Origins
EDM stands for electronic dance music. The acronym encompasses several percussive music genres, primarily produced with techniques used in disco, techno, trance, and house music. These genres originally became popular in the nightlife, party and club scene during the late 1980s, and into the early 90s. Dance music saw an increase in popularity when raving, club culture, and warehouse parties began to emerge.
So what is Electronic Dance Music?
EDM is typically made for nightclubs, raves, and music festivals, with the goal of getting people to swing their arms and move their feet. Over the years EDM has seen the rise and fall of many sub-genres. The most popular genres of EDM today are House, Techno, Drum & Bass, Trap, and Dubstep.
Genres of electronic music
Many genres and subgenres come and go in the EDM scene, but it seems some are here to stay. House, Drum and Bass, Techno, Trap, and Dubstep have all evolved and been approached in new ways through the years but have never left the scene. To hear some of the best from each of the respective genre’s, check out what’s written below.
House Music
To answer the question of “What is EDM?” we need to first answer the question, “What is house music?
When house music was first being produced, it had strong influences of the early 1970s soul & funk-infused dance music style of disco. House music takes the prominent bass drum used on every beat of a disco track and mixes it with a heavy electronic synthesizer bassline, electronic drums, electronic effects, funk or pop samples, and vocals enhanced by reverb or delay.
The original sounds of house music were first heard in the year 1984 when the song "On and On" was released by Chicago based DJ's Jesse Saunders and Vince Lawrence. The dance track featured musical elements that quickly became staples for the early house music sound.
House's Sub Genres
House music can be broken into many sub-genres, with the most popular ones being deep house, bass house, tech house, electro house, and tropical house.
Deep House
Deep House is a slower variant of house, usually residing around 120 beats per minute (BPM). The genre has a strong focus on sub-bass, which makes the deep "wub" sound that house fans find so satisfying.
If you want to hear some deep house, check out Malaa and Tchami's track below:
Bass House
Bass House is an upbeat genre of house, with an emphasis on the bass synths that usually consist of dubstep and grime influences. Bass house often sounds like dubstep but with a house music drum pattern. The genre has seen a rise in popularity since 2014 when songs like "Rock The Party" and "Feel The Volume" were released by bass house producers Jauz and Ephwurd.
To get a feel for the bass house sound check out Ghastly's remix of Zomboy's track, "Lights Out.":
Tech House
Tech House features components of techno music, often using minimalistic production techniques from house, combined with minimal qualities of techno, to create a more melodic and introspective genre.
Green Velvet is a techno and house veteran, with some great tech-house productions.
Check out the track "Lazer Beams" featuring Green Velvet and Harvard Bass:
Electro House
Electro House is a subgenre of house music featuring melodic and harmonic electro influences. The style of music distorts waveforms with many harmonics which create a louder and more intense electronic sound then traditional house music would.
To get a better understanding of what electro house sounds like, listen to the classic track "Machina" by Dex Arson below:
Tropical House
Tropical House, sometimes referred to as trop house, is a more recent subgenre of house music, that many people say was pioneered by the Australian DJ and producer Thomas Jack. The genre uses instruments like saxophones, steel drums, and marimbas, with electro synths to create a summertime vibe. Kygo, is among the most popular Tropical house producers in the world.
To get a better idea of what the sub-genre sounds like check out Kygo's remix of Ed Sheeran's track "I See Fire" down below:
Techno
When looking at What is EDM, look no further then Techno, one of EDM's oldest genres. The style of music first formed in Detroit, Michigan back in the mid to late 1980s. The genre draws heavily from funk and soul to create intense grooves and percussive bass lines. The four individuals often credited for the invention of techno are Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, and Eddie Fowlkes, who all attended school together in Detroit. Since first being innovated, techno has grown and evolved into the thumping basslines heard today.
The Best Techno DJ's
Carl Cox had a strong influence on the techno scene, especially in the 90s, when techno was first becoming popularized. The dance music pioneer first purchased a set of turntables at the age of 15 and learned to become a DJ.
Cox then got into producing music in the early 90s and released his first debut single in 1991 called "I Want You." The years to follow were filled with success for Cox as he released one timeless dance record after the other.
The veteran has renowned mixing skills and song selections. To check out one of Cox's highly sought after live techno sets, click the link below:
Richie Hawtin, better known by his alter ego, Plastikman, and is a British born, Canadian EDM producer and DJ. He produces primarily techno music and was extremely influential during Detroit techno's second wave of artists to take over in the early 1990s.
He has also helped to lead the minimal techno movements, since the mid 90s. Check out one of the techno legend's timeless productions below:
LOCO & Jam is a newer techno duo, who made a name for themselves in 2010, when the techno legend, Carl Cox, signed one of their tracks to his 2010 Space Ibiza Comp. The Northern Ireland based producers are releasing consistently groovy techno tracks.
Check out one of their bangers below:
Drum and Bass
Drum and Bass music originated out of the rave scene in Brittan during the early 1990s. The genre typically ranges from 160 to 180 BPM, which is the highest BPM range seen in EDM. It is often characterized as upbeat with heavy basslines and sub bass. The high tempo in Drum and Bass makes it the fastest paced genre in the EDM scene.
Some of the pioneers for the Drum and Bass sound are Joey Beltram, CJ Bolland, and L.A Style. The genre first saw mainstream popularity after tracks like "Trip to Trumpton" by Urban Hype and "Charly" from The Prodigy got released.
These songs were released during the early 90s and the underground rave scene took a hit when these songs became mainstream.
To get an idea of what Drum and Bass sounds like today, here is some recent music from the world-famous DJ trio, Noisia:
The Best Drum & Bass DJ's Today
Some of the Drum and Bass DJs who are dominating the scene right now with huge releases of epic proportions, include Teddy Killerz. The part Russian and part Ukrainian trio released straight fire last year and 2018 has been no exception.
Check out the Teddy Killerz, most recent release below:
Camo & Krooked are another Drum and Bass group to be on the lookout for. The Vienna based duo has been producing music since 2002 and first collaborated to form Camo & Krooked in 07'.
To hear the duo's mixing skills, check out the BBC Radio1 Essential Mix below:
Muzzy is a 22-year-old, England born drum and bass producer who has been producing tracks since he was 16. Muzzy's popularity came from hits like "Kill The Silence," "Letz Rock" and "The Phantom." The DJ is known for his drumstep-styled songs in addition to drum and bass.
Check out Muzzy's hit track "Outsiders" featuring Charlotte Haining:
Trap
What EDM is now, and what it was even seven years ago, is vastly different. Trap music is a newly formed genre that gained mainstream recognition back in 2012. It is bass heavy with mean triplet hi-hats, loud kicks, snappy snares, and 808's. The genre can be described as one-third hip-hop, one third dance music, and one-third dub.
The hip-hop influences are often heard in the song's structure and tempo, with hip-hop vocals, sometimes pitched down. Elements of dance music are heard in the synths and sampling of trap music. There are also aspects of dub music, with a low-frequency focus, emphasis on repetitive drums, synths, and breaks.
Trap music in the EDM scene has seen a rise in popularity since hitting the mainstream in 2012 and the trap music sound has evolved over the years. Producers like RL Grime and Flosstradamus helped to lead the trap music movement when they started releasing music, over 7 years ago.
Listen to the timeless trap anthem, "Soundclash," featuring Flosstradamus below:
Best of The Best Trap Music Producers
Eliminate is a Seattle born trap producer, with some of the most creative hybrid tracks in the genre. Eliminates music can be recognized by its ear melting synths, groovy beats, and beautiful vocals.
An Eliminate track that dominated dancefloors throughout 2017 is "Snakebite VIP." The song saw support from bass music heavyweights like Excision and Bassnectar after its release.
Check out the game-changing track below:
The Sydney based producer, Hydraulix has made a lasting impression on EDM's trap scene. The trap producer has recently collaborated with Riff Raff, Hekler, and Hatch, for his "Trippin' EP" that was released on the TWONK label mid-November of last year.
He is known for throwing down high energy sets that seamlessly transition between different genres and styles. Some of his latest work in 2018 that deserves recognition would be his remix of Quix track "Storm."
Check out the insane remix below:
Rickyxsan is another trap producer in the EDM world to keep an eye on. The young artist has made a name for himself over the past 3 years, receiving support from EDM's most renowned artists, like Skrillex, Diplo, and Steve Aoki. Check out his latest sound design heavy track "Insane" below:
Dubstep
The dubstep sound has evolved immensely through the years, with its origins residing in the southern parts of London, England during the late 90s. Producers like EI-B, Steve Gurley, Zed Bias, and Oris Jay pioneered the early dubstep sound. Record labels, releasing music under this genre coined it as "dubstep" in 2002. The genre's sound is ever-changing and some dubstep artists who are dominating the scene right now are Excision, Datsik, Bassnectar, Flux Pavillion, Zomboy, and Zeds Dead.
Skrillex was one of the first dubstep producers to tap into the brostep sound.
Brostep is a subgenre of dubstep that often features melodic breaks and upbeat "Wubs." To hear an early brostep song check out Skrillex's remix of Benny Benassi's track "Cinema:
Dubstep Producers to Watch In 2018
Svdden Death is a Los Angeles based dubstep producer with some of the most unique sounding heavy dubstep and riddim tracks in the scene. He has huge releases on Skism's "Never Say Die Black Label" and Borgore's "Fresh Blood Compilations." The young artist just recently released his "Junkworld EP," on "Never Say Die Records."
Check out Svdden Death's latest track off the EP, "Last Life" below:
Virtual Riot, is a German EDM artist with some of the cleanest and meanest dubstep tracks known to man. He is a mastermind when it comes to sound design, from beautiful sounding melodic dubstep to filthy riddim, his versatility in the studio is unmatched.
Virtual Riot's "German Engineering EP" was released last month and has a strong focus on riddim synths and disgusting growls.
Check out "Shindeiru" off of the German Engineering EP, to hear Virtual Riots latest take on the riddim dubstep genre:
Skism is an OG in the dubstep world, first making his mark on the scene in 09'. The British dubstep artist is a co-owner of A&R and owns Never Say Die Records.
The label features some of dubstep's best and brightest, such as Zomboy, Spag Heddy, LAXX, Trampa, Twine, EH!DE, Megalodon, Space Laces, Trolley Snatcha, and many more. Skism is a madman when it comes to live mixing, and always puts all four decks to work.
Check out his classic mix "Never Say Die One Hundred." The mix creatively showcases all of Never Say Die's best tunes:
Moving Forward
EDM has evolved through the years and the quality of underground artists has grown exponentially. Dance music's respective genres continue to see innovation by new producers every year, pushing the boundaries of computer music. With new sounds being created every day, the EDM industry is going to continue to flourish and dominate.
To keep up to date with all these new and innovative sounds check out all the latest and greatest EDM releases. And keep up to date with the latest EDM news, artist interviews, and events.
