Is EDM the new Classical music?

[Kodiak]

Ever since as far back as I can remember, about before the time alcohol got involved, I was interested in EDM. Being just about the only one of my friends, especially in the early days who liked this genre of music, I seem to always be defending it. Obviously not the same these days as it is much more mainstream.

People would say how it is just crap music and repetitive. I would say they are just too used to listening to lyrics and not achually listening to the whole song. I clearly remember one of my greatest argumentative foes was an ex housemate, who liked nothing more than getting in to stoned debates (always good idea). We were in my car, pumping the freshly released Daft Punk, "Around the World," through my sik by nines. He says, "hey this is achually a good tune." To which I said, "considering it only uses 3 words...." He looked puzzled, listened and then abused me cause I had ruined the song for him. He was now focused completely on the melody, which he now realised was achual words rather than how he was listening to the whole song. He was hearing the combination of melody, beat and bass and how they worked together to make a great tune. For a while he was "getting" the groove.

I also likened EDM to classical music. Symphonies etc generally have a common theme or melody that runs through various movements (typically 4, but no rules) which vary in the achual tune, tempo, key or time signature. But have a common theme throughout the lot. I have always thought EDM is similar with different remixes of the same tune. A really good example I had (back in the day) was the single for "Nightmare" by Brainbug (below). You could play this single and it had (I think) 5 remixes. A good modern example I have in my collection right now is Savoy's "We are the sun." I have the Original and Laidback Luke versions which are both Electro and two different Dubstep mixes of the same song.

Anyway, this was just a thought I had from a discussion I had with a guy on Soundcloud today. Considered I had nothing better to do, so I would share this thought with you all.

[russell]

brainbug... tune.

[mattus123]

i wouldnt compare it to classical

i think classical is more complex than most EDM

[GREMM1S]

Interesting point i think until recently you would consider EDM alternative or for the most part a niche genre.

I was drawn its sort of innocence and purity in the fact it was music made to get people dancing and enjoy themselves, it doesnt need overthought or deep/depressing vocals.

A genre is merely a way to organise sounds, i dont think you can say it is anymore or anything less than any other genre, the only difference is that it is purely music to entertain and bring joy.

[OxyKon]

Yeah I also wouldn't call EDM the new classical music but it's definitely more main stream than it was like 10 years ago

[Kodiak]

Yeah.. Classical was overstretching. But my point was that people who dont really like the genre arent really giving it enough credit and not really listening to the whole song.

[russell]

Define EDM please.

[eggssell]

electronic dance music.

anything that derived from house and the primary components of the song are synthesised or put together using a sequencer of some sort (be it analog or digital)

And defkon, think back ten years ago are you sure it wasnt mainstream? ten years ago was 2002, pretty sure fatboy slim was all up in the charts and played continuously on channel v.

edm has been in the mainstream in some shape one way or another for as long as i can remember. some good some bad some indifferent. So i also wouldnt agree w grem in saying its alternative. Maybe the edm you listen to in particular is not mainstream, but even in the late 80's all record stores had a dance section. Shyte from memory places like sanity in the early 90s would replicate rave environments

[eggssell]

and no i wouldnt call it the new classical.

a lot of music styles lack vocal but cant be likened to classical.

[GREMM1S]

I dont personally get the hate over the term edm, its really the most accurate term for all dance music considering its all electronic now anyway

[SourceRaver]

I like the term EDM. I remember when the only genre of EDM was 'techno' (even though Acid House had already been kicking arround for a few years). I still find it funny today when people call it techno. They still dont realise techno is now only one of a gazillion different genres.

I've witnessed a few EDM haters suddenly realise what its all about (usually with the help of a few party favourites).

[GREMM1S]

Yeah its just uneducated morons who call it techno to define all edm.

I think edm is in a good place to be honest, yes its gone to super commercial but that means alot of interest and money coming into it at least.

Just have to be very careful though not to kill genuine artists and scenes.

