Key members of the electronic music community from across the globe have come together with support from Google Arts & Culture and YouTube to create ‘Music, Makers & Machines, an interactive collection celebrating the history and legacy of electronic music and the role that electronic music plays within wider culture.
Music, Makers & Machines is a permanent online exhibition accessible by all from 10th March 2021 on Google Arts & Culture, Google’s not for profit platform.
The exhibition has been created through the collaboration of over 50 international cultural partners spanning 15 countries, including museums, archives, festivals, educational establishments, industry experts and pioneers from the electronic music scene. Contributors include Innervisions (DE), Kompakt (DE), Kitsuné (FR), Moogseum – Bob Moog Foundation (US), WDR – West German Broadcasting (DE), Museum of Youth Culture (UK), Clubcommission Berlin (DE), Deutsches Museum (DE), Visit Düsseldorf (DE), SMEM – Swiss Museum for Electronic Music Instruments (CH), Amsterdam Dance Event (NL), Philharmonie de Paris (FR) Barbican Centre (UK), Black Cultural Archives (UK), Hayward Gallery (UK), Chicago History Museum (US), Sydney Opera House (AUS), Nakamura Keith Haring Collection, Hokuto (JP) to name but a few.
Together these institutions capture the vital part electronic music has played in influencing movements, places and technology. Whilst lockdown restrictions have left dancefloors empty, many assets featured in the platform will transport viewers back into the clubs, institutions and studios that have helped shape the community it is today. The result is a highly immersive resource, presenting Augmented Reality features, over 13,000+ archived photo and video assets, 200 online exhibitions, 360° tours and 3D scans along with bespoke editorial features delving into scenes, sounds and iconic cities.
Check out some of the aspects of the exhibition below.
Exhibition Highlights
phatmedia: Iconic Flyer Collection
London-based Museum of Youth Culture presents a very personal story by phatmedia, one of Europe’s biggest flyer collectors. Around 10.000 of his digitized flyers will be showcased, covering various movements, from Early Rave and Drum’n’Bass to Hardcore to House.
A Brief History of Early Dubstep
From its underground beginnings in South London expanding to a global scene, Georgina Cook talks us through the early days of the movement.
Detroit Techno: The Sound House of Mirrors
After R’n’B, soul, funk, and hip-hop, Detroit Techno is probably one of the most recent major stylistic inventions in African-American pop music.
Blacktronika
King Britt (DJ, label founder and professor at University of California San Diego) explores black innovators in electronic music, curated and with a dedicated soundtrack.
Grime has taken the world by storm, with Stormzy taking the headline slot at Glastonbury festival, the first Black British solo artist to do so.
Theme Highlights
The iconic machines: Sound production, man-machine interaction and forgotten instruments – Moog, Buchla, Theremin, Subharchord, Telharmonium etc.
The night is young: Explore the electronic music scene in 12 vibing cities – 90s Berlin, Detroit, Chicago, Bristol, Tiflis, Hamburg, San Francisco, Tel Aviv etc.
Dancing in the dark: Coming-of-age stories, safe spaces and new cathedrals – Club culture in different cities, sound systems, squat raves etc.
Electronic music is Black music: Getting to know the originators – Detroit Techno, Thirty Faces who Shaped the Sound of Black Britain
Queer pioneers: Exploring the role of LGBTQ ravers in the history of electronic dance music – The Club Kids – from Ballroom & Disco to Cybergoths & Psytrance
Where the magic happens: The iconic places and stories about the history & culture of clubs – Berghain, Amsterdam Dance Event, Tresor, Salon des Amateurs
Turning the tables: How electronic music has influenced other music genres – Hip Hop, Jazz, Funk, Synth Pop, Dancehall, RnB etc.
The sound of the future: What happens when artificial intelligence and electronic music meet? – 12 songs created by AI, Resurrecting the world’s first electronic sequencer through AI
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