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==History== === Origins in Europe === ==== 1980s: Foundations ==== [[File:Xymox 1989 220px.jpg|thumb|[[Clan of Xymox]]]] Since the 1980s,<ref name="Spex17">[[Spex (magazine)|SPEX]]. Musik zur Zeit: Classified Ad by German distribution company EFA – Spots 5/85, issue 5/85, p. 17, May 1985, [http://fs5.directupload.net/images/151119/fj33oyol.jpg online picture]</ref><ref>Bobby Vox: ''Gorgonen, Hydras & Chimären – Interview with Marquee Moon'', E.B. music magazine, issue 3/86, p. 18, May 1986</ref><ref name="NewLife88">New Life Soundmagazine, issue 38, description of the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart“ by Joy Division, p. 10, November 1988</ref> the term "dark wave" has been used in Europe by the music press<ref>{{cite book|last=Völker|first=Florian|title=Kälte-Pop – Die Geschichte des erfolgreichsten deutschen Popmusik-Exports|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L03aEAAAQBAJ&dq=dark+wave&pg=PA182 |date=2023|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH|location=Berlin/Boston|page=182|isbn=978-3-11-124515-7|edition=Orig.-Ausg.}}</ref> to describe the gloomy and melancholy variant of new wave and post-punk music.<ref name="Dittmann139" /><ref name="Issitt111">Issitt, Micah: ''Goths: A Guide to an American Subculture'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2011, {{ISBN|0-313-38604-8}}, p. 111</ref> At that time, the term "goth" was inseparably connected with gothic rock,<ref>Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: ''Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz.'', Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, {{ISBN|3-531-14353-0}}, p. 261.</ref> whereas "dark wave" acquired a broader meaning, embracing bands and solo artists that were associated with gothic rock<ref name="Issitt111" /> and synthesizer-based new wave music,<ref name="Hornberger" /><ref name="Rouner">{{cite news|last1=Rouner|first1=Jeff|title=The Seven Ages of Goth|url=http://www.houstonpress.com/music/the-seven-ages-of-goth-6500894|work=[[Houston Press]]|date=20 January 2011}}<br />"The term 'darkwave' came from back in the 1980s, and was one of the terms used to describe the Golden Age bands, as well as dark electronica acts like Gary Numan and Depeche Mode."</ref> such as [[Bauhaus (band)|Bauhaus]],<ref>Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 39, 2002, {{ISBN|3-89602-277-6}}</ref> [[Joy Division]],<ref name="NewLife88" /><ref name="Wallraff">{{cite book|last1=Farin|first1=Klaus|last2=Wallraff|first2=Kirsten|last3=Archiv der Jugendkulturen e.V., Berlin|title=Die Gothics : Interviews, Fotografien|date=1999|publisher=Tilsner|location=Bad Tölz|page=47|isbn=9783933773098|edition=Orig.-Ausg.}}</ref><ref>Peter Jandreus, ''The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977–1987'', Stockholm: Premium Publishing, 2008, p. 11.</ref> [[the Cure]],<ref name="Wallraff" /><ref name="Weidenkaff41">{{cite book|last1=Farin|first1=Klaus|last2=Weidenkaff|first2=Ingo|title=Jugendkulturen in Thüringen|date=1999|publisher=Tilsner|oclc=651857996|location=Bad Tölz|isbn=3-933773-25-3|page=41|edition=Orig.-Ausg.}}</ref> [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]],<ref name="Wallraff" /> [[the Sisters of Mercy]],<ref name="Wallraff" /> [[Anne Clark (poet)|Anne Clark]],<ref name="Nostalgia">{{cite book |title=Nostalgia or Perversion? |first=Isabella |last=van Elferen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o_gYBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22dark+wave%22&pg=PA127 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-1847182470|page=127}}</ref> [[Depeche Mode]],<ref name="Weidenkaff41" /><ref name="Rouner" /> [[Gary Numan]]<ref name="Rouner" /> and [[the Chameleons]].<ref name="Wallraff" /> {{Blockquote|The term darkwave originated in the 1980s as an indicator of the dark counterpart of new wave. Bands such as Cocteau Twins, [[Soft Cell]], and Depeche Mode are exponents of this first generation of darkwave. Darkwave... employs relatively slower tempos, lower pitches, and more minor keys in its musical settings of melancholy texts than new wave.