IDM
Ambient · 1997 · 90 to 160 BPM · also known as Intelligent Dance Music, Electronic Listening Music
IDM, Intelligent Dance Music, got its name from a 1993 mailing list built around the Warp Records catalog, and the label has been contested from day one, including by the artists themselves. The music is clearer than the name: club electronic rewritten for home listening, breaks twisted into knots, melancholic melodies, constant sonic research. Aphex Twin, Autechre and Boards of Canada form its three canonical poles.
15 reference tracks
- Boards of Canada: Roygbiv (1998)
- Squarepusher: Come On My Selector (1997)
- Aphex Twin: Windowlicker (1999)
- Plaid: Eyen (1999)
- Autechre: Gantz Graf (2002)
- Squarepusher: Terminal Slam (2020)
- Skee Mask: CZ3000 Dub (2021)
- Aphex Twin: Blackbox Life Recorder 21f (2023)
- In-Dex: I'll Never Walk Away (2023)
- Aphex Twin: Alberto Balsalm
- Aphex Twin: IZ-US
- Aphex Twin: Flim
- Aphex Twin: Vordhosbn
- Aphex Twin: Fingerbib
- Autechre: Eutow
At a glance
- Tempo: 90 to 160 BPM
- First appeared: around 1997
- Machines: Trackers (Amiga), Max/MSP
- The sound: Trackers et séquenceurs détournés, Synthés analogiques patinés, Éditions de breaks complexes, Max/MSP (période tardive)
- Labels: Warp Records, Ilian Tape, Skam, Rephlex, Planet Mu
- Key artists: Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, µ-Ziq, Plaid
Producing IDM
IDM has no typical tempo, the first difference from club music, ranging from 80 BPM at Boards of Canada to 170 at Squarepusher, with a grid that exists but is broken: micro-offsets, triplets against straight time, bars in 7/8 or 5/4 at Autechre, tempo changes mid-track. The edited break is the central gesture: chop a break to the sixteenth or thirty-second, reorder it, reverse a slice, pitch each one differently, so the pattern never returns identical. The bass has no standard, a clean sine sub under a chaotic break, a detuned analog line, or a real electric bass played jazz-fusion, always melodic, following minor chords with sevenths. Weathered analog synths carry the melodies, sometimes run through a worn cassette for wow and flutter, staying simple and a little sad.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is IDM?
IDM, Intelligent Dance Music, got its name from a 1993 mailing list built around the Warp Records catalog, and the label has been contested from day one, including by the artists themselves. The music is clearer than the name: club electronic rewritten for home listening, breaks twisted into…
What tempo is IDM played at?
Between 90 and 160 BPM.
Who are the key IDM artists?
Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, µ-Ziq, Plaid.
