Dark wave

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Dark wave

Development phase: late 1970s / 1980s (peak: 1980s and 1990s)
Place of origin: Western Europe / North America
Stylistic precursors
New Wave · Post-Punk
Instruments typical of the genre
Electric guitar , acoustic guitar , electric bass , drums , drum computer , synthesizer , sampler , violin , cello , flute , oboe , piano , snare drum
Frequently assigned currents
Cold Wave · Electro Wave · Ethereal · Gothic Rock · Neofolk · Neoclassic · New German Death Art
Stylistic interactions
Dark Ambient · New Age · Shoegazing · Synth Pop
Influences from traditional directions
Early Music · Folklore · Neoclassicism · Romanticism

Dark Wave [ ˈdɑːkˈweɪv ] (from English dark = 'dark', 'turbid', wave = 'wave') is a historical name for musical varieties that developed from the end of the 1970s in the course of the New Wave and Post- Punk movement and are perceived as dark, dreary, elegiac or longing in terms of their tonal implementation .

These include rock music in the style of bands such as Joy Division or The Cure , purely electronically arranged compositions (e.g. early Anne Clark or Psyche ) and compositions based on semi-acoustic instrumentation with guitars, flutes, drums or violins (e.g. . with Deine Lakaien , In the Nursery and Death in June ).

In a narrower sense, Dark Wave covers the currents Cold Wave , Electro Wave , Ethereal , Gothic Rock , Neofolk and Neoclassic as well as the New German Death Art and parts of the New German Wave . The expansion to the post-industrial environment is controversial , as there was mutual overlapping of styles and as a result the genre boundaries became blurred (as with Attrition , Die Form , Kirlian Camera and Pink Industry ).

Primarily originating in England, Dark Wave developed within a few years into a worldwide movement that extended to Japan and New Zealand. The scene experienced its first heyday around the mid-1980s. A second wave followed at the beginning of the 1990s, with Germany and partly the west coast of the United States taking over the leading role and exerting influence on the surrounding countries.

The movement was known internationally under the title Doom & Gloom . A subcultural milieu emerged on this basis, whose followers were referred to as Waver or (especially in Germany) sporadically as "Dark Waver". In addition to “conventional wavers”, this included the early Goths , also known as Goths in German-speaking countries .

With the pushing back of many wave styles underground, the increasing division into genre-specific events and the associated subcultural changes, the expression “dark wave” as a name for music and scene increasingly lost its meaning.

Origin of name

The origin of the term Dark Wave is controversial. The previously oldest known mention within the German language area goes back to 1985: in the May issue of the music magazine Spex the albums The Gift of Cyan Revue and Priests and petroleum from Leningrad Sandwich in a display of the EFA-sales as Dark Wave advertised . In May 1986 the gothic rock band Marquee Moon used them in an interview with the Cologne independent magazine EB (later EB / Metronom).

However, the regular use of the name only began in 1988 across borders. In a May issue of the German independent magazine My Way , the music of groups such as Fields of the Nephilim and The Mission is dubbed Dark Wave . In the same year there was a mention in the November issue of the Swiss sound magazine New Life , this time in relation to the single Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division . One month later, in the December issue of Spex magazine , the album “Play” by the French band Clair Obscur is advertised as Dark Wave (repeatedly by EFA sales) . Then Dark Wave was used almost seamlessly until the mid-1990s and was able to establish itself in the USA some time later .

Particularly noteworthy in this context is the Brooklyn (New York City) based music label Projekt Records , which worked for a long time with the German record company Hyperium Records and since 1993 has been using the name Dark Wave (here as "Darkwave") in its mailorder catalog for publications German bands, such as Project Pitchfork , to sell on the American market. In addition, the German company Gymnastic Records (merged into Chrom Records , the label to which your Lakaien are also under contract) had a sister label in Los Angeles. A lively exchange between the continents was thus ensured.

Further traces can be found in France: In an interview in the 1989 spring edition of the French magazine Illusions Perdues , guitarist Rémy Lozowski describes the music of his cold wave formation Excès Nocturne as New Wave Noire (dt. 'Black New Wave').

An older term used as an alternative to Dark Wave was Doom or Doom Wave ( English doom = 'fate', 'fate', 'death'). This has been used in Germany since 1984. This is how the Mettmann punk fanzine The Mettmist advertised :

" On December 28th there is an anniversary broadcast of the German John Peel competition Graffiti (WDR 2, Friday, 9:05 pm - 10:30 pm). The previous program promises a lot of music from punk to doom wave! "

- The Mettmist , German punk rock fanzine, 1984

At the beginning of 1992 the name Doom was mentioned in the Echinger Independent magazine Hysterika . However, with the rise of a metal genre of the same name in the early 1990s ( Doom Metal , often shortened to Doom ), it gradually disappeared from the parlance of the wave scene.

Comparable names are Depro-Wave and Depro-Punk , which have been used for the music of Joy Division, EA 80 or Fliehende Stürme since the first half of the 1980s . The expression depro-punk appeared among others. a. 1982 in a German fanzine as a description of the music of the Swiss band Mittageisen .

root

New wave

The roots of the dark wave movement lie in the new wave era. New Wave stands for the "new wave" in the field of popular music, which emerged in the mid-1970s and extended almost across the globe until the second half of the 1980s. What was new for this music was a departure from the progressively designed rock music of the 1970s, which was characterized by complexity and unrealistic traits and lacking any spontaneity and interaction with the audience. This form of rock , also known as arena rock or adult rock and understood as a product of late capitalist culture, was a thorn in the side of young unemployed people of the lower and middle classes in particular. What they lacked was an outlet for pent-up emotions and grief - short, catchy and rousing songs as well as musicians who dealt with the problems and interests of the young people. First signs of a change gave the pub rock , predominantly in small pubs ( pubs has been played), enabling a direct exchange between musicians and audience. But only the punk movement was able to bring about this return to the beginnings of rock 'n' roll on a global level. The term new wave was thus initially associated with the punk movement. Due to the rapid changes in the music world that punk brought with it, the term New Wave , which was based on the French cinematic art Nouvelle Vague , expanded in meaning and soon implied numerous musical cultural currents that emerged on both sides of the Atlantic from parts of the Punk movement emerged or celebrated their revival at the same time (e.g. the mod or 2-tone ska movement).

In the German-speaking area, New Wave found itself in the form of the Neue Deutsche Welle . In this case, however, much more comprehensively, sub-areas of German-speaking punk (including downwards ) and post-industrial and avant-garde music ( Einstürzende Neubauten ) were also referred to as Neue Deutsche Welle .

From around 1978, New Wave gained increasing importance as a marketing label and was used internationally until the end of the 1980s - at times in its short form " Wave ". Radio stations and the American television station MTV , founded in August 1981 , subsequently contributed to the spread of the name.

Post punk

In the 1970s, styles of different stripes were combined under the name New Wave , which emerged from the punk movement and expanded punk to include new components, at the beginning of the 1980s there was an attempt to separate bands that were stylistically still strongly related to punk inclined ( Killing Joke ) and those who increasingly took up (electronic) pop elements ( e.g. Visage ). The former soon traded under the collective name Post-Punk , the latter remained under the name New Wave . A stylistic and cultural separation between post-punk and new wave was initially unusual in many places and both terms were often used synonymously in the music press until 1982/83. It was only when the new wave was increasingly associated with conventional pop music as a result of its commercialization that post-punk developed as an alternative term.

