Electronica
Encyclopedia
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 such as techno
, drum and bass
, downtempo
, and ambient
are among those encompassed by the umbrella term, entering the American mainstream from "alternative" or "underground
" venues during the late 1990s.
Allmusic categorises electronica as a top-level genre on their main page, where they state that electronica includes danceable grooves to music for headphones and chillout areas.
Electronica has grown to influence mainstream crossover
recordings. Electronic sounds began to form the basis of a wide array of popular music in the late 1970s, and became key to the mainstream pop and rock sounds of the 1980s. Since the adoption of "electronica" in the 1990s to describe more underground music with an electronic aesthetic, elements of modern electronica have been adopted by many popular artists in mainstream music.
Electronic Dance Music Culture, a contemporary subculture centered on raves, is a global phenomenon that has been attracting the interest of scholars across the globe. Originating from "Acid House
" parties in Ibiza
, Spain
, and "Psychedelic Trance
" dance parties in Goa
, India
(Goa trance
), raves became the most dynamic digital counterculture of the 1990s. First in Europe and Goa, then in the US, and then all over the world, raves have become associated with peace-and-love idealism, community, an embrace of technology, and psychedelic consciousness, though they have been criticized for their acceptance of drug usage and sexual practices that are of questionable safety.
, especially electronic musical instruments, synthesizer
s, music sequencer
s, drum machine
s, and digital audio workstation
s. As the technology developed, it became possible for individuals or smaller groups to produce electronic songs and recordings in smaller studios, even in project studios. At the same time, computers facilitated the use of music "samples"
and "loops"
as construction kits for sonic compositions. This led to a period of creative experimentation and the development of new forms, some of which became known as electronica.
It is currently used to describe a wide variety of musical acts and styles, linked by a penchant for overtly electronic production; a range which includes more popular acts such as Björk
, Goldfrapp
and IDM
artists such as Autechre
, and Aphex Twin
to dub-oriented downtempo
, downbeat
, and trip-hop. Madonna
and Björk are said to be responsible for electronica's thrust into mainstream culture, with their albums Ray of Light
(Madonna), Post and Homogenic
(Björk). Electronica artists that would later become commercially successful began to record in the early 1990s, before the term had come into common usage, including for example Fatboy Slim
, Daft Punk
, The Chemical Brothers
, The Crystal Method
, Moby
, Electro Arcade, Underworld
and Faithless
. Electronica composers often create alternate versions of their compositions, known as "remixes"; this practice also occurs in related musical forms such as ambient
, jungle, and electronic dance music
. Wide ranges of influences, both sonic and compositional, are combined in electronica recordings. Hits from this period include instrumental
pieces like Children
by Robert Miles
(1995).
The more abstract Autechre and Aphex Twin around this time were releasing early records in the "intelligent techno" or so-called intelligent dance music
(IDM) style, while other Bristol
-based musicians such as Tricky
, Leftfield
, Massive Attack
and Portishead were experimenting with the fusion of electronic textures with hip-hop
, R&B
rhythms to form what became known as trip-hop. Later extensions to the trip-hop aesthetic around 1997 came from the highly influential Vienna
-based duo of Kruder & Dorfmeister
, whose blunted, dubbed-out, slowed beats became the blueprint for the new style of downtempo.
It could be noted that older bands such as New Order
and Depeche Mode
had built on the new wave music
of the 1980s and added more dance and electronic instrumentation and alternative rock
influences to become early pioneers of "electronica" music.
had become internationally famous, releasing albums and performing regularly in major venues.
New York City
became one center of experimentation and growth for the electronica sound, with DJs and music producers from areas as diverse as Southeast Asia and Brazil brought their creative work to the nightclubs of that city.
The Norwegian dance duo Röyksopp
reached unexpected stardom in 2001 when its debut album Melody AM became an international bestseller. By 2002 the style had a harder edge and in the UK tracks like “Loneliness” by Tomcraft
hit number one and the following year an electro dance scene emerged in the UK.
