Be Open-Minded About Genres

The other day I was watching Dillon Francis' Hot Ones interview (if you haven't checked it out yet, it's hilarious, click HERE to watch it) and Sean asks Dillon about one thing that the EDM community complains about that annoys him.

Dillon replied that when an artist tries something new, fans complain that it's not true to their original sound. But when the artist goes back to their old sound, fans complain that the sound is nothing new. Clearly there's no pleasing us. But the problem here isn't the artist switching up their sound, the problem goes deeper than that. 

Dillon's interview segues perfectly into the larger conversation about genres within EDM. Genres are (and probably always will be) a topic of dissension within our neon-colored community.

Genre snobbery is one thing, no one likes the guy who proclaims that "this obviously isn't house, it's electro-acid-synth-pop-garage-techno." But the problem with genres that I'm talking about here, is the strange exclusivity that comes along with genres. 

Be open-minded about genres

Liking one genre doesn't mean you can't/won't like other genres. Just because you love trap and big-room house doesn't mean that trance and progressive house is off-limits. Just because you're a headbanger doesn't mean you can't dissolve into tears at a trance show. Don't be close-minded about genres and music, the idea that you love dubstep therefore will not like psytrance is a post hac fallacy. Genres do not carry causality. 

This idea of genre flexibility and malleability is not exclusive to only ravers, but is a huge part of producers' musical journeys. So many producers that we as an EDM community love and respect have individual sounds of their own. Look at Rezz, Excision, Illenium, Porter Robinson, and others.

Very few (if any?) producers play the exact same sound that they started off with. Pre-Worlds Porter (Worlds was Porter's revolutionary 2014 album that forever changed his sound, broke the hearts of millions and earned him one of the most devoted followings in EDM) was wubby. He played heavy bass filled tracks like Spitfire and when he churned out Worlds, an album that made us feel things we didn't know was possible, everyone lost their goddamn minds. If Porter hadn't been open about genres, then the magic that is Language would never have been realized. Think about it. 

So listen to whatever music you love. You don't have to love every genre out there, but keep an open mind. Try a trance show, dip your toes into dubstep, boogie to techno. Genres are not boundaries. You might find yourself pleasantly surprised when you listen to new kinds of music. 

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