H85.1131 History & Criticism 2 Credits
Instructor(s): Guillermo Brown
This course will give students a framework to consider the convergence of music and technology that has come to be known as electronica. An expensive, constantly morphing genre, electronica now includes styles as diverse as: house, trance, techno, glitch, freestyle, breakbeat, jungle, dub, grime, industrial, drum n' bass, chillout, new age, experimental hip-hop, hardcore, broken beat, downtempo, and ambient. This course will investigate some of the defining features and concepts in electronica, culling examples form the beginnings of recorded sounds to the present. Through text, listening and viewing assignments, students will consider some of the most intriguing figures/styles in electronic music as signposts for innovation.
