Electropunk

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Electropunk is a generic term for the combination of punk minimalism and attitude and electronic music. The developments of the multi-faceted currents assigned to Electropunk took place at different times, but also stylistically.

The term "Electropunk" gained importance primarily for a variety that is ideologically close to the actual punk-rock scene, but musically merges with other currents such as industrial and minimal electro .

development

Origins and roots of electropunk

The New York music project Suicide , which became part of the early US punk scene in the New York music club CBGBs in the mid-1970s, is considered to be the forefathers of electropunk . The group Silver Apples , which also influenced Suicide, is classified as important for the origin of Electropunk. The solo projects of Suicide members Alan Vega and Martin Rev also play a key role in Electropunk.

In 1978 Daniel Miller released the single " Warm Leatherette " under the stage name The Normal , on which he combined punk with cool electronics. “Warm Leatherette” became an international hit and was reinterpreted by numerous artists.

Early electropunk in the wave and post-punk scene of the 1980s

At the beginning of the 1980s, a larger number of protagonists of the former punk scene of the 1970s increasingly turned to experimental music and electronic sounds. These early representatives in Great Britain included Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks , the Wire group ; in Germany it was groups like Die Krupps , DAF , DIN A Testbild , Liaisons Dangereuses and Tommi Stumpff , former front man of the Düsseldorf punk band KFC ; in the United States the comic new wave group Devo and the synth punk scene in California around groups such as Nervous Gender , The Units and The Screamers .

From the mid-1980s, two other British groups became important, the Gothic band Alien Sex Fiend and the satire project Sigue Sigue Sputnik , which in its time was dismissed as tasteless trash , but was viewed by later generations of electropunk as visionary original Fathers are worshiped.

Cyberpunk and Electropunk of the 1990s

A number of factors were important for the emergence of the electropunk scene in the 1990s: including the decline of the hardcore punk scene in the late 1980s, the rise of techno and the soon-to-be disappointment of early techno fans with the rapid commercialization of scene cultures. The growing enthusiasm for the cyberpunk topic in the 1990s also had a massive influence on the movement that was establishing itself.

In 1989 Jello Biafra , ex-singer of the band Dead Kennedys and members of the Ministry group released the album "Power of Lard" under the name Lard , which combined the aggression of hardcore punk with industrial- influenced electronic beats. 1991 saw the first release of the British, heavily punk-inspired big beat performance group The Prodigy . In 1992, the Atari Teenage Riot formation , the pioneers of digital hardcore , was founded in Berlin . In 1993 the new wave / rock musician Billy Idol released his concept album "Cyberpunk", on which he fused punk , metal , techno and hip-hop influences. In the same year Moby's single "All that I need is to be loved" was released, which combined techno production methods with the sound of punk.

These releases, as well as the subsequent works by Lard and The Prodigy, can be seen as the spark of the 1990s Electropunk.

Other artists followed such as Merill Nisker, better known as Peaches , Sex Pistols front man John Lydon , who released an electronically influenced solo album in 1996, as well as the Japanese Tomoyasu Hotei , who was visibly influenced by Sigue Sigue Sputnik , and the French producer The Hacker .

Today's Electropunk and Electroclash

From today's point of view, if you consider Electropunk as a musical genre in itself, you have to distinguish between some very different currents. There are groups like Arkasai or Katscan who follow cyberpunk , which is characterized by techno and industrial . Others like Nazis from Mars , on the other hand, tend to combine electronics with garage-like, rough trash punk. Another number of bands are heavily influenced by Minimal Electro and Wave. These directions, also known as electroclash and dance punk, are represented by Chicks on Speed and Fischerspooner , along with numerous others . Daily Dissolution could be described as controversial or influenced by comedy .

Finally, there are groups from the hardcore punk and grindcore corners who also create electropunk-like sounds. These genres are also known as Cybergrind (Electronic Grindcore) and Nintendocore ( Hardcore with 8-bit sounds) or Electrocore ( Hardcore with other electronic sounds).

Numerous other obscure Electropunk projects can be found on the net and are often made available as free downloads by their creators. Most of these "sound wrench" projects are comparatively rough and experimental and are based on punk and minimal electronics.

Closely related to "dance punk" is the style developed in Great Britain called New Rave .

Stylistic breakdown

Synth punk

Rough punk combined with synthesizer sounds. The roots go back to the wave punk scene of the 80s. E.g. Atom and his Package or Nazis from Mars .

Industrial rock

The combination of hardcore punk and post-industrial elements. Representative: Lard , Revolting Cocks , Ministry .

Digital hardcore

The style invented by Atari Teenage Riot . Strongly anarchist and feminist mixture of hardcore punk , techno and breakbeat .

Electroclash

Electropop with punk influences, e.g. B. Fischerspooner , Peaches and Chicks on Speed .

Cybergrind

A mix of grindcore and gabber . Groups like The Berzerker , Ganglia or Gigantic Brain .

Notes on the term

The term “Electropunk” (also E-Punk for short) has been used mainly since the 1990s. The first band to describe their style as "electronic punk" was the German formation DAF . Before the term spread, the term “techno-punk” was used, as “techno” was used as a generic term for electronically generated music in the 80s.

Groups to be assigned to the generic term “Electropunk”

Electropunk labels

Web links