Aaron Darling

Davey Mills
English Honors IV
10 September 2016
The Superior Musician

Electronic Dance Music is a raging wrath, with the bass beat exploding like bombs under
a din of other computeristic sounds. This dance sensation was formerly known as an
underground movement but now expanded to become a global power in the music industry. It
creates community and has long term effects for the listeners of Electronic Dance Music, also
known as EDM. There are some that strongly frown upon this style of music, like Dave Grohl,
who said in his grammy speech that the human element of music is what's important and that
being perfect, and playing what's always correct or what is heard from a computer is irrelevant to
how the listener and performer feels. Comparing the live, acoustic music with this universal
style slowly slips away by the great appeal in instant sounds and perfect unhumanized beats
(Brady). On many occasions, police has also quickly figured out the musical refuge that EDM
events known as raves provide. They discovered this refuge by making multiple arrest and by the
types of drugs used in EDM culture. An example of that was the Electric Zoo festival, a festival
that is EDM based where local law enforcement made twenty-one arrest all concerning drug
influences ( Hughes). A much larger negative aspects of all this is that the musician who works
very hard to present himself and his music in a professional and fun way becomes frustrated and
disillusioned, while the electronic musician peacefully tosses input from the computer and allows
the audience to be the output. Most times, however, the audience's participation is fueled by
drugs like Molly, MDMA and Ecstasy, and not just what the performing DJ is dishing out on his
super advance equipment. While the influence of drugs plays a major role in the music's success

the experiences that is the most memorable are the ones that only feed off of the rush and high in
the present moments. This type of music has been known to be very healing by the therapeutic,
electronic sensation that EDM promotes ( Cundy).
EDM was started much earlier on inspired by Robert Moog, the creator of the sensitizer,
and Iannis Xenakis, one of the creators in electronic music during the 20th century. These
visionaries allowed their ideas and discoveries to develop a massive role in todays society by
making their creations to become a completely new style of music. This new addition to the
music industry has spread like a wildfire and is seen everywhere (Li). The now dominated
mainstreams like the radio, and television networks has been flooded by DJs and popular artist
who impacts the new updated music industry. This update has been powered by artist like
Skrillex, and Deadmau5 which has compelled EDMs popularity to rise at unprecedented rates
(Feinstein). The popularity race in EDM has affected all of the listeners and since its such a
large community the songs are written for fan base, it affects not just the EDM society but other
listeners who are intrigued by the sounds being provided (Haines).
While the music industry drops its true identity, from nice acoustic sounds and feel, it is
met by other electronic styles that step up to the plate. This is due to the many styles of early
EDM, like Electronic Pop, Techno, House, and Dubstep. Most listeners desire something
completely new, something that keeps the beat rocking but also generates futuristic sounds. A
recent study states that our taste in music will probably change to meet social and psychological
needs, and that music helps develop our own personalities ( University of Cambridge). The
music lovers and artist in the 1940s and 1950s found this study to be true by seeking for
change in the musical publications. This led to a influx of electronic sounds, for example, one of
the most ranking songs during that time period was a song called Song of the Second Moon by

Kid Baltan & Tom Dissevelt. This song contributed to the electronic movement and began to
introduce the masses of electronic pop (Morpurgo).
This song was a major hit but the aftermath slowly became superior to other styles of
music. Personally, I adore Jazz from those time periods and I love listening to great Bebop
players like Miles Davis and John Coltrane who has been great musical role models even today.
To me, EDM truly derails the true meaning of music by being so heavily artificial. Electronics
are everywhere and everything is controlled by MIDI, which makes it a lot harder for musicians
to get together and be able to socialize, jam, play i ensembles, and create. This is proven by
several charts, created by Glen Mcdonald, which measures how organic music has gotten over
the years, the energy usage, and the use of live instruments. The results that Mcdonald found did
not stun him entirely, he discovered that most songs since the 1950s and until 2010 pointed
toward electronic resources.
The reason why the increase in electronic music is that electronic musicians has plenty
of interesting and genuine sounds at their leisure. For example, certain programs like the
Synthesizer, Digital Audio Workstation, Waveform Audio Files known in the industry as
DAWS,virtual instruments, digital loops helps give the music its edge. This is very different from
music with live instruments, it is much harder to master your craft (Grohl). For many live
musicians the extra support is not there and this conflict is being inflicted world wide. This has
been highly noted by the drummer for the Beatles, Ringo Starr and at one of his solo concerts he
frankly said that all of the venues has disappeared and it is so much easier to become a celebrity
on a TV show as a band for four months than work solidly.
The effect of upbeat tempo, speeding past 150 beats per minute, and the loud constant
rumbling sounds allow the audience hearts to quickly accelerate, making them feel a handful of

