By Mike Cohen Sultan

First of all, since we are getting all creamed up in here, Im going to make some comparisons that i think could maybe help those in the thresh hold between what “EDM” is and what “EM” (Electronic  Music) should be. 

To get you started, we have cream. Cream comes in many forms. You can have half and half cream, light cream, whipping cream, heavy cream, double cream, clotted cream and creme fraiche… there might be more, but for the sake of not making this to creamy i’ll stop right there. And I’m no cream expert, but you get the idea.

Since we now know all these different types of cream, the next time you ask someone to get you cream, you will be specific. You will let that person know exactly what type of cream it is that you need, because without that specific cream, well, your concoction or whatever it is you are deciding to do with it will just not work. So, bear in mind that whipped cream goes great on naked bodies, but half and half is just gonna get you wet and sticky, which is not entirely a bad thing.

 

So, there is a specific type of cream for every occasion, just like with music. Most of the people out there still don’t understand that we cannot fit Electronic Music into one single term (EDM) just for the sake of selling a package.

This type of music that is enjoying a surge in the US at the moment and some people are calling it a bubble, some people are saying it’s a phase, some people just know Skrillex has half a shaved head and some people have no idea who Richie Hawtin is.

As we mention these two giants, one in his 20’s the other in his 40’s. One has been playing for the greater part of three decades, the other might be close to a decades worth of performances. Then, you ask yourself, who is the one making the most noise? They both are. It just took significantly less time for one to win a Grammy.

And how is this possible? Well, there are many factors involved into what a younger musician can offer huge crowds of teenagers vs what the other already offered and paved the way with. One has been a marketing machine, combined with a trend and great music. The other has sticked to his sound, and has pushed forward technological innovations that have permitted EM to thrive, while piecing it together with other great marketing schemes.

One plays techno, the other plays dubstep. Some think dubstep is a kind of death threat sent by aliens to annihilate human existence and us brilliant humans started dancing to it. Some think techno is just dull, loud and repetitive. But, regardless of these views, you will have a kid somewhere saying dubstep is his life, while the other says techno is what keeps people sane. 

Considering these two worlds apart, where one fills arenas and the other fills night clubs or both. You get a clear picture of the full spectrum of what electronic music can be, which is just amazingly great music in many shapes and forms.

Even within electronic music there are many genres that are completely different from their rhythm, to their bass lines and their bpms. One for every type of moment and one for every type of party.

The electronic music industry has never thrived on selling it’s music. It has thrived on gathering people together to have a good time. It thrived by being able to play a club and then go to a smaller venue or house and play another 3 hour set from the kitchen countertop.

So, once understood that Electronic Music was built upon as a “connection technology” for the fans and not by selling records. We realize it will keep on growing and the more the tentacles spread, the more generations that start listening will have a clearer picture of this industry, it’s intricacies along with it’s true nature and it’s many forms that comprise what electronic music really is, which is not simply put in a term called “EDM”.

Mike Cohen Sultan – Markit:Music