This form of differentiation, which was initially limited to Great Britain and the United States, remained largely alien to the dark wave environment. Well-known post-punk bands such as Joy Division , Bauhaus and The Cure , as well as later New Wave groups such as Depeche Mode , are still among the icons of the Dark Wave movement.

Influencing factors

Rock music

Even before the beginning of the New Wave era, there were a few rock musicians who turned to the dark side of life in terms of composition. In this case, the German musician Nico is considered an outstanding personality . Her albums The Marble Index (1969) and Desertshore (1970) are among the most influential works in rock history. Artists like Siouxsie Sioux ( Siouxsie and the Banshees ), Ian Curtis ( Joy Division ), Peter Murphy ( Bauhaus ) and Ian Astbury ( The Southern Death Cult ) were fascinated by the former Velvet underground chanteuse.

Furthermore, representatives of psychedelic rock , especially The Doors , inspired part of European music culture. Joy Division played The Doors title Riders on the Storm at some of their concerts. In 1993 the compilation Lizard King - A Tribute to Jim Morrison was released , on which interpreters like Alexander Veljanov ( Deine Lakaien ), Peter Spilles ( Project Pitchfork ), Martin von Arndt ( Printed at Bismarck's Death ) or Rüdiger Frank ( The Tors of Dartmoor ) den Doors pay their respects. Another compilation, which covers groups from the Gothic environment such as Alien Sex Fiend , The Mission , Mephisto Walz , Nosferatu and Rosetta Stone, was released in 2000 under the title Darken My Fire . Ian Astbury, former singer of The Southern Death Cult, started a The Doors revival around 2002 with Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger under the project name The Doors of the 21st Century .

From 1978, the influence of electronic music gained in importance through artists such as Kraftwerk and Brian Eno in the New Wave environment. Newly developed sound generators, such as the Korg MS-20 and Roland CR-78 , made it possible for the first time to use synthesizers and drum computers as fully-fledged musical instruments. One of the first soloists to be inspired by Kraftwerk's music was the Briton David Bowie . His collection of works, known as the “Berlin Trilogy” ( Low 1977, Heroes 1977 and Lodger 1979) paved the way for early Electro-Wave pioneers such as Ultravox , Gary Numan & Tubeway Army but also Depeche Mode , and took on tracks like Beauty and the Beast or Red Sails at the same time central elements of Gothic Rock , such as vocal technique, flanger guitars and lower-pitched bass lines.

Art music

An often underestimated influence is that of art music . Romantic composers such as Gustav Mahler , Richard Wagner , Anton Bruckner , Franz Schubert , Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , Sergei Wassiljewitsch Rachmaninow , and new music such as Igor Stravinsky are of great importance in the dark wave environment.

As early as 1991 , the Wave magazine Glasnost reported on the “inspiration of wave music through classical music” . Several artists, such as Dead Can Dance , In the Nursery , Anne Clark , Deine Lakaien , Soul in Isolation , Sopor Aeternus or Ophelia's Dream , were inspired by the music of earlier composers:

For several years now, wave bands have been discovering their roots in classical and medieval music. The most prominent representatives are definitely Dead Can Dance and In the Nursery. "

- Rüdiger Freund, music journalist

In the second half of the 1980s, the fascination with romantic, old and new music led to the development of neoclassical music .

Influences from chansons , especially cabaret songs, found their way into the music of the dark wave scene early on. Some examples are Siouxsie and the Banshees ( Red Light , The Staircase , Cocoon , Obsession ), Malaria! ( Traum ) and the Sex Gang Children ( Dead Metal , Last Chants for the Slow Dance ). Andi Sexgang was inspired by chansonets like Édith Piaf . Under the band name Dirty Roseanne he played an EP with cabaret songs in 1986 together with the Italian Piero Balleggi. In the mid-1980s, the Swiss band The Vyllies was one of the first groups to electronically process cabaret influences ( The Food Prayer , Whispers in the Shadows , Playing in the Sand ). Other notable artists are Gavin Friday ( Apologia ), Neva ( Le Clown ), Ghosting ( Let Me Stay , Walzing Mathilda ) as well as the undead ( Catnip , Dance of the Witches , Desdemona ) and Cinema Strange .

In the new millennium Katzenjammer Kabarett and Deadchovsky ( Butterfly Psyko Effect ) continued on the path they had chosen . Bands like Black Tape for a Blue Girl ( Shadow of a Doubt , Knock Three Times ) briefly turned to the genre.

literature

Writers and lyric poets from the past three centuries, especially representatives of the Romantic movement such as Novalis , Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley, or poets such as George Gordon Byron and William Blake , provided inspiration of a literary nature . In the area of ​​French symbolism , Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud should be mentioned in particular .

But modern writers such as Alain-Fournier , Franz Kafka , James Joyce , JD Salinger and Henry Miller , as well as expressionist poets such as Georg Heym and Gottfried Benn , are often mentioned as influences.

Development history

The history of the dark wave movement can be divided into at least three stages:

1979–1989 - Classical phase : In this era, the six elementary styles of Electro Wave , Gothic Rock , Cold Wave , Ethereal , Neofolk and Neoklassik emerged, the seventh genre, the so-called New German Death Art , emerged around 1989 and was stylistically predominant from the six previous currents. Many music groups of the time were rooted in the post-punk movement and used the do-it-yourself ideology that punk had previously made possible for them as a springboard. The main starting point was Great Britain, but parallel phenomena can be seen in other regions, so that one can speak of a pan-European movement. The influence on musical cultural development in the coastal regions of the United States is controversial. The deathrock , preferably emerged in the California area, originally understood as independently developed flow, became noticeable when during the course of the 1980s overlays with European culture. After the end of the classical phase there was a significant reduction in post-punk-typical nuances, as they were common in many compositions of this time.

1990–1999 - Boom and regression : This period, often perceived as a revival, includes the start-up and increasing popularity of numerous young talent groups and record companies at the beginning as well as the rapid decline of the dark wave movement in countries like Germany from the mid-1990s. The following years are characterized by the ongoing regression on a global level as a result of stagnation, displacement, style change and amalgamation with "wave-untypical" music styles, e.g. Ethereal with trip-hop . The Cold Wave, Electro Wave and New German Death Art as well as traditional Gothic Rock are considered extinct in many places with the end of the decade.

Since 2000 - development to the present : This period marks smaller revivals, such as the Gothic Revival ( Batcave Revival , often combined with a Minimal Electro Revival ). These revivals are mainly based on a demo and internet level as well as smaller festivals. At the beginning of the new millennium, Ethereal is drawing to a close; The mail order and sound carrier company Projekt Records, which is linked to the style, is increasingly devoting itself to cabaret music and markets it as dark cabaret . The styles Neoclassic and Neofolk , however, continue to exist constantly. Due to the decline of the wave movement from the second half of the 1990s and the associated change in the target audience, “dark wave” as a collective term is gradually falling out of use.

Classical phase (1979–1989)

On the basis of new wave and post-punk, various newcomer bands created the breeding ground for a new, music-cultural movement, introvertedness , disillusion , world pain , longing for death , but also social and religious criticism , philosophy , natural mysticism , from the end of the 1970s onwards . Esoteric , escapism and romanticism combined thematically and tonally. Many of these artists reflected the fear of the future ( No Future ) familiar from the punk movement , especially of the steadily rising mass unemployment as a result of a global economic depression or of an impending nuclear war due to the continuous arms race during the renewed escalation of the Cold War . With the beginning of Thatcherism , these end-time visions intensified or took shape within a very short time.

