Harsh noise is a subgenre of noise music that emerged in the early 1980s, originating from the Kansai no wave movement and later Japanoise, primarily through acts such as Merzbow, Hijokaidan, Hanatarash, C.C.C.C. and Incapacitants, and was further developed by the European power electronics scene and American noise musicians such as the Haters, Daniel Menche, and Richard Ramirez.
Characteristics
Harsh noise is an extreme subgenre of noise music characterized by its rejection of
music theory and traditional
song structure, with little or no conventional
melody,
rhythm, or
harmony. Artists typically employ
Effects pedal,
Synthesizer,
Sound collage, or custom-built electronics to generate distortion and
Guitar feedback, resulting in compositions of dense
White noise, electronic screeches, and abrasive sonic bursts.
Performances often incorporate improvisation, and the style is frequently described as inaccessible and lacking commercial appeal.
Harsh noise is primarily associated with underground music, with regional scenes emerging internationally in Japan, England, Canada, Indonesia and America.
History
1980s–1990s: Origins
During the 1980s and 1990s, harsh noise music originally emerged in
Japan through the
Japanoise scene, which grew out of the Kansai no wave movement.
Early Japanese noise acts such as
Merzbow,
Hijokaidan,
Hanatarash, C.C.C.C. and
Incapacitants would prove influential in establishing the sound of harsh noise.
Around the same time, European power electronics, a subgenre of industrial music, became an important influence on the development of harsh noise, with the style later being popularized in the United States by American Noise music musicians such as the Haters, Daniel Menche, and Richard Ramirez.
Related genres
Harsh noise wall
Harsh noise wall (also known as
wall noise, noise wall, or
HNW) is a subgenre of harsh noise that emerged in the 1990s, originally pioneered by artists such as Richard Ramirez, Skin Crime, the Rita and
Vomir. Music journalist Russell Williams described the genre as "a literal consistent, unflinching and enveloping wall of monolithic noise".
Harsh noise wall features noises layered together to form a loud, distorted, Brickwalling static sound. French harsh noise artist Vomir described the genre as "no ideas, no change, no development, no entertainment, no remorse".[Williams, Russel (22 May 2014) Live Report: Harsh Noise Wall Festival III. The Quietus. Retrieved 6 May 2021.] Harsh noise wall musician Sam McKinlay, also known as The Rita, considered the genre as "the purification of the Japanese harsh noise scene into a more refined crunch, which crystallizes the tonal qualities of distortion in a slow moving minimalistic texture."[Novak (2013), p. 57]
See also
Further reading
