Understand and Appreciate Electronic Music

"Techno" is only a small sub-category of electronic music. Find out more about house, trance, drum 'n bass, glitch, hi-NRG, IDM, ambient, etc. - and learn the differences!

Steps

  1. Don't use the word "techno" as a catch-all term for all electronic music. To generalize trance or house as "techno" is like generalizing death metal as "rock". Be willing to listen to new music and search "What is electronic music?" In the broadest sense, any music incorporating electronic elements ("instruments", samples, synthesis, effects) can be considered electronic. Most popular music today could meet this definition.
  2. Understand electronic music composition. Electronic music commonly uses drum machines, samples (sound clips), and/or synthesizers and effects processors.
  3. Understand that not all electronic music is fast or meant for dancing. Tempo (song speed) is often measured in Beats Per Minute (BPM), and electronic music songs may vary widely in BPM.

Tips

  • Trance - often intended for dancing, trance has a steady beat and often uses synthesizer sounds (especially organ/string "instruments") to create a droning melody. Styles include progressive trance, psychedelic trance (aka GoA), hard trance. See also: Paul Van Dyke, BT, Sasha and Digweed, Ferry Corsten, The Ronin Syndicate, 1200 Micrograms.
  • Jumpstyle - characterized by a rhythmic, pounding beat that continues throughout a song, Jumpstyle is as much about its music as the dance that accompanies it. See: Patrick Jumpen, Jeckyll & Hyde
  • The internet is your friend! Check out soundcloud.com, mixcloud.com, (electronic and dance), and youtube.com for lots of music you can listen to for free. A huge amount of electronic music is available for free online.
  • Hardcore - Hard and aggressive music with very fast BPM (160+) and distorted kick. Slower varieties such as Doomcore exist as well. Hardcore is a huge umbrella term for many different subgenres including Speedcore that was mentioned above.
    • There are many more styles and subgenres of electronic music, though most of it isn't exactly aimed for being only one specific genre. Keep your ears open and don't be afraid to ask about music that you overhear during your day.
  • House music - born in Chicago in the 1980s, said to spawn from disco. House typically uses a steady 4/4 beat and is intended for dancing, aka "club tracks". Variants of house include tech house, progressive house, pop house, acid house and many more. See also: Deep Dish, Satoshi Tomiie, DJ Dan, Bad Boy Bill, Daft Punk, Mason.
  • Hands Up / Hard Dance / Commercial Trance - The poppy, catchy dance music that reaches the mainstream audience most. It revolves around a hard, loud 4/4 kick and off-beat bass. Almost all songs incorporate vocals, and have a section of a song with a catchy lead melody. Cascada is the most notable artist in the genre. Others include Rob Mayth, DJ Manian, Tune Up!, Verano, Real Booty Babes, Special D, Deepforces, and many others.
  • Some of the most familiar types of electronic music are:
  • Drum and Bass / Jungle / Breakbeats - Different styles with a few features in common: Heavy basslines which can operate independently of the main drum beat; a high BPM count (160+), and emphasis on the "back beat". Rhythm drives these songs and the overlaid rhythm patterns are often changed several times during the same song, hence the name "breakbeats". See also: Pendulum, Current Value, Limewax, Aphrodite, Goldie, Photek, Dillinja, MFJ, Roni Size, DJ Rap, LTJ Bukem
  • IDM - The controversial title short for 'Intelligent Dance Music' (often dismissed by the actual artists involved). Combines multiple electronic music styles to produce very experimental music. Can be relaxing, hectic, ambient, fast or slow. IDM music is a very wide genre, most IDM artists sound very little alike. See: Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, Alva Noto, Venetian Snares, The Flashbulb. In some cases, IDM can also be known as EDM (Electronic Dance Music), but they are basically the same thing.
  • Ambient / Chillout / Downtempo - Tends to be synthesized music, sometimes with samples, with a lower BPM rate. Relaxing music, but not necessarily "New Age". See: DJ Shadow, Future Sound of London, Boards of Canada, Björk, E*Vax
  • Speedcore - Very very fast music (from 300 BPM to 1000), mostly involving aggressive and angrier or gothic versions, but there are also psychedelic, abstract and cheesy varieties. Speedcore originated mostly from France and Germany in the mid-1990s and later became a worldwide phenomena as internet became more common.

Warnings

  • Follow what your mood dictates. You probably won't always want to listen to Happy Hardcore.

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Sources and Citations

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