“When this type of music became popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s - following the punk movement that was gnawed by commerce - it had similar social and social grievances to the content as many punk groups. […] In this respect, it is not surprising that many artists process their own emotions, fears and longings in their music and that the basic mood of their songs turns cloudy, gloomy and melancholy: It is the continuous confrontation with their own inner reality. "

- Rainer "Easy" Ettler, editor-in-chief of the music magazine Zillo, 1990

The living conditions left no insignificant traces here, which heralded a new era, especially in the 1970s, with the high-rise estates that were hurriedly rushed out of the ground and were perceived as gray, cold, bleak and anonymous, and which are reflected in the musical forms of expression of many artists:

“We lived right in the killer mecca of the Midlands, in Northampton . It was a single void, this gray, hopeless, cold, wet British island mentality. Non-culture. We were right in the thick of it, and 'In The Flat Field' was directly about living in this godless flat landscape, in this linear, nowhere rising consciousness that actually seemed to be the result of it what Nietzsche had prophesied: the death of God. "

- Peter Murphy, British musician and singer in the Bauhaus band

This was accompanied by the attempt to flee the world due to the lack of future prospects and the reality that was perceived as cold and colorless. With the aim of escaping the circumstances and financial hardship as musicians, many artists not only offered themselves an outlet for pent-up emotions, but also numerous frustrated young people of this time who - disappointed by punk, who “wanted to tear away the dreary gray , but ultimately only redesigned ”- could not develop a positive attitude towards life in the dreary workers' settlements and satellite towns in the midst of their increasingly industrially destroyed environment.

In order to make the relationship to the New Wave and Post-Punk movement and the related musical stylistic analogies clear, several catchwords and makeshift words emerged over the course of time, although the name components "-wave" and "-punk" in carried themselves, but could not prevail in the long term (see also the origin of the name ). It was not until the end of the 1980s, and by modifying the preceding adjective, that the name established itself for the new genre that outlived its musical-cultural original forms by more than two decades: “New Wave” became “Dark Wave”.

Artists of essential importance

Joy Division

Joy Division were among the most important artists from the post-punk environment and gave important impetus to the development of the Gothic-Rock and Cold-Wave movement, especially with their second album Closer from 1980. This work clearly stands out from its predecessor and reflects the state of mind of the singer Ian Curtis a few weeks before his death. Especially Western European bands such as the Cocteau Twins , Death in June , In the Nursery , Clair Obscur , Siglo XX or Endraum , groups that later played a central role in the dark wave environment, showed themselves to be from the music of Joy Division inspired.

bauhaus

Bauhaus is considered to be the very first Gothic band, even if the press often ridiculed them as a David Bowie copy. The 1979 debut single Bela Lugosi's Dead , a homage to the actor Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, was particularly significant for the dark wave movement . With the 1981 album Mask , with titles such as The Passion of Lovers , Hair of the Dog and Hollow Hills , Bauhaus was able to consolidate its status as "Godfathers of Goth". In 1983 the group had one last hit with She's in Parties , before they broke up in July of the same year due to differences within the band.

The Cure

Like Joy Division, The Cure come from the post-punk scene in England and have been among the pioneers of the gothic rock and cold wave movement since the early 1980s. The albums Faith (1981) and Pornography (1982) in particular represent a noticeable change compared to earlier works by the group due to their introspective and weltschmerz-soaked manner. Transience and faith are persistently recurring themes.

The Sisters of Mercy

As one of the draft horses of the Leeds post-punk scene, The Sisters of Mercy celebrated their first major success with the 1982 single Alice . Just a year later, the band made their breakthrough with the title Temple of Love . Andrew Eldritch's deep voice and the use of a drum computer made the band an icon of the second generation of Gothic Rock. Despite several years of abstinence from the stage and turning to hard rock with the album Vision Thing in the 1990s, she has retained this status to the present.

Anne Clark

Anne Clark , one of the well-known artists from the spoken word environment, used literature and music as a means of expression from an early age. Her debut The Sitting Room from 1982, on which she musically presented her lyrics to a broader audience for the first time, contains no hits, but made a clear impression on parts of the dark and electro-wave scene due to its solemn, introverted mood. Anne Clark then celebrated her greatest successes with Sleeper in Metropolis (1983) and Our Darkness (1984).

Xmal Germany

The Hamburg formation Xmal Deutschland started their career with the singles Black World (1981) and Incubus Succubus (1982) on Alfred Hilsberg's ZickZag label. Under the banner of the Neue Deutsche Welle , she was one of the first German bands to create songs in the Gothic-Rock style. After several concerts with the Cocteau Twins , Xmal Germany was signed by the British independent label 4AD and thus gained popularity, especially in the English-speaking world.

Dead Can Dance

The Australian band Dead Can Dance released their eponymous debut in 1984, which was based on the Gothic sound of the early 1980s, but also featured unconventional instruments such as a dulcimer in Frontier . With their second work, Spleen and Ideal , the duo worked increasingly with classical arrangements for the first time. The use of gothic guitars was largely avoided. The move away from rock-oriented track structures and towards monumental soundscapes culminated in 1987 with the album Within the Realm of a Dying Sun , a pioneering work for neoclassical music.

Clan of Xymox

Clan of Xymox from the Netherlands made their debut in 1984 with the EP Subsequent Pleasures . In addition to the title Going Round , which rose to an underground hit in Germany , Moscovite Musquito in particular found plenty of attention and - due to his easy guitar playing - was compared several times with the music of The Cure , New Order and Echo & the Bunnymen . The work Medusa , published in 1986, became - despite initial concerns - an international success. Titles such as Louise , Michelle and Agonised by Love became hits and increased the band's popularity in Europe , Mexico and parts of the United States .

Depeche Mode

After the carefree synth-pop phase shaped by Vince Clarke , the Basildon electro-wave formation Depeche Mode began composing thought-provoking pieces such as blasphemous rumors in 1982 and found their way into the new wave mainly with the 1986 album Black Celebration - as well as in the dark wave environment. Her songs had a significant influence on the early releases of Silke Bischoff , Psyche and Fading Colors .

International developments

Germany / Switzerland

In addition to the already mentioned Xmal Germany , there were a number of other artists who - partly in the course of the Neue Deutsche Welle  - based themselves on their British models. Worth mentioning are the wrong-way drivers ( shadows ahead , 1980), malaria! ( Emotion , 1982), The Unknowns ( Casualties , 1981), Leningrad Sandwich ( Heat , 1982) or Mona Mur & Die Mieter ( Jeszcze Polska , 1982), a cooperation between Mona Mur and members of the Einstürzende Neubauten . As the Neue Deutsche Welle waned, groups like Belfegore ( Belfegore , 1984), one third of whom came from the NDW band Nothing , Remain in Silence ( Monument , 1985) from Hanover, the Berlin act Marquee Moon ( Beyond the Pale , 1985) or Asmodi Bizarr ( Sun Sierra , 1985) from Düsseldorf increasingly focused on setting English-language lyrics to music. They Fade in Silence ( Frozen Dreams , 1986) and the quartet Voices der Stille , whose first and only LP ( Morgenstern , 1987) was released on Peter Hein's Sneaky Pete Records label, also come from Düsseldorf . Other groups were Moloko + ( Fields of War , 1986), Parchment Prayer ( Parchment Prayer , 1987) and Die-Gants ( Fishing for Compliments , 1988) and Danse Macabre ( Hold Me / She Believes , 1989), the Dark Wave with elements from the Oi! -Punk mixed up. The Switzerland could simultaneously with the Germany-wide development, some bands like Mittageisen ( Mittageisen , 1983), Red Rain Coat ( In Between the Fronts , 1984) or The Vyllies ( Lilith show, 1985).

