Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

movement of the late 1970s. 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. The genre embraces a range of styles including

cold wave A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in tem ...

,Schilz, Andrea: ''Flyer der Schwarzen Szene Deutschlands: Visualisierungen, Strukturen, Mentalitäten.'' Waxmann Verlag, 2010, , p. 84.

ethereal wave Ethereal wave,Glasnost Wave magazine, issue # 42, p. 32/34, genre classification of the bands Trance to the Sun (''"Ghost Forest"''), This Ascension (''"Light and Shade"''), Soul Whirling Somewhere (''"Eating the Sea"''), Cocteau Tw ...

, gothic rock,Uecker, Susann: ''Mit High-Heels im Stechschritt'', Hirnkost Verlag, 2014,
neoclassical dark wave and

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumen ...

. In the 1980s, a subculture developed primarily in Europe alongside dark wave music, whose followers were called ''wavers'' or ''dark wavers''. In some countries such as Germany, the movement also included fans of gothic rock
(so-called ''trad-goths'').

1980s: Origins

Since the 1980s, SPEX. Musik zur Zeit: ''Classified Ad by German distribution company EFA – Spots 5/85'', issue 5/85, p. 17, May 1985
online picture
/ref>New Life Soundmagazine, issue 38, description of the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart“ by Joy Division, p. 10, November 1988 the term has been used in Europe to describe the gloomy and melancholy variant of new wave and post-punk music.Issitt, Micah: ''Goths: A Guide to an American Subculture'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2011, , p. 111 At that time, the term "goth" was inseparably connected with gothic rock, whereas "dark wave" acquired a broader meaning, including music artists that were associated with gothic rock and synthesizer-based new wave music.
The movement spread internationally, developing such strands as

, with bands such as Cocteau Twins, and neoclassical dark wave, initiated by the music of

Dead Can Dance Dead Can Dance are an Australian music duo first established in Melbourne. Currently composed of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, the group formed in 1981. They relocated to London the following year. Australian music historian Ian McFarlane d ...

and In the Nursery.Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 400, 2003, Simultaneously, different substyles associated with the new wave and dark wave movements started to merge and influence each other. German dark wave bands were partially associated with the

Neue Deutsche Welle Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW, , "New German Wave") is a genre of West German rock music originally derived from post-punk and new wave music with electronic influences. The term was first coined by Dutch radio DJ Frits Spits on the popular nationwid ...

(i.e. German new wave). Other bands, such as Malaria! and the Vyllies, added elements of chanson and cabaret music, which became known as cabaret noir (or "dark cabaret", a term popularized by U.S. dark wave label Projekt Records).

1990s: Second generation

After the new wave and post-punk movements faded in the mid-1980s, dark wave was renewed as an underground movement.Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: ''Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz.'', Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, , pp. 258/259Kilpatrick, Nancy. ''The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004, , pp. 84/85.

Ataraxia ''Ataraxia'' (Greek: ἀταραξία, from ("a-", negation) and ''tarachē'' "disturbance, trouble"; hence, "unperturbedness", generally translated as "imperturbability", "equanimity", or "tranquility") is a Greek term first used in Ancient Gr ...

and The Frozen Autumn from Italy, and the French

Corpus Delicti (Latin for "body of the crime"; plural: ), in Western law, is the principle that a crime must be proved to have occurred before a person can be convicted of committing that crime. For example, a person cannot be tried for larceny unless it ca ...

also evolved from this movement and became the leading artists of the west Romanesque scene. These bands followed a path based on the new wave and post-punk music of the 1980s. At the same time, a number of German artists developed a more theatrical style, interspersed with German poetic, metaphorical lyrics, called

Neue Deutsche Todeskunst Neue Deutsche Todeskunst (NDT, "New German Death Art") is a musical genre that developed in Germany in the late 1980s. It is credited with establishing the German language in the dark wave movement, although there were already such German bands ...

(literally ''New German Death Art'').Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 311, 2002, Other bands combined synthesizers with elements of

and neoclassical dark wave. Monica Richards & Marzia Rangel

After 1993, in the United States the term dark wave (as the one-word variant 'darkwave') became associated with the Projekt Records label, because it was adopted by label founder Sam Rosenthal after leafing through the pages of German music magazines such as

Zillo ''Zillo'' (or ''Zillostrierte'') was a German alternative music magazine, published monthly, originally edited by Rainer "Easy" Ettler. It was in circulation between 1989 and 2014. The headquarters of ''Zillo'' were in Lübeck. History The magaz ...

, and has been used to promote and market artists from German label Hyperium Records in the U.S. (e.g. Chandeen and Love Is Colder Than Death). Projekt featured bands such as

Lycia Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is t ...

, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, and Love Spirals Downwards, some of these characterized by atmospheric guitar and synth-sounds and female vocals. This style took cues from 1980s bands like

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instru ...

and is often referred to as ethereal dark wave. Projekt has also had a long association with Attrition, who appeared on the label's earliest compilations. Joshua Gunn, a professor of communication studies at Louisiana University, described the U.S. type of dark wave music as

2010s Revival

In the 2010s, a new generation of bands has rekindled the darkwave genre for a new generation of fans. The most prominent of these acts is Boy Harsher, but others include Drab Majesty, Pixel Grip, and Kontravoid. Substance is 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
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Authority control New wave music Dark music genres Fusion music genres Goth subculture Music scenes British styles of music British rock music genres

1980s: Origins

1990s: Second generation

2010s Revival

See also

References

External links