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I'm not saying EDM was better in the early days...but it's weird to think of how it changed into what we know today

InspectaDekka

InspectaDekka

Banned
Jan 4, 2019
1,820
I've been listening to quite a bit of Acid House lately and specifically, the song Voodoo Ray by A Guy Called Gerald:


One of the biggest club hits of its time and one of the greatest house tracks. It's so wonderfully melodic and abstract.

Then I thought about the music you hear in clubs now. It's not so much dedicated now, but everywhere you go it's always pop songs and old-school throwbacks. A lot of clubs I've been to have played stuff like I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers or Wannabe by the Spice Girls, but when a proper EDM song comes on, the biggest one with the crowd is usually Losing It by Fisher.


It's just so...minimal. I know there's always been real sub-bass focused house tracks, even in its formation period but it's so strange that a big club hit isn't something so serene and exciting but rather just some post-dubstep regurgitation. Then again, you get a lot of melodic house tracks that aren't really special but they still get a lot of club and radio. They usually feature a nice enough piano riff but with some terrible vocal chopping. I think the only real output lately I've liked is Calvin Harris' recent songs in terms of songs people are familiar with and are going to be played in clubs.

I'm probably ranting and coming off as a snob here anyway.
 
wenis

wenis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,114
Not to besmirch the work being done today but there's a certain level of humanity in old House/Acid/Jungle/D&B, not to say it's lacking in current stuff but you could hear someone learning old programming machines and synths. Little fuckups or just knowing tells of certain machines that reminded you that someone is at the helm of these things and there's no taking back a slight flub. Now you can really clean up a track and make sure it's mechanically sound before anyone really hears it. Especially old DJ mixes back in the day, you really hear someone just not match beat super well but the energy is so top notch that you don't really care, they'll get it on the other go. Now you can match beat with a single button.
 
MarioW

MarioW

PikPok
Verified
Nov 5, 2017
1,155
New Zealand
I've been clubbing for a loooong time. There has definitely been a lot of change in electronica and dance music.

Late 90s/early 2000s is probably my favourite era music wise between club EDM and hip hop, though that's probably blended in with the nostalgia of the social fun I was having at the time. Felt there was a lot of diversity and innovation in club music at the time.

Right now, there is definitely a lot of very samey sounding house tracks. Not surprising to me that a track like Losing It stands out - it's simple, but it's distinct and easy to get behind.

A similar track which jumped out to me at the time was Portland by Watermat a few years back.
 
OG Kush

OG Kush

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,690
I feel techno has gotten really big over the past 2/3 years, at least here in the UK. But after visiting Berlin last year, club experiences still pale in comparison.
 
collige

collige

Member
Oct 31, 2017
12,772
Tech house fucking blows, I don't think that's a particularly controversial or snobby view. If you want the more interesting, less polished house stuff it's still there, just outside the radio charts. DJs like Octo Octa, The Black Madonna, Jackmaster, and Omar-S still fucking throw down.


OG Kush said:
I feel techno has gotten really big over the past 2/3 years, at least here in the UK. But after visiting Berlin last year, club experiences still pale in comparison.
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I really want to go to Berghain one day.
 

Deleted member 2254

user requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
21,467
It's a scene that constantly evolves. The 90's rave scene, the drum 'n' bass phase, the dubstep, the electro house period... they are hardly comparable despite, theoretically, being many of the same clubs and artists evolving in that direction. As someone who enjoyed most of the styles, it was always funny to see purists or certain artists step up against a new style suddenly performing better in charts and on the dancefloor, claiming it's for the sellouts and they'd never follow that route, only for them to actually do that not long after. Case in point Deadmau5 shitting on dubstep before he actually made a couple dubstep tunes for his then new album. But I'm digressing.
 
Poimandres

Poimandres

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,872
I came to the conclusion maybe 15 years ago that what I enjoy will never be what the masses enjoy. My favourite electronic artist is probably Autechre so ya know...
 