-sound exemplified by The Chemical Brothers
and The Prodigy
in the UK, and spurred by the attention from mainstream artists, including Madonna
in her collaboration with William Orbit
on her album Ray of Light
and Australian singer Dannii Minogue
with her 1997 album Girl, music of this period began to be produced with a higher budget, increased technical quality, and with more layers than most other forms of dance music, since it was backed by major record labels and MTV
as the "next big thing".
According to a 1997 Billboard
article, "[t]he union of the club
community and independent labels
" provided the experimental and trend-setting environment in which electronica acts developed and eventually reached the mainstream. It cites American labels such as Astralwerks
(The Future Sound of London
, Fluke
), Moonshine
(DJ Keoki
), Sims
, and City of Angels (The Crystal Method
) for playing a significant role in discovering and marketing artists who became popularized in the electronica scene.
Radiohead
's Kid A
(2000) found one of the most polarised critical receptions for an adoption of electronic sounds by a rock
group, but the album also received wide acclaim, and the band cited their debts to many electronic musicians, such as Autechre
and Boards of Canada
, in a recording which reached number one on the US album charts.
In the early 2000s, electronica-inspired post-punk
experienced a revival
, with rock bands such as Interpol
and The Killers specifically drawing on the 1980s sound of New Order
and The Cure
.
With newly prominent music styles such as reggaeton
, and subgenres such as electroclash
, and favela funk, electronic music styles in the current decade are seen to permeate nearly all genres of the mainstream and indie
landscape such that a distinct "electronica" genre of pop music
is rarely noted.
We are now seeing more mainstream artists (ex. Britney Spears
, Rihanna
) team up with established electric artist to use their music as the background to their lyrics. These new songs have been met with increasing popularity, and reflect the mainstream trend toward more electronic beats and songs.
DJs and producers had been mining electronic sounds to create beats since Afrika Bambaataa
and Grandmaster Flash
pioneered the use of drum machines and synthesizers in the early 1980s, and the hip hop genre shared with other forms of electronic music an emphasis on sampling. Beginning with the success of Dr. Dre
and G-funk
rap in the mid 1990s, many hip hop producers began turning to a more synthesized sound, resulting in the rise of "superproducers" such as The Neptunes
, who cultivated a science fiction image with sleek, overtly electronic beats, and Timbaland
, who did likewise and also was known for creative sampling, rising to fame for his work with Aaliyah
and Missy Elliott
and producing a variety of pop
and R&B
records for artists such as Justin Timberlake
. Timberlake's 2006 hit songs "SexyBack
" and "My Love
", both produced by Timbaland, were particularly notable for their electronic aesthetic, while The Neptunes worked with a range of acts from Britney Spears
to Jay-Z
.
A variety of other hip hop performers used electronica-influenced sounds as hooks in their songs. Outkast
, a popular and acclaimed hip hop duo, adopted sounds in their 2003 hit single "Hey Ya" and member/producer Andre Benjamin praised the music of Squarepusher. In 2007 Kanye West
, initially known for more natural sounding hip hop productions influenced by classic R&B music, released his third album Graduation
, which featured some songs with a sharp electronic aesthetic, a sound which greatly expanded on West's latest album, where he emphasized synthesizer and vocal manipulations prominently and cited major influences from 1980s synthpop
music, as well as from T-Pain, a hip-hop performer known for manipulating his voice by using the electronic effect processor Autotune. However, West's 2007 single "Stronger
" used a prominent sample from a song by the French dance-oriented electronic act Daft Punk
, whose work in the 1990s and early 2000s was also becoming highly sampled and influential on the musical aesthetic of acts in other genres such as indie rock
and indie dance
.
Electronica in 2009 gained global recognition as an essential part of most hip hop becoming the core sound on a range of tracks by artists like The Black Eyed Peas
and new emerging artists like Tinie Tempah
, and in 2010 Daft Punk with the release of the soundtrack
for Tron: Legacy.
's debut-full length album, 3-D
and metalcore
band, Attack Attack!
's debut album, Someday Came Suddenly
, set a precedent for newer bands of this style.