<ref name="Elferen">Isabella van Elferen, Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock: ''Goth Music: From Sound to Subculture''. Routledge Studies in Popular Music, 2015, p. 25, {{ISBN|0-415-72004-4}}</ref>|Isabella van Elferen, Professor of Musicology, [[Kingston University, London]]}} 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]].<ref name="Matzke400–401">Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 400–401, 2003, {{ISBN|3-89602-522-8}}</ref><ref>Nym, Alexander: ''Schillerndes Dunkel. Geschichte, Entwicklung und Themen der Gothic-Szene'', Plöttner Verlag 2010, {{ISBN|3-862-11006-0}}, p. 169</ref> French [[Cold wave (music)|cold wave]] groups such as Clair Obscur<ref>SPEX. ''Musik zur Zeit: Classified Ad by German distribution company EFA'', issue 12/88, p. 58, December 1988</ref> and [[Opera Multi Steel]]<ref>[http://opera.multi.steel.pagesperso-orange.fr/About%20us.htm Opera Multi Steel - Official band biography]</ref> have also been associated with the dark wave scene;<ref name="SAGE727" /> Rémy Lozowski, guitarist of French cold wave band Excès Nocturne, described his music as {{lang|fr|new wave noire}} ("dark new wave").<ref>Illusions Perdues magazine: ''Interview with Excès Nocturne'', issue 1, p. 18, January 1989</ref> Simultaneously, different substyles associated with the new wave and dark wave movements started to merge and influence each other, e.g. synth-wave<ref name="Vice2012" /> (a kind of new wave with synthesizers, also referred to as "electro-wave"<ref>Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 222, 2003, {{ISBN|3-89602-522-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Gothic Electro. Die Funktionalisierung von Technik innerhalb des subkulturellen Kontexts |language=de |first=Bianca |last=Stücker |chapter=Electro Wave |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ElTximhNwPgC&dq=electro+wave&pg=PA76 |publisher=Europäischer Hochschulverlag |year=2013 |isbn=978-3-86741-863-8|page=76}}</ref>) with gothic rock, or began to borrow elements of [[post-industrial music]]. [[Attrition (band)|Attrition]],<ref name="sordid">{{cite web|url=http://sortedmagazine.com/archive/magazine/sordid/attrition.htm|publisher=Sorted magAZine |title=Composing noises|date=1999}}</ref> [[Die Form]] (France), [[Pink Industry]] (UK), [[Psyche (band)|Psyche]] (Canada), [[Kirlian Camera (band)|Kirlian Camera]] (Italy) and [[Clan of Xymox]] (Netherlands)<ref>DeBord, Jason: ''[http://rocksubculture.com/2015/03/21/clan-of-xymox-at-dna-lounge-san-francisco-california-3192015-concert-review-photos/ Clan of Xymox at DNA Lounge]'', Rock Subculture Journal, March 21, 2015<br />"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."</ref> 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|cabaret noir]] (or "dark cabaret", a term popularized by U.S. dark wave label [[Projekt Records]]).<ref name="Issitt111" /><ref>Stücker, Bianca: ''Die Funktionalisierung von Technik innerhalb des subkulturellen Kontexts'', Europäischer Hochschulverlag, 2013, {{ISBN|3-867-41863-2}}, p. 74</ref> German dark wave bands were partially associated with the [[Neue Deutsche Welle]] (i.e. German new wave),<ref>Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: ''Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz.'', Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, {{ISBN|3-531-14353-0}}, p. 256</ref> and included [[Xmal Deutschland]],<ref>Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: ''Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz.'', Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, {{ISBN|3-531-14353-0}}, p. 257</ref> Mask For, Asmodi Bizarr,<ref name="SAGE727" /> II. Invasion,<ref name="SAGE727" /> Unlimited Systems, Moloko †, Maerchenbraut,<ref name="Kilpatrick">Kilpatrick, Nancy. ''The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004, {{ISBN|0-312-30696-2}}, pp. 84/85.</ref><ref name="SAGE727" /> Cyan Revue,<ref name="Spex17" /> Leningrad Sandwich,<ref name="Spex17" /> Stimmen der Stille, Belfegore,<ref>Esch, Rüdiger: ''Electri_city'', Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag, 3rd edition, 2015, {{ISBN|978-3-518-46464-9}}, p. 356</ref> and [[Pink Turns Blue]].