90’s Electronica Takeover
By the late 80’s and early 90’s house music and techno were bubbling up through the underground and providing a sharp alternative to the rock and grunge bands of the time. Acid House was a non-stop party in the UK which found its way into the wave of up and coming bands that would soon be using electronic elements in their music. Electronic music has been around since the 60’s, but the rise of the mainstream electronica acts peaked in the late 90’s.
Drum and bass, big beat, techno, downtempo, and ambient styles of music were all incorporated into the next generation of electronica acts that started to pop up by the middle of the decade. The use of samples and loops completely change the way artists were making music, and this period of creative development would see the replacement of traditional drums and guitars. Remixes of singles would also play a big role in the movement.
Ushering in highly polished, yet short-lived mainstream attack of electronica was an explosion of artists from all over the world, especially the UK. Key acts included The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothes, Crystal Method, Moby, Underworld, and Faithless. By the end of the 90’s even Madonna was on the top of the charts with her hit electronic track “Ray Of Light.”
As the millennium came to pass and Y2K was all the rage, nearly every rock band was adding some for of electronica into their music to keep up with the times. Even more traditional bands like The Tea Party, Smashing Pumpkins, and Collective Soul were implementing drum loops and synthesizers. The sound was all over movies, television shows, and video games, and countless compilations were released by all sorts of labels and DJ’s.
When a global movement in music happens it’s hard to deny how perfectly timed it can be. The late 90’s insurgence of electronica was one of the last notable culture and musical shifts in history. Even the popular fashion of the time mirrored the rave scene with everything from ball bearing piercings, tinted coloured glasses, plastic shiny pants, and a pocket full of drugs.