GENRES DATABASE

Electronica

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Electronica is an umbrella term that encompasses a broad group of music created by, or heavily assisted by, electronics. Styles such as techno, house, ambient, drum and bass, jungle, and industrial dance are members of this style, among others. It has been used to describe the rise of electronic music styles intended not just for dancing but also concentrated listening.

In North America, in the late 1990s, the mainstream music industry adopted the name 'Electronica', and to some extent promoted the use of the term as a universal description, regardless of whether it was curated by indie labels catering to the "underground" nightclub and rave scenes, or licensed by major labels and marketed to mainstream audiences as a commercially viable alternative to alternative rock music. By the early 2010s, however, the industry abandoned the term 'Electronica' in favor of the term 'Electronic Dance Music (EDM)', a term with roots in academia and an increasing association with outdoor music festivals.

In other parts of the world, especially in the UK, the term 'Electronica' is also a broad definition, but is associated with non-dance-oriented music, including relatively experimental styles of downtempo electronic music. It partly overlaps what is known chiefly outside the UK as 'Intelligent Dance Music (IDM)'.

The term 'Electronica', although still recognized by Diskery and several other on-line music databases, has officially been depreciated (considered obsolete) throughout the music industry.

File record #: 19


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