M83 expressed that EDM is one of the music genres he dislikes the most
French electronic music project, M83, has made it clear that he holds a strong distaste for the genre of electronic dance music (EDM), stating that it is one of the styles of music he dislikes the most.
With his distinct blend of shoegaze, dream pop, and ambient sounds, M83‘s music contrasts the fast-paced beats and heavy basslines often associated with EDM. In this context, M83’s opinion on the genre is an interesting one and raises questions about the diversity of musical tastes within the electronic music scene.
The track ‘Midnight City‘ by M83 has been played so many times by DJs that it’s hard to keep track. Originally featured on the double album ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming‘, which was released in 2011, the album was a great success. According to a brief summary of its achievements, ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ placed third on Pitchfork’s Top 50 Albums of 2011 list, while the single ‘Midnight City’ was ranked first on the Top 100 Tracks list.
Undeniably, the song was a massive hit and was largely responsible for M83’s immense popularity. Nevertheless, Anthony Gonzalez, the band’s only remaining member, has expressed regret for the song’s popularity in several interviews. In a well-known interview with VICE in 2019, he stated, “These days, I just want people to forget about me and my past successes – ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ and ‘Midnight City’.”
In a recent interview with Consequence, Anthony Gonzalez reaffirmed his previous statements,
“I mentioned this in an interview before, but it’s almost that I want to keep the fans of ‘Midnight City’ away from entering — which I mean mostly as a bad joke. For me, the struggle with being a successful artist with that album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, and especially with that track, ‘Midnight City’, is that all of a sudden, I had this huge EDM following. EDM is probably one of the styles of music that I hate the most. All of a sudden, I have these bro EDM DJs playing my music, and I just can’t even care less. Sometimes I wish that I could erase that fan base but I don’t think it’s possible to do that.”
Although this statement may not offend EDM fans personally, it is disappointing to hear that the artist behind a song that frequently appears in numerous sets each year has disrespected an entire fan base.
This interview arrives just before M83 ninth studio album, Fantasy, which will be released on Friday, March 17th.
Image Credit: Rama via Wikimedia Commons | License: Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 France (CC BY-SA 2.0 FR)
