The following article is part of an eight part series exploring my thoughts on the state of electronic music in the current decade compared to the 1990's and 1980's.
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The sound and style of electronic music has changed over the past twenty years, and if you listen to tracks from the eighties to the nineties through to the current day there is a definite trend in the sonic character and form of most of the music. Most of the electronic music through the past two decades up to the late nineteen nineties was recorded on hardware through "traditional" recording practices. While the computer was ever present during all of this time it was not really until the turn of the century that computers could really handle complex audio mathematical computations in real-time. Instrument developers stepped up to the plate in this recent period and introduced new forms of synthesis and sound design that could never have been previously been available under traditional hardware forms.
As with all tools there develops methods and idiosyncrasies in which people work with those tools. Music from the previous generation of electronic artists often times had a repetitive nature in which loops and patterns cycled and were built upon. The common and often times cliche sound of the spoken movie dialogue over a kick beat and squelching acid line, as portrayed rather humorously in this
.:Strongbad Flash Comic:. , represents the stigma of much of the music from this era. These limitations of idiosyncrasies by their nature along with the recording mediums of the time created a certain sound and style. Despite this however, this music did find itself a mass audience and as I stated before it fit nicely into rock station playlists at the time when alternative rock was building in its own music subculture.
The new audio tools of the computer and music software are no different then the ones of the past, except for the fact that they have different idiosyncrasies and workflows. Let's not delude ourselves to think that the removal of past limitations or new sound design opportunities will somehow break us of habits or patterns. Even these new opportunities, if more open, present their own limitations as any tool would. While through the past decade there was a divergence of sounds forming new genres and styles, it could arguably be said that the new music of this century is featuring a convergence of sound. One of the common themes running in much of the current electronic music is the focus on big glossy, highly polished sounds. The highly polished track with epic synthlines, epic drum rolls, huge kicks, dynamic basslines, and ripping synths as emerged not only as a staple of the club scene, but has also emerged as judge point for electronic music on the listening level as well.
Listen to a track produced today and one produced from the early nineties and the one produced from the nineties will often times sound thinner, but perhaps have more open feel. The currently produced tracks are mixed and mastered with sounds to appear up front in the mix, with little dynamic variation and little audio headroom not utilized. Criticisms of "Hot", "in your face" music are often heard by many audiophiles who listen to the highly tweaked and mastered tracks of current songs which strive to barrage you for your sense of attention. The problem here is mostly not in the fact of music being mixed this way, but for the fact that
all music is being mixed this way. This form of mixing and mastering has become the industry and even independent standard of what is a "good song". I believe it is dangerous for a music scene when the standard of creative or good sets a single point of definition determining how tracks are to be judged. The biggest allure of vinyl and analog recording is the presence of space, warmth and irregularities.
Other Chapters in this writing:
.:Part I:The Decade That Should Have Been:..:Part II:Where Electronic Music Was:..:Part III:Who is to Blame?:..:Part IV: The Sound:..:Part V: The Tools:..:Part VI: Internet:..:Part VII: The Artists:..:Part VIII: The Birth of the Renaissance:.Stay Tuned for Part V: The Tools
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The Electronic Renaissance Part IV: The Sound Article
