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Electroclash

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused withElectropunkorElectronicore.
Electroclash
Other names
  • Synthcore
  • retro-electro
  • tech-pop
  • nouveau-disco
  • new new wave
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsLate 1990s,[1]Netherlands,France,Austria,Germany(Munich[4]) andUnited States(DetroitandNew York[5])
Derivative forms
Other topics
Fischerspooner,an American electroclash act

Electroclash(also known assynthcore,retro-electro,tech-pop,nouveau disco,and thenew new wave[3]) is agenreofpopular musicthat fuses 1980selectro,new waveandsynth-popwith 1990stechno,retro-styleelectropopandelectronic dance music.[6][7][8]It emerged in the late 1990s and was pioneered by and associated with acts such asI-F,DJ Hell,Miss KittinandThe Hacker,andFischerspooner.[9][10]

Terminology and characteristics

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The term electroclash describes a musical movement that combinedsynthpop,techno,punkandperformance art.The genre was in reaction to the rigid formulations of techno music, putting an emphasis on song writing, showmanship and a sense of humour,[6]and was described byThe Guardianas one of "the two most significant upheavals in recent dance music history".[11]The visual aesthetic of electroclash has been associated with the 1982cult filmLiquid Sky.[12]DJ Hellis widely credited as inventor and name giver of the genre,[13][14][15]while DJ and promoterLarry Teelater popularized the term in the US by naming the Electroclash 2001 Festival in New York[16]after it.[17][8]

History

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Role of International Deejay Gigolos

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Electroclash emerged in the late 1990s. TheMunich-based labelInternational DeeJay Gigolo Records,founded byDJ Hell,is considered the "germ cell" and "THE home" of the electroclash sound.[18][19][20][21]Gigolo featured many of the early electroclash songs, such as for example Christopher Just'sI'm a Disco Dancerfrom 1997 orChris Korda'sSave the Planet, Kill Yourself,which originally even had been released as early as 1993.[22][23]Then in 1998, Gigolo released the songs "1982"and"Frank Sinatra"by French recording duoMiss Kittin&The Hacker,which were among the most successful early hits of the new genre.[10][24][9]This was followed by the hit "Emerge"by New York duoFischerspooner,[25]as well as the remake ofCorey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night"by Canadian duoTiga&Zyntherius,both released on Gigolo in 2001.[26][27]DJ Hell brought the artists of the new genre together on the label and acted primarily as their mentor.[27]But also Hell's own releases like the albumMunich Machinefrom 1998 are seen as groundbreaking for the genre Electroclash.[28]In the widely recognized film documentaryWelcome to the club! 25 years of electronic dance musicby European television networkArte,Miss Kittin describes the origination of the first songs of the new style together with DJ Hell and declares him the inventor of the Electroclash genre.[15]Since DJ Hell gathered the international artists of the new genre at Gigolo in Munich and many of them gave their first performances in the city's nightclubs, Munich is considered the city in which electroclash "was significantly co-invented, if not invented".[4][19]Soon the new style of music also spread to other cities such as Berlin, London and New York.[29]

Other early artists

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AlsoI-F's track "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass", released in 1998 on Disko B, with its "old-fashioned verse-chorus dynamics to burblingelectroin a vocodered homage toAtari-era hi-jinks "is considered one of the pioneering tracks of the electroclash genre.[6][30]Further early artists includeChicks on Speed,Peaches,ADULT.and Toktok vs. Soffy O with their year 2000 hitMissy Queen's Gonna Die.[29][20][31][32]

During their early years,Ladytronwere sometimes labeled as electroclash, but others stated that they were not entirely electroclash[9]and they also rejected this tag themselves.[33][19]Goldfrapp's albumsBlack Cherry(2003) andSupernature(2005) incorporated electroclash influences.[34][35]

Electroclash revival

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From around 2022, an electroclash revival suddenly happened, thanks to artists like Dj. Hell, who started a new tour called Electroclash tour, or Konerytmi, who made a special and fascinating Electroclash 2022 liveact presentation in a steampunk looked environment, or Norbert Thunder, who dropped "Fembot Actress EP" in 2022 with the "Groove, Style, Lights, Euphoria" festival hit track on it, the EP was promoted as trying to bring back again the sound of Electroclash to the modern world. Some labels also started releasing Electroclash vinyls/EPs again, like the spanish label Veintidós Rec., or the Italian label Rapid Eye Movement Records. There are a few bigger names, who also started to turn to the sound of electroclash, like LSDXOXO with his songs like "Double Tap", or singer Charli XCX a little bit on her single in 2024 called "Von Dutch".

Electroclash in the U.S.

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In the U.S. the genre came to media attention, when the Electroclash Festival was held in New York in October 2001 to "make a local breakthrough with this scene, presenting a select group of superstar and pioneer artists from Europe and the U. S."[16][9]The Electroclash Festival was held again in 2002 with subsequent live tours across the US and Europe in 2003 and 2004. Other notable artists who performed at the festival and subsequent tours includeScissor Sisters,ADULT.,Erol Alkan,Princess Superstar,Mignon,Mount Sims,Tiga andSpalding Rockwell.

