Electronic Music Is Not a Style!

Unfortunately, “electronic music” has become established in pop music as a kind of style description. This is not only fundamentally wrong, but also distorts the view of the whole for young listeners.

A visit to Wikipedia can be useful here: Electronic Music. The aspects of electronic music that are worth discussing are manifold.

From the general public’s point of view, the most important aspect of electronic music is the way it is produced, because it has similar social implications as the arrival of intelligent machines in our lives. More can be produced in less time and the use of human power is reduced.

From the music lover’s point of view, the completely new sound image is certainly decisive. And this sound is also responsible for the entry of the term as a genre of popular music. But actually it is only the pop mainstream and its sound ideal that defines this genre. With electronic sound generators, symphonies could just as well be produced in the classical style, but hardly anyone does it because the classical audience loves the entrenched performance practices.

For the creative artist, the considerably simplified production conditions are both a curse and a blessing. A solo release is not only possible, but also means the greatest possible artistic freedom. This is reminiscent of the production conditions of a painter. However, many painters have already failed due to loneliness, and this is also precisely the problem of the electronic producer.

While in the niche of early electronic dance music the DJ has established himself in live performance, it is becoming increasingly difficult for more experimental electronic artists to invent a live set-up in order to establish direct contact with the audience. Multimedia performances or combinations with other art forms are conceivable and realized, but they make concerts expensive again, and the production advantage of not having to pay live musicians quickly turns into the opposite.

As a result, newcomers without a budget are faced with ever-increasing competition in the recorded music market, but are hardly to be found on stages. Finding the golden mean is a major challenge in the dissemination of electronic music. However, the lover of electronic sounds can certainly look forward to an exciting future in terms of diverse performance practices – and also styles.