United States

In the United States , meanwhile, a parallel phenomenon made itself felt, with the influence of European culture on the American music scene being highly controversial. The west of the United States, especially the city of Los Angeles , is considered an early stronghold of death rock, also known as "American Gothic" . In 1981 the reunion of the band Christian Death took place here , which within a short time gained a scandalous reputation. The debut released a few months later ( Only Theater of Pain , 1982) immediately caused a sensation and was immediately licensed for the French market. At that time the bands Super Heroines ( Cry for Help , 1982) and Mephisto Walz ( Mephisto Walz , 1986) were indirectly connected to Christian Death . Groups like 45 Grave ( Sleep in Safety , 1983) and Screams for Tina ( Strobelight Funeral , 1986), which have made a name for themselves mainly in regional circles, come from the same milieu.

Great Britain

However, the main source of supply for music and fashion trends remained Great Britain. While the New Romantic movement with artists such as Visage , Gary Numan and Ultravox had its first successes worldwide, the London scene was already blossoming with the “ Batcave ” disco opened in July 1982 . As a venue for waver, new romantics and psychobillies , the Batcave turned out to be a gathering point for gothic punk bands and the development of the British gothic scene between 1982 and 1983 . Artists like Robert Smith , Ian Astbury , Nick Cave and Marc Almond were regular guests at the Batcave, the events were organized by Ollie Wisdom ( Specimen ). Bands like Alien Sex Fiend ( Who's Been Sleeping in my Brain , 1983), Play Dead ( The First Flower , 1983), Sex Gang Children ( Naked , 1982), The Southern Death Cult ( The Southern Death Cult , 1982) or Virgin Prunes ( … If I Die, I Die , 1982). In the mid-1980s, bands such as The Sisters of Mercy ( First and Last and Always , 1985) or their opponents Fields of the Nephilim ( Burning the Fields EP , 1985) took over the reins, other bands such as Red Lorry Yellow Lorry ( This Today , 1984), The March Violets ( Natural History , 1984), The Rose of Avalanche ( First Avalanche , 1985), Ghost Dance ( River of No Return , 1986), B F G ( Paris / Amelia , 1987) or Every New Dead Ghost ( River of Souls , 1989) followed.

France

In northern France , the music of Joy Division , The Cure or Siouxsie and the Banshees is considered to be the initial spark for the cold wave movement. It existed analogously to British New Wave music and, due to its cutting edge and coolness, can be compared with the Neue Deutsche Welle or with the use of Moody Slide guitars with early Gothic Rock . With artists such as KaS Product ( By Pass , 1983), Trisomie 21 ( Les Repos des Enfants Heureux , 1983), Clair Obscur ( The Pilgrim's Progress , 1986) or Little Nemo ( Private Life , 1988), Cold Wave became known beyond French borders .

Spain

In Spain , the Dark Wave movement began in 1981 with the Madrid-based formations Décima Víctima and Parálisis Permanente . This was favored by the early death of the Parálisis Permanente singer Eduardo Benavente († May 14, 1983), who achieved a similar status as a leading figure in this country as Ian Curtis . After the inevitable fragmentation of Parálisis Permanente in 1983, another central representative of the Spanish scene started around 1985 with the Barcelona band Los Humillados .

Greece

From the British music culture continues to inspire, showed Greece where - renowned for some concerts bands like Bauhaus , The Cure and Depeche Mode  - especially in Attic capital Athens groups like Villa 21 ( Ghost on the Move , 1983), The Reporter ( Bare Hands , 1983), Forward Music Quintet ( The Mystery of a Dying Species , 1983), Art of Parties ( Last Time / Central Room , 1984), South of No North ( Lacrimae Christ!, 1984), Metro Decay ( Υπέρβαση , 1984 ), Fear Condition ( … 'Till Night Comes Again , 1986), Film Noir ( Never Ending Dream , 1986) or Slow Motion ( This Slow Motion , 1988) set the ball rolling.

British regression and German lift

From the mid-1980s, the new wave boom gradually subsided. The dark wave movement itself remained largely underground and was promoted by artists such as The Sisters of Mercy ( Floodland , 1987), Dead Can Dance ( Within the Realm of a Dying Sun , 1987), Fields of the Nephilim ( Dawnrazor , 1987 ) or The Cure ( Disintegration , 1989) additionally encouraged from above.

However, the music-specific interest of the wave movement very soon shifted to a number of, above all German, newcomer bands such as Deine Lakaien , Girls Under Glass , Pink Turns Blue or Love Like Blood , which paved the way into the 1990s and also the dark and melancholy sounds intensified. Artists like Gunnar Eysel, bassist of the Love Like Blood formation founded in 1988, confirm: "People write to us who say that the best dark wave bands are currently from Germany."

Buoyancy and regression (1990–1999)

Dark Waver in a disco in Bavaria 1997

Meanwhile, the number of French cold wave bands decreased significantly. In contrast, the German area experienced a significant upswing due to German unity and the development of the New German Death Art , with artists such as Das Ich , Goethe's heirs or Relatives Mensch sein . Beyond any trends and completely unimpressed by contemporary developments such as grunge , Britpop or Techno , countless young projects such as Silke Bischoff , Garden of Delight , Diary of Dreams , Sopor Aeternus , Chandeen or Love Is Colder Than Death came into the public eye and carried them out tonal diversity of the late 1980s. The publications of Project Pitchfork , The Eternal Afflict , Wolfsheim and the Deine Lakaien turned out to be bestsellers .

“The trend is clear: The big star bands are disappearing more and more from the limelight, while a large number of young up-and-coming bands are enjoying steadily growing interest from the scene audience. And without any uncomfortable feeling it can be said that Germany is currently the absolute center of wave music. "

- Oliver Köble, editor-in-chief and publisher of Glasnost Wave magazine, July 1991

Passion Noire , Catastrophe Ballet , Soul in Isolation , Ghosting , Morbus Kitahara, Phallus Dei, Lady Besery's Garden , Drown For Resurrection, La Morte de la Maison, Moonchild , Printed at Bismarck's Death , La Floa Maldita , Stoa or remained successful mainly underground The House of Usher .

At that time, artists like Death in June or Sol Invictus exerted a certain influence on the German wave scene. After the Neofolk had initially led a shadowy existence since the foundation stone was laid, German youth groups such as Annabelle's Garden , Silke Bischoff or In My Rosary took on the idea of ​​purely acoustic instrumentation, bands such as Engelsstaub , Swans of Avon , Canticum Funebris and Hekate linked the Neofolk with neoclassical - and Electro-wave elements or combined it with conventional Gothic Rock .

This heyday stopped in Germany between the middle and the end of the 1990s after the popularity of non-genre music, such as medieval rock or symphonic metal , increased or traditional wave bands initially took a different style. Love Like Blood , Garden of Delight, Girls Under Glass and Catastrophe Ballet resorted increasingly to Metal elements back, other groups such as Fortification 55 , Project Pitchfork, The Eternal Afflict or Love Is Colder Than Death, to areas such as turned Trance and Electronica to or suspended their activities for the time being. While countries such as Italy or the United States initially remained unaffected by this phenomenon, the dark wave movement in Germany was more and more pushed to the side and, due to the lack of leading musical figures, has essentially been considered extinct since the end of the same decade.

