page_title: Electronics in rock music
section_title: 1990s
hierarchical_section_title: Electronics in rock music / History / 1990s
caption_attribution_description: Photo for general press use. Photo credit: Rob Sheridan.
context_page_description: The use of electronic music technology in rock music coincided with the practical availability of electronic musical instruments and the genre's emergence as a distinct style. Rock music has been highly dependent on technological developments, particularly the invention and refinement of the synthesizer, the development of the MIDI digital format and computer technology.
  In the late 1960s, rock musicians began to use electronic instruments, like the theremin and Mellotron, to supplement and define their sound; by the end of the decade the Moog synthesizer took a leading place in the sound of emerging progressive rock bands who would dominate rock in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, more commercially oriented synthpop dominated electronic rock. In the new millennium the spread of recording software led to the development of new distinct genres including electroclash, dance-punk and new rave.
context_section_description: In the 90s many electronic acts applied rock sensibilities to their music in a genre which became known as big beat. It fused "old-school party breakbeats" with diverse samples, in a way that was reminiscent of Old school hip hop. Big beat was criticised for dumbing down the electronica wave of the late 1990s. This sound was popularised by British acts such as Fatboy Slim, The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers and from the US The Crystal Method, Überzone and Lunatic Calm.
  This period also saw the rise of artists who combined industrial rock and metal. Ministry and Nine Inch Nails both recorded platinum-selling albums. Their success led to mainstream attention other industrial musicians; including Foetus and Coil. The mid-90s was a high point for industrial rock, when, in addition to bands that had been around since the 1980s, such as KMFDM, newer bands such as Gravity Kills emerged as commercial acts.
caption: Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails in 2008
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