1.Prologue

In this series we’ve provided an overview of the different kinds of electronic dance music, shining a light on some of the important artists and classic tracks that came to define each genre.

In this column I’ve put together a list of albums to provide new listeners with an introduction to the best that each genre has to offer. As many of the seminal albums of club music are now difficult or impossible to obtain, I’ve tried to choose works that can be purchased new. Thankfully, the EDM craze of the past decade has led to many classic albums being reissued.

Many of the albums in this article can be found on music streaming sites. If you choose to listen on those platforms, I recommend making sure the audio you’re listening to not MP3 format, and is at the least of CD quality (16 bit/44.1 kHz). As we’ve mentioned in this series before, electronic dance music is meant to be felt with the entire body, not just listened to with the ears. For recommendations for the best soundsystem/audio equipment to listen to this music, check out BigBrother’s articles GEAR & BUSINESS #003 and #004.

2.House Music

●Ministry of Sound

Ministry of Sound opened in London in 1991, and has been a sanctuary for house music in the U.K. ever since. Modeled after the Paradise Garage in New York, the club is known for the attention and care put into its sound system. It also runs a record label that has released many dance music compilations featuring classic tracks for an affordable price—the best initiation for those who want to know what good house music is.

LIVE & REMASTERED - 20th ANNIVERSARY BOXSET

Deep House Anthems

Throwback House Party

Throwback Garage

Throwback Ibiza

Throwback 90s Dance

Throwback Chillout

Throwback Trance

●Defected Records

Defected Records is one of the U.K.-based labels that has led the house music scene for over 20 years. It organizes many club nights in the U.K., as well as in Europe, the U.S., and Ibiza, and impressively straddles the line between mainstream success and underground respect. In its early years it was partly funded by Ministry of Sound. Defected is also known for its many compilation albums, especially the mix CD series “In the House" and the “House Masters" series spotlighting some of the legendary names of the genre.

Defected Clubland Adventures

Defected in the House - International Edition

Defected in the House - Tokyo ‘11

House Masters: Blaze

House Masters: Osunlade

●French-style house and electro

The best music in this subgenre speaks to both dance music fans and rock/pop fans. Especially recommended is the music of Daft Punk, who first introduced the world to French-style house and electro in the 90s, Justice, who developed the electro sound by introducing more elements of rock in the early 2000s, and the music of Kitsuné, a label/fashion brand started in 2002 by Frenchman Gildas Loaëc and Kuroki Masaya.

Daft Punk - Musique Vol 1: 1993-2005

Daft Punk - Alive 2007

Justice - A Cross the Universe

Justice - Woman

Kitsune Maison Compilation 5

Kitsune Maison Compilation 7

3.Techno

●Detroit Techno

There are fewer Detroit techno mix CDs and compilations out there than there are for house music, but here are a few to get you started. One compilation from techno pioneer Derrick May, one compilation from Jeff Mills’ label, and a couple mix CDs from Carl Craig’s new Detroit Love series.

We Love…Detroit Compiled by Derrick May & Jimmy Edgar

Jeff Mills - Sequence: A Retrospective of Axis Records

Detroit Love Vol.1: Stacey Pullen

Detroit Love Vol.2: Carl Craig

●Sven Väth/Cocoon

Sven Väth’s German techno label Cocoon has cultivated a lot of great DJ/producers over the years. The label periodically releases unmixed compilations featuring the labels best tracks, but I recommend Väth’s “Sound of the Season" mix series, in which he looks back on the past Ibiza season.

Sven Väth in the Mix - The Sound of the 14th Season

Sven Väth in the Mix - The Sound of the 18th Season

Sven Väth in the Mix - The Sound of the 19th Season

Sven Väth in the Mix - The Sound of the 20th Season

●Kompakt

Berlin is the capital of German techno, but Cologne-based producer Michael Mayer’s label Kompakt provides a warmer counterpoint to the drier, more industrial sounds of techno from Berlin. Artists like The Field and Gui Boratto, who combine techno with elements of ambient music and trance, are especially noteworthy.

Kompakt Total 19

Pop Ambient 2019

The Field - Looping State of Mind

Gui Boratto - Take My Breath Away

●Other techno

The second-generation Detroit techno DJ and minimal techno pioneer Richie Hawtin has released a number of seminal techno albums under his recording alias Plastikman. Also, the U.K. underground club/label Fabric is known for providing a platform to some of the biggest names in techno.

