If you ask someone to think of electronic dance music (EDM), repetitive dance remixes, heavy beats and bass drops often come to mind. Senior Case Western Reserve University student Elie Nasr believes this understanding of electronic music is too narrow, and that a limited understanding of EDM discourages potential listeners.

“People hear one genre and think that if they don’t like it they don’t like electronic music in general,” said Nasr, the president of the newly created Electronic Music Club. “The breadth of electronic music is amazing, though. It’s not just house, it’s not just dubstep.”

Introducing the CWRU community to more genres within EDM was one of Nasr’s goals when he started the Electronic Music Club this semester. The club began as an informal private group of Nasr’s friends who liked to listen to, discuss and produce electronic music. As the group’s Facebook page attracted more members, Nasr realized the potential for an official group.

“It’s taken us two years to get to this point,” said Nasr. “We have just been approved by USG this semester, so now we’re trying to look for a strong new executive board.”

Although the executive board is now made up of seniors who will graduate in the spring, Nasr said the group included students of many different ages who were excited about electronic music.

Pranav Jayanth, a CWRU senior and the club’s secretary, agreed that the Electronic Music Club is appealing to a wide variety of people. “Getting people excited about shows, updating them when there are changes, that’s our goal,” he said. “The Internet has made music very democratic, there’s a new scene every couple of months. People are making music in their bedrooms.”

This makes a discussion club all the more important. “With so much music being produced, there can be quality issues,” said Jayanth. “We want to showcase music, especially quality producers on our campus. This club is a way to connect with others.”

“It’s also to keep us updated,” said Nasr. “With so much out there it’s hard to keep up. This is a hobby for us, and we like hearing what other people are listening to.”

This is especially important because of the variability between genres. Although this variety is one of electronic music’s strengths, Nasr described it as “a double-edged sword.”

“It can pigeonhole artists,” he said. “Some people get overwhelmed.”

Nasr said that his favorite electronic music artists include Kursa, Asa and Culprate. These artists produce different kinds of glitch pop, which can be identified by a track’s beats per minute and distinctive start-stop patterns.

“It’s glitchy,” said Jayanth. “It sounds like there are glitches in the loop.”

Jayanth said his favorite artists included dubstep like Skream and Silkie, along with the artist Lapalux, who describes himself as an “organic music continuum.”

“It’s pretty hard to classify,” admits Nasr. With the Electronic Music Club officially established on campus, however, it should get a little easier for interested members of the CWRU community to learn about different electronic genres and the electronic music scene in general.