Tbm24

Tbm24

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
16,329
I miss the the late 2000s to early 2010s era. Going to festivals was an experience back then. Now I usually look us progressive trance or vocal trance, something close to that to get the fix I'm looking for. I check out EDM playlists on spotify often and it's not for me.
 
OP
OP
InspectaDekka

InspectaDekka

Banned
Jan 4, 2019
1,820
Tbm24 said:
I miss the the late 2000s to early 2010s era. Going to festivals was an experience back then. Now I usually look us progressive trance or vocal trance, something close to that to get the fix I'm looking for. I check out EDM playlists on spotify often and it's not for me.
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Christ no. What a terrible era.
 
VileZero

VileZero

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
438
Maryland/DC
I got into EDM around 2012, I guess right when it broke into mainstream. I think I always enjoyed it on some level - "Sandstorm" and "Call On Me" were early favorites in my high school/college years. But I love what it is now. Galantis is easily my favorite, but I've got major love for Martin Garix, Cash Cash, Calvin Harris, Audien, Chainsmokers (gasp! yeah, I dig them a lot), Zedd, and even Tiesto's current stuff.

Basically, if it's on the EDM channel on SiriusXM, I'm grooving to it.
 
OP
OP
InspectaDekka

InspectaDekka

Banned
Jan 4, 2019
1,820
I have a feeling most people that got into EDM within the last decade are from anywhere but Europe.

EDM came from Chicago to the UK/France/Germany/Russia and it got back to America where it was made worse.
 
oledome

oledome

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,907
Putting aside what I think of when I hear "EDM" I think we have fantastic electronic music to listen to

OG Kush said:
I feel techno has gotten really big over the past 2/3 years, at least here in the UK. But after visiting Berlin last year, club experiences still pale in comparison.
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Berlin is something else, I'm less a techno head and more a house person that's why I was at panorama while in berghain most of the time. I think my hometown London is still great for clubbing though, I just love going out and being with people who are on the same level
 
Dice

Dice

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,366
Canada
Subbing this thread if it keeps going.

I like a lot of the space/tropical sounds; if anyone has similar sounds I'd totally appreciate it 👍 (but honestly this thread ahs delivered songs I've added to Spotify already)


(also enjoy footage from old school sci-fi Logan's Run xD)


(That video location too, hnnngh)


(hashtag blesstelle)
 
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OG Kush

OG Kush

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,690
InspectaDekka said:
I have a feeling most people that got into EDM within the last decade are from anywhere but Europe.

EDM came from Chicago to the UK/France/Germany/Russia and it got back to America where it was made worse.
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Yeh, i sometimes have a passing thought of how the US birthed both House and Techno, Europe took it and ran with it but when it came back to the US it seemed to had lost it roots.
 
Qikz

Qikz

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Oct 25, 2017
12,492
Wasn't one of the first types of EDM Italo Disco? It was also in Germany named something else as well. They both led to the birth of Eurobeat which is one of the subgenres of EDM I guess.
 
TickleMeElbow

TickleMeElbow

Member
Oct 31, 2017
2,668
I feel like pretty much anyone can make EDM with their laptop now, so people just kind of copy the sound that's easiest to reproduce yet still sounds fairly decent.
 
collige

collige

Member
Oct 31, 2017
12,772
I feel like the problem with the term "EDM". It's not a genre, it's an umbrella term and marketing phrase that can't capture the huge diversity of scenes and music played in clubs. It's like just saying "guitar music" when that covers everything from death metal to country.
 
Koozek

Koozek

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Oct 25, 2017
8,913
collige said:
Tech house fucking blows, I don't think that's a particularly controversial or snobby view. If you want the more interesting, less polished house stuff it's still there, just outside the radio charts. DJs like Octo Octa, The Black Madonna, Jackmaster, and Omar-S still fucking throw down.



I really want to go to Berghain one day.
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yo, this mix goes. thx!
 
chirt

chirt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,692
collige said:
Tech house fucking blows, I don't think that's a particularly controversial or snobby view. If you want the more interesting, less polished house stuff it's still there, just outside the radio charts. DJs like Octo Octa, The Black Madonna, Jackmaster, and Omar-S still fucking throw down.



