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I'm preparing something special for the end of 2010. It's been a rollercoaster of a year for me with lows that still bring tears to my eyes, highs like I've never felt before and nowhere near enough middle ground. I suppose that makes it more like a lift.
Oh well, writing has never been my strong point, anyone that reads this can attest to that.

This blog has been a safe haven for me this year however, a place to come and spill my thoughts and organise them in front of my eyes, a place to escape from those very thoughts by talking about anything but them and sometimes a mix of the two. As my life moves on in new and exciting directions, a sense of normality is finally returning and with it, my burning passion to thrust music onto anyone that listens has returned too.
There are some incredible new sounds filling my ears at the moment, a conversation this morning reminded me that though guitar music for me personally is on a bit of a fall, it has been compensated for by a surging rise in all kinds of wonderfully deep and interesting electronic music that inspires and comforts in the way any guitar band used to.

One of the most obvious signs of the progression in electronic music at the moment is the number of artists who almost deny classification as journalists scramble to discover what to call artists and what the artists are calling themselves. Mount Kimbie say they are influenced by dubstep but what does dubstep even mean anymore? Mount Kimbie are clearly not dubstep and because of their smoother silkier textures are often given the term post-dubstep, akin to post-rock. As 2010 will be seen as dubstep's expansive year, it is encouraging that it can also be seen as the beginning of it's more mainstream explorations too with artists such as Scuba, Joy Orbison and Darkstar all rising to prominence for releasing music that is not only forward thinking but encourages all the artists around them to raise their game.
Another reason for the rise of electronic music in 2010 has been the influx of new artists with something credible to offer. Circa 2004, guitar bands were spiky, energetic and though often borrowing from earlier sounds, were generally pushing guitar music away from the Oasis' and late 90's pop punk and offering something new, especially on behalf of British guitar bands. However, 6 years later and those same bands have disappeared or released mediocre follow ups and are now taking a step back. This cyclical nature of music leaves a whole which electronic music is now filling quite nicely. Only a year ago, it seemed that Folk was here to save the world but with anything, overexposure leads to backlash however much people loved the original product. Now it is all things electronic that fill blogs, critics and my ears.


What's the point of all this? There isn't one really. I'm not trying to say Electronica is new, Kid A was 10 years old this year. I'm not trying to say there's no good guitar music, Warpaint and Foals are arguably two of my favourite albums this year. There is a change coming though, the dynamic is shifting and as someone that loves to listen to new music and be just a little snooty about it, that's a wonderfully exciting time.
At the end of 2010, I'll post a mix that I'm working on of my favourite electronic music, of all genres. Some of it you'll have heard to death, some of it you might not.
Either way, it'll hopefully highlight what a fantastic year 2010 has been for all types of electronic music and hopefully what 2011 has in store...