Electronic rock

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Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrumentation into their music. Electronic rock acts usually fuse elements from other music styles, including punk rock, industrial rock, hip hop, techno and synth-pop, which has helped spur subgenres such as indietronica, dance-punk and electroclash.

Contents

Overview

Being a fusion of rock and electronic, electronic rock features instruments found in both genres, such as synthesizers, mellotrons, tape music techniques, electric guitars and drums. Some electronic rock artists, however, often eschew guitar [2] in favor of using technology to emulate a rock sound. Vocals are typically mellow or upbeat, [3] but instrumentals are also common in the genre. [4]

A trend of rock bands that incorporated electronic sounds began during the late 1960s. According to critic Simon Reynolds, examples included the United States of America, White Noise and Gong. [5] Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco, authors of the 2004 book Analog Days, credit the Beach Boys' 1966 hit "Good Vibrations" with having "popularly connected far-out, electronic sounds with rock 'n' roll." [6]

Other early acts to blend synthesizers and musique concrète's tape music techniques with rock instrumentation included Silver Apples, Fifty Foot Hose, Syrinx, Lothar and the Hand People, Beaver & Krause and Tonto's Expanding Head Band. [7] Many such 1960s acts blended psychedelic rock with avant-garde academic or underground influences. [7]

In the 1970s, German krautrock bands such as Neu!, Kraftwerk, Can and Amon Düül challenged rock boundaries by incorporating electronic instrumentation. [8] In 2004, Uncut described Kraftwerk's "incalculable" impact on electronic rock as being felt on major records like David Bowie's Low (1977) and Radiohead's Kid A (2000). [9] Since the late 2000s, electronic rock has become increasingly popular. [2]

Subgenres and other terms

The term "progressive rock" (or "prog rock") was originally coined in the 1960s for music that would otherwise be described as "electronic rock," [4] but the definition of "prog" later narrowed into a specific set of musical conventions as opposed to a sensibility involving forward-thinking or experimental approaches. [10]

Electronic rock is also associated with industrial rock, synth-pop, dance-punk, indietronica, and new wave, [4] with electroclash, new rave, post-punk revival, post-rock, considered as subgenres. [2] Sometimes, certain other electronic subgenres are fused with rock, such as trance and techno, leading to the use of the terms trance rock and techno rock, respectively. [11] [12]

Synth-punk

Punk rock has been mixed with electronic music as well, creating subgenres like synth-punk (also known as electropunk) and dance-punk. [15] [16]

Suicide, formed in 1970, is known as one of the most influential artists in the genre. [17] Their sound over their five studio albums mixed punk rock with various electronic-based genres such as electronic rock, [18] synth-pop, and disco. Their first album is widely regarded for setting the stage for subsequent post-punk, synth-pop and industrial rock acts. [19]

The Screamers were labeled "techno-punk" by the Los Angeles Times in 1978. [20] Rather than the usual electric guitars, the band's instrumentation included a heavily distorted Fender Rhodes electric piano and an ARP Odyssey synthesizer.

Devo, whilst better known for their 1980 synth-pop song "Whip It", also had an electronic sound rooted in punk rock.

The term synth-punk (or electropunk) was coined in 1999 by Damien Ramsey. [21]

In the early 1980s, synth-punk fused with various electronic genres to create electronic body music, which would influence a number of subsequent industrial dance, industrial rock and industrial metal acts. It also influenced the hardcore punk inspired digital hardcore, which combines hardcore punk with electronic music, noise and heavy metal. [22] [23] It typically features fast tempos and aggressive sound samples. [23]

In addition, pop punk fused itself with synth-punk to create a genre known as neon pop.

Later revival instance include electronic body music, [14] dance punk, [24] [25] and electroclash. Other artists, like Chicago's Big Black, put guitars back in, and helped to spawn a new wave of math rock, industrial rock, and noise rock.

Synth-metal

Synth-metal is the fusion of heavy metal and electronic music. It was pioneered in the 1980s with Iron Maiden's album Somewhere in Time and Judas Priest's album Turbo, both of which notably incorporate guitar synthesizers. [26] [27] They were both released in 1986.

