Electronic rock

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Electronic rock
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsLate 1960s
Typical instruments
Subgenres
Other topics

Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrumentation into their music. Electronic rock acts usually fuse elements from other music styles, including punk rock, industrial rock, hip hop, techno, and synth-pop, which has helped spur subgenres such as indietronica, dance-punk, and electroclash.

Overview[edit]

Being a fusion of rock and electronic, electronic rock features instruments found in both genres, such as synthesizers, mellotrons, tape music techniques, electric guitars, and drums. Some electronic rock artists, however, often eschew guitar[2] in favor of using technology to emulate a rock sound. Vocals are typically mellow or upbeat,[3] but instrumentals are also common in the genre.[4]

History[edit]

1960s[edit]

See also: Progressive rock, art rock, krautrock, and electronics in rock music

Electronic rock's roots can be traced to the 1960s with the coining of the progressive rock genre, coined to describe bands that would otherwise be described as "electronic rock".[5] The definition of progressive rock then later narrowed into a specific set of musical conventions – as opposed to a sensibility involving forward-thinking or experimental approaches.[6]

In the late-1960s, a wave of rock bands began incorporating electronic sounds into their rock sound. These included: The United States of America, White Noise, and Gong.[7]

Other early acts to blend synthesizers and musique concrète's tape music techniques with rock instrumentation included Silver Apples, Fifty Foot Hose, Syrinx, Lothar and the Hand People, Beaver & Krause and Tonto's Expanding Head Band.[8] Many such 1960s acts blended psychedelic rock with avant-garde academic or underground influences.[8]

Perhaps the earliest song to be composed entirely with the synthesizer is the instrumental Popcorn by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 and later covered by Hot Butter in 1972. The instrumental is widely considered to be early synth-pop.[9][10] as well as a forerunner to it and disco.[11] In addition, several artists from varying music backgrounds such as Crazy Frog and Muse have covered the instrumental.

Another influential piece of electronic music was the A Clockwork Orange soundtrack, scored by Wendy Carlos in 1971 and released in 1972. It was the first time many in the United Kingdom had heard electronic music,[12] and was additionally cited as an influence by Phillip Oakey of The Human League, Richard H. Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire, and music journalist Simon Reynolds.[12]

1970s[edit]

See also: New wave music

In the 1970s, krautrock broke through in Germany and several bands including Neu!, Kraftwerk, Can, and Amon Düül challenged rock boundaries by incorporating electronic instrumentation into krautrock.[13]

Art rock, which emerged as a "sister" genre to progressive rock in the late-1960s, would also influence electronic rock as well.[14]

In 1975, Gary Wright, formerly of Spooky Tooth, would release his most successful album The Dream Weaver. This spun off the hits Dream Weaver, which apart from Jim Keltner's percussion was conceived entirely on the synthesizer, and Love Is Alive, which follows in a similar vein. The Dream Weaver would be Wright's only success as subsequent albums during the decade were less successful with his work from the 1980s onward embracing world music and the new-age genres.

Starting in the late-1970s, a group of punk musicians would swap out their guitars for synthesizers. This was known as synth-punk (also known as electropunk) and was retroactively coined in 1999 by Damien Ramsey.[15] Notable synth-punk acts include Suicide[16] and Devo.

Also starting in the late-1970s was the new wave music movement. It first gained traction in the United Kingdom as a lose synonym of punk rock,[17][18] but after, artists began to distance the genre from punk rock where it then adopted humorous or quirky pop approach, the use of electronic sounds, and a distinctive visual style in music videos and fashion.[19] Early acts from the UK described as new wave include XTC[20][21] and The Police.[22]

New wave then started to pick up steam in the United States as well. Early US acts described as new wave included The Cars[23] and Devo.[24][25][26] The Cars hit big right out of the gate with their 1978 debut album The Cars. The album features the hit single Just What I Needed, which was already a success prior to its inclusion on the album due its inclusion on a demo tape that was given to WBCN and WCOZ radio stations.[27] Besides Just What I Needed, several other songs from the album such as My Best Friend's Girl and Good Times Roll were released as singles and became hits as well.

Emerging around the same time as new wave, a form of basic electronic rock emerged. In 1977, Cat Stevens released the album Izitso, his last album before his conversion to Islam, which saw him updating his folk rock and pop rock sound with elements of synth-pop and electronic rock.[28] In 1978, the fifth and final studio album by BeBop Deluxe, Drastic Plastic saw them augmenting their prog/glam rock sound with new wave and electronic rock textures.

1980s[edit]

See also: Synth-pop, industrial music, and industrial rock

In 1980, Devo finally hit big with the hit song Whip It. The record label thought the song wasn't going to be a hit due to its lyrical content, but was proven otherwise. Also in 1980, progressive folk rock band Jethro Tull released the album A (originally an Ian Anderson solo project). This album saw the band augmenting their usual folk/flute sound with an electronic rock sound. This sound continued until Under Wraps after which they reverted mostly to their classic sound.

