Genre of electronic music
Electro
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Other names
| Electro-funk
|
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Stylistic origins
| |
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Cultural origins
| Late 1970s
[1]
Europe, Japan, U.S. (
New York City
,
Detroit
)
|
---|
Derivative forms
| |
---|
|
|
|
|
Electro
(or
electro-funk
)
[3]
[4]
is a
genre
of
electronic music
and early
hip hop
directly influenced by the use of the
Roland TR-808
drum machines
[5]
[6]
and
funk
.
[7]
[8]
Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals; if vocals are present, they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as
vocoding
and
talkboxing
. It palpably deviates from its predecessor
boogie
by being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.
Following the decline of
disco
music in the United States, electro emerged as a fusion of
funk
[9]
and early hip-hop with principal influences from New York boogie, German and Japanese electronic pop music. The genre emerged with musicians
Arthur Baker
,
Afrika Bambaataa
,
Warp 9
, and
Hashim
. Seminal electro tracks included "
Planet Rock
" (1982) and "
Nunk
" (1982), both featuring its characteristic TR-808 drum beats.
The early 1980s were electro's mainstream peak. By the mid 1980s, the genre moved away from its electronic and funk influences, using harder edged beats and rock samples, exemplified by
Run DMC
. Electro became popular again in the late 1990s with artists such as
Anthony Rother
and DJs such as
Dave Clarke
.
[10]
A third wave of popularity occurred in 2007. Electro has branched out into subgenres, including
electrocore
and
skweee
.
Definition and characteristics
[
edit
]
The beat like that of a Roland TR-808 Synthesizer at 0:04 and the electronically processed vocals at 0:22 are the characteristics of the genre.
From its inception, one of the defining characteristics of the electro sound was the use of
drum machines
, particularly the
Roland TR-808
, as the rhythmic basis of the track. As the genre evolved, computers and sampling replaced drum machines in electronic music, and are now used by the majority of electro producers. It is important to note, that although the electro of the 1980s and contemporary electro (
electronic dance music
) both grew out of the dissolution of disco, they are now different genres.
Classic (1980s) electro drum patterns tend to be electronic emulations of
breakbeats
with a syncopated kick drum, and usually a snare or clap accenting the backbeat. The difference between electro drumbeats and breakbeats (or breaks) is that electro tends to be more mechanical, while breakbeats tend to have more of a human-like feel, like that of a live drummer. The definition however is somewhat ambiguous in nature due to the various uses of the term.
[11]
The
Roland TR-808
drum machine was released in 1980, defining early electro with its immediately recognizable sound. Staccato, percussive drumbeats tended to dominate electro, almost exclusively provided by the TR-808. As an inexpensive way of producing a drum sound, the TR-808 caught on quickly with the producers of early electro because of the ability of its
bass drum
to generate extreme low-frequencies.
[12]
This aspect of the Roland TR-808 was especially appealing to producers who would test drive their tracks in nightclubs (like NYC's Funhouse), where the bass drum sound was essential for a record's success.
[13]
Its unique percussion sounds like handclaps, open and closed high-hat, clave and cowbell became integral to the electro sound. A number of popular songs in the early 1980s employed the TR-808, including Marvin Gaye's “Sexual Healing,” Cybotron's “Clear,” and Afrika Bambaataa's “Planet Rock.”
[14]
The Roland TR-808 has attained iconic status, eventually being used on more hits than any other drum machine.
[15]
Through the use of samples, the Roland TR-808 remains popular in electro and other genres to the present day.
Other electro instrumentation was generally electronic, favoring
analog synthesis
, programmed bass lines, sequenced or arpeggiated synthetic riffs, and atonal sound effects all created with
synthesizers
. Heavy use of effects such as
reverbs
,
delays
,
chorus
or
phasers
along with eerie synthetic ensemble strings or pad sounds emphasized the
science fiction
or
futuristic
themes of classic (1980s) electro, represented in the lyrics and/or music. Electro hip hop group
Warp 9
's 1983 single,
Light Years Away
, produced and written by
Lotti Golden
and Richard Scher, exemplifies the
Sci-Fi
,
afrofuturist
aspect of electro,
[16]
reflected in both the lyrics and instrumentation. The imagery of its lyrical refrain
space is the place for the human race
pays homage to
Sun Ra
's 1974
film of the same name
,
[17]
while its synth lines and sound effects are informed by sci-fi, computer games, and cartoons,"born of a science-fiction revival.".
