For those who haven't the foggiest notion of what distinguishes house from hip hop or hardcore, here is a brief guide to the ins and outs of alternative music: Probably the slowest dance music there is, progressive house music combines a deep, warehouse bass with other styles of dance sounds. Called "progressive'' because its musical boundaries are virtually non-existent, the progressive house sound can range from repetitive beats that gain in speed to ambient sounds that use distorted, moody effects. It also tends to change constantly, with every month a different style being formed. Most clubbers enjoy progressive house because of the slow bass and laid-back fill-ins that allow them to dance freely to the music. Progressive house is commonly played at raves.

Formed in the early 1990s, jungle music, which is also played at Attitudes, has its origins in the slums of London, where it emerged as a cross between reggae and dance. Using break-beats of over 200 beats per minute, jungle is a lot faster than house. Snares and drums are also combined in the style with short strong vocals, making jungle a much more intense music to dance to.

Hardcore , meanwhile, is a lot more electronic, with strong techno fill-ins and continuous slow break-beats. Highly repetitive, the style also tends to attract those dancers who want to move freely to the music but love a build-up of sound that results in an explosion of special effects and trippy fill-ins.

Designed to create pictures in the mind without using words, ambient music is a more relaxed form of house that incorporates computerised patterns of various sound effects. Having recently taken off in the US, the music has already made its way to numerous music stores, where it can be purchased in both CD or cassette form.

Much like ambient, trance music came from the UK, and is designed to take the dancer on a journey of the mind. Using the same computerised effects that ambient music incorporates, trance tends to start off slow and build up to a crescendo or explosion of sound, giving the dancer an uplifting feeling.

Trance music also tends to vary in design, from deep, hardcore sounds from the UK to a slower, calmer and more relaxing trance from the US.