Official Electro-Industrial/EBM/Synthpop/Darkwave Thread!
 

What will (most probably) inevitably be a fruitless exercise, I thought I'd create a thread for the rivetheads among us (i.e. Me). :D

For anyone who is not familiar with this excellent and varied niche of the musical spectrum, here is some cobbled together definitions from our good friend Wiki:

"Electronic body music (mainly known by its acronym EBM) is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic punk music. The modern usage of the term was originally coined by the Belgian group, Front 242.

Emerging in the early-to-mid 1980s, the genre’s early influences range from the industrial music of the time (Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire), European electropunk (DAF, Liaisons Dangereuses, Portion Control) and straight-ahead pop-oriented electronic music (Kraftwerk).

Synthpop is a subgenre of new wave in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It is most closely associated with the era between the late 1970s and early to middle 1980s, although it has continued to exist and develop ever since. Kraftwerk (from Germany) and Yellow Magic Orchestra (from Japan) are often hailed as the pioneers of the style.

Dark wave, also written as darkwave, is an umbrella term which refers to a movement that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of new wave and post-punk music. Building upon the basic principles of those musical movements, dark wave evolved through the addition of dark, thoughtful lyrics and an undertone of sorrow. Dark wave is inseparably connected with the stylistic developments of the late 1970s and the 1980s. In the 1980s a versatile subculture developed within the dark wave movement, whose members were called “wavers” or “dark wavers”."

So, am I completely alone at the moment, or do we have any more folks with great musical taste among us? ;)

Gimme leather jackets, dry ice, and drum machines over bleepy noises any day. But I don't mind a bit of synthpop ;)

it's a style of music I really need to explore in greater depth. I have heard a few darkwave, electro-industrial and EBM compilations and really liked what I heard. Can you recommend any good albums/artists I should check out?

Along with other 'Industrial' music, these are definitely my most preferred sub-genre(s) - bleeps and all! ;) :lol:

Here's a short list of some of my favourites (Artist / Good introductory album)

Apoptygma Berzerk / 7
Assemblage 23 / Failure
Cabaret Voltaire / Micro-Phonies
Clan of Xymox / Creatures
Combichrist / What the F*ck is Wrong with You People?
Covenant / Northern Light
The Crüxshadows / Dreamcypher
Depeche Mode / Violator
Front 242 / 06:21:03:11 Up Evil
Front Line Assembly / Tactical Neural Implant
Hocico / Wrack and Ruin
IAMX / The Alternative
KMFDM / Symbols
The Knife / Silent Shout
Leæther Strip / Science for the Satanic Citizen
London After Midnight / Psycho Magnet
Nitzer Ebb / Ebbhead
Gary Numan / Replicas
ohGr / Welt
Pig / Wrecked
Plastic Noise Experience / Dead or Alive & Transmission Completed
Portion Control / Crop
Skinny Puppy / The Process
Velvet Acid Christ / The Calling Ov the Dead
VNV Nation / Empires
:Wumpscut: / Bunker Gate Seven
X-Fusion / Beyond the Pale
X-Marks the Pedwalk / Freaks

That's just a taster of some of the artists that fit into one or more sub-genres; there's plenty more out there! And with so much cross over between genres, with artists like Bjork exhibiting electro themes throughout her music, possibilities are almost endless!

AMBIENT is much more my scene(Tangerine Dream, Eno etc.) but that can cross over into synth-pop with ease. A good place to dip in would be THE MIX by Kraftwerk, re-mixed/re-recorded tracks with an almost 90s dance/trance feel.

I used to be quite into Industrial/Post Industrial/Semi industrial stuff from the 70's/early 80's. In particular the likes of Cabarat Voltaire, Test Department, Coil, 23 Skidoo, Hula, Foetus (if you can put him in that bracket).. a whole load. Just never followed it much after as the Semi-Industrial side was more of an electronic/funk combination that didin't really pass into the more modern stuff. Instead I moved into hip hop, then house. Funnily enough, so did some of the artists..

Got to see Cabaret Voltaire live a couple of times and Test Dept once, which was quite a mental gig but I really wish I'd have got to see 23 Skidoo in their prime as they are probably one of the best bands to ever walk the Earth.

Looking back at the first post again.. I forgot DAF!

Being from Belgium,there was no escaping this music when I was younger...

I remember watching a lot of live shows of Front 242 on RTBF back then which got me hooked.

FRONT 242 Don't crash - YouTube

Neon Judgement were also big then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSoZX...eature=related

As were A Split Second:

A Split Second - Flesh - 1986 - 80's - YouTube

I fact we had so many EBM groups....but my favourites will always remain these guys...The Klinik:

The Klinik - Go Back - CLIP - 2009 - YouTube

Flesh is a great track. Actually became a big warehouse anthem here too in the Acid days.

The other big crossover I forgot all about is Nitzer Ebb, another great outfit.

Of all the film boards I've posted in, this one definitely is switched on in terms of music...all the music mentioned above is terrific...

As I'm typing this I'm listening to the James Plotkin and Mick Harris collaboration Collapse, from 1996, best described as the soundscapes of Eraserhead crossed with the forbidden shape-shifting landscapes of Tarkovsky's Stalker...