Is EDM (Electronic Dance Music) in a bubble?

[rockandrollsouls]

That type of "drum and bass" will never surge, and EDM will never die (though it may come back in another form.) Reason being, EDM is something people can dance to. You can track it through history...it's just a more advanced form of disco (you'll find a lot of the same progressions in EDM; only difference is instruments used to create it are now digital.)

Here are some of the things that tend to determine the sticking power of music
1. If the group is headed by a sex symbol (ie, Jim Morrison of The Doors)
2. If you can dance to the music
3. If you can drink to the music
4. If you can smoke or do drugs to the music

In 3 of these 4 examples, the music has to follow basic music rules to be enjoyable. This is why drum and bass, pretentious prog-rock bands like dream theater, and nu-jazz will never, ever be popular.

It's not a bubble. Yes, there are plenty of terrible EDM artists, like any genre of music, but the ones that produce good music will stick.

Idk, Neurofunk dnb could surge, it heavlly utilizes the latest music production technology and has possibly the most complex and interesting structures in music.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x55w7InD9a0

 

[newbitech]

That type of "drum and bass" will never surge, and EDM will never die (though it may come back in another form.) Reason being, EDM is something people can dance to. You can track it through history...it's just a more advanced form of disco (you'll find a lot of the same progressions in EDM; only difference is instruments used to create it are now digital.)

Here are some of the things that tend to determine the sticking power of music
1. If the group is headed by a sex symbol (ie, Jim Morrison of The Doors)
2. If you can dance to the music
3. If you can drink to the music
4. If you can smoke or do drugs to the music

In 3 of these 4 examples, the music has to follow basic music rules to be enjoyable. This is why drum and bass, pretentious prog-rock bands like dream theater, and nu-jazz will never, ever be popular.

It's not a bubble. Yes, there are plenty of terrible EDM artists, like any genre of music, but the ones that produce good music will stick.

Since you mentioned it, this guy has probably the best Guide to Electronic Music : Timeline and Styles that I have ever read. He goes back past disco in to the 40's. Sample tracks for everything and a comprehensive "break" down of the genres, sub-genres, and sub-sub-mashup genres.

Great resource for anyone exploring electronic music.

 

[dannno]

 

[dannno]

 

[Machiavelli]

I have been listening to EDM long before it got big (1999) and even remember playing old trance and house records and people were like, "turn that shit off, its gay". Now everyone, and their aunt listen to some form of EDM or as they call it "techno". It's definitively been dumbed down through dubstep and un-emotional tech sounding music.

 

[dannno]

I have been listening to EDM long before it got big (1999) and even remember playing old trance and house records and people were like, "turn that shit off, its gay". Now everyone, and their aunt listen to some form of EDM or as they call it "techno". It's definitively been dumbed down through dubstep and un-emotional tech sounding music.

Wow, I completely disagree with both you and newbitech about the late 90s rave scene vs. modern electronic music. Think about how far the technology has come and how much more available that technology is to the general population. Electronic music is far superior, IN GENERAL, today as it was back then. There are all kinds of dubstep, dubstep originated in the UK. Skrillex is just one form of dubstep that some people don't even agree is dubstep. There's also EVERYTHING in between.

Have you listened to the songs I've posted in this thread?

Look, I was in high school in 1999 and the rave culture was very big where I was. I listened to a lot of house/trance/industrial and to be honest the technology wasn't as good and the learning curve was much higher for anybody who wanted to do anything really amazing.

Electronic music is much better today, but that's not to say that there weren't plenty of gems back then. But to say it hasn't evolved in a positive direction is kinda ridiculous considering it has evolved in nearly every direction you can imagine.

 

[rockandrollsouls]

This.

And in response to the previous poster @Machiavelli, it was "gay" and "shit" in 1999. Not only was the song structure not there, in addition to the inability to properly mix the electronic music, the digital instruments were entirely lacking and terrible sounding.

All of the technology and musicality is there NOW for EDM to truly thrive. EDM artists have actually started learning some basic theory and understand the structure of a song. Show me an EDM from 1999 that was actually a decent song as well, not just cheesy electronic chords from a lackluster digital roland synthesizer with thin, fake sounding drums. And you'll notice the EDM songs that actually did become popular have pretty much stood the test of time. Daft Punk comes to mind.

If the artists were so great in the 90s, how come they are not using modern technology to produce higher quality songs? The fact of the matter was most of them were enamored with the technology (revolutionary at the time, now obsolete,) and never focused on writing a good song with it.

And, still @Machiavelli, dubstep is really just a branch of modern metal or hardcore music. All of the elements are there...it's just electronic. To be frank, I'm not a fan. If you were the "fan" of electronic music you claimed to be, you'd realize dubstep is to EDM what death metal is to disco. You're only seeing electronic instruments = all electronic music same. It's like saying both a metal band and a disco band have a guitarist, vocalist, drummer, and guitarist, therefore they are the same. Your mindset is just not right here.

I will further argue that electronic music, not simply EDM, will grow at an astounding pace. The technology has created thousands of viable instruments we've never had before. Look for them to be mixed with traditional instruments. In traditional songs. Watch new genres emerge.

However, only those that are good songs, ie catchy, dancable, etc, as determined by the marketplace, will survive. You, and a select minority, may call them "lame," or "gay." But if that many people enjoy something, common wisdom is saying it's probably not as bad as you say it is, just because it's mainstream. It's been the same argument throughout history. New music comes along, it's deemed not real music by "purists," and eventually it goes down in history as great music.

