Electronic Music of the ’90s to Today

This month's exploration of electronic music wraps up the '80s and dives into the music of the past few decades to today. While last article addressed the more mainstream applications of electronic music, there were some other types of genres brewing that weren't discussed, primarily house music.

House music started in the '80s in Chicago by African-American DJs mixing in older disco albums with newer drum machine beats at warehouse raves (aka parties); thus the term "house" music was born.

Here is an example of some of the earliest house music, a track titled "On and On" by Jesse Saunders:

Notice the "four on the floor" beat played by the bass drum. In other words, the bass drum is beating every beat, a technique used in disco and picked up by house artists.

The '90s saw a growth in popularity of electronic music, or EDM (electronic dance music). While still considered underground and not mainstream, artists such as Daft Punk, The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Aphex Twin and Moby championed the original house music sound, with their own new flavor:

Notice how the underlying beat has not changed much since disco and early house music!

With the accessibility of technology, more people could access quality electronic music gear for a lower price. This has sprung a multitude of electronic genres - far too many to name all. Just a few would be 2-step, techno, dubstep, deep house, trance, downtempo, breakbeat, industrial, trip hop, drum and bass, UK garage, and jungle to just name some. The genre of EDM has expanded into so many styles it would be unfair to just discuss one so pick one and check it out! All branches of EDM trace back to house or techno music in one way or another so see if you can trace the roots back!