People may mistakenly believe that electronic music began with the invention of synthesizers, but its roots can be traced much further back. Indeed, electronic instruments first appeared near the end of 19th century.
Early pioneers of electronic music were mostly musicians and composers influenced by new technology that was becoming accessible and affordable for everyone.
The Beatles
The Beatles were rock royalty, yet in contrast to many of their contemporaries who turned angst into defiance or anger, the four lads from Liverpool maintained a more composed approach and challenged boundaries through more considered means – particularly experimentation with production techniques like the Moog synthesizer which would go on to revolutionise electronic music as we know it today.
The Moog was first brought into popular consciousness through its use in The Band’s 1969 song Tomorrow Never Knows, where its use pioneered tape loops and other sonic manipulation techniques while its lyrics promoted mind expansion, anti-materialism, and Eastern spirituality. Additionally, Tomorrow Never Knows helped introduce the idea of “fourth dimension”.
While The Beatles may have been one of the first artists to use synths, other acts like Raymond Scott (an audio Andy Warhol) and Bob Moog were already pioneering electronic research. Bob Moog’s Electronium allowed musicians to create their own sequencers; keyboards and oscillators provided different sounds that could be combined together into what we now refer to as electronic sound; it was due to these pioneers that modern acts such as Daft Punk and LCD Soundsystem were able to incorporate it without feeling the need to declare it!
The Moog
Moog’s revolutionary creation of the first commercial synthesizer in 1964 changed music forever, enabling sounds to be altered using electricity for the very first time. This had an incredible impact on electronic music with bands such as The Beatles and Frank Zappa experimenting with early synths; Wendy Carlos even created an album entitled Switched on Bach using hers; recreating pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach while using the Moog synth to craft one of the greatest tracks (if not albums) of the 1970s using it for switching on Bach pieces by recreating Johann Sebastian Bach pieces using hers Moog synth.
As early synthesisers were quite expensive, Moog offered seminars for composers to make the best use of these new tools. Many influential electronic musicians in history such as Eno and Kraftwerk used Moog synthesizers in their music compositions.
Artists like Moby were instrumental in popularizing electronic dance music (EDM), particularly its techno and breakbeat subgenres. As it spread from clubs to fields and fitness centers, EDM evolved into a form with multiple catchy elements – such as synth riffs that featured strobe-like synths or the sudden build-up known as “drop.” Now many EDM tracks take cues from these early pioneers.
The Theremin
The Theremin was one of the most influential electronic instruments ever developed, enabling performers to manipulate pitch and volume of sounds by moving their hands near or away from it. This enabled musicians to create synth pop sound which became hugely popular for a brief period in late 1970s/early 1980s thanks to Blancmange, Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics, Human League Mk2, a-ha Soft Cell New Order. Nowadays theremins can still be found both digital music production software as well as more modern hardware versions like the Moog Theremini
The experimental musique concrete movement of the 1950s also contributed to pushing electronic music forward in different directions. While not as widely-acclaimed as Moog, its uncompromising philosophy helped shape much of what would later become part of synthesizers and digital sound processing technologies.
Hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash made an indelible mark on electronic music with his use of rhythmic looping and sampling, also used extensively by Fischerspooner and Ectomorph today. Turntables became instruments, with this style leading to creative compositions using vocal samples from different songs as part of an improvised composition – leading to the formation of mashups between different songs with each other using this style – often featuring vocal samples from one track blended in with instrumental components from another song; an approach which continues today with acts such as Fischerspooner and Ectomorph.
Electronic music in the 1960s
The 1960s witnessed an explosion of electronic music, particularly in Germany. Kraftwerk was one of the key figures behind this emerging genre and their repetitive rhythms inspired an entire generation of DJs who played underground clubs, fitness centers and warehouses across Europe. Over time they would go on to form subgenres like acid techno, hardcore or bleep techno that were all inspired by both themselves and what had come before.
Composers such as Iannis Xenakis, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Schaeffer used musique concrete – an innovative musical practice utilizing sound rather than traditional notes or timbres – in this decade to encourage people to think creatively about music production and sound usage. This marked an enormous paradigm shift which spurred creative thought in people.
Progressive rock keyboardists like Brian Eno were using drum machines as part of their sound, eventually inspiring Roxy Music’s John Foxx who used an ARP Odyssey to move from glam through rock electronica and back again into ambient territory, ultimately having an influence on bands such as OMD and Numan.
Electronic music in the 1970s
While most believe electronic music began with the invention of synthesizers, its roots extend much further back. Pierre Schaeffer made history when he introduced musique concrete – an experimental sound manipulation style using found sounds and experimentation with timbres and scales to produce new forms of composition – in the 1950s. This groundbreaking technique inspired many composers including Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Henry or Iannis Xenakis to use unconventional forms of composition using sound modifications.
