Not more than 100 years ago, every sound heard in human history was generated through physical vibrations: plucking strings, hammers, drums, vocal cords. The rise of technologies (like the oscillator, magnetic tape, and vacuum tubes), along with a spirit of iconoclasm and an embrace of the avant-garde in the mid-20th century led to the creation of electronic music. Created from government-sponsored research and housed at universities, electronic music found its way out of the lab and became a global phenomenon. Modern classical music was the ultimate point of reference for the early electronic musicians who broke all barriers to bring strange sounds from the ether into our ears.
