Electronic music is my favorite kind of music. I listen to a lot of different artists. They do somewhat produce the same style of electronic music, but they each have their own sound that sets them apart from the crowd. If you're not familiar with some of the different genres of electronic music, I would strongly recommend watching the video below. It explains the different genres of electronic music in detail, and the video is very well done. I also apologize if I get some of the classifications wrong for different genres, I'm still kinda new to finding out what is what.
10. Flux Pavilion
Joshua Steele, also known as Flux Pavilion, started out by making some hardcore tracks. He then found his sound when he released his single Bass Cannon, which had a steady electro sound for the drop. My uncle Ethan reacted to this song by calling it, "music that will make people's ears bleed out". Since then, Flux has released many albums using this dubstep sound, such as Blow the Roof, Lines in Wax, and his newest LP, Tesla. Also, he founded Circus Records with his childhood friend Shaun Brockhurst, who commonly releases music as Doctor P.
I enjoy Flux Pavilion's music. Although he is not my favorite, his style is unique. Bass Cannon is a great track, and I do enjoy some of his older music as well. I really like the diverse tracks on the album Tesla, and my favorite song from the album (and overall from Flux) is Who Wants to Rock. The song has great rap vocals and a good beat.
9. Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling combined her love of classical music with hip-hop and dubstep in 2007, when she started her YouTube channel. She made music videos on her channel, and released her first self-titled album in 2012. At the time, her channel was already well established and popular, so her album did really well. The album featured her signature style, and so did her next album, titled Shatter Me. Her newest album, Brave Enough, is more laid-back, sounds more hip-hop and casual, and features a lot of good collaborations with vocalists. This resulted in some great songs.
As previously stated, I really enjoyed the new Brave Enough album for its great vocals and incorporation of the violin with pop/electronic sounds. I agree with the classification of dubstep, but some of Lindsey Stirling's songs sound more like pop. My favorite song by her would have to be Crystallize, one of her most popular songs, and the first song of hers that I ever heard.
8. Krewella
Krewella is a EDM duo based in Northbrook, Illonois. The band was founded by sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf. There used to be a third member, Kristopher "Rain Man" Trindi, but he resigned in 2014. Their first track was titled Killin' It, which introduced the band as having a dubstep/electro house sound. Their first EP was called Play Hard, and their first LP was called Get Wet. I haven't been following this group lately, mostly because I listen to a ton of music, but they have released singles such as Say Goodbye, which was a song about Rain Man's departure, Somewhere to Run, a new album called Ammunition, and a single called Team.
I like Krewella because of their sound. They have many different kinds of tracks, such as big room house, drum and bass, and trap, just to name a few. My favorite track (that I have heard, not the new stuff) is probably This is Not the End, a collaboration with Pegboard Nerds. I might even be motivated to look at some of the newer Krewella songs but hey, I have at least 700 EDM tracks on my phone through Amazon Prime Music, and I probably haven't listened to a good percentage of them, so maybe I should finish that first.
7. Bassnectar
Now for something I listen to a lot! Lorin Ashton, aka Bassnectar, has been working with music since 1996, and found a unique, old-school sound. Some of his tracks are dubstep, some are more downtempo, but they all have some kind of old-school, or lo-fi sound. He released his first album, Motions of Mutation, in 2003. Another one of his older albums that I listen to is Underground Communication. Afterwards, he released Cozza Frenzy in 2010, featuring rap vocals and hypnotic sounds. His next album is called Timestretch, and is one of my favorites because of some of the acid sounds in a lot of tracks, and is definitely the most old-school sounding. Another one of my favorite albums is Divergent Spectrum, which features so many diverse tracks, hence the name. Vava Voom was the last Bassnectar album to have a mostly lo-fi sound, because he pretty much left it behind when he made his next album, Noise vs. Beauty. The album features more trap-like songs, and it sounds really different. I'm not saying that change is bad, but Bassnectar already had an established style that he decided to change all of the sudden. Some tracks on Into the Sun and his newest album Unlimited bring back some of this style though.