[16]
: 148
Most electro is instrumental, but a common element is vocals processed through a
vocoder
. Additionally,
speech synthesis
may be used to create robotic or mechanical lyrical content, as in the iconic
Planet Rock
and the automatous chant in the chorus of
Nunk
by
Warp 9
.
[18]
Although primarily instrumental, early electro utilized rap. Male rap dominated the genre, however female rappers are an integral part of the electro tradition, whether featured in a group as in
Warp 9
or as solo performers like
Roxanne Shante
. The lyrical style that emerged along with electro became less popular by the 1990s, as rapping continued to evolve, becoming the domain of
hip hop music
.
About electro origins:
It was all about stretching the boundaries that had begun to stifle black music, and its influences lay not only with German technopop wizards
Kraftwerk
, the acknowledged forefathers of pure electro, plus British futurist acts like the
Human League
and
Gary Numan
, but also with a number of pioneering black musicians. Major artists like
Miles Davis
,
Sly Stone
,
Herbie Hancock
,
Stevie Wonder
, legendary producer
Norman Whitfield
and, of course,
George Clinton
and his P Funk brigade, would all play their part in shaping this new sound via their innovative use of
electronic instruments
during the 70s (and as early as the late 60s in Miles Davis’s case).
Gary Numan. Man he was dope. So important to us. When we heard that single, "Are Friends Electric?" it was like the aliens had landed in the Bronx. We were just throwing shapes to this tune, man. More than Kraftwerk. Numan was the inspiration. He's a hero. Without him, there'd be no electro.
History
[
edit
]
Following the decline of
disco
music in the late 1970s, various funk artists such as
Zapp
began experimenting with
talk boxes
and the use of heavier, more distinctive beats.
Boogie
played a role during the formative years of electro, notably "Feels Good" by Electra (
Emergency
? EMDS-6527),
[20]
the
post-disco
production "
You're the One for Me
" by
D. Train
(Prelude ? PRL D 621),
[20]
and the
Eric Matthew
/
Darryl Payne
productions "
Thanks to You
" by
Sinnamon
(Becket ? BKD 508),
[20]
and "On A Journey (I Sing The Funk Electric)" by Electrik Funk (Prelude ? PRL D 541).
[20]
Electro eventually emerged as a fusion of different styles, including
funk
, boogie combined with German and Japanese
technopop
, in addition to influences from the
futurism
of
Alvin Toffler
,
martial arts films
, and
video game music
. The genre's immediate forebears included
Kraftwerk
and
Yellow Magic Orchestra
(YMO).
[9]
In 1980, YMO was the first band to utilize the TR-808 programmable drum machine.
[21]
[22]
That same year, YMO member
Ryuichi Sakamoto
released "Riot in Lagos", which is regarded as an early example of electro music,
[23]
[24]
and is credited for having anticipated the beats and sounds of electro.
[1]
The song's influence can be seen in the work of later pioneering electro artists such as Afrika Bambaataa
[1]
and
Mantronix
.
[24]
1982 was a watershed year for electro.
Bronx
based producer
Afrika Bambaataa
released the seminal track "
Planet Rock
", which contained elements of Kraftwerk's "
Trans-Europe Express
" (from the
album of the same name
) and "Numbers" (from Kraftwerk's 1981
Computer World
album)
[4]
[1]
[25]
combined with the use of distinctive TR-808 beats.
[1]
"Planet Rock" is widely regarded as a turning point in the electro genre, "like a light being switched on."
