Dark wave | |
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Other names | |
Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | Late 1970s – early 1980s, Europe (particularly in the United Kingdom, West Germany, Belgium, France and Italy) |
Typical instruments | |
Subgenres | |
Regional scenes | |
Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. [5] [6] Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, romantic and bleak, with an undertone of sorrow. [5] [7] Common features include the use of chordophones such as electric and acoustic guitar, violin and piano, as well as electronic instruments such as synthesizer, sampler and drum machine. Like new wave, dark wave is not considered an "unified genre but rather an umbrella term" [8] that encompasses a variety of musical styles, including cold wave, [9] ethereal wave, [10] gothic rock, [9] [11] [6] neoclassical dark wave [12] and neofolk. [11]
In the 1980s, a subculture developed primarily in Europe alongside dark wave music, whose followers were called "wavers" [13] [14] or "dark wavers". [15] [16] In some countries, most notably Germany, the movement also included fans of gothic rock [1] (so-called "trad-goths"). [17]
Since the 1980s, [18] [19] [20] the term "dark wave" has been used in Europe by the music press [21] to describe the gloomy and melancholy variant of new wave and post-punk music. [5] [22] At that time, the term "goth" was inseparably connected with gothic rock, [23] whereas "dark wave" acquired a broader meaning, embracing bands and solo artists that were associated with gothic rock [22] and synthesizer-based new wave music, [6] [24] such as Bauhaus, [25] Joy Division, [20] [26] [27] the Cure, [26] [28] Siouxsie and the Banshees, [26] the Sisters of Mercy, [26] Anne Clark, [29] Depeche Mode, [28] [24] Gary Numan [24] and the Chameleons. [26]
The term darkwave originated in the 1980s as an indicator of the dark counterpart of new wave. Bands such as Cocteau Twins, Soft Cell, and Depeche Mode are exponents of this first generation of darkwave. Darkwave... employs relatively slower tempos, lower pitches, and more minor keys in its musical settings of melancholy texts than new wave. [30]
— Isabella van Elferen, Professor of Musicology, Kingston University, London
The movement spread internationally, developing such strands as ethereal wave, with bands such as Cocteau Twins, and neoclassical dark wave, initiated by the music of Dead Can Dance and In the Nursery. [31] [32] French cold wave groups such as Clair Obscur [33] and Opera Multi Steel [34] have also been associated with the dark wave scene; [8] Rémy Lozowski, guitarist of French cold wave band Excès Nocturne, described his music as new wave noire ("dark new wave"). [35]
Simultaneously, different substyles associated with the new wave and dark wave movements started to merge and influence each other, e.g. synth-wave [3] (a kind of new wave with synthesizers, also referred to as "electro-wave" [36] [37] ) with gothic rock, or began to borrow elements of post-industrial music. Attrition, [38] Die Form (France), Pink Industry (UK), Psyche (Canada), Kirlian Camera (Italy) and Clan of Xymox (Netherlands) [39] performed this music in the 1980s. Other bands such as Malaria! and the Vyllies added elements of chanson and cabaret music. This sort of dark wave music became known as cabaret noir (or "dark cabaret", a term popularized by U.S. dark wave label Projekt Records). [22] [40]
German dark wave bands were partially associated with the Neue Deutsche Welle (i.e. German new wave), [41] and included Xmal Deutschland, [42] Mask For, Asmodi Bizarr, [8] II. Invasion, [8] Unlimited Systems, Moloko †, Maerchenbraut, [43] [8] Cyan Revue, [18] Leningrad Sandwich, [18] Stimmen der Stille, Belfegore, [44] and Pink Turns Blue. [45] [8]
After the new wave and post-punk movements faded in the mid-1980s, [46] dark wave was renewed as an underground movement [47] [43] [48] by German bands such as Girls Under Glass, Deine Lakaien, [43] Love Like Blood, [26] Love Is Colder Than Death, [49] Diary of Dreams, [50] [29] the Eternal Afflict, [51] and Wolfsheim, as well as Project Pitchfork and its offshoot Aurora Sutra. [47] [43] Ataraxia and the Frozen Autumn from Italy, and the French Corpus Delicti also evolved from this movement and became the leading artists of the west Romanesque dark wave scene. [52] These bands followed a path based on the new wave and post-punk music of the 1980s. [26] [30]
In the 1990s, a second generation of darkwave bands became popular, including Diary of Dreams, Deine Lakaien, and the Frozen Autumn... The German band Deine Lakaien ... is audibly influenced by the dark synthesizer sounds of Depeche Mode. [30]
— Isabella van Elferen, Professor of Musicology
