Progressive house music emerged in the rave and club scenes of the UK in the 1990s as a natural progression of American and European house music of the late 1980s. The label was initially used interchangeably with "trance". In 1992, Mixmag described it at the time as a "new breed of hard but tuneful, banging but thoughtful, uplifting and trancey British house."
The sound and style were a departure from the Chicago acid house sound. Progressive house was viewed by some as anti-rave as its popularity rose in English clubs while breakbeat hardcore flourished at raves. Progressive as a term served double duty. It represented a move away from the status quo of club music at the time and it described the music itself, as it progressively builds on a foundational beat with repetitive melodies.
According to American DJ/producer duo Gabriel & Dresden, Leftfield's October 1990 release "Not Forgotten" was possibly the first progressive house production. The record label Guerilla Records, set up by William Orbit & Dick O'Dell, is thought to have been pivotal in the growth of a scene around the genre.