The first single from Someday Came Suddenly, "Stick Stickly
", was released on June 4, 2009. It reached a good amount of popularity as it spawned a music video as well as its inclusion as downloadable content for Rock Band 2
via the Rock Band Network
in March 2010. Canadian post-hardcore band, Abandon All Ships
further popularized this genre. Upon being signed to Universal Music Group
, the band had a large success with their single "Take One Last Breath
". British metalcore band Asking Alexandria
expanded on the traditional electronica sounds in their cover of Akon
's "Right Now (Na Na Na)
" on Punk Goes Pop 3
.
These bands often play songs that contain "dancable beats, with some breakdowns splashed in."
s, initially for automobiles. It was also used for various video games, specifically the Wipeout series
, for which the soundtrack was composed of many popular and highly-appropriate electronica tracks that helped create more interest in this type of music -- and later for other technological and business products such as computers and financial services.
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...
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
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music 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...
, it is not specifically made for dancing. Genres such as 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...
, 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...
, and ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
are among those encompassed by the umbrella term, entering the American mainstream from "alternative" or "underground
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
" venues during the late 1990s.
Allmusic categorises electronica as a top-level genre on their main page, where they state that electronica includes danceable grooves to music for headphones and chillout areas.
Electronica has grown to influence mainstream crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
recordings. Electronic sounds began to form the basis of a wide array of popular music in the late 1970s, and became key to the mainstream pop and rock sounds of the 1980s. Since the adoption of "electronica" in the 1990s to describe more underground music with an electronic aesthetic, elements of modern electronica have been adopted by many popular artists in mainstream music.
Electronic Dance Music Culture, a contemporary subculture centered on raves, is a global phenomenon that has been attracting the interest of scholars across the globe. Originating from "Acid House
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
" parties in Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and "Psychedelic Trance
Psychedelic trance
Psychedelic trance, psytrance or just psy is a form of electronic music characterized by hypnotic arrangements of synthetic rhythms and complex layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. It appeared in the mainstream in 1995 as with reporting of the trend of Goa trance. The genre offers variety...
" dance parties in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(Goa trance
Goa trance
Goa trance is a form of electronic music that originated during the late 1980s in Goa, India.-History:The music has its roots in the popularity of Goa in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a hippie capital, and although musical developments were incorporating elements of industrial music and EBM...
), raves became the most dynamic digital counterculture of the 1990s. First in Europe and Goa, then in the US, and then all over the world, raves have become associated with peace-and-love idealism, community, an embrace of technology, and psychedelic consciousness, though they have been criticized for their acceptance of drug usage and sexual practices that are of questionable safety.
A wave of diverse acts
Electronica took benefit from advancements in music technologyMusic 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,...
, especially electronic musical instruments, 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, music 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, 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 digital audio workstation
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
s. As the technology developed, it became possible for individuals or smaller groups to produce electronic songs and recordings in smaller studios, even in project studios. At the same time, computers facilitated the use of music "samples"
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and "loops"
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
as construction kits for sonic compositions. This led to a period of creative experimentation and the development of new forms, some of which became known as electronica.
It is currently used to describe a wide variety of musical acts and styles, linked by a penchant for overtly electronic production; a range which includes more popular acts such as Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....
and 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...
artists such as Autechre
Autechre
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums...
, and Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
to dub-oriented 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...
, downbeat
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...
, and trip-hop. Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Björk are said to be responsible for electronica's thrust into mainstream culture, with their albums Ray of Light
Ray of Light
Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
(Madonna), Post and Homogenic
Homogenic
Homogenic is the fourth studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in September 1997. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B and Markus Dravs, it was released on One Little Indian Records...
(Björk). Electronica artists that would later become commercially successful began to record in the early 1990s, before the term had come into common usage, including for example 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...
, 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...
, 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 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...
, 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...
, Electro Arcade, 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 Faithless
Faithless
Faithless were a British electronica band consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo. The group is best known for their dance songs . Faithless recorded six albums. During their career they sold over 15 million records worldwide...
. Electronica composers often create alternate versions of their compositions, known as "remixes"; this practice also occurs in related musical forms such as ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, jungle, and electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music 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...
