If the title left you scratching your beautiful little head, we’re sorry.

Please let us explain.

After stumbling upon both of these tracks in the very same day, we thought it proper to share them with you. The particular quality or motif that both of these songs share is a very simple concept to understand, however its role may be vitally important to the music industry as a whole. As stated in the title, both of these jams are EDM (Electronic Dance Music) without the ‘D’ or, more simply, Electronic Music.

Yeah, we get it. “EM,” as it shall be called, is most assuredly not a new concept in popular music. Hipsters have been doing it since they started making corduroy pants and fixed gear velocipedes (quintessentially indie way of saying “bicycles”)…and that’s a long time.

Trust us.

However, both of the tracks by artists AFK and Matchbox Orchestra incorporate particular qualities of Electronic Music that are more closely related to those heard in Electronic Dance Music. More and more these days we are begging to see these electronic sounds pop up in any and every other genre of already established popular music. Instead of boring you with the details of what we mean exactly, we figured it might be more fun if you just listened. Try and tease out these concepts yourself. See if you can understand exactly what we are talking about.

Both “I forget” by Matchbox Orchestra featuring CubeKin and AFK’s remix of “Bride Side” by Protohype and Ras feature a more minimalistic electronic approach than most EDM productions. We say this because both artists are EDM producers by trade.

If anything, the two songs sound more like regular old rock jams than anything. In our opinion, this method serves to make the individual breakdowns all the more dulcet and indicative of the emotion the vocalist is trying to convey in their lyrics. Instead of being stagnantly satiated with overwhelming electronic arrangements, they are saved for a time when the song truly NEEDS it.

Good luck getting either of these tunes out of your heads.

1. Protohype – Bright Side ft. Ras (AFK Remix ft. DKS)

2. Matchbox Orchestra – I Forget ft. CubeKin