Backgrounder and History of Electronic Dance Music

Walking Down the Lane of Electronic Dance Music

Electronic Dance Music
Electronic Dance Music, also known as EDM, dance music or club music is a music genre
“electronic music” produced by disc-jockeys (DJs) who are continuously playing a record or
create a mix of different songs that are generally played in a Nightclub, Concert, Festival, or
environment which is danced-based. There are several forms of Electronic Dance music, the
most common ones are House Music, Techno Music, Drop Music and Electro Music. EDM has
now become a mainstream trend and has started to grow even stronger. EDM is also the main
genre of music featured at the Dragonland Music Festival.

“Electro is today's disco - making electronic music not for the sake of selling it but for sharing it
and touring around the world D.J.-ing. – will.i.am”

Electronic Dance Music originated in 1960’s, the electronic instruments such as synthesizers,
drum machines and vocoder were introduced but 1970’s was the period when Electronic Music
originally began. A German Band “Kraftwerk” made the audience have a taste of electronic
sounds. Kraftwerk made electronic music and even paired up with other bands such as Led
Zeppelin and Deep Purple to make EDM reach to a wider audience. After Kraftwerk’s music got
appreciation and fame, EDM started to grow, that’s when other artists such as Giorgio Moroder
stepped into the music industry to give EDM the oomph of showing something new.

Moroder is an Italian singer, songwriter, producer and a DJ. Moroder is the one who introduced
the electronic sound to the musical mainstream, he created Electro-Disco which replaced early
Disco by electronic sounds, drum machines and faster bpm. Moroder collaborated with
mainstream artists such as Donna Summer and their piece “I Feel Love” composed with
synthesizers and drum machines hit the charts, it was one of the finest disco hits back in those
days.
 Donna Summer with producer Giorgio Moroder in 1976

In the 1980’s, EDM started reaching to a whole another level. Sub genres of EDM were
introduced. For example, “House music” which has kick-beats and a big bass line, more of beat-
based than melodic, “Electro music” has usage of drum machines, and “Techno music” is up-
tempo, repetitive music which keeps a 4/4 rhythm, it plays strong emphasis on beats.

People started to enjoy electronic music more than disco in nightclub. Therefore, the subgenres
started to grasp attention from the audience. Rave scene started to rise mainly in Germany and
the UK, also known as “Raves” which is a large underground dance party that has loud
electronic music tracks being played, performances by DJs and endless excitement lasting all
night long.

Back in those days, bands such as Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and some others combined
electronic music with rock music and produced new form of music with MIDI (Musical
Instrument Digital Interface) a controller with is interconnecting electronic musical instruments
with computer. “Depeche Mode” is a electronic band formed in 1980s, they made electronic rock
music. The group was formed and deformed at times but still managed to create fabulous music
pieces. One of their hit tracks was “Fly on the Windscreen”.
 Depeche Mode appear on Top The Pops TV show, 1981

EDM in 1990’s and 2000’s was the period when EDM was known worldwide, society began to
explore this music form historically and academic studies. “Billboard” also introduced a new
EDM music chart tracking the top electronic music based on sales and online streaming, mostly
streamed in YouTube and Sound Cloud. Famous French band “Daft Punk” was also formed in
1990’s having the main genre of EDM, “Around the World” is one of their hits. Artist Madonna
who was the diva back then also expressed this genre to the public through her track “Ray of
Light”.

Daft Punk’s first American show back in 1996

Electronic Dance Music has immensely grown since the 90s, it is now considered as a common
music genre in the music industry. The first ever electronic dance music song was composed in
1968 called “Oscillations” by Silver Apples, an American EDM group.

Silver Apples playing a rooftop music industry event, New York 1968

In a nutshell, from 90’s to today, EDM is not only big in Europe and America but has also made
a mark in Asian Countries. EDM is no more played in nightclubs only but also in music festivals,
such as Dragonland Music Festival, Clockenflap, Coachella, etc. These festivals feature
worldwide famous EDM artists such as Zedd, David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Steve Aoki and
several more. These artists perform with EDM instruments to their hit tracks which attract
audience to sing and dance along with them. EDM festivals give people a chance to connect with
old friends, meet new faces and involve in such unique environment where people are dancing
under the sky and sinking into the music. EDM definitely brings people together.