Industrial music
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Cultural origins | Early-to-mid-1970s, United Kingdom, United States (Chicago), and Germany |
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Industrial music is a genre of
The first industrial artists experimented with
While the term was self-applied by a small coterie of groups and individuals associated with Industrial Records in the late 1970s, it was broadened to include artists influenced by the original movement or using an "industrial" aesthetic.[4] Over time, the genre's influence spread into and blended with styles including ambient, synth music and rock such as Front 242, Front Line Assembly, KMFDM, and Sister Machine Gun, acts associated with the Chicago-based Wax Trax! Records imprint. Electro-industrial music is a primary subgenre that developed in the 1980s, with the most notable bands in the genre being Front Line Assembly and Skinny Puppy. The two other most notable hybrid genres are industrial rock and industrial metal, which include bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Rammstein, and Fear Factory, the first three of which released a platinum-selling album each in the 1990s.
History
Precursors
Industrial music drew from a broad range of predecessors. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the genre was first named in 1942 when The Musical Quarterly called Dmitri Shostakovich's 1927 Symphony No. 2 "the high tide of 'industrial music'."[5] Similarly, in 1972 The New York Times described works by Ferde Grofé (especially 1935's A Symphony in Steel) as a part of "his 'industrial music' genre [that] called on such instruments as four pairs of shoes, two brooms, a locomotive bell, a pneumatic drill and a compressed-air tank".[6] Though these compositions are not directly tied to what the genre would become, they are early examples of music designed to mimic machinery noise and factory atmosphere. Early examples of industrial music are arguably found in Pierre Schaeffer's 1940s musique concrète and the tape music of Halim El-Dabh, the former of which is akin to the aesthetics of 1970s industrial music, while artists such as early 20th century Italian futurist Luigi Russolo laid the groundwork for the genre with his book and work The Art of Noises (1913) reflecting "the sounds of a modern industrial society".[7]
In the book Interrogation Machine: Laibach and NSK, Alexei Monroe argues that Kraftwerk were particularly significant in the development of industrial music, as the "first successful artists to incorporate representations of industrial sounds into nonacademic electronic music."[11] Industrial music was created originally by using mechanical and electric machinery, and later advanced synthesizers, samplers and electronic percussion as the technology developed. Monroe also argues for Suicide as an influential contemporary of the industrial musicians.[11] Groups cited as inspirational by the founders of industrial music include the Velvet Underground, Joy Division, and Martin Denny.[12] Genesis P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle had a cassette library including recordings by The Master Musicians of Joujouka, Kraftwerk, Charles Manson, and William S. Burroughs.[13] P-Orridge also credited 1960s rock such as the Doors, Pearls Before Swine, the Fugs, Captain Beefheart, and Frank Zappa in a 1979 interview.[14] The dissonant electronic work of krautrock groups like Faust and Neu! was an influence on industrial artists.[15][16]
Many of the initial industrial musicians preferred to cite artists or thinkers, rather than musicians, as their inspiration. Simon Reynolds declares that "Being a Throbbing Gristle fan was like enrolling in a university course of cultural extremism."[25] John Cage was an initial inspiration for Throbbing Gristle.[26] SPK appreciated Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Jean Baudrillard, Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin, Marshall McLuhan, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Gilles Deleuze, as well as being inspired by the manifesto of the eponymous Socialist Patients' Collective.[27] Cabaret Voltaire took conceptual cues from Burroughs, J. G. Ballard, and Tristan Tzara.[28] Whitehouse and Nurse with Wound dedicated some of their work to the Marquis de Sade; the latter also took impetus from the Comte de Lautréamont.[22]
Another influence on the industrial aesthetic was Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. Pitchfork Music cites this album as "inspiring, in part, much of the contemporary avant-garde music scene—noise, in particular."[29] The album consists entirely of guitar feedback, anticipating industrial's use of non-musical sounds.The New York Times described American avant-garde band the Residents as having "presaged forms of punk, new wave and industrial music".[30]
Early years
Industrial Records
Industrial Music for Industrial People was originally coined by Monte Cazazza[31] as the strapline for the record label Industrial Records, founded by British art-provocateurs Throbbing Gristle.[32] The first wave of this music appeared with Throbbing Gristle, from London; Cabaret Voltaire, from Sheffield;[33] and Boyd Rice (recording under the name NON), from the United States.[34] Throbbing Gristle first performed in 1976,[35] and began as the musical offshoot of the Kingston upon Hull-based COUM Transmissions.[36] COUM was initially a psychedelic rock group, but began to describe their work as performance art in order to obtain grants from the Arts Council of Great Britain.[26] COUM was composed of P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti.[26] Beginning in 1972, COUM staged several performances inspired by Fluxus and Viennese Actionism. These included various acts of sexual and physical abjection.[17] Peter Christopherson, an employee of commercial artists Hipgnosis, joined the group in 1974, with Carter joining the following year.[36]
The group renamed itself Throbbing Gristle in September 1975, their name coming from a northern English slang word for an erection.[36] The group's first public performance, in October 1976, was alongside an exhibit titled Prostitution, which included pornographic photos of Tutti as well as used tampons. Conservative politician Nicholas Fairbairn declared that "public money is being wasted here to destroy the morality of our society" and blasted the group as "wreckers of civilization."[37] The group announced their dissolution in 1981, declaring that their "mission" has been "terminated."[38]
Wax Trax! Records
Chicago record label Wax Trax! Records was prominent in the widespread attention industrial music received starting in the early 1980s. The label was started by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. The label's first official release was an EP in 1980 entitled Immediate Action by Strike Under. The label went on to distribute some of the most prominent names in industrial throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Wax Trax! also distributed industrial releases in the United States for the Belgium record label Play It Again Sam Records, and had opened a North American office dubbed Play It Again Sam U.S.A. as a division of Wax Trax!. Wax Trax! was subsequently purchased by TVT Records in 1992 who closed the independent Chicago label in 2001. Jim's Daughter, Julia Nash, resurrected Wax Trax! Records in 2011 with a 3-day charity event titled Wax Trax! Retrospectacle - 33 1/3 Year Anniversary. Julia officially released new material in 2014 under the Wax Trax! imprint and continues to run the record label from Chicago.
