Genius is of course an over-used word, and we use it casually. We rarely mean, when using the designation, that someone is literally comparable to, say, Mozart, Da Vinci or Turing.
But I’m curious: in the area of electronic music production and composition, is there anyone you’d be comfortable labelling genius in its true definition?
I’m interested particularly in electronic music. The term has been more widely applied, and considered, in other genres of music - particularly classical and jazz - but much less so in electronic or other popular forms of music.
We should probably start with a definition. I’ll go with the Cambridge Dictionary’s version: “very great and rare natural ability or skill, especially in a particular area such as science or art”. (If anything, this feels a little underwhelming; there are myriad producers I’d say have a great and rare natural ability, but none I’d compare to Mozart.) Think prime Roger Federer or Ronnie O’Sullivan for a sports analogy.
But whatever. Here’s my candidate, for what it’s worth: James Lavelle. Some of you will know him from U.N.K.L.E. and his label, Mo’ Wax. I’ve listened to him for years and am yet to come across anyone with such a preternatural ability for musicality - his Global Underground 41 (Naples) is a typically dumbfounding example of his oeuvre. He spans such a wide array of sounds and styles, and I’ve never heard anyone else mix as he does. Hell, at one point in GU 41 he even manages to make the discordant, er, cordant (?). (It had never previously occurred to me that you could get away with dissonance just fine provided the timbres aligned.)
Anyway, I’m interested in your takes. Who’s that person that just seems to be on an entirely different planet? Aphex? Eno? Greenwood? Howlett?
I think that the world is full of genius but that for it to be universally recognizable (to the layperson) that it must be relatable, so I almost think that rather than genius this should focus more on savants who generally express their genius (even if it’s scope is limited to the area of recognition) in such a way that it is universally recognized as a skill or a talent.
Musical genius or anything equivalent to it and specifically electronic music genius is probably a bit of a misdirect considering that someone can make the most god awful shit sounding music you’ve ever heard in your life and be a certified top mensa member or have such an incredible understanding of dissonance that it is absolutely the most unpleasant thing you’ve ever heard in your life.
That may make them a contender for genius level output when examined under a microscope but there’s a huge element related to the people cited in the opening post as geniuses which relies on others recognizing their skill and (without any contention) acknowledging it.
I do think Mitya knows what he’s asking so I’m not saying that the query is phrased improperly, however and particularly in the field of electronic music, that which is recognized as talent or genius may be a completely separate thing to what actually is certifiable genius.
Who even invented this music? It is a collective practise. Is it collective genius?
Or should only western-european opinions count, which probably tells this is “garbage” [i love this music].
Then also, it takes almost a genius to recognize something as genius. Or a mass of people, hence things will only ever get labeled as “genius” if these things get exposed to enough people - and some luck.
I’ve been listening to electronic music for five decades and though I can think of a (very) few electronic musicians I would call innovative, exceptional, or even brilliant, I’ve never heard any that rose to the level of genius.
In the electronic music arena some artists that stand out to me and have had at least some works of genius include:
Thom Yorke
Matthew Herbert
Aphex Twin
Also, as much as I am a fan of UNKLEs first 3 albums, did James Lavelle have much to do with those? I was under the impression he was mostly a creative director for those, but I stand to be corrected.
Prince. I’d say he was an excellent example of a guy using modern tools (drum machines, synths, the studio) to achieve a greater vision by himself. I’d personally feel perfectly comfortable calling him a genius.
I’d agree with the earlier post about Thom Yorke, but he’s still not in the Prince ballpark…but that’s not a slight. Prince wasn’t a normal guy. He was built very, very different.
I believe you have to consider someone’s biography (since age 3 or so) in order to proclaim that person as genius. We might feel strongly about many artists and they might have produced many great works, create unique styles and become part of music history. But do they approach the genius mark from the cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, historical perspective? Most of them most likely not.
Btw. this one is slightly unrelated nevertheless quite essential read on this topic. I would welcome some other materials on the topic of genius of similar caliber.
