Early Electronic
The first musicians to make popular music with synthesizers and drum machines.
History
Early electronic music is the work of the first artists who made pop and dance music with machines s1. Wendy Carlos's 'Switched-On Bach' (1968) showed that synthesizers could play music that many people enjoyed s1. The German group Kraftwerk used synthesizers, drum machines and vocoders to make songs about roads, trains and computers s1. Their album 'Trans-Europe Express' (1977) was named by later dance producers as a key influence s1s2. Giorgio Moroder's 'From Here to Eternity' (1977) used electronic dance rhythms in a way that pointed towards house and techno s1. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra mixed electronic sounds with pop melodies s1. These artists are the direct ancestors of almost all electronic dance music s2. The musicians often built or modified their own instruments and wrote new kinds of music for them s1. Their records were sold as pop music, not as academic experiments s2. Their influence can be heard in pop, hip hop and dance music today s1.
Sound
- Synthesizers and drum machines
- Robotic or vocoder voices
- Repetitive, machine-like rhythms
- Simple, futuristic melodies
- A clean, experimental production
Key figures
- Kraftwerk — German group central to electronic pop
- Giorgio Moroder — Italian producer who made electronic dance music
- Yellow Magic Orchestra — Japanese electronic group
- Wendy Carlos — Composer and synthesizer pioneer
Labels
- Kling Klang — Düsseldorf , 1970
- Oasis Records — Munich , 1975
- Alfa Records — Tokyo , 1969
Defining tracks
Connections
Came from: Krautrock
Led to: Ambient , Electro , Euro-Disco , Industrial , Italo Disco , Synth-Pop , Ambient Techno , Detroit Techno
Sources
- Kraftwerk — Wikipedia
- The history of electronic music — Audio Network