Electronic Music Evolution

For this post I will be looking further into electronic music through the decades. Now to be completely honest, I chose this topic because it’s not a favorite of mine. I was reading through the options and I seriously cringed when I came across this choice, which naturally made me want look more into the topic. Maybe I will find myself pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong, I have a few electronic songs that are guilty pleasures, but it’s not what I would sit down and put on just to listen for the sake of listening.

History and Facts

Electronic music is a broad title for a huge grouping of music, such as dubstep, trance, disco, etc. Electronic music, while prevalently thought to be a product of the 21st century, has been around for more than 50 years. The 1980s really hit on synth electronic music, and the 1990s was heavy on dance electronic before there was a progression into the 2000’s with electronic dance music.

Electronic Music Progression

I’ve picked different electronic music from the last 40 years to really show the progression. First, Just Can’t Get Enough by Depiche from the year 1981. This song utilizes the synth-pop sound for their “instrumental” with the use of keyboard and vocals. It’s quite upbeat, but has a one note tone at the same time. This song was one of the pioneers of electronic music. Not the first by a long shot, but definitely a song that helped with the hype of electronic music. Personally, not my favorite song, but my mother has this on her personal playlist which is why I thought to include it.

Next is Hung Up by Madonna from 2009. the musical inspiration for the idea of this song was 1980’s dance pop, which you can definitely tell when listening to the inclusion of the dance beats with the synth. This is quite different from Just Can’t Get Enough, with more of a groove/dance feel with the electronic music.

Last, I went with 2019 LoneWolf by Zomboy. This song genre is more commonly known as dubstep, a more recently popular form of electronic music that has risen in the last 15 year. This song has a more gritty version of the synth as compared to the last two songs, with beat drops and a more poignant electronic tone. I like songs like this only because it gives you almost a feel of being on a rollercoaster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6FBfAQ-NDE&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDwb9jOVRtU&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdzWUEjffQ4&feature=share

While I’m not a huge fan of most electronic music from before the 80s/90s, I do enjoy quite a lot of dubstep and EDM. They remind me of my love for alternative/rock music with the hard beats, beat drops and sometimes head-banging moments.