{{genrebox|name=Electronica
|color=silver
|bgcolor=black
|stylistic_origins=Electronic dance music, Musique concrete, Experimental music (Kraftwerk), Rock music, Disco
|cultural_origins=1979, German-speaking Europe, France, Italy, United Kingdom, United States
|instruments=Synthesizer - Drum machine - Sequencer - Keyboard - Sampler (traditional instrumentation such as guitar, bass, drums often featured more regularly than other electronic genres)
|popularity=Large, especially from 1996 onwards
|derivatives=
|subgenrelist=List of electronic music genres
|subgenres=Big beat - Bitpop - Chip - Downtempo - Glitch - IDM - Nu jazz - Trip hop
|fusiongenres=Indietronica - Post-rock
|regional_scenes=
|other_topics=Electronic musical instrument - Computer music - Record labels
}}

Electronica refers to a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; but unlike electronic dance music, is not specifically focused on the dance floor."Electronica is a broad term used to describe the emergence of electronic dance music that is geared for listening instead of strictly for dancing." ''The Techno Primer: The Essential Reference for Loop-Based Music Styles'', By Tony Verderosa, page 28, Hal Leonard Music/Songbooks ,2002, ISBN 0634017888"Electronically produced music is part of the mainstream of popular culture. Musical concepts that were once considered radical - the use of environmental sounds, ambient music, turntable music, digital sampling, computer music, the electronic modification of acoustic sounds, and music made from fragments of speech-have now been subsumed by many kinds of popular music. Record store genres including new age, rap, hip-hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and popular song all rely heavily on production values and techniques that originated with classic electronic music." Page 1, ''Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition'', Thomas B. Holmes, Routledge Music/Songbooks, 2002, ISBN 0415936438 The term was first used in the early 1990s United States with regards to post-rave global-influenced electronic dance music. Genres such as techno, drum and bass, downtempo, and ambient are among those encompassed by the umbrella term, entering the American mainstream from "alternative" or "underground" venues during the late 1990s."The glitch genre arrived on the back of the electronica movement, an umbrella term for alternative, largely dance-based electronic music (including house, techno, electro, drum'n'bass, ambient) that has come into vogue in the past five years. Most of the work in this area is released on labels peripherally associated with the dance music market, and is therefore removed from the contexts of academic consideration and acceptability that it might otherwise earn. Still, in spite of this odd pairing of fashion and art music, the composers of glitch often draw their inspiration from the masters of 20th century music who they feel best describe its lineage." ''THE AESTHETICS OF FAILURE: 'Post-Digital' Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Music,'' Kim Cascone, Computer Music Journal 24:4 Winter 2002 (MIT Press) Prior to the adoption of ''electronica'' for this purpose, terms such as ''electronic listening music'', ''trance'' and ''intelligent dance music (IDM)'' were used."Trance is commonly described as a global music, even a global movement, unifying many of electronica's subgenres" Page 381, ''Music and Technoculture'', Rene T. A. Lysloff, Tandem Library Books, 2003, ISBN 0613912500"Electronica, microsound, lowercasesound, electroacoustic music, computer music, IDM, analogue music, post-digital music, glitch, acousmatic, noise, sonic art ... The approaches to making questing music with the assistance of technology are now a multifarious explosion of different kinds of listening. The use of technology itself can no longer define a genre." Page xi, ''Sounding Art: eight literary excursions through electronic music'', Katharine Norman, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004, ISBN 0754604268" When people speak about a certain thing, it will sometimes attract a particular class of words. Classical music, for instance, is often described in terms of the geographical location from which the music originates as well as musicological terms that categorize the piece. Electronica (electronic pop music usually created with a computerized sequencer), on the other hand, tends to attract terms that specify the musical style, genre, and the industry." page 49, ''SERVING KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES WITH ONTOLOGIES'', Tokuda, T., Tokunaga, T., Tokosumi, A., Proceedings of Symposium on Large-Scale Knowledge Resources (LKR2005) , March, 2005, Department of Computer Science, Department of Value and Decision Science
Tokyo Institute of Technology

The ''All Music Guide'' categorizes electronica as a top-level genre on their main page, where they state that electronica includes "dozens of stylistic fusions" ranging from danceable grooves to music for headphones and chillout areas."'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."

After beginning as an underground genre in the early 1990s, electronica has grown to influence even mainstream crossover recordings, with one prominent example being Madonna's 2005 ''Confessions on a Dancefloor'', that sold more than 8 million copies worldwide,Billboard: Madonna Hung Out on the Radio - July 2006 and debuted at number one in 29 different countries, a world record for a solo artist.Guinness Book of Records 2007 Elements of electronica are used today by many popular artists in mainstream music.

