Explore a new virtual exhibition showcasing the history of electronic music – Music, Makers & Machines

A new interactive virtual exhibition showcasing the history and legacy of electronic music, Music, Makers & Machines, goes live today (10 March), featuring contributions from some of the biggest names in the business.

The mammoth exhibition, which was launched by Google Arts & Culture, has partnered with XL Recordings, Innervisions, Kompakt, Kitsuné, WDR – West German Broadcasting, Museum of Youth Culture, Moogseum – Bob Moog Foundation, Alan R. Pearlman Foundation, MESS – Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, Vienna Museum of Technology, Clubcommission Berlin, Deutsches Museum, Visit Düsseldorf, SMEM – Swiss Museum for Electronic Music Instruments, Amsterdam Dance Event, Barbican Centre and more, to track the past, present and future of all things electronic.

The interactive exhibition features some 10,000 photo and video assets, more than 200 curated online exhibits, a massive collection of 3D scanned synths, plus a special AI 3D scan of the original Tresor door.

‘Electronic music brings people together from all walks of life and from all over the world. Its community has always been one of creativity and shared experiences,’ the official press release puts it.

‘As a result of COVID-19, many venues have had to close their doors, yet fans and musicians have remained connected through new online forums and formats. In this spirit, important cultural archives, museums, collections, record labels, festivals and some of the music industry’s leading experts and pioneers galvanise on Google Arts & Culture and YouTube to offer a gateway to learn about electronic music: Music, Makers & Machines.’

Exhibition highlights include:

phatmedia: Iconic Flyer Collection
London-based Museum of Youth Culture presents a very personal story by phatmedia, one of Europe’s biggest flyer collectors. Around 10.000 of his digitized flyers will be showcased, covering various movements, from Early Rave and Drum’n’Bass to Hardcore to House.

A Brief History of Early Dubstep
From its underground beginnings in South London expanding to a global scene, Georgina Cook talks us through the early days of the movement.

Detroit Techno: The Sound House of Mirrors
After R’n’B, soul, funk, and hip-hop, Detroit Techno is probably one of the most recent major stylistic inventions in African-American pop music.

Blacktronika
King Britt (DJ, label founder and professor at University of California San Diego) explores black innovators in electronic music, curated and with a dedicated soundtrack.

How Grime Took Over the UK
Grime has taken the world by storm, with Stormzy taking the headline slot at Glastonbury festival, the first Black British solo artist to do so.

Theme highlights include:

The iconic machines: Sound production, man-machine interaction and forgotten instruments – Moog, Buchla, Theremin, Subharchord, Telharmonium etc.

The night is young: Explore the electronic music scene in 12 vibing cities – 90s Berlin, Detroit, Chicago, Bristol, Tiflis, Hamburg, San Francisco, Tel Aviv etc.

Dancing in the dark: Coming-of-age stories, safe spaces and new cathedrals – Club culture in different cities, sound systems, squat raves etc.

Electronic music is Black music: Getting to know the originators – Detroit Techno, Thirty Faces who Shaped the Sound of Black Britain

Queer pioneers: Exploring the role of LGBTQ ravers in the history of electronic dance music – The Club Kids – from Ballroom & Disco to Cybergoths & Psytrance

Where the magic happens: The iconic places and stories about the history & culture of clubs – Berghain, Amsterdam Dance Event, Tresor, Salon des Amateurs

Turning the tables: How electronic music has influenced other music genres – Hip Hop, Jazz, Funk, Synth Pop, Dancehall, RnB etc.

The sound of the future: What happens when artificial intelligence and electronic music meet? – 12 songs created by AI, Resurrecting the world’s first electronic sequencer through AI

As well as that, there are also a number of tech highlights, including an ‘AR Synth’, which enables users to compose music on five famous synthesisers, a number of street view and 360-degree torus, and a virtual edition of the Electronic Music Map by Dorothy.

See you down the front! Discover it for yourself at by clicking here or via the Google Arts & Culture app on iOS or Android