emotions: anxiety, happiness, stress, excitement, and overall they quickly become extremely
ecstatic. The effects of this is very emotional and intense, because the sounds that is heard is also
felt (Oertl). The loud overdose of music rattles the audience's ears, and entire body, which
compels the listeners to follow up in one giant rave (Paterson). The electronic performer is never
truly concerned about the profound rave that is occurring, or the emotion that is wished to
portray throughout the song, or how a certain verse will impact the audience the most. Theyre
only concerned about the moment and the way it makes others move. This is very unlike the
skilled musicians because they have to completely concentrate on making sure every note and
rhythm has there place and not randomly selected along the line. If the trained musician would
want to convey a type of emotion like sadness, the key has to be one of the darker keys, and
make sure everything fits with the sad theme that is chosen. The basic computer geek and
musician wannabe can easily peice together a poor imitation of a sad song by firing up his
DAW that was probably pirated, pasting in loops in a minor key, write some cliche lyrics slow
the tempo down, and get someone to sing it to call it music (Brady).
To gain popularity a musician/artist has to be able to succeed two goals and that are: He
or she has to be able to succeed over a fanbase and they must can gain advertisement for their
products. The crown for best overall support of merchandise and social media coverage also goes
to EDM, it took over most of global sells in music. The highest earnings rate for a popular artist
involved in EDM is over twenty million, and the ticket prices can exceed $215 at one festival
alone (Feinstein). While twenty million is quite an impressive number minor artist can easily
receive a small handful of income as well, but it does get a bit tricker to wholly be financially
padded without too much refrain (Haines). This is by the marketable audience that EDM has,
most of the members are between the ages of eighteen and thirtyfive and can be easily

depended on for a very good level of disposable income ( Kiendl). In total the EDM industry
is worth four billion dollars dominating many other musical genres and creating the foundation
for a stronger growth in musical standpoints (Feinstein).
These gross rate numbers for each high ranking EDM star generates anger and frustration
with trained musicians who has never got their talent rewarded by trying to bring their name,
style, and songs up to the surface of popularity. The only way for many of them is to advertise
locally by themselves, trying to sell CDS whose sales has dropped down by a staggering thirtyfive percent (Brady). On average a regular musician gets paid 35,000 a year, which means their
living cost is very low outside of the taxes and extra expenses (Hawking). This number is also
based off of the musician himself. If the musician only sticks to locally performing, and busking
the pay rate is going be much lower than someone who openly tours.
The rise in electronic music also involves the culture that has emerged from it. There are
a multitude of changes in society caused in part by EDM. For example the change in clothes and
the constant partying has been incorporated in society. The biggest changes, however, are the
social views at the music festivals much as something called P.L.U.R., which stands for peace,
love, unity and respect (Mayes). The attendees at the festivals demonstrates this unwritten law
by the people partaking in the raves. There is no certainty that each raver comes from a good
moral background, but they unite together to feel the pulse of the music and enjoy what is
presented in front of them (Mayes).
Typically musicians all know of great and entertaining performers and are impacted by
them in such a powerful way. The great BB King was looked upon many times for the rifts he
would play, Ray Charles was an influence because his musical style and impairment. Women
have a major role to play in music and they add that extra sweetness to the song to grasp the

