Insider's Guide to... Baltimore Club

What are the origins of Baltimore Club? As the name suggest, Baltimore Club was developed in Baltimore, Maryland, during the early 1990s. Dance music was gaining popularity, particularly thanks to the number of rave records that were coming out of England at the time, and the early pioneers of Baltimore combined this new sound with hip-hop and the Miami bass sound from the late 80s to create a complete new sound that would come to represent their city.

What defines the genre? Baltimore club bangs along at a dancefloor-friendly 130bpm. Huge bass kicks are married with a repetitive rhythmic break, culled from a very limited selection of songs including "Sing Sing" by Gaz and "Think" by Lyn Collins. Over the top, producers pepper tracks with snippets taken from popular culture (Spongebob Squarepants and George W. Bush have both been used on Baltimore tracks), or simple call and response lyrics.

Who are the big names? The genre was created by the likes of Scottie B. (the head of the influential Unruly Records), Frank Ski, DJ Spen and Big Tony. Since then numerous producers have co-opted the sound, both from Baltimore and overseas. Important producers include DJ Technics, Aaron LaCrate, Diplo, Blaqstarr, K-Swift, DJ Class, K.W.Griff, Rod Lee, Debonair Samir, Sydney's own Spruce Lee and DJ Sega.

Sounds good. Where can I get a hit of Baltimore Club? Philly's DJ Sega, who calls Diplo's Mad Decent label his sonic home, will be playing at Chinese Laundry on Friday 2nd July. It kicks off at 10pm, will cost you $15 before 11pm and $20 after, and he is supported by Levins, Moriarty, Cassette, Generic DJs and more.