Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music
Encyclopedia
Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music (often referred to as just Ishkur's Guide) is an online Flash-driven guide to electronic music
created by Kenneth John Taylor of British Columbia
. The guide is currently hosted by the Digitally Imported
Internet radio
site.
, trance
, techno, breakbeat
, jungle
, hardcore and downtempo
). Each genre has its own node on the graph which, when selected, brings up an information box containing a description (often highly editorial) by Taylor and a varying number of low-quality example samples, and is linked to related genres on the same area page with a select number of genre nodes linking the user to another related area page.
briefly. The guide has gone through several revisions and was later hosted by Digitally Imported because of bandwidth expenses on Taylor's website. It is currently at version 2.5 which was released in January 2005 and lists 180 genres and includes 112.0Mb or 5 hours, 5 minutes and 7 seconds worth of samples. Taylor is currently working on version 3.0.
In September 2005, Ishkur's Guide was listed as an example of "Hierarchical Organization and Description of Music Collections at the Artist Level" in the published report of the refereed proceedings of the 9th European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries, ECDL 2005, held in Vienna, Austria.
In October 2010, Taylor posted on his website that version 3.0 is still under work after a long period of time without any updates.
Taylor has also stated "My Music Guide isn't done. It will never be done. It's what you call a 'work in progress'. I continually update it, revise it, change it, add different samples, newer samples, new genres, new definitions and snarling little comments to it as time goes on. There is no definitive version of it at all."
The guide is also prone to include misinformation. Taylor himself has addressed these inaccuracies with "I'll change it when I god damn feel like changing it". The guide also seems to be heavily influenced by Taylor's own taste and understanding of the genres. Indeed, in the past, there have even been featured genre examples of what were actually Internet hoax mp3 downloads, such as "Conquest of the Irrational" by Esthero (actually a Prunes remix of a song by DJ Vadim that has nothing to do with Esthero), underlining the inaccuracy of the non-peer-reviewed project. The section identifying sampling is also heavily criticized for its bevy of inaccuracies, but these are as much the fault of the users submitting the wrong information as it is the site's lone editor.
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...
created by Kenneth John Taylor of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. The guide is currently hosted by the Digitally Imported
Digitally Imported
Digitally Imported is an Internet radio broadcaster playing various types of electronic dance music including trance, progressive techno, eurodance and house across 38 separate streaming channels. It was founded in 1999 as a hobby project by Ari Shohat and was one of the first internet radio...
Internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
site.
Description
The guide uses a graph style layout to roughly depict the chronological order of genres' appearance and contains 7 separate but interlinked pages for various areas of electronic music (houseHouse 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...
, 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...
, techno, 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,...
, jungle
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...
, hardcore and 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...
). Each genre has its own node on the graph which, when selected, brings up an information box containing a description (often highly editorial) by Taylor and a varying number of low-quality example samples, and is linked to related genres on the same area page with a select number of genre nodes linking the user to another related area page.
History
Taylor's inspiration for the guide was a challenge from a friend, and the first edition was created in "about two weeks" and on his website by the end of October, 2000. An abridged version was in the top 20 on NewgroundsNewgrounds
Newgrounds is an American entertainment and social media website. Founded on July 6, 1995 by Tom Fulp, the site primarily hosts Adobe Flash animations and games, but also features a music-oriented page, along with an art portal...
briefly. The guide has gone through several revisions and was later hosted by Digitally Imported because of bandwidth expenses on Taylor's website. It is currently at version 2.5 which was released in January 2005 and lists 180 genres and includes 112.0Mb or 5 hours, 5 minutes and 7 seconds worth of samples. Taylor is currently working on version 3.0.
In September 2005, Ishkur's Guide was listed as an example of "Hierarchical Organization and Description of Music Collections at the Artist Level" in the published report of the refereed proceedings of the 9th European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries, ECDL 2005, held in Vienna, Austria.
In October 2010, Taylor posted on his website that version 3.0 is still under work after a long period of time without any updates.
Accuracy
The disclaimer for the guide openly admits that the guide is "a non-technical, irreverent critique of electronic dance music. Its purpose is to entertain before it informs." and that "several biases here are celebrated lavishly".Taylor has also stated "My Music Guide isn't done. It will never be done. It's what you call a 'work in progress'. I continually update it, revise it, change it, add different samples, newer samples, new genres, new definitions and snarling little comments to it as time goes on. There is no definitive version of it at all."
The guide is also prone to include misinformation. Taylor himself has addressed these inaccuracies with "I'll change it when I god damn feel like changing it". The guide also seems to be heavily influenced by Taylor's own taste and understanding of the genres. Indeed, in the past, there have even been featured genre examples of what were actually Internet hoax mp3 downloads, such as "Conquest of the Irrational" by Esthero (actually a Prunes remix of a song by DJ Vadim that has nothing to do with Esthero), underlining the inaccuracy of the non-peer-reviewed project. The section identifying sampling is also heavily criticized for its bevy of inaccuracies, but these are as much the fault of the users submitting the wrong information as it is the site's lone editor.
See also
- Electronic musicElectronic musicElectronic 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...
- Electronic dance musicElectronic dance musicElectronic 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...
- List of electronic music genres
- Genealogy of musical genresGenealogy of musical genresThe genealogy of musical genres is the pattern of musical genres that have contributed to the development of new genres.Genealogical charts or family trees of musical genres show how new genres have emerged from existing genres and how multiple genres have contributed to a new genre...
- Music genreMusic genreA 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...
- Music historyMusic historyMusic history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...