Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.
Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. 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. 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" that encompasses a variety of musical styles, including cold wave, ethereal wave, gothic rock, neoclassical dark wave and neofolk.
Black Tape for a Blue Girl is an American neoclassical dark wave band formed in 1986 by keyboardist/songwriter Sam Rosenthal, the founder of Projekt Records.
Lycia is an American dark wave band formed in 1988 in Tempe, Arizona. The main personnel of the band are Mike VanPortfleet, Tara VanFlower and David Galas. Although only achieving minor cult success, the band is notable for being one of the ground breaking groups in darkwave and ethereal wave styles. Their 1995 album The Burning Circle and Then Dust received some attention for the power pop hit song "Pray" and "remains a high point of American dark rock", according to AllMusic. Lycia's music is characterized by rich soundscapes and layers of echoed guitars, dark and ethereal keyboards, doomy drum machine beats, VanPortfleet's melancholic, whispered vocals and Vanflower's vivid voice. Trent Reznor and Peter Steele are some of their more well-known fans.
Remnants of a Deeper Purity is the sixth studio album by the darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released on June 7, 1996, by Projekt Records. A cassette version was released in 1997 on Poland's Black Flames Productions. In 2007, a 10th-anniversary edition of the album was released, with a bonus disc, including the With My Sorrows EP from the same era.
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.
Ego Likeness is an American darkwave/industrial rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. They were formed in 1999 by artist Steven Archer and writer Donna Lynch.
The Rope is the debut album by the darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released on vinyl in 1986 by Projekt Records. Later cassette and CD versions were released.
Before the Buildings Fell a solo album by dark ambient artist Sam Rosenthal, a member of Black Tape for a Blue Girl and founder of Projekt Records. It was released in 1986 by Projekt Records and reissued on CD in 2000 with enhanced content.
Mesmerized by the Sirens is the second studio album by the darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released on vinyl in 1987 by Projekt Records. "The Sawdust Scatter" was remixed for the later cassette and CD versions.
Ashes in the Brittle Air is the third album by the gothic darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released in 1989 by Projekt Records and contains one of their best known songs, "Across a Thousand Blades" sung by Oscar Herrera.
The First Pain to Linger is a book with a maxi-CD by the darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released in 1996 by Projekt Records. It is also the title of a novella by Sam Rosenthal that accompanies the album. The songs are different mixes and compilation tracks recorded between 1990 and 1995, in conjunction with the This Lush Garden Within and A Chaos of Desire albums.
As One Aflame Laid Bare by Desire is the seventh studio album by the Darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released in 1999 by Projekt Records. It owes some artistic inspiration to Marcel Duchamp.
Hyperium Records was a German independent record label specializing in darkwave, neoclassical, ethereal, gothic rock, and ambient music, founded by Oliver Roesch and Oliver van Essenberg in 1991. Roesch died on August 1, 2002, in a motorcycle accident.
The Trisol Music Group, GmbH, is a German business group and record label headquartered in Dieburg. Owning multiple sublabels, they specialize in producing musical works pertaining to darkwave, dark folk, gothic rock, deathrock, ethereal wave and other gothic genres of music. In general they are considered a major European label for works within the realm of Dark Alternative music.
Aurelio Voltaire Hernández, professionally known as Aurelio Voltaire or simply Voltaire, is a Cuban-American musician, singer, composer, author, and animator. Known for his gothic style of dress and music, Voltaire is considered a leading figure in the dark cabaret music genre. He has released 13 studio albums, including Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children (2011), BiTrektual (2012), and Raised by Bats (2014). He has also created songs for the Cartoon Network animated series The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2001–2007).
Halo Star is the ninth studio album by the Darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released in 2004 by Projekt Records. It includes one of the band's most popular songs, "Knock Three Times," which later appeared on the popular 2005 Projekt Presents: A Dark Cabaret compilation, remixed as "Knock Three Times ." The album features the core line-up of Sam Rosenthal, Elysabeth Grant, Bret Helm, Michael Laird & Lisa Feuer. It was the last album to feature this version of the group.
Sam Rosenthal is an American musician, composer, artist, and novelist. He is the founder and leader of the band Black Tape for a Blue Girl and the Projekt Records record label. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his son and cat. Rosenthal was interviewed in August 2016 for an NPR piece about the DMCA. "It's a really unreasonable expectation," he says, "that I would have the time to chase all day when I should be running a business and making music."
10 Neurotics is the tenth studio album by the darkwave/dark cabaret band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released September 22, 2009 by Projekt Records in America, and September 25, 2009 by Trisol Records in Germany.
Weep is an American rock band from New York City whose music combines elements of ethereal wave, gothic rock, shoegaze, post-punk and synthpop. Formed in 2008 by singer and guitarist Doc Hammer, the band's lineup also includes bass guitarist Fred Macaraeg, keyboardist Alex Dziena and drummer Bill Kovalcik. Their debut EP, Never Ever, was released in 2008 by Hammer's Astro-Base Go company and Projekt Records, followed by the full-length albums Worn Thin (2010), Alate (2012) and Weep (2014).