untapped potential that is present. In EDM the exciting performers are not lionized in the same
way. Women who have dedicated themselves to their music has an absent voice and seems to be
made out of glass. Most times the events the gender is dominated by male DJs and producers
and the rave culture is made up of mainly women (Adamian). In the organic music world women
has already laid down their role and has promoted music to the best of their ability making it
much more equal and universal. For Electronic music womens shining point has gained not
enough of support, besides the few who are able to make it big. The improvement that will
eventually be made by certain devoted artist like Anna Daigneault. She refines and redefines
electronic music not just by putting the audience in a trancelike state, but by her impressing style
that she adds to the entire community (Earle). She plays the piano and also sings along with the
loops and drum tracks that she has created to completely amplify her skill set (Adamian). She
engage her audience by using her unaltered voice to make a connection to the listeners and it
works in such a way that people can have a fun and relaxing time. Her contributions to a growing
musical style often play an interesting and controversial role by dismissing the music from
Gen-X (Adamian). This strong dismal, however, creates a more widespread rebellion against
the modern world.
The large quantity of drugs introduced into EDM is a leading reason why this type of
music has been so successful in their world domination. It appeals to the listeners by making it
nearly unavoidable since drugs and EDM go hand and hand (Diplo). It is common for the
audience to get quickly addicted to the moments and to the uplifting sensations that the
combinations to drugs and music automatically provide (Earle). They desire that affection and
pleasure be completely unified in a cohesive manner (Brady).

On multiple occasions the police have intervened by arresting large numbers of EDM
fans who became a nuisance due to the influence of drugs. Very recently a festival named
Coachella Valley Music & Arts is a prime example of this conflict (Meadows). During the
second weekend of this EDM event local law enforcement made 142 arrests for possession and
intoxication involving drugs and/or alcohol (Meadows). The accessibility of drugs creates a new
level for party goers and ravers (Edgerly). This level connects the sturdy bond between the music
and what the drugs offer the partakers who are involved in the music. Listeners often crave
something more such as the feeling of true love and experience of equality that may be absent
from what they feel normally in their everyday lives.
The electricity in EDM and the way that drugs play such a major role and contribution to
the music style is known to be camouflaged by a slightly tinted transparent blanket that only
covers the aspects of the way that drugs has developed in the music. There are many ways to
have drugs drift into the minds of the audience. For example, some cases, the artist has promoted
drugs by mixing them into their performances and songs (Khalrissian). There are other ways for
this to happen like when the audience members give drugs a shot for the first time or the long
time consumer of a well-known drug dealer. The scenic view of drugs is quite inescapable and is
present at all times (Hughes).
Anyone who attends these festivals will come face to face with drug experiences
such as Shane Morris who has a very sorted experience selling drugs and running into
drug related deaths in his article Finding Molly: Drugs, Dancing and Death. He briefly
describes some of his experiences, like the time he was at the Neon Halloween event and
everything went smoothly until he made a fateful trip to the bathroom. There he
witnessed two men sitting on the wall opposite of him. He thought the two young men

were drunk until one of them started convulsing. Morris, being experienced with
epilepsy realized the young man was having a seizure. He quickly rushed up to them and
found out that they taken a small amount of Molly. (Molly is pure MDMA. MDMA acts
as a stimulant and an illusionate) The young man was transported quickly to the hospital
by Morris and Morriss friend Brandon. When the young man was stable Morris learned
his name and contacted his family. This is only one story about drugs and EDM and these
type of events are multiplying. This subject is not a subject to be giddy about nor will it
easily go away. There and many EDM fans who will fall victim to drug use.
The sad fact is, that drug abuse is everywhere and all styles of music are impacted
by the role of drugs and how drugs presents itself like a piece of seductive candy. EDM
has dominated other styles of music because it engages millions of people and introduces
an uplifting voice that may not be present in other modern day styles of music including
the most popular ones. The EDM culture creates comfort and community while
exploiting the need for human socialization. The religious author, Robin Sylvan, states
that electronic music can easily become a new spiritual movement by the way that it
brings others closer to a equal raving emotion and contains a large group of people
encompassed by positive motives (Earle).
Old technology crumbles leaving behind the ideas for the new technology upon
which to enhance. This is the same way with music. The old ideas has been reformed to a
something that is will be used by the next generations. Each individual associated with
EDM has a certain attraction to the way EDM changes the spare moments into something
novel. It can be by the drug influences or the empowering trance that catches the listener's
undivided attention and turns it into a joyful dance. The saying all good things will end

has been a constant theme for the music industry and that it constantly proves itself by the
access of music's ever-changing soundscape. The music in songs are produced by
becoming more technology based, following the rhythms and musical cliches of EDM. It
is much more acceptable from a recording viewpoint to have that style of music somehow
incorporated into other genres of music, it brings back a sense of awareness and openness
that the listeners are intrigued by. This action being simultaneity taken leaves the more
older, out of date, organic music in the dust.

