The second installment of the goth saga will be addressing subgenres of electronic music that are popular within the gothic subculture. There is a lot to cover today, so I’ll cut to the chase.
The term “electronic body music” was coined by Ralf Hütter of Kraftwerk and popularized by DAF, Front 242, and Nitzer Ebb in the late '70s. Acts like Leæther Strip, Front Line Assembly, and Pouppée Fabrikk continued to use this label for their music. By the 80’s, it became somewhat of a buzzword in the early electronic scene due to its snappy name. Because EBM comes directly from Kraftwerk, there is a large emphasis placed on melody, minimalism, and clarity, as opposed to the industrial music occurring at the time, which was similar, but much darker and more complex. The most important distinction between EBM and old school industrial (besides the fact you can you can dance to EBM easily without looking like a maniac) is that it had enough melodic potential to grow and branch out into many genres, including being the mother genre for trance as a whole, which is a whole different proverbial can of worms.
(For reference: “Europe Endless” by Kraftwerk and “No Shuffle” by Front 242)
The awe-inspiring brilliance of synthpop lies within its very namesake. It was a revolution in contemporary music history in which synthesizer-driven music was not only accepted, but embraced by popular culture. With almost entirely English roots, synthpop’s success was a turning point in the history of electronic music. Although Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Schaeffer, and Kraftwerk all saw their respective share of success (or accosting attention at the very least), it was not until the synthpop revolution that electronic music became the fresh, hip, new thing. Being involved in the British electronic scene of the ‘70s was a crapshoot at first, as all parties involved were exploring an uninhabited landscape. It was not until The Tubeway Army released Replicas in 1979 with their smash hit “Are Friends Electric?” that synthpop really began to be pop. And when Gary Numan released "Cars" under his own name later that year, it is not difficult to understand the causation of the fixation on synth-driven music that followed. Soft Cell, Orchestral Manoeuevres in the Dark, and The Human League broke into the charts after Numan’s commercial success. Additionally, the likes of Culture Club, Depeche Mode, and New Order all assisted in their own rights to establish synthpop as the British phenomenon that it was.
(For reference: “Are Friends Electric?” by The Tubeway Army)
In 1983, a man named Sam Rosenthal founded his own record label out of Portland, Oregon called Projekt Records. Rosenthal used this as a vehicle to release his own music through his band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. As Black Tape for a Blue Girl’s popularity grew, so did Projekt Records. Other acts became part of Projekt’s roster, including Lycia and Attrition. In a short amount of time, the sound that these bands had projected became known as “darkwave.” This vast and sonically distant style of music, taking influence from ambient music in order to create spacious, otherworldly soundscapes. Projekt began accepting other acts in genres similar to darkwave, be it ethereal wave, dream pop, or shoegaze.
(For reference: “Left, Unsaid” by Black Tape for a Blue Girl)
Historically, it would be appropriate to use the term “darkwave” as an umbrella for the ambient, effect-laden, post-punk-influenced styles of music coming out of the US (particularly from Projekt Records) during the ‘80s, but the dilution or evolution (which is unclear) of darkwave afterwards complicates matters. Darkwave groups began taking much more influence from EBM, synthpop, as well as electronic music as a whole, and acts like Clan of Xymox, Girls Under Glass, and Psyche dominated the “darkwave” scene. At present, it is difficult to distinguish what a pure darkwave sound is, as cross-pollinations of darkwave with trance, world music, neofolk, dark ambient, and many other genres have been prevalent with successful artists.
(For reference: “Just Like You” by In My Rosary)
Pioneered by ethereal wave group Dead Can Dance and film music duo In the Nursey, in the mid-‘80s, another flavorful convergence of styles is that of neoclassical and darkwave. Neoclassical darkwave artists generally take the old school Projekt-era darkwave sound and throw classical instrumentation, songwriting, and vocalization into the mix for either ambience or a grand, cinematic sound achievable only with classical, baroque, or chamber music timbres. This genre of music shares much common sonic ground with neofolk (Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows) and martial industrial (Death in June) and there is often some overlap therein.
(For reference: “Oxeia” by Love Is Colder Than Death)
Stylistically sandwiched between post-punk and Projekt-era darkwave, there sat a small movement in the late ‘70s French and Belgian underground called coldwave. The term “coldwave” was first used to describe Kraftwerk, Joy Division, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Some French groups like Asylum Party and Marquis de Sade adopted this dark atmospheric approach of production and performance (especially deriving influence from Siouxsie Sioux vocally) and released their brand of post-punk with a moody personality unique unto itself. This spread to Belgium where it was picked up by the likes of Siglo XX, Polyphonic Size, and many others. By the mid-‘80s many of the French and Belgian coldwave bands had broken up, and those who hadn’t broken through into the mainstream by then (the majority) were largely forgotten about until 2006, when painter Pieter Schoolwerth founded Wierd Records in NYC, which focused on releasing industrial, noise, EBM, post-punk, and coldwave records. The formation of this label was instrumental in the preservation of numerous French and Belgian coldwave bands and songs that would have otherwise been lost. Minimal electronics/minimal wave, a contemporary synth-driven post-punk/post-industrial musical movement with minimalist leanings is also widely associated with the coldwave scene. KaS Product and Twilight Ritual are two important acts in the genre.
(For reference, “Allez Allez” by Allez Allez and "Never Come Back" by KaS Product)
Taking root in trance and synthpop, futurepop was developed in late ‘90s Europe and had a clear, upbeat, techno-inspired sheen with an enormous sense of melody and chord progression. It took EBM’s place in the public eye during the time of futurepop’s inception. Apoptygma Berzerk, Covenant, Icon of Coil, VNV Nation, and several other groups broke into the European club scene with highly successful singles released at the time. Even as futurepop’s relevance was on the wane, the artists retained a loyal fanbase.
(For reference: “The Bomb” by Neuroticfish)
Keep watch for an article on industrial to come out before the end of this summer.
-Thus spake the Atma
Author’s note:
It is important to note that until the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, the inclusion of electronics in music was not a commonly held practice. As such, the distinctions between synthpop, industrial, EBM, etc. were made in hindsight - not while it was happening. At the time, it was all electronic music, and it would not be all that unusual to namedrop Einstürzende Neubauten and Depeche Mode in the same breath. In the BBC documentary Synth Britannia, Andy McCluskey of OMD is quoted saying, “People like ourselves and Cabaret Voltaire and the Human League all just got used to the fact that we existed.” It is striking that McCluskey groups the Human League (scribes of the sweeter-than-sugar synthpop hit “Don’t You Want Me”) with Cabaret Voltaire (who released their numbing seminal old school industrial powerhouse Red Mecca the same year) without flinching.
(For reference (and contrast): “Don’t You Want Me” by the Human League and “Split Second Feeling” by Cabaret Voltaire)
Suggested listening:
Kraftwerk - The Man Machine (’78)
The Tubeway Army - Replicas (’79)
Dead Can Dance - Spleen and Ideal (’85)
Clan of Xymox - Medusa (’86)
Death in June - But, What Ends When the Symbols Shatter? (’92)
The Frozen Autumn - Pale Awakening (’95)
Black Tape for a Blue Girl - Remnants of a Deeper Purity (’96)
Depeche Mode - Violator (’99)
Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows - Dead Lovers’ Sarabande (Face One) (’99)
Assemblage 23 - Failure (’01)
Various Artists - Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics, Vol. 1 (Wierd Records compilation) (’10)
