Power electronics is a style of

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

that typically consists of static, screeching waves of feedback, analogue synthesizers making sub-bass pulses or high frequency squealing sounds, with sometimes screamed and distorted vocals. The genre is noted for its influence from industrial, and is occasionally also referred to as heavy electronics. Like most noise music, power electronics is generally

atonal Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...

and features a lack of conventional melody or rhythm. To match its sonic excess, it often includes thematic and visual content that might be considered extreme; whether in

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

, artwork, or live performance. It has been known to invite visceral reactions from both listeners and critics, although many choose to dismiss or ignore it altogether. Power electronics is related to the early

Industrial Records Industrial Records is a record label established in 1976 by industrial music and visual arts group Throbbing Gristle. The group created the label primarily for self-releases but also signed several other groups and artists. The label gave a na ...

scene, but later releases had more in common with

.Whitehouse, Allmusic bio. [] Access date: March 15, 2009.

Etymology and background

The name of the genre was coined by William Bennett of Whitehouse (band), Whitehouse as part of the sleeve notes to their 1982 album ''

Psychopathia Sexualis '': '' (''Sexual Psychopathy: A Clinical-Forensic Study'', also known as '', with Especial Reference to the Antipathetic Sexual Instinct: A Medico-forensic Study'') is an 1886 book by and one of the first texts about sexual pathology. The boo ...

.'' ''

Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine ''Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine'' was an audio cassette magazine publication on cassette active from 1983 to 1993. Originally intended as a subscription bimonthly, it was launched on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to create an avant-guard med ...

'' produced a compilation

compact cassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens and his team at the Dutch company ...

tape called ''Power Electronics'' in 1986 that was curated by

Joseph Nechvatal Joseph Nechvatal (born January 15, 1951) is an American post-conceptual digital artist and art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and computer animations, often using custom computer viruses. Life and work Joseph Nechva ...

.
Tellus #13 – Power Electronics (1986)

Death industrial

Death industrial is an industrial subgenre typified by a dense atmosphere, low-end drones, harsh loops and screamed and/or distorted vocals. It can be differentiated from power electronics by a slower, more atmospheric and less abrasive sound reminiscent of

dark ambient Dark ambient (referred to as ambient industrial especially in the 1980s) is a genre of post-industrial musicReed, Alexander: ''Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music'', Oxford University Press, 2013, , p. 190 that features an ominous, ...

. Acts described as death industrial include

Brighter Death Now Brighter Death Now is the artist name under which Roger Karmanik (b. 1965 as Roger Karlsson), the founder of the Swedish record label Cold Meat Industry, releases death industrial, power electronics and dark ambient Dark ambient (referred ...

Atrax Morgue Marco Corbelli (3 April 1970 – 6 May 2007), better known professionally as Atrax Morgue, was an Italian noise musician. Much of Atrax Morgue's early material was released on cassette, as part of the industrial/noise 'cassette underground' of t ...

Genocide Organ Genocide Organ is a German power electronics/ martial industrial collective, formed in Mannheim, Germany in 1985. They are known for their brutal and controversial presentation in their music and attitude. Many of the themes present in their mu ...

References

1982 neologisms 20th-century music genres Extended techniques Industrial music Noise music British styles of music {{music-genre-stub

Etymology and background

Death industrial

See also

References