what is the difference between different edm genres
Everyone knows that EDM is growing, and as it does the number of sub-genres is also growing. Most people are familiar with EDM music, and some people are even familiar with several of the genres within EDM. However not many people can tell you what makes them different from each other. Often the differences lie both in the mood and tempo of the music among other differences.
Dubstep
Dubstep is one of the more recognized sub-genres of EDM music. It is characterized by itâs aggressive pace, tense build-ups and huge dynamic drops. If you see an EDM moshpit, chances are youâre listening to Dubstep
Artists: Skrillex, Datsik, Zomboy, Excision
Trap
Trap is also a popular genre of EDM music and is known for having hip-hop inspired beats. Many of the more popular trap songs were originally rap songs that were remixed to add more EDM features such as build-ups and drops. If you hear rapping in an EDM song chances are itâs trap
Artists: Flosstradamous, RL Grime, Herobust
Progressive House
Progressive house is usually what people think of when they think about EDM music. Itâs very popular music in nightclubs and is known for itâs upbeat, happy sound. Progressive house is best identifiable by itâs verses, which are heavily featured in most songs within the genre.
Artists: Tiesto, Avicii, Hardwell
Deep House
Deep house is best described as music that you would hear in a lounge. Itâs generally far slower and more laid back than other genres and features very deep bass. Of all of the genres in EDM deep house is among the least energetic.
Artists: Fred Everything, Saison, Oliver Heldens
Electro House
Electro House is to pop what Trap is to hip-hop. It often features catchy vocals, although usually they are short and not verses like progressive house is popular for. Electro House is probably most popular at music festivals because they find a middle group in between the intensity of dubstep and progressive house. While all EDM genres have artists that produce music for other genres electro house probably has the most. One example of this is Afrojack contributing to Beyonceâs single Run the World (Girls).
Artists: Afrojack, Steve Aoki, Zedd
Techno
Techno was one of the first evolutions of electronic music and is now somewhat past itâs prime in popularity. It features less on build-ups and drops and more on the beat, which is usually fairly consistent throughout the song.
Artists: Carl Cox, Aphex Twin, Adam Beyer
Trance
Trance is pretty similar to Techno in that it is an older genre and is no longer as popular as it used to be. Also similar to techno is the lack of significant changes of the beat in the form of build-ups or drops. The main difference between techno and trance is that trance tends to be slower and less energetic than techno.
Artists: Above and Beyond, Armin Van Buuren
This list is not comprehensive, but simply goes over some of the more popular sub-genres of EDM. Some artists donât fit very well inside any of the genres and simply create a new sub-genre. For example DVBBS refers to their style as âWoozyâ. Other artists classify themselves in multiple genres.