genres and subgenres

Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of experimentation or innovation in its field, with the term “avant-garde” implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elements, and the idea of deliberately challenging or alienating audiences. Distinctions Avant-garde music may be distinguished from experimental music by the way it adopts an extreme position within a certain tradition, whereas “experimental music” lies outside...

Cold wave was a music movement that emerged in France and Belgium in the late 1970s. Characterized by its irreverent, detached tone and minimal use of electronic instruments, the scene came as a result of punk bands who acquired affordable portable synthesizers such as the Korg MS-20. In later years, it has become subsumed under the retrospective labels “minimal wave” or “minimal synth”. History     The term “cold wave” appeared in the 26 November 1977 issue of UK weekly...

Dark Ambient (especially in the 1980s referred to as ambient industrial) is a genre of post-industrial music that features an ominous, dark droning and often gloomy, monumental or catacombal atmosphere, partially with discordant overtones. It shows similarities towards ambient music, a genre that has been cited as a main influence by many dark ambient artists, both conceptually and compositionally. Although mostly electronically generated, dark ambient also includes the sampling of hand-played instruments and semi-acoustic recording...

Dark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risque German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s goth and punk music. Cabaret proper had long associations with counter-culture and dealt with disturbing themes, as exemplified by The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, with one of its best known songs “Mack the...

Dark wave is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk 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.  Common features include the use of chordophones such as electric and acoustic guitar, violin, and piano, as well as electronic instruments such as synthesizer, sampler, and drum machine. The genre embraces a range...

Deathrock is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genres. Notable deathrock acts include Christian Death, Kommunity FK, 45 Grave, and Super Heroines. Characteristics Deathrock songs usually incorporate a driving, repetitive rhythm section; the drums and bass guitar laying the foundation within a 4/4 time signature while the guitars either play...

Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the mid-1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep, complex and layered sound. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and other groups, either from Canada or the Benelux. In the early 1990s, the style spawned the dark electro genre, and in the mid-/late-1990s, the aggrotech offshoot. The fan base for the style is linked to the...

Electronic body music (EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of disco and dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Germany and Belgium and came to prominence in Belgium at the end of the decade. EBM was generally considered a part of the European new wave and post-punk movement and the first style that blended synthesized sounds with an ecstatic style of dancing (e.g. pogo). In the second...

Ethereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave,  ethereal goth  or simply ethereal, is a subgenre of dark wave music and is variously described as “gothic”, “romantic”, and “otherworldly”. Developed in the early 1980s, in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands such as Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance. sic of the Cocteau Twins, was one of the key inspirations for the British dreampop/shoegazing scene of the...

Futurepop is an electronic music genre, an outgrowth of EBM, that evolved in the late 1990s with groups like VNV Nation, Covenant, and Apoptygma Berzerk. It is characterized by the heavy use of sampling and an absence of vocal modification that is popular in many other forms of electronic music, such as Aggrotech. Ronan Harris of VNV Nation cited himself with the term “futurepop” during a discussion with Apoptygma Berzerk lead singer Stephan Groth to describe the sounds of their...