The genres

Since Sanaphantastron's music defies easy categorization into conventional genres, we've created our own genre labels. However, these labels aren't fixed. We might change the genre names or swap them around at any time. But perhaps we'll leave it as is. Fahco Labuel suggests introducing hexadecimal codes for each genre and simply omitting the labels altogether. He says this would make the categorizations easier to remember. Furthermore, it would allow for better electronic management of our potentially growing number of styles.

CHIPDANCE

Chipdance is a type of music that's very danceable. It uses a computer-generated rhythm, typically employing drum samples from legendary drum machines (e.g., the Roland TR-909). With a tempo between 120 and 140 BPM, the beat is more or less reminiscent of House.

TECHNICA

Technica is sophisticatedly arranged music that usually features synthetically generated vocals and sometimes spoken word. Besides synthesizers, any type of musical instrument can be used. Most notably, guitar parts of varying lengths are typically present. The Technica style is less rigid in terms of rhythm, but a consistent beat is always present. The tempo usually ranges between 130 and 170 bpm.

NERDPUNK

Nerdpunk is a subgenre of punk that lacks the essential characteristics of punk. The vocals are rather soft. There are also no rhythms that even remotely resemble, for example, pogo dancing. It's computer-produced music accompanied by a heavily distorted guitar. The only thing it has in common with punk is the philosophy—namely, the lack thereof. Except, perhaps, for "No Future." But even this philosophy is absent in nerdpunk.

MUSHBOX

Key characteristics of Mushbox music include a repetitive rhythm and only a single chord based harmony. The tonal structure can be created using conventional musical instruments, but sometimes the focus is solely on noises and sound effects. It is a type of music that is very danceable, with a tempo ranging from 120 to 150 bpm.

SNAILTRANCE

Snailtrance is a calmer style of music with a catchy vocal melody and a rhythm in the range of 110 to 130 BPM. While certain elements of Trance may be found in Snailtrance, it does not have the typical Trance rhythm.

SLIGHTROCK

Slightrock always features a guitar sound that typically lasts throughout the entire track. Unlike Technica, the guitar takes center stage in Slightrock. Vocals are rather rare. With mostly typical Rock rhythms, the tempo usually ranges from 120 to 160 bpm.

FOREIGNBEAT

Foreignbeat is music without a true beat. It lacks classic rhythm instruments such as toms, snares, or cymbals. Sometimes foreignbeat consists only of ambient sounds, while in other cases a rhythm is discernible within the sounds or is created through delay effects. Foreignbeat can also be played with conventional instruments such as guitars.

RUBBISHBAT

In Rubbishbat, the thematic component is a key element. With a somewhat faster beat, at a tempo of around 135 to 155 BPM, the music ostensibly deals with cultural, political, or philosophical topics. In reality, however, these themes lack any deeper meaning. A typical characteristic of Rubbishbat is the excessive use of samples. Often, one also hears musically incongruous or completely bizarre sounds.

EXTRATERRESTRIAL

Extraterrestrial music refers to music whose harmony is not based on the usual scales or the twelve-tone system. Instead of twelve notes per octave, it uses more or less evenly spaced intervals between notes. This includes sixteen-tone music, which has sixteen notes per octave. From an earthly perspective, this could be seen as a logical development of twelve-tone music. However, it is said to have been brought to us from another planet.

TESTNOISE

Testnoise is typically minimalist electronic music with highly experimental elements. These often include fully synthetic vocals, artificially generated drum sounds, and noises based on random algorithms. The rhythm, typically between 110 and 170 bpm, often has a very mechanical feel.