Aaron Darling
Davey Mills
English Honors IV

10 September 2016
The Superior Musician

Electronic Dance Music is a raging wrath, with the bass beat exploding like bombs under
a din of other computeristic sounds. This dance sensation was formerly known as an
underground movement but now expanded to become a global power in the music industry. It
creates community and has long term effects for the listeners of Electronic Dance Music, also
known as EDM. There are some that strongly frown upon this style of music, like Dave Grohl,
who said in his grammy speech that the human element of music is what's important and that
being perfect, and playing what's always correct or what is heard from a computer is irrelevant to
how the listener and performer feels. Comparing the live, acoustic music with this universal
style slowly slips away by the great appeal in instant sounds and perfect unhumanized beats
(Brady). On many occasions, police has also quickly figured out the musical refuge that EDM
events known as raves provide. They discovered this refuge by making multiple arrest and by the
types of drugs used in EDM culture. An example of that was the Electric Zoo festival, a festival
that is EDM based where local law enforcement made twenty-one arrest all concerning drug
influences ( Hughes). A much larger negative aspects of all this is that the musician who works
very hard to present himself and his music in a professional and fun way becomes frustrated and
disillusioned, while the electronic musician peacefully tosses input from the computer and allows
the audience to be the output. Most times, however, the audience's participation is fueled by
drugs like Molly, MDMA and Ecstasy, and not just what the performing DJ is dishing out on his
super advance equipment. While the influence of drugs plays a major role in the music's success
the experiences that is the most memorable are the ones that only feed off of the rush and high in
the present moments. This type of music has been known to be very healing by the therapeutic,
electronic sensation that EDM promotes ( Cundy).

EDM was started much earlier on inspired by Robert Moog, the creator of the sensitizer,
and Iannis Xenakis, one of the creators in electronic music during the 20th century. These
visionaries allowed their ideas and discoveries to develop a massive role in todays society by
making their creations to become a completely new style of music. This new addition to the
music industry has spread like a wildfire and is seen everywhere (Li). The now dominated
mainstreams like the radio, and television networks has been flooded by DJs and popular artist
who impacts the new updated music industry. This update has been powered by artist like
Skrillex, and Deadmau5 which has compelled EDMs popularity to rise at unprecedented rates
(Feinstein). The popularity race in EDM has affected all of the listeners and since its such a
large community the songs are written for fan base, it affects not just the EDM society but other
listeners who are intrigued by the sounds being provided (Haines).
While the music industry drops its true identity, from nice acoustic sounds and feel, it is
met by other electronic styles that step up to the plate. This is due to the many styles of early
EDM, like Electronic Pop, Techno, House, and Dubstep. Most listeners desire something
completely new, something that keeps the beat rocking but also generates futuristic sounds. A
recent study states that our taste in music will probably change to meet social and psychological
needs, and that music helps develop our own personalities ( University of Cambridge). The
music lovers and artist in the 1940s and 1950s found this study to be true by seeking for
change in the musical publications. This led to a influx of electronic sounds, for example, one of
the most ranking songs during that time period was a song called Song of the Second Moon by
Kid Baltan & Tom Dissevelt. This song contributed to the electronic movement and began to
introduce the masses of electronic pop (Morpurgo).

This song was a major hit but the aftermath slowly became superior to other styles of
music. Personally, I adore Jazz from those time periods and I love listening to great Bebop
players like Miles Davis and John Coltrane who has been great musical role models even today.
To me, EDM truly derails the true meaning of music by being so heavily artificial. Electronics
are everywhere and everything is controlled by MIDI, which makes it a lot harder for musicians
to get together and be able to socialize, jam, play i ensembles, and create. This is proven by
several charts, created by Glen Mcdonald, which measures how organic music has gotten over
the years, the energy usage, and the use of live instruments. The results that Mcdonald found did
not stun him entirely, he discovered that most songs since the 1950s and until 2010 pointed
toward electronic resources.
The reason why the increase in electronic music is that electronic musicians has plenty
of interesting and genuine sounds at their leisure. For example, certain programs like the
Synthesizer, Digital Audio Workstation, Waveform Audio Files known in the industry as
DAWS,virtual instruments, digital loops helps give the music its edge. This is very different from
music with live instruments, it is much harder to master your craft (Grohl). For many live
musicians the extra support is not there and this conflict is being inflicted world wide. This has
been highly noted by the drummer for the Beatles, Ringo Starr and at one of his solo concerts he
frankly said that all of the venues has disappeared and it is so much easier to become a celebrity
on a TV show as a band for four months than work solidly.
The effect of upbeat tempo, speeding past 150 beats per minute, and the loud constant
rumbling sounds allow the audience hearts to quickly accelerate, making them feel a handful of
emotions: anxiety, happiness, stress, excitement, and overall they quickly become extremely
ecstatic. The effects of this is very emotional and intense, because the sounds that is heard is also

