Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntingwhale
Depends which music festivals you hit up I guess. But I can totally understand. Now a days, especially at North American festivals, if you aren't into EDM, you're going to feel ''left out''.
Also this is my ''old man yells at cloud rant'' when it comes to EDM. I hate the term EDM because everyone thinks it covers all of dance music, which is completely false. EDM most people think of today really refers to the festival big room house sound. The same simple beat/bassline over and over again. Little percussion and rhythm. The same god damned snare sound with every 16 beat sequence. Simple ''scratchy' synths, with cheesy vocals in the buildups. Rinse, and repeat over. Look up anything by Dmitri Vegas, W&W or Hardwell. Sadly these are some of the faces of dance music these days.
Here is an example of the cookie cutter sound. Same crap over and over again.
https://soundcloud.com/daleri/epic-mashleg
As someone who's been a fan of dance music (the proper term) for 2 decades, the EDM fad which has exploded onto the American music scene is the worst thing to happen to dance music in a long time. Even the hardcore fans and djs/producers themselves are sick of it. Big room is an embarrassment to the dance music culture and scene. Similar to how hip-hop seems to have lost the originality it once had and is now the same old cheesy robot voiced rappers rapping about twitter and hoes. It's all simple, generic cookie cutter crap that caters to the younger crowd because it's easy to listen to and it makes money. If you've never heard it before and go to your first dance festival, you'll probably end up liking it because it's so simple to absorb.
Having said that, it suits festivals perfectly. It's energetic and really puts an emphasis on the ''oomph'' factor. It's not really dancing music. It's jumping music. And because of that, that's why it's mostly what you hear at North American dance festivals. Head over to Europe for some of their festivals and you don't hear that garbage as much as you do over here.
Polak said most of the EDM DJ's at Coachella aren't big room guys. But that is exactly what they will play. They will cater to what they think the American EDM market wants. You'll want to head to the other dance (not EDM) tents to hear the real sound of dance music. EDM might have taken over North America, but don't be fooled into thinking it's taken over where it really matters: in Europe.
Carl Cox, probably the biggest pioneer and most successful DJ of all time, says it best
Big room is a topic me and my friends talk about over and over and just how it's ripping the music apart and how it's best to avoid it and stick with the underground stuff. IMO That's where the real dance music is found. It's soulful, has rhythm, and you can hear the passion that was put into the track when it was produced. That's what dance music is all about. I can't wait for the EDM faze to fade out. Dance music as a whole will be much better for it.
/old man cloud rant |
You nailed it. Big Room blew up so big and fast because it really is tailored perfectly for a big crowd (hence the name) because it's easy. Easy, short, repetitive melodies, vocals that are generic and pleasing, easy to understand and don't make you think and most importantly its formulaic. You know exactly what will happen. Here is the intro, here is the buildup, here is the drop and this is the part where you're supposed to jump. Pop, Rinse, Repeat.
I turned 18 literally as EDM started to blow up in North America. Before that, I couldn't convince anyone to listen to "techno" music with me, outside of my European friends. As it blew up though, and big room started emerging, I have to admit, I fell in love with it just like everyone else. But it's been 3 or 4 years since its emergence and I just can't fathom how people are still falling for the same shtick over and over again. You can take a Big Room song from 2011 and a big room song from 2016 and it will sound identical. The only saving grace is that some of the guys that made big room are starting to branch out but you still have the guys HW mentioned that are stuck in their repetitive bubble of ####.
As for coachella, I made a list of the acts I would see in the other thread and of the EDM guys on that list I don't think these guys would play generic big room. All of these clips are from North America. Take a listen and see if any interest you?
Flume (experimental/future bass)
Vanic (future bass)
(almost a guarantee he brings his usual vocalists)
Jack U (dubstep and future bass... and bieber)
ZHU (Deep House-ish)
Disclosure (Future... something. House? Maybe HW can chime in)
Miike Snow (barely edm. also haven't played live in ages)
Thomas Jack (Tropical House... which is quickly turning into the new big room but it's still fresh. Only took of a year or so ago)
These guys will play at least some big room:
Zedd
Chainsmokers
Sam Feldt
Calvin Harris
Major Lazer (Some of the most diverse sets I've heard. Trap, Reggae, Dubstep, and some really cool and unique songs that are hard to categorize. That said, they do play a lot of Big Room throughout their set too.)
I have a feeling HW won’t like most of these because they’re not “pure house” enough. Carl Cox fans tend to really stick to that wheelhouse. But we’ll see
