Electronic body music
Encyclopedia
Electronic body music (EBM) or industrial dance is a music genre
that combines elements of industrial music
and electronic dance music
. It first came to prominence in Belgium
.
Emerging in the early 1980s, the genre's early influences range from industrial music (Throbbing Gristle
, Cabaret Voltaire
), European synthpunk
(DAF
, Liaisons Dangereuses, Portion Control), and electronic music
(Kraftwerk
).
with reverberation and echo effects, and repetitive sequencer lines. At the time the genre arose, important synthesizers were the Korg MS-20
, Emulator II, Oberheim Matrix
and Yamaha DX7
. Typical EBM rhythms are based on 4/4 beats, mainly with some minor syncopation
to suggest a rock music
rhythm structure.
of the German
electronic band Kraftwerk
in 1978 to explain the more physical sound of their album The Man-Machine
. DAF from Germany
used the term "Körpermusik" (body music) to describe their danceable electronic punk sound. The term was later used in by Belgian
band Front 242
in 1984 to describe the music of their EP of that year, No Comment
. Front 242 characterized their approach as falling between Throbbing Gristle
and Kraftwerk. Nitzer Ebb
, influenced by DAF and Cabaret Voltaire
, followed soon after. Groups from this era often applied socialist realist aesthetics, with ironic intent. Other prominent groups include Die Krupps
, à;GRUMH...
, and A Split-Second
.
, Ministry
, and Schnitt Acht
started to use typical European EBM elements. They combined these elements with the roughness of American industrial rock
, particularly in the case of Revolting Cocks
. Nine Inch Nails
continued the cross-pollination between EBM and industrial rock resulting in their album "Pretty Hate Machine
" (1989).
Meanwhile, EBM became popular in the underground club scene
, particularly in Europe. In this period the most important labels were the Belgian PIAS
and Antler-Subway, the German Zoth Ommog, the North American Wax Trax!
and the Swedish Energy Rekords
. Significant artists included And One
, Armageddon Dildos
, Bigod 20
, The Neon Judgement
, and Attrition
.
Between the early and the mid 1990s, many EBM artists split up, or changed their musical style, borrowing more distorted industrial
elements or elements of rock
or metal
. The album Tyranny For You by EBM pioneers Front 242 initiated the end of the EBM epoch of the 1980s. Nitzer Ebb, one of the most important artists, also became an industrial rock band. Without the strength of its figureheads, the original electronic body music faded by the mid-1990s.
that developed in the mid-1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep, complex and layered sound, incorporating elements of ambient industrial. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy
, Front Line Assembly
, and :Wumpscut:. In the mid-'90s, the style spawned the dark electro and aggrotech offshoots.
, Jäger 90 and Spetsnaz
have reproduced the old EBM style. In the same time period, a number of artists from the European techno scene started including more elements of EBM in their sound. This tendency grew in parallel with the emerging electroclash
scene and, as that scene started to decline, a number of artists associated with it, such as The Hacker
, DJ Hell
, Green Velvet, and Black Strobe
, moved towards this techno/EBM crossover style. There has been increasing convergence between this scene and the old school EBM scene. Bands and artists have remixed each other. Most notably, Terence Fixmer joined with Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy
to form Fixmer/McCarthy
.
, VNV Nation
and Apoptygma Berzerk
. The term "futurepop" was coined by VNV Nation lead singer Ronan Harris
to describe their sound at the time, and that of similar groups. The scene grew in the early-to-mid 00s as artists such as And One
, Assemblage 23
, Ayria
, Colony 5
, Icon of Coil
, Neuroticfish
, Rotersand
, and Seabound
formed or began incorporating elements of the genre into their music.
Futurepop music retains some elements that are popular in EBM and industrial music, including heavy use of sampling
and an absence of vocal modification that is popular in many other forms of electronic music. In addition, it incorporates influences from synthpop
(such as song structure, focus on lyrics and vocal style) and uplifting trance
(grandiose and arpeggiated synthesizer melodies) to create beat-driven, club-oriented music that is considered more danceable and upbeat than EBM.
