Electronic dance music - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Electronic dance music
Alternative dance Alternative dance Alternative dance or indie dance is a musical genre that mixes rock subgenres with electronic dance music...
Big Beat Big beat Big beat is a term employed since the mid-1990s by the British music press to describe much of the music by artists such as The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, and Propellerheads typically driven by heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns in...
Breakbeat Breakbeat In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
Dance-punk Dance-punk Dance-punk is a music genre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the post-punk and No Wave movements.-Predecessors:...
Dance-rock Dance-rock Dance-rock is a post-disco movement connected with post-punk/no wave genres with fewer R&B/funk influences. An example of this "post-disco" is Gina X's "No G.D.M." and artists like Liquid Liquid, Polyrock, Dinosaur L, and Disco Not Disco [2000] compilation album...
Disco Disco Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
Drum and bass Drum and bass Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
Downtempo Downtempo Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
Dubstep Dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
Electronic body music (EBM) Electronic body music Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
Electro
Electropop
Eurodance Eurodance Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
Eurobeat Eurobeat Eurobeat is a form of italo-disco/hi-NRG music that developed in the late 1980s.In the United States, Eurobeat was sometimes marketed as Hi-NRG and for a short while shared this term with the very early freestyle music hits....
Freestyle Freestyle music Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
Post-disco Post-disco Post-disco refers to a historically significant period in popular music history beginning with the commercial death of disco music in the late 1970s and ending with the mainstream appearance of house music in late 1980s.The stripped-down musical trends followed from the DJ- and producer-driven,...
Gabber Gabber Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
Hands Up Eurodance Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
Hard Dance Hard dance Hard Dance is an umbrella term that refers to a group of Hard electronic dance genres which aren't hard enough to be classified as hardcore. The term usually includes genres such as Hard House, Hard NRG, Hard Trance, and Hardstyle...
Hardcore
Hardstyle Hardstyle Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre mixing influences from hardtechno, hard house, hard trance, hardcore and rave music. It is between 148 and 157 bpm in speed and is written in 4/4 time....
Hi-NRG Hi-NRG Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
House House music House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
Intelligent dance music (IDM) Intelligent dance music Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...
New Wave New Wave music New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
Synthpop Synthpop Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
Techno Techno Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
Trance Trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
UK garage UK garage UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
Full list

Electronic dance music (EDM) is electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

-based entertainment

Entertainment

Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...

. 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

DJ mix

A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. When a DJ mix or DJ mixset is recorded onto some medium, it is often referred to as a mix tape...

; wherein the DJ progresses from one record to the next via a synchronized segue

Segue

A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...

or "mix

DJ mix

".

Electronic dance music is a broad term created post 1990's, used to describe a set of percussive music genre

Music genre

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...

s that largely stem from the production methods of disco music, house music

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

, techno music, and hip hop music

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

. Such music was originally born of and popularized via regional nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

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. By the early 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 synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

s, drum machine

Drum machine

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...

s and sequencer

Music sequencer

The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...

s, and generally emphasizes the unique sounds of those instruments

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

, 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-1980s, electronic dance music has enjoyed popularity in many nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

s, and is the predominant type of music played in discothèques as well as the rave

Rave

Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...

scene

Scene

- Arts and media :* Scene , an element of a larger fictional work such as a play* Scene , a part of action in a single location in a TV or movie, composed of a series of shots* Scene , a BBC drama anthology for teenagers...

. 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

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, Eurodance

Eurodance

Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...

, Techno

Techno

Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...

, House

House music

, Trance

Trance music

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

, Hardstyle

Hardstyle

Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre mixing influences from hardtechno, hard house, hard trance, hardcore and rave music. It is between 148 and 157 bpm in speed and is written in 4/4 time....

, breakbeat

Breakbeat

In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...

, drum and bass

Drum and bass

Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...

are primarily intended to promote dancing. Others, such as IDM

Intelligent dance music

Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...

, Dubstep

Dubstep

Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....

, glitch

Glitch (music)

Glitch is a term used to describe a genre of electronic music that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The glitch aesthetic is characterized by a deliberate use of glitch based sonic artifacts that would normally be viewed as unwanted disturbances reducing the overall sound quality and are thus...

and trip hop

Trip hop

Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...

, 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

Electronic music

exploited the use of MIDI protocol; a technological development that expanded interactivity

Interactivity

In the fields of information science, communication, and industrial design, there is debate over the meaning of interactivity. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels:...

and synchronized

Synchronization

Synchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time....

functionality across a range of music related technologies

Music technology

Music technology is a term that refers to all forms of technology involved with the musical arts, particularly the use of electronic devices and computer software to facilitate playback, recording, composition, storage and performance. This subject is taught at many different educational levels,...