[16]
: 146
[26]
Another groundbreaking record released that year,
Nunk
by
Warp 9
utilized "imagery drawn from computer games and hip hop slanguage."
[16]
Although remaining unreleased, a pre-
Def Jam
Russell Simmons
produced
Bruce Haack
's proto hip-hop single "Party Machine" at a studio in Philadelphia. Electro hip hop releases in 1982 include songs by:
Planet Patrol
,
Warp 9
,
Man Parrish
,
George Clinton
(
Computer Games
),
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
,
Tyrone Brunson
,
The Jonzun Crew
and
Whodini
.
[16]
In 1983,
Hashim
created the influential electro funk tune "
Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)
" which became Cutting Record's first release in November 1983.
[27]
At the time Hashim was influenced by
Man Parrish
's "
Hip Hop, Be Bop
",
Thomas Dolby
's "
She Blinded Me With Science
" and Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock".
[28]
"Al-Nafyish" was later included in
Playgroup
's
compilation album
Kings of Electro
(2007), alongside other electro classics such as Sakamoto's "Riot in Lagos".
[29]
Also in 1983,
Herbie Hancock
, in collaboration with
Grand Mixer D.ST
, released the hit single "
Rockit
".
Bambaataa and groups like
Planet Patrol
,
Jonzun Crew
, Mantronix,
Newcleus
,
Warp 9
and
Juan Atkins
'
Detroit
-based group
Cybotron
went on to influence the genres of
Detroit techno
,
ghettotech
,
breakbeat
,
drum and bass
and
electroclash
. Early producers in the electro genre (notably
Arthur Baker
,
[30]
John Robie
and
Shep Pettibone
) later featured prominently in the
Latin Freestyle
(or simply "Freestyle") movement, along with
Lotti Golden
and Richard Scher (the producer/writers of
Warp 9
) fusing electro, funk, and hip hop with elements of Latin music.
[16]
By the late 1980s, the genre evolved into what is known today as
new school hip hop
. The release of
Run DMC
's
It's Like That
(1983) marked a stylistic shift, focusing down on the beats in a stark, metal minimalism.
[16]
: 151
Rock samples replaced synthesizers that had figured so prominently in electro, and rap styles and techniques evolved in tandem, anchoring rap to the changing hip hop culture.
[31]
Baker, Pettibone, Golden and Scher enjoyed robust careers well into the house era, eluding the "genre trap" to successfully produce mainstream artists.
[32]
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Detroit Techno musicians James Stinson and
Gerald Donald
released numerous EPs, singles and albums of conceptual electro music under several different aliases. Their main project,
Drexciya
is known for exploration of
science fiction
and aquatic themes.
Electro-soul
[
edit
]
In the early 1980s, Detroit techno DJ
Eddie Fowlkes
shaped a related style called electro-soul, which was characterized by a predominant bass line and a chopped up electro breakbeat contrasted with
soulful
male vocals.
[33]
Kurtis Mantronik
's electro-soul productions for
Joyce Sims
presaged
new jack swing
's combination of hip hop and soul elements.
[34]
In a 2016 profile on the genre's rise in Denver's music scene, Dylan Owens of
The Denver Post
writes, "As with all fledgling genres, little about electro-soul is defined ? even what to call it. (Of the eight artists interviewed for this article, none agreed on any one name.) But what does seem sure is its rise, especially locally. If Denver can be known as the musical torchbearer of any genre, it's electro-soul's half-live, half-produced swirl of hip-hop, soul, funk and jazz."
[35]
"
No Self Control
" by
Peter Gabriel
, taken from his
1980 self-titled album
, has been described as electro-soul,
[36]
fused with
art rock
.
[37]
Contemporary electro
[
edit
]
Although the early 1980s were electro's heyday in the mainstream, it enjoyed renewed popularity in the late 1990s with artists such as
Anthony Rother
and DJs such as
Dave Clarke
, and has made yet another comeback for a third wave of popularity in 2007. The continued interest in electro, though influenced to a great degree by Florida, Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles and New York styles, has primarily taken hold in Florida and Europe with electro club nights becoming commonplace again. The scene still manages to support hundreds of electro labels, from the disco electro of Clone Records, to the
old school
b-boy
styles of Breakin’ Records and Dominance Electricity, to the electrofunk of Citinite, and to harder more modern styles of electro of labels like Bass Frequency Productions and Nu Illusion Music.