Background

Electronica was made possible by advancements in music technology, especially electronic musical instruments, synthesizers, music sequencers, drum machines and digital audio workstations. Early forms of electronic music required large amounts of complex equipment and multiple operators for live performances, and multiple engineers to record the music at high quality. As the technology developed, it became possible for individuals or smaller groups to produce electronic songs and recordings in smaller studios, even in project studios. At the same time, computers facilitated the use of music samples and loops as construction kits for sonic compositions.
"This loop slicing technique is common to the electronica genre and allows a live drum feel with added flexibility and variation." Page 380, ''DirectX Audio Exposed: Interactive Audio Development'', Todd Fay, Wordware Publishing, 2003, ISBN 1556222882 This led to a period of creative experimentation and the development of new forms, some of which became known as ''electronica''.
"Electronica and punk have a definite similarity: They both totally prescribe to a DIY aesthetic. We both tried to work within the constructs of the traditional music business, but the system didn't get us - so we found a way to do it for ourselves, before it became affordable.", quote from artist BT, page 45, ''Wired: Musicians' Home Studios : Tools & Techniques of the Musical Mavericks'', Megan Perry, Backbeat Books Music/Songbooks 2004, ISBN 0879307943

In the mid-1990s, ''electronica'' began to be used by MTV and major record labels to describe mainstream electronic dance music made by such artists as Orbital (who had previously been described as ''ambient'') and The Prodigy.It is currently used to describe a wide variety of musical acts and styles, linked by a penchant for overtly electronic production;
"Electronica lives and dies by its grooves, fat synthesizer patches, and fliter sweeps.". Page 376, ''DirectX Audio Exposed: Interactive Audio Development'', Todd Fay, Wordware Publishing, 2003, ISBN 1556222882 a range which includes more popular acts such as Björk, Goldfrapp and glitchy experimental artists such as Autechre, Aphex Twin, and Boards of Canada to dub-oriented downtempo, downbeat, and trip-hop. Madonna and Björk are said to be responsible for electronica's thrust into mainstream culture, with their albums ''Ray of Light'' (Madonna), ''Post'' and ''Homogenic'' (Björk). Electronica artists that would later become commercially successful began to record in this early 1990s period, before the term had come into common usage, including for example Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, Moby, and Underworld.
"Crystal Method...grew from an obscure club-culture duo to one of the most recognizable acts in electronica, ...", page 90, ''Wired: Musicians' Home Studios : Tools & Techniques of the Musical Mavericks'', Megan Perry, Backbeat Books Music/Songbooks 2004, ISBN 0879307943 Underworld, with its 1994 album ''dubnobasswithmyheadman'', released arguably one of the defining records of the early electronica period with a blend of club beats, wedded to song writing and subtle vocals and guitar work. A focus on "songs", a fusion of styles and a combination of traditional and electronic instruments often sets apart musicians working in electronic-styles over more straight-ahead styles of house, techno and trance. This genre is also noted for far higher production values than others, featuring more layers, more original samples and fewer "presets", more complex rhythm programming, and influences of world cultural sound samples, as well as multiple remixes by the original artist and other producers also known as "remixers"."For example, composers often render more than one version of their own compositions. This practice is not unique to the mod scene, of course, and occurs commonly in dance club music and related forms (such as ambient, jungle, etc.—all broadly designated 'electronica')." Page 48, ''Music and Technoculture'', Rene T. A. Lysloff, Tandem Library Books, 2003, ISBN 0613912500"The tendency to aggregate and set up networks of influences and loyalties is not specific to electronica.
." Page 233, ''Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity and Society '', By Steve Cannon, Hugh Dauncey, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2003, ISBN 0754608492"British journalists have frequently suggested that the attraction exercised by French electronica is partly due to its eclecticism, its ability to combine heterogeneous references" Page 242, ''Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity and Society '', By Steve Cannon, Hugh Dauncey, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2003, ISBN 0754608492

The more abstract Autechre and Aphex Twin around this time were releasing early records in the "intelligent techno" or so-called intelligent dance music (IDM) style, while other Bristol-based musicians such as Tricky, Leftfield, Massive Attack and Portishead were experimenting with the fusion of electronic textures with hip-hop, R&B rhythms to form what became known as trip-hop. Later extensions to the trip hop aesthetic around 1997 came from the highly influential Vienna-based duo of Kruder & Dorfmeister, whose blunted, dubbed-out, slowed beats became the blueprint for the new style of downtempo. Roni Size, Goldie and Omni Trio commanded attention in the UK as exemplars of the drum and bass genre.

