Image via Complex Original
EDM can be hard to understand. Unconventional electronic music that is experienced best in a dark club, played by guys wearing huge mau5heads, or with monikers like "Skrillex?" Yeah, that's a hard concept to grasp for most Americans, but there are a number of misconceptions that people have about EDM. There are times where we as EDM fans feel trapped in some alternate reality, or a remake of Reefer Madness (EDM Madness?) with some of the glances we get when people hear what we're listening to, or how our parents' parents thought about what rock & roll would do to their kids.
Everything gets scrutinized, especially on the Internets, from how the music is made to what you call the music. Let's take a look at the biggest misconceptions people outside of the EDM scene have about EDM.
EDM is Just One Genre
One thing that makes us cringe more than anything is the idea people have of EDM being one genre. EDM, or electronic dance music, is an umbrella term to describe the dance music scene, but just like there are different forms of rock, there are many different styles of EDM, hence the need for a term like EDM.
And please, don't just call it all "techno" - we hate that.
Americans Don't Get Dance Music
One of the biggest problems we have is people outside of the United States somehow thinking that because we grew up on American soil that we somehow don't understand dance music. There are legions of dance music fans in the US who didn't grow up calling it "EDM," but we have stopped trying to argue over a term that helps outsiders understand this new wave of dance music appreciation.
Many of us were around when Reprazent's "Brown Paper Bag" premiered on MTV and were amazed that a drum & bass track was playing before prime time hours on national TV. We've dreamed about going to the UK to experience the dance music culture in a place where it's openly accepted, but we have also learned to embrace the nuances of the different genres, and have created our own thing... just like the UK did when they first started experimenting with house and techno. It's all cyclical.
Dance Music Producers Aren't Talented
There's something about the fact that dance music is made using computers that makes outsiders automatically assume that EDM producers aren't real artists because they aren't playing instruments. If it's so easy, let's see anyone program a track as huge as Avicii's "Levels." Zedd is well-versed in playing piano and drums, and has excelled in dance music. It might not be learning guitar chords, but there is a skill in crafting a great dance track on a computer.
Plus, many produers learn how to engineer their tracks as well. How many rock acts can produce, mix, and master their albums?
All Dance Music Has to Be Electronic
The one thing about Vice's "guide" to rave culture for Americans was that there shouldn't be drum circles, based on a Camp Bisco video. While we get that you don't fuck with drum circles, you can't just say "oh it's electronic dance music, so no instruments are allowed." Reprazent, Roni Size's drum & bass band, incorporated double bass, live drums, and more into their live show and album cuts, as did London Elektricity. We've seen trumpets modified to trigger samples and other sounds - does that make the music any less electronic? Don't be so naive.
Everyone is on Drugs
Drugs are a huge part of the dance music scene, dating all the way back to the coke-fueled days of disco. The rave scene in the UK runs tandem with the rise of MDMA use in the UK, and the same can be said about what goes on at the raves and festivals that people flock to in the United States. That said, everyone there is not high. You don't need drugs to enjoy EDM. Some might swear that drugs make the experience more fun, but it's not a requirement.
DJs Just "Push Play"
We won't go into the great "press play" debate again, but the idea that people are willingly paying to see a DJ just "push play" on a turntable us ludicrous. We love seeing EDM acts perform live, be it spinning tracks we can only hear during their sets, or hearing them blend tracks that we know together, exposing the subtle nuances and creating all-new sounds. And there are live PAs that go on, where producers re-create their tracks. Tell us you can do what Daft Punk has managed to do live, and we'll respect the hell out of you.
"It all sounds the same"
Yes, there are formulas to dance music, especially the more popular tracks of today. Just like pop music, hip-hop, and other genres, there are conventions in writing songs. And while we admit that there are similarities in some tunes, you can't be as ignorant to say that all EDM tracks sound the same. Even within a genre, you can't hold up a Baauer track to a tune by Flosstradamus and say they sound the same.
If all you're hearing is the same song/sound, you're either listening to the wrong producers or you're just listening wrong.
EDM Promotes Drug Use
Let's just say this outright: EDM doesn't out-right promote taking drugs, not any more than hip-hop might. Ravers do go to shows and take drugs... just like rap fans do, just like rock fans do. It's a part of MUSIC, not just relegated to EDM. And while there have been overdoses at parties big and small, one thing that many promoters stress is not bringing in drugs. We've sat through some pretty rigid patdowns trying to go see our favorite DJs - either they're really good at keeping up appearances, or they don't want you turning this party into a wake.
Mainstream Appeal Will Ruin Dance Music
This is certainly not the case. The dance music scene in general is too large to be destroyed by David Guetta working with Ludacris. EDM has a vast number of genres, sub-genres, and random pockets around the world catering to it. New styles emerge all the time, with moombahton and trap being a couple of styles that weren't even thought of in the last five or six years, but are commonplace now. Genres go under reinvention, and things change. But will Skrillex winning more Grammys be the final nail in EDM's coffin? Hardly.
EDM is a New Thing
The term "electronic dance music" was first coined in the mid-1980s. The last EDM phase was during the mid-1990s. This might be the first time dance music is being taken seriously as a viable part of the mainstream American music scene, the genres that make up "EDM" aren't new at all, especially when you know that styles like house and techno were born in America decades ago.
