MUSIC

THE EDM REVOLUTION

and its critics

By Eunice Cheong

Alive to the World

Electronic Dance Music, aka club music, refers to a wide range of Electronic Music genres which are produced especially for raves, nightclubs, and hippie festivals like Burning Man, Coachella, and UMF. EDM is usually used for playbacks by the Disc Jockeys (DJs) who come up with the selection of seamless tracks known as the mix. The producers of EDM always perform their music in festivals or at the concert. After the emergence of pirate radio, raving, and club culture, Electronic Dance Music has gained in popularity across the world.

Yet the acceptance of dance culture in the United States has not been total and the record industry has been somewhat hostile to it. The perception is that EDM is part of a psychedelic drug culture and many governments have adopted policies to do away with the raves. Of course, this completely misses how raves have been instrumental in creating this highly complex music.

Staring down at complexity

EDM has also changed the way listeners experience individual artists. For example in Eminem's song (what’s the song/), he raps about poverty and the many difficulties of his Eminem life, but when the music is played at raves or during concerts that meaning is essentially lost. Now, many critics of EDM would point to what we might call the Eminem point as an example of how disposable the music is, but they would be wrong. How EDM changes the music experience is that it puts a premium on the notion of community and dancing. It isn’t about the individual expression of pain or ideas, but more of a world-view, how to live in the moment. And so it isn’t just entertainment, and it is very entertaining, but it’s about a way of living.

One of the reasons it isn’t respected is that it is always in the background of a party. Its goal, if you could say it has one, is to be a catalyst for dancing and community. So the very best EDM music or d-jaying is about the ability to make people move and move in large groups together. So to understand the complexity of the EDM as a movement you have to have a sense of the complexity of the songs and there’s no better place to start than Marshmallow’s “Alone”.

Marshmallow is an electronic dance music producer and DJ who wears a full-head-covering marshmallow helmet. His identity remains a mystery although people assume that he is American DJ Chris Comstock. Marshmallow first gained international recognition with his remixes of Zedd's "Beautiful Now," and Jack Ü's "Where Are U Now”, but alone is the song we should understand.

This guy is roasting hot over the fire of music

“Alone” begins with a synth beat that makes you feel nervous, like just before the roller coaster is about to plunge one hundred feet down the track. The fast tempo synth beat goes on quietly for a bit and then it repeats again with a louder sound and now you are expecting that something louder will happen on the next round. That quality keeps the tension going and practically makes you hold your breath until it’s over.

After this nerve-jangling, mysterious intro, the song suddenly becomes fun and uplifting. Then the synth beat returns and we know that the roller coaster is about to drop again. Your heart beats faster as the synth gets faster and faster leading us to the main part of the song. Then suddenly, the drop comes out--the tempo slows, the melody gets quieter and quieter and we’re getting ready for the second round. The repeated pattern of fast beat sound and its disappearance creates a sense of communal experience. Ravers will jump up and down together, nod their heads to the beat of the music and begin to anticipate the whole experience again and again.

“Alone” is a great experince, but we should take it to another level and nothing could be better suited than Skrillex’s remix of Avicii’s “Levels”. Avicii is a Swedish musician, DJ, remixer and record producer. He died recently at the age of 28. He started posting his remixes on electronic music forums which led to his first record deal. This song “Levels” took him to another level of fame and popularity and became a mainstream U.S hit. With its simple structure, booming hooks and soaring vocal sample, “Levels” became an anthem for all kinds of parties and festivals.

The Remix Master, Avicii

The song is composed with simple chords repeated over and over again. Despite its simplicity, the skipping beat drop immediately catches your attention. The melody is similarly seductive and stays in your head. The combination of the two keeps you moving and floating with the rhythm. Then the true hook comes--it’s a repetition of the melody only louder and more insistent. After that, you’re really on board, dancing wildly, and wishing and hoping for the song to take you to the next level, whatever that might be.

After the synth melody and skipping beat drop you get the first extended workout of the song: the hook disappears into a spectral repeating echo and the drums fade out and the voice appears in a distant. Personally, this is my favorite part of the song where the euphoric voice comes in. It feels like a burst of sunlight after synth-storming. You would be surprised how well the voice mashes up with the song and the lyrics “ Ohhhh, sometimes, I get a good feeling, yeah/ I get a feeling that I never, never, never had before..." is a perfect encapsulation of what the song has done to you. The voice is sampled from the 1962 R&B classic by Etta James, “Something’s Got a Hold on Me.”

Every sound comes to the rave

Many people think that EDM artists are talentless, no more than a product of the computer. Yes, EDM is the product of a computer in the same that a Bach cantata is the product of a harpsichord. All music comes from an instrument, EDM just happens to come from the computer. But silly criticisms like these miss the deeper point: EDM is bringing large groups of people together to dance, and for at least one moment in this crazy world, become a community.

©Eunice Cheong and the CCA Arts Review