felt (Oertl). The loud overdose of music rattles the audience's ears, and entire body, which
compels the listeners to follow up in one giant rave (Paterson). The electronic performer is never
truly concerned about the profound rave that is occurring, or the emotion that is wished to
portray throughout the song, or how a certain verse will impact the audience the most. Theyre
only concerned about the moment and the way it makes others move. This is very unlike the
skilled musicians because they have to completely concentrate on making sure every note and
rhythm has there place and not randomly selected along the line. If the trained musician would
want to convey a type of emotion like sadness, the key has to be one of the darker keys, and
make sure everything fits with the sad theme that is chosen. The basic computer geek and
musician wannabe can easily peice together a poor imitation of a sad song by firing up his
DAW that was probably pirated, pasting in loops in a minor key, write some cliche lyrics slow
the tempo down, and get someone to sing it to call it music (Brady).
To gain popularity a musician/artist has to be able to succeed two goals and that are: He
or she has to be able to succeed over a fanbase and they must can gain advertisement for their
products. The crown for best overall support of merchandise and social media coverage also goes
to EDM, it took over most of global sells in music. The highest earnings rate for a popular artist
involved in EDM is over twenty million, and the ticket prices can exceed $215 at one festival
alone (Feinstein). While twenty million is quite an impressive number minor artist can easily
receive a small handful of income as well, but it does get a bit tricker to wholly be financially
padded without too much refrain (Haines). This is by the marketable audience that EDM has,
most of the members are between the ages of eighteen and thirtyfive and can be easily
depended on for a very good level of disposable income ( Kiendl). In total the EDM industry

is worth four billion dollars dominating many other musical genres and creating the foundation
for a stronger growth in musical standpoints (Feinstein).
These gross rate numbers for each high ranking EDM star generates anger and frustration
with trained musicians who has never got their talent rewarded by trying to bring their name,
style, and songs up to the surface of popularity. The only way for many of them is to advertise
locally by themselves, trying to sell CDS whose sales has dropped down by a staggering thirtyfive percent (Brady). On average a regular musician gets paid 35,000 a year, which means their
living cost is very low outside of the taxes and extra expenses (Hawking). This number is also
based off of the musician himself. If the musician only sticks to locally performing, and busking
the pay rate is going be much lower than someone who openly tours.
The rise in electronic music also involves the culture that has emerged from it. There are
a multitude of changes in society caused in part by EDM. For example the change in clothes and
the constant partying has been incorporated in society. The biggest changes, however, are the
social views at the music festivals much as something called P.L.U.R., which stands for peace,
love, unity and respect (Mayes). The attendees at the festivals demonstrates this unwritten law
by the people partaking in the raves. There is no certainty that each raver comes from a good
moral background, but they unite together to feel the pulse of the music and enjoy what is
presented in front of them (Mayes).
Typically musicians all know of great and entertaining performers and are impacted by
them in such a powerful way. The great BB King was looked upon many times for the rifts he
would play, Ray Charles was an influence because his musical style and impairment. Women
have a major role to play in music and they add that extra sweetness to the song to grasp the
untapped potential that is present. In EDM the exciting performers are not lionized in the same

