Grammy nominations have given a clear indication that Electronic Music is creeping out of the basement and into the limelight. It’s no surprise to see artists like DeadMau5, David Guetta, and Swedish House Mafia confined to their own category (Best Dance Recording) but it’s the nominations outside of this category that are surprising.
Skrillex, famed dubstep DJ & producer has managed to grab a nomination for best new artist despite the fact that Dubstep is a genre that has never been recognized by the Grammy’s in the past.
Another interesting grab is Chris Brown’s nomination for his F.A.M.E. as an R&B album, altough it’s peppered with the EDM stylings of Benny Benassi and David Guetta. Another ‘out of genre’ nomination comes from Diplo’s production on Chris Brown/Lil’ Wayne/Busta Rhymes “Look at me Now.” Personally, I prefer the Polka version.
And where would we be without a nod to Daft Punk’s score to Disney’s Tron: Legacy.
So here we are with a bucket of nominations, but what does it all mean? Should we as an EDM community be celebrating, or feel suddenly validated? There’s always going to be a set of people who will want to keep Dance Music in the basement. But I’m afraid the age of underground is over in the internet age. The dirty Burning Man hippie in me wants to say “Hey man! We don’t need your shiny trophies to tell us we rule!” but the business man side of me says “Way to monetize an art form, let’s take that money and grow more producers!” On the upside, more producers will be brought to the forefront, and now more than ever we actually know the names of our music producers and don’t assume that the vocalists make up every word and bass loop in a song. Overall, I tip my hat to the Diplos and Skrillexes of the world. I only ask that you destroy any chances of “Moves like Jagger” coming home with the golden phonograph.