New branches of electro have risen over the last couple of years. Florida has pioneered the "Electrocore" sound, started in the late 1990s by artists like Jackal and Hyde and Dynamix II and carried on to this day.
Skweee
is a genre which developed in Nordic countries such as
Sweden
and
Finland
, hence its first name "Scandinavian Funk". The outlets and artists of Skweee are still mostly limited to the Nordic countries.
From the late 1990s onward, the term "electro" is also used to refer two other fusion genres of electro, either blended with
techno
and
new wave
in
electroclash
,
[38]
[39]
In 2006,
Direct Influence
, a 6-piece
Melbourne
based electro/rock/reggae group was formed.
[40]
The genre enjoyed a resurgence from 2016 onwards, with DJs like Helena Hauff and DJ Stingray gaining more popularity and festivals like Dekmantel featuring it prominently on their lineups. Labels like Cultivated Electronics, CPU, Mars Frequency Records, Furatena, brokntoys and Mechatronica are currently pushing a new trove of artists
[41]
[42]
which has introduced the genre to a new generation.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
David Toop (March 1996),
"A-Z Of Electro"
,
The Wire
, no. 145
, retrieved
May 29,
2011
- ^
Vincent, Rickey (November 4, 2014).
Funk: The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of the One
. St. Martin's Publishing.
ISBN
9781466884526
.
- ^
"Electro-Funk: What did it all mean?"
. Greg Wilson on electrofunkroots.co.uk
. Retrieved
December 23,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
Rap meets Techno, with a short history of Electro
. Globaldarkness.com. Retrieved on July 18, 2011.
- ^
Gavin Weale (2001)
The Future Sound Of Electro
. ElectroEmpire.com
- ^
Reynolds, Simon (2013).
Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture
. Soft Skull Press.
The dominant style at Hard Summer, provided by artists like Zedd, Erol Alkan and Bloody Beetroots, is what's been tagged 'electro house', although to my ears it has little relationship with either house or electro (in the original eighties 808-bass-bumping sense).
- ^
Electro itself is a musical style blending "funk & synthesizers with elements of hip-hop", according to
Dent, Susie (2003).
The Language Report
. Oxford University Press. p.
43
.
ISBN
978-0-19-860860-8
.
- ^
Sean 'P-Ski' P (1995)
Electro ? What Does It Mean?
. ElectroEmpire.com
- ^
a
b
"Electro"
.
Allmusic
. Retrieved
June 20,
2012
.
- ^
Ishkur (2005).
"Ishkur's guide to Electronic Music"
. Archived from
the original
on April 7, 2019
. Retrieved
June 1,
2014
.
- ^
Electro-Funk : What Did It All Mean?
. Electrofunkroots.co.uk. Retrieved on July 18, 2011.
- ^
"Anysound".
Keyboard
. Vol. 14, no. 11. 1988. p. 34.
; as cited in
Theberge, Paul (1997).
Any sound you can imagine: making music/consuming all counts of technology
. Middletown, Conn: Wesleyan University Press. pp.
197
.
ISBN
978-0-8195-6309-5
.
- ^
Harvey, Steven "The Perfect Beat" The Face Magazine, October 1983
- ^
Dayal, Geeta (2013).
The Grove Dictionary of American Music
. Oxford Music Online. pp. Roland TR?808.
- ^
Peter Wells (2004),
A Beginner's Guide to Digital Video
, AVA Books, p. 18,
ISBN
978-2-88479-037-6
, retrieved
May 20,
2011
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Toop, David (2000). Rap Attack 3: African Rap To Global Hip Hop. (Expanded Third Edition) Serpent's Tail, London N4 2BT p.148
ISBN
1-85242-627-6
.