. In the 1990s, following the growth of personal computing EDM creation began migrating to computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

based production systems.

Notable artists, producers and DJs

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

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

working within electronic music is overwhelming. With the advent of hard disk

Hard disk

A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...

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

Industrial music

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...

, synth pop

Synthpop

Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

and later electronic dance styles include Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...

, Yellow Magic Orchestra

Yellow Magic Orchestra

Sakamoto first worked with Hosono as a member of his live band in 1976, while Takahashi recruited Sakamoto to produce his debut solo recording in 1977 following the split of the Sadistic Mika Band...

(YMO), The Human League

The Human League

The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...

, Silver Apples, Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayumi Hamasaki

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to...

, A-ha

A-ha

A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...

, Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

, Duran Duran

Duran Duran

Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...

, Daft Punk

Daft Punk

Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...

, Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

, New Order

New Order

New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

, Cabaret Voltaire

Cabaret Voltaire (band)

Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...

, and Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...

.
In Hardcore, Happy Hardcore, and Gabber notable producers and DJs include artists such as Angerfist

Angerfist

Danny Masseling , best known as Angerfist, is a hardcore techno/gabber musician and DJ. He is one of the most popular and widely recognized performers in the genre.-Career:...

, Neophyte

Neophyte (band)

Neophyte is a hardcore, or gabber, group formed in 1992 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The three original members are Jeroen Streunding , Danny Greten and Robin van Roon....

, Endymion, Scott Brown

Scott Brown (DJ)

Scott Alexander Brown is a Glasgow-born Scottish DJ and music producer, now living in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Brown produces and plays a variety of genres commonly called rave. Although he is most associated with bouncy techno, his music ranges from happy hardcore, through hard trance, to...

, Brisk and Ham, DJ Hixxy, Darren Styles

Darren Styles

Darren James Mew , better known as Darren Styles, is a British record producer, disc jockey and singer-songwriter from Colchester, England. Originally a member of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & The Evolution, Darren found success during the 1990s as one half of Force & Styles...

and Mark Breeze

Mark Breeze

Mark Breeze, also known as DJ Breeze , is a UK Hardcore producer based in the United Kingdom. He is most known for his songs "Let's Fly" and "Jump A Little Higher", and frequently contributes DJ mixes to hardcore compilation series such as the Clubland X-Treme Hardcore series.He is mostly known in...

.

In Hardstyle

Hardstyle

Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre mixing influences from hardtechno, hard house, hard trance, hardcore and rave music. It is between 148 and 157 bpm in speed and is written in 4/4 time....

, influential musicians include Headhunterz

Headhunterz

Headhunterz, formerly known as Nasty D-Tuners, is a Dutch DJ/producer team, consisting of Willem Rebergen and formerly Bobby van Putten. Their own label Scantraxx Reloaded, started in 2006 is a sublabel of Scantraxx....

, Showtek

Showtek

Showtek are a Dutch hardstyle act, consisting of two brothers, Sjoerd and Wouter Janssen , who started producing Techno in 2001. They changed to hardstyle in 2003, and released their first album, Today Is Tomorrow, under their self founded label Dutch Master Works in 2007...

, Zany

DJ Zany

DJ Zany is a disc jockey and former member of Shadowlands Terrorists, now specialising in hardstyle. He is currently the owner of Fusion Records.- Biography :...

, Noisecontrollers, Donkey Rollers, The Prophet

The Prophet (musician)

Dov J. Elkabas alias DJ The Prophet is a Dutch DJ/producer and one of the Dutch leading gabber and hardstyle DJs. The Prophet is also the owner of the largest hardstyle record labels, Scantraxx.-Biography:...

, Blutonium Boy

Blutonium Boy

Blutonium Boy is a producer, DJ and business man from Germany. He started playing as a DJ in 1988. Adamiak released "Dreams In My Fantasy" in Germany as DJ Session One. This track was promoted and distributed by East West - Warner with a video on VIVA TV and radio air play...

, Technoboy

Technoboy

Cristiano Giusberti known by his primary stage name Technoboy is an Italian Hardstyle-DJ and Producer from Bologna.Technoboy is a DJ and Producer, who started out by playing vinyls in 1992...

, Tuneboy, Hardstyle Masterz, Dark Oscillators, Deepack.

In House, Techno and Drum and Bass, pioneers such as Charanjit Singh

Charanjit Singh (musician)

Charanjit Singh is a musician from Mumbai, India, who performed in numerous Bollywood soundtrack orchestras in the 1960s and 1970s. He led a wedding band and recorded and released a number of albums covering popular film songs...

