Recently, I have witnessed a flux of people who have decided to get their feet wet in the listening world of electronic music. As a professional electronic musician with a local duo electronic project, this is a cause for joy because it means more people will be apt to give my music a listen. Unfortunately, their adventures into the universe of bleeps, bloops, and lights often fall in Owl City Town or Club Music Land. Owl City Town is full of the stereotypical generic electronic pop that is churned out by corporations for profit. The electronic elements are presented in a harmless way and fronted by eye candy specially selected to make girls and guys drool. Everything about Owl City Town is designed to be hip and cool while never really challenging the listener to broaden their horizons. Club Music Land is the realm of the triple-D’s: DJ’s; Drum & Bass; and last but not least, Dubstep. The average red-blooded American who has been to a dance club or discothèque in the last few months, or even years, should be no stranger to the wobble bass, accelerated tempos, and copious use of bass drops. Everything in Club Music Land has been engineered specifically to drive the energy of a club-type atmosphere. However, there is a lot more to electronic music than these well-known “mainstays.” In fact, there is a whole universe beyond these popularized genres. This playlist is the first in a series that will introduce the novice electronic music listener to the stars outside of the Milky Way.

Caveat: You may not like any or every of the tracks listed below, but do not let that deter you from continuing to explore all the possibilities that are out there. Electronic music encompasses many genres with many different sounds and philosophies. Don’t give up on the whole thing just because one song doesn’t touch your soul. Keep listening. Keep researching.

The MOOG and Me-Dick Hyman

Tonka Truck-Edison

Harrowdown Hill-Thom Yorke

Iambic 9 Poetry-Squarepusher

Brand New Colony-Postal Service

The Beginning After The End-Stars

The D.Elkan-Hella

Rozart Mix-John Cage

Ablivion-UNKLE

Bach: Suite #2 in B minor – Badinerie-Walter (later Wendy Carlos)