Plastikman - Musik

Plastikman - Ex

Fabric 36 - Ricardo Villalobos

Fabric 66 - Ben Klock

Fabric 91 - Nina Kraviz

KI15 - The Best of Ken Ishii

4.Big Beat

●Fatboy Slim

As Fatboy Slim himself put it, “the name came from our club, the Big Beat Boutique, which I'm tremendously proud of. I always thought the formula of big beat was the breakbeats of hip-hop, the energy of acid house, and the pop sensibilities of the Beatles, with a little bit of punk sensibility, all rolled into one." During his time as resident DJ of the Big Beat Boutique, Fatboy’s experimenting on the decks would lead him to developing the big beat sound.

Why Try Harder: The Greatest Hits

On the Floor at the Boutique

The Greatest Hits Remixed

Big Beach Boutique 5

●Underworld

Underworld broke through to the mainstream in the late 90s with its unique blend of rock and techno music. While they’ve released memorable music at every stage of their career, I especially recommend the work they released with techno DJ Darren Emerson. “Live From the Roundhouse", while from later in their career, is a set that balances their new music with their old, and was only released in Japan.

Second Toughest in the Infants

Beaucoup Fish

Live From the Roundhouse

Drift Series 1 - Sampler Edition

●The Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers have released many great albums to date, so as an entry point I would recommend their best-of compilation Brotherhood. “Don’t Think" is a live album featuring their headlining set from the 2011 Fuji Rock Festival. Also, be sure to hop onto YouTube to check out their iconic music videos, namely the ones directed by Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry.

Brotherhood - The Best of the Chemical Brothers

Surrender

Born in the Echoes

Don’t Think - Live at Fuji Rock Festival

●The Prodigy

The Prodigy rose to prominence with its blend of punk rock attitude and rave music ferocity. Frontman Keith Flint’s death in March 2019 sent shockwaves throughout the dance music world.

Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005

Music for the Jilted Generation

The Fat of the Land

Worlds on Fire

5.Progressive House

●Sasha

By meticulously taking apart and rebuilding a selection of tracks for his album Involver, Sasha changed the game by blurring the line between a traditional mix CD and an original album. On Fundacion NYC, which is based on his sets from the legendary New York nightclub Twilo, he perfected the art of using the Ableton software to essentially create remixes on the fly.

Involver

Fundacion NYC

Invol2ver

Scene Delete

●John Digweed

For the past decade or so, John Digweed has released some of his best DJ sets as multi-CD live albums, which are all worth a listen. Especially recommended is Live in Tokyo, which features his April 2018 set from the nightclub Contact in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Fabric 20

Live in Brooklyn Output

Live in Miami

●Global Underground

In 1996, the trance and progressive house label Global Underground began releasing mix compilations based on a particular city or location that a DJ had performed in. The series spotlighted DJs like Dave Seaman, Sasha, John Digweed, Paul Oakenfold, and Darren Emerson, and has the dubious distinction of being one of the first to feature a common mix compilation trope: a cover design featuring an exotic location with a usually less-than-photogenic DJ posing in front. Carl Cox’s entry GU38: Black Rock Desert is a modern classic.

GU45: Danny Tenaglia - Brooklyn

GU42: Patrice Baumel - Berlin

Select 9

Adapt: Volume 2

●Balance

With seminal labels like Global Underground and Renaissance now only releasing a few albums or singles a year, the Australian label Balance has stepped up to fill the void of progressive house mix CDs. The albums below each offer a journey you’ll never forget.

Balance Presents Guy J

Balance 029: James Zabiela

Balance 032: Henry Saiz

Hernan Cattaneo: Sunsetstrip

6.Trip hop/Drum ’n’ bass/Dubstep

●Trip hop

Big beat is a genre that was founded on the breakbeats and sampling culture of American hip hop. In contrast, trip-hop was born when DJs in Bristol, a city in South West England, decided to slow down those breakbeats to create a psychedelic, hypnotic vibe. Bristol had been home to a large Jamaican immigrant population since the 70s, and by the 80s the young generation had become well acquainted with Jamaican music like reggae and dub. The arrival of hip hop from the U.S. would spur the development of trip-hop, which also incorporates many different genres of black music, including funk, soul, jazz, psychedelic music, R&B, and house. Trip-hop is sometimes called downtempo or chill-out for its slowed down tempo.

