Electronic music
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Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and
electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be
made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that
produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical
sound producing devices include the telharmonium, Hammond organ, and
the electric guitar. Purely electronic sound production can be achieved using
devices such as the Theremin, sound synthesizer, and computer.
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Electronic music was once associated almost exclusively with Western art
music but from the late 1960s on the availability of affordable music
technology meant that music produced using electronic means became
increasingly common in the popular domain. Today electronic music
includes many varieties and ranges from experimental art music to popular
forms such as electronic dance music.
Origins: late 19th century to early 20th century
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The ability to record sounds is often connected to the production of electronic music, but not
absolutely necessary for it. The earliest known sound recording device was the phonautograph,
patented in 1857 by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. It could record sounds visually, but was
not meant to play them back.
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In 1878, Thomas A. Edison patented the phonograph, which used cylinders similar to Scott's
device. Although cylinders continued in use for some time, Emile Berliner developed the disc
phonograph in 1887. A significant invention, which was later to have a profound effect on
electronic music, was Lee DeForest's triode audion. This was the first thermionic valve, or vacuum
tube, invented in 1906, which led to the generation and amplification of electrical signals, radio
broadcasting, and electronic computation, amongst other things.
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Before electronic music, there was a growing desire for composers to use emerging technologies
for musical purposes. Several instruments were created that employed electromechanical designs
and they paved the way for the later emergence of electronic instruments. An electromechanical
instrument called the Telharmonium (sometimes Teleharmonium or Dynamophone) was
developed by Thaddeus Cahill in the years 1898-1912. However, simple inconvenience hindered
the adoption of the Telharmonium, due to its immense size. The first electronic instrument is often
viewed to be the Theremin, invented by Professor Léon Theremin circa 1919–1920. Other early
electronic instruments include the Croix Sonore, invented in 1926 by Nikolai Obukhov, and the
Ondes Martenot, which was most famously used in the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier
Messiaen as well as other works by him. The Ondes Martenot was also used by other, primarily
French, composers such as Andre Jolivet.
2000s
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In recent years, as computer technology has become more accessible and music
software has advanced, interacting with music production technology is now possible
using means that bear no relationship to traditional musical performance practices:
for instance, laptop performance (laptronica) and live coding. In general, the term
Live PA refers to any live performance of electronic music, whether with laptops,
synthesizers, or other devices.
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In the last decade, a number of software-based virtual studio environments have
emerged, with products such as Propellerhead's Reason and Ableton Live finding
popular appeal. Such tools provide viable and cost-effective alternatives to typical
hardware-based production studios, and thanks to advances in microprocessor
technology, it is now possible to create high quality music using little more than a
single laptop computer. Such advances have democratized music creation, leading to
a massive increase in the amount of home-produced electronic music available to the
general public via the internet.
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Artists such as Fluker from Australia, can now also individuate their production
practice by creating personalized software synthesizers, effects modules, and various
composition environments. Devices that once existed exclusively in the hardware
domain can easily have virtual counterparts. Some of the more popular software tools
for achieving such ends are commercial releases such as Max/Msp and Reaktor and
open source packages such as Pure Data, SuperCollider, and ChucK.
The Knife and Fever Ray
• The Knife are an electronic music duo from Sweden, formed in
1999.[2] The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and
Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid
Records. They first received international attention after their song
"Heartbeats", covered by José González, appeared n a commercial
by Sony. Subsequent songs have appeared on a number of
television shows. Their first tour took place in 2006, as well as the
release of their critically acclaimed album Silent Shout. They have
won a number of Swedish Grammis, but refuse to attend awards
ceremonies. They have appeared in public wearing Venetian masks.
Andersson released a solo album under the name Fever Ray in
2009, while her brother released several EPs as Oni Ayhun in late
2009 and early 2010.
THEODOR
BASTARD
Beaver & Krause
Makyo
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Enigma
Aeoliah
Enya
Lesiem
Loreena McKennitt
Love Orchestra
Jean Ven Robert Hal
Kitaro
Suzanne Ciani
Tangerine Dream
Vangelis
Ivo Keers
Era
Yanni
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