Expansion of the scene
The bands
Across the Atlantic, similar experiments were taking place. In San Francisco, performance artist
In January 1984, Einstürzende Neubauten performed a Concerto for Voice and Machinery at the
Following the breakup of Throbbing Gristle, P-Orridge and Christopherson founded Psychic TV and signed to a major label.[60] Their first album was much more accessible and melodic than the usual industrial style, and included hired work by trained musicians.[61] Later work returned to the sound collage and noise elements of earlier industrial.[62] They also borrowed from funk and disco. P-Orridge also founded Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth, a quasi-religious organization that produced video art.[63] Psychic TV's commercial aspirations were managed by Stevo of Some Bizzare Records, who released many of the later industrial musicians, including Einstürzende Neubauten, Test Dept, and Cabaret Voltaire.[64]
Around 1983, Cabaret Voltaire members were deeply interested in funk music and, with the encouragement of their friends from
Characteristics and history
The birth of industrial music was a response to "an age [in which] the access and control of information were becoming the primary tools of power."[69] At its birth, the genre of industrial music was different from any other music, and its use of technology and disturbing lyrics and themes to tear apart preconceptions about the necessary rules of musical form supports the suggestion that industrial music is modernist music.[69] The artists themselves made these goals explicit, even drawing connections to social changes they wished to argue for through their music.
The Industrial Records website explains that the musicians wanted to re-invent rock music, and that their uncensored records were about their relationship with the world.[70] They go on to say that they wanted their music to be an awakening for listeners so that they would begin to think for themselves and question the world around them. Industrial Records intended the term industrial to evoke the idea of music created for a new generation, with previous music being more agricultural: P-Orridge stated that "there's an irony in the word 'industrial' because there's the music industry. And then there's the joke we often used to make in interviews about churning out our records like motorcars —that sense of industrial. And ... up till then the music had been kind of based on the blues and slavery, and we thought it was time to update it to at least Victorian times—you know, the Industrial Revolution".[71]
Early industrial music often featured tape editing, stark percussion and loops distorted to the point where they had degraded to harsh noise, such as the work of early industrial group Cabaret Voltaire, which journalist Simon Reynolds described as characterized by "hissing high hats and squelchy snares of rhythm-generator."[72] Carter of Throbbing Gristle invented a device named the "Gristle-izer", played by Christopherson, which comprised a one-octave keyboard and a number of cassette machines triggering various pre-recorded sounds.[73]
Traditional instruments were often played in nontraditional or highly modified ways. Reynolds described the Cabaret Voltaire members' individual contributions as "[Chris] Watson's smears of synth slime; [Stephen] Mallinder's dankly pulsing bass; and [Richard H.] Kirk's spikes of shattered-glass guitar."[72] Watson custom-built a fuzzbox for Kirk's guitar, producing a unique timbre.[74] Carter built speakers, effects units, and synthesizer modules, as well as modifying more conventional rock instrumentation, for Throbbing Gristle.[17] Tutti played guitar with a slide in order to produce glissandi, or pounded the strings as if it were a percussion instrument.[75] Throbbing Gristle also played at very high volume and produced ultra-high and sub-bass frequencies in an attempt to produce physical effects, naming this approach as "metabolic music."[76]
Vocals were sporadic, and were as likely to be
The purpose of industrial music initially was to serve as a commentary on modern society by eschewing what artists saw as trite connections to the past.
Industrial groups typically focus on
Expansion and offshoots (late 1980s and early 1990s)
As some of the originating bands drifted away from the genre in the 1980s, industrial music expanded to include bands influenced by
Mainstream success (1990s and 2000s)
In the 1990s, industrial music broke into the mainstream. The genre, previously ignored or criticized by music journalists, grew popular with disaffected middle-class youth in suburban and rural areas. By this time, the genre had become broad enough that journalist James Greer called it "the kind of meaningless catch-all term that new wave once was".[86] A number of acts associated with industrial music achieved commercial success during this period including Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein and Orgy.
