Electronica 101

From breaks to bleeps, acid to ambient, here are the cuts that made electronica its own section of the musical spectrum. Big beat, classic American electro, indie electronica, downtempo, jungle . . . all represented here under our Electronica 101 umbrella.

Some said electronica was the new rock. Whatever. We just want the beat to never stop. Dig these Next Steps — from booty bass to Japanese techno, white-girl hip-hop to classic krautrock from Kraftwerk — composed by computers and crafted by crazy scientists.

Glowsticks are optional, but a sense of rhythm is required to delve into these Deep Cuts cuts in the back of the DJ crate.

Fusing disco's sexed-up grooves with the harder-edged lines of electronic music as pioneered by bands such as Kraftwerk, electronica rose out of the club-culture void of the early '80s to become one of the most prolific genres on the planet. These tracks will take you deep into electronica's vast and varied aural landscape.