I have already talked about my opinion a lot in the top paragraph, so I will quickly add some more of my thoughts down here. I like both of Bassnectar's styles.One of my favorite Bassnectar tracks was a collaboration with Excision, which to me seems like an unlikely combination. I will talk more about him later. Anyways, my all-time favorite Bassnectar track is Probable Cause because of the melody.
6. GTA
You're probably thinking of Grand Theft Auto when you look at this artist's name. However, in this case, GTA actually stands for Grand Theft Audio (according to Wikipedia, I thought it was Goons Take America). The duo is comprised up of Julio Mejia and Matt Toth, who are from Miami. The picture above and to the left is a cartoony version of them, which is often referred to as the 'goons.' GTA's style is to use the craziest sounds to make cheesy but great-sounding music. The duo got together in 2010 and DJ-ed at local venues, and started producing their own music in 2011 when they made several remixes. The style of these songs ranged from house to trap. Their music got the attention of trap legend Diplo, who featured them on some of his albums. GTA's tracks were released on various compiliations, until they released their first EP, People Boots. They continued to remix tracks, and in 2015, they released an LP, Death to Genres Vol. 1. This was the album that got me in to GTA's music, and I haven't really heard their other music before this. The title Death to Genres is appropriate, because with the crazy sounds featured in the tracks, what even is a genre? The most popular track on this album was Red Lips, which got an even more popular remix by Skrillex. They also released a Volume 2, which was an EP. Their newest album rethinks their acronym, with the title Good Times Ahead. This album still has the signature GTA sound, but the tracks are more hip-hop and pop influenced. This is another example of a change in style with an artist, and left many fans complaining that they wanted another Death to Genres.
I will say however, that I am not one of the fans that is complaining. Although the Good Times Ahead album is a different direction for the artist, it doesn't mean that it's bad. The songs have a unique feel to them that sets them apart. My favorite GTA song would have to be Lights Camera Action because of the insane drop that features a female vocal remixed. Some people in the YouTube comments were joking that it sounded like a cat getting its tail twisted.
1. Zomboy
Zomboy is another popular brostep artist, and is my favorite EDM artist. Joshua Mellody started making music in 2011 when he released his EP Game Time. The album introduced Zomboy's creative use of various sounds to make his music. However, his earlier music sounded like he was reusing the same sounds a lot, which I don't really like, because each track needs to have a distinct sound. His music got better when he released his next EP in 2012, The Dead Symphonic. Zomboy used even more crazy sounds in this album. He then released a two-part EP titled Reanimated in 2013. This album features one of Zomboy's most famous tracks, Terror Squad. His first studio album, titled The Outbreak, was released in 2014, and is my favorite Zomboy album. His next studio album, Resurrected, came out in 2015, though it was mostly a remix album. His most recent album is called Neon Grave, and he has released other singles and remixes, such as a remix of The Chansmokers's popular song Don't Let Me Down.
Zomboy is may favorite artist because he uses crazy sounds in a musical way that sounds really good. I feel like his sounds have gotten progressively crazier since the day that he released Game Time. Picking my favorite Zomboy song was a bit tricky, but I will say that my favorite is Skull n' Bones because it is fast paced and shows what Zomboy can do.
Thank you for reading my personal top 10 favorite EDM artists. This took me a really long time to make, and now I'm so happy it's done and I can share it with you. Tell me what you thought of some of the music that you heard in this article, and feel free to share with me your personal top 10 as well. I will continue to write stuff on here, and do plan to do album reviews every once in a while. Thanks once again for reading.
10. Flux Pavilion
Joshua Steele, also known as Flux Pavilion, started out by making some hardcore tracks. He then found his sound when he released his single Bass Cannon, which had a steady electro sound for the drop. My uncle Ethan reacted to this song by calling it, "music that will make people's ears bleed out". Since then, Flux has released many albums using this dubstep sound, such as Blow the Roof, Lines in Wax, and his newest LP, Tesla. Also, he founded Circus Records with his childhood friend Shaun Brockhurst, who commonly releases music as Doctor P.
