verse-chorus form
26 tracksThe common song structure that alternates verses (new words over similar music) with a recurring chorus (the same words and the hook). Most pop songs follow it.
Melody
hook
70 tracks.
What it is
The short, memorable idea a song is built to stick with you: a sung phrase, a riff, a synth line. A hook is designed for repetition and usually arrives early.
Read more on WikipediaRelated concepts
call and response
11 tracksOne phrase is answered by another: a lead voice and a choir, a vocal and an instrument. It comes from African and African-American traditions and runs through gospel, soul, funk and house.
interpolation
3 tracksRe-recording a melody or lyric from an existing song inside a new one, instead of copying the original recording as a sample does. The borrowed tune is performed again by the new artist, and its writers are usually added to the credits.
riff
14 tracksA short, repeated melodic or rhythmic figure, usually played by an instrument, that anchors a song. Rock riffs are often guitar figures; in electronic music the same role falls to a synth or bass line.
spoken word
9 tracksA vocal delivered as speech rather than song: talked, recited or half-sung with little or no melody. In electronic and post-punk music a flat, deadpan spoken voice over a beat can sound cool, ironic or confrontational.
Hear it in these tracks
Whilk & Misky
I Want Your Lovin' (Edit)
Whilk & Misky's London soul-pop at its most direct: a warm, swinging groove and a voice that asks for exactly one thing, over and over, until you want it too.
Whilk & Misky
Babe I'm Yours
A hushed, smoky vocal floats over plucked folk guitar and a slow electronic pulse, turning a simple declaration of devotion into a late-night confession.
The Supermen Lovers, Herr Styler, Cristine
C'est bon
A flirtatious slice of French pop-funk house from Guillaume Atlan's project, two voices trading lines over a springy bassline until the title becomes a shrugging, grinning verdict on the night.
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
The Sun Ain't Shining No More
A brassy, technicolour psych-pop stomp from Denmark, Mette Lindberg's helium-bright voice riding horns and a strutting beat that make heartbreak sound like a parade.
Platinum Doug
Move On (Original Club Mix)
A punchy, no-nonsense club mix from the Swiss house producer Platinum Doug on Enormous Tunes, where a repeated vocal hook and a bouncing bassline push the dance floor forward bar after bar.
Peaches
Pickles
Peaches at her most gleefully filthy: Pickles rides a stark, rubbery electro beat while she raps about desire with a grin you can hear in every line.
Nils Ohrmann
In Ya Face (Original Mix)
Six and a half minutes of bumping Berlin house from Nils Ohrmann: a cheeky vocal taunt, a springy bassline and a groove that never lets go.
Mount Sims
The Bitten Bite Back
Cold synth stabs and a deadpan, sneering vocal turn revenge into a dancefloor chant: Mount Sims at his most wiry, sleazy and defiant.
Mando Diao
Dance With Somebody (Radio Version)
Mando Diao trade garage-rock grit for a disco-rock floor-filler, a pulsing four-on-the-floor beat and a shout-along chorus about needing someone to dance with.
Jain
Mr Johnson
Handclap-light percussion, a bouncing bass and Jain's playful, slightly mischievous delivery make Mr Johnson one of Zanaka's sunniest little stories.
Jain
Hope
Jain's light, sing-song voice, her own drum programming and Yodelice's bass and trombone carry a small, sunny plea for a better world, the title track of her first EP in 2015.
Jain
Come
Jain's debut hit hides a lovesick lyric under a happy bounce: chugging guitar, bashful horns and double-tracked vocals, under three minutes of Afro-pop lightness that went to number one in France.
Jain
City
The closing song of Jain's 2015 Hope EP, produced by Yodelice: her bright, slightly mischievous voice riding a homemade-sounding beat that mixes pop simplicity with the rhythmic colours of a childhood spent between Dubai, Congo and Abu Dhabi.
Ivy Levan, CADRÉ
Like A Glove
Ivy Levan's smoky, swaggering vocal slinks over a sleek, bass-heavy pop beat, with a rap verse from Cadre: a track from her 2015 'swamp-hop' debut that fits its title, tight, dark and made to measure.
Infinity Ink
Infinity
Infinity Ink's Infinity is a bassline-led deep house anthem whose endlessly looped, half-whispered hook made it a platinum hit in Belgium and a club staple since 2012.
Gorillaz
19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)
The Soulchild Remix turns Gorillaz's woozy 19-2000 into a bright, bouncing cartoon road trip, a 2001 UK top-ten single and the title theme of FIFA Football 2002, with a chorus everyone remembers: get the cool shoeshine.
Gorgon City, Katy Menditta
Imagination
A sleek, sunlit house cut where Katy Menditta's soulful vocal floats over a rubbery bassline and crisp garage-tinged drums, built for the moment a club exhales.
Gin Wigmore, Suffa, Logic
Willing To Die
Gin Wigmore's raw-throated hook meets verses from American rapper Logic and Hilltop Hoods' Suffa on a heavy, defiant anthem built over a sampled field recording.
Gin Wigmore
New Rush
Gin Wigmore's 2015 comeback single, co-written with Charlie Andrew, hits like a jolt of adrenaline: pounding drums and a chant-along chorus pushing her husky voice towards a fresh start after a stifling relationship.
Gin Wigmore
Man Like That
A stomping blues-soul strut in which Gin Wigmore's raspy, fearless voice lays out exactly the kind of man she wants, produced by Butch Walker for Gravel & Wine and later sung in a Heineken James Bond ad.
Gin Wigmore
Kill Of The Night
Gin Wigmore's smoky rasp prowls over stomping drums and a swaggering, bluesy strut, a midnight hunt sung by someone who fully intends to win.