Criticism

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The electroclash label and the hype around it were fiercely criticized by some of its acclaimed protagonists in the early 2000s. For example,I-Fand other artists signed an "Anti-Electroclash-Manifest", where they complained about the sellout of the style by those who would "rule the media waves" and only "sell the old freshly packaged".[29][31]In 2002, Toktok vs. Soffy O. stated that when they were first asked about electroclash they just thought: "This is nothing else than what we've known for at least five years and what is now reaching the recycling peak for the third or fourth time".[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abIshkur (2019)."Ishkur's Guide: Electroclash".Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music.RetrievedNovember 16,2023.
  2. ^abDavid Madden (2012)."Crossdressing to Backbeats: The Status of the Electroclash Producer and the Politics of Electronic Music".Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture:27–47.RetrievedJanuary 3,2015.Electroclash combines the extended pulsing sections of techno, house and other dance musics with the trashier energy of rock and new wave.
  3. ^abCarpenter, Susan(July 28, 2002)."New Songs, Old Beats".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJune 9,2022.
  4. ^abHecktor, Mirko; von Uslar, Moritz; Smith, Patti; Neumeister, Andreas (1 November 2008).Mjunik Disco – from 1949 to now(in German). Blumenbar. p. 8.ISBN978-3936738476.
  5. ^Reynolds, Simon (2013).Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture.Soft Skull Press.Go to Berliniamsburg, the Brooklyn club at the epicentre of New York's eighties-inspired 'electroclash' scene, and you feel a peculiar sensation: it's not exactly like time travel, more like you've stepped into a parallel universe, an alternative history scenario where rave never happened.
  6. ^abcD. Lynskey (22 March 2002)."Out with the old, in with the older".Guardian.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 15 October 2014.
  7. ^"The Electroclash Mix by Larry Tee".Entertainment Weekly.Archived fromthe originalon 30 September 2012.Retrieved18 April2015.
  8. ^abKellman, Andy."Larry Tee Biography on Yahoo! Music".Yahoo! Music. Archived fromthe originalon 18 March 2007.Retrieved2016-08-26.
  9. ^abcdJuzwiak, Richard Moroder (30 September 2002)."Electroclash: In Limousines We Have Sex/In NYC We Have Clash - Article".Stylus Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2010.Retrieved11 August2016.
  10. ^abGagne, Justin (2011)."Velle - Couture Soundtracks - Winter 2010".Velle.Retrieved11 August2016.
  11. ^"The female techno takeover",The Guardian,May 24, 2008
  12. ^"The Great Electroclash Swindle".Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  13. ^"The gentleman of electronic music"(in German). Pure FM. 11 June 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 1 January 2015.Retrieved11 August2016.
  14. ^"DJ Hell – Electronic Music Megastar"(in German). FAZEmag. 6 April 2012.Retrieved26 August2016.
  15. ^abPailhe, Dimitri (Director), Marx, Jean-Claude, Alary, Romain, Sève, Thibault (2014).Bienvenue au club: 25 ans de musiques électroniques[Welcome to the club! 25 years of electronic dance music] (Motion picture) (in French). France:Arte France,Bellota Films.
  16. ^ab"Electroclash 2001 Festival: Bringing Innovative Music to NYC".FREEwilliamsburg, Issue 19, 2001. October 2001.Retrieved26 August2016.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^Paoletta, Michael (27 July 2002). "Nü-Electro Sound Emerges".Billboard.Vol. 30, no. 114. New York: Nielsen Business Media Inc. pp. 66–68.ISSN0006-2510.
  18. ^Sources:
  19. ^abcVon Kraehahn and Christoph Dallach (31 March 2003)."Aufgewärmte Kälte – Das Revival findet doch statt: Ladytron macht aus Klängen der Achtziger Electroclash"[Warmed up cold – The revival takes place after all: Ladytron turn the sounds of the eighties into electroclash].Der Spiegel(in German).
  20. ^abJosh Baines (10 February 2016)."A Bullshitter's Guide to Electroclash".VICE.
  21. ^"Dj Hell Interview: Power and Innovation".Skiddle.20 October 2015.Retrieved26 August2016.
  22. ^Joe Muggs (7 March 2014)."Save the Planet, Kill Yourself: remembering Electroclash".FACT Magazine.
  23. ^"Chris Korda – Save The Planet, Kill Yourself".Discogs.Zinc Media, Inc.Retrieved20 August2016.
  24. ^"Miss Kittin And The Hacker* - Champagne! E.P."Discogs.Zinc Media, Inc.Retrieved11 August2016.
  25. ^"Fischerspooner – Emerge".Discogs.Zinc Media, Inc.Retrieved29 December2020.
  26. ^"Tiga & Zyntherius – Sunglasses EP".Discogs.Zinc Media, Inc.Retrieved29 December2020.
  27. ^abKleinfeld, Justin (3 February 2003). "Artist Spotlight:Tiga".CMJ New Music Report.Vol. 74, no. 799. New York: The CMJ Network Inc. p. 20.ISSN0890-0795.
  28. ^Tony Naylor (2 March 2009)."DJ Hell creates dance music heaven at last".The Guardian.Retrieved29 December2020.
  29. ^abcAndreas Hartmann (17 January 2003)."The Great Gigolo Swindle".Die Tageszeitung(in German). Archived fromthe originalon 25 February 2020.Retrieved24 August2016.
  30. ^"I-f – Fucking Consumer".Discogs.Zinc Media, Inc.Retrieved29 December2020.
  31. ^abcSonja Eismann (27 September 2002)."The moment after: Toktok vs. Soffy O."(in German). Intro Magazine. Archived fromthe originalon 27 August 2016.Retrieved24 August2016.
  32. ^J. Walker (5 October 2002)."Popmatters concert review: ELECTROCLASH 2002 Artists: Peaches, Chicks on Speed, W.I.T., and Tracy and the Plastics".The Boston Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2011..
  33. ^"3/29 - Ladytron - 'Best Of: 00 - 10'".nettskinny.Archived fromthe originalon 24 December 2013.Retrieved18 April2015.
  34. ^Phares, Heather."Black Cherry – Goldfrapp".AllMusic.Rovi Corporation.Retrieved11 October2011.
  35. ^Oculicz, Edward (23 August 2005)."Goldfrapp – Supernature".Stylus Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.Retrieved11 October2011.
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