<ref>Oliver Sheppard: ''[http://www.cvltnation.com/pink-turns-blue-interview-german-darkwave-pioneers/ Pink Turns Blue – An interview with German darkwave pioneers.]'' CVLT Nation magazine, 9 September 2016</ref><ref name="SAGE727" /> ==== 1990s: Second generation ==== [[File:The_Frozen_Autumn.jpg|thumb|right|[[The Frozen Autumn]]]] After the new wave and post-punk movements faded in the mid-1980s,<ref>Schilz, Andrea: ''Flyer der Schwarzen Szene Deutschlands: Visualisierungen, Strukturen, Mentalitäten.'' Waxmann Verlag, 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-8309-2097-7}}, p. 92</ref> dark wave was renewed as an underground movement<ref name="Welt258259">Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: ''Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz.'', Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, {{ISBN|3-531-14353-0}}, pp. 258/259</ref><ref name="Kilpatrick" /><ref>Köble, Oliver: ''Editorial'', Glasnost magazine, issue 28, p. 3, July/August 1991<br />"Der Trend ist eindeutig: Die großen Star-Bands verschwinden immer mehr aus dem Rampenlicht, während eine Vielzahl junger Nachwuchsbands sich stetig wachsenden Interesses seitens des Szene-Publikums erfreut. Und ohne unangenehmes Gefühl darf gesagt werden, dass Deutschland momentan das absolute Zentrum der Wave-Musik ist."</ref> by German bands such as [[Girls Under Glass]], [[Deine Lakaien]],<ref name="Kilpatrick" /> [[Love Like Blood (band)|Love Like Blood]],<ref name="Wallraff" /> [[Love Is Colder Than Death (band)|Love Is Colder Than Death]],<ref>Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 266, 2002, {{ISBN|3-89602-277-6}}</ref> [[Diary of Dreams]],<ref>Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 111, 2002, {{ISBN|3-89602-277-6}}</ref><ref name="Nostalgia" /> [[the Eternal Afflict]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Die Welt der Gothics – Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz |editor-first=Axel |editor-last=Schmidt |first=Judith |last=Platz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HRcS05skjCsC&dq=dark+wave&pg=PA273 |publisher=Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften |year=2008 |isbn=978-3-531-15880-8|page=273}}</ref> and [[Wolfsheim (band)|Wolfsheim]], as well as [[Project Pitchfork]] and its offshoot [[Aurora Sutra]].<ref name="Welt258259" /><ref name="Kilpatrick" /> [[Ataraxia (band)|Ataraxia]] and [[the Frozen Autumn]] from Italy, and the French [[Corpus Delicti (band)|Corpus Delicti]] also evolved from this movement and became the leading artists of the west Romanesque dark wave scene.<ref>Stableford, Brian: ''News of the Black Feast and Other Random Reviews'', Wildside Press 31 March 2009, {{ISBN|1-434-40336-X}}, p. 24</ref> These bands followed a path based on the new wave and post-punk music of the 1980s.<ref name="Wallraff" /><ref name="Elferen" /> {{Blockquote|In the 1990s, a second generation of darkwave bands became popular, including Diary of Dreams, Deine Lakaien, and the Frozen Autumn... The German band Deine Lakaien ... is audibly influenced by the dark synthesizer sounds of Depeche Mode.<ref name="Elferen" />|Isabella van Elferen, Professor of Musicology}} At the same time, a number of German artists, including [[Das Ich]],<ref name="Matzke311">Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 311, 2002, {{ISBN|3-89602-277-6}}</ref> [[Goethes Erben]],<ref name="Matzke311" /> [[Relatives Menschsein]],<ref name="Matzke311" /> and [[Endraum]],<ref name="Matzke311" /> developed a more theatrical style, interspersed with German poetic, metaphorical lyrics, called ''[[Neue Deutsche Todeskunst]]'' (literally ''New German Death Art'').<ref name="Matzke311" /><ref>Schmidt, Axel; Neumann-Braun, Klaus: ''Die Welt der Gothics. Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz.'', Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2004, {{ISBN|3-531-14353-0}}, pp. 280/281.</ref> Other bands, such as Silke Bischoff, [[In My Rosary]],<ref>Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', pp. 221/222, 2002, {{ISBN|3-89602-277-6}}</ref> [[Engelsstaub]],<ref name="SAGE728">{{cite book |title=The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture |editor-first=Janet |editor-last=Sturman |first=Eric S. |last=Strother |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9TuKDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22dark+wave%22&pg=PA728 |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing|SAGE Publications]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-50635-338-8|page=728}}</ref> and Impressions of Winter<ref>Matzke, Peter; Seeliger, Tobias: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon'', p. 219, 2002, {{ISBN|3-89602-277-6}}</ref> combined synthesizers with elements of [[neofolk]] and neoclassical dark wave.