Clarifying the Term EDM

The phrase Electronic Dance Music, abbreviated as EDM, is often quite polarizing. There

are masses of youth that visibly vibrate when the topic is raised, and there are self described

purists like myself for whom the term inspires varying degrees of nausea. One of the

problems created with this phrase is that EDM the musical genre, and EDM the umbrella term for

all electronically produced dance music are so different. Often the term EDM is used when

discussing the culture of music festivals, raves, and nightclubs, and the very different meanings

of the two identical abbreviations can complicate the discussion. I would like to clarify the

distinction between the two terms and, in the process, hopefully remove some of the negative

stigma associated with club and rave culture.

EDM, the genre, is essentially a hyper-popularized sub-genre of house music. House

Music, originally, was simply the term given to whatever music Disco, Funk, etc. a bar or

dance hall would play: music chosen by The House or establishment. It has evolved into the

predominant form of dance music, which is slightly faster than a typical Pop music song, and

often has a kick drum on every beat making it very dance-friendly. The sub-genre of EDM

infuses itself with up-beat musical themes, and is filled with quick build-ups, air horns, catchy

melodies, and a similar ethos to top-40s Pop Music, most notably in its marketability as a youth

consumer good.

When most people think of EDM, they think often of the large outdoor summer festivals

that DJs often headline at like Cream Fields, Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo, Veld,

Solaris, Tomorrowland. All of these festivals can become focal points for public outcry because

of their huge numbers of attendees. Tomorrowland often sees their number of attendees well over

the 100,000 mark, in 2014 that number reached around 360,000, but these events are entirely
separate from club culture. The music is similar although in truth, this style of EDM is rarely

heard in traditional nightclubs but relating a festival of this size to a nightclub is like

comparing Woodstock to a disco.

The larger concept of Electronic Dance Music, however, is much broader than the

muscle-shirted, molly infused, neon clad bros and biddies that have propagated the mainstream

festivals of the last 10 years. Electronic Dance Music should be considered music, any music,

made electronically to be danced to, and it is inseparable from the club culture it grew within,

and the DJs who popularized these familiar rhythms.

DJing, as we know it today has been around since 1947. Since then, two turntables or

decks have been used so that the music played in a dance club can be seamless. It was not until

1975 when the world saw Kraftwerk an experimental German musical act injected other-

worldly electrical pulsations into the dance music world. The evolving electronic dance music

culture came to a head in late 1980s England due to the frustration of the youth. Dance clubs

couldn't stay open late enough, and the music and dancing shifted outdoors to illegal parties

known as Raves. Ravers no longer wished to constantly be on the look out for Police, and

nightclub owners became suddenly aware of the huge revenue that would be possible if this

underground movement could be legitimized and moved indoors. 1989 saw Turnmills open its

doors one of the first all night dance clubs followed closely by All Bar One, a classy pre-

bar marketed as a quasi-club to drink in before the dancing began in ernest. Club culture had

been born, and was learning to walk on its own.

I am a DJ, something which many people see as an easy hobby rather than a complex

vocation in a world infatuated with acts that are more performer than DJ like in the Aoki,
DVBBS, or Carnage. I have played student house parties, weddings, and anniversary parties. I

graduated to nightclubs, playing rooms that could fit 200, but often held 50. Gradually, I shifted

to larger rooms, often playing venues, which allow for around 400, and have even gone so far as

playing for a room of 1200 alongside the popular DJ/Producer Rezz. I have played music

festivals, after parties, and, most often my own basement with a few friends. Playing, but not like

a video game. Playing, like an instrument.

I DJ Tech House, which is essentially a modern combination of House and Techno, and I

do much more than press play and smoothly mix one track into the next. To be honest, I dont

enjoy Tech House music outside of the nightclub. It is boring, repetitive, and thoroughly

predictable. On the other hand, there are few things I have done in life that are more rewarding

than DJing this same boring music. The reason for this odd duality is the culture of nightclubs,

which many ignore in the popular discussion of EDM and its musical relatives. The sense of

community which grows in these dark rooms, and the ability of a skilled DJ to take an entire

crowd on a captivating and emotional journey from the opening of the night, to the moment the

lights rise at its end.

As Fat Boy Slim said, most DJs arent really oil paintings to look at, but [became]

superstars sort of by default because [they] put bums on seats and one of the first instances of

this default rockstar status occurred in 1993 when Paul Oakenfold was asked to tour with U2.

The superstar DJ was born. The aftermath of this elevation of the DJ can still be seen today.

Even when I played at Rezzs event, without many knowing the name Siconic (my artist

moniker), everyone in the room faced me while I played: clapping when I gestured, like I was a

one-man rock band. As fun as it was, they shouldn't have been looking at me.
 I think that the separation between EDM and the pure electronic dance music which I

aspire to involve myself in can be seen thusly: EDM DJs strive to be the centre of attention. They

are fantastic performers, and I respect many of them as talented musicians in their own right, but

some have strayed from the core of our craft. Music should always be the star, not necessarily the

person playing it.

Perhaps it is prudent to point out that DJ is an abbreviation of the term disk jockey. In

horse racing, although the jockey is obviously critical, the central component is the horse.

Patrons pay money to attend, to hear the thunderous foot falls, to discuss the lineage of

thoroughbreds. A skilled jockey can make a difference to a good team, and is paid to get the

horse across the finish line, but still the undeniable reality is that the speed and stamina of the

horse is paramount. (Please forgive any inaccuracies, as I am not as studied with horses as with

bass-lines, but I believe the analogy will hold all the same.)

People pay to enter the club, to hear the thunderous bass, and experience and

sometimes discuss music. The job of the DJ is to ride the disks, or in the digital age the discs,

but not to be the centre of attention. We have a job to do, and although the big name DJs might

make you think otherwise, our hands are too busy to make hand hearts. And thats fine, because

its not about us, its about making sure you keep dancing. To keep a smile on your face. To make

you forget whatever it is that happened in your life before and allow you to enter a collective

ecstasy that helps you purge the stress of your day-life.

Nightclubs are places of release. Some studies suggest they are a modern extension of

primal animalistic mating rituals, with an often 50% increase in the number of couples exiting

compared to entering. There is solidarity built between the returning patrons, a bond which may
be tightened by drug use, but not created by it (scholars find similarity between this aspect of

club culture and the religious ceremonies of tribal cultures). As a DJ, I am blessed with the

opportunity to facilitate these connections by gently influencing patrons with the right track at

the right time. Bending melodies together. Mixing sometimes four songs at a time. Creating

something captivating and fleeting. Perhaps made more precious and enjoyable because of its

transitory nature: mirroring life itself. With a good DJ, two nights may have the same spirit, but

they will never be the same. This may be one of the most cathartic antidotes to our monotonous

day-to-day.