General EDM/IDM Disscussion

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

I think it's gonna be a mixed bag. Resistance for example is kind typical KP 4/4 electro sounding, while Begin Again and Boss Mode are a bit more of a new direction. I just think it'll have a few really good tracks and a few that are just ok or are kinda forgettable.

[Mijka]

I'm always puzzled by topics in english (more precisely US culture) speaking about "EDM", from my european (or more precisely, french) point of view, "EDM" stands for "Ultra-pop(ular) electronic music" and "Commercial electronic music". The commercial point is just what it is (when we look at the history of this term), we can have good and bad tracks labelled "EDM".
The worst being tracks having a specific genre (like i don't know, drum&bass, dubstep, "brostep", complextro and so on...) just labelled "EDM" and consumers not even knowing what they are really listening to (at least, they enjoy some sound, it's something !) or even worse : producers not even knowing to which family and others artists they are affiliated. I know it can be stupid to stay in little genre boxes, but it's more like traits that are more or less recognizable for each sound /artist in my opinion... not knowing this while producing it is somehow sad ~

To identify the large family of electronic(al ?) music, we just say "Musique Electronique" or just point out the genre if it's easily recognizable.


Seeing "EDM" (knowing i'm thinking about it like "commercial") associated with IDM so easily puzzle me even more : isn't the "IDM" name specifically chosen to make fun of the vague term "EDM" in the first place ?
Btw "IDM" for what it is doesn't seem to be used as a term anymore, it splitted in different subgenres (i see some artists who identify their sound as Glitch, Electronica, Braindance or even Trip-Hop for example).

[ExoBassTix]

While I am actually listening to a lot of Braindance lately, I haven't seen IDM get used less or anything.
And how is it bad that I'm not familiar with most other producers in styles I seem to produce? I've stopped hunting for "oh I made X genre" and just call it music. As for listening, I just like what I hear and, unless it's obvious, don't care about genre.
As far as I know you say that's bad. Why?

[Mijka]

I was not only thinking about horizontal affiliation (neighbors), but also vertical affiliation. When i saw new producers in the community not knowing their influences (and they have some, you can't today produce drum&bass right out of your hat without having listened to some before, or the different origins like Jungle / Funk / Breakbeat / Dub and so on) i'm always a bit sad for them : knowing more could help them to diversify their production or better, chose exactly what they prefer the most and create their own sound accordingly.

I just imagine a painter missing some colors / tools : limitations are a great way to create something unique, but imho it's better if you chose yourself to stay with a few tools, knowing others exists but doesn't fit your needs.

It's just a personal opinion of somebody who is bathing way to much in music genres, don't take it too seriously : of course you can produce tracks without explicitely knowing where it comes from, it's just a mix of ideas and influences (memories) that matured in your head consciously and subconsciously, that grown in something new !

[Stuntddude]

I disagree. It's good to be able to point to some of your musical influences, but it's not essential to know, and it most certainly doesn't have to be tied to genres.

[Mijka]

It's good to be able to point to some of your musical influences, but it's not essential to know

My english and/or my phrasing must be really bad, i thought that was exactly what i'm saying.

[Ricky Denzel]

I disagree. It's good to be able to point to some of your musical influences, but it's not essential to know, and it most certainly doesn't have to be tied to genres.

I don't understand this

[ph00tbag]

I'm always puzzled by topics in english (more precisely US culture) speaking about "EDM", from my european (or more precisely, french) point of view, "EDM" stands for "Ultra-pop(ular) electronic music" and "Commercial electronic music". The commercial point is just what it is (when we look at the history of this term), we can have good and bad tracks labelled "EDM".

It may very well be a problem of translating every word directly, rather than recognizing compounds in each language. EDM is a compound in (American) English which doesn't gloss over directly to French. Similarly, "electronic music," the direct gloss of "musique electronique" in English, doesn't mean much beyond the generated meaning of the noun phrase; It is music that is made through some electronic means. It sounds like something a neophyte would say about EDM. I would say your understanding of the term "EDM" is something more like "Electronica" in English. Can't speak for our friends in other Anglophone countries, though.

[Ricky Denzel]

Uh..... English, please, bro