Folktronica

Folktronica is a genre of indie electronic music comprising various elements of folk music and electronica, often featuring uses of acoustic instruments—especially stringed instruments—deploying hip hop, electronic or dance rhythms, and incorporating delicate, textural sound design, although it varies based on influences and choice of sounds.The Ashgate Research Companion to Popular Musicology describes folktronica as "a catch-all [term] for all manner of artists who have combined mechanical dance beats with elements of acoustic rock or folk".

Folktronica
Stylistic origins	Ambient pop downtempo electronica folk IDM indie folk glitch post-rock
Cultural origins	1990s–2000s
Typical instruments	Electronic acoustic
Other topics
Ethnic electronica freak folk

The 1991 album Every Man and Woman is a Star by Ultramarine is credited as a progenitor of the genre; it featured a pastoral sound and incorporated traditional instruments such as violin and harmonica with techno and house elements. In the early 2000s, indie electronic acts such as Múm, Four Tet, Isan, Bibio and the Books began releasing formative music in the genre. According to The Sunday Times Culture's Encyclopedia of Modern Music, essential albums of the genre are Four Tet's Pause and Rounds (2001), Tunng's Mother's Daughter and Other Songs (2005), and Caribou's The Milk of Human Kindness (2005).

See also

Look up folktronica in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Folktronica.

• List of folktronica artists

References

1. Smyth, David (23 April 2004). "Electrifying folk: Folktronica, new folk, fuzzy folk – call it what you will. Laptops are replacing lutes to create a whole new sound", Evening Standard, p. 31.
2. Empire, Kitty (27 April 2003). "Up front on the verge: Four Tet, aka Kieran Hebden", The Observer, p. 14.
3. Scott, Derek B., ed. (2016). The Ashgate Research Companion to Popular Musicology. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-7546-6476-5.
4. Beta, Andy (13 May 2013). "Interviews: Four Tet". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
5. Clayton, Richard (1 February 2009). "Folktronica: Encyclopedia of Modern Music". Times Online. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2010.