I enjoy Flux Pavilion's music. Although he is not my favorite, his style is unique. Bass Cannon is a great track, and I do enjoy some of his older music as well. I really like the diverse tracks on the album Tesla, and my favorite song from the album (and overall from Flux) is Who Wants to Rock. The song has great rap vocals and a good beat.
9. Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling combined her love of classical music with hip-hop and dubstep in 2007, when she started her YouTube channel. She made music videos on her channel, and released her first self-titled album in 2012. At the time, her channel was already well established and popular, so her album did really well. The album featured her signature style, and so did her next album, titled Shatter Me. Her newest album, Brave Enough, is more laid-back, sounds more hip-hop and casual, and features a lot of good collaborations with vocalists. This resulted in some great songs.
As previously stated, I really enjoyed the new Brave Enough album for its great vocals and incorporation of the violin with pop/electronic sounds. I agree with the classification of dubstep, but some of Lindsey Stirling's songs sound more like pop. My favorite song by her would have to be Crystallize, one of her most popular songs, and the first song of hers that I ever heard.
8. Krewella
Krewella is a EDM duo based in Northbrook, Illonois. The band was founded by sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf. There used to be a third member, Kristopher "Rain Man" Trindi, but he resigned in 2014. Their first track was titled Killin' It, which introduced the band as having a dubstep/electro house sound. Their first EP was called Play Hard, and their first LP was called Get Wet. I haven't been following this group lately, mostly because I listen to a ton of music, but they have released singles such as Say Goodbye, which was a song about Rain Man's departure, Somewhere to Run, a new album called Ammunition, and a single called Team.
I like Krewella because of their sound. They have many different kinds of tracks, such as big room house, drum and bass, and trap, just to name a few. My favorite track (that I have heard, not the new stuff) is probably This is Not the End, a collaboration with Pegboard Nerds. I might even be motivated to look at some of the newer Krewella songs but hey, I have at least 700 EDM tracks on my phone through Amazon Prime Music, and I probably haven't listened to a good percentage of them, so maybe I should finish that first.
7. Bassnectar
Now for something I listen to a lot! Lorin Ashton, aka Bassnectar, has been working with music since 1996, and found a unique, old-school sound. Some of his tracks are dubstep, some are more downtempo, but they all have some kind of old-school, or lo-fi sound. He released his first album, Motions of Mutation, in 2003. Another one of his older albums that I listen to is Underground Communication. Afterwards, he released Cozza Frenzy in 2010, featuring rap vocals and hypnotic sounds. His next album is called Timestretch, and is one of my favorites because of some of the acid sounds in a lot of tracks, and is definitely the most old-school sounding. Another one of my favorite albums is Divergent Spectrum, which features so many diverse tracks, hence the name. Vava Voom was the last Bassnectar album to have a mostly lo-fi sound, because he pretty much left it behind when he made his next album, Noise vs. Beauty. The album features more trap-like songs, and it sounds really different. I'm not saying that change is bad, but Bassnectar already had an established style that he decided to change all of the sudden. Some tracks on Into the Sun and his newest album Unlimited bring back some of this style though.
I have already talked about my opinion a lot in the top paragraph, so I will quickly add some more of my thoughts down here. I like both of Bassnectar's styles.One of my favorite Bassnectar tracks was a collaboration with Excision, which to me seems like an unlikely combination. I will talk more about him later. Anyways, my all-time favorite Bassnectar track is Probable Cause because of the melody.
6. GTA
You're probably thinking of Grand Theft Auto when you look at this artist's name. However, in this case, GTA actually stands for Grand Theft Audio (according to Wikipedia, I thought it was Goons Take America). The duo is comprised up of Julio Mejia and Matt Toth, who are from Miami. The picture above and to the left is a cartoony version of them, which is often referred to as the 'goons.' GTA's style is to use the craziest sounds to make cheesy but great-sounding music. The duo got together in 2010 and DJ-ed at local venues, and started producing their own music in 2011 when they made several remixes. The style of these songs ranged from house to trap. Their music got the attention of trap legend Diplo, who featured them on some of his albums. GTA's tracks were released on various compiliations, until they released their first EP, People Boots. They continued to remix tracks, and in 2015, they released an LP, Death to Genres Vol. 1. This was the album that got me in to GTA's music, and I haven't really heard their other music before this. The title Death to Genres is appropriate, because with the crazy sounds featured in the tracks, what even is a genre? The most popular track on this album was Red Lips, which got an even more popular remix by Skrillex. They also released a Volume 2, which was an EP. Their newest album rethinks their acronym, with the title Good Times Ahead. This album still has the signature GTA sound, but the tracks are more hip-hop and pop influenced. This is another example of a change in style with an artist, and left many fans complaining that they wanted another Death to Genres.
