Electronic Music History
Inside the Origins of “EDM” With the Man Who Coined the Term—And Transformed It Into a Global Movement
It was a Tuesday night in London when Richard James Burgess found himself on the doorstep of Blitz for the very first time. He was dressed in ripped jeans and a t-shirt, surrounded by people with “amazing clothes and amazing hair.” Unbeknownst to Burgess at the time, that door was, in reality, a gateway that would ultimately lead him to coin the term “electronic dance music” in 1980. It landed him at the forefront of a sonic revolution—one marked by experimentation and a desire to “electrify” the acoustic instruments of the heyday. And it all started out with a drum set and a dream. Richard James Burgess is now the President and CEO of The American Association of Independent Music. c/o American Association of Independent Music Born in London and raised in New Zealand, Burgess was drawn to ...
The Techno Six: New Documentary Spotlights Detroit’s Dance Music Pioneers
First, there were six. The term “techno” is often evocative of its European emblems, like Germany’s Berghain and Sweden’s Drumcode. So much so that techno music is widely considered to be one of the continent’s exports. But a new documentary seeks to firmly correct this history, tracing techno’s origins back to a cohort of six Black producers from Detroit: “the first cover boys of techno,” said Kristian Hill, a Detroit denizen and the director of God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines, in an interview with EDM.com. He’s referring to Juan Atkins, Blake Baxter, Santonio Echols, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, who were collectively featured on the cover of British music magazine Record Mirror in 1988. According to God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machin...
New Google Arts & Culture Exhibit Explores 126 Years of Electronic Music History
A new exhibit from Google and YouTube titled “Music, Makers & Machines,” takes viewers on a walk through the history of electronic music from genesis to present day. Over 50 industry experts, festivals, labels, and power players from the electronic music world were consulted in order to bring the project to fruition. The multimedia endeavor combines photography, video, 360° tours, and augmented interactive objects to create an immersive user experience. The totality of the exhibition aims to cover 126 years of dance music history, highlighting the genre’s icons, landmarks, and watershed moments that took place since the invention of the world’s first electromechanical musical instrument in 1895. One function of the exhibit utilizes Google Street View, putting fa...
Rare Unearthed Electronic Songs by Legendary Beatles Producer to Be Reissued
Before he arranged music for The Beatles, legendary record producer George Martin experimented in electronic music. Now, two of his unearthed songs, which he has said greatly influenced his pioneering work with the Fab Four, are receiving a reissue. Back in April 1962, just two weeks before Martin met the Beatles, the late musician and audio engineer collaborated with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Maddalena Fagandini to produce two electronic tracks, “Time Beat” and “Waltz in Orbit.” Both songs were released under the duo’s nom de plume, Ray Cathode. Those two songs have now been remastered and will be reissued on a rare collectible 12″ vinyl in a limited run of 100 copies. The release will also feature remixes of both tracks b...
