Any electronica enthusiasts in the house?

Just wondering if anyone digs electronic music on these boards; more specifically contemporary genres such as Drum 'N' Bass, Dance, House, Electronica, etc...

Personally I really can't get into "old school" electronic music. To me it sounds a bit... naff.

My housemates last year all used to bang on about how the 70s was the best decade in music history with the 80s coming a close second; then the music industry entered a state of regression during the 90s with the invention of "pop" music.

Of course, we'd clash many times as I much prefer contemporary music, more specifically contemporary electronic music (like I said in my original post, sub-genres such as Dance and Drum 'n' Bass). I need something that moves me; physically, mentally, and emotionally. When the bass hits I want it to hit hard. I want to feel it thumping inside of me.

I've actually described my music taste as "masochistic", in the sense that I (figuratively speaking) want a track to beat me hard and leave me bruised.

Now that's not to say that I disagree with my former housemates' taste in music. A lot of what they listened to did appeal to me (The Doors, Velvet Underground, David Bowie, and Brian Eno are just some examples), but it just felt like their taste was derived from whatever their dads had grown up listening to.

They don't go out and discover music for themselves; which in my opinion leaves them unqualified to make judgements. I think a lot of the reason why I enjoy contemporary music (of a variety of genres, including electronic, rock, metal, pop, etc...) is because I grew up with it. I'm twenty years old. I grew up during the "Girl Power" era of British Pop music when the Spice Girls reigned the charts.

To me music is an experience. You have to feel it. If you didn't experience the period in which the music was produced (with the exception of classical, as it can be re-produced), it's a lot harder to connect with it as you were not a part of the culture that originally backed it.

Man, I sure ranted on there. By the way, I wasn't using my housemates' taste in music as a means of bashing your own. I was merely expressing why I personally prefer contemporary material.

Does anyone dig Drum N Bass around here? Anyone at all?

"Naff" is British slang for "tacky" or "lacking in respectable qualities."

I do apologise. I'm very British in the way I speak .

Nolita said:

I've a funny feeling, calling people's taste in music "naff" as you define it, isn't going to make you many friends.

At the moment I'm liking D.A.N.C.E. by Justice. Not sure think it's break beats. At any rate it's very retro sounding. So you prolly think it's naff.

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Perhaps I was mis-understood. I merely stated that I personally find the retro material a little naff. My opinion isn't set in stone, and I wasn't criticising anyone. I can perfectly accept anyone's taste in music, so long as they don't bash my taste without an intelligent arguement (A 'My Chemical Romance' fangirl had the gall to label electronica outright "crap"), and their reason for liking certain music isn't that they "couldn't be arsed" to go out and discover their own music so they raid their "dad's CD collection" instead. But there are always going to be genres and periods of music that do not appeal to me. If it sounds naff to me, it sounds naff to me. It can't be helped. I apologise if it came across as dogmatic and offensive.

To me the early material sounds just a wee bit too experimental. Too many synths. And the pitch cranks up really high at times, giving it this really sharp artificial edge. Refer to 'The Terminator' soundtrack, for example. Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack has some great pieces on it, but occassionally it suffers from the pitch going a bit too high in places. Again, just my opinion.

I almost picked up Justice's album recently. I really liked the collab he/she/they did with Simian - last summer's "We Are Your Friends." However, I ended up buying Mint Royale's debut instead. I do quite like break beats, but in companionship with catchy lyrics. That's why I wouldn't class it as electronica. Because although it is produced electronically, I don't feel the music stands on its own two feet as listening material. For dancing, definitely. I suppose if it has a good bassline I'd be happy to give it a casual listen.

ClaudiaGray said:

Love electronica. Bjork, Moby, Amon Tobin, Hooverphonic, Orbital, Delerium, Mandalay, Goldfrapp, LaTour, Aural Float, Karsh Kale, Chemical Brothers, Oakenfold, Venus Hum, Air, Thievery Corporation, Blue Six, Jega, Osunlade, Mocky, Balligomingo, Rob Dougan, Crystal Method, Massive Attack, Felix da Housecat, Lamb, Gotan Project, Zero 7, Frost, Morcheeba, Royksopp, Lemon Jelly, Mint Royale, Susumu Yokota, Tricky -- obviously, I could go on for a while.

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Nice one. You're definitely on my wavelength.

The last two albums I bought were Mint Royale's 'See You In The Morning' and the latest from the Chemical Brothers, 'We Are The Night.' Both are absolutely fantastic and I've been playing them to death.

What I love about contemporary electronica is its scope (as is evident from your list). If I want something hard I'll fire up Aphex Twin or The Prodigy. If I want to dance, I'll throw on one of my Drum N' Bass compilations. But if I'm in the mood to chill, a bit of Morcheeba always goes down nicely.

Some artists suffer from too much variety of material though. I own two of Massive Attack's albums: 'Protection' and 'Mezzanine.' Some of the tracks are excellent, but others I find myself skipping over to get to the good stuff. I like an album that I can listen to from start to finish and just get lost in; not have to take a moment to press the skip button.

A great album, in my opinion, is one that you allow to run for its entirety and don't realise it's over until a good ten minutes later, but you still feel its effects.

I'm diggin' the Prodigy love, Inkdaub! Proud owner of the Singles, right here.

Nolita said:

Oh OddButInteresting. About the My Chemical Romance fan. I'd just ignore her. She sounds like one of those kids who says "EMO stands for emotive, [insert random whinings here], YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND ME!". You just can't have a reasonable conversation with someone like that(or me at times).

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Aye. That's one of the reasons why I hate pop punk (actually, punk in general) and emo with a passion. The music's dictated by what's in fashion. These 30-odd year old pop punk "rockers" still dress like they're 15, and still sing about teenage angst. The music hasn't grown up at all, and they're playing to a specific demographic rather than developing fresh sounds. All a load of bollocks, if you ask me.

Remixes, as you say, vary in their quality. Whilst I like Audio Bullies, I have always detested their remix of Nancy Sinatra's 'Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)'. The original is fantastic, but the remix sounds really dodgy, and the beats don't flow naturally. It's like they forced it to work. Depeche Mode remixes are usually pretty good because their material lends itself well to electronic experimentation. After all, some of their work incorporates electronic influences.

And now for a recommendation (and still on the subject of remixes): Yesterday I got my hands on a CD I've been hunting for some time: Matrix + Futurebound's 'Universal Truth.' They're a British Drum 'N Bass act. I first heard their remix of Dukata's 'American Dream' (itself a remix of Thomas Newman's theme from the film 'American Beauty') - 'American Beauty VIP' - on the radio a while ago. It's great stuff, and I highly recommend it to DnB afficionados. They also remixed the 'Knight Rider' theme, which has been remixed to death, but their effort works pretty well with some extra-applied vocals from MC Spyda.