Minimal wave
| Minimal wave | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Synthpop, post-punk, coldwave, new wave |
| Cultural origins | 1970s and 1980s; Europe,UK, US |
| Typical instruments | Synthesisers, drum machine, circuit bending |
| Derivative forms | Electropunk |
Minimal wave is a contentiously namedgenre of electronic music which focuses on electronic, pre-MIDI (1982, but not pre-sequencer) instrumentation and themes of sincere, rather than ironic, detachment. It comprises obscure, atypical examples of genres such as new wave, so-called "minimal" electronic or synthesizer music, electropunk, synthpop, post-punk, coldwave, electroclash and electropop. Although much Minimal Wave music was created in the late 1970s and early 1980s and subsequently appeared on bootleg and one-off compilations, the genre didn't have a name until a record label of the same name began releasing compilations and reissues in the mid-2000s.
The Punk phenomenon of the 1970s created a challenge to the monopoly of the established recording studios, giving young performers the confidence to go live with relatively unpolished acts. In the post-punk era new technologies, especially cheaper synthesisers, in particular the Roland 303 and the Wasp, led to a popular expansion of electronic music styles. The music, especially in the original releases, generally has a D.I.Y. aesthetic; in the genre's original production era. Many of the emerging artists composed in their bedrooms and garages then exchanged works through cassette exchanges, bypassing the major vinyl producers and giving rise to the cassette culture of the 1980s.
Musicians in the genre were often influenced by avant-garde movements such as futurism and constructivism, and by the literature of science fiction and existentialism.
The genre's hallmarks include minimal musical structures, relatively unpolished production, and the use of analog synthesizers and drum machines manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s. The instrumental arrangements featured "mechanical beats" and "short repetitive patterns", plus "noticeably synthesized drum programming and trebly, thin melodies" which emphasized the artificiality of synthesized sound. Vocal arrangements "acted as a counterpoint to that artificiality."
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