Ethereal wave
Ethereal wave,[5][6] also called ethereal darkwave,[7] ethereal goth[8] or simply ethereal,[9][10] is a subgenre of dark wave music[11] that is variously described as "gothic", "romantic", and "otherworldly".[12][13] Developed in the early 1980s[14][15][16] in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands[17][18] such as Cocteau Twins,[19] This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance.[20][21]
This article is about the music genre. For waves in ether, see light wave.Ethereal wave
- Ethereal goth
- ethereal darkwave
- ethereal
Early 1980s, United Kingdom
In the second half of the 1980s, the genre continued to develop in the United States and was primarily associated with C'est La Mort Records, which featured artists such as Area (later the Moon Seven Times) and Heavenly Bodies, a band formed by ex-members of Dead Can Dance and This Mortal Coil,[22] as well as with Projekt Records, which featured groups like Black Tape for a Blue Girl.[23]
Ethereal wave, especially the music of Cocteau Twins, was one of the key inspirations for the British dream pop/shoegazing scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.[21]
Etymology[edit]
In the mid-1980s, several Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil records were described as "ethereal",[24][25] "etherealism",[26] and "ethereal romanticism".[12] In September 1988, Staci Bonner of Reflex magazine described the music of British label 4AD as "gothically ethereal".[17] Print media in the US, such as Alternative Press,[27] Billboard,[28] and Option music magazine,[29] started using the term "ethereal goth" more frequently, whereas European music magazines, primarily German zines such as Glasnost, Aeterna, Entry, Black, and Astan, had named the genre "ethereal wave" in the same vein as new wave, dark wave, and cold wave.[5][19][6][30]
Historically, the term was mostly applied to the roster of 4AD label − not only referring to music, but also regarding aesthetics of the graphical visualization.[31][32][33]
The "ethereal" designation has been taken over by authors such as Mick Mercer[34] and Dave Thompson[35] to delineate the same musical phenomenon in their books, while Simon Reynolds began using the term "goth-lite" (or "post-goth", a term he coined in 1987[36]) to describe the music of Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, and related 4AD artists.[37][38][39]
"Goth-lite" first appeared in 1995 in magazines such as CMJ New Music Monthly (Douglas Wolk)[40] and SPIN (Jody Press)[41] as a retroactive description of Siouxsie and the Banshees' Tinderbox album, which heavily relies on the use of guitar pedals and studio effects in songs such as "92 Degrees" and "Land's End".[42]
Style characteristics[edit]
The defining characteristic of the style is the use of effects-laden guitar soundscapes,[3][39] primarily based on minor key tonality (which unfolds a serious, dark and wistful atmosphere),[43] frequently post-punk-oriented bass lines, restrained tempo (ranging from down- to midtempo) and high register female vocals[43] (sometimes operatic and with hard-to-decipher lyrical content),[21] often closely intertwined with romantic aesthetics and pre-Raphaelite imagery.[44][45][46]
Another significant feature is the extensive use of drum machines, typical of many 4AD productions and initially established by Cocteau Twins' Garlands album[47] and the first full-length work of Dead Can Dance.[48] Acoustic guitars, often combined with electric guitars and bass guitars, are sometimes used to create a more folk-oriented feel (e.g. Love Spirals Downwards).
Aside from the genre's post-punk and gothic rock roots, some ethereal bands, namely Lycia and Soul Whirling Somewhere, were equally influenced by ambient and soundtrack-oriented music and/or by more traditional progressive rock textures.[49]
History[edit]
Roots and initiators (1980s)[edit]
The late 1970s to early 1980s was a period of innovation and diversification, in which punk rock explored new musical paths, interchangeably described as post-punk and new wave.[50] Technical improvement and the rise of affordable equipment such as drum machines and multi-effects units helped define the sound of a new era.[51] Seminal music artists such as the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Chameleons and the Durutti Column − who were able to expand and refine their style over the years − began to emerge from the darker strands of post-punk (see dark wave and gothic rock), and tended to "became more ethereal in the process."[1] Most of those bands, especially Siouxsie and the Banshees, are often credited with building the fertile ground for a subsequent generation of ethereal wave performers (e.g. This Ascension).[21] Hits like "Melt", released in 1982, rely on a 3⁄4 time signature and an extensive use of digital delay, reverberation and modulation effects, accompanied by dark, unsettling lyrics, and have been described as languorous, seductive, and erotic.[52]
During this time, ethereal was not solidified as a genre on its own until the appearance of the Cocteau Twins and their widely cited early works Head over Heels and Treasure, which set the blueprint for a separate style in music.[53][19][54][55] Peter Buckley wrote, "The band began to ditch the spikiness of Garlands, as Robin Guthrie developed a lush cascading guitar technique, creating a rich texture and an otherworldly feel ... From this point on, music journalists found it impossible to describe the band's work without resorting to the word 'Ethereal'",[56] while according to Rick Poynor, "... it was the Cocteau Twins, whose debut album, "Garlands", appeared on 4AD in 1982, who proved to be the label's first major artists and did much to crystallize 4AD's image in its early years as an other-worldly purveyor of Ethereal music by reclusive groups who preferred the shadows to the light."[15]
Distinction[edit]
Although ethereal wave and shoegazing (also referred to as dream pop[95][96]) share some similarities (e.g. the use of guitar effects such as flanger, chorus, echo, and delay),[97][39] there are substantial differences between the genres.
Shoegazing emerged primarily from the 1980s' noise pop/indie rock scene[98] and a conventional instrumentation based on guitars, bass and drums. Initially, drum machines were not a regular part of the shoegazing genre but a basic component of new wave, post-punk, and gothic rock music.[51] In contrast to shoegazing, ethereal wave usually features a traditional early 1980s post-punk and gothic rock signature,[99] devoid of any influences of the simultaneously existing noise pop movement. Most ethereal wave groups, such as Cocteau Twins, early Dead Can Dance, Area, Love Spirals Downwards, Lycia, Autumn, and Speaking Silence, employed drum machines and electronically generated rhythms.[47][48][100]
Ethereal wave is predominantly a female-fronted style,[43][99] whereas shoegazing is − apart from the popularity of acts such as Lush, Curve, and Medicine − largely male-dominated (A.R. Kane, Pale Saints, Ride, Chapterhouse, Blind Mr. Jones, The Boo Radleys, Kitchens of Distinction)[101] or, more rarely, gender-balanced (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Secret Shine, The Telescopes).[102] According to Joshua Gunn, Assistant Professor of Rhetorical Studies at Louisiana State University, "Women have a much larger role in Darkwave and [...] the Ethereal subgenre that developed in Europe".[81]