Since technology evolved, electronic music has taken on new forms – now featured at intimate nightclubs, large festivals, and performed by mainstream singers.
Funk is distinguished by evocative extended chords drawn from jazz that use non-diatonic intervals, often featuring lyrics dealing with identity politics or emo-anxiety.
House
House music, originating in Chicago during the early 1980s, has quickly become one of the most beloved genres worldwide. House can often be found associated with club culture and dancefloors and features a 4/4 time signature with repetitive melodies and driving drum beats; vocals, keyboards and various percussion instruments like bass guitar and drum machines may also be present.
House music’s success led to an explosion of subgenres and offshoots, each with their own distinct sound. Deep house, for example, blends elements typically associated with house with jazzy chords played softly on an electric piano – creating an enjoyable and relaxing genre!
Acid house, another popular offshoot of house music, first emerged during the ’80s cultural revolution and drug use. This genre is distinguished by a core electronic “squelching” sound created using Roland TB-303 bass line synthesizer; additionally, this genre can also feature repetitive patterns with an often hypnotic or psychedelic atmosphere.
Techno is an offshoot of house music that emerged as an alternative to disco and funk at its inception. Techno typically features faster and more trance-like beats ranging from 120 to 130 BPM; artists often utilize this genre for creating experimental electronic compositions that push beyond what was possible at that time.
Big room house music has quickly become one of the most renowned subgenres of house, known across generations and cultures alike. Combining energetic beats from techno with the deeper sounds associated with deep house, this form fuses together its energy with deep house’s relaxation. Perfect for big festival dancefloors and featured by many popular DJs including Tiesto, Martin Garrix and Swedish House Mafia DJs alike; mainstream singers often incorporate big room into their own music production.
Electro
Electronic dance music (EDM) first emerged during the 1970s. At that time, disco was at its height, and bands began experimenting with synthesizers and drum machines to produce what has come to be known as electro music today. Experts consider electro music a modern alternative to rock music that features heavy beats with repetitive patterns characterized by vocal processing through vocoders as well as featuring vocals processed through vocoders for processing through an amphetamine synthesizer; its sound can also be found within elements such as drum and bass music as well as techno and house influences.
Electro songs feature fast tempos and low bass lines. Drums, bass guitar, synthesizers, and beat distortion create its distinctive sound – often mesmerizing and hypnotic sounds are produced. Many electro songs focus on love or relationships while women tend to favor this genre.
Though many may consider electro a modern genre, its roots go all the way back to the 1970s when its first manifestation occurred: an amalgamation of darker forms of funk music with elements from techno and house. Over time it has continued to change into its present-day state with various influences being brought together in one mix of sounds and influences being featured within it.
Electro uses more than synthesizers; its production techniques involve drum machines and sequencers as well. These tools enable producers to easily create complex rhythms by hand that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to replicate by means of traditional recording methods. Furthermore, using drum machines and sequencers offers producers additional benefits over traditional recording methods; quickly making changes accurately is just one such advantage.
Electronic music production offers several advantages for bands. First and foremost is its accessibility; anyone with access to a computer and software can produce electronic tracks. Furthermore, this technology enables artists to produce music at lower costs – which is especially advantageous for smaller acts that would otherwise struggle financially to produce their own material.
Genre has its roots in funk, hip hop and techno elements and is gaining prominence at parties and clubs worldwide. Male artists produce this style of music but female singers have begun making strides within this industry.
Techno
Techno music was the second electronic genre to gain prominence and reach wide popularity, emerging out of European electronica such as Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream from Europe in the 70s and 80s, American hip hop and disco as well as Detroit producers combining synthpop with African American house and funk music to form what we now refer to as techno. Techno would ultimately go on to give rise to other electronic genres including trance, eurodance and tech house tracks as well as sci-fi soundtracks by acts such as Daft Punk Depeche Mode and Porter Robinson among others.
Although people still argue over who invented techno, most scholars agree it began in Detroit during the 1980s when bands like Cabaret Voltaire, Nitzer Ebb and Pet Shop Boys began incorporating EDM and funk influences into their sound; eventually this gave rise to its own sub genre – techno.
Techno, like House, relies on repetitive rhythms and beats; however it stands apart by employing more percussion sounds and synth sounds than its House counterpart. Techno has more of an electronic sound with futuristic vibes; vocals may even be pushed down in octaves to add reverb. BPM ranges between 120-145. Artists such as Aphex Twin and Autechre may fall within this genre.
Techno evolved as its popularity rose, becoming influenced by Europe’s rave scene (a neo-psychedelic subculture centered around all-night dance parties fueled by ecstasy). This led to more aggressive and harder music with distinct styles like minimbleep&bass, hardcore techno, breakbeat techno and acid techno emerging within it.
Techno is a DJ-friendly style of music. Produced largely as instrumental music (commercial varieties are an exception), techno was designed for continuous sets in which DJs would transition between records using synchronized segues known as mixes. Composed using digital instruments like keyboards, samplers and drum machines; synthesizers like Roland TR-808 or TR-909 models may also play an integral part.
Trance
Trance music has long been one of the most beloved genres in electronic dance music. Characterized by rapid tempos, high-pitched synthesizers and dreamy melodies, its fast tempos often induce fast heart rates while its dreamy melodies transport listeners into another dimension – often used as an effective alternative means to experience psychedelic effects without drugs.
Trance music contains various subgenres with their own unique sounds. Melodic trance features soothing piano riffs while uplifting trance has faster tempo and features vocals for an upbeat experience. Progressive trance features slower melodies with chord progressions while NRG trance draws upon hard trance’s offbeat bass patterns for an intense rhythmic beat.
Genre has long been popular with young people and music festivals alike, and artists like Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez use synthpop elements in their songs. Although synthpop’s origins lie in 1970s synthpop and disco music, its influence can also be found in early electronic sound-generating devices like the Moog synthesizer which helped give rise to it.
Modern EDM has many diverse styles, numerous DJs, and large music festivals – it is truly an international movement which has even made its way into mainstream culture.
Modern electronic music can be dauntingly complex. With an endless number of styles and subgenres to explore, modern electronic music is difficult to grasp at times. If you know where to look though, there is much that you can learn about this genre that has taken over music world-wide.
Modern electronic music has an extensive and lengthy history; yet its presence today can be almost incomprehensible. It can be traced back to early experiments using electronic sound-producing devices in the 1960s; to Robert Moog’s invention of synthesizer; disco music’s rise; and later hip hop’s advent through turntables and samplers.