In 1984, heavy metal band Van Halen put out the album 1984. While it still featured their classic hard rock/metal sound, it also featured the introduction of the synthesizer by Eddie Van Halen on two tracks; Jump and I'll Wait. Disagreements over this new sound was what led David Lee Roth to leave and Sammy Hagar to join.[29]

Van Halen would expand their electronic rock sound on the subsequent (and first to feature Sammy Hagar) album 5150.[30] The album continued Van Halen's chart success and spun off the singles Why Can't This Be Love, Dreams, and Love Walks In. The success of these singles allowed the album to hit the top of the Billboard 200, their first album to do so.[31]

In 1982, English band Duran Duran broke through with the album Rio. While they are primarily known as a synth-pop band,[32][33] their music has also incorporated electric guitars at times, giving certain songs such as Hungry Like the Wolf a distinct electronic rock sound.[34] Other acts that produced a similar strain included Icehouse,[35] Frankie Goes to Hollywood,[36] and A Flock of Seagulls.[37]

Also in 1982, Neil Young would dump longtime backing band Crazy Horse in favor of a vocoder synthesizer he had just acquired. The dumping of Crazy Horse in favor of the aforementioned synthesizer resulted in Trans,[38] one of five albums recorded during his rocky tenure with Geffen Records. The album was unsuccessful and would later result in David Geffen suing Young,[39] who would then counter-sue before the suites were dropped and Geffen apologized personally to Young.

In the mid-to-late-1980s, a prominent electronic genre known as industrial would emerge. Early bands such as Depeche Mode were initially classed as electronic rock[1][40][41] or synth-pop, but later separated industrial into its own musical style. Industrial would later adopt rock stylings with this fusion being termed industrial rock. Gary Numan, who had hit big with the synth-pop song Cars in 1979, would later swap that sound for this genre[42] and electronic rock,[43] something that can be seen as something of a foreshadow of sorts of Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails project, debuted in 1988.

Debuted in 1988, Nine Inch Nails melded industrial rock with electronic rock,[44][45][46][47][48][49][50] much like Gary Numan before them. In fact, Trent Reznor has cited Gary Numan as a huge influence on himself and has stated that his hit song Cars made him want to make music with synthesizers.[51] Their debut album Pretty Hate Machine was released in 1989 and featured an electronic rock sound mixed with industrial, dance, and synth-pop.

1990s[edit]

See also: Alternative dance and big beat

In 1991, Irish rock band U2 would swap their classic sound for one influenced by electronic music, most notably electronic dance music, mixed with alternative rock. This new sound was successful and could be heard on the albums Achtung Baby from that same year,[52] Zooropa (1993), and Pop (1997)[53]

Electronic rock would also fuse itself with big beat, a house influenced genre. Artists like The Prodigy (who added an electropunk flair to their music), Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers would produce electronic rock influenced big beat. In addition, dance music elements were adopted into electronic rock through alternative dance, which mixed the genre with alternative rock[54] and post-disco.[54]

Garbage, best known for 1996s Stupid Girl, embraced electronic rock[55] mixed with dance music elements.

2000s[edit]

See also: Electroclash, post-punk revival, new rave, dance punk, neon pop, post rock, and indietronica

In the 2000s, electronic rock grew many subgenres. These included: Electroclash, post-punk revival, new rave, dance punk, and post rock.[2] In addition, new electronic rock bands began to crop up as well. These included: Linkin Park,[56] Dead by Sunrise,[57] and The Killers[58] among other acts.

Electronic rock has become increasingly popular since the late-2000s[2] with bands such as Empire of the Sun,[59] LCD Soundsystem,[60] Muse,[61] and MGMT[62] among others embracing it.

Electronic rock has also fused itself with indie rock to create indietronica, which covers rock based artists who share an affinity for electronic music, creating it using samplers, synthesizers, drum machines, and computer programs.[63] Bands such as Postal Service pioneered this style of music.

Electronic rock has also fused itself with pop punk to create neon pop. Forever the Sickest Kids 2009 album, Underdog Alma Mater, has been cited as a big moment for this genre.[64]

2010s[edit]

A new wave of electronic rock acts emerged in the 2010s. These included: Awolnation,[65][66][67] Imagine Dragons,[68] and Twenty One Pilots.[69] All of them hit big with various songs such as Sail, Demons, and Stressed Out among many other hits.

Subgenres and other terms[edit]

Electronic rock is also associated with industrial rock, synth-pop, dance-punk, indietronica, and new wave,[4] with electroclash, new rave, post-punk revival, post-rock, considered as subgenres.[2] Sometimes, certain other electronic subgenres are fused with rock, like trance and techno, leading to the use of the terms trance rock and techno rock, respectively.[70][71]

Punk rock has been mixed with electronic music as well, creating subgenres like synthpunk (also known as electropunk) and dance-punk.[15][72] In addition, pop punk fused itself with electronic rock to create neon pop. Forever the Sickest Kids 2009 album, Underdog Alma Mater, has been cited as a big moment for this genre.[64]

Heavy metal, a major subgenre of rock, is sometimes mixed with electronic and its subgenres, inspiring terms such as electronic metal, synth-metal,[73][74] electronic dance metal, trance metal, and techno metal.[75][76][77][78][text–source integrity?]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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