IDM (short name for 'Intelligent Dance Music') is the most common term used to describe
what has been one of the biggest electronic music movements of the 1990s.
Having started out as an offshoot of the late 80s British rave scene, 'Braindance'
music, as its pioneers wanted to call it, certainly wasn't seeking the ravers' appeal,
but rather wanted to demonstrate how powerful electronic music could really be.
And although Braindance was still very much linked sonically to the techno and
house music from the US, the desire to experiment was present from the very
beginning: just have a look at the first legendary single by LFO, the spiritual
fathers of IDM, released in 1990, or the first few singles and EPs by a young
Richard David James (known to most as Aphex Twin), who is also the founder
of the most influential label for the Braindance scene, Rephlex Records.
We can say Braindance was a first form of IDM, i wouldn't say they are
the same thing.
Braindance was more of an evolution of the sounds of acid house and
Detroit techno, it didn't really stand out as a "unique" genre.
It rather introduced to a concept that would quickly evolve into a much
bigger thing which is IDM, that concept being pushing the sound of
electronic music to the limit. And there is an exact moment in time
in which this evolution can be identified: 1992.
1992 is the year of Warp Records' "Artificial Intelligence" compilation, the
first act of a series of records that served as the 'Intelligent Dance Music'
manifesto. 1992 is the year of Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works 85-92",
arguably one of the most influential electronic records of all time.
From the city of London, which was the artistic core of Braindance
until now, IDM starts to expand all over the UK, reaching artists from
Sheffield, like The Black Dog, and a label from Manchester, Skam Records,
which had in its roster a duo that would later be part of the IDM takeover:
Autechre.
Warp Records though remains the label that would champion all of the
stylistic evolution IDM had during its peak, positioning itself as the landmark
for the scene by bringing all of the principal acts to its centre and create
what it's best describable as a community rather than a genre or a scene.
Warp has been the long time home of Aphex Twin, of Autechre, The Black
Dog and Plaid, Seefeel, Squarepusher, to name a few, and would later bring
attention to the talent of electronic musicians from all over the UK, from Boards Of Canada to Mira Calix.
IDM artists had then the capacity to constantly evolve by incorporating in their art
little parts and elements of anything that would revolve around it: when Trip Hop
started to become a big thing, Aphex Twin released 'Alberto Balsalm', The Black
Dog released 'Raxmus' and Boards Of Canada were starting out by releasing their
first EP, 'Twoism'. But it was with the takeover of Jungle and Drum n Bass onto
the electronic scene that you'd witness IDM's most important shift in its sound: Luke
Vibert would release a bunch of records with moniker 'Plug' in '95/'96, in which he
would cut up drum breaks in ways no one ever did before. Vibert then introduced
Aphex Twin to the technique, which led to the release of the 'Hangable Auto Bulb'
EPs in 1995, the 'Richard D. James Album' in 1996, the 'Come To Daddy' EP
in 1997 and ultimately 'Drukqs' in 2001, all important releases that marked a big
piece of territory in the history of music just for how influential they've been.
From there on Squarepusher would debut its first record in '96, "Feed Me Weird Things",
and Mike Paradinas would become one of the most beloved artists of the scene
by releasing "Lunatic Harness" in '97 as μ-Ziq. And so, Drill 'n Bass becomes the first
proper subgenre of IDM that would quickly sneak out of the UK, arriving to the United
States where artists like Bogdan Raczynski, Kid606 and Venetian Snares evolved
it into what's now best known as Breakcore.
It's the "flexible" nature of IDM music that made it a great influence to any form of
music that wasn't even remotely connected to what Braindance and IDM were about,
from rock bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, to pop singers like Björk and even
hip-hop producers such as Kanye West and Travis Scott, all the way to the hyperpop
scene of the 2010s.
The real spirit of IDM though continues to survive in the underground communities,
forums, discord channels and independent labels such as Analogical Force, to name
one, that spread the message.
And so here are 10 essential records you should listen to if you want to approach
the sound of Braindance and IDM for the first time, spanning all decades through the '90s to the 2020s:
