Here’s a question…
I noticed that there seem to be certain sounds or rhythms or whathaveyou that are common across electronica (techno, trance, drum & bass, etc) music. Are there actual names for these various musical components and if so what are they?
I have found this site:
to be extremely helpful in sorting out the different genres and subgenres of electronic music. (It’s a pretty cool site, too–I’ve found myself spending quite a bit of time just going from one genre to the next, listening to the samples.)
Back in the old school days of techno, there were 2 pieces of gear used all over the place, both made by Roland. The TB-303 which was a small keyboard used to make bass sounds, and the TR-808, which was a drum machine. The 303 sound is instantly recognizable, and the drum samples (the snare, basskick,etc) were very popular. The 303 generates a very analog acid warping distorted “organ” type of tone. Both were had been around for awhile before the techno people started to make them popular againt. They’ve since enjoyed a new lease on life, with new replicas being made with additional features.
Some 303 sounds here
http://www.waveform.dk/showcat.php?cat=bass&catID=2&offset=0
I meant to say the 303 (bass keyboard) is instantly recognizable, and the drums samples (from the 808) were popular as hell. That’s why a lot of those techno beats sound identical. The beats are all from the same unit!
There are several recurring motifs or sounds with their own names - which are you asking about?
Some common ones:
The “Hoover” - an aggressive, pulsating bass sound that first showed up in rave music, then made its way to drum-n-bass and early hardcore. It’s made by the Roland Alpha Juno 2, and is called a “hoover” because it ostensibly resembles the hum of a vacuum cleaner.
“Acid” sounds usually refer to programmed synthesizer sounds that have their filter cutoff heavily tweaked in time with the music - this gives them a very squelchy, farty sound. The aforementioned Tb-303 is famous for this due to its very burpy, vocal filter sound.
Just a nitpick, World Eater - the more common drum machine heard in techno and house is the TR-909. While the 808 does get a lot of use, you hear it more in early hip hop than anywhere else.