Electronic Dance Music is sweeping the nation.
No, wait, I’m wrong. Let me rephrase that.
EDM has swept the nation.
It’s no longer that genre that people have no idea about; it is arguably the most popular genre in music today. Why do I say that? Because every other genre uses EDM. Rock bands have started experimenting with using more electronic sounds. Legendary bands like Korn and Linkin Park have even released EDM based albums. Rap and hip-hop use EDM sounds all the time and it’s even more popular than it was five years ago.
EDM has now become a household name and I love it.
The biggest demographic to really embrace the EDM scene is college kids. You will hear EDM at every party you go to, every event you go to and even tabling on the library lawn. Heck, even FGCU Programing Board booked their first ever EDM act in the spring of 14 at Nest Fest when they brought in one of the hottest acts of the year in Krewella.
The show was an amazing. 90 minutes of dancing and just having a blast. It was in my opinion the best Nest Fest I’ve been to and I can guarantee that there will be more EDM acts in the future of FGCU.
Everywhere you look now there are EDM festivals left and right that bring in people by the thousands. You have your big events such as Ultra Music Festival in Miami and Electric Daisy Carnival in multiple cities that each year are growing more and more.
But there’s a new wave of artists who are taking over the EDM world. You have your legends such as Tiesto, David Guetta and Avicii who can sell out stadiums but it’s the younger guys such as Hardwell, Martin Garrix and Dillon Francis that are attracting more and more young people into the EDM scene. Garrix is only 18 and he produced the biggest song of 2013 when he released the house anthem “Animals” that was used in almost every single vine.
The big thing that boosted EDM into everyday conversation was the fact that all these different producers started to remix songs that are on the radio. Once they heard these producers remix their favorite Icona Pop song they would search for their original music, and it’s fantastic seeing acts get bigger and bigger.
Like anything, popular dance music gets a bad rep sometimes. A lot of people who are familiar with the producers or DJs often associate festivals and club shows with drugs, and that these shows aren’t good unless you’re doing Molly or some kind of ecstasy.
As my ex-roommate once tried to say, “Dude, hundreds of people die at those festivals, especially Ultra. They are just filled with drugs.”
Sorry, Charlie, but no they are not that dangerous. Ultra started in 1999 and there have only been three deaths linked to it.
I’m not saying that people don’t do drugs to enjoy this music; I’m just saying that the bad rep that EDM gets is unfair. It’s about much more than getting high and dancing.
It’s about the feeling you get when you know the drop is coming and then out of nowhere you hear a completely new drop that blows your mind.  It’s about seeing how much fun these guys, and girls, have when they are up on stage playing songs they’ve made to tens of thousands of people.
It’s an incredible feeling and it’s only getting better and better.