Massive Attack - Mezzanine

Portishead - Dummy

Tricky - Maxinquaye

Royksopp - The Understanding

●Drum ’n’ bass

While some DJs slowed breakbeats down into a hypnotic drawl, other DJs sped them up to create a type of hardcore dance music called drum ‘n’ bass. Drum ‘n’ bass developed out of lower class Black communities, where young people were growing up in the unease of the post-Thatcher era and against the backdrop of the gang culture of the U.K.’s hip hop scene. Its broken beats reflected a desire to break down the walls and other obstacles that society was putting in front of them. In contrast to happy, ecstasy-fuelled rave music, the scene pursued a darker, moodier, more distorted sound.

Goldie - Timeless

Andy C - Nightlife 5

FabricLive.35 - Marcus Intalex

FabricLive.50 - D-Bridge & Instra:Mental Present Autonomic

●Dubstep

Dubstep developed out of genres like UK Garage, 2-Step, and drum ‘n’ bass. While drum ‘n’ bass overwhelms listeners with furious breakbeats, dubstep overwhelms with heavy, wobbly, stretched-out sub-bass that is not so much audible as it is meant to be felt by the body. Dubstep is dark, wet, and oppressive, evoking rainy, moody dystopian soundscapes. The London nightclub and label Fabric is known for its drum ’n’ bass and dubstep mix CDs.

FabricLive.37 - Caspa & Rusko

Skream - Outside the Box

Burial - Untrue

Sub:Stance - Mixed by Scuba

7.Trance Music

●Armada

The Armada label was co-founded by Dutch trance DJ Armin van Buuren in 2003, and provided an outlet for many epic trance DJs that went on the evolve the sound throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s. The progressive trance DJ Markus Schulz was one of them. (Schulz is now signed to Tiesto’s Black Hole Recordings.)

A State of Trance 2009 Mixed by Armin Van Buuren

A State of Trance 2013 Mixed by Armin Van Buuren

Markus Schulz - Toronto ’09

Markus Schulz - Las Vegas ‘10

●In Search of Sunrise

The “In Search of Sunrise" series is one of trance’s longest-running mix series, launched in 1999 by Dutch DJ Tiesto. Fellow Dutch DJ Richard Durand took over starting 2010, and the latest several installments have been mixed by Markus Schulz, among others.

DJ Tiesto - In Search of Sunrise

DJ Tiesto - In Search of Sunrise 4: Latin America

Richard Durand and Lange - In Search of Sunrise 12

Markus Schulz, Jerome Isma-Ae, and Orkidea - In Search of Sunrise 15

●Anjunabeats

The U.K. trance trio Above & Beyond runs two labels, both named after Anjuna Beach—considered the birthplace of Goa trance. Anjunabeats is an epic trance label, while Anjunadeep is a deep house and progressive house label.

Anjunabeats Volume 12

Anjunabeats Volume 14

Anjunadeep 11

Anjunadeep 15

●Perfecto

The U.K. trance DJ Paul Oakenfold made Perfecto one of the genre’s biggest labels with his Goa trance mixes in the 90s. The label is currently under the Black Hole Recordings umbrella. Oakenfold is known for his outdoor sets in nature, and that dynamic is perfectly captured in mixes like “Four Seasons", “Mount Everest: The Base Camp Mix", and “Sunset at Stonehenge".

25 Years of Perfecto Records

Mount Everest: The Base Camp Mix

Sunset at Stonehenge

●Psychedelic Trance

Psychedelic trance has many different labels specializing in a range of subgenres; here are some albums from four of the biggest acts that helped define and expand Goa trance/psytrance.

Hallucinogen - The Lone Deranged

Shpongle - Tales of the Inexpressible

Infected Mushroom - Army of Mushrooms

Juno Reactor - The Golden Sun of the Great East

8.“EDM"

●Europe

In the second half of the 2000s, acts like Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz, and David Guetta help spread European house music and electro house around the world. In the 2010s, Avicii rose to become perhaps the biggest name in EDM and achieve popstar levels of fame. His death in 2018 at the young age of 28 would signal the beginning of the end of the EDM craze.

