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Electronic rock, also commonly referred to as electro-rock and digital rock, is the combination of electronic music integrated with traditional rock music. The creation of this relatively new music genre began in the 1950s and slowly progressed until the late 1960s. However, it was not until the invention of MIDI, enabling many electronic instruments to be able to communicate with each other and let instruments to be played and recoded much easier and efficiently, when electronic music and electronic rock were fully integrated into the music scene. Electro-rock is largely based on modern technology and would not have been created if it were not for our advanced society and inventions. Synthesizers, electronic guitars, and guitar effect pedals, are just few of the primary inventions that helped electro-rock become what it is today.

History
A main theme in the development of Electronic rock would be the utilization of new digital technologies in the recording, writing, and live production of Rock music. What makes Electronic rock distinct from its parent genres however would be the emergence of Digital Audio, MIDI, as well as the overall pervasiveness of personal computers and software on the production of music.

Early Influences
Early classic rock artists such as Pink Floyd, Yes, and Tangerine Dream were only a handful of traditional rock bands who first decided to integrate electronic composition into their music. Keith Emerson from the band Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, was the first artist to bring a moog synthesizer on tour with him and also compose the first synthesized solo. However, Britain’s first composer to experiment with electronic music was Robert Gerhard. By using tape as a median, he was able to try different techniques such as sound playback integrated with other songs. Although most of his work was directed towards background effects music, he did create one major concert piece before his death in 1970.

1940's-1950's
Experiments in tape manipulation or musique concrete and early computer music pave the way for both manipulating and creating new sound through technology. The world's first computer to play music was CSIRAC which was designed and built by Trevor Pearcey and Maston Beard. Mathematician Geoff Hill programmed the CSIRAC to play popular musical melodies from the very early 1950s.

1960's-1970's
The 1960s became the advent of the utilization of studio techniques and new technologies to achieve unusual and new sounds. Small guitar stomp boxes and various guitar effects are developed which distort or alter the sound quality of the electric guitar in various ways. The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix utilized tape reversal to achieve backwards guitar sounds quintessential to Psychedelic music. The late 60's also saw the popularization of the Moog synthesizer particularly on the The Beatles's final recorded album, but second to last released album "Abbey Road" as well as The Doors "Strange Days". The American duo Suicide arose from the post-punk scene in New York. Their 1977 self-titled album "Suicide" utilizes drum machines and synthesizers in a strange hybrid between electronics and post punk. American band The Silver Apples are often thought of as a bridge between electronic dance music and psychedelia.

1980's-1990's
MIDI is defined in 1982[1] and enables electronic musical instruments such as keyboard controllers, computers, and other electronic equipment to communicate, control, and synchronize with each other. Digital audio emerges as a new means in the recording, manipulation, mass-production, and distribution of sound. The 90's saw the rise of a new wave of electronic music. Many electronica or techno acts, particularly applied rock sensibilities to their music in a genre which became known as Big Beat. This sound was made famous by The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, and The Crystal Method. Spawn: The Album was released in July 1997 and brought together popular rock bands at the time including Metallica, Korn, Slayer, Marilyn Manson and Silverchair with well known DJs and electronic producers such as The Crystal Method, Roni Size, and Atari Teenage Riot. Massive Attack's 1998 album "Mezzanine" is considered by many to have strong Rock sensibilities in its use of guitar texture, dynamics, and kit drums in tandem with samplers, synthesizers, and heavy digital effects.

2000's
The industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails album "Year Zero" utilizes a heavily edited and distorted guitar sound modified via laptop computer. Allmusic's review described the album's laptop-mixed sound: "guitars squall against glitches, beeps, pops, and blotches of blurry sonic attacks. Percussion looms large, distorted, organic, looped, screwed, spindled and broken." The French electronic duo Justice's album † incorporates a strong rock and metal influence into their music and image. Canadian band Crystal Castles incorporates elements of chiptune and punk rock vocals. Icelandic singer Bjork's song "Declare Independence" from her album Volta features a heavily modified synth bass guitar sound and strong rock feel. Canadian artist Peaches and various aspects of the Electroclash genre often reflect a strong Rock sensibility. New York's Ratatat is often cited as achieving an "electronic rock" sound.

Live Technologies
Technology has played a crucial role in the development of Electronic rock. The two most significant inventions to make a significant impact on electronic music and electro-rock compositions were the inventions of the synthesizer and MIDI. In 1876, the first synthesizer was created by a man named Elisha Gray. Gray was also involved with the invention of the classic telephone. However, it was not until 1964 when Robert Moog created the moog synthesizer when mainstream “synth” beats were created and used. This electronic instrument is used to produce a variety of different sounds and can manipulate them by their pitch and frequencies. By “bending” wavelengths of notes, the possibilities seem almost endless of the different effected that can be produced. This fairly complicated instrument is the main component to almost all compositions of electronic music. MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is the second most prominent invention to electronic music. MIDI was created in 19823. MIDI works by sending information between modern technology such as computers, synthesizers, and instruments can all work efficiently and synchronized together. There are now many different connectors and interfaces used with MIDI so there are a substantial amount of electronics that use it, like video games and cell phones.