- ^
"Space Is the Place"
.
IMDb.com
.
- ^
Moley, Raymond; Phillips, Joseph Becker; Muir, Malcolm; Smith, Rex; Williamson, Samuel Thurston (November 20, 1983).
"Newsweek"
. Newsweek, Incorporated – via Google Books.
- ^
Butler, Mark J. "Electronica, Dance and Club Music" (2017).
page 456
, Routledge.
ISBN
9781351568548
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
David Pattie, Sean Albiez (2011).
Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop
. A&C Black, 2011. p. 728.
ISBN
9781441191366
.
- ^
Mickey Hess (2007),
Icons of hip hop: an encyclopedia of the movement, music, and culture, Volume 1
,
ABC-CLIO
, p. 75,
ISBN
978-0-313-33903-5
, retrieved
May 29,
2011
- ^
Jason Anderson (November 28, 2008).
"Slaves to the rhythm: Kanye West is the latest to pay tribute to a classic drum machine"
.
CBC News
. Retrieved
May 29,
2011
.
- ^
Broughton, Frank (2007).
La historia del DJ / The DJ's Story, Volume 2
. Ediciones Robinbook. p. 121.
ISBN
978-84-96222-79-3
. Retrieved
May 25,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Kurtis Mantronik Interview"
,
Hip Hop Storage
, July 2002, archived from
the original
on May 24, 2011
, retrieved
May 25,
2011
- ^
William Eric Perkins (1996),
Droppin' science: critical essays on rap music and hip hop culture
,
Temple University Press
, p. 12,
ISBN
978-1-56639-362-1
, retrieved
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2011
- ^
Sicko, D.,
Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk
, Billboard Books, 1999 (
ISBN
978-0823084289
), p. 73.
- ^
Kellman, A. (2007).
Hashim Biography
. All Media Guide. Retrieved September 6, 2007, from
[1]
- ^
Hashim (2000).
"Hashim interview"
.
ElectroEmpire.com
(Interview). Interviewed by Rascal. Archived from
the original
on June 5, 2008
. Retrieved
September 5,
2007
.
- ^
Kings of Electro
at
AllMusic
- ^
When The Planet Rocked
. Electrofunkroots.co.uk. Retrieved on July 18, 2011.
- ^
"Electro"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
October 4,
2014
.
Despite its successes (documented in full on Rhino's four-disc Electric Funk set), the style was quickly eclipsed by the mid-'80s rise of hip-hop music built around samples (often from rock records) rather than musical synthesizers.
- ^
Miami Gets Put On the Musical Map
. ElectroEmpire.com
- ^
King, SB (2003). "The Fader".
The Fader
. No. 16?17. p. 188.
- ^
Shapiro, Peter
(2005).
The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop
(2nd ed.).
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ISBN
978-1843532637
.
- ^
Owens, Dylan (December 29, 2016).
"How electro-soul found its home in Denver's 'middle of nowhere' music scene"
.
The Denver Post
. Retrieved
November 10,
2022
.
- ^
Thomson, Graeme (October 30, 2015).
"Peter Gabriel - the first four solo albums remastered"
.
- ^
"The Quietus | Features | Anniversary | Peter Gabriel 3: Melt 40 Years On By Chris Roberts"
.
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.
- ^
Dorian Lynskey (March 22, 2002).
"Out with the old, in with the older"
.
The Guardian
.
- ^
"The Electroclash Mix by Larry Tee"
.
Ew.com
. Archived from
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on September 30, 2012
. Retrieved
February 25,
2021
.
- ^
Rhythm & Vines (November 2010).
"Direct Influence"
. Rhythm & Vines. Archived from
the original
on 2 December 2010
. Retrieved
2011-03-01
.
- ^
"The return of electro"
.
Djmag.com
. August 25, 2017
. Retrieved
February 25,
2021
.
- ^
"The rise and rise of electro"
.
Mixmag.net
. Retrieved
February 25,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
Look up
electro
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.