Some songs in the genre have become popular in dance clubs, particularly in Germany
, where several bands in the genre, such as Covenant, Apoptygma Berzerk and VNV Nation has enjoyed chart success. Futurepop music is popular in the cybergoth
and general alternative electronic
scenes. Music festivals that feature futurepop bands include Infest
, Wave-Gotik-Treffen amphi festival
and M'era Luna
.
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
that combines elements of industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and 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...
. It first came to prominence in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Emerging in the early 1980s, the genre's early influences range from industrial music (Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
, Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
), European synthpunk
Synthpunk
Synthpunk is a music genre combining elements of electronic music and punk rock. The term was coined by Damian Ramsey in 1999 as an attempt to retroactively identify a small sub-genre of punk music from 1977 to 1984 that involved musicians playing synthesizers in place of electric...
(DAF
Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft or D.A.F. is an influential German electropunk/NDW band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López , Robert Görl , Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke , Michael Kemner and Wolfgang Spelmans...
, Liaisons Dangereuses, Portion Control), and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
(Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
).
Characteristics
From its inception, the style has been characterized by hard and often sparse danceable electronic beats, clear undistorted vocals, shouts or growlsGrowling
Growling or growl is a low, guttural vocalization produced by predatory animals as a warning to others, as a sign of aggression, or to express anger. Low or dull rumbling noises may also be emitted by human beings when discontent with something or angry...
with reverberation and echo effects, and repetitive sequencer lines. At the time the genre arose, important synthesizers were the Korg MS-20
Korg MS-20
The Korg MS-20 is a patchable semi-modular monophonic synthesizer which Korg released in 1978 and which was in production until 1983. It was part of Korg's MS series of instruments, which also included the single oscillator MS-10, the keyboardless MS-50 module, and the SQ-10 sequencer...
, Emulator II, Oberheim Matrix
Oberheim Matrix synthesizers
Oberheim Matrix synthesizers are a historic product line of analog synthesizers from Oberheim featuring a method of synthesis which Oberheim called "Matrix Modulation" as a method of defining preset and user patches...
and Yamaha DX7
Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is an FM Digital Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986. It was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer. Its distinctive sound can be heard on many recordings, especially Pop music from the 1980s...
. Typical EBM rhythms are based on 4/4 beats, mainly with some minor syncopation
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
to suggest a rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
rhythm structure.
1978–1987
The term electronic body music was coined by Ralf HütterRalf Hütter
Ralf Hütter is the lead singer, keyboardist, and reportedly leader of the electronic-music band Kraftwerk. Since the departure of Florian Schneider in 2008, he is also the group's sole remaining founding member....
of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
electronic band Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
in 1978 to explain the more physical sound of their album The Man-Machine
The Man-Machine
The Man-Machine is the seventh studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in May 1978. It contains the song "The Model" which was a chart-topping single in the UK in 1982....
. DAF from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
used the term "Körpermusik" (body music) to describe their danceable electronic punk sound. The term was later used in by Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
band Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
in 1984 to describe the music of their EP of that year, No Comment
No Comment (album)
-Red Rhino CD version :-Wax Trax! CD version :-Wax Trax! Cassette Version :-Epic CD version :The 1992 Epic Records rerelease of No Comment slightly changed the EBM reference, which read "Electronic body music recorded on 8 tracks"...
. Front 242 characterized their approach as falling between Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
and Kraftwerk. Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb is a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris , Douglas McCarthy , and David Gooday .-Band name:...
, influenced by DAF and Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
, followed soon after. Groups from this era often applied socialist realist aesthetics, with ironic intent. Other prominent groups include Die Krupps
Die Krupps
Die Krupps is a German industrial rock/EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf.-History:Their initial sound throughout the 1980s combined synthesizers with metallic percussion...
, à;GRUMH...