With Ataraxia , Black Rose , Camerata Mediolanense , Ordo Equitum Solis and The Frozen Autumn, northern Italy produced five projects that - alongside the pioneers Kirlian Camera  - were able to assert themselves internationally. With the help of the compilation series Intimations of Immortality , the breadth and liveliness of the Italian underground scene becomes visible for the first time . Around the same time, American artists such as This Ascension , Lycia , Love Spirals Downwards , Trance to the Sun or Faith and the Muse established themselves , followed by Requiem in White (and its successor band Mors Syphilitica ), Bleeding Like Mine and The Machine in the Garden . Spain flourished with groups such as Gothic Sex , Ecodalia and Remembrance , with Los Humillados one of the oldest bands briefly achieved popularity beyond Spanish borders.

After the cold wave era in France subsided , only a small number of genre-specific artists made the leap into the 1990s, particularly Collection d'Arnell-Andrea and Opera Multi Steel . More and more acts from the Gothic-Rock environment formed, Corpus Delicti , Dead Souls Rising , Lucie Cries and The Brotherhood of Pagans were some of the few new projects that gained a high degree of recognition across national borders. By the end of the 1990s, some of these bands changed stylistically or almost completely disappeared. On the other hand, three less rock-heavy projects from the French region are Alan Woxx , Eros Necropsique and Rosa Crux . The latter has been active as a music and performance group since it was founded in 1984.

Initially limited to parts of Western Europe and North America, Dark Wave developed into a worldwide movement in the 1990s. So could Finland with the Two Witches , Poland with Fading Colors , Northern Ireland with This Burning Effigy , Romania with Arc Gotic or Australia with the band Ikon build quality of trend-setting countries. With The Breath of Life and The Dreamside , Belgium and the Netherlands once again made a name for themselves after artists such as Siglo XX , Clan of Xymox and The Essence had their first successes there in the 1980s .

Isolated high phases (2000 to 2009)

At the end of the 1990s and after the turn of the millennium, the neofolk increasingly emerged from the underground. Forseti , : Of the Wand & the Moon: , Hagalaz 'Runedance , Orplid and many other artists helped the style to its popularity. The success was accompanied by critical debates about a possible right-wing extremist orientation of the musical style. Some representatives of the style were increasingly shunned by popular DJs, festivals and magazines on the black scene . Occasionally, the lack of publicity meant that the success of the Neofolk waned and the music was once again preserved as a permanent underground phenomenon.

The neoclassical genre was also successful in the first half of the 2000s and only saw a noticeable boost in the course of the decade after the turn of the millennium. Music projects such as Arcana , Artesia , Dargaard , Gothica , Les Secrets de Morphée and Ophelia's Dream followed the path across Europe that Dead Can Dance , In the Nursery or Stoa once paved. With Artemis , an Australian representative of neo-classical music has also repeatedly found approval. In the second half of the 2000s the influence of world and ambient music increased on many representatives of the genre and some of the main representatives, including misery, Dark Sanctuary and WeltenBrand , at least temporarily ceased their activities at the end of the decade. As a result, neoclassical music was hardly noticed anymore at the end of the decade.

At the same time, the dark wave movement continued to decline on an international level. This fact was also favored by artists such as Kirlian Camera , Diary of Dreams , Love Spirals Downwards , The Machine in the Garden or Sophya , who added non-genre elements from the areas of trip-hop , techno and electronica to their compositions . The boundaries between ethereal and shoegazing also faded over the years, so that groups like Autumn's Gray Solace , Tearwave or Aenima were often assigned to both genres. When leading bands such as Lycia , Trance to the Sun and This Ascension ceased their musical activities in 2002 and 2003 , Ethereal, as an independent branch of the Dark Wave movement, died out within a very short time.

At the same time, Gothic Punk experienced a revival in the old style; Groups like Cinema Strange , Chants of Maldoror , Scarlet's Remains , Frank the Baptist or Bloody Dead and Sexy build on the roots of the genre in punk and combine early Gothic Rock with the production possibilities of the time. Many of these bands are marketed under the name Death Rock , although stylistically they are primarily anchored in the British Batcave scene of the early 1980s.

Development to the present (2010 to today)

With The Spoils , the debut release of Zola Jesus in 2009, a style of pop music influenced by Dark Wave became successful in the style often called Witch House . The mostly electronic music of Zola Jesus combined influences from electro wave , gothic rock , shoegazing , trip-hop and post-punk . The majority of witch house performers tend to subordinate themselves to electronic pop music . Almost at the same time, new international representatives of the Dark Wave established themselves. Electro wave and gothic rock in particular became popular again. Among other things, the New York label Minimal Wave Records , the Greek label Fabrika Records as well as the Finnish label Gothic Music Records and the new virtual sales structures created with Bandcamp contributed to better marketing of international dark wave artists. On the other hand, new local scenes were largely absent. The Electro Wave sprouted again from 2011 through European projects such as Linea Aspera , Phosphor , Hante and Sixth June or the previously active Molly Nilsson . Various international representatives established themselves in Gothic Rock, in particular She Past Away from Turkey, Soror Dolorosa from France and Ascetic from Australia. The cold wave duo Lebanon Hanover also received special attention.

In addition, there was the success of the San Diego duo Prayers , who call their style, influenced by Electro Wave, with lyrical references to Latin American gang life, as Cholo Goth . With increasing success Prayers oriented themselves more and more to electronic pop music. Meanwhile, projects like the Gothic-Rock-Project This Cold Night and The Rope or the Dark-, Cold- and Electro-Wave-Duos Tearful Moon , Forever Gray or Boy Harsher shaped the continuation of an American scene.

Genre-specific breakdown

Like New Wave , Dark Wave is an epoch with several musical styles and regional characteristics. In principle, styles that emerged in the late 1970s and over the 1980s are assigned to this era. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the genres increasingly overlapped one another, as many artists were now able to draw on the stylistic diversity of the previous decade. As a result, the music of these artists is difficult to categorize and is roughly referred to as “Dark Wave”. An example of this is the band Endraum , who combined both neoclassical elements and Joy Division- typical guitars in their music (e.g. in rain dance ).

Some directions, such as the Neofolk , see themselves today as independent genres with their own subculture , although they cannot be clearly separated from the dark wave context due to numerous stylistic entanglements.

Cold wave

Cold Wave (Engl. Cold = cold ',' cool ', wave =' wave ') is a common name for sporadic post-punk groups of the 1980s, their music through the subtle use of synthesizers as cool or less vivid was perceived. British music groups such as Joy Division or The Cure are considered to be the initiators of the movement . The name itself was common in France  - among other things in connection with the record company New Rose Records or its sub-label Lively Art Records  . The compilations L'Appel de la Muse (1990) and Transmission 81–89 · The French Cold Wave (2005), with well-known artists such as Clair Obscur , Norma Loy , Guerre Froide and Asylum Party, provide an overview of the musical output in France , Little Nemo or Opera Multi Steel .

According to other sources, cold wave also implied styles such as minimal electro or electro wave . The Wave magazine Glasnost announced in 1990: "Cold Wave: Electronic sound art whose warmth lies in its coldness." This was an allusion to the analog synthesizer sounds of the 1980s, which were often perceived as charming .

However, the term “cold wave” never experienced widespread distribution beyond France, which is apparently due to its imprecise statement. In other Western European countries there were similar groups that could be assigned to the genre, such as Siglo XX , And Also the Trees , Passion Noire or Pink Turns Blue . In the inner-German area, however, one spoke predominantly of "guitar wave" or in a simplified form only of "wave" and thus also covered early Gothic Rock .