I will say however, that I am not one of the fans that is complaining. Although the Good Times Ahead album is a different direction for the artist, it doesn't mean that it's bad. The songs have a unique feel to them that sets them apart. My favorite GTA song would have to be Lights Camera Action because of the insane drop that features a female vocal remixed. Some people in the YouTube comments were joking that it sounded like a cat getting its tail twisted.
5. Pegboard Nerds
Pegboard Nerds is a EDM group that produces mostly future bass music. The group is comprised of Norwegian DJ Alexander Odden and Danish DJ Michael Parsberg. According to Wikipedia, the name is an anagram of the members surnames. The duo releases lots of EPs, and too many singles and remixes to keep count of. I will list some of the duo's most notable albums: We Are One, Guilty Pleasures, The Lost Tracks, Nerds by Nature. One of their most popular songs was Pink Cloud, a song made as a fundraiser for breast cancer research. It made it to #2 in the iTunes Dance Albums Chart. Emoji is a more recent and popular Pegboard Nerds song. Other popular songs include Here it Comes and Superstar.
I really like Pegboard Nerds because all of their songs sound different, but they stick to a distinct style that flows from track to track. It is good to listen to a Pegboard Nerds song because you won't know what to expect when you first hear it. My favorite song by the duo is Deep in the Night. I really like collaborations with other artists, because it brings in another artist's style to be mixed in with the other's. This artist is Snails, whose style is thoroughly edited acid sounds.
4. Excision
When I think of Excision, I think of very dark and heavy brostep sounds. To go along with these dark sounds, he makes images like the one that you can see above and to the left. His real name is Jeff Abel, and he is from Canada. Sometime around 2008, he founded Rottun Recordings, and released several singles and EPs through this record label, including No Escape, Know You, and Get to the Point. He produced his first studio album in 2011 titled X Rated. I have not listened to this album, but have heard the title track as well as a track called The Underground, and liked what I heard. In 2012, he started a new band with Downlink and KJ Sawka titled Destroid, which uses a self-titled record label. The tracks on this label seem to have an ascending number assigned to them, i.e. Destroid 1 Raise Your Fist, Destroid 2 Wasteland, etc. After working to make 11 Destroid songs plus 2 VIPs, (remixes of their own songs) Excision released his second studio album in 2015 called Codename X. I own this album in its entirety, and really like it. In 2016, he released the album Virus, which I have not yet heard but am convinced that Excision will not lose his style.
I really like Excision because he uses dark sounds, beats that hit hard, and a good rhythm overall. I like how his style has not changed much, but when it does, it sticks to the evolving brostep scene. My favorite track by Excision is Destroid 10 Funk Hole. I like this track because it has a great beat and sound to it.
3. Knife Party
Knife Party was founded by two members of Pendulum, which is Australia's long-running drum & bass act, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen. The Knife Party logo is a head with a knife through it, which is featured on the cover of many of their albums. Their first EP came out in 2011, which was titled 100% No Modern Talking. The album introduced Knife Party's dubstep sound, which has a touch of darkness, but isn't as dark as Excision. Their second EP, Rage Valley, released in 2012 and continued the style that the duo started with great new tracks. The album was at spot #75 on the Billboard Top 200. Their third EP was called Haunted House, which made it to #3 on iTunes's top 10 albums list. In 2014, Knife Party released their first studio album, titled Abandon Ship. The album was a deviation from Knife Party's usual style, so it created some controversy. The album had only 2-3 dubstep songs on it; the other tracks were either house or electro. Later in 2016, Knife Party released their newest EP, Trigger Warning. There was not much dubstep present on the album, so long-time fans were disappointed once again, but some liked the new single Battle Sirens with Tom Morello, released after the EP.
