Welcome back! I return for the spring semester energized and refueled because this break was exceptionally fruitful in terms of awesome releases of electronic dance music (EDM).
The term EDM encompasses the many varieties of electronic music meant primarily for the nightclub or party scene. Within this broad definition, EDM can be broken into subgenres—like house, trance, drum 'n' bass, or dubstep—based on characteristics like tempo, drum patterns, or genre-specific sounds. For instance, dubstep is typically set at 140 bpm with wobbly basslines, while drum 'n' bass songs have a faster tempo and focus more on drum breaks.
I cannot help but be struck by the explosion of popularity EDM has undergone in the past few years, especially as other genres like rock and hip-hop have wilted somewhat by comparison.
Electric Daisy Carnival, the famous electronic dance music festival that began in California, now attracts over 200,000 attendees per year, while the Electric Zoo Festival in New York—born in 2009—already boasts similarly mind-blowing numbers.
Both events expanded from two days to three in 2011 in order to accommodate the increasing number of performers as well as the unprecedented demand for tickets. As impressive as these expansions were, Electric Daisy and Electric Zoo are only a tiny fraction of the total number of electronic music concerts, shows, festivals, and other events that are now being held all over the world.
The initial snowballing of EDM over the past decade owes much to the do-it-yourself nature of electronic music creation, which allows artists to produce chart-toppers from the comfort of their own laptop with few external add-ons. But the real popularity explosion over the past few years stems from EDM's debut into mainstream popular music.
While DJs like Tiesto and Deadmau5 were enjoying meteoric success in the 2000s, other DJs like David Guetta helped to expand EDM's influence by collaborating with musical icons like Kid Cudi, the Black Eyed Peas, and LMFAO. Meanwhile, pop stars like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga began incorporating EDM elements into their songs as early as 2007 and 2008, which further perpetuated its popularity.
As the number of EDM artists has skyrocketed, the challenge of sifting through their tracks to locate the best ones has become more difficult and time-consuming. Luckily, there are a few artists in the industry who consistently stand out as gems and require hardly any sifting at all.
After about a decade of playing in the drum 'n' bass group Pendulum, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen broke off to form Knife Party as a side project. The Australian duo only began Knife Party in 2011, but they have already proven themselves to be legends in the electronic domain. They started rather humbly, remixing songs like Swedish House Mafia's "Save the World" and Nero's "Crush on You" but these re-energized remixes spread like wildfire across the internet.
In only a matter of months, Knife Party went from an underground group to budding superstars. Their remix of Porter Robinson's "Unison" is featured in the trailer of George Lucas' new movie "Red Tails" and their free December EP, "100% No Modern Talking," sports some of the dirtiest and energetic bangers to ever hit Beatport.com's top 100 list. Especially noteworthy are "Internet Friends" and "Fire Hive."
Knife Party probably owes some of their success to their experience with Pendulum, but it is really their ability to infuse melodies with insanely energetic noises that has garnered them the attention they deserve. Though they dabble in dubstep ("Fire Hive"), they more often borrow dubstep sounds and incorporate them into other club tempos and genres. Their most recent collaboration with Swedish House Mafia, "Antidote," showcases this tendency while proving just how big of a name they have become.
Another act that never fails to impress is Toronto's Zeds Dead, who began in 2009 and have already proven themselves to be musical masters. The duo, which takes its name from a famous quote in Quentin Tarantino's film "Pulp Fiction" (1994), has established itself as a fixture in the world of dubstep. The gods of bass shine down on every song that they touch, particularly, "Here Comes the Boom" and "White Satin."
Powerful basslines aside, Zeds Dead separates themselves from the hordes of dubstep producers by their willingness to experiment with other genres and sounds. "Here Comes the Boom" has distinct reggae influences while "Out for Blood" features verses from Toronto rapper Omar LinX. They even sample Aretha Franklin's soulful tune, "I Say a Little Prayer," in their relaxed song, "Coffee Break."
With all their experimentation with grooving melodies and patented heavy bass drops, Zeds Dead has proven they are leading innovators as dubstep and EDM continues to evolve. Be sure to check out their 4-track EP, "Adrenaline," released this Monday.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not include Skrillex among the EDM artists who continue to stand out from the masses. Skrillex—who began making electronic music in 2008 after leaving his hardcore/emo band From First to Last—has received criticism within the dubstep community for producing mainstream "brostep." Some dubstep purists have adopted this negative label to describe dubstep that uses middle register wobbles to lead the song (much like a guitar riff) rather than the sub-bass and darker tones of earlier dubstep. The term brostep is also meant to be pejorative in reference to this same Americanized version of dubstep that is popular among college fraternity 'bros.'
These accusations are certainly true, but also misleading. The original underground UK form of dubstep in the late 1990s was highly experimental and quite difficult to listen to. Whether you hate him or love him, one thing is for sure: Skrillex has helped pioneer the way for a more complex version of dubstep that incidentally appeals to college students.
Skrillex's overwhelming popularity and American origin have simultaneously made him a convenient whipping post, and earned him credit, for dubstep's recent direction. Whether you see this as good for the genre's recent resurgence or bad because it sold out to the mainstream, it is somewhat deceiving since England's Rusko actually preceded Skrillex in using similar middle register wobbles.
Regardless of the origins of modern dubstep, artists like Skrillex and Rusko deserve praise for their ability to take an underground genre and transform it into something with widespread appeal. In fact, Skrillex's ability to combine musical arrangements with extremely animated and complex bass drops has been another influence in the recent EDM craze. Recognizing his unique position, Skrillex created his own label, OWSLA, in August, which has helped bring attention to rising stars like Porter Robinson, Zedd, and Koan Sound.
Skrillex's new "Bangarang EP" was released in physical copy on Tuesday, not only features his collaborative single with The Doors called "Breakn' a Sweat," but also highlights other winners like "Bangarang" and "Kyoto." Also keep an eye out for Skrillex's first full-length album, which will likely be released sometime in 2012.