At the same time, a number of German artists, including Das Ich, [53] Goethes Erben, [53] Relatives Menschsein, [53] and Endraum, [53] developed a more theatrical style, interspersed with German poetic, metaphorical lyrics, called Neue Deutsche Todeskunst (literally New German Death Art). [53] [54] Other bands, such as Silke Bischoff, In My Rosary, [55] Engelsstaub, [56] and Impressions of Winter [57] combined synthesizers with elements of neofolk and neoclassical dark wave. [56]
After 1993, in the United States the term dark wave (as the one-word variant "darkwave") became associated with the Projekt Records label, [24] because it was adopted by label founder Sam Rosenthal after leafing through the pages of German music magazines such as Zillo, and has been used to promote and market artists from German label Hyperium Records in the U.S., e.g. Chandeen and Love Is Colder Than Death. [58]
I first became aware of the term "Dark Wave" back in 1992. It appeared in German magazines – such as Zillo – describing a style of European music that followed other "waves" such as New Wave ... I found those two words ("dark" and "wave") quite interesting. This was something underground, submerged, obscure... which swept over you, immersed you, surrounded you. It was a poetic phrase that could describe many different sounds. At the time, I was looking for a name for my little mail-order company. I wanted something that would encompass the variety of music available in my catalog. [59]
— Sam Rosenthal, Projekt Records, 2000
Projekt featured bands such as Lycia, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, and Love Spirals Downwards, some of these characterized by atmospheric guitar and synth-sounds and female vocals. [60] This style took cues from 1980s bands like Cocteau Twins [56] and is often referred to as ethereal dark wave. [61] [56] Projekt Records has also had a long association with Attrition, who appeared on the label's earliest compilations. [62] Another American record label in this vein was Tess Records, which featured This Ascension, Faith and the Muse, [63] and the reunited Clan of Xymox. [64]
Joshua Gunn, a professor of communication studies at Louisiana University, described the U.S. type of dark wave music as:
...an expansion of the rather limited gothic repertoire into electronica and, in a way, the US answer to the "ethereal" subgenre that developed in Europe (e.g. Dead Can Dance). Anchored by Sam Rosenthal's now New York-based label Projekt, dark wave music is less rock and more roll, supporting bands who tend to emphasize folk songcraft, hushed vocals, ambient experimentation, and synthesized sounds [...] Projekt bands like Love Spirals Downwards and Lycia are the most popular of this subgenre. [63]
Neoclassical dark wave is a subgenre of dark wave music [65] [12] that is characterized by incorporating elements of classical music [56] to create an ethereal, dramatic or melancholy atmosphere. [66] [67] Neoclassical dark wave makes extensive use of orchestral components; many bands utilize modern production equipment (orchestra-derived synthesizer samples), [66] while others make use of chamber orchestras and acoustic instruments (e.g. string and brass instruments and orchestral percussion). [31] Vocals in the subgenre can vary; female voices predominate. [66] [31]
In the second half of the 1980s, former post-punk bands such as Dead Can Dance ( Within the Realm of a Dying Sun , 1987 [68] ) and In the Nursery ( Stormhorse , 1987 [67] ) released influential albums which essentially laid the foundations of the genre. [66] [56]
Other artists include Arcana, [31] Ataraxia, [66] Autumn Tears, [69] Camerata Mediolanense, [70] Dargaard, [71] Dark Sanctuary [31] Impressions of Winter, [72] Ophelia's Dream, [73] Les Secrets de Morphée, [56] Love Is Colder Than Death, [74] Stoa, [67] and WeltenBrand. [66]
In the 2010s, as part of the post-punk revival, [75] a new generation of bands rekindled several sonic characteristics of early dark wave music for a new generation of fans. Some prominent acts include She Wants Revenge, [75] the Soft Moon, [75] She Past Away, [75] Drab Majesty, [75] Twin Tribes, Selofan [75] and Boy Harsher. [76] [77]
Substance is an annual Darkwave and Industrial music festival occurring in Los Angeles which began in the 2010s. [78] Meanwhile, Verboden is an annual Darkwave festival in Vancouver, British Columbia. [79] The Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival in Leipzig, Germany, established in 1992, is considered one of the world's largest festivals for "dark" music and culture, taking place at Pentecost annually throughout the city. It attracts around 20,000 visitors from all over the world.
Deathrock is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genres. Notable deathrock acts include Christian Death, Kommunity FK, 45 Grave, and Super Heroines.
