Many electronic music genres first emerged within nightclubs and dancing environments, such as trance, techno, and acid house. These genres are distinguished by solid drum beats composed of kick, snare or clap, hi-hat and cymbals.
In the 1970s, musicians such as Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis and Isao Tomita used the monophonic Moog synthesizer to produce electronic versions of popular pop and rock compositions and songs.
Origins
Electronic music‘s history can be divided into several distinct phases and subgenres. Beginning as classical (or art) composition and later adapting into popular genres such as rock or dance music, electronic music eventually spread worldwide and took hold in different countries due to influences such as different styles or trends. By the late 80s its popularity had skyrocketed and could be found everywhere from clubs, underground spaces like fields or fitness centers, to large scale electronic festivals like Tomorrowland or Weekend Festival.
Theremin first made its debut in the 1920s and soon gained notoriety when used in science-fiction film soundtracks such as Bernard Herrmann’s score for The Day the Earth Stood Still. Meanwhile in Britain, BBC Radiophonic Workshop came into prominence thanks to its staff members such as Delia Derbyshire who created an electronic realisation of Doctor Who theme song by 1963.
John Cage began experimenting with electronic instruments in the US, such as two variable-speed turntables, frequency recordings and muted piano and cymbal, in his composition Imaginary Landscape No. 1. This work focused on sonic elements like timbre rather than rhythm or pitch; its emergence was considered a precursor of electronic and avant-garde music.
At this time, electronic music began its rise in Germany through the founding of Elektronische Musikstudion Koln and Studio d’Essai in Paris. Werner Meyer-Eppler’s Elektronische Klangerzeugung (Electronic Instrument Engineering), published early 1950s, was an essential milestone in electronic music’s development; its method called synthesis employed alternating voltage and frequency waves to generate musical sounds.
In 1955, EMS created the world’s first synthesizer laboratory in Stockholm with their Monophonic Minimoog synthesizer – an iconic breakthrough which revolutionized music creation using electronic sounds. Bands such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Popol Vuh quickly took up this innovative technology for use with their musical ideas combined with electronic devices in creating cosmic electronic music.
Evolution
In the 1920s, technological developments gave birth to sound-producing machines and synthesizers powered by electricity, soon followed by tape recorders that allowed sound editing and manipulation. Thus, musicians explored ways of combining musical composition with electronically processed sounds; eventually leading to musical genres such as musique concrete and elektronische Musik.
The 1950s and ’60s witnessed increased experimentation with electronic instruments. Many notable studios such as Studio d’Essai in Paris and Cologne Studio for Electronic Music emerged; composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis experimented with serial composing combined with electronic music for pieces like Mixtur (1964) and Hymnen Dritter Region mit Orchester (1967).
By the early 1970s, synthesizer technology had become more readily accessible. This led to an explosion of synth-based musical genres such as krautrock, disco and new wave that heavily employed polyphonic keyboard synthesizers, programmable drum machines and bass synthesizers. Furthermore, pioneering composers such as Brian Eno and Roxy Music created music which fused electronically generated sounds with traditional instruments.
Ambient music was also becoming increasingly popular. Artists such as Jean Michel Jarre, Klaus Schulze and Vangelis all produced this type of music during this era; Jamaican sound musicians like King Tubby also contributed significantly towards what has now come to be known as reggae or dancehall music.
In the 1990s, electronic music experienced a massive upsurge due to digitalization and affordable production techniques in the music industry. This led to an explosion of commercially successful artists as well as large-scale commercial electronic festivals like Tomorrowland, Weekend Festival or Ultra Music Festival.
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) continues to increase in popularity over time and this has given birth to various subgenres of EDM like trance, house, acid house and dubstep. Many of these subgenres can be identified by an emphasis on beat patterns and rhythm; other key characteristics may include vocal samples, reverberation and delay.
Subgenres
There is an expansive range of electronic genres that fall under its umbrella, each providing its own distinctive soundscape and rhythmic beats. Some of the more well-known subgenres include drum and bass, techno, trance, dubstep and house music.
Drum and bass is a club dance genre influenced by funk, soul, techno and jungle music styles. Distinguished by high-tempo beats with synthesized vocals and pulsating basslines designed to induce dancing among its followers, notable drummer and bass artists include X-Politik, Break, DLR Konflict NOISA among many others.
Tech house is an alternative version of EDM that features a rougher and more organic sound. This style of electronic music features stronger basslines and harder hitting beats than progressive or deep house while still maintaining a danceable tempo; making tech house an excellent way to rock any dancefloor with more bass-heavy music than its counterpart trance music.
Techno is an increasingly popular genre of music that blends elements of industrial, disco and funk. Originating in 1970s Europe and gaining tremendous momentum since, techno has seen many new talents emerge to add their unique take on it; everything from melodic pieces to bass heavy experimental soundscapes can all fall under this genre’s purview.
Synthpop music emerged during the late 1970s and early 1980s due to an explosion of electronic instruments such as synthesizers, drum machines, and electric pianos creating its distinctive sound. Popular bands that popularized synthpop included Ultravox, Depeche Mode and New Order – three iconic names which spearheaded its influence.
Ambient and downtempo music genres provide the ideal atmosphere for meditation, relaxation and daydreaming. Both genres feature an ethereal soundscape filled with soothing melodies and slow rhythms to provide a soothing ambiance for listening – these sounds may even be modulated using different timbres and frequencies to produce this desired result. These forms of music may also be known as psytrance and chillout music genres.
Trends
Over the past 20 years, much has changed with regard to electronic music’s development. Computer technology and musical software are making high-quality electronic dance music production accessible for anyone with access to an internet connection – this trend looks set to continue until 2023.
Another major shift is that many EDM artists are beginning to make a comeback in live performance arena. Though their heavy reliance on electronics makes performing in person challenging, touring has opened the doors for electronic artists like DJs to take back their performances again and even develop TikTok followings that can be considered small communities like John Summit and Loud Luxury have seen growth since pandemic was lifted.
Under these conditions, electronic music appears more promising than ever. Its popularity continues to soar with new subgenres emerging to fill any voids left by old ones; for instance, country-EDM has seen explosive growth this year after Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road went viral, thanks to its combination of country instrumentation with an electronic Nine Inch Nails sample and hip-hop drums creating an original and popular style of its own.
An emerging trend in artificial intelligence (AI) electronic music involves Deep Learning; AI algorithms analyze sound waves of songs to determine what beats are most likely to appear and then combine these sounds with melodies created by itself to produce entirely new tracks. This technology could reduce studio time for artists while at the same time giving rise to niche subgenres of musical composition.
One promising development is the rise of bedroom production in electronic music, which has been spurred on by low-cost digital audio workstation (DAW) software such as Ableton Live and Reason. These programs make producing electronic music much simpler and cheaper – thus making it more accessible for people of all ages and backgrounds.