. Wide ranges of influences, both sonic and compositional, are combined in electronica recordings. Hits from this period include instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
pieces like Children
Children (song)
"Children" is a single by electronica composer Robert Miles from his album Dreamland. "Children" is Miles' most successful single, being certified Gold and Platinum in several countries and it reaching #1 in more than 12 countries...
by Robert Miles
Robert Miles
Robert Miles is an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ in electronica and alternative music.-Biography:...
(1995).
The more abstract Autechre and Aphex Twin around this time were releasing early records in the "intelligent techno" or so-called intelligent dance music
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...
(IDM) style, while other Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
-based musicians such as Tricky
Tricky
Tricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
, Leftfield
Leftfield
Leftfield are a British duo of electronica artists and record producers, namely Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, who formed in 1990 in London, England...
, 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...
and Portishead were experimenting with the fusion of electronic textures with hip-hop
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...
, R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
rhythms to form what became known as trip-hop. Later extensions to the trip-hop aesthetic around 1997 came from the highly influential Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
-based duo of Kruder & Dorfmeister
Kruder & Dorfmeister
Kruder & Dorfmeister, named after members Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, is an Austrian duo most known for their downtempo-dub remixes of pop, hip-hop and drum and bass songs.-Style:...
, whose blunted, dubbed-out, slowed beats became the blueprint for the new style of downtempo.
It could be noted that older bands such as New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
and 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...
had built on the new wave music
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...
of the 1980s and added more dance and electronic instrumentation and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
influences to become early pioneers of "electronica" music.
Global patterns of popularity
By the late 1990s, artists like MobyMoby
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...
had become internationally famous, releasing albums and performing regularly in major venues.
New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
became one center of experimentation and growth for the electronica sound, with DJs and music producers from areas as diverse as Southeast Asia and Brazil brought their creative work to the nightclubs of that city.
The Norwegian dance duo 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....
reached unexpected stardom in 2001 when its debut album Melody AM became an international bestseller. By 2002 the style had a harder edge and in the UK tracks like “Loneliness” by Tomcraft
Tomcraft
Tomcraft is a German DJ and producer. He is specialized in progressive house and progressive trance and is better known for having created the tracks "Loneliness" and "Prosac", working alongside Eniac....
hit number one and the following year an electro dance scene emerged in the UK.
Effect on mainstream popular music
Around the mid-1990s, with the success of the big beatBig 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...
-sound exemplified by 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...
and 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...
in the UK, and spurred by the attention from mainstream artists, including Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
in her collaboration with William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
on her album Ray of Light
Ray of Light
Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
and Australian singer Dannii Minogue
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane "Dannii" Minogue is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, radio personality, fashion designer and model...
with her 1997 album Girl, music of this period began to be produced with a higher budget, increased technical quality, and with more layers than most other forms of dance music, since it was backed by major record labels and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
as the "next big thing".
According to a 1997 Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
article, "[t]he union of the club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
community and independent labels
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
" provided the experimental and trend-setting environment in which electronica acts developed and eventually reached the mainstream. It cites American labels such as 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....
(The Future Sound of London
The Future Sound of London
The Future Sound of London is a prolific British electronic music band composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. The duo are often credited with pushing the boundaries of electronic music experimentation and of pioneering a new era of dance music...
, Fluke
Fluke (band)
Fluke are an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier with Julian Nugent as the band's manager...
), Moonshine
Moonshine Music
Moonshine Music was an electronic music record label founded by Steve Levy in Los Angeles in 1992, and later headquartered in West Hollywood, California. Moonshine released over 250 compilations albums, many of which were DJ mixed. Moonshine helped to launch the career of DJ Keoki and his side-kick...
(DJ Keoki
DJ Keoki
Superstar DJ Keoki is an Electronic music,among other genres DJ. Born in El Salvador and raised in Hawaii, Keoki reached 'Superstar' status shortly after moving to New York City.-Bio:...
), Sims
Sims Records
Sims Records was a country music record label in the 1950s and 1960s.Russell Sims had been associated with Country music in the late 40s and early 50s and became a sort of touring manager for T.Texas Tyler who was a Four Star Records artist...
, and City of Angels (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...
) for playing a significant role in discovering and marketing artists who became popularized in the electronica scene.
