Electronica is a fairly newly named genre of music "deriving from techno and rave and having a more ambient, esoteric, or cerebral quality." (Source: Google Dictionary, 2016). Electronica is almost an umbrella term, as it has many sub genres such as techno, house, ambient, drum and bass, jungle, and industrial dance, among others (source: Campbell, Michael (2012). "Electronica and Rap". Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On (4th ed.)). The song I have chosen to focus my coursework on is a mixture of indie/alternative forms of the genres garage, drum and bass, jungle and arguably others. The song is "New Dorp. New York."
After watching countless electronica music videos, I've found that a few recurring conventions have become apparent. Besides the obvious conventions of form (see last blog post), here are some of the genre specific codes and conventions I have found.
Strobe Effect
I've found strobe effects in multiple videos and I believe they work really well with the genre of music. The high rate of BPM apparent in many Electronica songs often needs fast paced visuals to accompany them. The use of strobing - both with physical lighting on set, and by cross strobing two shots - especially during 'drops' in the music, helps to emphasise the pace. One example of this, a video that uses both lighting strobing and "shot-shot strobing" is "#Selfie" by The Chainsmokers (2014).
This shot (18 seconds into he music video) shows the strobe lighting, which works with the mise on scene to represent a night club/party/disco. It is also energetic and emotive, and creates a sense of partying and having fun. This is because the song is a Dance Electronica song.
Both of the examples above for the strobing convention apply for this convention also. Another example could be the music video for Hippie Sabotage's Remix to "Habits (Stay High)" by Tove Lo (2014). This video depicts a day in the life of a young woman trapped in a repetitive cycle of partying.
After watching countless electronica music videos, I've found that a few recurring conventions have become apparent. Besides the obvious conventions of form (see last blog post), here are some of the genre specific codes and conventions I have found.
Strobe Effect
I've found strobe effects in multiple videos and I believe they work really well with the genre of music. The high rate of BPM apparent in many Electronica songs often needs fast paced visuals to accompany them. The use of strobing - both with physical lighting on set, and by cross strobing two shots - especially during 'drops' in the music, helps to emphasise the pace. One example of this, a video that uses both lighting strobing and "shot-shot strobing" is "#Selfie" by The Chainsmokers (2014).
This shot (18 seconds into he music video) shows the strobe lighting, which works with the mise on scene to represent a night club/party/disco. It is also energetic and emotive, and creates a sense of partying and having fun. This is because the song is a Dance Electronica song.
The actual "shot-shot strobe" effect is too fast to show on a gif (the frame rate is 24fps, so the image completely changes every 42 milliseconds, which is too fast for the gif - at around 8fps - to show). To see the effect, watch the video from 0:27 - 0:35.
Another music video that uses this well is the video for Wankelmut's remix of "One Day/Reckoning Song" by Asaf Avidan (2012). The strobe effect is shown for quite a while from 2:43 - 2:57, but both effects can be seen from 0:15 - 0:18.
This video, similar to the video for "Selfie" below, sells the party, 'no worries' lifestyle (commercification of culture). There are elements of implied drug taking, enforced by the dark eyes of the main female character, showing they've been up all night. These are all conventions of a music video of this genre.
Youth Narrative
Many Electronica music videos narrative circles around young people having fun, generally at night. This helps sell the idea that the music has a close association with having a fun life, and as the music in generally targeted at youths, it generates a feeling a connectivity and reliability. A music videos true purpose is to sell a song, and through the emotive use of youth narrative, the song becomes more appealing to listen to and therefore purchase, this is true purpose of any music video because without the bottom line profit of song sales, it wouldn't be funded, and so wouldn't be made at all.
Both of the examples above for the strobing convention apply for this convention also. Another example could be the music video for Hippie Sabotage's Remix to "Habits (Stay High)" by Tove Lo (2014). This video depicts a day in the life of a young woman trapped in a repetitive cycle of partying.
This music video shows modern culture and lifestyle. Club scenes and mass audiences are conventional to the genre of music. The act of taking a selfie individualises the people in the huge crowd. The music video sells mass community, but also individualises it, reflecting a community ideology. The postmodern is to the beat and reflects the club stobe lighting.