À;GRUMH...
à;GRUMH... was a Belgian EBM/industrial band, founded in 1981 by SΔ3 Evets and JΔ3 Seuqcaj , both from Charleroi, Belgium...
, and A Split-Second
A Split-Second
A Split-Second was a Belgian electronic body music band. The duo — Marc Ickx and Peter Bonne — were active from their debut in 1986 until they split up in 1991, and A Split-Second continued as an Ickx solo project.After signing to Antler Records, A Split-Second made their debut in 1986...
.
1988–1993
In the second half of the 1980s, American and Canadian music groups such as Front Line AssemblyFront Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. Influenced by early Industrial acts such as Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, D.A.F., Test Dept, SPK, and Severed Heads, FLA has developed its own unique sound while combining...
, Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, and Schnitt Acht
Schnitt Acht
Schnitt Acht was an American industrial band from Orlando, Florida, active in the first half of the 1990s.-History:Formed in the late 1980s in Orlando, Florida by Morgan Lekcirt , Virgil L. Hibbs, Abbot ZiglerSchnitt Acht was an American industrial band from Orlando, Florida, active in the first...
started to use typical European EBM elements. They combined these elements with the roughness of American industrial rock
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
, particularly in the case of Revolting Cocks
Revolting Cocks
Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, is an American–Belgian industrial rock band and sometime supergroup that began as a musical side-project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.-History:...
. Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
continued the cross-pollination between EBM and industrial rock resulting in their album "Pretty Hate Machine
Pretty Hate Machine
Pretty Hate Machine is the debut album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released October 20, 1989, on TVT Records. Pretty Hate Machine is compiled of reworked tracks from the Purest Feeling demo, as well as tracks recorded after its recording...
" (1989).
Meanwhile, EBM became popular in the underground club scene
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
, particularly in Europe. In this period the most important labels were the Belgian PIAS
Play It Again Sam (record label)
[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London...
and Antler-Subway, the German Zoth Ommog, the North American Wax Trax!
Wax Trax! Records
Wax Trax! Records was an independent record label in the United States. Wax Trax! began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado opened by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. They sold the store in 1978 and, in November of that year, opened a new one under the same name at 2449 North Lincoln Avenue in...
and the Swedish Energy Rekords
Energy Rekords
Energy Rekords is a record label formed in 1990 by the merging of the three labels Front Music Production, Electronic Beat Association and Energy - all small labels run from the Swedish town of Älmhult...
. Significant artists included And One
And One
AND ONE is a German New Wave, synthpop and EBM band founded by Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz.-History:The band formed after Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz met in 1989 at a Berlin club. Being fans of early EBM music, Naghavi and Ruiz decided to follow in the footsteps of New Wave/synthpop band Depeche...
, Armageddon Dildos
Armageddon Dildos
Armageddon Dildos is a German electro-industrial-duo consisting of Uwe Kanka and Dirk Krause . The act was formed in 1988 in Kassel Germany, and the name comes from the slang term for intercontinental ballistic missiles. They perform songs in both German and English.The Armageddon Dildos have been...
, Bigod 20
Bigod 20
Bigod 20 was a German EBM and electro-industrial band which was formed in 1988 by music producers Andreas Tomalla and Markus Nikolai .-History:...
, The Neon Judgement
The Neon Judgement
The Neon Judgement is a Belgian new wave band.The band was started in Leuven in 1981 by Dirk Da Davo and TB Frank.On the 21st of August 1985, the band opened a new alternative music festival, named Pukkelpop...
, and Attrition
Attrition (band)
Attrition are an electronic music band, formed in Coventry, England in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. The band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly...
.
Between the early and the mid 1990s, many EBM artists split up, or changed their musical style, borrowing more distorted industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
elements or elements of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
or metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. The album Tyranny For You by EBM pioneers Front 242 initiated the end of the EBM epoch of the 1980s. Nitzer Ebb, one of the most important artists, also became an industrial rock band. Without the strength of its figureheads, the original electronic body music faded by the mid-1990s.
