Cold wave music
| Cold wave | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1970s, Europe |
| Other topics | |
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. The term is an early synonym of "dark wave", "goth", and "deathrock". In later years, it has become subsumed under the retrospective labels "minimal wave" or "minimal synth".
The term "cold wave" appeared in the 26 November 1977 issue of UK weekly music paper, Sounds: the caption of its picture-cover, showing Kraftwerk's Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider was "New musick: The cold wave". That year, Kraftwerk had released Trans-Europe Express. The term was repeated the following week in Sounds by journalist Vivien Goldman, in an article about Siouxsie and the Banshees. In 1977, Siouxsie and the Banshees described their music as "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time" and Sounds magazine prophecised about the band: "Listen to the cold wave roar from the '70s into the '80s". Another scene of French and Belgian musicians who sang in English emerged in the early 1980s. According to Vice, the most notable acts were Marquis de Sade, Asylum Party, and Twilight Ritual. The original coldwave groups were generally not distributed in the United States and did not sing in English.
Wierd Records is credited with establishing interest in the style in the United States, while The Liberty Snake Club did a great deal to popularize it within the United Kingdom. The Tigersushi Records compilation So Young but So Cold, compiled by Ivan Smagghe, is one document of the scene.
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