Important representatives were: Clair Obscur · Norma Loy · Guerre Froide · Resistance · Trisomie 21 · Martin Dupont · KaS Product · Excès Nocturne · Asylum Party · Opéra de Nuit · Little Nemo .

Electro wave

Until the mid-1990s, electro wave was used as the name for compositions that - within the wave movement - were primarily created by synthesizers , sequencers and drum computers . The music from artists such as Anne Clark , Gary Numan , Depeche Mode , The Human League , John Foxx and Invisible Limits was summarized here. Since the second half of the 1980s, a number of other bands have appeared, such as Deine Lakaien , Poésie Noire , The Fair Sex , The Eternal Afflict , Metronic , Project Pitchfork , Individual Industry or Drown for Ressurection .

However, Electro Wave only steered into the dark wave environment to a limited extent. The reason for an assignment is primarily the sad sounds of albums such as The Sitting Room by Anne Clark (1982), Black Celebration by Depeche Mode (1986), the 1989 work The Influence by Psyche or the self-titled mini-LP Kirlian Camera by Kirlian Camera (1981).

Nevertheless, numerous musicians, such as Fortification 55, Second Voice, The Mao Tse Tung Experience or The Invincible Spirit , drew their main influences from the synth-pop or EBM area and thus acted across genres.

Notable representatives: Anne Clark · Kirlian Camera · Deine Lakaien · Psyche · Project Pitchfork · The Eternal Afflict · Silke Bischoff (debut) · The Frozen Autumn .

Ethereal

Ethereal (English: ethereal = 'ethereal'), also known as Ethereal Wave or incorrectly called Etheric Wave , is a genre that is predominantly in the USA and refers to artists such as Cocteau Twins , The Cure and the early, guitar-heavy Dead Can Dance . This includes primarily reverberated guitar sounds , mostly generated using an effects device , in interaction with female vocals. The music is related to the styles Gothic Rock and Cold Wave (the use of the bass guitar is almost identical in all three styles) and is generally considered to be spherical, restrained and secluded, which is why it was given the name "Ethereal".

The Cocteau Twins are considered to be the originators of the Ethereal. Originally from the gothic rock environment, they turned 1983 a slower and significantly effect richer sound to that with songs like Five Ten Fiftyfold , The Spangle Maker , Rococo , Otterley , Pink Orange Red , Ribbed and Veined or Great Spangled Fritillary to 1985 reached its peak for the time being.

At the end of the 1980s, a wave of ethereal bands started in the USA. Labels such as Projekt Records and Tess Records devoted to the following decade the Ethereal and took groups like This Ascension , Lycia , Love Spirals Downwards or Trance to the Sun under contract. There are overlays in particular with shoegazing and dream pop , directions that developed simultaneously in England and flourished with bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive at the beginning of the 1990s.

In the late 1990s, the ethereal gradually ebbed and was only supported by a few bands like Autumn's Gray Solace ( Riverine , 2005), Stare ( Haunted , 2000), Aenima ( Sentient , 2003), Tearwave ( Tearwave , 2007) or lovesliescrushing ( Shiny Tiny Stars , 2012).

Significant representatives: Autumn's Gray Solace · Faith & Disease · Love Spirals Downwards · Lycia · Siddal · Soul Whirling Somewhere · Trance to the Sun .

Gothic rock

Bauhaus , here at an appearance in 2006, are considered to be one of the main representatives of Gothic Rock

Gothic rock developed in the late 1970s in the context of the British post-punk scene. In its early phase, this style was still strongly influenced by the raw sound and attitude of punk , and its range showed psychedelic and glam rock elements. Above all, the psychedelic rock component became more apparent from the mid-1980s and ran like a red thread through the history of Gothic Rock until the 1990s. Interesting in this context is the fact that the term Gothic Rock was mentioned as early as 1967 in a report on the psychedelic rock band The Doors .

The pioneers of Gothic Rock include groups such as Bauhaus , Joy Division , Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Sisters of Mercy , later bands such as Fields of the Nephilim , who cultivated a style that was slightly hard rock influenced. In the following years it was groups like Love Like Blood , Garden of Delight , The Tors of Dartmoor and Rosetta Stone who continued this variety before Gothic Rock from the mid-1990s through dark-wave-untypical styles ( metal , electro , Medieval rock, etc.) has been pushed out of the limelight.

Note : The term "Gothic Rock" was not able to establish itself widely in England until 1983, so that the terms "Post-Punk", "Positive Punk", "Wave" and "Dark Wave" were initially used in regional circles and on mainland Europe. circulated.

Important representatives: Bauhaus · Siouxsie and the Banshees · Xmal Deutschland · The Southern Death Cult · The Sisters of Mercy · Fields of the Nephilim · Marquee Moon · The House of Usher .

Neofolk

The neofolk , with its numerous links to the post-industrial scene, is the most controversial genre within the dark wave movement.

Death in June founded the style in the 1980s, although the musical direction of the band was not clearly defined in the beginning. This initially oscillated between post-punk , electro wave , folk and post-industrial before it finally culminated in a uniform style. The album Nada! Released in the mid-1980s plays a key role here . . Due to its diversity, this work is considered to be groundbreaking for other artists from the dark wave environment and presents the first songs in Neofolk guise.

Neofolk compositions are mainly created through the use of acoustic guitars and drums and the use of samples and synthesizers , which primarily serve as background music . The texts are devoted to topics such as magic , esotericism , paganism , runic theory , religion ( eschatology ) and poetry , but borrowings from the time of National Socialism also form a supporting element in some Neofolk projects and are aesthetically staged, which often makes the style in Criticism comes.

Notable representatives: Death in June · Sol Invictus · Current 93 · Forseti · Hagalaz 'Runedance · Of the Wand & the Moon .

Neoclassical

The neoclassical style draws on several epochs of music, often in interplay with female, operatic singing ( soprano , mezzo-soprano ), rarely madrigal . Inspired by various stylistic devices and composers from Romanticism , Early Music or New Music , the pieces of music are predominantly electronically generated or semi-acoustic original compositions; traditional material is rarely reinterpreted.

The origin of the neoclassical goes back to groups from the post-punk and gothic rock environment who tried, on the basis of the DIY philosophy, to underline their songs with classical arrangements by gradually resorting to classical instruments or library sound - incorporated samples into their compositions. These included, for example, The Venomettes ( The Dance of Death , 1983), whose members have worked with Siouxsie and the Banshees , Anne Clark , Peter Murphy , Virgin Prunes , Sex Gang Children and The Glove , and This Mortal Coil ( Waves Become Wings , 1984). The album are considered the earliest, fully produced in neoclassical style publications Storm Horse by In the Nursery of 1987 and the work published in the same year Within the Realm of a Dying Sun by Dead Can Dance on which instruments such as violin , cello , trumpet , Trombone , oboe and military drum ("Military Snare") were used.

In the 1990s this concept was continued mainly with the help of synthesizers , and the use of library sound samples (church bells, pizzicato, orchestral samples) is now widespread . This means that overlays exist in particular with styles such as Martial Industrial , Ritual and Dark Ambient .

Earliest mentions of neoclassical music in connection with bands like In the Nursery go back to 1988. Despite its name and various influences from composers such as Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky , it is not related to neoclassicism .

Important representatives: Dead Can Dance · In the Nursery · Stoa · Dargaard · Ophelia's Dream · Arcana · Love Is Colder Than Death · Elend · Dark Sanctuary · Artesia .

