The history of
electronic music:
One of the most recent innovations to musical genre occurred
in the 60's with the birth of the first electronic keyboard.
Electric organs were the first to appear and become widely used
(Voxes, Hammonds, Farsifas), electrically amplified pianos soon
followed (Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet) and, of course, the
Mellotron, which was a kind of a pioneer sampling device, most
famously used by The Beatles (in the "Strawberry Fields Forever"
intro), King Crimson, and The Moody Blues. Although the
electronically produced sound was very distinct in some of the songs,
it still wasn't true Electronica - the inclusion of acoustic and/or
electric guitars, bass guitar and live drumming, etc. were dominant
in the song's sound, thus classifying it as Electro-Acoustic music.
One pioneer of early Electronic (and Electro-Acoustic)
music was Jean-Michel Jarre. In 1968, Jarre joined the GRM Music
Research Group in Paris, and began experimenting with Electro-Classical
music (also sometimes considered to be in the New Age category with
similar artists like Enya). In 1971, he composed a ballet, which was
played in Opera De Paris. This marked the first time that Electro-Acoustic
music was played publicly. After releasing another successful album,
and composing a film score, Jarre made a record-breaking performance
in Paris. It was a spectacular show, attended by a crowd of
1,000,000 viewers, and he used this opportunity to show off with a
brilliant combination of lasers, fireworks, projectors and huge
sound systems -- elements which later became infused into Raves,
Synthpop concerts and the House music subculture.
In 1964, Robert Moog presented one of the first
analogue synths on the market - the Moog Synth. This innovation made
the technology more affordable and widely available to the masses,
who, in the late 70's and early 80's, swept the analogue synthesizer
into the birth of a new sound in music -
Electronica. Electronica is defined
as music created using electronic instruments (synthesizers,
samplers, drum machines, etc) and remains dominated by that
electronic sound. It can be further characterized by its emphasis on
melodic and harmonic structure, and also on its catchy, danceable
rhythms and bass lines. Some Electronica enthusiasts find it
difficult to distinguish between what is considered Synthpop, Techno,
House, Acid Jazz / Fusion, Trance, Drum and Bass, Jungle, Industrial,
Dance, etc Everyone makes their own distinctions, based on factors
like: "seriousness" or "deepness" of lyrical content, presence (or
lack) of lyrical content, lyrics vs. samples vs. purely instrumental,
presence (or lack) of melodic content, types of sounds/timbres
within the music, and with what sort of image the artists present
themselves...
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