[russell]

The reason I asked for a definition is that some forms of electronic music have had mainstream success and others haven't

Early 90's charts in the UK were pretty dominated by house music... that kind of fell away in the later half of the 90's although some artists kept it up (underworld being one example). Through the naughties it mostly remained pretty underground and it's probably went even more underground if you don't include all the pop electronic spin off shit (SHM, Guetta etc). True house music is still pretty niche.

the majority of people don't understand what I'm on about if they what music I listen to. House means nothing, never mind deep house, to a lot of people. And like has been mentioned some people just label it all techno.

[Mitch]

And like has been mentioned some people just label it all techno.

The average punter does this all too often.

I got asked what some good new techno tunes are by someone not that long ago. Said I didn't have any new techno. Their reply: 'but don't you listen to skrillex and stuff?'

*facepalm*

[GREMM1S]

Yeah but genre definitions and naming get silly, just because new stuff doesnt sound like the house you listen doesnt mean it cant be called house, end of the day music is music and really edm is the best way to describe all dance from deep house, electro, dnb etc

[russell]

Yeah but genre definitions and naming get silly, just because new stuff doesnt sound like the house you listen doesnt mean it cant be called house, end of the day music is music and really edm is the best way to describe all dance from deep house, electro, dnb etc

I agree that pigeon-holing music can get ridiculous. however, house and techno are 2 clear genres.. Then you've got dubstep in a genre of it's own.

I don't really like the EDM tag. there's no need for that when you can just call it house, techno or whatever.

It's once you get passed the main genre that it gets silly with all the sub-genre names, most of which people make up to make something sound new or different. Beatport send out emails with some ridiculous genres.

[Kodiak]

Dixie, Bluegrass, New Orleans and Chicago are, I am sure all forms of Blues to you.

As is house, techno and dubstep all forms of EDM.

[russell]

Dixie, Bluegrass, New Orleans and Chicago are, I am sure all forms of Blues to you.

As is house, techno and dubstep all forms of EDM.

yeah but these are sub genres of blues...

House and techno was never called EDM to begin with.

[Kodiak]

Dixie, Bluegrass, New Orleans and Chicago are, I am sure all forms of Blues to you.

As is house, techno and dubstep all forms of EDM.

yeah but these are sub genres of blues...

House and techno was never called EDM to begin with.

Maybe to you, who is not invested in those sub-genres. I am sure when Scott Joplin was writing "The Entertainer" he was making Ragtime, not the Blues and would take offence to you miss-classifying his work much as you don't like the fact that while the term "EDM" may be new, it is the term used as the genre that encompasses the sub-genres such as house, techno etc.

What was this thread about again?

[russell]

Dixie, Bluegrass, New Orleans and Chicago are, I am sure all forms of Blues to you.

As is house, techno and dubstep all forms of EDM.

yeah but these are sub genres of blues...

House and techno was never called EDM to begin with.

Maybe to you, who is not invested in those sub-genres. I am sure when Scott Joplin was writing "The Entertainer" he was making Ragtime, not the Blues and would take offence to you miss-classifying his work much as you don't like the fact that while the term "EDM" may be new, it is the term used as the genre that encompasses the sub-genres such as house, techno etc.

What was this thread about again?

i wouldn't class Joplin as blues and ragtime wasn't in your original list of styles so I don't see your point??

I just don't like the term EDM. If anyone asked me i would never say I play EDM. I'd say I play house and techno.

[GREMM1S]

I always said dance which really is the same as edm, saying you play house these days can be pretty open to alot if different sounds, tbh we sound like the nitpicking wankers who make up all the genres now lol, how does dance sound? I must admit ive never used to the word edm in a sentence

[Tomy]

electronic dance music.

anything that derived from house and the primary components of the song are synthesised or put together using a sequencer of some sort (be it analog or digital)

sorry eggs but i think this isn't 100% right for a definition of EDM. Even though house was one of the first genre's of EDM it derived from sampling and looping songs already out there, i think? If you really strip it down to its core this is what EDM is based around. even today creating a song consists of creative / finding a sample and looping it, effecting it and arranging it into a some sort of structure.

[GREMM1S]

Different ways and structures to producing but its still electronic either way.