Only a couple more classes until winter break, and today we vere away from the 128 bpm world EO lives in and explore the universe of Intelligent Dance Music (IDM).

Under that giant EDM umbrella of music, lives the genres more conservative, laid back cousin, IDM. IDM can be described as ambient, downtempo, and melodic. It is the type of music that can be heard in lounges or just chill out to. Tracks are marked by a more prominently featured and complex beat when compared to the background beat that anchors standard EDM tracks. While the same production values go into making these tracks as more upbeat music, the outcome is markably different from everything that EO covers.

IDM blossomed in the late 1980s in the UK as a new type of experimental music, mixing acid house and the standard ambient genre. With success over in Europe, the IDM scene appeared in the US in the mid-1990s gaining initial popularity in Chicago and San Francisco.

The name IDM is quite polarizing. Many producers feel it over describes the music as more than it is and even creates the notion that all other electronic music is inferior.

Decide for yourself with some choice tracks, the second of which you may remember from a Geico commercial a few years ago. Another great idea is just start an artist radio (Lemon Jelly) on Pandora and give it a half hour.

Lemon Jelly – A Tune for Jack

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Royksopp – Remind Me

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How familiar are you with IDM?

Questions, comments, and like below!