I’ve been on a bit – and by a bit I mean a lot – of an EDM/DnB binge lately. I have my phases; acoustic folk, indie rock, glitch/IDM, dubstep, yet I always return to those 2 most electrifying genres. Most (broad generalisation here) of those who are passionate about these styles of music generally enjoy it in it’s most pure form; the rave. I don’t mind the odd mosh myself (yeah bet you didn’t guess, I can party hardy any day of the week) but for the most part this sort of music is an intensely mental experience for me.

That right there is a mix by Jon Gooch under his alias Feed Me, with a few other artists mixed in to spice it up. It’s very heavy on the bass and primed for dancing to; the four to the floor beat is easy enough to engage with – one, two, three, four, a simple count to maintain. These are the foundations, and I find the better an artist builds on these foundations the more fun the song becomes. Feed Me as a particular example is very creative. His taste in sounds is eclectic, to say the least, unlike a lot of popular dance music that relies on extremely repetitive rhythms and sounds. Listen closely to a Feed Me track and you’ll find bits and pieces you missed the first – or twentieth – listen. The soundscapes are harsh, sure, but in a masochistic way – there’s no other way to put it.

If you like this music, you like it loud, there’s no two ways about it. The music is, at best, visceral which is why so many have trouble describing the experience of the music; they simply ‘feel’ it. The bass must be large – drivers for the speakers at maximum diameter please – and the highs must be sharp – crystal clear or it’s just not worth the tinnitus. Listening to this kind of music you submit yourself to pain: the most colourful, vibrant pain you will ever feel

Drum and Bass on the other hand could, in theory, be enjoyed at lower volumes (but I don’t see why you would, that’s just silly) and from a slightly different perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw9Bf3BMlg4

Immediately you’ll notice the tempo of the song by Pendulum – much faster than other electronic music – which runs at around 160 beats per minute on average, though it differs from artist to artist, song to song. My preference within the genre are tracks that focus on the drum beat rather than the bass line. Of course, the bass line is necessary to provide that foundation, but it is the use of percussion that drives these tracks, and also provide immense intricacies.

There’s something so very thrilling about the clash of large, round notes of a bass line alongside the swift, successive sounds of a drum kit like watching a fierce battle between two…things? Not quite people, but very fascinating. It’s as if one tries to continually dominate the other, but neither ever prevails, only to create beautiful music in it’s wake.

The most fun part while listening to either kind of music is trying to keep track of it. Which sounds weird. But what I mean is trying to visualise each individual note. It’s immensely hard, and requires a lot of concentration to keep on top of each sound, let alone their pitch. I can do this countless times and still, after a year, suddenly hear a new tidbit hidden under the layers of sounds.

And then, there’s this:

A most popular track, by two of the members of Pendulum which has the same strong beats as the dance genre, but maintains elements from the faster paced Drum and Bass. Knife Party seem to prefer electronic percussions to the drum kit yet I can’t help but hear the drum and bass roots. Their music is relentlessly fast-paced yet intricate. What I find most intriguing about Knife Party‘s work is the complexity of the layers; how many sounds are so humbly placed within the composition despite how much the loud sounds dominate. They are there if you want to hear them, but if you just want simplicity you can just as easily ignore them.