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One thing I'm taking away from this (so far...on #3) is the sense of community that dance parties create. Yeah, I know, it's almost cliched. But it's the realist sense of group comrade that I have ever encountered. I was at a party last weekend that exhibited this same level of compassion. I live in the Detroit area, have a lot of friends who are artists, promoters, or just plain enthusiasts, but the fact remains that this vibe is real. It's more than the music. It's the sense of family that keeps every body together. The same people from week to week with the same good sense in music that binds it all together. It makes me proud to be a part of the scene. Places like the Paradise Garage or the Music Boxx really laid the ground work for the rest of the world to enjoy nightlife as we know it.

BTW, David Mancuso really needs a movie all to himself.

edit 2:Francis Grasso, wow, there getting deeper than I expected! We should all be reading Last Night A DJ Save My Life as a primer to this. Seriosly, it's the best book I ever read (about djing)!

Adding to this, you don't have to sacrifice sound quality for lower volume!

There exists what is known as "Musician's Earplugs" and they are AMAZING and a great investment ($20 fuck yeah!). Essentially they are earplugs that lower the "volume" of all sound around you, but without muffling anything and keeping everything sounding clear still. Imagine a real-life volume control.

You DON'T have to break the bank to get awesome hearing protection. I HIGHLY recommend these (and so do thousands of others who have done any research at all): Etymotic ER-20 Universal Musician's Earplugs which you can get for extremely cheap.

They will stick out of your ears a LITTLE bit, but no one has ever mentioned it to me yet because no one really focuses on ears in a club/loud event. I used these before I got my custom-made ones and they do the job perfectly. Trust me, find the loose change to get a pair of these and you won't have to worry about hearing damage after that night out clubbing. They are re-usable, and you don't have to wash em (your earwax is clean!). Maybe just a quick wipe with a tissue/cloth to remove excess earwax build up but that's it.

You can get them for under $25 from Amazon, or your local musical instruments or DJ store. They will reduce the sound around you by around 20 dB, which is the difference between ringing in your ears when you're in bed after a night of clubbing (a sign of your ears being exposed to too loud sound!), and no pain at all and no permanent hearing damage in the future (tinnitus is the worst thing ever!). If anything, music and conversations actually sound clearer and better when you wear these in a loud event because it lowers the volume of noise around you.

Just to show you how much I value my ears, I recently purchased a pair of $250 (yup, no typo!) custom-made musician's earplugs. They fit pretty much perfectly in my ears because I had a mold of both my ear canals made by an audiologist, and sent off to an earplugs manufacturer to get them custom made. The result is a very comfortable, unnoticeable pair of earplugs, which is one of the best investments I've made in my DJ/music lover life. I have never been into a club/loud event/festival without a pair of earplugs before.

tl;dr BUY THESE IF YOU WANT CHEAP, AWESOME MUSICIAN'S EARPLUGS: http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ETY-Plugs-Protection-Earplugs/dp/B0044DEESS

I have a few recommendations for you to get you started:

1. This book: Music Theory for The Computer Musician , it's a great way to start off if you're unfamiliar with music theory. It gives you the basics and foundation of theory and while showing you how to apply it to various DAWs. It's a fairly easy read and there are quizzes and a CD with examples from the lessons. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
   
   
2. Here are some good subreddits:
   /r/edmproduction/
   /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers/
   /r/abletonlive/
   
   
3. As others have mentioned, there are no shortage of resources online. There's tons of Youtube videos and forums where you can find tutorials.
   
   
4. I also recommend listening/reading up on different types of EDM to give yourself a better understanding of what differentiates each genre. For example, check out the "House Music" wiki. Look at the description and try to understand what the "elements" of House music are: Rhythm structure, characteristic sounds, etc.. Do that for the genres you like first, and then venture to others you may not be familiar with.
   
   
5. Lastly, if you're serious about it, stick with it. Just like anything, the more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. Also, keep in mind it's not a cheap hobby or easy (time wise). You can do a lot of basic stuff with you Macbook and Logic (or whatever DAW you prefer) to get yourself started. I would hold off buying much hardware until you are comfortable with basics. If anything I would start off with some headphone and speaker monitors. (the links are to what I'm using and recommend to get started).
   
