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]
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.[29]
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"[35]) with gothic rock, or began to borrow elements of post-industrial music. Attrition,[36]Die Form (France), Pink Industry (UK), Psyche (Canada), Kirlian Camera (Italy) and Clan of Xymox (Netherlands)[37] 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).[21][38]
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.[29]
After 1993, in the United States the term dark wave (as the one-word variant "darkwave") became associated with the Projekt Records label,[23] 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.[56]
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.[57]
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.[61]
Neoclassical dark wave
Neoclassical dark wave is a subgenre of dark wave music[63][12] that is characterized by incorporating elements of classical music[54] to create an ethereal, dramatic or melancholy atmosphere.[64][65] Neoclassical dark wave makes extensive use of orchestral components; many bands utilize modern production equipment (orchestra-derived synthesizer samples),[64] while others make use of chamber orchestras and acoustic instruments (e.g. string and brass instruments and orchestral percussion).[30] Vocals in the subgenre can vary; female voices predominate.[64][30]
In the second half of the 1980s, former post-punk bands such as Dead Can Dance (Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, 1987[66]) and In the Nursery (Stormhorse, 1987[65]) released influential albums which essentially laid the foundations of the genre.[64][54]
Substance is an annual Darkwave and Industrial music festival occurring in Los Angeles which began in the 2010s.[76] Meanwhile, Verboden is an annual Darkwave festival in Vancouver, British Columbia.[77] 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.
References
^ abSteinberg, Shirley R.; Parmar, Priya; Richard, Birgit (2005). Contemporary Youth Culture. An International Encyclopedia. Volume II. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 431. ISBN0-313-33729-2. "The subculture of the Goths (in Germany called "Grufties") started in Britain in the early 1980s and derives from the gloomy, resigned side of punk and new wave, in the field of music called 'dark wave' or 'doom.'"
^Dumeier, Michael: Smalltalk & Concerts, The Mettmist music magazine, issue 1, 1984, p. 24 Janning, Frank: The Lawyers of Death, SPEX. Musik zur Zeit, issue 9/86, September 1986, p. 10 Schubert, Dieter: Was ist ein Perfect Beat?, My Way music magazine, issue 9, 1988, p. 20
^ abOgiba, Jeff (11 July 2012). "A Brief History of Musical Waves from NEW to NEXT". Vice. "Dark Wave was another late-'70s off-shoot of New Wave. The genre contained the gloomiest of the groups, featuring with slower tempos, deeper vocals, and intense lyrical content. Some bands include the Danse Society, the Sisters of Mercy, and Bauhaus. The Dark Wavers still exist, and the popularity of the genre has seen a revival in recent years."
^Webb, Peter: Exploring the Networked Worlds of Popular Music, Routledge Chapman & Hall, 2007, ISBN0-415-95658-7, p. 60
^ abcFarin, Klaus; Neubauer, Hendrik (2001). Artificial Tribes: Jugendliche Stammeskulturen in Deutschland (Orig.-Ausg. ed.). Bad Tölz: Tilsner. p. 139. ISBN3-933773-11-3. OCLC493304020.
^ abcHecken, Thomas; Kleiner, Marcus S. (2017). Handbuch Popkultur. J. B. Metzler Verlag. p. 79. ISBN978-3-476-02677-4.
^Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, ISBN3-531-14353-0, p. 270 "Textlich und musikalisch ergibt sich für Dark Wave ein Stimmungsbild, das sich gezähmt zwischen Härte und Romantik bewegt, sehnsuchtsvoll und melancholisch, Wut kommt kaum aggressiv zum Ausdruck, alles wirkt ausgewogen und reflektiert."
^ abSchilz, Andrea: Flyer der Schwarzen Szene Deutschlands: Visualisierungen, Strukturen, Mentalitäten. Waxmann Verlag, 2010, ISBN978-3-8309-2097-7, p. 84. "Dark Wave ist ein ... Oberbegriff für düstere Spielarten des Wave, der auch Gothic darunter subsumiert. Cold Wave bezeichnet eine Untergattung experimenteller, minimalistischer Elektronikmusik aus Frankreich."
^Reesman, Bryan (April 1999). "The Scene Is Now: Dark Wave". CMJ New Music Monthly (68): 48. Female vocals, both wispy and operatic, have become fashionable, particularly in the Ethereal subgenre.
^ abUecker, Susann: Mit High-Heels im Stechschritt, Hirnkost Verlag, 2014, ISBN3-943-77453-8 "Die Dark-Wave-Szene unterteilt sich unter anderem in den klassischen Dark Wave, den Gothic-Rock, elektronische Gruppen oder auch den Neofolk."
^ abCarstens, Olaf; Thalhofer, Frank: Duden - Das Fremdwörterbuch, Bibliographisches Institut, Auflage 11, 2015, ISBN3-411-04061-0, p. 726 "Genre der Dark-Wave-Musik, das durch verschiedene Stilmittel und Komponisten der Romantik, der Alten Musik oder der Neuen Musik inspiriert ist."
^Farin, Klaus; Wallraff, Kirsten; Archiv der Jugendkulturen e.V., Berlin (1999). Die Gothics : Interviews, Fotografien (Orig.-Ausg. ed.). Bad Tölz: Tilsner. p. 60. ISBN9783933773098.
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias (2002). Die schwarze Musik-Szene in Deutschland (2., erg. Aufl. ed.). Berlin: Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf. p. 217. ISBN3-89602-332-2. OCLC742385153.