Through the 1990s Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson had several albums and EPs certified platinum by the
See also
- Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music
- Cassette culture
- Experimental music
- Rivethead
- Steampunk
- List of industrial music festivals
- List of industrial music bands
- List of industrial music genres
Footnotes
- ^ Fisher, Mark (2010). "You Remind Me of Gold: Dialogue with Simon Reynolds". Kaleidoscope (9).
- ^ "Industrial". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ V.Vale. Re/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook, 1983.
- ^ "... journalists now use 'industrial' as a term like they would 'blues.'"—Genesis P-Orridge, RE/Search #6/7, p. 16.
- ^ "Industrial". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Henahan, Donal (April 4, 1972). "Limned the Landscape". The New York Times: 46. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- JSTOR 942398.
- ^ Olewnick, Brian. "Ammmusic Review by Brian Olewnick". AllMusic. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Henderson, Alex. "Orgasm Review by Alex Hederson". AllMusic. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ "KLUSTER - Forced Exposure". www.forcedexposure.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Monroe, p. 212
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 11–12.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 19.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 225.
- All Media Guide. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
- ^ says, M. (April 10, 2008). "Klaus Dinger : 1946-2008". Aquarium Drunkard. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ a b c Reynolds 2005, p. 227.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 67.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 117
- ^ Reynolds 2005, pp. 154, 159.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 156.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2005, p. 242.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2005, p. 243.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2005, p. 485.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (April 7, 2009). "Sonic Youth are caught under the influence". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ a b c Reynolds 2005, p. 226.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 97–105.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, pp. 154–155, 171.
- ^ Petrusich, Amanda (September 17, 2007). "Interviews: Lou Reed". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
- New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ a b "Industrial Records". Brainwashed. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ ISBN 0-312-30696-2, p. 86.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 42–49.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 50–67.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 224.
- ^ a b c RE/Search #6/7, p. 17.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 229.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2005, p. 240.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Clock DVA Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ Torreano, Bradley. "Nocturnal Emissions Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ Schaefer, Peter. "Whitehouse Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 241.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, pp. 92–105.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, pp. 241–242.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, pp. 243–244.
- ^ Sutton, Michael. "Leather Nun Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 2.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, pp. 68–81.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, pp. 50–67.
- ^ Torreano, Bradley. "Maurizio Bianchi Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Einstürzende Neubauten Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2005, p. 484.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2005, p. 486.
- ^ Bush, John. "Test Dept. Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ Monroe, p. 222.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 489.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 487.
- ^ Monroe, p. 96.
- ^ Slavoj Žižek, "Why Are Laibach and NSK Not Fascists?," M'ARS 3–4, 1993, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 474.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, pp. 474–475.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, pp. 480–481.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 476.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 477.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 478.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, pp. 481–482.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 482.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 483.
- ^ a b The Secret History of Rock: The Most Influential Bands You've Never Heard by Roni Sarig
- ^ a b "Industrial Records: Industrial Music for Industrial People". Brainwashed Inc. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2005, p. 168.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 228.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, pp. 169–170.
- ^ a b Reynolds 2005, p. 230.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 235.
- ^ Reynolds 2005, p. 170.
- ^ a b RE/Search #6/7, p. 5.
- ^ Ford, 8.10
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 9.
- ^ "These ideas contributed some of the theoretical mise-en-scène for emergent Industrial groups such as Throbbing Gristle, SPK, and Cabaret Voltaire, all of whom experimented with cut-up sound and re-contextualised ambient recordings." Sargeant, Jack, "The Primer: William S. Burroughs," The Wire 300, February 2009, p. 38.
- ^ RE/Search #6/7, p. 105
- ISBN 978-0-415-95658-1. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-87930-607-6. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- ^ Woods, Karen (March 1992). "Industrial Index". Spin. Vol. 7, no. 12. p. 43.
- ^ Greer, Jim (March 1992). "Nine Inches of Love". Spin. Vol. 7, no. 12. pp. 36–43.
- ^ "American album certifications – Nine Inch Nails – Broken". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "American album certifications – Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "American album certifications – Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "American album certifications – Marilyn Manson – Antichrist Superstar". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "American album certifications – Marilyn Manson – Mechanical Animals". Recording Industry Association of America.
References
- OCLC 473269351.
- Monroe, Alexei (2005). Interrogation Machine: Laibach and NSK. Cambridge: The MIT Press. OCLC 1150047415– via the Internet Archive.
- Hanley, Jason J. (Spring 2004). "'The Land of Rape and Honey': The Use of World War II Propaganda in the Music Videos of Ministry and Laibach". American Music. 22 (1): 158–75. JSTOR 3592974.
- Reed, S. Alexander (2013). Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 1147729910– via the Internet Archive.
- OCLC 1036851652– via the Internet Archive.
- Vale, V.; Juno, Andrea, eds. (1983). Re/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook. San Francisco, CA: RE/Search Publications. ISBN 0-940642-07-7– via the Internet Archive.
- Ballet, Nicolas. (2023) Shock Factory: Culture visuelle des musiques industrielles (1969-1995) Les presses du réel, Music & Sound Arts, ISBN 978-2-37896-222-7