Electronica Music Guide: The History and Sound of Electronica

Electronica is a term for various genres of electronic music built on samplers, synthesizers, and drum machines. Many of these electronic genres function as dance music in discotheques, raves, and music festivals worldwide. Other genres of electronica are non-dance music for close listening in private settings. In the United Kingdom, electronica typically describes music that listeners consume via headphones, home stereo systems, and in the soundtracks to movies and video games. In the United States, electronica is often a catch-all term to describe club music genres like EDM, synth-pop, electro, [electropop](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/electropop-music-guide), drum-and-bass, hardcore, breakbeat, big beat, [trip-hop](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/trip-hop-music-guide), [Chicago house](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/house-music-guide), Detroit techno, grime, trance, downtempo, chillout, intelligent dance music (IDM), vaporwave, dancehall, chiptune, dubstep, and UK garage. Electronic music, broadly known as electronica, has evolved in conjunction with advances in synthesizer, sampler, and drum machine technology. - __Early roots__: The earliest forms of popular electronica were developed in the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1960s Jamaica, DJs spun records of reggae backing tracks without the vocals, creating dance music known as dub. Around this time in Europe, artists like Kraftwerk, Mike Oldfield, and the Alan Parsons Project began crafting long-form pop songs around electronic synthesizers, which were available to the general public for the first time. These genres helped set the standard for the sampling and synth compositions that would fuel future electronica. - __Disco, funk, and hip-hop__: In the 1970s, [disco](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/disco-history-and-influence) and funk, which were played using traditional instruments, helped establish the kind of [4/4](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-time-signatures-in-music) grooves that would underlie future electronica. Many drum patterns and grooves from this era are sampled in today's electronic music. Meanwhile, hip-hop, mostly involving rappers backed by turntable artists, laid the groundwork for music created entirely by electronic devices. - __1980s explosion__: By the 1980s, a wide array of electronic dance music styles swept the nightclubs of the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the United States. These 1980s genres included techno (particularly Detroit techno), house music (particularly Chicago house, acid house, and Latin house), freestyle music, industrial, and electro-funk. - __New electronica__: By the 1990s, synthesizers were cheaper and more compact, and DJs and producers had personal computers. The new technology led to new electronica genres like trance music, IDM, hardcore (including breakbeat hardcore and digital hardcore), progressive house, drum-and-bass, jungle, UK garage, and breakcore. These genres debuted in dance clubs of major cities like London, Paris, Manchester, Berlin, Barcelona, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Others were created in studios and designed for close listening at home. - __Twenty-first-century genres__: Creating electronica is accessible to artists today because of the proliferation of personal computers and computing software. Popular twenty-first-century electronica genres include dubstep, hardstyle, trap music, EDM, crunk, and electro-house. - __Electronics in all genres of music__: Artists across genres embrace the use of electronic music. Electronica has moved well beyond club music and has found a foothold in many different corners of the pop music galaxy. Madonna, whose early records feature synth keyboards, guitars, and drums, has pushed more toward electronica in her later career. Taylor Swift, who started her career playing country folk music, has released hit songs that dive headfirst into electronic instrumentation. Electronica encompasses many genres, but the music involves these core characteristics: 1. __Synthesizers__: Synthesizers are instruments that produce sounds using electronic oscillators and filters, as opposed to traditional instruments, which typically produce sound using forced air, vibrating strings, or vibrating membranes. 2. __Sampling__: Most electronica uses snippets of pre-recorded music. When played back in the context of a new song, these pre-recorded tracks are known as samples. 3. __Drum machines__: Drum machines create beats in electronic music. Some electronica tracks feature live percussion for timbral variety. 4. __Extended song length__: Most electronica songs feature long extended grooves to facilitate dancing or relaxation. 5. __Harmonic simplicity__: In comparison to other genres of music like R&B, rock, jazz, and classical, electronica tends to have few chord changes and rarely strays from [diatonic](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/diatonic-scales-explained) harmonies. 6. __Optional singing__: Some electronica features singing, as with hit songs by Daft Punk, Björk, Moby, and the Prodigy. Other electronica artists such as Paul Oakenfold and the Chemical Brothers have scored major hits without lead vocals. Some of the most well-known artists behind electronica and electronic dance music include: 1. __The Chemical Brothers__: Hailing from Manchester, UK, the Chemical Brothers helped pioneer the electronica subgenre known as big beat alongside similar groups like Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy, and the Crystal Method. They have enjoyed mainstream success both on the dancefloor and via radio and streaming playlists with songs like "Chemical Beats'' and "Block Rockin' Beats." 2. __The Prodigy__: The brainchild of Liam Howlett, the Prodigy works in numerous electronic genres including big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and electropunk. Their 1997 album *The Fat of the Land* found crossover appeal with dance and hard rock audiences with the dark, pop-punk energy of songs like "Firestarter" and "Breathe." 3. __Armin van Buuren__: Well known for his work in trance music and progressive house, [Armin van Buuren](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/armin-van-buuren-music) is a prominent record producer and the host of *A State of Trance (ASOT)*, a weekly radio show that boasts more than 40 million listeners. Van Buuren is known for his embrace of new synthesizer, sequencer, and drum machine technology, and has performed at the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT). 4. __Aphex Twin__: The stage name of Irish-English musician Richard D. James, Aphex Twin fuses the sounds of many electronic genres including ambient, jungle, IDM, and techno. Prominent Aphex Twin tracks include "Windowlicker.” 5. __Deadmau5__: [Deadmau5](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/deadmau5-life-and-music) is the stage name of electronic music producer Joel Thomas Zimmerman, best known for working in the progressive house genre. Some of his bigger hits include "Faxing Berlin," "The Veldt," and "Professional Griefers." 6. __Massive Attack__: Bristol, England collective Massive Attack work mostly in electronica, trip-hop, and downtempo music. They combine ambient synth textures, non-electronic instruments, and ambient song structures that do not always feature traditional verses and choruses. Become a better musician with the [MasterClass Annual Membership](https://www.masterclass.com). Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Questlove, St. Vincent, Sheila E., Timbaland, Itzhak Perlman, Herbie Hancock, Tom Morello, and more. In the United States, the term “electronica” refers to a broad array of electronic music, particularly electronic dance music styles, from the 1990s onward.