^Haumann, Melanie: Fetisch Weiblichkeit. Der Mythos der schönen Frau?, Verlag für Wissenschaft und Forschung, 2001, ISBN3-897-00326-0, p. 2 "Die Dark Waver, Waver – oder belächelnd auch "Grufties" genannt – sind eine Jugendkultur, die in den 80er Jahren aus der Punk-Bewegung entstanden ist."
^Farin, Klaus: Jugend, Gesellschaft und Recht im neuen Jahrtausend, Forum Verlag Godesberg, 2003, ISBN3-930-98284-6, p. 66
^Hodkinson, Paul: Goth. Identity, Style and Subculture, Bloomsbury Academic, 2002, ISBN1-859-73605-X, p. 50
^ abcSPEX. Musik zur Zeit: Classified Ad by German distribution company EFA – Spots 5/85, issue 5/85, p. 17, May 1985, online picture
^Bobby Vox: Gorgonen, Hydras & Chimären – Interview with Marquee Moon, E.B. music magazine, issue 3/86, p. 18, May 1986
^ abNew Life Soundmagazine, issue 38, description of the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart“ by Joy Division, p. 10, November 1988
^ abcIssitt, Micah: Goths: A Guide to an American Subculture, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2011, ISBN0-313-38604-8, p. 111
^Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, ISBN3-531-14353-0, p. 261.
^ abcdRouner, Jeff (20 January 2011). "The Seven Ages of Goth". Houston Press. "The term 'darkwave' came from back in the 1980s, and was one of the terms used to describe the Golden Age bands, as well as dark electronica acts like Gary Numan and Depeche Mode."
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 39, 2002, ISBN3-89602-277-6
^ abcdefgFarin, Klaus; Wallraff, Kirsten; Archiv der Jugendkulturen e.V., Berlin (1999). Die Gothics : Interviews, Fotografien (Orig.-Ausg. ed.). Bad Tölz: Tilsner. p. 47. ISBN9783933773098.
^Peter Jandreus, The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977–1987, Stockholm: Premium Publishing, 2008, p. 11.
^ abFarin, Klaus; Weidenkaff, Ingo (1999). Jugendkulturen in Thüringen (Orig.-Ausg. ed.). Bad Tölz: Tilsner. p. 41. ISBN3-933773-25-3. OCLC651857996.
^ abcIsabella van Elferen, Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock: Goth Music: From Sound to Subculture. Routledge Studies in Popular Music, 2015, p. 25, ISBN0-415-72004-4
^ abcdeMatzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 400–401, 2003, ISBN3-89602-522-8
^Nym, Alexander: Schillerndes Dunkel. Geschichte, Entwicklung und Themen der Gothic-Szene, Plöttner Verlag 2010, ISBN3-862-11006-0, p. 169
^SPEX. Musik zur Zeit: Classified Ad by German distribution company EFA, issue 12/88, p. 58, December 1988
^DeBord, Jason: Clan of Xymox at DNA Lounge, Rock Subculture Journal, March 21, 2015 "A pioneer of Darkwave music, the mix of Synth Wave, Post-Punk, and Gothic Rock had its golden age in the '80s among contemporaries like Bauhaus, Joy Division, the Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, and Depeche Mode."
^Stücker, Bianca: Die Funktionalisierung von Technik innerhalb des subkulturellen Kontexts, Europäischer Hochschulverlag, 2013, ISBN3-867-41863-2, p. 74
^Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, ISBN3-531-14353-0, p. 256
^Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, ISBN3-531-14353-0, p. 257
^ abcdKilpatrick, Nancy. The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004, ISBN0-312-30696-2, pp. 84/85.
^Schilz, Andrea: Flyer der Schwarzen Szene Deutschlands: Visualisierungen, Strukturen, Mentalitäten. Waxmann Verlag, 2010, ISBN978-3-8309-2097-7, p. 92
^ abSchmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, ISBN3-531-14353-0, pp. 258/259
^Köble, Oliver: Editorial, Glasnost magazine, issue 28, p. 3, July/August 1991 "Der Trend ist eindeutig: Die großen Star-Bands verschwinden immer mehr aus dem Rampenlicht, während eine Vielzahl junger Nachwuchsbands sich stetig wachsenden Interesses seitens des Szene-Publikums erfreut. Und ohne unangenehmes Gefühl darf gesagt werden, dass Deutschland momentan das absolute Zentrum der Wave-Musik ist."
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 266, 2002, ISBN3-89602-277-6
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 111, 2002, ISBN3-89602-277-6
^Stableford, Brian: News of the Black Feast and Other Random Reviews, Wildside Press 31 March 2009, ISBN1-434-40336-X, p. 24
^ abcdeMatzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 311, 2002, ISBN3-89602-277-6
^Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, ISBN3-531-14353-0, pp. 280/281.
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, pp. 221/222, 2002, ISBN3-89602-277-6
^ abcStücker, Bianca (2013). "Neo-Klassik". Gothic Electro. Die Funktionalisierung von Technik innerhalb des subkulturellen Kontexts (in German). Europäischer Hochschulverlag. p. 82. ISBN978-3-86741-863-8.
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Autumn Tears In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 44, 2003, ISBN3-89602-522-8
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Camerata Mediolanense. In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 82, 2003, ISBN3-89602-522-8
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Dargaard. In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 139, 2003, ISBN3-89602-522-8
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Impressions of Winter. In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 287, 2003, ISBN3-89602-522-8
^Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Ophelia's Dream. In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 421, 2003, ISBN3-89602-522-8
^Marks, Peter. "Review of Time". Release Music Magazine. For the first half of the 1990s, this band were in the vanguard of the neo-classical movement...