Electronica

Données clés
Origines stylistiques	Musique électronique, EDM, synthpop, ambient
Origines culturelles	Fin des années 1970 et années 1980 ; Europe, Japon, États-Unis
Instruments typiques	Synthétiseur, boîte à rythmes, séquenceur, clavier, échantillonneur (instrumentation traditionnelle telles que la basse)
Popularité	Élevée depuis les années 1990

L'electronica est un genre musical recouvrant une large variété de musique électronique contemporaine. Contrairement à la dance (EDM), certaines chansons electronica ne sont pas nécessairement composées pour danser^[1]^,^[2]. Le genre n'est pas précisément défini, et est caractérisé différemment selon les régions et périodes.

Définitions

En Amérique du Nord, à la fin des années 1990, l'industrie de la musique populaire adopte le terme d'« electronica » pour définir une variété de styles incluant techno, big beat, drum and bass, trip hop, downtempo, et ambient, malgré sa première utilisation par les labels indépendants organisateurs de raves et nightclubs « underground »^[2]^,^[3] ou par les labels major, et commercialisé pour le grand public^[4]. À la fin des années 2000, cependant, l'industrie abandonne le terme d'« electronica » pour celui d'« EDM », un terme dont les racines sont universitaires et associées aux festivals de musiques populaires post-rave electro house et dubstep. Néanmoins, AllMusic catégorise l'electronica comme un genre de haut niveau caractérisé par un groove dansant, mais également par une sonorité relaxante qui peut être écoutée au casque ou dans des salles de repos^[5].

Dans d'autres pays, en particulier le Royaume-Uni, l'electronica est un terme vaste, où il est néanmoins associé aux musiques orientées autre que dance comme les styles expérimentaux de musique électronique downtempo.

Caractéristiques

L'electronica bénéficie d'avancées en matière de technologie musicale, en particulier d'instruments de musique électronique, de synthétiseurs, de séquenceurs musicaux, de boîtes à rythmes, et de logiciels de création audio. Au développement de nouvelles technologies, un individu ou groupe peut se lancer dans la production de chansons de musique électronique dans de petits studios. À cette période, les ordinateurs facilitent l'usage d'« échantillons sonores » et de « boucles » dans les compositions musicales^[6]. Cela mène à une période d'expérimentation créative et au développement de nouvelles formes musicales, dont une qui sera nommée « electronica »^[7]^,^[8]. L'electronica définit actuellement une large variante de groupes et styles musicaux, associés à un penchant pour la production électronique^[9] ; une variante de groupes qui impliquent notamment Björk, Madonna, Goldfrapp et des musiciens IDM comme Autechre, Boards of Canada et Aphex Twin, et de downtempo, downbeat, et trip hop orientés dub. Madonna et Björk sont citées dans la poussée de l'electronica dans la culture populaire, avec leurs albums Ray of Light (Madonna)^[10], Post et Homogenic (Björk). Des musiciens et groupes d'electronica qui connaîtront le succès commercial à la fin des années 1980, avant que l'usage du terme ne se répande, incluent notamment The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, Epoch, Moby, Electro Arcade, Underworld et Faithless^[11]. Des compositeurs d'electronica publient des versions alternatives de leurs compositions, appelées des « remixes » ; cette pratique est également répandue dans des genres musicaux comme l'ambient, le jungle, et la dance^[12]. Les chansons electronica regroupent de nombreux éléments sonores extraits de divers genres musicaux^[13].

Notes et références

↑ Tony Verderosa, The Techno Primer : The Essential Reference for Loop-based Music Styles, Hal Leonard Music/Songbooks, 2002, 162 p. (ISBN 0-634-01788-8), p. 28

« Electronica is a broad term used to describe the emergence of electronic music that is geared for listening instead of strictly for dancing. »
↑ ^{a et b} Larry Flick, « Dancing to the beat of an indie drum », Billboard, vol. 109, n^o 21,‎ 24 mai 1997, p. 70–71.
↑ Kim Cascone, « The Aesthetics of Failure: 'Post-Digital' Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Music », Computer Music Journal, MIT Press, vol. 24, n^o 4,‎ 2002, 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. (lire en ligne).
↑ (en) Chris Norris, « Recycling the Future », 21 avril 1997, p. 64–65
↑ (en) 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 in 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. (en) « Electronica Genre » (Identifiant genre/d11605 peu probable - vérifier et adapter, SVP), sur AllMusic .
↑ (en) 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 1-55622-288-2).
↑ (en) 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 0-415-93643-8).
↑ (en) 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 0-87930-794-3).
↑ (en) 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 1-55622-288-2).
↑ (en) « Billboard: Madonna Hung Out on the Radio », Billboard, VNU Media, juillet 2006.
↑ (en) 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 0-87930-794-3).
↑ (en) 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 0-613-91250-0).
↑ (en) Pages 233 & 242, Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity and Society , By Steve Cannon, Hugh Dauncey, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2003, (ISBN 0-7546-0849-2).

Voir aussi

Bibliographie

(en) James Cummins, Ambrosia : about a culture : an investigation of electronica music and party culture, Toronto, Clark-Nova Books, 2008, 191 p. (ISBN 978-0-9784892-1-2, OCLC 228667384, présentation en ligne).

Liens externes

Notice dans un dictionnaire ou une encyclopédie généraliste :
- Den Store Danske Encyklopædi
Notices d'autorité :
- LCCN
- Israël

[primer-1] Tony Verderosa, The Techno Primer : The Essential Reference for Loop-based Music Styles, Hal Leonard Music/Songbooks, 2002, 162 p. (ISBN 0-634-01788-8), p. 28

« Electronica is a broad term used to describe the emergence of electronic music that is geared for listening instead of strictly for dancing. »

[billboard-2] {a et b} Larry Flick, « Dancing to the beat of an indie drum », Billboard, vol. 109, n^o 21,‎ 24 mai 1997, p. 70–71.

[MIT-3] Kim Cascone, « The Aesthetics of Failure: 'Post-Digital' Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Music », Computer Music Journal, MIT Press, vol. 24, n^o 4,‎ 2002, 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. (lire en ligne).

[NYmag-4] (en) Chris Norris, « Recycling the Future », 21 avril 1997, p. 64–65

[AMG-5] (en) 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 in 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. (en) « Electronica Genre » (Identifiant genre/d11605 peu probable - vérifier et adapter, SVP), sur AllMusic .

[direct2-6] (en) 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 1-55622-288-2).

[holmes5-7] (en) 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 0-415-93643-8).

[wired-BT-8] (en) 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 0-87930-794-3).

[direct1-9] (en) 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 1-55622-288-2).

[billboard1-10] (en) « Billboard: Madonna Hung Out on the Radio », Billboard, VNU Media, juillet 2006.

[wired-method-11] (en) 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 0-87930-794-3).

[technoculture1-12] (en) 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 0-613-91250-0).

[chanson2-13] (en) Pages 233 & 242, Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity and Society , By Steve Cannon, Hugh Dauncey, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2003, (ISBN 0-7546-0849-2).

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