In recent years, as computer technology has become more accessible and music software has advanced, interacting with music production technology is now possible using means that bear no relationship to traditional musical performance practices: for instance, laptop performance (laptronica) and live coding.

In the last decade a number of software-based virtual studio environments have emerged, with products such as Propellerhead's Reason and Ableton Live finding popular appeal. Such tools provide viable and cost-effective alternatives to typical hardware-based production studios, and thanks to advances in microprocessor technology, it is now possible to create high quality music using little more than a single laptop computer. Such advances have, for better or for worse, democratized music creation, leading to a massive increase in the amount of home-produced electronic music available to the general public via the internet.

Artists can now also individuate their production practice by creating personalized software synthesizers, effects modules, and various composition environments. Devices that once existed exclusively in the hardware domain can easily have virtual counterparts. Some of the more popular software tools for achieving such ends are commercial releases such as Max/Msp and Reaktor and freeware packages such as Pure Data, SuperCollider, and ChucK.

Techniques
Multi-tracking is one of the most widely used techniques not just for recording the composition of electro-rock, but practically all music genres too. Widely used, multi-track recording is a technique that is also one of the eldest invented. The process of multi-tracking is recording separate sounds and putting them all together. This common form of music and sound recording is one that many early and pioneer artists to rock music used, including The Beatles who were well known for their use with multi-tracking. Some examples of their works were in their songs on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Musique concrete is another popular technique used in composition of electro-rock recording. It consists of adding recordings of real life sounds merged within the original work or song. Bands like Pink Floyd are one of the most recognized bands to use this technique with their album The Dark Side of the Moon. Common sounds heard throughout the album are human laughter, clocks ticking, alarms or beating hearts. Tape looping is another common technique used in electro-rock. Tape looping consists of musical riffs that are pre recorded and used repetitively in patterns. Current electro-rock bands that emphasized much of their sound using tape looping with electronic riffs are Pendulum and Daft Punk.

Raves
Electronic rock has greatly emerged into the mainstream music scene and become one of the highest-ranking music genres in popularity. Electronic music has currently progressed into an entirely electronic based form, consisting of solely electronic digital sounds. This type of music in referred to as Techno. A trend that started in the late 1980s and continuing today are all night dance parties called raves have decreased in popularity since they originated, yet still exist and common within today’s youth. Electronic music and electro-rock play continuously throughout the night and into the early morning at these dance parties. Unfortunately, sometimes these upbeat dance parties tend to have a common drug correlation as well with club drugs like ecstasy and cocaine. Electro-rock is sometimes referred to as drug music because of these parties. These raves are considered a venue for drug use and distribution.

Notable artists
Bands such as Pendulum, Ratatat, and Nine Inch Nails, are a few of the most popular electronic rock bands. All of them gaining success by means of the creation of this new music genre, electro-rock. Unlike most, the band Daft Punk, consisting of two members, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homen Christo, originated as a traditional rock band. However, after gaining little to no success, they decided to mess around with their sound, and try to create something new and different. Their efforts worked to establish them as one of the most prevailing electro-rock bands ever. A more recent electro-rock band to stardom, MGMT, also know as The Management, is a duo group consisting of two members, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. MGMT has been noted to be one of the “Top 10 Artists to Watch” and has already gained great success is their recently started career with their most current singles “Kids” and “Time to Pretend". Other popular electro-rock bands that have gained success are Def FX, Filter, and the Crystal Method.  Other notable electro-rock artists are:


 * 3OH!3
 * AFI (Decemberunderground)
 * Apollo 440
 * Argyle Park
 * Battles
 * The Birthday Massacre
 * Blaqk Audio
 * Breathe Carolina
 * Celldweller
 * Crystal Castles
 * Curve
 * Depeche Mode
 * Digitalism
 * EMF


 * Enter Shikari
 * Garbage
 * Hellogoodbye
 * IAMX
 * Innerpartysystem
 * Iris
 * Jesus Jones
 * Julien-K
 * Justice
 * Klank
 * KMFDM
 * Metro Station
 * Mindless Self Indulgence
 * MGMT
 * Nine Inch Nails


 * Panic at the Disco (A Fever You Can't Sweat Out)
 * Peaches
 * Primal Scream
 * The Prodigy
 * Radiohead
 * Rammstein
 * Ratatat
 * Rogue Traders
 * SebastiAn
 * Silver Apples
 * Silversun Pickups
 * The Smashing Pumpkins (Adore)
 * Soulwax
 * The Soup Dragons
 * Suicide
 * The Ting Tings
 * TV on the Radio
 * The Veronicas