Electronic body music (EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Western Europe, as an outgrowth of both the punk and the industrial music cultures. It combines sequenced repetitive basslines, programmed dance music rhythms, and mostly undistorted vocals and command-like shouts with confrontational or provocative themes.
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by the Misfits in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Subsequent bands formed in the Misfits' wake like Mourning Noise, the Undead and Samhain, solidifying horror punk's first wave. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the genre gained attention through the reunion of the Misfits and success of groups like AFI, Son of Sam and the Murderdolls. This popularity continued to the modern day with Blitzkid, Calabrese and Creeper.
Projekt Records is an independent record label established by Sam Rosenthal in 1983, the label focuses on darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret releases.
Dark ambient is a genre of post-industrial music that features an ominous, dark droning and often gloomy, monumental or catacombal atmosphere, partially with discordant overtones. It shows similarities with ambient music, a genre that has been cited as a main influence by many dark ambient artists, both conceptually and compositionally. Although mostly electronically generated, dark ambient also includes the sampling of hand-played instruments and semi-acoustic recording procedures.
Sol Invictus are a British neofolk band formed by Tony Wakeford in 1987. Wakeford has been the sole constant member of the group since its inception, although numerous musicians have contributed and collaborated with him under the Sol Invictus name over the years.
Anthony Charles Wakeford is a British neofolk musician, who primarily records under the name Sol Invictus. He is also a member of the punk rock band Crisis and a co-founder of Death in June.
Belgian rock refers to rock music produced in Belgium or written and performed by Belgian musicians. It was originally inspired by rock and roll music from America and the United Kingdom in the 1960s, but later evolved to be influenced by other genres including alternative rock and electronic music. Because Belgium is a federal state with strong cultural identities - a French-speaking area in the southern region of Wallonia as well as a Dutch-speaking population in the north region of Flanders - Belgian rock music uses these two national languages, as well as the English language.
Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumentation with various other sounds.
Pagan rock is a genre of rock music created by adherents of neopagan traditions. Bands in this genre will often use pagan and occult imagery and deal with pagan themes. In some cases the definition is stretched to include rock bands embraced by modern Pagans.
Dark cabaret is a musical genre that draws on the aesthetics of burlesque, vaudeville and Weimar-era cabaret, with live performances that borrow from the stylings of goth and punk.
Dark culture, also called dark alternative scene, is a mixture of thematically related subcultures including the goth and dark wave subculture, the dark neoclassical/dark ambient scene, parts of the post-industrial scene parts of neofolk and the early gothic metal scene. Dark culture's origin lies in followers of dark wave and independent music, but over the decades it has developed to a social network held together by a common concept of aesthetics, self-representation, and individualism. The musical preferences of the dark scene are characterized by a mix of styles ranging from gothic metal, to industrial dance music and dark ambient, to dark neoclassical, neo-medieval and dark folk music, to gothic rock, dark wave and post-punk, the darker ends of electropop.
Ethereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave, ethereal goth or simply ethereal, is a subgenre of dark wave music that is variously described as "gothic", "romantic", and "otherworldly". Developed in the early 1980s in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands such as Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance.
Neue Deutsche Härte, sometimes abbreviated as NDH, is a subgenre of rock music that developed in Germany and Austria during the early-to-mid 1990s and early 2000s. Alluding to the style of Neue Deutsche Welle, the term was coined by the music press after the 1995 release of the German rock and metal band Rammstein's first studio album Herzeleid.
Futurepop is an electronic music genre that has been characterized as a blend of synth-pop, EBM and dance beats, based on trance and techno.
Subsequent Pleasures is the first extended play by Dutch dark wave band Clan of Xymox, self-released in 1983 on 12" vinyl under the band's original name Xymox.
Anka Wolbert is a Dutch musician, singer, songwriter, artist, best known for her work with Clan of Xymox.
Sonic Seducer is a German music magazine that covers gothic rock, new wave, EBM and other kinds of electronic music and culture. The magazine is noted for organizing the annual M'era Luna Festival. Since its inception in 1994, the Sonic Seducer has become one of the major publications of the dark culture in Germany.
Neue Deutsche Todeskunst is a musical genre that developed in Germany in the late 1980s. It is credited with establishing the German language in the dark wave movement, although there were already such German bands as Xmal Deutschland, Geisterfahrer, and Malaria!.
Jürgen Wölfer was a German music writer and historian with focus on Jazz.
Female vocals, both wispy and operatic, have become fashionable, particularly in the Ethereal subgenre.
For the first half of the 1990s, this band were in the vanguard of the neo-classical movement...
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