“New beat is a Belgian electronic dance music genre that fused elements of new wave, hi-NRG,EBM, acid house and hip hop (e.g. scratching). It flourished in Western Europe during the late-1980s.
New beat spawned a subgenre called “hard beat” (a blend of EBM, new beat and acid house) and became a key influence on the evolution of European electronic dance music styles such as hardcore techno and gabber.”