Swedish House Mafia - Until One

Swedish House Mafia - Until Now

Eric Prydz - Opus

David Quetta - Nothing But the Beat

Calvin Harris - 18 Months

Avicii - True

●America

The Canadian producer Deadmau5 and the American DJ Kaskade broke into the mainstream with catchy house hits in the second half of the 2000s. Meanwhile, party DJs like Diplo and Steve Aoki fused electro house with hip hop to pave the way for EDM to conquer America.

Deadmau5 - 4x4=12

Deadmau5 - For Lack of a Better Name

Kaskade - I Remember

FabricLive.24 - Diplo

Steve Aoki - Wonderland

Steve Aoki - Neon Future 1

9.Ambient/New Age/IDM/Lounge Music

●Ambient Music

The English musician Brian Eno first used the term ambient music in his 1978 album Ambient 1: Music for Airports. In the liner notes he writes that ambient music must be “as ignorable as it is interesting" and “designed to induce calm and space to think". In the 90s, groups like The Orb would combine ambient music with house and techno to create “ambient house" and “ambient techno".

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports

Fripp & Eno - The Equatorial Stars

Metallic Spheres - The Orb & David Gilmour

Manual - Lost Days, Open Skies and Streaming Tides

●New Age Music

New age music developed out of the hippie and back-to-nature movements of the 60s, and was conceived as soothing music meant to accompany meditation and yoga sessions. In 1976, the guitarist William Ackerman founded the independent record label Windham Hill Records to specialize in mellow instrumental acoustic music; Billboard magazine originally called the music soft jazz, and later listed it as new age. The German group Enigma and the French duo Deep Forest would combine New Age Music with dance beats to make the genre a worldwide phenomenon in the 90s.

Windham Hill Classics - Harvest

Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries

Enigma - Love Sensuality Devotion: Greatest Hits & Remixes

Deep Forest - Compares

●Warp

Some artists combined ambient house and techno with elements of rock, jazz, funk, and drum ’n’ bass, and took the genre in a more experimental, avant-garde direction. That music came to be called intelligent dance music, or IDM for short. The U.K. label Warp released Artificial Intelligence, a compilation highlighting some of those avant-garde artists, and established IDM as electronic music to listen to at home.

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Aphex Twin - Syro

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children

●Lounge Music

Lounge music is a hip, stylish type of downtempo music that is played in lounge spaces at hotels and bars. The French DJ Stéphane Pompougnac helped popularize the genre when he became resident DJ at Hôtel Costes, a high-end hotel in Paris, and started releasing mix CDs featuring the music he was playing. Another important lounge/downtempo compilation series is “Cafe Del Mar", which takes its name from a legendary bar on the White Isle. Japanese musician Osawa Shinichi’s band Mondo Grosso is another important figure in lounge music.

Hôtel Costes Vol. 12

Cafe Del Mar Volume Six

Cafe Del Mar Volume Seven

Mondo Grosso Best

10.Epilogue

When it comes to popular music, there is no shortage of lists and rankings claiming to be the authoritative selection of must-listen albums. Some of the best known include Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All time" and the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. These days you even have books like Shinko Music’s Disc Collection: Japanese City Pop. These publications are great references not only for collectors but also for people who don’t know what albums to start with when first listening to a new genre.

Meanwhile, there are hardly any publications that feature a definitive list of electronic dance music albums. There are many reasons for this. For one, dance music/clubbing culture has always been about club nights and raves—not albums. Until the EDM craze, DJs tended to release more mix CDs than they did original music, and when they did, it was usually in the form of a single rather than a full album. Mix CDs were popularized by DJs like Sasha, John Digweed, and Paul Oakenfold. Because a mix CD involves a range of different tracks, usually from a range of different labels, licensing all the necessary tracks can be a hassle. As a result, many dance music mixes are released only once. If you were to make a list of all of the classic albums in dance music, you would likely find that at least half of those works can only be obtained used.

In recent years, with the popularization of streaming music digitally, DJs and record labels have gone beyond the mix CD format, and are instead uploading their mixes to platforms like YouTube, Soundcloud, and Mixcloud. Today, big-name EDM artists do release artist albums every once in a while, but their concern is more on getting their latest single to the top of the DJ charts.

Nonetheless, albums are an important window into a time and place, a genre, sound, or style. The best examples are works of art. This applies to electronic dance music, as well. While a single song can usually only say one thing, an entire album can have a greater message it wants to convey. In that sense, mix CDs offer to take the listener on a journey—making them perfect for this day and age.