Music, Technology, and the Body: House (etc.) Music

When I think about music and technology, the first subject that pops into my mind is house/dance/trance/techno music.  (Forgive me for mashing together those terms, but I never really know what particular characteristics, if any, separate those genres.  They seem generally similar enough to me that I'd like to refer to them as a whole.)  Why?  Well, quite simply: this overarching genre exemplifies the fact that we can now create music solely via technology; i.e. our only "instruments" necessary are the computer and other such devices.

The fact that we can produce music solely by using technology is not actually that important, and indeed, many electronically produced songs mix in samples of human-sung vocals or human-played instruments.  I want to focus more on the nature of this kind of music.  Here's an example:

Characteristics I note in songs like this one include:

• a beat that is repetitive and ongoing almost throughout the song
• a "melodic line" that consists of a short phrase, also repeated almost continuously with some slight modulations
• gradual entering/fading in of more layers of repeated phrases/sounds
• vocals are often (though not always, but especially in remixes like this one) reduced to one or two lines that are layered in like all the other effects, and are also usually technologically modified

When listening to this combination, I find myself semi-consciously aware of the sense that most or all of such music is electronically produced.  At some level, my mind knows it's artificial -- but I think this is the key point that raises the body to importance.

Consider singer-songwriter, acoustic, Jack Johnson type of music.  From my experience, I listen to these kinds of songs and the lyrics are likely the most prominent feature.  If I'm paying any attention to the song, the lyrics might get into my head and start evoking personal connections and memories.  They tap into the emotional part of you.  Sometimes I listen to one of these kinds of songs and just sit still and lapse into nostalgia -- my body is not really engaged.

Now back to the house music.  The ongoing pulsating beat makes me want to get up and move my body in sync with its rhythm.  The entering layers of phrases one by one add to the energy of the piece, rousing adrenaline and excitement.  The vocals are embedded, and the lyrics are simple enough that I don't have to mentally process a whole story, but just let the words sink in as a repetitive sound.  This music tends to engage my body in what feels like a "primal" way: it bypasses personal histories and thoughts and begs me to "lose myself" in it.  All drug/alcohol-related possibilities aside, I find that this music alone can induce some level of euphoria; the body becomes so engaged with the music that higher-level consciousness temporarily becomes unimportant and diminished.

This video is bad quality and a little ridiculous, but it's kind of what I'm talking about: