Is House and Techno “EDM”?
If I were to create a polka track using electronic music software like Ableton Live, would that make it “EDM” (electronic dance music)?
Is Hip-Hop and R&B considered EDM? These genres use the same production tools as house, techno, and trance, and you can dance to them too. So, wouldn’t they fall under the EDM umbrella?
The debate over what qualifies as EDM has been ongoing for nearly 15 years, particularly since massive acts like Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, and Swedish House Mafia began dominating the U.S. music scene. This debate is rooted in America’s complicated relationship with dance music, a genre that has largely been marginalized since DJ Steve Dahl’s infamous Disco Demolition Night at a Chicago White Sox game in 1980 — a night marked by racism and homophobia.
My love for dance music began in the late ’80s, growing up just outside Chicago, the birthplace of House Music. As a teenager, I tuned in religiously to the legendary Hot Mix 5 on WBMX and the WBBM B96 Street Mixes of the early ’90s, featuring DJs like Julian Jumpin Perez, Bad Boy Bill, and Mike “Hitman” Wilson. My older brother, 12 years my senior, would bring home incredible 12” remixes weekly, which only fueled my obsession.
By the mid-’90s, I was making rudimentary dance tracks in high school with basic keyboards and drum machines from Best Buy and…