Besides synth-metal, electronicore, electrogrind, coldwave and dungeon synth, heavy metal is also sometimes mixed with other electronic genres and their subgenres, inspiring terms such as electronic metal, electronic dance metal, trance metal and techno metal. [28] [29] [30] [31] [ text–source integrity? ]

See also

Related Research Articles

Synth-pop is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic body music</span> Music genre

Electronic body music (EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Western Europe, as an outgrowth of both the punk and the industrial music cultures. It combines sequenced repetitive basslines, programmed dance music rhythms, and mostly undistorted vocals and command-like shouts with confrontational or provocative themes.

Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines, with an immediate origin in early hip hop and funk genres. Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals; if vocals are present, they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. It palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie by being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.

Psychedelic music is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as DMT, LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin mushrooms, to experience synesthesia and altered states of consciousness. Psychedelic music may also aim to enhance the experience of using these drugs and has been found to have a significant influence on psychedelic therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance music</span> Music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music. While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in ancient history, the earliest Western dance music that we can still reproduce with a degree of certainty are old-fashioned dances. In the Baroque period, the major dance styles were noble court dances. In the classical music era, the minuet was frequently used as a third movement, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The waltz also arose later in the classical era. Both remained part of the romantic music period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the barcarolle, mazurka, ecossaise, ballade and polonaise.

German electronic music is a broad musical genre encompassing specific styles such as Electroclash, trance, krautrock and schranz. It is widely considered to have emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, becoming increasingly popular in subsequent decades. Originally minimalistic style of electronic music developed into psychedelic and prog rock aspects, techno and electronic dance music. Notable artists include Kraftwerk, Can, Tangerine Dream and Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft. German electronic music contributed to a global transition of electronic music from underground art to an international phenomenon, with festivals such as Love Parade, Winterworld and MayDay gaining prominence alongside raves and clubs.

A number of overlapping punk rock subgenres have developed since the emergence of punk rock in the mid-1970s. Even though punk genres at times are difficult to segregate, they usually show differing characteristics in overall structures, instrumental and vocal styles, and tempo. However, sometimes a particular trait is common in several genres, and thus punk genres are normally grouped by a combination of traits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronics in rock music</span> Use of electronic instruments in rock music

The use of electronic music technology in rock music coincided with the practical availability of electronic musical instruments and the genre's emergence as a distinct style. Rock music has been highly dependent on technological developments, particularly the invention and refinement of the synthesizer, the development of the MIDI digital format and computer technology.

Techno is a genre of electronic dance music which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (BPM). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often characterized by a repetitive four on the floor beat. Artists may use electronic instruments such as drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers, as well as digital audio workstations. Drum machines from the 1980s such as Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 are highly prized, and software emulations of such retro instruments are popular.

Electronicore is a fusion genre of metalcore music with elements of various electronic music genres, often including trance, electronica, and dubstep.

A microgenre is a specialized or niche genre. The term has been used since at least the 1970s to describe highly specific subgenres of music, literature, film, and art. In music, examples include the myriad sub-subgenres of heavy metal and electronic music. Some genres are sometimes retroactively created by record dealers and collectors as a way to increase the monetary value of certain records, with early examples including Northern soul, freakbeat, garage punk, and sunshine pop. By the early 2010s, most microgenres were linked and defined through various outlets on the Internet, usually as part of generating popularity and hype for a newly perceived trend. Examples of these include chillwave, witch house, seapunk, shitgaze, and vaporwave.

Belgian hardcore techno is an early style of hardcore techno that emerged from new beat as EBM and techno influences became more prevalent in this genre. This particular style has been described as an "apocalyptic, almost Wagnerian, bombastic techno", due to its use of dramatic orchestral stabs and menacing synth tones that set it apart from earlier forms of electronic dance music. It flourished in Belgium and influenced the sound of early hardcore from Netherlands, Germany, Italy, UK and North America during the early-1990s, as a part of the rave movement during that period.

