Why Jon Hopkins is the Mozart of Our Generation
Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) has gained a niche, but cult-like following in recent years. A term oblivious to most, it is a subgenre of electronic dance music (EDM); however, IDM is a genre that is changing the way music is composed and felt. Originally created in the early 1990s, IDM has become known as the subset of electronic music that is “cerebral” or “intelligent” in nature. The name “IDM” itself is controversial because it is implying that all other forms of electronic music are not “intelligent.” Furthermore, IDM is rarely played at social events because, contrary to the name, it is difficult to dance to due to the lack of lyrics and large beat drops that are expected in traditional dance music. Nevertheless, despite the controversial title, it is clear that IDM is breaking all previous boundaries associated with composition in music. Unlike most other musicians, IDM artists are driven by feeling and do not follow any type of structure or rules. They improvise a combination of sounds, ranging from synthetic drums to background noise in video games to old vocals from Bollywood films, and put it together in a way that activates the listener’s mind. IDM is unpredictable and may seem boring and repetitive to most first-time listeners, yet it provides tension and fleeting gratification that puts its patients into a state of mind and feeling that no other music can achieve. For this reason, it is one of my favorite and most thought-provoking genres of music.
One of the most iconic IDM songs is “Archangel” by Burial.
The song uses the sample of the intro music from a video game called Metal Gear Solid 2 and a song by Ray J called “One Wish.”
The song is predominantly comprised of percussion sounds and a heavily modified version of these two samples and others played on loop. It is almost impossible for us to figure out where Burial got many of the other sounds he uses in “Archangel,” as he does not publicly disclose any information. Despite not knowing the origins of many of the sounds, the main reason the song is well-respected is due to the innovative use of a variety of modified elements and the overall feeling it invokes for the listener. “Archangel” uses a very complex percussion pattern to establish depth in the song. This, combined with the sampled vocals, creates a sublime and emotional experience. It is important to acknowledge that there is no major beat drop as found in EDM. The listener is perpetually in a state of flux and is denied the gratification of vicissitudes in the song. Due to the song having a relatively constant frequency, the audience is forced to absorb the emotions of uncertainty and fleeting love that are created by the sounds. The ending is abrupt and unsatisfying, which leaves the listener craving more and without closure. The more times the listener listens to the song, the stronger and more desirable this feeling of incompleteness becomes.
Another IDM musician, Floating Points (Sam Shepherd) is a British artist that is propelling the genre forward. In the video below, we can see how Floating Points builds his songs. It is evident that IDM is a genre that is unlike any other as he creates his music using a custom-made synthesizer. It is important to note that Floating Points is clearly not following the traditional notions of meter or form but is following his intuition. This free-form structure is what allows IDM artists to have an effect that other styles of music cannot achieve.
Interestingly, Shepherd has a PhD in neuroscience. However, this is not surprising once someone hears his music. One of his most famous and most recent songs is “LesAlpx” (2019).
Like most IDM songs, Floating Points’ music has heavy percussion and synthesizer use. While being purely instrumental, “LesAlpx” is able to provide the listener with an emotional journey. The song starts with a solid consistent bass feeling and additional digital sounds get added on top to build energy and provide a basic melody, which culminates around minute 1:15 with a very small drop. It then continues with a percussion and synthesizer combination until the end of the second minute when the synthesis takes over with a sci-fi sounding effect. At minute 2:05, all sound unexpectedly fades, which tricks the listener into thinking the song has ended. At minute 2:09, the synthesizer gets louder and louder allowing the listener to expect a very energetic succession. However, at minute 2:15, the listener is met with an unsatisfactory industrial beeping sound, but this is quickly turned around two seconds later with the entrance of a very heavy bass. The progression of a strong bass coupled with the sci-fi and beeping electronic sounds continues for the next minute getting increasingly darker in feeling. Yet, at around the 4:00 minute mark, the tone is certainly more upbeat and energetic. The digital sounds then fade away and leave the percussion for a few seconds. The percussion then stops leading to an abrupt ending.
Through this description and listening to the music, it is clear that Floating Points is able to extract a wide-variety of feelings despite a relatively repetitive beat with a low range. Additionally, it is striking that the entire music video is made solely of melting paint. I believe Floating Points is trying to “melt” away all reality and expectation. The roller coaster of emotions that the song creates, joined with the unexpected fade aways and industrial sci-fi sounds all suggest that Floating Points is trying to trick the human mind and place it in a perplexed state. The song sounds relatable and sublime at the same time. There are periods where the consistent percussion and intriguing digital melody make the user feel energetic and happy, and there are other periods with dark industrial sounds and sudden fleeting unexpected moments that make the listener feel confused and frustrated. Herein lies the magic that no other musical genre is able to elicit. There is a musical journey of happiness, confusion, delayed gratification, irritation, and motivation all encompassed into one song less than 5 minutes long and with no vocals. The listener receives something they cannot understand, but part of them likes it and the other part is entranced into an alternate reality where all musical pre-conceptions fall apart. The listener becomes addicted for better or worse.
Another one of my favorite IDM artists is Four Tet (Kieran Hebden).
