The 15 Best Animated EDM Music Videos

The world of EDM music videos has always incorporated animation, from random, computer-generated shapes morphing in and out to the beat to more expans

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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EDM visuals are all about bringing the music's morphing sounds to life and sometimes it takes some inventive artistry to make it happen. From random, computer-generated shapes to more expansive, plot-driven affairs, dance music producers have embraced the world of animation to give action to their beats. The scene doesn't stick to one type of animation-we've seen more traditional,hand-drawn videos done just as well as the most abstract, CGI-enhanced clips. It takes a smart team to marry the right images with the music, and these fifteen clips "get it." Some may be a little abstract and hard to grasp (initially), but that's also part of the fun.

Swindle - "Moodswings"

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Epileptics, take heed: the flashing colors and lights, no matter how in tune to the sounds they are, are triggers to your condition. Mr. Tit's animation is intriguing, and while we're not sure what they are saying, exactly, it all fits perfectly with this meaty dubstep tune.

Nick Thayer ft. Lex One - "Top of the World"

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Turnt up space races in flashy, throwback-looking whips in what looks like the seedy underbelly of the Tron world? We'll take it.

Benga & Coki - "Night"

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An anthem for the dubstep nation, as well as one of Benga and Coki's finest, the video clip for "Night" just LOOKs ill. Weird squid-like creatures with see-through brains and stereo cables dragging after them as they slink calmly to the beat? This would make a great screen saver.

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Mat Zo & Porter Robinson - "Easy"

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For the beautifully done anime clip that makes up the "Easy" video, we're still not sure what the tale of a girl and her blue creature is set to signify. We had imagined something else for the music video when we fell in love with this track, and while we're far from disappointed... we are a little perplexed.

Kaskade & Swanky Tunes ft. Lights - "No One Knows Who We Are"

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The idea of music saving lives takes on a new meaning in this video for Kaskade and Swanky Tunes' "No One Knows Who We Are," with a story that takes place in some weird dystopian universe. Gives new meaning to the term "last night a DJ saved my life."

Keys N Krates - "Treat Me Right"

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The concept of this one, finding the covers of dime store novels to sing the chorus of this track, is great. It not only conveys what the vocalists is singing, but does it in a unique way, especially with the way we're made to focus on each new scene.

Wolfgang Gartner - "Redline"

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The premise of this video is pretty simple: Take a trip with Wolfgang Gartner as he hits venues and tears them down with his DJ skills, but the animation on this one trumps all. It's done without a wild array of colors, almost in a throwback style of drawing, especially with the caricature style that the animated Wolfgang was done in. Still maintains some cool sci-fi elements, as at one point Gartner takes his music to new heights.

Boys Noize - "Ich R U"

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We know better than most that technology runs your day; taking that to the next level, Boys Noize's "Ich R U" video finds us in a world where everything is covered by keyboard keys, from the suit the figure is wearing to everything on the turntables. The entire video isn't animated, but it does have some pretty solid effects in it, and is an ill commentary on how our world is evolving today.

SKisM - "Experts"

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SKisM's pointed commentary on Internets trolls isn't totally animated, but the second half, when the commenter gets transported to some hell-ish underworld full of superpowers and dinosaurs, is chock full of win.

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Noisia & Mayhem ft. KRS-One - "Exodus"

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When you think of the sound of drum & bass, especially music from Noisia, this video sounds like just what we'd expect. Some intensely dark future world, full of huge robots with big guns. We do wish there was some reference to KRS-One in this one, visually, as his verse is the only thing that doesn't fit with the visuals, but we're too stunned to care about KRS' bars.

deadmau5 ft. Chris James - "The Veldt"

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Have you ever been infatuated with something so much that you wish you could open a door and step inside that world? It feels like the video for deadmau5's "The Veldt" finds two kids walking into a Lion King-esque world, experincing all of the wonders of a vibrant jungle... and never wanting to leave.

Delta Heavy - "Get By"

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The time it took to get this one animated (shouts to Ian Robertson) alone makes this one a top clip in general, and that the visual aspect of dance music videos can be looked at just as meticulously as the aural aspects are. Plus, stop motion animation is always cool, especially when set to the alternating tempos of massive Delta Heavy tunes.

Wolfgang Gartner - "Illmerica"

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When you have instrumental music, it can be hard to translate it into a proper music video, but with a title like "Illmerica," this Wolfgang Gartner clip turns into a pretty accurate look at America's timeline, mostly through the historical figures, celebrities, insane media and WAR that could be seen as killing the nation.

The M Machine - "Tiny Anthem"

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The M Machine are a truly impressive outfit, and with the regal sounds of "Tiny Anthem," you need nothing short of a vast superhero tale to properly tell its story. It's very comic book-esque, with a number of wild elements to the drawing, but this video properly embodies such a dynamic song.

Daft Punk's "Interstella 5555"

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This one is a bit tricky, as we've techincally got a full movie on this list, but you have to remember that every song from the album is featured in the film, so we're literally looking at one album's length music video, comprised of 14 different shorts. Daft Punk linking up with Leiji Matsumoto and Toei Animation, and sitting on the project as producers, we get a sprawling tale that blends well with the themes that Daft Punk has engrained in their music and persona since they arrived: The ideas of humanity in a computerized world, love, and clinging to the aspects of youth that helped shape the adults we are now. Powerful stuff.

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