Electronic music has always had a split personality. On one side, you have the experimental, often gritty, underground scene. On the other, the polished, chart-topping mainstream. For decades, these two worlds have coexisted in a delicate dance. But now, Artificial Intelligence has crashed the party, and that old tension is boiling over into a full-blown culture conflict. 1
The irony is, the underground has never been afraid of technology. In fact, they’ve been tinkering with it for ages. The term “Intelligent Dance Music” (IDM) was literally born from a 1992 Warp Records compilation called Artificial Intelligence. And for years, niche scenes like the “algorave” movement have featured artists live-coding music on the fly. For these pioneers, technology is an instrument to be played and pushed to its limits—not a simple button to press for an instant track. 2
AI: The Ultimate Sell-Out Tool?
So why does this new wave of AI feel so different? To many in the underground, today’s generative AI feels less like a creative tool and more like commercialization on steroids. These platforms are incredibly good at analyzing what’s already popular and spitting out more of the same. 3
This has led to the rise of what critics derisively call “business techno”—tracks that are clean, professional, and perfectly engineered for a generic playlist, but lack any real grit or soul. The fear is that AI will flood streaming services with formulaic, “best fit” songs, drowning out true innovation and making the music landscape feel bland and homogenous. 4
The Human Touch vs. The Algorithm
At its core, the underground scene is about human connection and authentic expression. It’s about music that comes from real-life experiences—the joy, the pain, and everything in between. So when someone can generate a song with a simple text prompt, it can feel like a “total slap in the face” to artists who have poured their hearts into learning their craft. Many feel that AI-generated music, no matter how technically perfect, is emotionally hollow.
Beyond authenticity, there are real concerns about inclusivity. Underground music has historically been a haven for marginalized communities. But if AI models are trained primarily on mainstream, commercially successful music, they risk perpetuating existing biases. Studies have already shown that music recommendation algorithms can be biased against female artists, for example. By amplifying what’s already popular, AI could inadvertently silence the diverse voices that make the scene so vibrant.
“Human-Made” as the New Badge of Honor
In response to the rise of algorithmic perfection, a counter-movement is brewing. “Human-made” is becoming a powerful statement—an act of cultural resistance. Choosing to use real instruments, performing live with all the raw energy and potential for mistakes, or releasing a track that isn’t perfectly quantized is a way of pushing back.
As the mainstream chases AI-driven efficiency, the underground is doubling down on what has always made it special: human creativity, flaws and all. It’s a battle for the soul of electronic music, and the underground is choosing to keep it real.
- https://peaceofmind.link/the-problem-with-edm-unpacking-the-commercialization-and-whitewashing-of-dance-music/ ↩︎
- https://pwc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs4281/files/2024-09/Wenshi%20Chen.%20Cracking%20the%20Musical%20Code.pdf ↩︎
- https://www.beatportal.com/articles/913865-ims-business-report-2025-the-global-electronic-music-industry-hits-a-record-12-9-billion ↩︎
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Techno/comments/180njoj/what_exactly_is_business_techno/ ↩︎
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