“Parallel Jalebi” is one of his most iconic songs. The song is named after a very sweet, sticky Indian sweet called “Jalebi.” As the name somewhat implies, the feeling that the song exhibits is upbeat and positive. It has a very repetitive and fast techno-sounding drum line. Laid on top are sampled female vocals that repeat a similar murmur every time. At minute 2:23 there is a sudden end to the very consistent underlying beat of the song. The following few seconds are the most interesting and diverse part of the song. After a brief silence there is a sound of a flute like instrument for the first time, which is then followed by a single hit of a drum and then the drawn out reverb of something that sounds like an electric string instrument with light plucking. Finally the female vocal sample is added on top of the reverb and then the synthetic percussion once again takes over and the song is back to what it was before. However, Four Tet also adds some high-pitched digital sounds on top of the percussion and sampled vocals, which were not there before.
It is intriguing that there is this 30-second hiatus in the song that is very different from an otherwise mostly consistent song. It impossible to conclude why Four Tet does this, but it is coherent with the idea of giving and taking that is present in other IDM songs as well. The most climactic and energizing part of the song is after this hiatus due to the additional melodic sounds on top. One could speculate that Four Tet is trying to create tension and not immediately give the listener what they want. Like Floating Points, he is creating delayed gratification. By having a relatively consistent sound through out, he is depriving our natural human desires for variation and excitement. However, he still provides enough excitement and sudden unexpected changes to keep the listener engaged; he is giving the listener bits of gratification. I believe the reason IDM is so interesting as an art form because artists like Four Tet are able to give people a taste of what they want but never truly gives it to them. This feeling of “wanting what you can’t have” is what activates something in the human mind to keep chasing (listening) the music.
My personal favorite IDM artist is Jon Hopkins. He is a British classically trained piano player who attended the Royal College of Music. According to a 2013 Guardian interview, he believes that electronic music is the sound of human ingenuity and he is taking steps to keep the personality in digital music, rather than someone choosing from a dropdown menu of sounds. He sources his sounds from unique sources from the world around him and takes great care into the feeling that the song provides. He has been learning autogenic training, which is a relaxation tecnique in the realm of hypnosis. Hopkins describes the motivation behind his music: “It’s great to do something that makes your brain just switch to a different mode, and music can do that really powerfully.” This is a common notion that is shared by the other IDM artists discussed.
“Emerald Rush” is one of Hopkins’ most popular songs:
As far as IDM songs go, “Emerald Rush” is definitely on the more dynamic end with higher ranges and a large variety of sounds. It is able to exemplify the tensions and resolutions that define IDM music. “Emerald Rush” starts off with a heavy bass percussion with some light, pleasant melody on top. At minute 0:20 there is a musical explosion that leads to even heavier heart-thumping percussion. The intensity gradually picks up and the melody ascends until minute 1:10, where the pitch descends. However, at minute 1:30 it ticks up again, and the vocal adornments get substantially louder. This minor variation continues until minute 2:16 where there is another explosion and the climax of the journey has been reached. This is the point where the listener gets fully wired into the percussion and becomes “connected” to the beat of the drums. Finally, the song ends by gradually fades out.
It is still important to note that while “Emerald Rush” is more energetic and dynamic than some other IDM songs, there is still no significant clear drop. The explosions of sound can be seen as subtle drops, but they are far more complex and continuous than a substantial drop as seen in traditional EDM. Instead, there is a consistent strong percussion that varies in intensity, yet is supplemented with a soft, soothing vocals. This dichotomy is the most striking part of the song. While I listen, there is a feeling that I am getting energized and growing, but I still feel at peace due to the calm melody on top. There is tension between the different elements in the song, but this is resolved by the feeling of being transcended to a different spiritual state. Like the music discussed by other IDM artists, it is difficult to pinpoint the source of the feeling felt. The listener does not feel full closure, but the mind is forced to deal with the tension and occasional tinges of resolutions (in this case “explosions”) in a way that dissolves current reality.
In the video above, Jon Hopkins talks about what goes through his head when he makes his music. He discusses the feeling of combining two completely opposite sounds like thumping electronic sounds and soft piano and the special combination it creates. As evident from his speech, he is really conscious of the sensory aspects of his music and the holistic level of emotions and euphoria that it creates. He follows his instinct and can figure out which sounds create the result he is trying to create. Hopkins also takes this into account in his live performances by matching colors to certain tracks. Color in conjunction with IDM music is also shown by Floating Points’ music videos. This interview helps show the broader theme that IDM artists are concerned with far more than providing music that sounds good, but music that feels good and allows the listener to enter a new state of being.
In order to fully appreciate the complex sensory effects created by IDM music, it is useful to contrast it with “traditional” EDM music.
“Animals” by Martin Garrix is one of the most popular EDM songs. As we can see above, it has been streamed over 65 million times on Soundcloud alone. After hearing the IDM songs above, it should be clear that “Animals” lacks a lot of complexity present in IDM music. It has relatively simple, heavy “techno” sounds and large drops. All tension is immediately resolved with the drops and the song continues through out as one would expect. Rather than allowing the mind transcend into a different state, “Animals” blocks a lot of the ability to think with its nonstop thumping sounds.
In conclusion, although IDM music is technically a sub-genre of electronic dance music, it is vastly different than what most people think of when they think of EDM. IDM music is simple in terms of dynamic range, but far more complex than many other types of music due to the minor variations evoking a large degree of sensations and emotions. The tension and occasional resolutions are able to confuse the human mind but also give peace and clarity by transcending it into an alternate reality. Here, the musical elements do not really make sense but they give a taste of a euphoric feeling. It is this fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, that IDM listeners consistently chase after.