8 Electronics Music Books That Separate Experts from Amateurs

While working as a music journalist immersed in turntablist and electronic scenes, Laurent Fintoni noticed the quiet rise of bedroom producers reshaping hip-hop and electronic music around the millennium. His book traces this shift through over 100 interviews and vivid stories from underground scenes like trip-hop, IDM, and glitch, revealing how independent creators pioneered new approaches to composition and performance. You’ll gain insights into the cultural and technological forces behind this evolution, as well as how local beat cultures grew into a global movement. This is ideal if you want to understand the roots of modern instrumental hip-hop and electronic experimentation beyond mainstream narratives.

Nicolas Collins's decades of experience as a composer and sound artist shine through in this engaging guide to hardware hacking for music creation. You learn to creatively repurpose everyday electronics—radios, toys, even CD players—to craft unique instruments and sound processors, such as contact microphones and oscillators. Chapters contributed by contemporary practitioners keep you abreast of new technologies like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and soft circuitry, while the companion website enhances learning with tutorials and audio-visual examples. Whether you're a musician, composer, or tech enthusiast, this book equips you with both practical skills and a fresh perspective on electronic music's tactile roots.

This tailored book explores the core techniques and creative workflows essential to mastering electronic music production. It covers sound synthesis, beat making, mixing, and arrangement, all shaped to focus on your interests and background. By examining both foundational principles and innovative approaches, it reveals how to craft your unique sound effectively. The personalized content addresses your specific goals, ensuring you engage deeply with the most relevant topics and tools. Through this focused pathway, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of electronic music’s nuances and the practical skills needed to bring your musical ideas to life.

What happens when an experienced festival and club promoter turns historian? Alon Shulman draws on his deep connections with iconic DJs and firsthand experience to recreate the pivotal summers of 1988 and 1989 when acid house and ecstasy reshaped British nightlife. You’ll explore the cultural clash between youth and establishment, the rise of dance music, and the birth of club culture through vivid accounts and exclusive interviews with legends like Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox. This book suits anyone curious about how a musical movement influenced fashion, politics, and youth identity, offering detailed context rather than just hype.

Joshua Au-Yeung brings his extensive experience as a music producer and composer into this detailed guide for FL Studio 21 users. You’ll learn how to shape your sound through chapters on compression, equalization, and stereo effects, while also diving into advanced tools like vocoders, glitch effects, and the new plugins unique to this edition. The book doesn’t just stop at production techniques; it also walks you through setting up your studio and strategies for promoting your music online. If you’re invested in mastering FL Studio to create polished electronic tracks and grow your presence, this book offers practical knowledge tailored to both beginners and seasoned producers.

David Felton brings years of experience in electronic music production to this detailed guide focused on dance music. You’ll find practical breakdowns of studio fundamentals, mixing rules, and creative techniques that move a track from initial idea to club-ready master. The book covers various styles, including house, techno, and drum & bass, with clear chapters on beat construction and learning from influential artists. Whether you’re refining your mixing skills or expanding your writing approach, Felton’s insights resonate across skill levels, though absolute beginners might need supplementary basics elsewhere.

This tailored book explores a focused 90-day program designed to elevate your electronic music production, mixing, and composition skills in harmony with your unique style. It delves into core techniques and creative practices that align with your background and goals, ensuring each element matches your personal artistic direction. By concentrating on your specific interests and experience level, it reveals a custom pathway through complex production concepts, helping you make meaningful progress efficiently. The book carefully balances foundational principles with advanced topics like sound design, mixing nuances, arrangement, and workflow optimization, creating a rich learning experience that adapts to your pace. Its personalized nature makes it an engaging guide to refine your craft over three months, bridging expert knowledge with your individual creative journey.

Jason Timothy's three decades in music production shape this guide aimed at demystifying the path to finishing release-quality electronic tracks. Rather than overwhelming you with technical jargon, he breaks down the process into manageable steps that accommodate producers at any stage, even those who haven't completed a song before. The book shares practical methods to maintain creative flow, avoid common pitfalls, and adapt across styles, with chapters dedicated to structuring workflow and overcoming blocks. If you're striving to develop a consistent production routine and express your unique sound, this book offers a clear framework without overcomplication.

Dr. J. Anthony Allen approaches music theory from a producer’s perspective, stripping away traditional classical notation to focus on the MIDI grid producers already use. You’ll learn how harmony, chord progressions, and song structures function within electronic music, illustrated by analyses of tracks from artists like Daft Punk and Skrillex. This book is tailored for producers intimidated by conventional theory, offering a clear path to better composition without needing prior formal training. If you create electronic music and want to deepen your understanding of its musical foundations in a practical, familiar context, this book speaks directly to your needs.

Alessandro Cipriani’s decades of experience in music composition and electroacoustic music shape this detailed exploration of Max 8 and MSP for sound design. You’ll gain hands-on skills through chapters that guide you from fundamental concepts to complex sound synthesis, with practical exercises and sample patches that deepen your understanding. The book suits students and practitioners eager to master live electronics and sound manipulation within a structured learning path. For example, the glossary and suggested tests let you track your progress, making it a solid companion for both classroom and personal study.