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...
's Kid A
Kid A
Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in October 2000 by the Parlophone label. A commercial success worldwide, Kid A went platinum in its first week of release in the United Kingdom. Despite the lack of an official single or music video as publicity, Kid A...
(2000) found one of the most polarised critical receptions for an adoption of electronic sounds by a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group, but the album also received wide acclaim, and the band cited their debts to many electronic musicians, such as Autechre
Autechre
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums...
and Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin...
, in a recording which reached number one on the US album charts.
In the early 2000s, electronica-inspired post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
experienced a revival
Post-punk revival
The post-punk revival was a development in alternative rock of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in which bands took inspiration from the original sounds and aesthetics of garage rock of the 1960s and post-punk and New Wave of the late 1970s...
, with rock bands such as Interpol
Interpol (band)
Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
and The Killers specifically drawing on the 1980s sound of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
and The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
.
With newly prominent music styles such as reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, and subgenres such as electroclash
Electroclash
Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...
, and favela funk, electronic music styles in the current decade are seen to permeate nearly all genres of the mainstream and indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
landscape such that a distinct "electronica" genre of pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
is rarely noted.
We are now seeing more mainstream artists (ex. Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
) team up with established electric artist to use their music as the background to their lyrics. These new songs have been met with increasing popularity, and reflect the mainstream trend toward more electronic beats and songs.
Hip hop fusion
Hip hopHip 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...
DJs and producers had been mining electronic sounds to create beats since Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
and Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
pioneered the use of drum machines and synthesizers in the early 1980s, and the hip hop genre shared with other forms of electronic music an emphasis on sampling. Beginning with the success of Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and G-funk
G-funk
G-funk, or Gangsta-funk, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that emerged from Westcoast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. G-funk incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-funk tunes, and a high-pitched...
rap in the mid 1990s, many hip hop producers began turning to a more synthesized sound, resulting in the rise of "superproducers" such as The Neptunes
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
, who cultivated a science fiction image with sleek, overtly electronic beats, and Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, who did likewise and also was known for creative sampling, rising to fame for his work with Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
and Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
and producing a variety of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
records for artists such as Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
. Timberlake's 2006 hit songs "SexyBack
SexyBack
"SexyBack" is a song by American recording artist Justin Timberlake from his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds . It was released on July 7, 2006, by Jive Records as the lead single from the album...
" and "My Love
My Love (Justin Timberlake song)
"My Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake from his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds . It was released on September 26, 2006, by Jive Records as the second single from the album...
", both produced by Timbaland, were particularly notable for their electronic aesthetic, while The Neptunes worked with a range of acts from Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
to Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
.
A variety of other hip hop performers used electronica-influenced sounds as hooks in their songs. Outkast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
, a popular and acclaimed hip hop duo, adopted sounds in their 2003 hit single "Hey Ya" and member/producer Andre Benjamin praised the music of Squarepusher. In 2007 Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, initially known for more natural sounding hip hop productions influenced by classic R&B music, released his third album Graduation
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
, which featured some songs with a sharp electronic aesthetic, a sound which greatly expanded on West's latest album, where he emphasized synthesizer and vocal manipulations prominently and cited major influences from 1980s 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...
music, as well as from T-Pain, a hip-hop performer known for manipulating his voice by using the electronic effect processor Autotune. However, West's 2007 single "Stronger
Stronger (Kanye West song)
"Stronger" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released as the second single from his third studio album Graduation. It was produced by West and contains an extended outro co-produced with Mike Dean...
" used a prominent sample from a song by the French dance-oriented electronic act 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...
, whose work in the 1990s and early 2000s was also becoming highly sampled and influential on the musical aesthetic of acts in other genres such as indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and indie dance
Alternative dance
Alternative dance or indie dance is a musical genre that mixes rock subgenres with electronic dance music...
.
Electronica in 2009 gained global recognition as an essential part of most hip hop becoming the core sound on a range of tracks by artists like The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
and new emerging artists like Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit...
, and in 2010 Daft Punk with the release of the soundtrack
Tron: Legacy (soundtrack)
Tron: Legacy is the soundtrack album for the 2010 film Tron: Legacy, released by Walt Disney Records on December 3, 2010. It is the first film score by French music duo Daft Punk.-Background:...
for Tron: Legacy.