Electro-industrial
Electro-industrial is an outgrowth of the EBM and industrial musicIndustrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
that developed in the mid-1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep, complex and layered sound, incorporating elements of ambient industrial. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
, Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. Influenced by early Industrial acts such as Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, D.A.F., Test Dept, SPK, and Severed Heads, FLA has developed its own unique sound while combining...
, and :Wumpscut:. In the mid-'90s, the style spawned the dark electro and aggrotech offshoots.
Revival
In the late 1990s and after the millennium, Swedish and German groups such as Tyske LudderTyske Ludder
Tyske Ludder is a German EBM band. Their members include Claus Albers, Olaf A. Reimers and Ralf Homann. In 2008 they appeared at the Infest in Bradford. And in May 2009 they appeared at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig and the M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim Germany...
, Jäger 90 and Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz (band)
Spetsnaz is an EBM duo, formed in Örebro, Sweden by Stefan Nilsson and Pontus Stålberg in 2001....
have reproduced the old EBM style. In the same time period, a number of artists from the European techno scene started including more elements of EBM in their sound. This tendency grew in parallel with the emerging electroclash
Electroclash
Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...
scene and, as that scene started to decline, a number of artists associated with it, such as The Hacker
The Hacker
Michel Amato, better known by the stage name The Hacker, is a French electroclash and techno producer who has worked extensively with Miss Kittin. His work has been influenced by Electro artists like Kraftwerk, New Wave artists such as The Cure and Depeche Mode, as well as the French rave scene of...
, DJ Hell
DJ Hell
This article is about Helmut Josef Geier. You may also be looking for Darryl Hell.Helmut Josef Geier, professionally known as DJ Hell is a German house-techno DJ...
, Green Velvet, and Black Strobe
Black Strobe
Black Strobe were formed in Paris in 1997 by producer Arnaud Rebotini and DJ Ivan Smagghe, and were instrumental in the rise of the electroclash movement in the UK with their breakthrough single Me And Madonna...
, moved towards this techno/EBM crossover style. There has been increasing convergence between this scene and the old school EBM scene. Bands and artists have remixed each other. Most notably, Terence Fixmer joined with Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy
Douglas McCarthy
Douglas John McCarthy is the vocalist of Chelmsford, Essex-based EBM band Nitzer Ebb.Apart from writing and performing with Nitzer Ebb, McCarthy has also appeared on recordings by Recoil and has released material in collaboration with DJ Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy...
to form Fixmer/McCarthy
Fixmer/McCarthy
Fixmer/McCarthy is an electronic music collaboration between the French techno producer Terence Fixmer, and British EBM vocalist Douglas McCarthy ....
.
Futurepop
Futurepop is a derivative form of EBM that evolved in the late 90s with CovenantCovenant (band)
Covenant is a band from Sweden whose music comprises a mixture between electropop and electronic dance music. The band is composed of Eskil Simonsson, Daniel Myer and Joakim Montelius...
, 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 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...
. The term "futurepop" was coined by VNV Nation lead singer Ronan Harris
Ronan Harris
Ronan Harris is a member of the act VNV Nation, along with Mark Jackson. For live shows the band are joined by 2 keyboard players. Ronan is credited with the songwriting, production, lyrical, and vocal aspects of the band's music...
to describe their sound at the time, and that of similar groups. The scene grew in the early-to-mid 00s as artists such as And One
And One
AND ONE is a German New Wave, synthpop and EBM band founded by Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz.-History:The band formed after Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz met in 1989 at a Berlin club. Being fans of early EBM music, Naghavi and Ruiz decided to follow in the footsteps of New Wave/synthpop band Depeche...
, Assemblage 23
Assemblage 23
Assemblage 23 is an electronic act from the United States, currently based in Seattle. It was founded in 1988 by Tom Shear who writes the music and lyrics and does the recording himself.-1980s–1990s :...
