Electronic dance music (EDM) is the fastest growing music form in the music industry today. In fact, trance music has become so popular worldwide that many clubs and DJs now offer a “Trance” setting, complete with headphones and techno music playing behind the sound system. Even celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon, with Justin Timberlake’s son Jai Levee claiming the lead on his song “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely”, although his mother was present throughout the performance. With artists such as these, it seems the popularity of electronic dance music is only growing.
The birth of trance music can be traced back to the early 90s when two of the most popular groups to come from the break through millennium were the Canadian pop group The Tranquility Process along with hard house band Eurythmics. Their song “A Boy Brushed Red Living in a World of Black and White” were an instant hit, going straight to number one in the UK and quickly making its way around the world and making it into the homes of many. In amongst this was Canadian electro-rock band “Pixeleen” who took a similar track and “Love is in the air” which featured on their 1997 album. Although this was only a brief appearance, it did help set the tempo for what would become the modern electronic dance music style. From here, new styles started to emerge and although some of these may never have been fully realised, here are some of the main styles that dominate the electronic dance music scene today.
Techno-Hype: This is the most popular form of electronic dance music featuring hard hitting rhythms. Often played at live gigs, trance music features hard techno beats and a very unique rhythm that make it stand out from other forms of hard dance music. The biggest clubs will often feature a trance section which showcases the best of this form of electronic dance music including breakcore, hardcore techno and new age. Popular tracks include ‘Eon’, ‘
Hard Tech: Hard techno has been around for a long time and although the name may seem a bit strange, it has really taken off in the last few years. It first became noticeable with the growth of the popularity of ‘techno’ in the late 90s but hard techno has always had a strong following and it showed no signs of slowing down or even dying down in the past few years. Techno Trance music has been especially good at clubs where breakcore and hardcore techno have been spinning for many years. Hard tech festivals are also very popular in Ibiza and clubs such as DEF Project appear to be very popular with the hard tech crowd every year. Other popular venues for hard techno include Fabric, Antic Park and the Homebase club in Berlin. Other clubs to feature here include Cmpt Promenade in Bristol and Engine Bar in Glasgow.
Dubstep: Another great genre of electronic dance music is that of dubstep. It began as an East African breakbeat influenced movement and has taken on a life of its own since then. Dubstep is now one of the biggest influences of breakcore and hard techno. It is now set to play at some major dance music festivals this summer. Other well known clubs to feature Dubstep are O2 Capitol in Berlin and Kulture in Amsterdam.
Volume 2: This very much continues to remain on the cutting edge and will no doubt continue to influence future trends. The first volume was unable to keep its spot as the best hard dance record so it went back in the second place this time. The new version comes with two big differences though; firstly the price has been increased and secondly the amount of tracks offered has been increased. This leaves the new version only having a single track to play, yet the breakcore and hardstyle side of things has been wonderfully combined. Expect plenty more major spots this year on both sides of the digital download divide.
White Label: With the boom of house parties and Ibiza volume 1, more artists are looking to take their share of the market by offering their own labels. With the help of a label you can release your single and gain a reputation for yourself before other labels take notice of you. This is another great opportunity to gain a sound engineer’s portfolio and build contacts in the industry. Expect a lot of exciting opportunities to come your way from this.
EDM stands for “Electronic Dance Music”. This means that it combines the worlds of electronic dance with hip hop, techno, rap and deep house elements. As the years go by we should expect a lot more variations in electronic dance music. The main producers and DJs right now are the ones creating the future of this art form so stay tuned to our website for all the latest news and reviews.