The doors, the rolling stones, the beatles, coltrane, even classical musicians in their day.

Wow, I completely disagree with both you and newbitech about the late 90s rave scene vs. modern electronic music. Think about how far the technology has come and how much more available that technology is to the general population. Electronic music is far superior, IN GENERAL, today as it was back then. There are all kinds of dubstep, dubstep originated in the UK. Skrillex is just one form of dubstep that some people don't even agree is dubstep. There's also EVERYTHING in between.

Have you listened to the songs I've posted in this thread?

Look, I was in high school in 1999 and the rave culture was very big where I was. I listened to a lot of house/trance/industrial and to be honest the technology wasn't as good and the learning curve was much higher for anybody who wanted to do anything really amazing.

Electronic music is much better today, but that's not to say that there weren't plenty of gems back then. But to say it hasn't evolved in a positive direction is kinda ridiculous considering it has evolved in nearly every direction you can imagine.

 

[dannno]

I will further argue that electronic music, not simply EDM, will grow at an astounding pace. The technology has created thousands of viable instruments we've never had before. Look for them to be mixed with traditional instruments. In traditional songs. Watch new genres emerge.

Absolutely true. Right now there are two popular commercials on tv with dubstep. One of them is for a movie, it is skrillex in the background, and the volume is so low I can't even tell what song it is when I turn it up....

The other is a commercial for the EVO, and even though I haven't gotten to hear it on good speakers it sounds retarded on normal television speakers because there is only about 1 second of dubstep at the very end of the commercial and unless you have a system hooked up to your tv there is no bass. It just sounds weird. But they are getting people used to the sound.

The point is they are already inserting it into commercials, but doing so VERY slowly and cautiously.. but it will be mainstream soon. With mainstream will likely come a lot of things I don't like, but hey, even Britney Spears came out with a descent album (In the Zone)

 

[dannno]

And, still @Machiavelli, dubstep is really just a branch of modern metal or hardcore music. All of the elements are there...it's just electronic. To be frank, I'm not a fan. If you were the "fan" of electronic music you claimed to be, you'd realize dubstep is to EDM what death metal is to disco.

Skrillex used to be in a metal band, a lot of dubstep is highly influenced by metal.. that knife party song posted earlier is a great example. But there's a lot of dubstep that doesn't seem to have much metal influence, besides the breakdown structure of the music.

UK dubstep is a bit more chill, generally, though even UK dubstep evolved into what US dj's took and messed around with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vnT0G5eUkI


If you go to an outdoor hippie electronic festival you'll see a lot of stuff like this:

http://soundcloud.com/love-and-light/sex-panther

 

[dannno]

Can you imagine going to a Muse concert with a dubstep DJ mixing live with their set??




I love how dubstep can cross pretty much any genre of music with itself, including stuff that is decades old.




I think I could imagine some pretty cool Beatles dubstep.

 

[LibertyRevolution]

And in response to the previous poster @Machiavelli, it was "gay" and "shit" in 1999.

+1

 

[rockandrollsouls]

Yea, I'm older but I listen to many types of music, partly because I was a music instructor on the side. Not a Skrillex fan, but I don't mind Zed and some others.

One example I'd point to of electronic music elements meshed with traditional music would be a lot of the songs on any of the "hotel costes" mix cds. Generally a good prediction of what the "hipster" crowd will latch onto next, you can hear a lot of traditional and electronic elements meshed together.

Can you imagine going to a Muse concert with a dubstep DJ mixing live with their set??




I love how dubstep can cross pretty much any genre of music with itself, including stuff that is decades old.




I think I could imagine some pretty cool Beatles dubstep.

 

[LibertyRevolution]

Flux Pavilion - Hold Me Close


Flux Pavilion - I Can't Stop


Flux Pavilion - Cracks


Pendulum - The Island pt 2 (Dusk)

 

[evilfunnystuff]

90s rave scene

I went to some raves in the 90's but usually didn't follow the artists I saw at them much, but talk of 90's eloctronic music got me to thinkin... My playlist now has The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Praga Kahn, and Lords of Acid in it.

 

[rockandrollsouls]

Not to mention, Noel Sanger is an absolute nobody with no recognition, no respect, and spends more time "remixing" tracks from other artists than he does making his own.

 

[Machiavelli]

There is still good EDM being produced today, it just has become a lot more mainstream that's all I am trying to say.

Trance and deep house music(funk, jazzier, more instrumentation) is hard to find nowadays I feel like. Mark farina comes to mind, he is still current

heres a good article

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303830204577446842134707610.html

 

[LibertyRevolution]

Anyone like them Flux Pavilion songs I posted (post #33)? Or am I all alone?

 

[BenIsForRon]

All the good shit is still underground, checkout Joy Orbison.

 

[BenIsForRon]

This.

And in response to the previous poster @Machiavelli, it was "gay" and "shit" in 1999. Not only was the song structure not there, in addition to the inability to properly mix the electronic music, the digital instruments were entirely lacking and terrible sounding.

Jeez you are so wrong. It doesn't matter if the drums sound "fake", they're not supposed to. What matters is if the music produces feelings in the listener, and they certainly did. It was deep experience. Popular EDM today is incredibly shallow in comparison.

For an example of primitive tools making emotional music, check out this tune from 1985!

 

[RonPaulwillWin]

Lower life forms will understand this stuff, some day




Note: This song cannot be truly experienced without an extremely high quality audio system with a lot of bass and dozens or hundreds of other individuals, however, if you can use your imagination, you MIGHT get it

Porter dropped this track on a 100k watt sound system in the main area EDC day 3