In the 1960s and 70s, artists became interested in synthesizers with Jean-Michel Jarre becoming one of the early proponents of synth music with his 1970 album Oxygene; its purpose being pure synth music with lush melodies and chords; its success proved invaluable as an influence to later acts such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze or Vangelis.
Meanwhile, the 808 drum machine had become an indispensable element of electro house – an electronic music genre featuring breakbeats sped up to hip-hop and funk rhythms accompanied by oscillators with wild pitch modulation – leading to further influences across other genres like dub techno and acid techno.
Electronic music in the 1980s
By the late 1960s, electronic music began to integrate with other forms of popular music and give rise to new subgenres – for instance rock musicians starting to incorporate oscillators and theremin into their sonic signature. Jeff Wayne achieved lasting fame with his 1978 song ‘War of the Worlds’ that featured digital vocoder technology which allowed humans to talk through computers or play back synthesizers and musical instruments via audio recordings that had been altered in an audible manner.
Karlheinz Stockhausen had a unique approach to how electronic sounds could be utilized to compose music with authenticity in mind, rather than musique concrete sound manipulation. He worked at Studio d’Essai and Cologne radio station WDR before founding Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center – now America’s oldest center for computer and electronic music research – in 1959.
In the 1970s, disco music flourished with hits like Donna Summer’s 1977 single ‘I Feel Love’ using drum machines and synthesized rhythms to entice dancers onto the floor. By contrast, synth-pop evolved further towards dance music through 1980s leading to techno, acid house, and trance genres being born.
Electronic dance music
The 1970s witnessed the rise of disco music, which relied on drum machines and synthesized sounds for its popularity; popular hits at this time included Donna Summer’s 1977 song ‘I Feel Love’ being especially successful. Around this same period, legendary producer Giorgio Moroder became immensely influential within electronic music.
His 1974 album ‘Autobahn’ was among the first to rely heavily on repetitive and synthetic sounds, giving rise to Synthpop as a genre and opening up doors for Ultravox and Depeche Mode bands to come.
Throughout the 1980s, music production methods underwent another revolution with Musical Instrument Digital Interface or MIDI’s introduction. This revolutionary technological advance allowed computers and instruments to communicate directly for the first time; leading to revolutionary synthesizers such as Roland’s D-50, Korg’s M1 and Yamaha’s DX7 being created.
This led to the birth of House, Techno, and Trance as distinct dance music genres. Drawing influence from their acoustic-driven counterparts, these genres used dusty drum machines and timeless synth sounds – with artists like Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, as well as German techno and hardcore scenes having significant impacts.
In the 1970s, krautrock, disco and new wave music began using polyphonic synthesizers and programmable drum machines for music composition. Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Mikrophonie I for tam-tams, handheld microphones and an early Trautonium was particularly influential for exploring timbre without regard for pitch. John Cage’s aleatoric music concept inspired experimentation using random elements.
Techno
In the mid-1980s, a group of young African American producers and DJs in Detroit began experimenting with new sounds inspired by European electronic music – ultimately giving birth to techno. Early practitioners included Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Eddie Fowlkes and Kevin Saunderson as early practitioners of this style.
Techno’s development was inextricably tied to electronic instruments. Practical tape recorders first appeared in the early 1920s, and subsequent technological innovations enabled sound speeds to be altered and electronic compositions to be produced. When Sony founded their electronics division in 1946 they soon introduced magnetic tape recorders which opened up an entirely new realm for musicians such as Toru Takemitsu and Minao Shibata who experimented with their use.
Initial audiences did not readily embrace what would later become known as techno music, yet its pioneers had an outsized impact. Their work relied heavily on synthesizers, drum machines and minimal vocals while often featuring repetitive rhythms with spacey melodies and futuristic atmospheres.
Techno rapidly gained widespread appeal across Europe as dancers were drawn in by its hypnotic rhythms and sci-fi imagery. North America soon followed suit when bands like Sheffield’s Cabaret Voltaire and Nitzer Ebb began adding elements of funk and R&B into their sound around 1983.
Techno is often linked with rave culture in both America and Europe. Former industrial spaces and squats became host for spontaneous raves where attendees danced to techno beats. Artists like Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, and Hawtin helped set this sound of rave-ing with their hard-edged electronica sounds.
Electro
The tape recorder revolutionized electronic music production and reproduction. Composers could create and reproduce recordings using this device, playing back the recording to manipulate sounds for different musical effects – this technique, known as studio realizations, allowed artists such as Pierre Schaeffer to develop early works like Cinque etudes de bruits and Deserts using studio realizations. Soon thereafter, musicians such as Edgard Varese and Jean Michel Jarre began experimenting with electronic music using their Moog synthesizer renditions of contemporary rock songs – influence that also led them down this path of innovation that eventually lead them into creating what would become known as new-age music.
In Europe during the 1950s, Europe witnessed its inaugural electronic music studios being established, often government-funded like those run by Radio-France (RDF) in Paris and WDR in Cologne. Karlheinz Stockhausen made notable advancements of electronic music during this era with works like Elektronische Studie I (produced in 1952) and Elektrischen Klangerzeugung (released 1954) which integrated orchestral elements with electronically generated sounds, creating one of the earliest examples of musique concrete music.
