Experimental Electronic
Located in 2 routes
Experimental Electronic is the broad field of electronic music that prioritizes new sounds, processes, systems, and listening experiences over established pop or club formulas. It can be academic, ambient, noisy, rhythmic, installation-based, modular, or computer-driven. The common thread is inquiry: what can electronic tools make possible that acoustic tradition or mainstream dance language cannot?
History
The roots include musique concrète, tape music, early computer music, synthesizer research, industrial experimentation, ambient, IDM, glitch, and modern sound art. Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pauline Oliveros, Morton Subotnick, Laurie Spiegel, Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Matmos, Fennesz, Alva Noto, Ryoji Ikeda, Oneohtrix Point Never, Holly Herndon, and Arca all expanded the field in different directions. Today it touches galleries, clubs, festivals, film sound, game audio, and experimental pop.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Gesang der Jünglinge(1956) — Karlheinz StockhausenSpotifyYouTube
- Bye Bye Butterfly(1965) — Pauline OliverosSpotifyYouTube
- Silver Apples of the Moon(1967) — Morton SubotnickSpotifyYouTube
- Patchwork(1980) — Laurie SpiegelSpotifyYouTube
- 1/1(1978) — Brian EnoSpotifyYouTube
- Windowlicker(1999) — Aphex TwinSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- electronic music histories
- Perfect Circuit generative music guide
- Electronic Sound Alva Noto feature
- experimental electronic discographies