   
   I hope at least some of that is helpful...Good luck with everything!

omg it's fate! hello fellow duck <33

1. there are some awesome books if you want to start learning about mixing and mastering:
   
   Audio Engineering 101
   
   Mastering Audio, The Art and the Science
   
   Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio
   
   ​
   
   those are a great place to start! the weird thing about mixing and mastering is that it's simultaneously complicated and very, very simple - in my experience the strongest engineers often use the most basic tools, they just have a very in-depth understanding of how they work and how to wield them effectively. don't get frustrated if it's not easy right away - i have been producing and engineering for a really really freaking long time and i am JUST starting to feel super confident with mixing and mastering. it takes dedication and patience but it is soooooo rewarding! you should totally do it!
   
   
2. i got to go to australia on my first international headline tour last year and it was SO COOL
   
   
3. well my favorite kind of dog is all dogs, but also my dogs because theyre my babies. i have a 100 lb staffy/great dane mix who lives with me in LA, and a 13 lb chihuahua/terrier/potato mix who lives with my dad in san francisco

some film

Modulations

Pump up the Volume

24 Hour Party People

If you are interested in rave/electronic dance music culture, this is a pretty decent list of documentaries/movies

As far as books go, I would recommend Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, Altered State, The Underground is Massive, Technomad

Dancecult has been writing about electronic music culture for many years now

IMO a formal history of electronic music starts with the beginning of sound recording technology, and maybe beyond that, musique concrete would be another launchpoint

But if you want something more silly, put a donk on it

There's a lot of neat music from the 60s and 70s with creative recording techniques (the Beatles, Beach Boys), and the rise of progressive rock synthesizer madness from bands like Yes and Genesis (they sounded rather different before the 80s if you're expecting "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "I Can't Dance"), ELP, Can, etc. I'd even throw Pink Floyd in the mix

Detroit Techno should be renamed Hi Tech Soul ... cos that's the doco's name :)


Check Synth Britannia for nice doco on the emergence of electronica in pop n post punk

On the hip hop tip there's Scratch (to get more of a dose on this tip see the Style Wars doco and Wild Style as a movie blurring the lines between the real scene and a fictional one)


On all tings dubwise there's very nicely produced Dub Echoes doco.

If you want to go further back and dig on the development of dub from ska onwards, The Studio One Story tells the tale of the development of one of the best (IMO) studios/labels in JA.




For the sheer awesome of a live show, Underworld's Everything Everything

Cheap foam ones if nothing else, but i find they muddle the sound and make it difficult to talk to people

You can get decently comfy hi fidelity ones for 15-20 bucks, I liked these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GX1TOFM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But I upgraded and splurged and got a pair of $40 Earasers and they are AMAZING. Totally invisible, no ringing ears, I can hear the music, talk to people, and wear them for 8 hours at a festival with little to no discomfort. Even sometimes forgetting I have them in. I don't leave home without them. I got the small size and they fit me perfectly.

Ety plugs are a great bang for your buck. Relatively comfy and they do little to degrade the higher frequencies (as compared to foam plugs).

But if you really enjoy going to shows and appreciating music, I can't recommend a pair of custom molded plugs from an audiologist more strongly.

I did this about 7 years ago and still appreciate them every time that I go to a show. Also, I motorcycle, so they get quite a bit of use outside of clubs as well!

Daily reminder that these will save your hearing at the same time as making loud concerts sound better

Edit: You know how if you're close to the speakers at a really loud concert, the music sounds distorted like a blown speaker? That's your hearing being damaged. These protect your ears and clear up the distortion, so the concert sounds way better and you can enjoy music for your whole life.

If you're still not convinced that protection is worth it, spend a couple minutes on /r/tinnitus

Haven't read Last Night..., but Simon Reynolds' Energy Flash was quite a nice overview for me. It's not short (around 550 pages) but a very good look at electronic music from the '70s to about 2006.

I just bought Earasers but I haven't had a chance to try them out yet. Any comparisons out there? They seem pretty well received and I read a lot of good reviews, but as reasonably priced as those are I might consider them as a second/backup pair.