As the 1960s progressed, more innovations in electrical music emerged, particularly with the development of sound-on-film technology that allowed for graphical sound as well as speed adjusting and developing of acousmatic music. By 1970s electronic instruments had become more prevalent with music enthusiasts including synthesizers originating in 1960s as well as drum machines that became staples of electro genre.
Electro music draws upon multiple genres for inspiration, including jazz, disco, new wave and hip hop. Hip hop in particular was heavily influenced by New York’s underground musical scene as well as afrofuturism of its day – as exemplified by Afrika Bambaata’s 1982 hit Planet Rock using Kraftwerk samples with vocoderized vocals to produce an uptempo rhythm still used today in dance music.
Synthpop
Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and David Bowie used synthesizer technology to produce groundbreaking music with synthesizers. Their pioneering sound gave birth to an entirely new genre known as synth pop; defined as an amalgam of pop music featuring heavy use of electronic instruments combined with catchy melodies that were both catchy and upbeat. Although synth pop was immensely popular during its initial popularity era of 1970s-1980s; musical tastes eventually shifted toward other styles.
Synthesizers were an integral component of music throughout its history, from punk rock to disco and glam metal. Their introduction in the 70s and 80s led to what is commonly referred to as the Second British Invasion with bands such as Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Scritti Politti Trans-X Yellow Magic Orchestra Japan as well as Alphaville Modern Talking from Switzerland becoming central players.
As much as this genre can often be perceived as being soulless, its lyrics often focus on feelings of alienation and disconnection from society at large. These sentiments were amplified further through synthesizer use which was perceived as mechanical machines lacking emotion or human characteristics – further amplified by fashion choices of synth-pop stars who often donned dark eyeliner and asymmetric hair for performances meant to create an image perceived as gender-bending.
Synth pop has long since established itself as its own genre; however, many contemporary artists still incorporate its style. Lorde and Tory Lanez have both adopted its modern sound with emotive lyrics and captivating productions.
New Wave
New wave took hold during the ’80s with music from bands like Duran Duran, Devo, Blondie, The Psychedelic Furs and Echo & the Bunnymen dominating MTV and pop culture. Rejecting both Glam (late 1960s-early ’70s) and post-punk’s heavy tone (post-punk), artists explored rhythm experimentation through synthesizers, futurism and rhythm based synthesizers in rhythm experiments to produce unique sounds; bands such as Talking Heads combined funk art rock punk with their unique sound to produce something truly new: New Wave
Synthesizer technology became more accessible after the 1970s, enabling European innovators such as Brian Eno (for a while a keyboardist with Roxy Music) to experiment with modern digital instruments. Their experiments ultimately resulted in Krautrock music genre which helped pave way for other forms of electronic music like new wave and electro.
At its heart, new wave was defined by its use of futuristic-sounding digital synthesizers and drum machines to produce an otherworldly, otherworldly sound. Alongside modern dance rhythms and funk grooves, new wave bands often used effects like reverb and delay to create an artificial space age atmosphere that was often replicated later in genres like techno, electropop or synthpop.
As new wave emerged during the ’80s, so too did its accompanying music videos on MTV. Many movies from that era featured songs by new wave artists – The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and Liquid Sky all featuring these artists – thus helping solidify its popularity for younger generations and giving artists involved with this genre an additional boost.
Hip Hop
Hip hop music has quickly become one of the world’s most beloved forms of expression since its birth as a cultural movement in the 70s, when young people turned their frustration with despair, abandonment and racism into creative outlets such as television programs, films and dance performances. Over time it has grown into an international phenomenon that pervades all aspects of culture including television series, films and dance performances. Hip hop’s roots lie in urban poverty and discrimination that led young people out onto their streets for entertainment and expression – using abandoned buildings or parking lots for block parties with DJs spinning records while MCs reciting rhymed speeches over beats while DJs would spin records while DJs spun records while DJs spun records while DJs spun records while DJs spun records while DJs spun records while DJs spun records while DJs spun records while DJs played records over beats – eventually giving birth to a whole new form of art form!
Early hip hop was inspired by Jamaican sound system culture, brought over to New York by DJ Kool Herc and popularized through toasting – where DJs would add ambience by creating short raps that either mentioned people present or simply described the mood of music playing at parties. This practice eventually led to DJing.
Hip hop’s popularity influenced many other genres of music. Artists such as Run DMC fused rap with hard rock to popularize it further. Additionally, its influence extended into fashion and street style, including fashion brands like Adidas; street style influences are felt everywhere from clothing stores to dance studios worldwide; even artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat used its cultural elements in his works.
As music scenes and names change, so too do their names. Electroclash combines two sounds once considered opposites such as electronica and punk music while blog house is an allusion to dance music promoted and shared through blogs.