, Ayria
Ayria
Ayria, pronounced area, is a Canadian futurepop/synthpop musical project formed in early 2003 by Toronto's Jennifer Parkin following her departure from Epsilon Minus.-Biography:The first Ayria album, Debris, was released on Alfa Matrix in 2003....
, Colony 5
Colony 5
Colony 5 is a Swedish futurepop/synthpop/EBM band founded in March 1999. P-O Svensson started the band as a hobby with Magnus Löfdahl. The music style has changed with group membership and their sound became more consistent...
, Icon of Coil
Icon of Coil
Icon of Coil is a Norwegian electronic music band. The band was established as a solo project in 1997 by Andy LaPlegua who was joined by former Sector 9 bandmate Sebastian Komor to perform live. With the release of Shallow Nation, the band's first single, Komor joined full-time. In 2000, Christian...
, Neuroticfish
Neuroticfish
Neuroticfish was a German musical project whose styles were borrowed from Electronic body music, futurepop, and synthpop, as well as other types of electronic music. It released its music on the Dancing Ferret Discs record label.- History :...
, Rotersand
Rotersand
Rotersand is a German electronic music act, formed in September 2002 by musician/producer Gun and singer Rascal with dance music producer/DJ Krischan J.E. Wesenberg joining them shortly after...
, and Seabound
Seabound
Seabound is a synthpop/futurepop duo from Germany. Their lyrics are in English and for the most part explore the human psyche and the way that everyday events can affect a person psychologically. Hence the band's slogan; "Seabound: Journey Into Your Mind."...
formed or began incorporating elements of the genre into their music.
Futurepop music retains some elements that are popular in EBM and industrial music, including heavy use of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and an absence of vocal modification that is popular in many other forms of electronic music. In addition, it incorporates influences from 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...
(such as song structure, focus on lyrics and vocal style) and uplifting trance
Uplifting trance
Uplifting trance, often synonymous with epic trance, anthem trance, emotional trance, or euphoric trance is a term used to describe a large sub-genre of trance music. The name, which emerged in the wake of progressive trance in 1997, is derived from the feeling which listeners claim to get...
(grandiose and arpeggiated synthesizer melodies) to create beat-driven, club-oriented music that is considered more danceable and upbeat than EBM.
Some songs in the genre have become popular in dance clubs, particularly in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where several bands in the genre, such as Covenant, Apoptygma Berzerk and VNV Nation has enjoyed chart success. Futurepop music is popular in the cybergoth
Cybergoth
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.-History:...
and general alternative electronic
Alternative electronic
Alternative electronic is an umbrella term used to describe a range of lesser-known electronic music genres which are related in some fashion to industrial music....
scenes. Music festivals that feature futurepop bands include Infest
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...
, Wave-Gotik-Treffen amphi festival
Amphi Festival
The Amphi Festival is a music festival that has been taking place since 2005 featuring a wide-ranging program for a heterogeneous audience, albeit primarily fans of alternative, electronic music, and dark music...
and M'era Luna
M'era Luna Festival
The M'era Luna is a festival of goth, metal and industrial music. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, Germanyat Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt, a former British Army airbase....
.
Trance Influences & The Island of Goa
Many of the most popular EBM artists have significant trance, goa/psy-trance or acid techno influences both in how their music subjectively sounds and explicitly cited as an influence. In Ishkur's guide to electronic music he suggests that Goa Trance came from EBM. Many Goa trance artists and djs mention that EBM was played heavily in Goa as well. So it is clear there is a significant crossover between the two scenes in the early to mid 90s at the very least.See also
- Post-industrial developments
- List of electronic music genres
- New BeatNew BeatNew Beat is a term that was used in the 1980s to refer to two different genres of electronic dance music. It also refers to an underground 1980s Belgian music style.- Terminology :...
External links
- "20 best: industrial & EBM." Fact magazine article.
- "Electronic body music on Avant-Avant"