Electro-industrial

Electro-industrial
Stylistic origins	Electro music, electronic body music, post-industrial, synthpop
Cultural origins	Mid-1980s Belgium, Canada, France, and Germany
Typical instruments	Synthesizer, drum machine, sequencer, keyboard, sampler, electric guitar (infrequently)
Mainstream popularity	Low. With a recent revival early 2010s specially in the US.
Derivative forms	Dark electro, aggrotech
(complete list)
Fusion genres
Power noise
Other topics
Industrial metal - IDM - Dark ambient

Electro-industrial is a music genre drawing on EBM and post-industrial that developed in the mid-1980s. While EBM 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 mid-'90s, the style spawned the dark electro and aggrotech offshoots.^[1] The fan base for the style is linked to the rivethead^[1] subculture (although not everyone who primarily listens to industrial is a rivethead).

Characteristics

After the EBM movement faded in the early 1990s, electro-industrial increasingly attained popularity in the international club scene. In contrast to the straight EBM style, electro-industrial groups use harsher beats and raspy, distorted, or digitized vocals. In contrast to industrial rock, electro-industrial groups avoid guitars.^[2]

Electro-industrial was anticipated by 1980s groups such as SPK,^[1][3] Die Form, Klinik, Skinny Puppy,^[4][5] and Front Line Assembly.^[5][6] Prominent electro-industrial groups of the 1990s include Android Lust, Mentallo and the Fixer, and Velvet Acid Christ (U.S.);^[7] Controlled Fusion, Forma Tadre, Haujobb,^[8] In Strict Confidence, :wumpscut:,^[9][10][11] and X Marks the Pedwalk (Germany); Download,^[12] Decoded Feedback, Numb^[13] (Canada); Leæther Strip^[14] from Denmark;^[15] and early Hocico, Cenobita and Amduscia from Mexico.

Noise rock groups, such as Wolf Eyes, have also been associated with the label.^[16] In the mid-'90s, some electro-industrial groups added guitars and became associated with industrial metal; other groups, such as Download and Haujobb, have incorporated elements of drum and bass and IDM.

Influences

Skinny Puppy took inspiration from Nocturnal Emissions, Portion Control, and The Legendary Pink Dots.^[17][18] Critic Jason Ankeny has also noted Skinny Puppy's debts to Suicide, Throbbing Gristle, and Cabaret Voltaire.^[19]

Conceptual elements

As in most industrial music, many electro-industrial groups tend to feature themes of control, dystopia, and science fiction. Electro-industrial groups sometimes take aesthetic inspiration from horror films, including The Exorcist^[20] and the work of Roman Polanski,^[21] and the science fiction films Blade Runner and Alien.

Derivatives

Dark electro

Dark electro is a similar style, developed in the mid-1990s in central Europe. The term describes groups such as yelworC^[22] and Placebo Effect,^[1] and was first used in December 1992 with the album announcement of Brainstorming, yelworC's debut.^[23] The style was inspired by the electro-industrial of The Klinik and Skinny Puppy. Compositions included horror soundscapes, and grunts or distorted vocals. yelworC were a music group from Munich, formed in 1988. They laid the foundations of the dark electro movement in the early 1990s, and were the first artist on the German label Celtic Circle Productions. In subsequent years, dark electro was displaced by techno-influenced styles such as aggrotech and futurepop.^[1] Other groups to practice the style included Trial, Evil's Toy, GGFH (Disease), Ice Ages, The Electric Hellfire Club and Android Lust.

Aggrotech

Aggrotech (also known as Hellektro,^[1] Harsh EBM, or Terror EBM) is a variation of electro-industrial with a strong influence from the rave scene that first surfaced in the mid 1990s. Aggrotech was the name of a San Francisco club in 1990, where DJs played industrial noise. Various installations at Aggrotech events were created to encourage the few people who were creating abstract art and computer generated artwork which, at the time, was beyond the budget of most underground music fans. This club was the blueprint for many "goth-industrial" nights to come, where the focus on dancing and music was shared with art galleries and physical performances. The club only lasted about a year, after which the owners of the now defunct club put out an Aggrotech magazine for a few months in 1991. The magazine featured reporting on some of the early bands influenced by industrial music, but no one involved ever referred to the music itself as "aggrotech". Beyond the name of the club, it has very little to do with the music currently dubbed as aggrotech.