I like Knife Party because they keep a steady rhythm and a good melody. I thought that Abandon Ship was okay, and I liked Trigger Warning because although it wasn't dubstep, it featured some other EDM genres that I like. My favorite Knife Party track is Internet Friends because it sounds good and is funny. "You blocked me on Facebook, and now you're going to die."
2. Skrillex
Sonny Moore, aka Skrillex, is one of the biggest name in brostep. However, before he made EDM, he was in rock bands such as From First To Last. When he started EDM, he was just a DJ on tour, and then he released his first EP in 2010, titled My Name Is Skrillex. The album introduced the world to Skrillex's crazy sounds. Later in 2010, he released another EP, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, in which the title track won two Grammys. He then released a single, Reptile, which was featured in a trailer for Mortal Kombat 9. His next EP was a follow-up to his last EP, titled More Monsters and Sprites. It featured original tracks as well as remixes. The next EP was titled Bangarang and was released in 2011, and is one of my favorite albums, as well as it being the first Skrillex album I listened to. After not making any major albums for 3 years, he released his first studio album, titled Recess. The album ventures into new genres and types of sounds, which turned off some of the long-time fans. Sound familiar? He also started a collaborative duo with EDM producer Diplo called Jack Ü, and they released their debut, self-titled album in 2015, which was different from some of Skrillex's other work. Skrillex continued to release singles, but his most recent one was 5 months ago so I don't know what he's doing.
I really like Excision because he uses dark sounds, beats that hit hard, and a good rhythm overall. I like how his style has not changed much, but when it does, it sticks to the evolving brostep scene. My favorite track by Excision is Destroid 10 Funk Hole. I like this track because it has a great beat and sound to it.
3. Knife Party
Knife Party was founded by two members of Pendulum, which is Australia's long-running drum & bass act, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen. The Knife Party logo is a head with a knife through it, which is featured on the cover of many of their albums. Their first EP came out in 2011, which was titled 100% No Modern Talking. The album introduced Knife Party's dubstep sound, which has a touch of darkness, but isn't as dark as Excision. Their second EP, Rage Valley, released in 2012 and continued the style that the duo started with great new tracks. The album was at spot #75 on the Billboard Top 200. Their third EP was called Haunted House, which made it to #3 on iTunes's top 10 albums list. In 2014, Knife Party released their first studio album, titled Abandon Ship. The album was a deviation from Knife Party's usual style, so it created some controversy. The album had only 2-3 dubstep songs on it; the other tracks were either house or electro. Later in 2016, Knife Party released their newest EP, Trigger Warning. There was not much dubstep present on the album, so long-time fans were disappointed once again, but some liked the new single Battle Sirens with Tom Morello, released after the EP.
I like Knife Party because they keep a steady rhythm and a good melody. I thought that Abandon Ship was okay, and I liked Trigger Warning because although it wasn't dubstep, it featured some other EDM genres that I like. My favorite Knife Party track is Internet Friends because it sounds good and is funny. "You blocked me on Facebook, and now you're going to die."
2. Skrillex
I like all of Skrillex's work and the different kind of styles that he has experimented with. Skrillex was the artist that introduced me to EDM and helped me determine the kind of music I regularly listen to. My favorite Skrillex song is Try It Out because it hits hard enough to give you the strength to do whatever you want.
1. Zomboy
Zomboy is may favorite artist because he uses crazy sounds in a musical way that sounds really good. I feel like his sounds have gotten progressively crazier since the day that he released Game Time. Picking my favorite Zomboy song was a bit tricky, but I will say that my favorite is Skull n' Bones because it is fast paced and shows what Zomboy can do.
Thank you for reading my personal top 10 favorite EDM artists. This took me a really long time to make, and now I'm so happy it's done and I can share it with you. Tell me what you thought of some of the music that you heard in this article, and feel free to share with me your personal top 10 as well. I will continue to write stuff on here, and do plan to do album reviews every once in a while. Thanks once again for reading.
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