<ref name="SAGE728" /> === United States === After 1993, in the United States the term dark wave (as the one-word variant "darkwave") became associated with the [[Projekt Records]] label,<ref name="Rouner" /> because it was adopted by label founder [[Sam Rosenthal]] after leafing through the pages of German music magazines such as [[Zillo]], 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 (band)|Love Is Colder Than Death]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.projekt.com/order/orderform.html |title=Projekt:Darkwave, Catalogue November 1996 |access-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970130043245/http://www.projekt.com/order/orderform.html |archive-date=30 January 1997 |url-status=dead }}</ref> {{Blockquote|I first became aware of the term "Dark Wave" back in 1992. It appeared in German magazines – such as Zillo – describing a style of European music that followed other "waves" such as New Wave ... I found those two words ("dark" and "wave") quite interesting. This was something underground, submerged, obscure... which swept over you, immersed you, surrounded you. It was a poetic phrase that could describe many different sounds. At the time, I was looking for a name for my little mail-order company. I wanted something that would encompass the variety of music available in my catalog.<ref>Various Artists: ''Darkwave: Music of the Shadows'', K-Tel International Inc., Liner Notes, Februar 2000</ref>|Sam Rosenthal, Projekt Records, 2000}} [[File:Monica Richards & Marzia Rangel.jpg|thumb|right|[[Faith and the Muse]] (Monica Richards and Marzia Rangel of Christ vs. Warhol and Scarlet's Remains)]] Projekt featured bands such as [[Lycia (band)|Lycia]], [[Black Tape for a Blue Girl]], and [[Love Spirals Downwards]], some of these characterized by atmospheric guitar and synth-sounds and female vocals.<ref>Dave Thompson, Kirsten Borchardt: ''Schattenwelt – Helden und Legenden des Gothic Rock.'', Hannibal Verlag 2003, {{ISBN|3-85445-236-5}}, p. 362</ref> This style took cues from 1980s bands like [[Cocteau Twins]]<ref name="SAGE728" /> and is often referred to as [[Ethereal wave|ethereal dark wave]].<ref>Glasnost Wave-Magazin, issue 42, Description of the bands [[Trance to the Sun]], [[This Ascension]], p. 32/34, April 1994</ref><ref name="SAGE728" /> Projekt Records has also had a long association with [[Attrition (band)|Attrition]], who appeared on the label's earliest compilations.<ref>Various Artists: [https://www.discogs.com/release/4974668 From Across this Gray Land], first appearance of Attrition on Projekt Records, 1986</ref> Another American record label in this vein was Tess Records, which featured [[This Ascension]], [[Faith and the Muse]],<ref name="Kilpatrick2" /> and the reunited [[Clan of Xymox]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Spracklen |first1=Karl |last2=Spracklen |first2=Beverley |title=The Evolution of Goth Culture: The Origins and Deeds of the New Goths |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3e9mDwAAQBAJ&dq=clan+of+xymox&pg=PA103 |publisher=Emerald Publishing Limited |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-78714-677-8|page=103}}</ref> Joshua Gunn, a professor of communication studies at Louisiana University, described the U.S. type of dark wave music as: {{Blockquote|...an expansion of the rather limited gothic repertoire into electronica and, in a way, the US answer to the "[[ethereal wave|ethereal]]" subgenre that developed in Europe (e.g. Dead Can Dance). Anchored by Sam Rosenthal's now New York-based label Projekt, dark wave music is less rock and more roll, supporting bands who tend to emphasize folk songcraft, hushed vocals, ambient experimentation, and synthesized sounds [...] Projekt bands like Love Spirals Downwards and Lycia are the most popular of this subgenre.<ref name="Kilpatrick2">Kilpatrick, Nancy. ''The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004, {{ISBN|0-312-30696-2}}, p. 90.</ref>}}
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