I really want to go to Berghain one day.
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Tech house is awesome wth
 
gdt

gdt

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Oct 26, 2017
9,495
I hate the term EDM


I'm very much down with modern house, and some melodic techno and stuff in between.
 
chirt

chirt

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Oct 25, 2017
1,692
Qikz said:
Wasn't one of the first types of EDM Italo Disco? It was also in Germany named something else as well. They both led to the birth of Eurobeat which is one of the subgenres of EDM I guess.
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Yea you're probably right, there's a reason so many (house) artists today list Giorgio Moroder as a major influence.
Saw him last year in Chicago and he's still got it.
 
AL_

AL_

Member
Oct 25, 2017
92
There's so much more types of electronic music than what you allude to in the OP. I feel like this idea with music is based mostly on nostalgia. Music sounds better today, there are more options when creating, anyone can do it, and there's just straight up MORE music. If you love music then none of these things are bad andwe can all listen to each sub genre we want
 
nsilvias

nsilvias

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Oct 25, 2017
23,790
TickleMeElbow said:
I feel like pretty much anyone can make EDM with their laptop now, so people just kind of copy the sound that's easiest to reproduce yet still sounds fairly decent.
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If its so easy why dont you do it yourself?
its not easy, the reason it seems that way is because creating something original is hard and more people than ever have access to the tech needed to make everything now that prices have fallen dramatically
 
AL_

AL_

Member
Oct 25, 2017
92
nsilvias said:
If its so easy why dont you do it yourself?
its not easy, the reason it seems that way is because creating something original is hard and more people than ever have access to the tech needed to make everything now that prices have fallen dramatically
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It's like saying anyone with a pen can draw their way into an art gallery
 
lazygecko

lazygecko

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Oct 25, 2017
3,628
OG Kush said:
Yeh, i sometimes have a passing thought of how the US birthed both House and Techno, Europe took it and ran with it but when it came back to the US it seemed to had lost it roots.
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Dance music was pretty marginalized in the US right up until the late 00's, when record labels found a new gimmick to exploit by heavily marketing DJs/producers as rockstars and making a very conscious effort to rebrand it as EDM. This is when the American mainstream market finally opened itself up to a younger generation of consumers not beholden to the same kind of social stigmas (which is arguably partly rooted in the American disco backlash and its subsequent tacit association with gay clubs).

I was way way more into this type of music overall back in the 90's and early 00's, and I distinctively remember how alien it all seemed to my American peers when interacting with them online.
 
TickleMeElbow

TickleMeElbow

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Oct 31, 2017
2,668
nsilvias said:
If its so easy why dont you do it yourself?
its not easy, the reason it seems that way is because creating something original is hard and more people than ever have access to the tech needed to make everything now that prices have fallen dramatically
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I'm not saying anyone can make a hit record.

One person might come up with something new, but it feels like within a week there are step by step tutorials online on how to make the exact same thing.

It's just way easier now.
 
OG Kush

OG Kush

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Oct 25, 2017
1,690
collige said:
I feel like the problem with the term "EDM". It's not a genre, it's an umbrella term and marketing phrase that can't capture the huge diversity of scenes and music played in clubs. It's like just saying "guitar music" when that covers everything from death metal to country.
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Very good point. I will say in the UK/Europe, no one calls says EDM (at least the people I know/come across). We'll say "we're going to a techno/house/deep house/uk garage/DNB rave" etc. EDM is a term Ive heard more used specifically for the mainstream US scene, such as the artists mentioned here:
VileZero said:
I got into EDM around 2012, I guess right when it broke into mainstream. I think I always enjoyed it on some level - "Sandstorm" and "Call On Me" were early favorites in my high school/college years. But I love what it is now. Galantis is easily my favorite, but I've got major love for Martin Garix, Cash Cash, Calvin Harris, Audien, Chainsmokers (gasp! yeah, I dig them a lot), Zedd, and even Tiesto's current stuff.

