Eclectic Electronic Music

Blogpost

March 13, 2022

Eclectic Electronic Music - EEM

Eclectic is derived from the ancient Greek “eklektós” and in its original literal sense means “chosen” or “select.” In general, the term “eclecticism” refers to techniques and methods that combine styles, disciplines, or philosophies from different times or beliefs into a new unity.

Eclectics were already called thinkers in antiquity who applied this fusion in their worldviews. Cicero was probably the best known eclectic of his time. Some critics of eclecticism accused him of this blending of otherwise self-contained systems as irrelevant or worthless.

The followers, on the other hand, appreciated the selection of the best elements from the existing systems while discarding those elements recognized as inconsequential or wrong. So far, the use of eclecticism has been limited mainly to the visual arts, architecture, and philosophy. 

After a long search for a suitable genre or term for my recent musical productions, I have found in “eclectic” the appropriate adjective, because I do just that – I use pre-existing elements that I consider valuable and assemble them into new works.

In a strict sense, artists actually do this all the time, as they incorporate different influences into new works, opening up new perspectives. However, they usually merge the influences into a fund of self-created set pieces before the creative process. However, nothing is really new and always just a further development, and the truism that the wheel does not have to be reinvented again sometimes applies.

Obviously, I have always been steeped in this view, which explains my work in a wide variety of musical scenes. I loved the most valuable elements of each scene in jazz, classical and pop. This was joined by the realization that these elements increasingly lost their charm when they were reduced to a tired copy of themselves in a purist style. This happens mainly in the so-called mainstream.

However, if one mixes these elements in their original power in individual works, there is still enough room left for an artistic signature, because there are countless possibilities. The art of the creator consists mainly in the creative mixture of the ingredients and the mastery of the musical formal language. This is neither trivial nor less valuable.

This attitude is not so entirely new. It already manifested itself in so-called fusion genres. One example is the famous fusion bands of former jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. In those days of music played by musicians, however, it required both the vision of the band leader and the musicians to match it.

This changed fundamentally with the advent of electronic music production. With the help of high-quality samples and loops, the producer alone can determine and execute the mix of his work. The available music snippets are recorded by professional specialists and designed by great sound designers. The selection includes all styles and genres.

Classifying such music mixes into a genre is a dilemma, and becomes even more oppressive as the diversity of a producer increases. Already today, the selection of genres is completely confusing, and it seems a paradox to add one more. Already established genres like “electronic” or “electronica” do not adequately describe what is really happening. “Electronic” is simply wrong, because in practice it is used as a synonym for a very specific mainstream of electronic pop music, even though the fathers of electronic music came from the classical scene (e.g. Karlheinz Stockhausen).

“Electronica” is really just a stopgap measure from the realization of the “electronic” dilemma, and is used to describe almost anything in pop music that is primarily electronically produced. It is not a style! The complete blurring is punished by many curators with the restriction “Please don’t submit Electronica!”, since it can be anything from rock to free jazz.

From all these findings, I have come to the conclusion that indeed a new genre needs to be launched that has eclecticism as its base – Eclectic Electronic Music. EEM differs from the rather manageable genre of EDM in its lack of focus on dancing and in its emphasis on a mixture of styles, but limited to a single work/song or album/project. It is not creating a new genre (like trip-hop, dubstep, IDM, drum and bass and others) with a song that uses elements from several styles.

Of course, this pigeonhole is too big for better orientation of the audience, but at least the listener knows that he cannot expect mainstream here, because mainstream shines not by diversity but uniformity. Every dish of a meal has a main ingredient like beef or chicken and the chef creates his flavor pattern from it. In the same way, EEM can be defined upfront by this base, referencing existing ingredients/subgenres.

As an example, let me cite my current project, “LUST”. The basis, i.e. the main component, are house tracks by my son Moritz. I then added vocal and instrumental loops that describe a mood I feel and tell a little story. The elements are chosen (stylistically diverse, eclectic) in terms of their suitability, best possible to express the story and the mood. So I would classify it like this: “Eclectic Electronic Music – House based”.

This way the listener knows that he will clearly recognize House, but must be prepared for surprises. This classification saves the consumer from the grossest mistakes and at the same time is an invitation to open his mind. This is a very artistic classification!

