS, belgium and austria T_T
thank god they didn´t prevail in america (south and north)
I think the first clip is featuring “the shuffle” (side to side movement of feet) which is different from “jumpstyle”. The “shuffle” was imported into Malaysia through students studying in Australia and who went to raves and saw the Melbourne Shuffle I think. They even had some shuffle competition and showcase with the melbournians flying over to KL …
Hiya, im a big fan of these kind of styles of dance and just reading the top where you said that that there are three kinds of new dance.. and that you did’nt want to make a mistake, well
1)hardjump is the kind of music you listen to for jumpstyle., so hardstyle is not a dance type just a music genre =]
crackunit.com is that based in america?
let me explain to everyone.
the first video in the post is not jumpstyle. they are listening to a music genre called “hardstyle” jumpstyle is a shitty ofshoot of that and has spawned jumpstyle the dance/ the dance style in the video is called “shuffle” or “melbourne shuffle” beacuse thats where it came from. it was inspired by a few ppl, michael jacksons moonwalk. and the dude from prodigy.
The guys from malaysia are pretty goood, i have a few mates from there.
the guys in your video are not good at all. lool. infact all the videos were quiet crap. here is a real look at some Pro shufflers, Pae And Sarah from melb.
while jumpstyle involves jumping, with shuffling 1 of your feet is always touching the ground, it involves fluid movements and quiet a bit of skill. once you learn the basics you do it you own way, and thus no 2 ppl dance the same. unless the practice :P cue link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM_7meE_A7k
enjoy.
P.s we would destroy “so you think you can dance”
alternitively you can check out this site.
http://www.wedancehard.com/
Us Belgianites have been over this 5 years ago, so yes, you look like a tit.
What's fun now is that what started with pill-poppin' derelict youth in shady nightclubs is now a widely accepted phenomenon. They teach it on our version of Blue Peter. So I can understand the earlies proclaiming it's dead.
By the way, the Malaysian kids seem to be doing a mix between jumpstyle and Melbourne shuffle (youtube it).
I think it's great, wristband is so fashionable you wear this anywhere.