From early 2001 until the summer of 2004 I did a little radio show called Poptronica at Stanford on KZSU 90.1 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area, trying to popularize the many styles of electronica (house, techno, trip-hop, jungle, etc.) and occasionally hosting some of the very talented DJs in this part of the world. In the last incarnation of my show (summer 2004) I teamed up with fellow KZSU DJ Mehrshad, and we rechristened our joint programme as The Sound Initiative.

If you're a listener and would like to get on my low-traffic announcement list, drop me an email. You'll hear from me about specials, club passes and guest DJs.

If you're a local DJ and would like to spin on Poptronica let me know what sound you'd bring to the airwaves and send me or point me to (e.g online mp3) a mixed demo set of yours.

If you're a promoter and would like me to spin at your event please drop me an email.

Sometimes called BPM-music (as in "beats per minute"), electronica is an umbrella term used to cover several beat-centric genres of music including trip-hop, jungle, techno, house and trance. I often get asked for specific recommendations, or for what the best way for people to get into this kind of music is.

First, what's the deal with all these genres and sub-genres of electronica? How can you tell house from trance from techno, or if you want split hairs, what's the difference between progressive and hard house? Epic trance versus Goa trance? What exactly is Detroit techno? Allmusic.com has one of the best guides I've seen when it comes to roadmapping electronic music. Nothing is set in stone and some things are quite unclassifiable and genre-bending (I'm still confused about where, or even whether to classify Moby's chart-topping Play album).

Overview of a few genres

Trip-hop was coined by the British music press to characterize a style of downtempo, mellow, jazz-, funk- and soul-influenced breakbeat (hence "hop") music. The songs are often ambient-leaning and infused with psychotropic atmospherics (hence "trip"). Notable artists: Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead, Kruder/Dorfmeister.

Drum'n'bass is the most rhythmically complex of all forms of techno, relying on fast polyrhythms, breakbeats, drum machines and deep bass. Its variant, Jungle, has more overt reggae, dub and R&B influences. While house and trance practically do the dancing for the club crowds, drum'n'bass grooves are usually more difficult to follow. It is thus often seen as a genre designed for a smaller, dedicated audience. Notable artists: Aphrodite, Photek, LTJ Bukem, Roni Size.

Techno is rooted in the electronic music made in Detroit in the mid-80s and inspired by early acts such as Germany's Kraftwerk (self-described "robot pop" artists). Early techno productions emphasized electronic, synthesized beats and were largely intended for live DJ mixing. Later techno acts explored more ambient avenues (The Orb) and harder-edged tunes (Prodigy) with remarkable commercial success. Other notable artists: Juan Atkins, Orbital, Underworld, Moby.

House grew out of the post-disco dance culture of the '80s. The name comes from the Warehouse club in Chicago where DJs began mixing dance music with a strong mechanical four-four beat. Faceless female diva vocals are often present in house music, as well as latin or funk influences. Notable artists: Daft Punk, Armand van Helden, DJ Dan, Jesse Saunders.

Some links

The Electronica Primer is a great and much more complete overview site, including music samples from each genre. Dancemusic.about.com has tons of links, how-tos and other useful info. Pretty funny (and useful, if you're new to the scene) are their quick guides on how to dance at a rave and how to fake like you know your techno music. The same site also hosts its own techno genre breakdown.