Cybergoth
Encyclopedia
Cybergoth is a subculture
that derives from elements of cyberpunk
, goth, raver
, and rivethead
fashion. Unlike traditional goths
, Cybergoths follow electronic dance music
more often than rock
.
, for their roleplaying game Dark Future
, the fashion style did not emerge until a decade later. Valerie Steele
quotes Julia Borden, who defines cybergoth as combining elements of industrial aesthetics
with a style associated with "Gravers" (Gothic ravers). Gravers hybridized "the British Raver look and the NYC ClubKid look with a 'freak show' spin." This fusion between New York and London styles began in 1999. Borden indicates that initially the hair extensions and bright fishnets did not mesh well with goth fashion, but that by 2002 "the rave elements of dress were replaced by Industrial-influenced accessories, such as goggles, reflective clothing, and mostly black clothing." Steele summarizes:
Nancy Kilpatrick indicates that David Bowie
's look in the 1970s is the initial inspiration for the style, and that Fritz Lang
's Metropolis
provided the prototype for cyber aesthetics. Kilpatrick also notes a link to cyberpunk
science fiction
, particularly William Gibson
's Neuromancer
.
Cybergoth fashion
combines rave, rivethead
, and goth
fashion, as well as drawing inspiration from cyberpunk
and other forms of science fiction
. Androgyny
is common. The style sometimes features one starkly contrasting bright or neon-reactive theme colour, such as red, blue, neon green, chrome, or pink, set against a basic, black gothic outfit. Matte or glossy black materials such as rubber and shiny black PVC
can be mixed and matched in an effort to create a more artificial look.
The black-and-monochromatic juxtaposition can take a variety of forms, including brightly colored hair and make-up, cybernetic patterns such as live LED circuit boards, body modification
, gas masks and goggles
(especially aviator-style
), typically worn on the forehead or around the neck rather than on the eyes. The most common use of a theme color is in the hair or eye make-up. Artificial, extended hair or “falls” are sometimes used to create this added effect. Falls can be made of various materials, ranging from yarn to fluorescent tubing to electrical wiring. Popular club gear for cybergoths includes tight black pants, tight black vests or shirts cut from ripped, solid or fishnet fabrics, resembling costumes from 19th Century Gothic novels
or early black and white horror films from the mid-20th century. Companies that specialize in the style include Cyberdog
and DANE in London, Lip Service, based in Southern California, Robotic Kitty Fashions which specializes in custom, made to order cybergoth gear, based in Chicago, and Diabolik, a shop in Montreal.
of the late 1990s were transformed into futurepop, a term coined by Ronan Harris of the UK band VNV Nation
and Stephan Groth, vocalist of Apoptygma Berzerk
. Other associated music includes aggrotech, power noise
and club-oriented dance music styles such as techno
, drum and bass
, acid trance
, darkstep
, synthpop
, electropop, gabber
, intelligent dance music
, EBM
, hard trance
, hardstyle
, dubstep
and dark psytrance
.
the former is provided by clubs such as the Slimelight
in London
, The Wendy House
in Leeds
, Autonomy in Leicester
, Tech Noir in Newcastle
, Chains on Velvet in Norwich
, Nightmare in Nottingham
, Ascension and Cyberia in Edinburgh
, Bedlam at the Queen Margaret Union
in Glasgow
, and the yearly Infest festival
.
In the United States
clubs such as Leland City Club in Detroit, The Castle in Ybor City, Tampa, Death Guild in San Francisco, and Das Bunker in Los Angeles
show a strong cybergoth presence. In Canada
, the subculture is exemplified by Toronto's monthly DarkRave event, the Plastik Wrap boutique, and in Montreal, Les Foufounes Électriques
nightclub.
style that evolved within the rivethead
and cybergoth music cultures. The dance inherits several earlier electronic dance elements, such as Krumping
, Hustle
, Vogue
, Electro and Waving
. Occasionally the dance would feature Poi art or Glowsticking
, but usually the dance is performed without anything held in the hands. Several people argue they invented the dance. Tecktonik is a derivate of the dance, but has also been a core influence on the newer versions of industrial.
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
that derives from elements of cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
, goth, raver
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
, and rivethead
Rivethead
Rivethead can mean:* The head of a rivet* Formerly, since the 1940s, a nickname for American automotive assembly line workers* A fashion style, as described here----...
fashion. Unlike traditional goths
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
, Cybergoths follow electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
more often than rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
.
History
While the term 'Cybergoth' was coined in 1988 in the United Kingdom, by Games WorkshopGames Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
, for their roleplaying game Dark Future
Dark Future
Dark Future is a 1988 miniature wargame by Games Workshop. It is set in an alternate reality where the United States—and indeed the rest of the world—is falling apart. Society is going to ruins, and the natural laws of physics are breaking down...