References

  1. 1 2 Electronic Rock : On the History of Rock Music. 10 September 2014. ISBN   9783653979206 . Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Kearney, Mary Celeste (13 July 2017). Gender and Rock. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780190297695 . Retrieved 24 November 2017– via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Macan, Edward (24 November 1997). Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780195098877 . Retrieved 24 November 2017– via Google Books.
  4. 1 2 3 "The ABC's of…Electronic Rock in the Studio: The Doors to Depeche Mode & LCD Soundsystem". SonicScoop. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (21 April 2007). "King of the Cosmos". The Observer . Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  6. ↑ Pinch, T. J; Trocco, Frank (2009). Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer. Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-04216-2.
  7. 1 2 Reynolds, Simon. "Synthedelia: Psychedelic Electronic Music in the 1960s". Red Bull Music Academy . Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  8. ↑ Demby, Eric. "OLD NEU! Albums Finally Coming Stateside". MTV News . Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  9. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (April 2004). "Kraftwerk: OK Computer". Uncut. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Robinson, Emily (2017). The Language of Progressive Politics in Modern Britain. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 117. ISBN   978-1-137-50664-1.
  11. ↑ Buckley, Peter (24 November 2017). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN   9781858284576 . Retrieved 24 November 2017– via Google Books.
  12. ↑ Prophet, Elizabeth Clare (24 November 1989). Year of Prophecy. Summit University Press. ISBN   9780916766962 . Retrieved 24 November 2017– via Google Books.
  13. ↑ Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb 1978 "L.A. PUNK ROCKERS - Six New Wave Bands Showcased"
  14. 1 2 Hillegonda C Rietveld (1998) This Is Our House: House Music, Cultural Spaces and Technologies Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN   978-1-85742-242-9
  15. ↑ Felix, Stanford (2010). The Complete Idiot's Guide Music Dictionary. DK Publishing. p. 257. ISBN   978-1-101-19809-4.
  16. ↑ Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978–1984. Simon Reynolds. Faber and Faber Ltd, April 2005, ISBN   0-571-21569-6 (U.S. Edition: Penguin, February 2006, ISBN   0-14-303672-6)
  17. ↑ "Alan Vega, Agitational Vocalist for Synth-Punk Innovators Suicide, 1938-2016".
  18. ↑ DK (2013). Music: The Definitive Visual History. Penguin. p. 337. ISBN   9781465421265.
  19. ↑ "Suicide - Suicide Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic .
  20. ↑ Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb 1978 "L.A. PUNK ROCKERS - Six New Wave Bands Showcased"
  21. ↑ The Complete Idiot's Guide Music Dictionary: Music Explained in the Simplest Terms. Penguin. 6 July 2010. ISBN   9781101198094. The term was invented in 1999 by Damien Ramsey to retroactively name a small subgenre of punk in which the musicians used synthesizers instead of guitars.
  22. ↑ Kutner, Moshe (22 May 2014). "Neo-Nazi Fighting Digital Hardcore Musician Comes to Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  23. 1 2 Interview with J. Amaretto of DHR, WAX Magazine, issue 5, 1995. Included in liner notes of Digital Hardcore Recordings, Harder Than the Rest!!! compilation CD.
  24. ↑ Felix, Dr. Stanford (2010). The Complete Idiot's Guide Music Dictionary. DK Publishing. p. 257. ISBN   978-1-101-19809-4.
  25. ↑ Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978–1984. Simon Reynolds. Faber and Faber Ltd, April 2005, ISBN   0-571-21569-6 (U.S. Edition: Penguin, February 2006, ISBN   0-14-303672-6)
  26. ↑ Bigna, Dan (4 February 2016). "Canberra gigs: British 1980s pop stars Bananarama to play Southern Cross Club". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  27. ↑ Schafer, Joseph (14 April 2016). "Judas Priest's 'Turbo' Turns 30". Invisible Oranges . Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  28. ↑ "10 Current Artists That Effortlessly Blend Metal With Other Genres - Page 2 of 2". Metalinjection.net. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  29. ↑ "IS ELECTRONIC DANCE METAL THE NEXT BIG THING???". Metalsucks.net. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  30. ↑ "30 Second guide to: Trance Metal". Mensxp.com. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  31. ↑ "Unearthing The Electronic Metal Underground". Metalunderground.com. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
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