Aggrotech regularly consists of harsh song structures, aggressive beats, and explicit, pessimistic, militant lyrics. Typically the vocals are distorted and pitch-shifted to sound harsh, and synthetic. Aggrotech musicians include Hocico, Aghast View, Aesthetic Perfection, Suicide Commando, X-Fusion, Tactical Sekt, Amduscia, Agonoize, Psyclon Nine, Combichrist,^{[24][25][26][27]} Virtual Embrace, Funker Vogt, Unter Null, The Retrosic, God Module, Grendel, Tamtrum, Feindflug, Cenobita, Dawn of Ashes, Detroit Diesel, Alien Vampires, and Wumpscut. Out of Line is a German aggrotech label. Alfa Matrix is a Belgian aggrotech/dark electro/synthpop label.

See also

Industrial music portal

• List of electro-industrial bands
• Cybergoth
• Rivethead

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Interview with Axel Machens, Vendetta Music, April 23, 2007. [1] Access date: December 23, 2008.
2. ^ Allmusic, Electro-industrial. [2] Access date: October 14, 2008.
3. ^ [3]
4. ^ Adem Tepedelen, "Skinny Puppy Bark Back", Rolling Stone, May 20, 2004. [4] Access date: October 24, 2008.
5. ^ ^{a b} Manny Theiner, "Local electro-industrial duo Prometheus Burning turns up the heat", Pittsburgh City Paper, November 29, 2007. [5] Access date: October 24, 2008.
6. ^ [6]
7. ^ Metropolis Records, Velvet Acid Christ bio. [7] Access date: October 24, 2008.
8. ^ Manny Theiner, "German electro-industrial duo Haujobb plays Pegasus Lounge", Pittsburgh City Paper, September 13, 2007. [8] Access date: October 24, 2008.
9. ^ [9]
10. ^ Nick Britten, "Finland school killings: Profile of Wumpscut", Daily Telegraph, September 23, 2008. [10] Access date: October 24, 2008.
11. ^ Jez Porat, Chain DLK, June 21, 2005. [11] Access date: October 24, 2008.
12. ^ [12]
13. ^ [13]
14. ^ Michael Wozny, interview with Claus Larsen, ReGen Magazine, June 22, 2008. [14] Access date: October 24, 2008.
15. ^ "Claus Larsen fronts one of Europe's leading Electro-Industrial bands." Mick Mercer, The Hex Files: The Goth Bible, Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 1997, p. 24.
16. ^ Sam Ubl, Pitchfork, October 1, 2004. [15] Access date: October 1, 2008.
17. ^ Todd Zachritz. "Brap... The Skinny Puppy and Download Discography". Godsend Online. http://www.prongs.org/godsend/brap-sp.html. Retrieved 2007-05-14. 
18. ^ Alan Di Perna. "Industrial Revolution: Jackhammer of the Gods". Guitar World, June 1995.
19. ^ Jason Ankeny, Skinny Puppy bio, Allmusic. [16] Access date: December 23, 2008.
20. ^ Tim DiGravina, Mind review, Allmusic. [17] Access date: December 23, 2008.
21. ^ Tim DiGravina, Bites review, Allmusic. [18] Access date: December 23, 2008.
22. ^ Metropolis Records, yelworC bio. [19] Access date: October 24, 2008.
23. ^ Zillo Music Magazine · Issue No. 12/92 · Album announcement of "Brainstorming" · Pages 43 · Germany · December 1992. The term was repeated in a review of the same album in Zillo Music Magazine · Issue No. 2/93 · Review of the album "Brainstorming" · Pages 49 · Germany · February 1993.
24. ^ [20]
25. ^ [21]
26. ^ [22]
27. ^ [23]