Electronic music has gained significant traction over the years, becoming an integral component of music festival scenes worldwide. Genres ranging from Kraftwerk’s electropop to hip-hop’s intricate turntablism have contributed to its rising popularity and expansion into new areas.
With so many forms of electronic dance music (EDM) out there, it can be hard to keep up with them all. Here is a breakdown of some of the more popular EDM genres to help:
Techno
Techno music has quickly become one of the most beloved electronic genres, becoming an immensely popular form of dance music that incorporates pulsing beats and synthesizers to produce an extraordinary sound. Beats usually range between 120-144, encouraging people to move their bodies along to its rhythm.
Techno music began to diversify rapidly during the 1990s. Artists such as Adam Beyer, Carl Cox and Nicole Moudaber helped spread its legacy while drawing crowds onto dance floors. More recent artists use digital sampling rather than physical synthesizers, thus expanding its definition further as technology develops further. Techno is expected to continue evolving along with it as time progresses – perhaps leading to even more variations within its genre!
Techno originated as an underground style influenced by Detroit’s rave scene and all-night rave parties fueled by ecstasy. Techno’s bass lines and beats quickly spread throughout Europe through European rave parties that played out to techno.
By the late ’90s, techno had taken root in London’s dance club culture. Sheree Rashit and Lost labels quickly established themselves at the forefront of this movement, along with early pioneers Mr. C and Eddie Richards.
Following the phenomenal popularity of dance music, techno artists expanded their productions and added additional elements to their songs. Some utilized synthesizers to simulate other instruments while others employed vocal samples for more traditional melodies.
Techno exploded onto the scene in Birmingham during this decade with artists like Surgeon, Regis and Downwards pioneering its unique sound.
Minimalist techno producers such as Shinichi Atobe have established themselves in the dance music industry. Although many artists choose to remain anonymous, these producers possess an instantly recognisable style. Techno has quickly become one of the cornerstones of global music scenes and continues to influence countless musicians. Techno is a dynamic musical form with millions of fans around the world enjoying its legacy.
Hip Hop
Hip Hop culture has had a lasting impact around the globe and remains an influential cultural movement. Used as a vehicle for political commentary and social critique, hip hop has had profound repercussions in fashion, art, technology, language, dance and education – not to mention being a driving force in urban culture with forms like graffiti writing arising as its direct result.
Hip hop music combines rapping with breakbeats produced with drum machines, bass guitar and sometimes synthesizer effects to produce breakbeats, as well as R&B, soul, funk jazz and rock influences to form an extremely versatile genre that can easily mix with other musical genres – everything from disco to nu-metal music has had an effect on this form of musical expression and it remains an integral part of today’s music scene; creating its own subgenres such as trip hop and acid rap!
Hip hop’s origin can be traced back to 1970s New York City block parties where Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, observed that people dancing most actively when certain parts of a song were being played. He developed techniques of prolonging breaks using two turntables and a DJ mixer – this marked the birth of hip hop music.
Later, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash helped make hip hop an international phenomenon. They developed techniques for manipulating records such as cutting, scratching and punch phrasing while employing Roland TR-808 drum machines to produce unique beats – these beats quickly became signature sounds in hip hop music that still remain iconic today.
Emceeing or rapping is an integral component of hip hop culture and an expressive form of speech improvisational that conveys feelings, ideas, or opinions expressed through speech. Emceeing is widely recognized for its emotive quality; praised for expressing emotion while encouraging activism and inspiring creativity while inspiring other forms of artistic expression such as graffiti art or video art.
Hip hop has changed significantly over time and remains in tune with current trends, such as dubstep and intelligent dance music (IDM). Hip hop artists may also succumb to trends like auto-tune, which makes hit songs sound like nursery rhymes; however, many remain true to hip hop’s spirit without succumbing to such influences.
House
House music emerged in Chicago during the early 1980s from post-disco club culture, which attempted to move beyond pop-oriented beats with new elements such as Latin soul, dub reggae, rap and jazz influences. Producers used Roland TR-808 drum machines for production purposes creating unique sounds.
House music stands out among other genres with its distinct musical characteristics and aural components, like many others mentioned here. House is often played at high tempos with repetitive bass lines for maximum dance floor effect.
Four-on-the-floor rhythm is enhanced by soulful vocals and synthesized sounds to create an irresistibly energetic dance music genre, leading to numerous notable artists like Avicii and David Guetta emerging in this scene.
Techno music has experienced an exponential surge in popularity over the past decade. Played at dance clubs and festivals alike, its fast-paced beat and distorted basslines make for great dancing tracks; its use of reverb creates an intense, moody ambience.
The genre draws its influences from different musical styles, such as disco, punk and New Wave music, but has evolved into various subgenres including techno-funk and electrohouse. Electrofunk is a hybrid between traditional dance music and punk while technohouse incorporates elements of trance music as well as acid house.
Progressive house music was popular during the 90s. It features jazzy beats and melodies with synth stabs adding an energetic sound, making progressive house more energetic than house music itself. Progressive house often includes beats reminiscent of jazz while its synth stabs add a funky edge reminiscent of disco. Progressive house usually has faster tempo than house music for an upbeat and exciting feel.
Pop
Many people associate electronic music with pop, which makes sense given that pop often features catchy hooks and chord progressions that work well with drum machines or synthesizers. Although traditional instruments such as guitars may occasionally feature, digital recording technology since 1920 has led to much of pop being comprised of electronic instrumentation alone.
EDM (electronic dance music) is one of the most beloved subgenres of electronic music. This subgenre’s specificity for DJ sets at clubs makes EDM ideal, as its functional structure puts less emphasis on contrastive sections or musical motifs; rather it aims at encouraging danceable beats for maximum audience enjoyment.
EDM (Electronic Dance Music) has had a profound effect on music genres from all corners of the spectrum and continues to do so today. EDM incorporates elements from hip hop or rock styles into its style for an intriguing blend that can both excite and challenge musicians when creating it.
Early producers of electronic music used sound modulation techniques to alter sounds and produce effects like tremolo and reverb, adding depth and character to their sounds and producing music that could range from aggressive industrial noises to soothing classical arrangements.
As technology advanced, its capacity for storing and processing information became more accessible to composers, opening up a whole new world for them. At this time, basic circuits for sine, sawtooth, and square waves were created allowing composers to create harmonics and timbres previously impossible through mechanical acoustic methods.
Industrial music emerged during this era as a hybrid form of punk rock and electronic sounds, often featuring political or social commentary and sonically abrasive pieces that often included political or social messages. Influenced by avant-garde and art scenes, its influence can be heard in artists like Kurt Cobain and Trent Reznor’s works. Furthermore, industrial can be identified by using synthesizers with distortion as well as acoustic percussion instruments and vocal samples in its pieces.