1964: The pioneering instrument to electronic music and audio production, the Moog Modular Series Synthesizer released it's first version.

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1970: Saw the forming of Kraftwerk, an electronic band from Germany. They later released 10 albums, and founded the basis to modern electronic music. They are seen as the fathers of the genre as a whole.

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1973: Giorgio Moroder, one of the major pioneers of disco (a sub-genre under the electronic umbrella) released the track "Chase" for the movie "The Midnight Express", and it later became the first electronica track to enter the Billboard Top 100, charting at #33.

 

1980: Depeche Mode, an electronic band from Basildon, Essex, England formed. They helped pave the way for synth-pop, another sub-genre under electronic, and gained popularity in the US, most notably after the release of their track "Personal Jesus" in August 1989.

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1980: The Roland TR-808 drum machine was introduced. At first it was seen as unsuccessful, as it's drum sounds did not seem as accurate and realistic as it's main competitor, the Linn LM-1. However, in the last decade or so, it has received a cult following in the trap, hip-hop and rap worlds for it's low end kick that can blow out speakers in the right frequency. Now, the 808's signature sound can be heard in the music of artists like Kanye West and Future.  

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1983- MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was invented by the CEO of 2 major synthesizer companies, Dave Smith. Smith invented MIDI to create a universal standard for digital based instruments and their connection protocol, and therefore MIDI version 1.0 was born.

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1984- Jesse Saunders, an American DJ and producer released what is considered the first house song, named "On and On", in January of that year.

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1986- June 22, 1986 saw the first Burning Man, a week-long music festival in Nevada, the pioneering festival for other electronic music only festivals like EDC and Tomorrowland.

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1990- Saw the first release that brought techno into focus. This track was “Go”, by Moby. Following this release, major artists/bands like Michael Jackson, The B-52s, and Depeche Mode, who I referenced earlier, asked Moby and other techno artists to remix their songs.

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1991- Saw the breakthrough of breakbeat, a sub-genre of electronic music first popularized in the UK. Eventually, breakbeat morphed into two main sub-genres, drum’n’bass, and jungle. They both found their creation later in 1995, and 1993 respectively, being popularized by the track “Valley of the Shadows” by Andy C, and the album “Timeless”, by Goldie. They both differ from each other, with jungle electronica being on the darker side of the spectrum, and not following a particular rhythm or melody. DnB differs by being on the lighter side of things, follows more of a melody, and is currently the more popular sub-genre.

 

1991- Saw the formation of Ninja Tune, one of the first major electronic labels. It was founded in London by the electronic group Coldcut. In the last 27 years since its’ founding, Ninja Tune has signed several major artists that have shaped electronic for the better, such as Amon Tobin, an atmospheric DnB producer, Bonobo, an ambient electronica producer, and Odesza, a Seattle based electronic duo that helped popularize future bass.

 

1993- Saw the founding of Astralwerks, the first major label-backed electronic only label. It was created as an imprint of Caroline Records, an sub-label of Virgin Records, then Capitol Records merged with Virgin Records, and formed Capitol Music Group, a massive restructuring of Virgin and Capitol, in 2007, and is majorly controlled by its’ parent group, Universal Music Group.

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1995- August 15th, 1995 saw the release of The Chemical Brothers’ first album, Exit Planet Dust, on Astralwerks/Virgin Records. This album was seen as a resurgence of electronica in the US, and kept it alive ever since.

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1997- The first EDC, one of the more popular electronic music festivals, now held in Las Vegas, Orlando, Mexico City, Shanghai and Japan, saw it’s first year open in Los Angeles at the Shrine Expo Hall, holding 5,000 attendees.

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1998- April 20th, 1998 saw the release of Mezzanine, Massive Attack’s 3rd album. Mezzanine popularized trip-hop/IDM in the US, and made Massive Attack an electronic mainstay.

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1999/2000- On October 26th (two weeks from this Friday, October 12th), 1999, “Sandstorm” by Darude was released in Finland, then it was released in other countries like the US a year later. This was the first song to truly popularize trance as a sub-genre of electronic music, and in the last 18 years since it’s release, it has gotten a cult following from it’s appearances in livestreams of the video game “League Of Legends”. Along with that, it has been considered a meme, due to the confirmed lyrics of the song, that aren’t really lyrics at all.

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2001- Lorin Ashton, otherwise known as Bassnectar, released his first album, “Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks” on his own label, AMORPHOUS MUSIC. This album was one of the first to bring dubstep into the mainstream electronic audience. Leading up to its’ release, Bassnectar first gained popularity at Burning Man, where he would play up to 7 sets a night.

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