Electronic dance music (EDM) is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment. The music is largely created for use by disc jockeys and is produced with the intention of it being heard in the context of a continuous DJ set; wherein the DJ progresses from one record to the next via a synchronized segue or "mix".[1]
Electronic dance music is a broad term created post 1990's, used to describe a set of percussive music genres that largely stem from the production methods of disco music, house music, techno music, and hip hop music. Such music was originally born of and popularized via regional nightclub scenes in the 1980s, the warehouse party scene of the late 1980s, and the early rave scene of the acid house movement in the late 1980s. By the early 1990s, the presence of electronic dance music in contemporary culture was noted widely and its role in society began to be explored in published historical, cultural and social science academic studies. It is constructed by means of electronic instruments such as synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, and generally emphasizes the unique sounds of those instruments, even when mimicking traditional acoustic instrumentation. It sometimes encompasses music not primarily meant for dancing, but derived from the dance-oriented styles.[2]
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Since around the mid-1980s, electronic dance music has enjoyed popularity in many nightclubs, and is the predominant type of music played in discothèques as well as the rave scene. As such, the related term club music, while broadly referring to whichever music genres are currently in vogue and associated with nightclubs, has become synonymous with all electronic dance music, or just those genres—or some subset thereof—that are typically played at mainstream discothèques. It is sometimes used more broadly to encompass non-electronic music played at such venues, or electronic music that is not normally played at clubs but that shares attributes with music that is. What is widely considered to be club music changes over time, includes different genres depending on the region and who's making the reference, and may not always encompass electronic dance music. Similarly, electronic dance music sometimes means different things to different people. Both terms vaguely encompass multiple genres, and sometimes are used as if they were genres themselves. The distinction is that club music is ultimately based on what's popular, whereas electronic dance music is based on attributes of the music itself.[3]
Electronic dance music is categorized by music journalists and fans alike as an ever-evolving plethora of named genres, styles and sub-styles. With many types of dance music, the number of beats per minute (BPM) helps define a separation between genres. The presence of vocals, live instrumentation vs synthetic instrumentation, and pattern of drum beats also help differentiate genres of electronic dance music. Some genres, such as Electro, Eurodance, Techno, House, Trance, Hardstyle, breakbeat, drum and bass are primarily intended to promote dancing. Others, such as IDM, Dubstep, glitch and trip hop, are more experimental and tend to be associated more with focused listening than dancing.
In the 1980s many genres of popular electronic music exploited the use of MIDI protocol; a technological development that expanded interactivity and synchronized functionality across a range of music related technologies. In the 1990s, following the growth of personal computing EDM creation began migrating to computer based production systems.
With the explosive growth of computers music technology and consequent reduction in the cost of equipment in the late 1990s, the number of artists and DJs working within electronic music is overwhelming. With the advent of hard disk recording systems, it is possible for any home computer user to become a musician, and hence the rise in the number of "bedroom bands", often consisting of a single person. Nevertheless notable artists can still be identified.
Influential musicians in industrial, synth pop and later electronic dance styles include Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), The Human League, Silver Apples, A-ha, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, and Throbbing Gristle. In Hardcore, Happy Hardcore, and Gabber notable producers and DJs include artists such as Angerfist, Neophyte, Endymion, Scott Brown, Brisk and Ham, DJ Hixxy, Darren Styles and Mark Breeze.
Musicians, producers and DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk, Tijs Verwest (aka Tiësto), ATB, Deadmau5, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold, Showtek, John Digweed, Sasha, Markus Schulz and Ferry Corsten have reached true superstar status, can command five-figure salaries for a single performance and regularly perform for hours on end. Some DJs have world wide radio, and internet broadcasted shows that air weekly, such as VONYC Sessions, a show mixed by Paul Van Dyk; Trance Around the World, a show mixed by Above & Beyond; and the legendary A State of Trance, a show mixed by Armin van Buuren.
In Hardstyle, influential musicians include Headhunterz, Showtek, Zany, Noisecontrollers, Donkey Rollers, The Prophet, Blutonium Boy, Technoboy, Tuneboy, Hardstyle Masterz, Dark Oscillators, Deepack.
In House, Techno and Drum and Bass, pioneers such as Charanjit Singh, Juan Atkins, Pendulum, Derrick May, Goldie, A Guy Called Gerald, Russian sensation Sonkin, LTJ Bukem, Joey Beltram and Frankie Bones are still active as of 2008. The only electronic music album to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart is The Prodigy's The Fat of the Land.
Until the 1980s, there were virtually no record labels that exclusively promoted electronic dance music. This changed when Larry Sherman set up house label Trax Records, techno pioneer Juan Atkins started Metroplex Records, Richie Hawtin started his influential Plus 8 imprint. In the United Kingdom, Warp Records emerged in the 1990s as one of the notable sources of home-listening and experimental music. Later arrivals include Astralwerks, Ed Banger Records, Ninja Tune, German Kompakt, !K7, and American Ghostly International.
In the early 2000s, Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis created what is to be one of the worlds biggest EDM label " Armada". Having won Best Global Dance Label’ title three years in a row,as awarded by the International Dance Music Awards of 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Amsterdam-based label works with and manages some of the biggest names in dance music industry, like Markus Schulz, Paul Van Dyk, ATB, Dash Berlin, Paul Oakenfold, StoneBridge, M.I.K.E., Sophie Sugar, Alex Morph, Aly & Fila, Roger Shah, Max Graham, Andy Moor, Mischa Daniels, Josh Gabriel and of course Armin himself.
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