, Juan Atkins

Juan Atkins

Juan Atkins is an American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno music, specifically Detroit techno along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson...

, Pendulum

Pendulum

A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position...

, Derrick May, Goldie

Goldie

Clifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...

, A Guy Called Gerald

A Guy Called Gerald

A Guy Called Gerald is the stage name for the musician, record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson ....

, Russian sensation Sonkin, LTJ Bukem

LTJ Bukem

LTJ Bukem is the stage name used by the drum and bass musician, producer and DJ Danny Williamson . He and his record labels Good Looking and Looking Good Records are most associated with the jazzy, atmospheric side of drum and bass music....

, Joey Beltram and Frankie Bones

Frankie Bones

Frankie Bones is an American techno and house music disc jockey from New York City. He is best known for bringing the rave culture to the United States after playing at a hangar party in the UK during 1989...

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
The Fat of the Land
The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by The Prodigy. The album was released by XL Recordings on 30 June 1997 and on 1 July 1997 in the United States by Maverick Records...

.

Commercially successful artists working under the "electronica" rubric such as Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim

Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...

, The Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...

, The Prodigy

The Prodigy

The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...

, Daft Punk

Daft Punk

, Massive Attack

Massive Attack

Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...

, Groove Armada

Groove Armada

Groove Armada is an English electronic music duo from London, England comprising Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'"...

, Basement Jaxx

Basement Jaxx

Basement Jaxx are a British electronic dance music duo from London, England consisting of Felix Buxton born 1971 and Simon Ratcliffe born 1 December 1969. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s...

, The Crystal Method

The Crystal Method

The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...

, Knife Party

Knife Party

Knife Party is an Australian Electro house/dubstep duo founded by two members of Pendulum, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen.-History:Before the side project was announced Rob Swire stressed that the project is not related to Pendulum. Their first release will be called 100% No Modern Talking and is...

, Orbital

Orbital (band)

Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, England consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill, in addition to a number of other live shows...

, Propellerheads

Propellerheads

Propellerheads were a British big beat musical ensemble, formed in 1995 and made up of electronic producers Will White and Alex Gifford. The term propellerhead is slang for a nerd, and when Gifford and White heard a friend from California use this in a conversation, they thought it the perfect name...

, Underworld

Underworld (band)

Underworld are a British electronic group, and principal name under which duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together since 1980.- Early years: 1979–1986 :...

and Moby

Moby

Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...

continue to release albums and perform regularly (sometimes in stadium-sized arenas, such has the popularity of electronic dance music grown; Moby does not use Synthesizers at his Concerts ) . Some successful Musicians, Producers

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

& DJs such as Paul van Dyk

Paul van Dyk

Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...

, Tijs Verwest (aka Tiësto

Tiësto

Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...

) , Deadmau5

Deadmau5

Joel Thomas Zimmerman , better known by his stage name deadmau5 , is a Canadian progressive, electro, and house producer based in Toronto...

, Skrillex, Paul Oakenfold

Paul Oakenfold

Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...

, ATB

ATB

ATB may refer to:*The US Reorder tone is often referred to as an ATB, for All Trunks Busy*Active Time Battle system is a feature of role-playing games*Mountain bike is an off-road bicycle...

, Showtek

Showtek

, John Digweed

John Digweed

John Digweed is an English DJ, record producer and acclaimed actor.-Biography:John Digweed began DJing around age 4...

, Sasha

Sasha (DJ)

Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...

, Armin van Buuren, Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki is an American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records.-Early life:...

and Ferry Corsten

Ferry Corsten

Ferry Corsten, also known under the alias System F, is a Dutch producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer. He also hosts his own weekly radio show, Corsten's Countdown. He routinely plays at events all over the world with crowds in excess of tens of thousands. In 2009 Ferry...

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

Paul van Dyk

Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...

; Trance Around the World
Trance Around the World
Trance Around the World is the title of a weekly radio show hosted by trance DJs Above & Beyond...

, a show mixed by Above & Beyond (band)

Above & Beyond (band)

Above & Beyond are a British trance music group formed in 2000 and consists of the members Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Finnish Paavo Siljamäki. They have their own record label Anjunabeats, which releases trance and progressive music, and they also host their own weekly radio show Trance...

; A State of Trance
A State of Trance
A State Of Trance is the title of a weekly radio show hosted by prominent trance producer DJ Armin van Buuren. First airing in March 2001 on ID&T Radio , the show takes the format of a two hour mix in which he plays new trance music, both promotional and commercially released...

