dotaAs a fan of electronic music, particularly trance/vocal-trance, there is something rather annoying that I would like to make clear to those who don’t understand. It’s the fact that songs are ignorantly referred to as “techno music” as long as they have any apparent synthesizers or electronic motifs in them (This is usually followed by me putting my hand over my face in disgust and saying “Good crap!”).

Some people know better, but as for those who lack a decent knowledge of modern music - whom are way too many - the error is rampant. Let me regurgitate and simplify a common, but incorrect definition of what techno really is:

Techno is music that consists of electronic instrumentation.

I could elaborate further on this, but this is the basic and general definition of techno music. It’s also very wrong.

Allow me to cut the crap and clarify the difference between electronic music, techno, and any other terms that may incorrectly describe the same thing. If you look it up on the all-knowing Wikipedia, you get a nice summary of electronica today (which is different from techno):

Electronic music refers to music that emphasizes the use of electronic musical instruments or electronic music technology as a central aspect of the sound of the music. Historically electronic music was considered to be any music created with the use of electronic musical instruments or electronic processing, but in modern times, that distinction has been lost because almost all recorded music today, and the majority of live music performances, depends on extensive use of electronics. Today, the term electronic music serves to differentiate music that uses electronics as its focal point or inspiration, from music that uses electronics mainly in service of creating an intended production that may have some electronic elements in the sound but does not focus upon them.

I thought it was necessary to include that last part, because it’s important to know that almost all professional music today is made with some type of electronic equipment or synthesizer (including movie soundtracks, kid stuff, and much more). It’s obviously wrong to call orchestral background music “electronic” simply because it was produced in a computer. It’s just more practical to create it digitally than having a dozen people holding an instrument; that’s all.

If you are now dumbfounded and wondering what “techno” really is, it’s a form of electronic dance music that began a few decades ago in western Europe. This is one of the many subgenres of electronica, some being very specific as well as more obscure. These may include “acid“, “drill ‘n’ bass“, and several others. I, myself, am personally fond of vocal trance.

So there you have it. The thumbnail image accompanying this post is from the music video of “DotA” by Basshunter, which can be viewed here (Thanks, Levi).