March might be the unofficial beginning of festival season, but things don’t really set in until April. With any luck, the electronic music world has recovered from the hustle and bustle of Ultra Music Festival, and from that snapshot of industry leaders’ releases, the emerging trends of the year begin to take form.
So far, however, the sounds of 2016 are proving as shapeless as ever. The main stage appears to finally be crumbling under its own weight, but nothing of substance has materialized in its stead as of yet.
What will the next it-genre look like? Will it be the big room/bass house hybrid purveyed by so many Spinnin’ Records signees? Will it be the placid future bass dreamscapes pioneered by the likes of What So Not and Flume? Right now it’s anybody’s game, and the following April releases are but a few examples of emerging trends in the electronic music landscape.