Global influences

By the late 1990s, artists like Moby had become internationally famous, releasing albums and performing regularly in major venues. In the United States and other countries like Australia, electronica (and the other attendant dance music genres) remained popular, although largely underground, while in Europe it had become one of the most dominant forms of popular music. Some sources place the initial origin of electronica in the underground nightclub scene of 1990s France, from where it expanded to global awareness."What really set French electronica apart in the history of the country's musical traditions was its being recognized worldwide as a "school" or "movement"... The period of gradual international expansion for French electronica began in 1995. By 1997, it had reached considerable proportions." Page 230, ''Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity and Society '', By Steve Cannon, Hugh Dauncey, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2003, ISBN 0754608492

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Electronica's maturing sound embraced multi-cultural influences both through the increasing commercial availability of audio sample libraries of musical instruments from around the globe, as well as cross-pollination with DJs, performers and recording artists from many nations. New York City became one center of experimentation and growth for the electronica sound, with DJs and music producers from areas as diverse as Southeast Asia and Brazil brought their creative work to the nightclubs of that city.
"In 2000 vocalist Bebel Gilberto capitalized on New York's growing fixation with cocktail lounge ambient music, an offshoot of the dance club scene that focused on drum and bass remixes with Braziian sources. ...Collaborating with club music maestros like Suba and Thievery Corporation, Gilberto thrust herself into the leading edge of the emerging Brazilian electronica movement. On her immensely popular ''Tanto Tempo'' (2000)..." Page 234, ''The Latin Beat: The Rhythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and Beyond'', Ed Morales, Da Capo Press, 2003, ISBN 0306810182
"founded in 1997,...under the slogan 'Musical Insurgency Across All Borders', for six years nightclub Mutiny was an international hub of the south Asian electronica music scene. Bringing together artists from different parts of the south Asia diaspora, the club was host to a roster of British Asian musicians and DJs..." Page 165, ''Youth Media '', Bill Osgerby, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0415238072
The Norwegian dance duo Röyksopp reached unexpected stardom in 2001 when its debut album Melody AM became an international bestseller.
By 2002 the style had a harder edge and in the UK tracks like “Loneliness” by Tomcraft hit number One and the following year an electro dance scene emerged in the UK. The release of albums like “New Wave Electro” on Orange Sync Records and “Electrotech” Ministry of Sound introduced this style to the clubs with post punk beats, mono Synth breaks which became the formula for the current electro dance scene in the UK.

Effect on mainstream popular music

Around the mid-1990s, with the success of the big beat-sound exemplified by The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy in the UK (due in part to the attention from mainstream artists like Madonna), music of this period began to be produced with a much higher budget, production values, and with more layers than most other forms of dance music before or after, since it was backed by major record labels and MTV as the "next big thing"."Electronica reached new heights within the culture of rave and techno music in the 1990s." Page 185, ''Music and Technoculture'', Rene T. A. Lysloff, Tandem Library Books, 2003, ISBN 0613912500

According to a 1997 ''Billboard'' article, "the union of the club community and independent labels" provided the experimental and trend-setting environment in which electronica acts developed and eventually reached the mainstream. It cites American labels such as Astralwerks (The Future Sound of London, Fluke), Moonshine (DJ Keoki), and City of Angels (The Crystal Method) for playing a significant role in discovering and marketing artists who became popularized in the electronica scene.

Hip-hop music had been influenced by electronic music from the beginning, inspiring the genre of electro and such artists as Afrika Bambataa and Public Enemy. Rock, synthpop, New Wave and goth music of the 1980s was often heavily electronic in production or form, particularly Madchester bands in the United Kingdom, which had a close connection to the rave scene. New Order, a rock band which had a series of "electronica" hits before the term was coined, exemplified the techno inspiration increasingly common during the '80s era.The adoption of elements of electronica by several of the world's most popular rock bands was also seen beginning in the mid 1990s, for example U2's ''Zooropa'' (1993) and ''Pop'' (1997) albums, Radiohead's ''OK Computer'' (1997), R.E.M.'s ''Up'' (1998), The Smashing Pumpkins' ''Adore'' (1998), Blur's ''13'' (1999) and Oasis's ''Standing on the Shoulder of Giants'' (2000) albums . Several of these albums were produced with electronic dance producers, such as William Orbit who produced Madonna's ''Ray of Light.'' Radiohead's 2000 album ''Kid A'' was seen to adopt less commercial styles of electronic music influenced partly by artists such as Autechre and Aphex Twin, and became the rock band's highest charting release worldwide.The word "electronica" was commonly applied to such releases despite large differences in style. Indeed, by the late 1990s, the word was mostly used by rock fans to describe rock and pop artists' adoption of electronic music textures (such as samples, synthesizers and drum machines) with which they were otherwise unfamiliar, as well as to label a few dance-oriented acts that achieved popularity. This was particularly true in the US where the electronic dance subculture was much less prominent.In the early 2000s, electronica-inspired post punk experienced a revival, with rock bands such as Interpol and The Killers specifically drawing on the 1980s sound of New Order and The Cure. Russian duo t.A.T.u. use electronica styles extensively, and fuse it with rock styles to form an edgy electronica style which is used by many pop artists.

With newly prominent pop music styles such as reggaeton, electroclash, and favela funk, electronic music styles in the current decade are seen to permeate nearly all genres of the mainstream and indie landscape such that a distinct "electronica" genre of pop music is rarely noted. However, the word continues to be more common in the U.S. music industry for synthesized, techno-inspired pop music, as specific genres such as drum and bass and IDM never achieved mainstream attention.