, the fashion style did not emerge until a decade later. Valerie Steele
Valerie Steele
Valerie Fahnestock Steele is a fashion historian, curator, and director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York...
quotes Julia Borden, who defines cybergoth as combining elements of industrial aesthetics
Rivethead
Rivethead can mean:* The head of a rivet* Formerly, since the 1940s, a nickname for American automotive assembly line workers* A fashion style, as described here----...
with a style associated with "Gravers" (Gothic ravers). Gravers hybridized "the British Raver look and the NYC ClubKid look with a 'freak show' spin." This fusion between New York and London styles began in 1999. Borden indicates that initially the hair extensions and bright fishnets did not mesh well with goth fashion, but that by 2002 "the rave elements of dress were replaced by Industrial-influenced accessories, such as goggles, reflective clothing, and mostly black clothing." Steele summarizes:
Nancy Kilpatrick indicates that David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's look in the 1970s is the initial inspiration for the style, and that Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
's Metropolis
Metropolis (film)
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and...
provided the prototype for cyber aesthetics. Kilpatrick also notes a link to cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, particularly William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
's Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
.
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
combines rave, rivethead
Rivethead
Rivethead can mean:* The head of a rivet* Formerly, since the 1940s, a nickname for American automotive assembly line workers* A fashion style, as described here----...
, and goth
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
fashion, as well as drawing inspiration from cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
and other forms of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. Androgyny
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...
is common. The style sometimes features one starkly contrasting bright or neon-reactive theme colour, such as red, blue, neon green, chrome, or pink, set against a basic, black gothic outfit. Matte or glossy black materials such as rubber and shiny black PVC
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
can be mixed and matched in an effort to create a more artificial look.
The black-and-monochromatic juxtaposition can take a variety of forms, including brightly colored hair and make-up, cybernetic patterns such as live LED circuit boards, body modification
Body modification
Body modification is the deliberate altering of the human body for any non-medical reason, such as aesthetics, sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, religious reasons, to display group membership or affiliation, to create body art, shock value, or self expression...
, gas masks and goggles
Goggles
Goggles or safety glasses are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and in woodworking. They are often used in snow sports as well,...
(especially aviator-style
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
), typically worn on the forehead or around the neck rather than on the eyes. The most common use of a theme color is in the hair or eye make-up. Artificial, extended hair or “falls” are sometimes used to create this added effect. Falls can be made of various materials, ranging from yarn to fluorescent tubing to electrical wiring. Popular club gear for cybergoths includes tight black pants, tight black vests or shirts cut from ripped, solid or fishnet fabrics, resembling costumes from 19th Century Gothic novels
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
or early black and white horror films from the mid-20th century. Companies that specialize in the style include Cyberdog
Cyberdog (shop)
Cyberdog is a trance music and cyber clothing/accessory retail chain, headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It specialises in bright fluorescent dance clothing, often featuring electronic components such as flashing lights...
and DANE in London, Lip Service, based in Southern California, Robotic Kitty Fashions which specializes in custom, made to order cybergoth gear, based in Chicago, and Diabolik, a shop in Montreal.
Hair
Cyber goth style incorporates extravagant hair pieces and styles, including synthetic dread locks, cyberlox, extensions and so on. These hair pieces can be made of a variety of materials, from real hair to synthetic kankelon hair to plastic tubing, tubular crin, rubber and foam strips, and belts and are often accented with goggles. DIY Cyberfalls example using almost all of the above materials. Also an example of the use of goggles, and a gas mask.
Music
In the first decade of the 21st century, the instrumental, computer driven, synthesized hypnotic tempos and textures of the trance musicTrance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
of the late 1990s were transformed into futurepop, a term coined by Ronan Harris of the UK band VNV Nation
VNV Nation
VNV Nation are a British/Irish electronic music band originally from Dublin, Ireland and Essex, United Kingdom and now based in Hamburg, Germany. They combine elements of electro-industrial, trance, synthpop and electronic body music . The members are Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson...
and Stephan Groth, vocalist of Apoptygma Berzerk
Apoptygma Berzerk
Apoptygma Berzerk is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synthpop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselves as "futurepop". Apop has won awards and top-10 spots in Germany and Scandinavia...
. Other associated music includes aggrotech, power noise
Power noise
Power noise is a fusion genre among noise music and various styles of electronic dance music. It should not be confused with "power electronics", which lacks rhythmic elements and is closer to harsh noise...
and club-oriented dance music styles such as techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, acid trance
Acid trance
Acid trance is a style of trance music that emerged in the late '80s early '90s focusing on utilising the acid sound. The trademark sound of "acid" is produced with a Roland TB-303 by playing a sequenced melody while altering the instrument's filter cutoff frequency, resonance, envelope modulation,...
, darkstep
Darkstep
Darkstep is a subgenre of drum and bass that fuses elements of darkcore with uptempo breakbeats and ambient noises . Darkstep music is typically composed in a chromatic scale...
, synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
, electropop, gabber
Gabber
Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
, intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...
, EBM
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
, hard trance
Hard trance
Hard trance is a subgenre of trance music that originated in Western Europe in the mid-1990s as the breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic music, all influenced by UK hard house, happy hardcore and jungle/drum & bass...
, hardstyle
Hardstyle
Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre mixing influences from hardtechno, hard house, hard trance, hardcore and rave music. It is between 148 and 157 bpm in speed and is written in 4/4 time....
, dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and dark psytrance
Dark psytrance
Dark psytrance is a darker, faster and more distorted form of psychedelic trance music, with tempo ranges usually from 145 to 180 BPM, but reaches +220 BPM...
.
Locations
Much of the culture centres around nightlife or the Internet; in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the former is provided by clubs such as the Slimelight
Slimelight
The Slimelight club is a goth nightclub.It is an alternative music club which has three dance floors. playing music genres such as darkwave, EBM, trad goth, gothic rock, futurepop, power noise, synthpop, industrial, and noise....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, The Wendy House
The Wendy House
The Wendy House is a goth and alternative nightclub based in Leeds, England. It generally occurs on the 3rd Saturday of every month from 9.00pm to 2.30am at Leeds University Union....
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Autonomy in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, Tech Noir in Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, Chains on Velvet in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Nightmare in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, Ascension and Cyberia in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Bedlam at the Queen Margaret Union
Queen Margaret Union
The Queen Margaret Union is one of two students' unions at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1890, it caters for the social and cultural needs of its members by providing a range of services including, entertainments, catering, shop facilities, bars and games.-History:The Queen...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and the yearly Infest festival
Infest (festival)
Infest is an annual three day music festival held at the University of Bradford Union in the United Kingdom, featuring alternative electronic music acts from genres including industrial, EBM, futurepop, synthpop and power noise...
.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
clubs such as Leland City Club in Detroit, The Castle in Ybor City, Tampa, Death Guild in San Francisco, and Das Bunker in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
show a strong cybergoth presence. In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the subculture is exemplified by Toronto's monthly DarkRave event, the Plastik Wrap boutique, and in Montreal, Les Foufounes Électriques
Les Foufounes Électriques
Les Foufounes Électriques is a concert venue located at 87 Saint Catherine Street East in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada in a neighbourhood known as the Quartier Latin . It is a multi-level establishment with 3 dance floors...
nightclub.
Industrial dance
Industrial dance is a syncretic and electronic urban danceStreet dance
Street dance, more formally known as vernacular dance, is an umbrella term used to describe dance styles that evolved outside of dance studios in any available open space such as streets, dance parties, block parties, parks, school yards, raves, and nightclubs, etc...
style that evolved within the rivethead
Rivethead
Rivethead can mean:* The head of a rivet* Formerly, since the 1940s, a nickname for American automotive assembly line workers* A fashion style, as described here----...
and cybergoth music cultures. The dance inherits several earlier electronic dance elements, such as Krumping
Krumping
Krumping, also spelled Krumpin, is a street dance popularized in the United States that is characterized by free, expressive, exaggerated, and highly energetic movement involving the arms, head, legs, chest, and feet...
, Hustle
Hustle (dance)
The Hustle is a catchall name for several disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. Today it mostly refers to the unique partner dance done in ballrooms and nightclubs to disco music. It has some features in common with swing dance. Its basic steps are somewhat similar to the...
, Vogue
Vogue (dance)
Vogue or voguing is a highly stylized, modern house dance that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene in the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" , and when showcased in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning...
, Electro and Waving
Waving (dance)
Wavinging along his arms, start and end a wave at any point on his arms, and transition the wave through his body as a bodywave. There are seven and eleven point waves. The eleven point wave runs as finger knuckes-knuckles-wrist-elbow-shoulder-chest-shoulder-elbow-wrist-knuckles-finger knuckles...
. Occasionally the dance would feature Poi art or Glowsticking
Glowsticking
Glowsticking is a form of dancing with glowsticks or other glowstick-like instruments that share the same qualities: durability, consistency in light, safety to toss around, and the material of which they are made, often a soft and pliant plastic....
, but usually the dance is performed without anything held in the hands. Several people argue they invented the dance. Tecktonik is a derivate of the dance, but has also been a core influence on the newer versions of industrial.
See also
- Cyberpunk derivativesCyberpunk derivativesA number of cyberpunk derivatives have become recognized as distinct subgenres in speculative fiction. These derivatives, though they do not share cyberpunk's computers-focused setting, may display other qualities drawn from or analogous to cyberpunk: a world built on one particular technology...
- CyberdelicCyberdelicCyberdelic is a term used to either describe:# Immersion in cyberspace as a psychedelic experience....