New York's uptempo dance music, refereed to as simply club music by some.

1986

Disco DJ legend Walter Gibbons resurfaces as Strafe with "Set It Off", an instant club classic on Jus Born. * David Morales, Chep Nunez, Robert Clivilles and David Cole make themselves known with the huge underground hit, "Do It Properly", by 2 Puerto Ricans, A Black Man, And A Dominican.

1987

Todd Terry establishes himself as sampler extraordinaire with Royal House's "Can U Party?" * Chep Nunez reigns as editor extraordinaire on the New York scene. * DJs Frankie Bones and Tommy Musto team up to form Musto & Bones. (Their 1990 LP, The Future Is Ours, spawns the major club hit, "All I Want To Do Is Get Away"; individually, they go on to become prominent international remixers and producers.)

1988

Frankie Knuckles jumps ship to NYC. * Beginning with "Feel The Love" by Tech Trax, NuGroove goes on to become king of the NYC underground with the Burrell Brothers at the helm.

1989

"Tears" by Frankie Knuckles takes world by storm--what a difference a city can make. * Kraze's "The Party" scores another hit for Big Beat.

1990

How do you say...Deee-lite rock the New Music Seminar. * Toronto DJs Nick Fiorucci and Mike Ova break from Big Shot to from their own, Hi-Bias: The DJs Label, and immediately score internationally (everywhere but Canada) with their first release, The DJs Rule EP from DJs Rule. * From humble beginnings, Strictly Rhythm becomes the track-of-the-week monster underground label. Logic ("The Warning") and Underground Solution ("Luv Dancing") ride the crest of the wave. SR launches the careers of many hot producers, including Wayne Gardner and Roger S. * Hot NYC DJ Pal Joey hits with "Hot Music". * DJ Bobby Konders gets atmospheric with "The Poem", one of the year's biggest hits. * Seems like David Morales remixes every record released...

1991

Previously unremarkable rap label Nervous gets rejuvenated under the leadership of Gladys Pizarro, formerly of Strictly Rhythm, and Michael Weiss of SAM Records. * Little Louie Vega and Kenny Dope form the ultimate partnership, Masters At Work. From Debbie Gibson to their own "Ride On The Rhythm", the Masters are at the top of their form. * "Freak It" by A Bitch Named Johanna, with help from a wicked mix by Tony H, conquers the dancefloor.

1992

Tres chic Maxi Records, the little label that could, lands a smash with "Helpless" by Urbanized. * The major labels not only pick up tracks en masse from the indies, they also enlist the producers as remixers for their pop projects. * House A&R queen Gladys Pizarro returns to Strictly Rhythm. On Strictly, Aly-us' "Follow Me" becomes the year's underground anthem. * Kerri "Kao" Chandler pays homage to the best underground house club in the universe with "The Shelter", and sets himself apart as one of the hottest songwriter/producers of the year (see Basement, Red Light and a Feeling LP). * Salsoul Records digs into the vaults to release a remix project album--remixes range from brilliant re-interpretations to pathetic wastes. * Cardiac closes soon after releasing the smash hit, "Burning", by MK. Lost in the shuffle is 4 Love's brilliant "Hold Your Head Up High". * WMC '92 sees the emergence of the Murk Boys with Interceptor's "Together". * April showers brings Todd Terry's track of the year, "Hear The Music". * The Toronto club community mourns the passing of Hi-Bias' co-founder Mike Ova. * Sadly, one of the original New York house labels, NuGroove, retires from the scene. NuGroove co-founder Judy Russell and pool director Rich Hernandez form Citi Records.

1993

Esquire packs it in just as they have a hit with "Love Will Make It Right" by The Brotherhood. * Former prolific New York indies like Maxi, Emotive, and 111 East slow down their release schedules for various reasons including major label talent drain, poor vinyl sales and stiff international competition. * Reynald "Crazy Frenchman" Deschamps and his band weather the same storm, releasing quality albums from Larry Joseph and Out Of The Blue, mixing jazz, house and funk. * Still-prolific mega-indies Strictly Rhythm and Nervous diversify and enter the rap market with their own separate rap labels. * Bootleg scam of the year: Uncanny Alliance's "I Got My Education". Unites every queen and her drum machine to release "fierce" records (get huh!!!). * Eric Kupper's well-produced "Supermodel" takes RuPaul into bedrooms across America and cashes in. * New York roll call: Victor Simonelli, Tommy Musto (and his new Sub-Urban label), David Anthony, Chris Payne, Roger Sanchez, Ed & Nancy Goltsman, the Burrell Brothers, George Morel, DJ Pierre, Danny Tenaglia, Wilson & Grant, Lenny Fontana, Frederick Jorio, Victor & Danny Vargas, Sean Tucker, Louie Guzman. * Deep South. We know, we know it's not New York, but Miami has become the third most influential house town after NYC, and Chi-town. And it remains the winter playground of New York's club community. Labels like Dub, E-SA, Vibe, Murk and Nitebeat collectively produce a unique blend of deep, Latin, and underground sounds. Vamos a la playa! * Not to be forgotten is Detroit's burgeoning club sound, pumping with heady releases from Submerge's Unit 2, L'homme Van Remm and The DJ Essentials, while cool Terrence Parker does deep releases on Intangible and new KMS projects. * Sagat with "Fuk Dat" on Maxi becomes the monster song of the year that you love to hate.

1994