The Origins and Development of Electronic Dance Music and Contemporary Nightlife Musical Culture
The Origins and Developments of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and Contemporary Nightlife Musical Culture
The origins and developments of Electronic Dance Music initially started with the development of the synthesizer. It was with these first uses of synthesized sounds that prompted the development of sequencers, sampling, effects processing, musical instrument digital interface (MIDI), use of computer technology, hard disk recording systems and modern day virtual studio technology (VST’s). These all fundamentally build the genre of electronic music, as we know it today. The development of this new technology brought many new genres to music, mostly popular, Electronic Dance Music being one of these.
The Moog Synthesizer was the most significant and influential synthesizer in the development of Electronic Music. What made this so significant as a synthesizer was the fact that it allowed artists to relate to it like an instrument, an advantage over many of its predecessors, those of which seemed more like machines. This gave new up and coming artists a spark to their creativity, new timbral qualities that could be included in their works. American inventor, Robert Moog developed the Moog synthesizer and his first commercially available modular synthesizer was available in 1964, many makes and models of this Moog synthesizer were developed shortly afterwards. The invention of this synthesizer was the pinnacle of the birth of electronic music.
Robert Moog never anticipated his instrument to be as influential on musical development as it was. When asked if there was a defining moment of realizing the potential of the Moog Synthesizer, Robert Moog replied, “No, there was no one defining moment. I got into designing electronic music composition equipment because I liked working with creative musicians, people who were always looking for new ways of making music.” (Clark, 1997, online). Robert Moog was simply seeking new ways to find sounds, much like any other composer
The origins and developments of Electronic Dance Music initially started with the development of the synthesizer. It was with these first uses of synthesized sounds that prompted the development of sequencers, sampling, effects processing, musical instrument digital interface (MIDI), use of computer technology, hard disk recording systems and modern day virtual studio technology (VST’s). These all fundamentally build the genre of electronic music, as we know it today. The development of this new technology brought many new genres to music, mostly popular, Electronic Dance Music being one of these.
The Moog Synthesizer was the most significant and influential synthesizer in the development of Electronic Music. What made this so significant as a synthesizer was the fact that it allowed artists to relate to it like an instrument, an advantage over many of its predecessors, those of which seemed more like machines. This gave new up and coming artists a spark to their creativity, new timbral qualities that could be included in their works. American inventor, Robert Moog developed the Moog synthesizer and his first commercially available modular synthesizer was available in 1964, many makes and models of this Moog synthesizer were developed shortly afterwards. The invention of this synthesizer was the pinnacle of the birth of electronic music.
Robert Moog never anticipated his instrument to be as influential on musical development as it was. When asked if there was a defining moment of realizing the potential of the Moog Synthesizer, Robert Moog replied, “No, there was no one defining moment. I got into designing electronic music composition equipment because I liked working with creative musicians, people who were always looking for new ways of making music.” (Clark, 1997, online). Robert Moog was simply seeking new ways to find sounds, much like any other composer
Bibliography: Bussy, P. (2004) Kraftwerk: Man, Machine and Music. Saint Paul: SAF and Firefly Publishing Ltd. Butler, M Clark, P. (1997) Bob Moog Synthesizer in Interviews. Available at http://www.electronicmusic.com/features/interview/bobmoog.html. [Accessed 12/03/11] Collins, N Cook, N. (2004) The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Holmes, T. (2008) Electronic and Experimental Music: Technology, Music and Culture. London: Routledge. Pinch, T. (2004) Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer. London: Havard University Press. Hütter, R. & F. Schneider (2009) Autobahn (remastered). Hütter, R. rec. Germany, Koln, 1974, in Conny Plank’s Studio. Philips [electronic download].