New German death art

The ego is considered to be an important interpreter and co-initiator of the NDT

From the end of the 1980s, the New German Death Art ( NDT for short ) emerged in southern Germany , a German-speaking branch of the Dark Wave movement, in which poetic, sometimes metaphorical, song texts were performed with emphasized spoken chants. Dealing with topics such as death, transience, fears and isolation was an essential part of this, with literary surrealism , the philosophical works of Friedrich Nietzsche , and skeptical or even nihilistic worldviews serving as incentives .

There was no fixed musical direction in this case. Usually elements from Gothic Rock and Electro Wave were used , and influences from neo-classical , avant-garde or post-industrial ( Einstürzende Neubauten ) were often mixed together. Contrary to this, there are songs in which the music increasingly takes a back seat. These in turn resemble a kind of radio play or musical theater .

As early as the mid-1990s, the New German Art of Death fell into oblivion , mainly due to the style change of its main representatives (e.g. Das Ich , Goethe's Heirs and Lacrimosa ). It is considered the last form of music to emerge in the dark wave environment.

Significant representatives: The I · Goethe's heirs · Lacrimosa · Relative humanity · Endraum · Illuminate · Misantrophe · Christian Dörge · eXplicitly lonely .

Development stages / popularity

DWE.png

The gray bars mark the origin and - with the help of the bar length - the duration of the popularity of a musical trend. All information relates to approximate values, deviations are therefore possible.

Labels

Record labels

  • 4AD
  • Alea Jacta Est
  • Alice in ...
  • Apocalyptic vision
  • Apollyon recordings
  • Beggars Banquet
  • Creep Records
  • Danse Macabre
  • Dark Star
  • Dion Fortune Records
  • Discordia
  • Energeia
  • Glasnost Records
  • Gymnastic Records
  • Hyperium Records
  • Middle Pillar
  • New Rose Records
  • Nyctalopia Records
  • Palace of Worms
  • Project records
  • Radio Luxor
  • Resurrection Records
  • Sounds of Delight
  • Talitha Records
  • Tess Records
  • World Serpent

The British independent label 4AD , which exerted significant influence with its publications in the 1980s, plays an important role . The albums of Cocteau Twins ( Head over Heels , 1983), Dead Can Dance ( Dead Can Dance , 1984), This Mortal Coil ( It'll End in Tears , 1984), Clan of Xymox ( Medusa , 1986) and Pieter were released here Nooten & Michael Brook ( Sleeps with the Fishes , 1987).

Record labels such as Hyperium Records or Projekt Records have evidently been inspired by the output of 4AD, especially with regard to the graphic implementation of Vaughan Oliver .

4AD's mother label was Beggars Banquet , the record company responsible for the albums of Gothic greats such as The Southern Death Cult , Bauhaus and the Fields of the Nephilim .

The French label Alea Jacta Est initially turned its attention to compilation releases by artists from the cold wave and gothic rock environment and was already able to arouse interest with the five-part sampler series L'Appel de la Muse . The record company founded in 1988 by Olivier Paccaud ( Lucie Cries ), which could come up with groups such as Clair Obscur , Nuit d'Octobre , Decades or Mémoires d'Automne , stopped its label work in the mid-1990s.

Tape labels

An active, Europe-wide tape scene existed until the early 1990s . With tape as an inexpensive storage medium, sales and free availability were in the hands of the musicians. In order to be able to concentrate and better market the music of the respective artist, tape labels were brought into being. Some of the labels that were able to establish themselves successfully over a longer period of time were Pleasantly Surprised, IndepenDance, No Control Torture, Beton Tapes, Gorkon Recordings or Grabaciones Góticas.

The Scottish label Pleasantly Surprised was founded in 1982 and, in addition to artists such as Cocteau Twins , Bauhaus , Death in June , The Wake, Pink Industry , The March Violets, Dead Can Dance and In the Nursery, also included bands outside the United Kingdom, including Clair Obscur and Xmal Germany , to his repertoire. In 1986 the label was part of the Cathexis Recordings record company.

No Control Torture was the Koblenz-based label of Wolfgang Scholz ( The Torturer Magazine , later active with The Gothic Grimoire ). This tape label has published titles by Ataraxia , Ghosting , Derrière le Miroir , Alan Woxx, Maeror Tri, Die Laughing, The Venus Fly Trap and Beyond the Wall of Sleep since 1990 . Around the same time, Alexander Pohle from Hamburg founded the label Beton Tapes and then Gorkon Recordings, on which artists such as Ataraxia, Ghosting, Every New Dead Ghost, Two Witches, Lore of Asmoday, The Evasion on Stake, Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows , Rosa Crux , Blooding Mask, Chandeen , The House of Usher or Remain In Silence had well over 100 tape releases by the mid-1990s.

Despite the dark wave movement that has existed in Spain since the mid-1980s, the scene in large cities like Barcelona and Madrid has remained relatively small to this day. An important starting point was the Barcelona label Grabaciones Góticas , which limited itself to cassette releases until the 1990s, as the production of a CD in Spain turned out to be extremely expensive. Bands like Los Humillados ( Dark Archives 1985–1995 , 1997), Gothic Sex ( Divided We Fall , 1994) or Ecodalia ( Angel's Glamor , 1995) found shelter here.

Publications with key qualities (selection)

  1979-1989   1989-1999

Web links

Commons : Dark Wave  - album with pictures
Wiktionary: Dark Wave  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Portal: Dark Wave  - Overview of Wikipedia content on Dark Wave

