Product Code Database
Dark wave (also known as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. (2025). 9783933773111, Tilsner. ISBN 9783933773111 (2025). 9783476026774, J. B. Metzler Verlag. ISBN 9783476026774 Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, romantic and bleak, with an undertone of sorrow.Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, , p. 270
"Textlich und musikalisch ergibt sich für Dark Wave ein Stimmungsbild, das sich gezähmt zwischen Härte und Romantik bewegt, sehnsuchtsvoll und melancholisch, Wut kommt kaum aggressiv zum Ausdruck, alles wirkt ausgewogen und reflektiert." Common features include the use of such as electric and acoustic guitar, violin and piano, as well as electronic instruments such as synthesizer, sampler and drum machine. Like new wave, dark wave is not a "unified genre but rather an umbrella term" that encompasses a variety of musical styles, including cold wave,Schilz, Andrea: Flyer der Schwarzen Szene Deutschlands: Visualisierungen, Strukturen, Mentalitäten. Waxmann Verlag, 2010, , p. 84.
"Dark Wave ist ein ... Oberbegriff für düstere Spielarten des Wave, der auch Gothic darunter subsumiert. Cold Wave bezeichnet eine Untergattung experimenteller, minimalistischer Elektronikmusik aus Frankreich." ethereal wave,. gothic rock,Uecker, Susann: Mit High-Heels im Stechschritt, Hirnkost Verlag, 2014,
"Die Dark-Wave-Szene unterteilt sich unter anderem in den klassischen Dark Wave, den Gothic-Rock, elektronische Gruppen oder auch den Neofolk." neoclassical dark waveCarstens, Olaf; Thalhofer, Frank: Duden - Das Fremdwörterbuch, Bibliographisches Institut, Auflage 11, 2015, , p. 726
"Genre der Dark-Wave-Musik, das durch verschiedene Stilmittel und Komponisten der Romantik, der Alten Musik oder der Neuen Musik inspiriert ist." and neofolk.
In the 1980s, a subculture developed primarily in Europe alongside dark wave music, whose followers were called "wavers" (1999). 9783933773098, Tilsner. ISBN 9783933773098 (2025). 9783896023322, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf. ISBN 9783896023322 or "dark wavers".Haumann, Melanie: Fetisch Weiblichkeit. Der Mythos der schönen Frau?, Verlag für Wissenschaft und Forschung, 2001, , p. 2
"Die Dark Waver, Waver – oder belächelnd auch "Grufties" genannt – sind eine Jugendkultur, die in den 80er Jahren aus der Punk-Bewegung entstanden ist."Farin, Klaus: Jugend, Gesellschaft und Recht im neuen Jahrtausend, Forum Verlag Godesberg, 2003, , p. 66 In some countries, most notably Germany, the movement also included fans of gothic rock
"The subculture of the Goths (in Germany called "Grufties") started in Britain in the early 1980s and derives from the gloomy, resigned side of punk and new wave, in the field of music called 'dark wave' or 'doom.'" (so-called "trad-goths").Hodkinson, Paul: Goth. Identity, Style and Subculture, Bloomsbury Academic, 2002, , p. 50
The movement spread internationally, developing such strands as ethereal wave, with bands such as Cocteau Twins, and neoclassical dark wave, initiated by the music of Dead Can Dance and In the Nursery.Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 400–401, 2003, Nym, Alexander: Schillerndes Dunkel. Geschichte, Entwicklung und Themen der Gothic-Szene, Plöttner Verlag 2010, , p. 169 French cold wave groups such as Clair ObscurSPEX. Musik zur Zeit: Classified Ad by German distribution company EFA, issue 12/88, p. 58, December 1988 and Opera Multi Steel Opera Multi Steel - Official band biography have also been associated with the dark wave scene; Rémy Lozowski, guitarist of French cold wave band Excès Nocturne, described his music as new wave noire ("dark new wave").Illusions Perdues magazine: Interview with Excès Nocturne, issue 1, p. 18, January 1989
Simultaneously, different substyles associated with the new wave and dark wave movements started to merge and influence each other, e.g. synth-wave (a kind of new wave with synthesizers, also referred to as "electro-wave"Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 222, 2003, ) with gothic rock, or began to borrow elements of post-industrial music. Attrition, Die Form (France), Pink Industry (UK), Psyche (Canada), Kirlian Camera (Italy) and Clan of Xymox (Netherlands)DeBord, Jason: Clan of Xymox at DNA Lounge, Rock Subculture Journal, March 21, 2015
