The origins of electronica can be traced to early 1980s when artists from Detroit, such as Underground Resistance and Juan Atkins, improvised techno music to broaden its scope. Earlier, techno was restricted only to dance floors and clubs, but with the rise of electronica, the music started ranging from easy listening to hardcore techno. The term ‘electronica’ was actually coined by the press to describe any type of music that used electronic equipment and electronic instruments. With the dawn of 90s, electronica started becoming popular even across the Atlantic when Europeans started taking notice.

There are many sub-genres of electronica that can be broadly classified as: Ambient, Experimental and Hardcore Techno. All these styles of electronica were being developed independently in the Europe, especially the United Kingdom, and the United States. The ambient techno was oriented towards home listening or lounge music while Hardcore Techno, notably drum n’ bass / jungle, was intended mostly for dance floors. Experimental techno is a loose term to describe neo-techno music which was techno at heart but much more abstract than the other forms. Notable artists that influenced these sub genre are: Ambient – Biosphere and B12, Experimental – Bisk and Freeform, Hardcore Techno – Goldie, Roni Size.

In the 1990s the United Kingdom’s electronica scene was dominated by The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy. They made such a big influence on mainstream musicians that artists such as Madonna, from the United States, and Danii Minogue, from Australia, infused electronica elements into their music. Even international rock bands like U2, Radiohead, R.E.M and Oasis produced at least one Electonica album during that period. With Electonica entering the mainstream music, many music labels started promoting the music of this genre. Notable labels, mainly American, that promoted electronica in 1990s include Astralwerks, City of Angels, Sims and Moonshine.

Hip-hop music has always had some electronic sounds or samples as accompaniment. It was only natural that by late 1990s hip-hop music was heavily influenced by electonica, and it continues to be so. The initial success of G-funk rap and Dr Dre in the mid 1990s gave rise to many hip-hop producers who used synthesized sounds and vocals, electronic beats, and samples in their songs. The 2000s saw this trend getting popularized with artists such as Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake gaining widespread popularity. Another noticeable trend was the use of electonica as background score for advertisements and video games. The Wipeout video game series in particular featured many electronica tracks. Thus electronica has evolved and diversified, influencing other music genres and also made its way into background music of choice for video games.