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gabriele Schröder: The Cure Special Story , Musikexpress / Sounds , edition 12/1985, p. 70, December 1985
  2. Valerie Steele & Jennifer Park: Gothic: Dark Glamor , p. 144, Yale University Press, August 15, 2008, ISBN 0-300-13694-3
  3. Klaus Farin: Die Gothics - Interview with Eric Burton from the German band Catastrophe Ballet , p. 60, 2001, ISBN 3-933773-09-1
  4. Bruno Kramm: Gothic! The scene in Germany from the point of view of its makers - content instead of labels! , Pp. 217, 2000, ISBN 3-89602-332-2
  5. Glasnost Wave magazine: Interview with the German band Girls Under Glass , issue 21, p. 8, May 1990
  6. Glasnost Wave magazine: Review of the album "1985" by the German band Calling Dead Red Roses , issue 31, p. 34, January / February 1992
  7. ^ Sub Line music magazine: Szene-Check - Club introduction: Live-Club Berlin , issue 2/94, p. 39, February 1994
  8. Spex. Music at the moment: advertisement of the record distributor EFA - Spots 5/85 , edition 5/85, p. 17, May 1985
  9. Bobby Vox: Gorgons, Hydras & Chimeras - Interview with Marquee Moon , EB Fanmagazin, Issue 3/86, page 18, May 1986.
  10. a b My Way: Review of the album "Tequila Dementia" by the band Honolulu Mountain Daffodils (these are compared here with Fields of the Nephilim and The Mission ), Issue 9, p. 27, May 1988
  11. ^ Svenjoy: Review of a cover version of the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" , New Life Soundmagazine , issue 38, p. 10, November 1988
  12. Spex. Music at the moment: advertisement of the record distributor EFA , edition 12/88, p. 58, December 1988
  13. ^ Illusions Perdues: Interview with the French band Excès Nocturne , Issue 1, p. 18, January 1989
  14. ^ The Mettmist: The Leather Nun - Slow Death , Issue 1, p. 23, 1984
  15. ^ A b The Mettmist: Klatsch & concerts , issue 1, p. 24, 1984
  16. Hysterika: Interview with the German band Deine Lakaien , Issue 1/92, p. 27, 1992
  17. Archive link ( Memento of the original dated February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mital-u.ch
  18. ^ A b Eugene Wiener: New Wave - Analysis of a Sales Strategy in Rolf Lindner's Punk Rock , p. 41, 1981, ISBN 3-88215-043-2
  19. ^ Greil Marcus: Britain's Postpunk Pop Avantgarde , Rolling Stone Magazine, p. 109, July 24, 1980
  20. a b Peter Matzke & Tobias Seeliger: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon , p. 39, 2002, ISBN 3-89602-277-6
  21. a b c Ingo Weidenkaff: Youth cultures in Thuringia - Die Gothics , p. 41, 1999, ISBN 3-933773-25-3
  22. Kirsten Wallraff: The Gothics. White as snow, red as blood and black as ebony - Music and Dance , p. 47, 2001, ISBN 3-933773-09-1
  23. ARTE Tracks : Siouxsie, the “New Man”, Goodbye ID, Kula Shaker, Chris Cunningham & Björk ( Memento of the original from August 30, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archives.arte-tv.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , June 4, 1999
  24. Dave Thompson & Kirsten Borchardt: Shadow World - Heroes and Legends of Gothic Rock , p. 58, 2004, ISBN 3-85445-236-5
  25. Dave Thompson & Kirsten Borchardt: Shadow World - Heroes and Legends of Gothic Rock , p. 154, 2004, ISBN 3-85445-236-5
  26. Markus Kolodziej: Dead Man Walking: Light and Blindness ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - biography of the British band Joy Division , Ox-Fanzine, issue 62, October 2005
  27. Armin Johnert : Interview with the British band In the Nursery , Zillo Musikmagazin, issue 9/90, p. 26, September 1990
  28. a b Oliver Köble: Interview with the German band Deine Lakaien , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 31, p. 15, January / February 1992
  29. Claudia Bösch: Inspiration of Wave Music through Classical Music , Glasnost Wave Magazine, Issue 27, p. 5, May / June 1991
  30. ^ Rüdiger Freund: Wave and Neoklassik: New Classics , Zillo Musikmagazin, issue 4/96, p. 40, April 1996
  31. Dave Thompson & Kirsten Borchardt: Shadow World - Heroes and Legends of Gothic Rock , p. 185, 2004, ISBN 3-85445-236-5
  32. a b Glasnost Wave magazine: Interview with the American artist Diamanda Galás , issue 25, p. 20, January / February 1991
  33. a b c Oliver Köble: Interview with the German band The Tors of Dartmoor , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 31, p. 8, January / February 1992
  34. Oliver Köble: Interview with the German band Love Is Colder Than Death , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 30, p. 10, November / December 1991
  35. Rüdiger Freund: Interview with the British band Current 93 , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 38, p. 24, May / June 1993
  36. Oliver Köble: Interview with the German band Relatives Mensch sein , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 32, p. 15, March / April 1992
  37. Oliver Köble: Interview with the German band Printed at Bismarck's Death , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 29, p. 19, October 1991
  38. Glasnost Wave magazine: Interview with the French band Collection d'Arnell-Andrea , issue 23, p. 15, September / October 1990
  39. Marcus Stiglegger: Interview with the French band Clair Obscur , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 40, p. 28, November / December 1993
  40. Oliver Köble: Interview with the Italian band Black Rose , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 29, p. 16, October 1991
  41. Oliver Köble: Interview with the American band Blade Fetish , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 43, p. 8, September / October 1994
  42. Dirk Hoffmann: Interview with the German band Das Ich , Zillo Musikmagazin, issue 12/90, p. 25, December 1990
  43. Hilke Günther-Arndt: Breakthrough of Modernity , History Book Cornelsen, p. 9, 1996
  44. ^ Rainer "Easy" Ettler: Emotion - Melancholie - Mystik , Zillo Musikmagazin, issue 11/90, p. 9, November 1990
  45. a b Dave Thompson & Kirsten Borchardt: Shadow World - Heroes and Legends of Gothic Rock , p. 72, 2004, ISBN 3-85445-236-5
  46. ^ Arvid Dittmann: Artificial Tribes. Young tribal cultures in Germany - Die Gothics , p. 139, 2001, ISBN 3-933773-11-3
  47. Thomas Seibert: Written There for All - Biography of the British band Joy Division , Orkus Musikmagazin, p. 89, February 2000
  48. ^ Ronny Moorings: Gothic II. The international scene from the point of view of its makers - The Xymox Story , p. 39, 2002, ISBN 3-89602-396-9
  49. Oliver Köble: Interview with the German band Soul in Isolation , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 43, p. 6, September / October 1994
  50. a b c Till Düppe: Interview with the Spanish band Los Humillados , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 43, p. 15, September / October 1994
  51. Nick Drivas: The History of the Dark Wave & Gothic Scene in Greece  - The history of the Dark Wave and Gothic scene in Greece, 2003
  52. Glasnost Wave magazine: Interview with the German band Love Like Blood , issue 23, p. 13, September 1990
  53. Axel Schmidt & Klaus Neumann-Braun: The world of the Gothics. Scope of dark connotated transcendence , p. 259, 2004, ISBN 3-531-14353-0
  54. Oliver Köble: Editorial , Glasnost Wave magazine, issue 28, p. 3, July / August 1991
  55. Glasnost Wave magazine: Review of the album "Metal + Flesh" by the French-British band Hard Corps , issue 23, p. 30, September 1990
  56. Svenjoy & Ulrich Hinz: Biography of the British band Depeche Mode , Zillo Musik-Magazin, issue 9/90, p. 11, September 1990
  57. Svenjoy: Interview with the German band Invisible Limits , Zillo Musik-Magazin, issue 12/91, p. 34, December 1991
  58. ^ Vertigo music magazine: Review of the maxi "Jahwe Koresh" by the German band The Eternal Afflict , issue 6, p. 47, winter 1993
  59. Armin Johnert: Metronic - Mystic Moods , New Life Sound Magazine, Issue 1/92, page 4, June 1992
  60. Side Line Music Magazine: Drown for Ressurection - Another Failed Legend? , Issue 9, p. 27, July 1993
  61. Svenjoy & Ulrich Hinz: Interview with the Canadian band Psyche , Zillo Musik-Magazin, issue 12/91, p. 24, December 1991
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  66. Iska Kück & Christian Peller: Description of the music by Soul Whirling Somewhere, This Ascension, Lycia, Love Spirals Downwards and Trance to the Sun (this is described in reviews as “ethereal”, “spherical” or “worldly”), Aeterna music magazine , Edition 4/94, pp. 15/23/24/25, summer 1994
  67. Glasnost Wave magazine: Review of the album "The Burning Circle and the Dust" by the American band Lycia , issue 45, p. 34, spring 1996
  68. Glasnost Wave magazine: Review of the album "The Pedestial" by the American band Siddal , issue 45, p. 47, spring 1996
  69. John Stickney: Four Doors to the Future: Gothic Rock is Their Thing ( Memento of January 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) - Report on the American band The Doors , The Williams College News, 1967
  70. Herfried Henke: Record review for Play Dead , Spex. Musik zur Zeit, issue 7/84, p. 48, July 1984
  71. Peter Matzke & Tobias Seeliger: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon , p. 310, 2002, ISBN 3-89602-277-6
  72. Sebastian Zabel: Record review for In the Nursery , Spex. Musik zur Zeit, issue 10/88, p. 61, October 1988
  73. Pleasantly Surprised: Dreams and Desires - Extensive Label History, February 2001