The Origins of Electronic Music

Electronic music has been around for almost as long as there have been electronic instruments. In this blog post, we explore the origins of electronic music and how it has evolved over the years.

The first electronic instruments

The Theremin

The first electronic instruments were developed in the early 1900s. The Theremin, one of the earliest and most well-known electronic instruments, was invented in 1920 by Russian scientist Leon Theremin. The Theremin is played without being touched; instead, the player moves their hands near two antennas to control the pitch and volume of the sound. The unique, otherworldly sound of the Theremin has been used in many songs and film scores over the years.

The Ondes Martenot

The Ondes Martenot is one of the first electronic musical instruments, invented in the 1920s. It consists of a keyboard and a ring-shaped control called the tiroir, which is used to modify the sound. The user can produce a wide range of sounds, from simple tones to complex noise textures. The Ondes Martenot was used by a number of famous composers, including Olivier Messiaen and Edgard Varèse.

The first electronic music

The first electronic music was composed in the early 1900s. Inventors such as Thaddeus Cahill and Leon Theremin created early electronic instruments, which paved the way for the development of electronic music. The first electronic music was created for the stage and was met with great success.

The first electronic music recordings

The first electronic music recordings were made in the late 19th century, shortly after the invention of the phonograph. Thomas Edison’s 1877 tinfoil phonograph was the first device to record and playback sound, but it wasn’t until 1887 that German-American inventor Emile Berliner invented the disc gramophone, which made recorded music more affordable and practical.

The earliest known recordings of electronically produced music were made in 1891 by French composer Charles Cros and British scientist Edward Grey. Cros’s “Phonautogram” used a photophone to record sound waves on a photographic strip, while Grey’s “Electromusic” employed electrical signals to produce tones on aclockwork gramophone. These early recordings are considered historical artifacts rather than actual music, as they were not meant to be heard by human ears.

It wasn’t until 1924 that electronic music began to be taken seriously as an art form. That year, Russian composer and futurist Mikhail Matyushin released his “Naivism” composition, which was created using matrices of prepared sounds on punch cards. This was followed by Italian Futurist Luigi Russolo’s “The Art of Noises” in 1913, which advocated for the use of technology to create new and unique sonic experiences.

These early works laid the foundation for later electronic composers like Pierre Schaeffer, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Steve Reich.

The first electronic music composers

The first electronic music composers were working in the early 20th century, using a variety of electrical and mechanical instruments to create new sounds. One of the earliest was French composer Georges Antheil, who used player pianos and rhythm machines in his pieces. Other early composers include Russian engineer Leon Theremin, who invented an electronic instrument called the theremin, and Italian composer Luigi Russolo, who built a machine called the intonarumori that could create a range of noises.

In the 1940s, American engineer Harry Olson and Canadian researcher Hugh Le Caine developed sophisticated electronic instruments that allowed composers to create more complex music. In the 1950s, composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez began to experiment with methods of composing with electronics, while groups like the Radiophonic Workshop in Britain used electronic sounds in radio and television productions.

In the 1960s, electronic music became more popular with audiences, thanks to composers like Jean Michel Jarre and Wendy Carlos, who produced landmark albums like Switched-On Bach (1968) and A Clockwork Orange (1971). In the 1970s and 1980s, electronic music was increasingly used in mainstream pop and rock music, thanks to artists like Kraftwerk, David Bowie, and Depeche Mode. Today, electronic music is made using a wide range of technologies, from computers to synthesizers to samplers.

The first electronic music studios

The first electronic music festivals

The first electronic music festivals were a direct result of the first electronic music studios. These festivals were held in an attempt to allow the public to experience this new form of music. The first electronic music festival was held in 1952, and featured music from the likes of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Schaeffer. This festival was a massive success, and led to the creation of many more such festivals around the world.

The first electronic music genres

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general, a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means, and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound producing devices include the telharmonium, Hammond organ, and the electric guitar.

Electronic dance music

Electronic dance music (EDM), also known as dance music, club music, or simply dance, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres made largely for nightclubs, raves and concerts. EDM is generally produced for playback by DJs who create seamless selections of tracks, called a mix by segueing from one recording to another. EDM producers also perform their music live in a concert or festival setting in what is sometimes called a live PA. In Europe, EDM is more commonly called ‘dance music’, or simply ‘dance’.

The term “electronic dance music” and the initialism “EDM” were both coined in the 1980s. In the United States, EDM was further popularized by the rise of electronic dance culture (also known as the rave culture) in general, and specifically by the electronic music club scene and hip hop/r&b DJs who began playing it in the early 1990s. Amid the popularity of EDM festivals such as Tomorrowland and Ultra Music Festival, demand for new DJs and producers has seen a significant increase in recent years.

Ambient music

Ambient music is a genre of electronic music that is focused on creating a relaxing, flowing atmosphere. It often uses slowly evolving, dreamlike melodies and soundscapes to create a sense of calm and space. Ambient music can be used for background listening or as a form of active listening, where the listener pays close attention to the various sounds and textures in the music.

The genre began in the 1970s with artists like Brian Eno and Klaus Schulze creating long-form, tape-based pieces that gradually built up layers of sound. In the 1980s and 1990s, ambient music evolved into a more digital form, with artists like Aphex Twin and The Orb creating loop-based tracks that were sometimes mixable with other genres like techno and house. Today, ambient music has taken on many different forms, with artists drawing from a wide range of influences to create their own unique soundscapes.

Noise music

Noise music is a category of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the traditional role of music as communication, often opting instead for a more non-verbal, non-musical approach.

Noise music can trace its origins back to the early twentieth century and the work of Futurist and Dadaist artists such as Luigi Russolo, who wrote The Art of Noises, a manifesto advocating the use of noise as a musical resource. In the 1950s and 1960s, composers such as John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen explored the potential of using noise-based materials in electronic compositions. This led to the development of musique concrète and other experimental forms of electronic music.

The term ‘noise music’ is thought to have been first coined in Japan in the 1980s byMasami Akita, also known as Merzbow. Akita’s work was inspired by the Noise (迫真音) movement in Western avant-garde music, and he quickly established himself as one of the leading figures in the Japanese noise scene. Today, noise music is practised all over the world, with key scenes in Japan, Europe and North America.