A new type of music for you to fall into
By Cassie Weiss, Contributor
My music tastes have always been a little basic. I grew up on country music and the MuchMusic Countdown in a time where the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears were all the rage. I carried my Walkman to school, exchanging popular CD for popular CD, and that was my world for a very long time. But that was before — before smartphones, Spotify and Soundcloud allowed me easy access to a plethora of music that didn’t exist in a physical form.
When I moved to Calgary, I began to discover electronic music. Adventure Club introduced me to melodic dubstep and that was enough to send me into a deep dive. After attending a popular electronic music festival in British Columbia during the summer of 2014, I fell in love with sounds that were indescribable. I discovered subgenres of electronic music that could only be explained to those who already listened to the artists who now filled the soundtrack of my life.
Now, when people ask me what I listen to, it’s hard for me to explain. Does anyone really know what Future Bass or Trap music even is? Has anyone even heard of Ekali, Alison Wonderland or RL Grime? The answer is typically no, because these aren’t artists you find on the radio — unless you have a SiriusXM subscription and listen to the electronic channels or find yourself watching live streams from EDC or Tomorrowland.
And yet, these artists create a feeling in my soul that no other has ever come close to. Sure, I bop along to pop music on the radio like everyone else out there (see the first line in this article as a reminder) but in my car, I don’t use a radio. There is only Spotify, and when I want a full hour mix, I use Soundcloud. I’ve listened to Ekali’s “Triple J Mixup Exclusive” mix so many times I have it memorized! San Holo’s “Too Future” mix has become a staple of my frequent visits to the gym. Of course, listening to the same mixes and songs over and over again can get old, but I know what I like and sometimes the idea of searching for new music is overwhelming and time-consuming.
Spotify even has a playlist specifically for Future Bass – called “Creamy (Beautiful Electronic Music).” It has changed a bit since I first discovered it a few years ago, but the tagline still boasts “melodic future bass, warm vocal drizzle, and dreamy dance music”. If that description didn’t invoke goosebumps across your body, then personally, I don’t know what will.
No matter what music I find myself falling into – because it does change with the weather, with the seasons and with my mood – I always find myself straying back to the genres that cannot be described without me sitting you down and playing you a little taste.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that my music tastes aren’t as basic as they were when I was younger, and although I may listen to “Stay” by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber no less than five times a day, I can promise you that everything else I find is unique, a bit odd, and absolutely perfect.