, a show mixed by Armin van Buuren; and Club Life, a show mixed by Tiësto

Tiësto

.

In the late 1990s and 2000s artists considered Indie Electronic grew in popularity, often blending synth-pop, krautrock

Krautrock

Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...

, and electronica

Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

genres with others. Radiohead

Radiohead

Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

, Air, Justice

Justice (French band)

Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...

, Stereolab

Stereolab

Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...

, Simian Mobile Disco

Simian Mobile Disco

Simian Mobile Disco are a United Kingdom-based production and remix team formed in 2005 by James Ford and Jas Shaw of the band Simian. Musically, they are known for their analogue production...

, Komeda

Komeda

Komeda is a Swedish pop/indie band from Umeå. The group is named in honour of the late jazz musician Krzysztof Komeda. The band started in 1991 as a pit band for a Buster Keaton festival. Forming as a quartet, Komeda consisted of vocalist Lena Karlsson, guitarist Henrik Andersson , bassist Marcus...

, Broadcast

Broadcast

Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...

, Röyksopp

Röyksopp

Röyksopp is a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland....

, Hot Chip

Hot Chip

Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...

, LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...

, Uffie

Uffie

Anna-Catherine Hartley , better known by her stage name Uffie , is a Paris-based underground electronic musician, rapper, fashion designer and socialite signed to French electronic music record label Ed Banger Records. She has been described as a muse for French DJs, and is known for working with...

, Caribou

Caribou (musician)

Daniel Victor Snaith is a composer, musician and recording artist under stage names Caribou, Manitoba and Daphni. Under the supervision of Kevin Buzzard, he obtained a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College London.- Career:...

, Digitalism

Digitalism (band)

Digitalism is a German electro house duo founded in 2004 in Hamburg and consisting of Jens "Jence" Moelle and İsmail "Isi" Tüfekçi. They are signed to French label Kitsuné Music, and have released four singles to date: "Idealistic", "Zdarlight", "Jupiter Room", and "Pogo"...

, Nite Club and Junior Boys

Junior Boys

-History:Junior Boys formed in 1999 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada as a duo of Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark. Years of collaboration followed and a demo was produced, but after many rejections and near-misses, they were resigned to being bedroom beat constructors. Soon after, Johnny Dark left the...

are a few notable groups.

Notable record labels

Until the 1980s, there were virtually no record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

s that exclusively promoted electronic dance music. This changed when Larry Sherman set up house label Trax Records

Trax Records

Trax Records is a house-music record label based in Chicago. It played a major part in the development of house music with records such as Jamie Principle & Frankie Knuckles's "Your Love."...

, techno pioneer Juan Atkins started Metroplex Records, and Richie Hawtin

Richie Hawtin

Richard Hawtin is an English-Canadian electronic musician and DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of Minimal techno since the mid 1990s...

started his influential Plus 8

Plus 8

Plus 8 is a Canadian techno record label, based in Windsor, Ontario and founded in 1990 by DJs Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva. Initial releases were by the pair themselves and their friends using aliases such as States of Mind and Cybersonik, along with other Detroit-based musicians such as...

imprint. In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Warp Records

Warp Records

Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....

emerged in the 1990s as one of the notable sources of home-listening and experimental music. Later arrivals include Astralwerks

Astralwerks

Astralwerks is a New York-based record label that releases primarily electronic music. It is owned by Virgin Records/EMI and distributed by Caroline Distribution in the United States....

, Ed Banger Records

Ed Banger Records

Ed Banger Records is a French electronic music record label run by Pedro Winter. It was founded in 2002 as a division of Headbangers Entertainment. The label is home to French electronic acts Justice, SebastiAn, Daft Punk, Cassius, Uffie, Krazy Baldhead, DJ Mehdi, Mr Oizo, Mr...

, Ninja Tune

Ninja Tune

Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...

, German Kompakt

Kompakt

Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for their Total compilation series which reached its eleventh installment in 2010.Kompakt...

, !K7, American Ghostly International

Ghostly International

Ghostly International is an American independent record label. Chief artists include Matthew Dear, Dabrye , Mobius Band, and Skeletons & The Girl-Faced Boys, all of which are innovative contributors to the world of music....

and Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto

Perfecto Records

Perfecto Records is a United Kingdom based Trance record label founded by Paul Oakenfold in 1989.-History:Perfecto was founded by electronic music record producer and DJ Paul Oakenfold in 1989...

record label.

Synonyms

Genres

Production technology

Notable artists, producers and DJs

Notable record labels

Further reading