Electronica was created by North America's mainstream music industry in the late 90s. It first used as an umbrella term covering techno, house, drum and bass, jungle, and industrial dance, among others. The old definition for Electronica became the definition for EDM (Electronic Dance Music). Electronica is now used to define EDM and more 'chilled' out electronic music, such as chillstep and ambient among others.
In the UK, electronica is used to define music that is non-dance-oriented, Including experimental styles of downtempo electronic music (such as that made by the artist SBTRKT). The rise in Electronica's popularity has advancements in computer hardware and software used my music producers to thank. Electronica is popular among underground and indie artists, who don't always have access to expensive studios. Electronica can be made in a producer's bedroom thanks to the increase of easily accessible Digital Audio Workstation software.
The Electronica style first became commercially successful in the late 80s to early 90s by artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy - among others.
In the UK, electronica is used to define music that is non-dance-oriented, Including experimental styles of downtempo electronic music (such as that made by the artist SBTRKT). The rise in Electronica's popularity has advancements in computer hardware and software used my music producers to thank. Electronica is popular among underground and indie artists, who don't always have access to expensive studios. Electronica can be made in a producer's bedroom thanks to the increase of easily accessible Digital Audio Workstation software.
The Electronica style first became commercially successful in the late 80s to early 90s by artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy - among others.
The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl (1999)
Electro-Pop
After consideration, I decided to change the genre of music I was going to study to Electro-Pop. Electro-pop songs are commonly comprised of instruments like synthesizers, and the genre is a mix of pop, synth-pop and electronic. The majority of electro-pop songs are created using software instruments, provided with software like Garage Band.
Electro-pop is based around synthesizers. The first band to use synths were Kraftwerk, a German band. An example of their early work is "Das Model" The style was then adopted by The Human League with "Being Boiled", and the style was adapted by them to create songs like Don't You Want Me, which marked the start of the 'Electo-Pop" genre. The three videos below show the transition from the electronic dance music created by Krafwerk to the synth-pop created by The Human League in the 1980s.
Electro-pop is based around synthesizers. The first band to use synths were Kraftwerk, a German band. An example of their early work is "Das Model" The style was then adopted by The Human League with "Being Boiled", and the style was adapted by them to create songs like Don't You Want Me, which marked the start of the 'Electo-Pop" genre. The three videos below show the transition from the electronic dance music created by Krafwerk to the synth-pop created by The Human League in the 1980s.
Artists like The Human League created the synth-pop genre in the 1980s, and 80s pop icons such as Madonna and Afrika Bombaata were the main players in the transition from Synth-Pop to Electro-Pop during the 90s and early 2000s.
An example of the genres of 'pop' and 'synth' mixing to 'synth-pop' is Petshop Boys "West End Girls". This song, comprising of vocals, and keyboard work from another artist in the two man band, is a song made from layers of synthesizers, that made it into the charts, and sat at number one for two weeks - the popularity of this song makes it a 'pop' song.
An example of the genres of 'pop' and 'synth' mixing to 'synth-pop' is Petshop Boys "West End Girls". This song, comprising of vocals, and keyboard work from another artist in the two man band, is a song made from layers of synthesizers, that made it into the charts, and sat at number one for two weeks - the popularity of this song makes it a 'pop' song.
In the 2010s, electropop became the mainstream, and 10/15 of the top artists produced songs that fit the electropop genre according to the BBC's 2009 Sound of Music poll.
The rise of the Prosumer may be partly responsible for the increate in popularity of electropop. Artist Micheal Angelakos of the band Passion Pit said in an interview with The Boston Phoenix that all of the work on his first album was created on his laptop in his dorm room on a piece of software called Ableton Live. Similar software can be downloaded by anyone with a computer, and many MacBooks come with Garage Band. If it wasn't for these pieces of software, the award winning album by Passion Pit wouldn't have been created.
No comments:
Post a Comment