The Aesthetics of Electronic Dance Music, Part I: History, Genre, Scenes, Identity, Blackness

Abstract

Electronic dance music has much about it to interest philosophers. In this article, I explore facets of dance music cultures, using the issue of authenticity as a framing question. The problem of sorting real or authentic dance music from mainstream or commercial clubbing can be treated as a matter of history and genre-definition; as a matter of defining scenes or subcultures; and as a matter of blackness. In each case, electronic dance music, and critical discourse surrounding it, offers fresh illumination of aesthetic questions. I brief ly characterise the main genres of dance music, match conversations about the hardcore continuum with philosophers' accounts of genre, survey sociologists' ways of thinking about cultures and their connections to taste and personal identity, and link criticisms that dance music now lacks blackness to conceptions of black aesthetics. This article is Part I of two; Part II focusses on dancers, DJs, and the aesthetics and ontology of dance music itself.

The aesthetics of country music

“…Philosophers have not had much to say about country music, since their focus has traditionally been on fine art. More and more, however, philosophers have started to pay attention to common artforms like punk, dance music, heavy metal, and street art (Gracyk, 2016, Prinz, 2014, Riggle, 2010, Wiltsher, 2016a, 2016b). It is a good time to think about country music.…”

Proses Komunikasi Kreatif Produser Electronic Dance Music dalam Produksi Lagu (Studi Pada Komunitas Produser EDM Lingkup Pengguna Fruity Loops Studio)

“…Dalam setiap tahapan proses produksi musik diatas, seorang produser EDM dapat dipastikan melakukan komunikasi dengan dirinya sendiri, dan mencari kembali dalam memorinya tentang langkah-langkah yang dapat digunakan. Proses tersebut bertujuan untuk memudahkan produser musik dalam mencapai tujuan yaitu mengemas isi pesan dalam proses produksi lagu agar dapat diterima dengan baik oleh pendengar (Wiltsher, 2016). Komunikasi yang dijabarkan diatas adalah Komunikasi kreatif pada seorang produser EDM.…”