We at L'Amour Electronique have enjoyed one or two "history of electronic music" comps in our brief lifetime: Uncut's
Dawn of Electronica - which focussed on the late 70s-early 80s; and Rough Trade's
Electronic 01 - a more historical overview placing pioneers next to pop stars; both spring to mind
.
So it's about time we had a new collection of the genre, which at it's broadest takes in everything from simple tone generation, through musique concrète, analogue synthesis, synth pop, sampling, drum machines, acid house, techno, glitchy electronica and beyond.
A Guide to Electronic Music is a new compilation "developed out of a project to create a
Facebook timeline charting the development of electronic music from the late 19th Century until now."
"Bleep.com's guide to Electronic Music is a 55 track compilation charting the
historical emergence of electronic music by looking at landmark tracks
from the 1930s up to present day.
Our aim with this selection of music is to show the length and
breadth of the medium, providing a snapshot of the genres forms and
styles, and the development of the artform. Whilst there are omissions
and compromises that we have had to make, we hope that we achieve our
aims and we do some justice to the variety of music that we love.
This compilation developed out of a project to create a Facebook timeline charting the development of electronic music from the late 19th Century until now."
For me there are one or two things conspicuous in their absence: 55 tracks and no Kraftwerk! And also a lack of artists from that late70s/early 80s wave of synth pop (weren't the early Hip Hop pioneers supposed to be dropping Numan at their block parties?). I'd have liked a song or two less of the stuff from 1990 to present in favour of one or two extra oldies, but that's just me.
A Guide to Electronic Music is available as a download only (in mp3, wav, flac formats) from
Bleep.com. And I shall be putting my money down on a copy later this week...