And I got them on massdrop for much less than the listed retail here btw

ishkur's guide is the best entry point imo. if you can, I'd then suggest getting this book (http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Flash-Journey-Through-Culture/dp/1593764073)-- seriously the most comprehensive history of electronic music and rave culture out there. There are some cool genre specific documentaries on youtube which you can typically find just by searching some subgenre name + 'documentary'. Then the Dance Music Guide is a good reference for newer genres.

'Last Night A DJ Saved My Life' has always been one of my favorites. Less of an electronic music history and more of a history on DJing, but still makes for a very interesting read.

FACT has an article on this though.

These are the cheapest best quality ones IMHO, I own like 10 pairs and leave em everywhere.

http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ETY-Plugs-Protection-Earplugs/dp/B0044DEESS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1408550968&sr=8-4&keywords=ear+plugs

They hardly stick out at all and stick in pretty comfortably. If you're that concerned about em, they have ones with shorter ends too here

Techno Rebels by Dan Sicko is excellent, especially if you're interested in techno's roots in Detroit.

The Computer Music Tutorial is a pretty comprehensive reference for digital synthesis.

These Earplugs are awesome. They also have a "pro" version with one additional filter.

This is a nice book: Simon Reynolds: Energy Flash, also i heard How Music Works by David Byrne is a decent read on everything.

I can't justify spending the $40, seeing I've lost like 4 of these already I go for the basic ER-20s

http://smile.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ETY-Plugs-Protection-Earplugs/dp/B0015WJQ7A/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1416329151&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=er+20+etymotic

I love em and I'll pay the premium to have them if I forget them or before a nectar show.

highly recommend their concert movie Everything Everything

I have a few set of ear plugs. I spent extra monies on ones that arent foam. They dont muffle the sound and you can still hear the music. Can check out something like this on Amazon with it's own metal carrier: https://www.amazon.com/Hearprotek-Reduction-Earplugs-Hearing-Protection-Percussion/dp/B07PSFXZX4/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?keywords=ear+plugs&qid=1565050576&s=gateway&sr=8-16

I'm going to wrongly assume that you mean "where can I buy the r3conf1gur3d album online?" Well, here's one place

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

Edit, and of course: Mark Prendergast - The Ambient Century

Edit 2: I'm currently reading John Cage's biography, but it's not really about all of electronic music.

I believe the standard. Here is the Amazon link for the one I believe I purchased (don't have them with me at the moment) [Etymotic Ear Plugs]

I hadn't been to a big show in a while, but I brought my Etymotics to a major festival a couple weeks ago, and it's just so much better. I take them out for two minutes and the sound is harsh, undiscernable, etc. Put 'em back in and the mix is insanely tight, the volume isn't overwhelming, and you can still feel all the sound waves in your body.

Really, it's a no-brainer.

Earplugs are important, yo.

These are probably the best you can get for $15-$20, but personally I am not not happy about them - they distort bass quite noticably. I'd say 7/10.

I actually major in music theory, so don't feel bad :P I'm not really sure of any materials as I've mostly learned from teachers and professors. I've seen this book thrown around a lot:

Music Theory for Computer Musicians

http://amzn.com/B0044DEESS

Buy them. Now.

http://www.amazon.ca/Etymotic-Research-ER20-SMB-C-ETY-Plugs-Protection/dp/B0044DEESS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408570210&sr=8-3&keywords=earplugs

Pixelatedcow1 mentioned this further below, but you should give the R3C0NF1GUR3D version of the soundtrack a listen. This track is from that.

Read this book.

These guys?

This is going to date me, because I don't even know if this still exists, but around when I started getting seriously into the scene I picked up a copy of AMG's Guide to Electronica. It doesn't have a great poster, but there is a tremendous amount of info there.

You can probably get most of the info from their site, which is unfortunately a travesty, but at least it'd be up to date.