"A pioneer of Darkwave music, the mix of Synth Wave, Post-Punk, and Gothic Rock had its golden age in the '80s among contemporaries like Bauhaus, Joy Division, the Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, and Depeche Mode." performed this music in the 1980s. Other bands such as Malaria! and the Vyllies added elements of chanson and cabaret music. This sort of dark wave music became known as dark cabaret (or "dark cabaret", a term popularized by U.S. dark wave label Projekt Records).Stücker, Bianca: Die Funktionalisierung von Technik innerhalb des subkulturellen Kontexts, Europäischer Hochschulverlag, 2013, , p. 74
German dark wave bands were partially associated with the Neue Deutsche Welle (i.e. German new wave),Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, , p. 256 and included Xmal Deutschland,Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, , p. 257 Mask For, Asmodi Bizarr, II. Invasion, Unlimited Systems, Moloko †, Maerchenbraut,Kilpatrick, Nancy. The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004, , pp. 84/85. Cyan Revue, Leningrad Sandwich, Stimmen der Stille, Belfegore,Esch, Rüdiger: Electri_city, Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag, 3rd edition, 2015, , p. 356 and Pink Turns Blue.Oliver Sheppard: Pink Turns Blue – An interview with German darkwave pioneers. CVLT Nation magazine, 9 September 2016
At the same time, a number of German artists, including Das Ich,Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 311, 2002, Goethes Erben, Relatives Menschsein, and Endraum, developed a more theatrical style, interspersed with German poetic, metaphorical lyrics, called Neue Deutsche Todeskunst (literally New German Death Art).Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, , pp. 280/281. Other bands, such as Silke Bischoff, In My Rosary,Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, pp. 221/222, 2002, Engelsstaub, and Impressions of WinterMatzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 219, 2002, combined synthesizers with elements of neofolk and neoclassical dark wave.
Projekt featured bands such as Lycia, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, and Love Spirals Downwards, some of these characterized by atmospheric guitar and synth-sounds and female vocals.Dave Thompson, Kirsten Borchardt: Schattenwelt – Helden und Legenden des Gothic Rock., Hannibal Verlag 2003, , p. 362 This style took cues from 1980s bands like Cocteau Twins and is often referred to as Ethereal wave.Glasnost Wave-Magazin, issue 42, Description of the bands Trance to the Sun, This Ascension, p. 32/34, April 1994 Projekt Records has also had a long association with Attrition, who appeared on the label's earliest compilations.Various Artists: From Across this Gray Land, first appearance of Attrition on Projekt Records, 1986 Another American record label in this vein was Tess Records, which featured This Ascension, Faith and the Muse, and the reunited Clan of Xymox.
Joshua Gunn, a professor of communication studies at Louisiana University, described the U.S. type of dark wave music as:
Substance is an annual darkwave and industrial music festival occurring in Los Angeles which began in the 2010s. Los Angeles Post-Punk Festival Substance Reveals its 2022 Lineup Meanwhile, Verboden is an annual Darkwave festival in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival in Leipzig, Germany, established in 1992, is considered one of the world's largest festivals for "dark" music and Dark culture, taking place at Pentecost annually throughout the city. It attracts around 20,000 visitors from all over the world.
In the second half of the 1980s, former post-punk bands such as Dead Can Dance ( Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, 1987) and In the Nursery ( Stormhorse, 1987) released influential albums which essentially laid the foundations of the genre.
Other artists include Arcana, Ataraxia, Autumn Tears,Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Autumn Tears In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 44, 2003, Camerata Mediolanense,Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Camerata Mediolanense. In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 82, 2003, Dargaard,Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Dargaard. In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 139, 2003, Dark Sanctuary Impressions of Winter,Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Impressions of Winter. In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 287, 2003, Les Secrets de Morphée, Kristin Hayter, Love Is Colder Than Death, Ophelia's Dream,Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: Ophelia's Dream. In: Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon, p. 421, 2003, Stoa, and WeltenBrand.
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