Electronic dance music

Not to be confused with Electro dance.

A DJ performing a mix.

Electronic dance music (EDM) is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment. The music is largely created for use by disc jockeys and is produced with the intention of it being heard in the context of a continuous DJ set; wherein the DJ progresses from one record to the next via a synchronized segue or "mix".

Electronic dance music is a broad term created and used primarily by Americans, to describe a set of percussive music genres that largely stem from the production methods of disco music, house music, techno music, and Trance music. Such music was popularized via regional nightclub scenes in the 1980s, the warehouse party scene of the late 1980s, and the early rave scene of the acid house movement in the late 1980s. It should be noted however that even in the later half of the 70's the Disco music dance scene began to shift away from its traditional orchestration (acoustic orchestras) on its recordings. By 1977 producer Giorgio Moroder worked with Donna Summer to release I Feel Love. The song was a dance/discotheque hit, that was made using synthesizers and drum machines. They would later collaborate and release the Donna Summer's Bad Girls Album in which tracks like Sunset People used similar techniques during production. This sound would wind up being the norm for Disco in the late 70's through to the 80's. By the mid 1990s, the presence of electronic dance music in contemporary culture was noted widely and its role in society began to be explored in published historical, cultural and social science academic studies. It is constructed by means of electronic instruments such as synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, and generally emphasizes the unique sounds of those instruments, even when mimicking traditional acoustic instrumentation. It sometimes encompasses music not primarily meant for dancing, but derived from the dance-oriented styles.

Synonyms

Since around the mid-1970s, electronic dance music has enjoyed popularity in many nightclubs, and is the predominant type of music played in discothèques as well as the rave scene in the mid to late 80's. As such, the related term club music, while broadly referring to whichever music genres are currently in vogue and associated with nightclubs, has become synonymous with all electronic dance music, or just those genres—or some subset thereof—that are typically played at mainstream discothèques. It is sometimes used more broadly to encompass non-electronic music played at such venues, or electronic music that is not normally played at clubs but that shares attributes with music that is. What is widely considered to be club music changes over time, includes different genres depending on the region and who's making the reference, and may not always encompass electronic dance music. Similarly, electronic dance music sometimes means different things to different people. Both terms vaguely encompass multiple genres, and sometimes are used as if they were genres themselves. The distinction is that club music is ultimately based on what's popular, whereas electronic dance music is based on attributes of the music itself.

Genres

Main article: List of electronic music genres

Electronic dance music is categorized by music journalists and fans alike as an ever-evolving plethora of named genres, styles and sub-styles. With many types of dance music, the number of beats per minute (BPM) helps define a separation between genres. The presence of vocals, live instrumentation vs synthetic instrumentation, and pattern of drum beats also help differentiate genres of electronic dance music. Some genres, such as Electro, Electronica, Eurodance, Techno, House, Progressive House, Trance, Psychedelic Trance, Hardstyle, Dubstyle, Moombahton, Breaks, Jungle, Dubstep and Hardstep are primarily intended to promote dancing. Others, such as Ambient, IDM, VGM, Downtempo and Drumstep, are more experimental and tend to be associated more with focused listening than dancing.

Production technology

In the 1980s many genres of popular electronic music exploited the use of MIDI protocol; a technological development that expanded interactivity and synchronized functionality across a range of music related technologies. In the 1990s, following the growth of personal computing, EDM creation began migrating to computer based production systems.

Some of the most widely used synthesizers in EDM music include the Yamaha DX7, Korg M1, and Roland's Jupiter and SH-101. In addition, the most widely used bass synthesizer is the Roland TB-303, while the most widely used drum machines are Roland's TR-808 and TR-909.

Notable artists, producers and DJs

In the 1970's producers like Brian Eno and Giorgio Moroder were pushing the boundaries for synthesizers and drum machines. While Eno would go off and be one of the innovators of Ambient Music, Moroder would score his second dance hit (first being "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer) and Academy Award for best score with the song Chase which was the theme song for the film Midnight Express. By 1980's bands like Yello and artists like Gary Numan would go on to produce Electronic Dance Music hits even before the commercial advent of MIDI. MIDI (which allows for digital/electronic instruments to communicate with each other) would be the catalyst which would allow new electronic dance musicians and genres to flourish by the mid to late 80's such as Front 242 and Meat Beat Manifesto.

With the explosive growth of computers music technology and consequent reduction in the cost of equipment in the late 1990s, the number of artists and DJs working within electronic music is overwhelming. With the advent of hard disk recording systems, it is possible for any home computer user to become a musician, and hence the rise in the number of "bedroom bands", often consisting of a single person. Nevertheless notable artists can still be identified.

Influential musicians in industrial, synth pop and later electronic dance styles include Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), The Human League, Silver Apples, A-ha, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Cut La Roc, Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, and Throbbing Gristle. In Hardcore, Happy Hardcore, and Gabber notable producers and DJs include artists such as Angerfist, Neophyte, Endymion, Scott Brown, Brisk and Ham, DJ Hixxy, Darren Styles and Mark Breeze.

Musicians, producers and DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk, Tijs Verwest (aka Tiësto), ATB, Swedish House Mafia, Deadmau5, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold, Showtek, John Digweed, Sasha, Markus Schulz, Kaskade and Ferry Corsten have reached true superstar status, can command five-figure salaries for a single performance and regularly perform for hours on end. Some DJs have world wide radio, and internet broadcasted shows that air weekly, such as VONYC Sessions, a show mixed by Paul Van Dyk; Trance Around the World, a show mixed by Above & Beyond; A State of Trance, a show mixed by Armin van Buuren, Tiësto's Club Life mixed weekly by Tiësto.

In Hardstyle, influential musicians include Headhunterz, Showtek, Zany, Noisecontrollers, Donkey Rollers, The Prophet, Blutonium Boy, Technoboy, Tuneboy, Hardstyle Masterz, Dark Oscillators, Deepack.

In House, Techno and Drum and Bass, pioneers such as Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Goldie, A Guy Called Gerald, LTJ Bukem, Joey Beltram and Frankie Bones are still active as of 2008. The only electronic music album to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart is The Prodigy's The Fat of the Land. In contrast to the American charts, many dance albums have reached number 1 in the UK and european charts including Scooter, Basement Jaxx, The Prodigy, 2 Unlimited and more recently Pendulum and Example.

Notable record labels

Until the 1980s, there were virtually no record labels that exclusively promoted electronic dance music. This changed when Larry Sherman set up house label Trax Records, techno pioneer Juan Atkins started Metroplex Records, Richie Hawtin started his influential Plus 8 imprint. In the United Kingdom, Warp Records emerged in the 1990s as one of the notable sources of home-listening and experimental music. Later arrivals include Armada, Astralwerks, BPitch Control, Cocoon Recordings, Ed Banger Records, Ninja Tune, German Kompakt, !K7, and American Ghostly International.

See also

• Electronica

Further reading

• Hewitt, Michael. Music Theory for Computer Musicians. 1st Ed. U.S. Cengage Learning, 2008. ISBN 139781598635034