The Founder

My name is Horst Grabosch and I am the mastermind of all projects presented on this website.

I was born in the largest coal mining area in Germany, known as the “Ruhrgebiet”. After school I worked as a professional musician until I was 40 years old. This time is well documented on WIKIPEDIA

After a burnout I had to give up my job, moved to the south of Germany, to the Munich region, and did an apprenticeship as an information technologist.

Another burnout forced me to rebuild my existence again, which collapsed just because of the corona crisis. In expectation of poverty at retirement age, I began to build a second career as a musician in 2019.

Newest Music

Japanese-Breakfast - Horst Grabosch & Alexis Entprima

Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast is the musical observation of a Japanese ceremony from a Western cultural perspective. Men and women have gathered for breakfast. Voices with Japanese speech sounds suggest a shy erotic exchange of the sexes. The girls first fuel the erotic fantasies with flirtatious chants before the guys respond in an emphatically casual manner. The rhythmic basis is a house groove which is adapted to the typical strictness of Japanese culture. Emotional swings are only hinted at by sparingly used elements, which then also rather stem from the culture of the observer who senses the crackling erotic tension in a seemingly completely controlled environment. The contradiction of displayed innocence and passion creates an almost palpable tension that is the enduring appeal of the music. The story is not completed and continues in the listener’s mind. This is musical storytelling in the form of a pop song. The sound space is appropriately set by unobtrusive lo-fi elements. This is eclecticism drawn with a fine blade. If you had to classify it somehow I would call it “Intercultural storytelling in lo-fi house garb”.

Lofi Markets - Horst Grabosch

Lofi Markets

Lofi, lo-fi or low fidelity, lo-fi hip-hop. A fairly new building block in the genre craze. Here’s an EP from easy listening, or maybe study beats? Anyway, curious author and music producer Horst Grabosch fires from all guns as long as it serves his message. A collab/project with Captain Entprima which was designed for relaxation. Yes, relaxation must be – as usual from the academically trained old master on a high musical level. Here wonderfully simple melodies played with alienated piano sounds.

Die Geschichte von Oberförster Karl-Heinz Flinte - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Oberförster Karl-Heinz Flinte

A new story by Horst Grabosch from the “Heroes of Work” series. This time the focus is on the profession of forester. Of course, Karl-Heinz Flinte does not fit the stereotype of a forester. On the cover, he looks more like a climate activist. But that is exactly Grabosch’s twist. The three episodes reveal the diversity of the activity. Flinte also occasionally shoots a boar when necessary, but he also suffers with the weakened trees and cares for the forest’s human visitors – after all, that’s what he’s paid to do. Just as with his music, he sits between all chairs, but the chairs always represent only a limited view. Grabosch always chooses individual themes and musical genres for a song, but in the process they form a whole picture over time. This picture is irritatingly diverse in terms of pattern formation. Perhaps this is precisely how Grabosch demonstrates our general lack of acceptance of the complexity of the world. But he always keeps his humorous wink.

Die Geschichte von Bademeister Adelwart - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Bademeister Adelwart

With the story of pool attendant Adelwart, Horst Grabosch presents the second release from the series “Heroes of Work”. With three episodes in this maxi-single he pays tribute to people who daily make their peaceful contribution to the functioning of our world. All three contributions of German poetry and musical eclecticism have the same jazzy base and vary in the small poems in German that form the song lyrics and in the soloistic elements. We are once again surprised by the variety of styles in Grabosch’s songs. There is jazz in this song and the jazz trumpeter, who was internationally successful many years ago, shows how to integrate styles when you have practiced them yourself.

Die Geschichte von Krankenschwester Hildegard - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Krankenschwester Hildegard

With the story of Nurse Hildegard, Horst Grabosch opens a new box of his imagination. With three episodes in this maxi-single, he pays tribute not only to professions that are socially important, but even more to the people who daily make their peaceful contribution to the functioning of our world. All three musical pieces have the same musical base and vary in the small poems in German that make up the lyrics of the song and in the solo elements. Other tributes to other professions have been announced. The series is entitled Heroes of Work. We are looking forward to more humorous episodes with new musical styles, as we are used to from the eclectic Grabosch.

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