Electronic music can be seen as more of an umbrella term than an actual genre; its broad definition includes many styles of electronic music ranging from experimental forms like electronic art music and musique concrete, industrial/synth pop bands like Throbbing Gristle/Cabaret Voltaire as well as dancefloor-oriented tracks like trance house techno.
1. Ambient
Ambient music is a type of electronic music that does not rely on musical structures like rhythm or chords; instead, sounds generated or recorded using instruments and sometimes musical notes are distributed through time in recordings to create an ambience or feel for listening pleasure and even sometimes for meditation practices. This genre tends to be soothing, relaxing and peaceful for audiences while it may even help improve performance at meditation practices.
Electronic dance music (EDM) is an electrified form of pop that incorporates elements from other genres such as techno. EDM’s hallmark instrument is synthesizers which produce various sound textures with effects like phaser and tremolo; additionally, electro uses drum machines and other mechanical devices to provide an aggressive rhythm for its beats.
Detroit techno has its origins in disco, house music and computer-based composition. Early pioneers include Juan Atkins, Rik Davis and Derrick May. While house featured piano playing and gospel vocals for house, techno highlighted an intense mechanical beat and computerised sound. Today this genre continues to thrive thanks to artists such as Deadmau5 and Nicole Moudaber.
2. Electronic
Electronic music encompasses many genres. At its core lies music created with computers alone; some producers may also possess skills in keyboard or guitar playing but many modern musicians rely solely on computers and mice for their creations, with notable artists like Hardwell (big room house), Skrillex (modern dubstep) and Diplo (electro house/mixed genres) using this approach exclusively.
New wave, popularized by bands like Ultravox, Eurythmics and Cabaret Voltaire in the 1970s. Around this time digital synthesizers became accessible to mainstream consumers and new genres of music were created with them.
Techno is one of the more well-known new styles, known for its distinctive sound characterized by pulsating beats and dark or bright melodies that define its soundscape. Aside from its dancefloor appeal, techno has also been featured in movies and television. Intelligent Dance Music, on the other hand, caters more toward listening than dancing; its umbrella genre covers Future Bass, Deep House, Hybrid Trap and Trance styles like Hardstyle; its subgenre that often goes overlooked is Hardstyle which brings together rave beats associated with Hardcore alongside beautiful or dark Trance melodies in one energetic blend!
3. Electro
Electro is a musical genre combining traditional musical sounds with electronic drum machines, synthesizers and sequencers. The style first emerged during the early 1980s when musicians started experimenting with Roland TR-808 drum machines purchased at pawn shops. According to many accounts, its creation was heavily influenced by German technopop artists Kraftwerk and British futurist Gary Numan as well as pioneering black rappers and singers such as Man Parrish (who produced music for Michael Jackson), Jamiroquai and Run DMC among many others.
Electro is typically an instrumental genre, though there may be songs featuring vocals processed through vocoder or speech synthesis. It typically has a dark mechanical sound influenced by both funk and disco music styles.
Electro genre is currently experiencing a revival thanks to DJs such as Zedd and festivals such as Dekmantel that feature it prominently. Furthermore, younger audiences who grew up listening to artists such as Skrillex and Deadmau5 are discovering it too!
4. Funk
Funk music first emerged among African-American communities during the 1960s, drawing its influence from soul music while taking its own path. Funk is often slower, sexier and looser than soul but more structured than disco; bass lines typically dominate its composition while drums, electric guitars and horn sections may all play their parts; all three instruments use tight rhythmic foundations which has had an immense influence on hip hop which regularly samples from James Brown and P-Funk as part of its soundscapes.
Funk can also be found in artists such as Kendrick Lamar, who often incorporates P-funk elements and has drawn inspiration from bands of the era. Today however, much funk music focuses on synthesizer driven sounds with electronic sound design being key. This subgenre of Electro Funk or EDM may feature arpeggio chords and vocoders.
Hardstyle EDM is another genre influenced by Funk, featuring hard pounding rave beats mixed with beautiful or dark Trance melodies for an energetic, highly addictive style that appeals to both dancefloor and listener emotions. Hardstyle can incorporate various different sounds and styles; therefore making this genre highly flexible.
5. House
Techno is a very broad genre that encompasses everything from classic Detroit techno to the big room house of Skrillex. Generally it refers to electronic dance music composed for the dancefloor that incorporates drum machine rhythms, pads from synths like the Minimoog or Jupiter-8, and basslines from classic Roland TB-303s – plus often incorporates 4 on the floor kick patterns that vary in time signature dependency with dropouts and reintroductions that can include time signature-specific drops and intros based on time signature variations that include time signature-dependent drops or re-introductions based on time signature changes or drops and intros reintros!
Keep in mind that electronic musicians often straddle different genres and styles of music. A DJ who specializes in deep house can easily cross over into electro, while a producer known for producing trance can easily produce acid techno.
The early 1980s witnessed the birth of industrial and new age music with an emphasis on electronics, with bands like Throbbing Gristle (reformed in 2004) and Cabaret Voltaire as well as bands such as Human League, Kraftwerk, Orbital among many others emerging. Rock and pop musicians began employing synthesizers more extensively as well, leading to a revival of synthpop during late 80s/early 90s with acts like Blondie, Depeche Mode and Madonna using this genre.
6. Techno
Techno emerged out of European electronic music from the 1970s and ’80s, led by early pioneers such as Germany’s Kraftwerk and Belgium’s Tangerine Dream who employed electronic synthesizers to craft songs featuring repetitive beats. Techno underwent further transformation in its later forms by producers from reunified Berlin in the late ’90s who focused on using sounds rather than instruments as melodies to compose melodies in keeping with Klangfarbenmelodie tradition.
Techno is a pioneering genre that has had an enormous influence on dance music ever since its initial appearance. Now an international subculture that promotes inclusivity and fosters community among its followers – from warehouse parties in Detroit to underground clubs in Berlin – techno unites people of diverse backgrounds within an environment free from judgment.
Acid Techno has become so widely popular that it has given birth to numerous subgenres: acid techno, minimal techno, drum and bass, trance and many others have emerged over time. Genre subgenres range from acid techno through minimal techno and drum and bass all the way up to 200 BPM hardcore; but all have similar elements such as fast rhythms, thumping basslines and melodies leading up to explosions at any moment – as artists such as Celldweller or Blue Stahli keep the genre alive with their distinctive electronica-influenced sounds.
7. Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a dance music genre that blends electronic sounds with more percussive traditional instruments, drawing its inspiration from rhythmic genres like Salsa. However, Reggaeton has also adopted influences from Western electronic music. A drum beat which goes “4 on the floor”, similar to an EDM beat is especially prominent accompanied by either an acoustic guitar or accordion playing syncopated melodies and percussion.
Dembow, or the signature beat of reggaeton, first became widely popularized by Jamaican artist Shabba Ranks’ 1990 song ‘Dem Bow’. However, Luis Fonsi’s 2017 hit Despacito brought this sound into mainstream consciousness and became the song of summer 2017.
Many producers followed in the footsteps of Ivy Queen, DJ Nelson and Daddy Yankee to develop their own distinct styles of reggaeton music. Luis Armando Lozada Cruz (Vico C) pioneered Latin-language hip-hop; showing that rapping in Spanish can still stay true to Puerto Rican culture while remaining relevant.
As reggaeton became more mainstream, musicians like Ed Sheeran and Shakira began using its signature beats in their music to incorporate elements of reggaeton into pop scene songs and appeal to wider audiences. Recently artists like Celldweller and Blue Stahli also started including elements of reggaeton into their pieces.