Geometric Patterns & Animations
The use of computer generated, animated, geometric patterns seems to come up in a lot of Electronica music videos, sometimes 'dancing' or reacting to the beat of the music. This is a great way of presenting aesthetic, conceptual & abstract ideas as a visual. The Electronica music genre differs from other genres because of the fact that its almost all made using computers, very few instruments are used (for example in contract with rock music, where bands of people playing different instruments make the song). So it seems fitting that the music video is also made using just a computer, instead of a camera and a computer. There are many examples of this - it seems the fact that it is extremely cost effective may be a driving factor in its popularity.
Often in live performances of Electronica music, the only on stage artist is the producer of the track, as this isn't much of a 'performance', VJs (Visual Jockeys) and lighting technicians create a visual performance with large screens and overhead lighting in order to make the live performance more entertaining. The sort of visuals that come up on the large screens are similar to that of the Geometric Patters on some music videos, so the live performances could have been the inspiration behind these music videos.
Here are some examples:
Little focus on singer
In many music videos, the singer is the main focus of the video (for example, almost any pop music video). This is because along with selling the song, the music video has another purpose, which is to promote the brand that is the artist. Almost all pop artists, such as Kanye West, Kesha, Katy Perry etc.'s music videos rotate predominately around them, but many Electronica music videos do not. This is for a few different reasons; for example the artist behind the track is often a producer/DJ, and so does not 'sing' or lip sing - which removes a window of opportunity for them to be in the video, and also because the institution backing the artist is probably more focused on selling the song, not the artist's brand.
The use of computer generated, animated, geometric patterns seems to come up in a lot of Electronica music videos, sometimes 'dancing' or reacting to the beat of the music. This is a great way of presenting aesthetic, conceptual & abstract ideas as a visual. The Electronica music genre differs from other genres because of the fact that its almost all made using computers, very few instruments are used (for example in contract with rock music, where bands of people playing different instruments make the song). So it seems fitting that the music video is also made using just a computer, instead of a camera and a computer. There are many examples of this - it seems the fact that it is extremely cost effective may be a driving factor in its popularity.
Often in live performances of Electronica music, the only on stage artist is the producer of the track, as this isn't much of a 'performance', VJs (Visual Jockeys) and lighting technicians create a visual performance with large screens and overhead lighting in order to make the live performance more entertaining. The sort of visuals that come up on the large screens are similar to that of the Geometric Patters on some music videos, so the live performances could have been the inspiration behind these music videos.
Here are some examples:
Jamie XX - All Under One Roof Raving (2014)
Lorde & Flume - Tennis Court (2014)
Sam Prekop - A Geometric (2015)
Seemingly random aesthetic shots
Another convention I've come across a few times now is the concept of many seemingly random shots edited together, generally to the beat of the music, which overall sends a message or presents a subtle narrative. For example the music video to the Pop Electronica song "Royals" by Lorde (2013) cuts together many seemingly loosely related shots, which overall presents a narrative of everyday, boring parts of life that you don't see on TV.
This video contains ironic juxtaposition, the lyrics are about "gold teeth, grey goose" and "driving Cadillac", but the music video focuses on the boring parts of like that are usually missed out of reality TV and postmodern media. The colour scheme of the video is also very pastel and boring, reflecting the nature of the music video. Lorde also inter-textually references her other songs within the music video, for example, one of the first clips - of the row of similar houses - is referencing the lyrics to the chorus of 400 Lux "I love these roads where the houses don't change".
Little focus on singer
In many music videos, the singer is the main focus of the video (for example, almost any pop music video). This is because along with selling the song, the music video has another purpose, which is to promote the brand that is the artist. Almost all pop artists, such as Kanye West, Kesha, Katy Perry etc.'s music videos rotate predominately around them, but many Electronica music videos do not. This is for a few different reasons; for example the artist behind the track is often a producer/DJ, and so does not 'sing' or lip sing - which removes a window of opportunity for them to be in the video, and also because the institution backing the artist is probably more focused on selling the song, not the artist's brand.
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