Reaching back to grab the grooves of '70s disco/funk and the gadgets of electronic composition, Electronica soon became a whole new entity in and of itself, spinning off new sounds and subgenres with no end in sight two decades down the pike. Its beginnings came in the post-disco environment of Chicago/New York and Detroit, the cities who spawned house and techno (respectively) during the 1980s. Later that decade, club-goers in Britain latched onto the fusion of mechanical and sensual, and returned the favor to hungry Americans with new styles like jungle/drum'n'bass and trip-hop. Though most all early electronica was danceable, by the beginning of the '90s, producers were also making music for the headphones and chill-out areas as well, resulting in dozens of stylistic fusions like ambient-house, experimental techno, tech-house, electro-techno, etc. Typical for the many styles gathered under the umbrella was a focus on danceable grooves, very loose song structure (if any), and, in many producers, a relentless desire to find a new sound no matter how tepid the results, which is such a shame as there are a number of really fine acts.
Richard D James aka Aphex Twin work stands outside any genre cages and continues to satisfy dedicated listeners. I am most certainly one of his fans.
Acts like 'Aphex Twin' (Richard D James)whose albums 'Selected Works 85-92' and 'I Care Because You Do' extol the virtues of good Electronica and the 'Boards of Canada' with their mysterious 'Music Has the Right to Children' is a classic of its genre.
Definitely one of the more exciting ambient/electro albums I have in my possession. The tracks are well produced and at times very creative and even catchy. Although the album is very beat-heavy, the best listening experience comes - as with other ambient CDs - when involved with something else e.g. reading, drinking tea, lazying in the sun. I think, the use of industrial sounds is substituted by a lot of vocal adlibs (mostly female or child voices), thus alleviating the harsher synth sounds at times. A good album to listen to on a lazy sunday. afternoon.
Other Acts that I like are 'Massive Attack whose "Blue Lines" ia a classic, Orb, Orbital and Underworld are also notable inclusions in my list. But I think that the one of the earliest acts were "Incognito", whose "Jazz Funk" started it all.
Back to the 90's