Basically, if it's on the EDM channel on SiriusXM, I'm grooving to it.
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QuantumZebra

QuantumZebra

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Oct 27, 2017
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EDM was better in the late 80's - early 2ks... said it for you :p
 
ty_hot

ty_hot

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Dec 14, 2017
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There are pop clubs that play "mainstream" EDM (which js more like pop songs a bit remixed) and there are a few clubs that actually play EDM. You just need to find them.
 
Violet

Violet

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Feb 7, 2019
3,263
dc
Yeah i don't think it's a matter of the genre having been good int he past but sucking now, but more of a general trend of dance culture. It basically got mainstreamed and monetized, and the type of dance artists that used to be able to "break out" are now blocked by hordes of mega famous DJs who are basically appealing to a crowd that basically came from pop sensibilities.

The real dance "scene" in most cities is just more niche now. White cis gay culture is more prevalent than ever but is so focused on pop, and the idea of dance culture as a haven for gay culture just isn't really true any more. And that definitely affects the hype behind a lot of dance artists, atleast at a local level.
 
Whompa

Whompa

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Oct 26, 2017
4,254
Lump said:
EDM was never the same after Dolphin on Wheels

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god...it's just so bad...I remember a friend of mine was really excited to have me listen to this song for the first time, and I'm definitely not a song snob or aficionado of good music at all, but ugh...I just remember having to pretend to like it and go along with it.
 
Foxhound

Foxhound

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OP, the reason you don't like that banger of a Fisher song is because it's completely different style of electronic music from what you like. FISHER is more techno, which is more minimalist in nature. Lots of people don't care for techno because it's dark, brooding, repetitive, and does not instill the positive "vibes" that many look for.

Taken from a Quora response:
" house is "lighter" with higher tone sounds, maybe more joyful. Techno on the other hand focuses more on low bass, heavy beat, might be more dark, more industrial whereas house is more clubbing." I'd say this is a fitting description.

Even still, EDM has kind of become a bastardized term for the "bubblegum" electronic music you hear on the radio from the "pop star DJs" - NO THANK YOU FOR ME. Give me house and techno only, all the other genres are just not my thing.

I actually just saw FISHER play this BANGER of a song at Movement festival in Detroit (The tecnho Mecca of the world) and lost my freaking mind.
 
CopperPuppy

CopperPuppy

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Oct 25, 2017
7,636
As an active member of the ITG community and someone who writes charts myself, I listen to a ton of EDM, often just looking for decent content to step.

There is a abundance of incredible stuff out there, easily more than ever before, but with it came an abundance of garbage as well.

I will say that, for all genres that rely heavily on drops, 99% of drops are fucking terrible nowadays. I don't know what happened, but so much of the newer stuff I listen to that is drop-heavy is just awful.
 
OP
OP
InspectaDekka

InspectaDekka

Banned
Jan 4, 2019
1,820
Foxhound said:
OP, the reason you don't like that banger of a Fisher song is because it's completely different style of electronic music from what you like. FISHER is more techno, which is more minimalist in nature. Lots of people don't care for techno because it's dark, brooding, repetitive, and does not instill the positive "vibes" that many look for.

Taken from a Quora response:
" house is "lighter" with higher tone sounds, maybe more joyful. Techno on the other hand focuses more on low bass, heavy beat, might be more dark, more industrial whereas house is more clubbing." I'd say this is a fitting description.

Even still, EDM has kind of become a bastardized term for the "bubblegum" electronic music you hear on the radio from the "pop star DJs" - NO THANK YOU FOR ME. Give me house and techno only, all the other genres are just not my thing.

I actually just saw FISHER play this BANGER of a song at Movement festival in Detroit (The tecnho Mecca of the world) and lost my freaking mind.
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No. Techno is amazing. Amelie Lens is one of my favourite artists and there's some other recent tracks by artists but no, Losing It is a dogshit song for MDMA taking nobs.
 
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