Hey, music lovers: If you’re all over the sound of drum machines, synthesizers and crazy samples reassembled on a computer, then maybe electronic music is for you. It’s also known as “electronica,” a mostly instrumental music played in dance clubs across Europe, where it got its start. Some people think it could be a big trend in America this year.
If you’re curious what electronica sounds like, you can stay up ultra-late and tune into Q101 Sundays at 2 a.m., when club deejay Tom Pazen spins three hours of the new sound. You might know what it sounds like already: Depeche Mode (right) and Brian Eno, who produced U2, are pioneers of electronic music.
New acts in electronica include the British techno band Prodigy, known for the current single “Firestarter.” Some people think Prodigy is gimmicky, but there are plenty of other electronic artists out there, including DJ Shadow, a 25-year-old whose real name is Josh Davis. His album “Endtroducing” on Mo Wax/London Records is all instrumental and uses samples from old ’70s saxophone records. (It also has cool song titles like “What Does Your Soul Look Like”)
Will electronica catch on? Listeners will be the judge, but instrumental music usually has a tough time climbing the charts. At least one electronic artist, Moby, has gone in the opposite direction. He released a new album last month with guitars and vocals because he thought electronic music was getting “dull.”