way. Women who have dedicated themselves to their music has an absent voice and seems to be
made out of glass. Most times the events the gender is dominated by male DJs and producers
and the rave culture is made up of mainly women (Adamian). In the organic music world women
has already laid down their role and has promoted music to the best of their ability making it
much more equal and universal. For Electronic music womens shining point has gained not
enough of support, besides the few who are able to make it big. The improvement that will
eventually be made by certain devoted artist like Anna Daigneault. She refines and redefines
electronic music not just by putting the audience in a trancelike state, but by her impressing style
that she adds to the entire community (Earle). She plays the piano and also sings along with the
loops and drum tracks that she has created to completely amplify her skill set (Adamian). She
engage her audience by using her unaltered voice to make a connection to the listeners and it
works in such a way that people can have a fun and relaxing time. Her contributions to a growing
musical style often play an interesting and controversial role by dismissing the music from
Gen-X (Adamian). This strong dismal, however, creates a more widespread rebellion against
the modern world.
The large quantity of drugs introduced into EDM is a leading reason why this type of
music has been so successful in their world domination. It appeals to the listeners by making it
nearly unavoidable since drugs and EDM go hand and hand (Diplo). It is common for the
audience to get quickly addicted to the moments and to the uplifting sensations that the
combinations to drugs and music automatically provide (Earle). They desire that affection and
pleasure be completely unified in a cohesive manner (Brady).
On multiple occasions the police have intervened by arresting large numbers of EDM
fans who became a nuisance due to the influence of drugs. Very recently a festival named

Coachella Valley Music & Arts is a prime example of this conflict (Meadows). During the
second weekend of this EDM event local law enforcement made 142 arrests for possession and
intoxication involving drugs and/or alcohol (Meadows). The accessibility of drugs creates a new
level for party goers and ravers (Edgerly). This level connects the sturdy bond between the music
and what the drugs offer the partakers who are involved in the music. Listeners often crave
something more such as the feeling of true love and experience of equality that may be absent
from what they feel normally in their everyday lives.
The electricity in EDM and the way that drugs play such a major role and contribution to
the music style is known to be camouflaged by a slightly tinted transparent blanket that only
covers the aspects of the way that drugs has developed in the music. There are many ways to
have drugs drift into the minds of the audience. For example, some cases, the artist has promoted
drugs by mixing them into their performances and songs (Khalrissian). There are other ways for
this to happen like when the audience members give drugs a shot for the first time or the long
time consumer of a well-known drug dealer. The scenic view of drugs is quite inescapable and is
present at all times (Hughes).
Anyone who attends these festivals will come face to face with drug experiences
such as Shane Morris who has a very sorted experience selling drugs and running into
drug related deaths in his article Finding Molly: Drugs, Dancing and Death. He briefly
describes some of his experiences, like the time he was at the Neon Halloween event and
everything went smoothly until he made a fateful trip to the bathroom. There he
witnessed two men sitting on the wall opposite of him. He thought the two young men
were drunk until one of them started convulsing. Morris, being experienced with
epilepsy realized the young man was having a seizure. He quickly rushed up to them and

found out that they taken a small amount of Molly. (Molly is pure MDMA. MDMA acts
as a stimulant and an illusionate) The young man was transported quickly to the hospital
by Morris and Morriss friend Brandon. When the young man was stable Morris learned
his name and contacted his family. This is only one story about drugs and EDM and these
type of events are multiplying. This subject is not a subject to be giddy about nor will it
easily go away. There and many EDM fans who will fall victim to drug use.
The sad fact is, that drug abuse is everywhere and all styles of music are impacted
by the role of drugs and how drugs presents itself like a piece of seductive candy. EDM
has dominated other styles of music because it engages millions of people and introduces
an uplifting voice that may not be present in other modern day styles of music including
the most popular ones. The EDM culture creates comfort and community while
exploiting the need for human socialization. The religious author, Robin Sylvan, states
that electronic music can easily become a new spiritual movement by the way that it
brings others closer to a equal raving emotion and contains a large group of people
encompassed by positive motives (Earle).
Old technology crumbles leaving behind the ideas for the new technology upon
which to enhance. This is the same way with music. The old ideas has been reformed to a
something that is will be used by the next generations. Each individual associated with
EDM has a certain attraction to the way EDM changes the spare moments into something
novel. It can be by the drug influences or the empowering trance that catches the listener's
undivided attention and turns it into a joyful dance. The saying all good things will end
has been a constant theme for the music industry and that it constantly proves itself by the
access of music's ever-changing soundscape. The music in songs are produced by

becoming more technology based, following the rhythms and musical cliches of EDM. It
is much more acceptable from a recording viewpoint to have that style of music somehow
incorporated into other genres of music, it brings back a sense of awareness and openness
that the listeners are intrigued by. This action being simultaneity taken leaves the more
older, out of date, organic music in the dust.