One of the most influential Berlin night clubs of the past 2 decades, which holds similar ideals today much like most of the well known clubs that were born around techno music in Germany:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berghain

The birthplace of House music in Chicago "The Warehouse was patronized primarily by gay black and Latino men":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warehouse_(nightclub)

Recommended books you can read to learn about the history of music:

https://www.amazon.com/Klang-Familie-Felix-Denk/dp/3738604294

https://www.amazon.com/Techno-Rebels-Renegades-Electronic-Painted/dp/0814334385

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Night-DJ-Saved-Life/dp/0802146104/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Energy-Flash-Journey-Through-Culture/dp/1593764073/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1593764073&pd_rd_r=S1TWN7HDAJJY3Z2QN4BG&pd_rd_w=Zk210&pd_rd_wg=Dqe5r&psc=1&refRID=S1TWN7HDAJJY3Z2QN4BG

https://www.amazon.com/Electrochoc-Laurent-Garnier/dp/1906615918

A snippet from the above book by Laurent Garnier regarding Detroit, the birthplace of Techno music:

"Like Manchester in the early 1800s, during the golden age of the British Industrial Revolution, Detroit also became the great American city of industry. Several thousand blue-collar workers came from all over the US to work at the Ford automobile plant, while the black workers were confined to the foundries.

In 1959 Motor Town gave birth to Motown, the cultural pride of the black community. Then the battle for civil rights broke out in the US, and in July 1967 Detroit experienced three days of bloody rioting. The white community fled to the suburbs and the ghetto grew bigger and bigger. And finally, in the 1980s, there was an explosion in drug abuse, especially of crack, in these same ghettos.

Detroit techno music tells the story of all of this hardship. And within this music one can feel the life force that refuses to be put down. Words are of no importance. Everything is expressed within a few notes, repeated ad infinitum. Detroit techno is made of metal, glass and steel. When you close your eyes you can hear, far off in the distance, then closer and closer, the echo of crying. Like in jazz and blues, Detroit techno transfigures suffering. This authenticity of spirit has no price.

'In 1981, a record – "Sharevari" – was released that would play a pivotal role in the history of Detroit techno. "Sharevari" is the very first techno record from Detroit, but as yet nobody had used the term "techno," it simply didn't exist.

Mike Banks, alias Mad Mike, is the true soul of Detroit techno. He is an urban guerrilla, a man haunted by the suffering of his city. Mike has chosen music to fight against the problems of daily life and takes his inspiration from the Afro-American struggle of the 1960s

Through his record label Underground Resistance, Mike Banks spreads a guerrilla philosophy whose targets are the major record labels, the American segregationist system, and despair in the ghetto.

Mad Mike pursues his causes – to get young people away from crime and drugs, to rally against the economic disaster that is Detroit – and music.

UR is the continuation of a long struggle and we chose existing technologies to make this struggle move forward. Through UR, we wanted to express everything through sound; no need for pictures. We were against everything you have to accept in order to be famous.

We were just coming out of the 80s, a time when many black artists had had their noses done or their skin whitened. Fuck that! If a guy doesn't know what you look like, he won't care, as long as he likes your music. It's Detroit and the whole black experience in America that gave birth to Underground Resistance.

We both had experience of deals with majors in which we had been swindled. That is where the name Underground Resistance came from. Literally, to create a resistance to the "overground."

What's really remarkable is that I have to go out of my way to explain and showcase all of this to you, when this is something that is known amongst most fanatics of electronic music.

Much like Germany had its own sub-culture tied to political movement, so did Chicago and Detroit.

It's like I'm talking to a person saying "The sky is blue" while said person refuses to look up and constantly spews things like "No! Wrong! Wrong! It's green! Prove it!"

Why do you think Punk Rock is named after a whole sub-culture, just out of pure coincidence? It's laughable that I have to explain such a simple concept to someone so ignorant. It's like you talk about things that are 100% obvious and make yourself the clown of the room while genuinely refusing to acknowledge it, it's very cringeworthy.

I'm going to block you now because you're a prime example of the kind of people /r/edm is filled with and why no electronic music fanatic actually wants to remotely even deal with people of your kind, you've demonstrated that point very well. It's laughable how you refuse to educate yourself in any way and then you come on these boards with a hostile attitude dismissing things that have been known for multiple decades because of how dense and ignorant you are, from people who have a much better understanding of what they are saying. Electronic music is 40 years old now, do you genuinely think that nobody has touched on these subjects beforehand? Have a look at the list I linked to you and do yourself a favor and stop being hostile with your replies as long as you remain ignorant, you're really embarrassing yourself and most other EDM listeners with your example.