Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints.[3] It emerged from the culture and sound palette of electronic styles such as ambient techno, acid house, Detroit techno and breakbeat;[4][5] it has been regarded as better suited to home listening than dancing.[6][7][8] Prominent artists associated with it include Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, Amon Tobin, Higher Intelligence Agency, Telefon Tel Aviv, μ-Ziq, The Black Dog, The Future Sound of London, Mouse on Mars, Biosphere, Orbital and Luke Vibert.[6][7]
Not to be confused with Industrial dance music.Intelligent dance music
Early 1990s, United Kingdom
The term "intelligent dance music" was likely inspired by the 1992 Warp compilation Artificial Intelligence and is said to have originated in the US[9][10] in 1993 with the formation of the "IDM list", an electronic mailing list originally chartered for the discussion of English artists appearing on the compilation.[11] The term has been widely criticised and dismissed by most artists associated with it, including Aphex Twin, Autechre, and μ-Ziq. Rephlex Records, a label co-created by Aphex Twin, coined the term "Braindance" as an alternative. In 2014, music critic Sasha Frere-Jones observed that the term "is widely reviled but still commonly used".[12]