The Sydney electronic dance music (EDM) scene has become increasingly international with increased sampling of overseas content. Sampling as a musical technique has been around for some time, leaving some to argue that it has lost its relevance to the production of new music, instead becoming just a way to repackage old music. However, sampling is still alive and actively engaged in the creation and development of musical scenes, if not the production of individual tracks. With the creation of the internet, transnational sampling between EDM scenes—which refer both to the physical grouping of producers and consumers (Sydney, for instance) and to the collection of shared aesthetics these groups develop—has exploded in scope and ease. This allows scenes that are distant physically to become closer aesthetically. Online EDM sharing sites, such as beatport.com, are faster and cheaper, and they eliminate the need for the mediation of record stores stocking only select music. The Sydney scene in particular relies heavily on internationally sampled music, primarily from British and American producers, to supply the large EDM consumer base. This leads to a unique Sydney scene, created through sampling and remixing other scenes. The Sydney EDM scene is a case study in the application of sampling theories to larger musical entities than just a single work.

Index Classifications: General, 2000s, Popular

Contributed by: Matthew Van Vleet