Industrial music Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
| Industrial | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Musique concrete, Fluxus movement, Performance art, Electronic art music, Noise music |
| Cultural origins: | Early 1970s, London, Sheffield, United Kingdom |
| Typical instruments: | Synthesizer - Drum machine - Tape loops - Drums - Guitar (in latter incarnations were added Sequencer - Keyboard - Sampler) |
| Mainstream popularity: | Small |
| Derivative forms: | Techno music - IDM - Trance - Synth pop - Futurepop - Glitch |
| Subgenres | |
| EBM - Hardcore - Noise | |
| Other topics | |
| Notable artists - List of noise musicians | |
The term was meant by its creators to evoke the idea of music created for a new generation of people, previous music being more agricultural. Specifically, it referred to the streamlined process by which the music was being made, although many people later interpreted the word as a poetic reference to an "industrial" aesthetic, recalling factories and inhuman machinery. On this topic, Peter Christopherson of Industrial Records once remarked, "the original idea of Industrial Records was to reject what the growing industry was telling you at the time what music was supposed to be."
Also important in the development of the genre was the Dada art movement, which attempted to create art out of household objects.
Although it was contemporary to punk rock in the mid-to-late 1970s (such as the Sex Pistols), industrial music was harder hitting, conceptual, thought-provoking and seen as more "difficult" (being at its root an experimental genre, not rock-based musc). Early industrial performances would involve taboo-breaking, provocative elements, often involving self-mutilation, pornography, sado-masochistic elements and totalitarian symbolism.
The first wave of this music appeared in 1977 with Throbbing Gristle and NON, and often featured tape editing, stark percussion, and loops distorted to the point where they had degraded to harsh noise. Vocals were sporadic, and were as likely to be bubblegum-pop as they were to be abraisive polemics.
Bands like Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA and SPK soon followed. Blending electronic synthesisers, guitars and early samplers, these bands created an aggressive and abrasive music fusing elements of rock with experimental electronic music. Like their punk cousins, they enjoyed the use of shock-tactics including explicit lyrical content, graphic art and Fascist imagery. Industrial Records enjoyed a fair amount of controversy after using an image of a gas chamber as its logo.
Across the Atlantic, similar experiments were taking place. In San Francisco, shock/performance artist Monte Cazazza (collaborating with Factrix and Survival Research Labs) began working with harsh atonal noise. Boyd Rice (aka NON) released several more albums of noise music, with guitar drones and tape loops creating a cacophony of repetitive sounds. In Germany, Einstürzende Neubauten were performing daring acts, mixing metal percussion, guitars and unconventional "instruments" (such as jackhammers) in elaborate stage performances that often damaged the venues they were playing.
These dancefloor-friendly releases began to have a far-reaching influence, and acts such as Front 242 began to refine the industrial sound to a synth-oriented structure, with great success. By 1983, Front 242 had become Belgium's most popular band, although they had released only one album. They released a second album later that year, and introduced the term electronic body music (commonly referred to as EBM or body music) to describe themselves, as industrial music was still considered by many to refer to the artists on the Industrial Records roster.
Speaking very generally, modern industrial usually involves sequenced electronics, making heavy use of FM & digital synths. It is characterized by a deadened snare drum sample and a heavy bass drum sample to a rock or techno beat. Vocals are often distorted and can feature tortured lyrics. The auto-arpeggiate feature of modern synthesizers is used often, to create complex sounding multiple simultaneous arpeggiations from multiple synthesizers which are synchronized with drum machines via MIDI. Reliance on heavy distortion pioneered by heavy metal also typifies the genre. Contemporary industrial music is often club-oriented. One very common element is known in music production circles as "the left hand right hand mistake". This is when the musician intends to have a basic 4 4th rythem of base then snare drum on every alternate beat. All professionaly produced music however would actually have the base drum going every beat, punctuating the snare drum. Most early industrial music however was written on step sequencers which it was much more easy and natural to put the bass and snare drum on one track and thus preclude them from playing at the same time. This creates a sound which gives the impression a drummer is holding two drum sticks and is alternately playing with his left then right hand.
It should be mentioned that there is much disagreement within the industrial scene as to the current state of industrial, to the extent that some (including artists mentioned on this page) are of the belief that there is no "current state of industrial", and that industrial music ended with the demise of Throbbing Gristle and Industrial Records. Thus, the subgenre outlines that follow are by no means definitive, and indeed are often a point of contention between fans of the music.
Main article: Noise music
Main article: electronic body music
See: List of industrial music artists
This is an Article on Industrial music. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Industrial music History
Early influences
Luigi Russolo's 1913 work The Art of Noises is often cited as the first example of the industrial philosophy in modern music. After Russolo's musica futurista came Pierre Schaeffer and musique concrète, and this gave rise to early industrial music, which was made by manipulating cut sections of recording tape, and adding very early sound output from analog electronics devices. Industrial Records
Industrial Music was originally coined by Monte Cazazza as the strapline for the record label Industrial Records (founded by British art-provocateurs Throbbing Gristle, the musical offshoot of performance art group COUM Transmissions), but soon evolved through the artistic endeavors of projects like Psychic TV or Skinny Puppy. The original Industrial Records artists have very little musical connection with most modern industrial music. New Wave and electronic body music
In the early 1980s, advances in sampling technology and the popularity of synthesised new wave music bought some industrial musicians greater exposure. As much as some New Wave bands were informed by the experiments of the industrial bands, the original industrial groups also began to refine their sound. Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle experimented with dance beats, and the Cab's (as they were known by fans) album The Crackdown was released on Virgin Records to some success.Musicology
First wave
Industrial began as an intellectual movement to challenge the idea of what music can be. The first wave of industrial musicians began performing in the mid-seventies. There are still a number of artists who create music in a fashion very similar to the original philosophies of Industrial Records. These genres all stem directly from industrial.Industrial
Power electronics
Powernoise
Death industrial
Dark industrial
Second wave
EBM or industrial dance
Electro-industrial / elektro
Industrial metal
Coldwave
Industrial rock
Third wave
Perhaps as a reaction to the band and rock-oriented feel of the mid-nineties, industrial music made a radical shift towards computer-generated, one-person acts. Eschewing the explosive stage shows that were commonplace, many performances now consist of a single artist on stage, surrounded by computers and electronic music equipment. The structure itself is opening itself up to even further experimentation, with modern equipment making a number of previously unattainable effects and techniques fair game for anyone with enough computer savvy and patience.Industrial techno
Technoid
Drum n noise
Summary
Notable industrial music artists
See also
External links