Everything started from a post from a nice guy on a synthwave group on Facebook.
the trance Music lover in me got triggered!
Not so much for the “hard” trance (i can understand that sometimes PVD like to play harder stuff) but for use EDM.
Me, starting speaking about taxonomies –
GUY 1 – Yep, Synthwave is considered EDM.
Now EDM just like that is also the name of a subgenre of electronic music, a rather commercial bassy one, popular here in the US. I think that’s where the issue lies. Not sure of the solution; I guess just calling it “electronic”?
And by international standards not just US, Synthwave is electronic. It even comes from Europe with electro house as root <— he nailed my issue and we agree
the problem of taxonomy in musicis great coz it evolve (i remember that before dnb it was jungle and breakbeat, thus what is the parent category here).
for this very reason i m very cautious of adding new, arbitrary terms. but maybe it s coz i am old
if you are an old skool fan.. tell me when did you hear the term EDM the first time and to which kind of music it was associated?
let’s call all eletronic / electronica and we are all happy
’ve also been djing it, and I work with these artists as a label manager. Not that this is verification, but I been around to know what I’m talking about. EDM is the umbrella term for any dance music that is made with computerized equipment, mainly keyboards and synths.
Me @guy4 – so basically people use “Electronic” and EDM as interchangeable term? what about the D in eDm? it should stand for dance….
i ll speak about this below.
- first: I agree 100% that pvd music is electronic, coz that is the largest scope term. and so is aphex twin and so is JM jarre and we are magonia. are they EDM… meeehhhh
- Second: let’s distinguish between the way someone in the marketing dept of a major decided to dumb down a name to feed the hungry people for music and the reality of how music naming evolve. EDM is a marketing name created for the first reason. and that is something i d like to fight (this is of coz a bias from my side)
- third: EDM is a mess as a name if you use it as an umbrella term, simply using logic.
coz it both at the top as a taxonomy and a subgenre (the bassy house) and its own subgenres. Techno had the same problem in early 90. - fourth: EDM is very strong in some part of US, but much less in europe, probably for the above mentioned reasons. and while the US had the greatest part in bearing the techno-house kid, it s true that he learn to walk and run in Europe.
Some question for the sake of sharing and agreeing.
- is synthwave EDM too?
- is vaporwave? who DANCE on vaperwave?
- and what about ambient? is it EDM?
- and what about techno ambient, no-one dance on it!
- and what about that lovely downtempo trance at early 90s… you could dance and you could trance on it.
So i think using using the EDM is a very lazy way to market a kind of music for people who does not care.
but I DO CARE so i ll keep calling the “parent genre” simply electronic
PVd is german, so I ll use the electronic > trance taxonomy.
Fot this reason I would like to start here a discussion abou taxonomies in music…