Post-hardcore fusion
In the mid to late 2000s, many electronic post-hardcore that bands that were newly formed began receiving attention. I See StarsI See Stars
I See Stars is a post-hardcore band formed in 2006 from Warren, Michigan. They have released two full length albums. Their debut album, 3-D, featured a guest appearance from Bizzy Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. The album peaked at #176 on the Billboard 200...
's debut-full length album, 3-D
3-D (I See Stars album)
3-D is the debut album from the band I See Stars. The album debuted at number 176 on the Billboard 200, number 5 on Top Heatseekers, and number 22 on Top Independent Albums...
and metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
band, Attack Attack!
Attack Attack!
Attack Attack! is an American metalcore band from Westerville, Ohio, formed in 2005. Attack Attack!'s first release, an independent EP titled If Guns Are Outlawed, Can We Use Swords?, was released in 2008, which lead to the signing of the band to Rise Records the same year...
's debut album, Someday Came Suddenly
Someday Came Suddenly
Someday Came Suddenly is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Attack Attack!. It was released on November 11, 2008 through Rise Records. The album's name derives from the third track, "Bro, Ashley's Here"...
, set a precedent for newer bands of this style.
The first single from Someday Came Suddenly, "Stick Stickly
Stick Stickly (song)
"Stick Stickly" is a song by metalcore band Attack Attack!. The song was released as the first single from their debut album, Someday Came Suddenly. It was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band games via the Rock Band Network in March 2010. The song title comes from the character of...
", was released on June 4, 2009. It reached a good amount of popularity as it spawned a music video as well as its inclusion as downloadable content for Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
via the Rock Band Network
Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2...
in March 2010. Canadian post-hardcore band, Abandon All Ships
Abandon All Ships
Abandon All Ships is a Canadian rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Formed in 2006, the group is currently signed to Universal Music Group, Underground Operations along with Rise Records and its subsidiary, Velocity...
further popularized this genre. Upon being signed to Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, the band had a large success with their single "Take One Last Breath
Take One Last Breath
"Take One Last Breath" is a song by Canadian post-hardcore band, Abandon All Ships. It was released as the first single from their debut album, Geeving. The single was released on iTunes on June 29, 2010, followed by the music video being released on June 30, 2010, where it premiered on...
". British metalcore band Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria are a British metalcore band from York, North Yorkshire. Founded in 2008 when Ben Bruce contacted his old companions upon returning to the UK after residing in Dubai...
expanded on the traditional electronica sounds in their cover of Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
's "Right Now (Na Na Na)
Right Now (Na Na Na)
"Right Now " is the lead single from Akon's third studio album, Freedom. The song contains elements from "Remember" by The Underdog Project and "Wouldn't It Be Good" by Nik Kershaw. The song was added to the U.S. Mainstream Top 40 radio on September 23, 2008, and also became available for digital...
" on Punk Goes Pop 3
Punk Goes Pop 3
Punk Goes Pop 3 is the tenth compilation album released from the Punk Goes... series created by Fearless Records to feature covers by various artists of pop songs, and is the tenth album in the series overall...
.
These bands often play songs that contain "dancable beats, with some breakdowns splashed in."
Included in popular media
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, electronica music was increasingly used as background scores for television advertisementTelevision advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
s, initially for automobiles. It was also used for various video games, specifically the Wipeout series
Wipeout (video game series)
Wipeout is a series of futuristic anti-gravity racing games developed by SCE Studio Liverpool. The series is well-known for its fast-paced gameplay and high-quality 3D visual design, as well as its association with electronica and electronic dance music.-Gameplay:Wipeout is a racing series that...
, for which the soundtrack was composed of many popular and highly-appropriate electronica tracks that helped create more interest in this type of music -- and later for other technological and business products such as computers and financial services.
Literature
- Cummins, James. 2008. Ambrosia: About a Culture - An Investigation of Electronica Music and Party Culture. Toronto, ON: Clark-Nova Books. ISBN 978-0-978489-21-2