Dark Waves
The Synthesizer and the Dystopian Sound of Britain (1977-80)
1st Edition
Published on 13. February 2023
200 pages
979-8-8818-5462-1 (ISBN)
Description
Between 1977 and 1980, Britain was a country and culture in flux. The threat of nuclear war, mass unemployment, and strikes made it a particularly gloomy period historically. Within this, a growing number of electronic music acts were using technology and the synthesizer to soundtrack changing times.
Dark Waves: The Synthesizer and the Dystopian Sound of Britain (1977- 80) is the first musicological collection of essays on acts that include Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, and The Human League, mapping how the synthesizer spurred toward a fundamental shift in the mechanisms of electronic musicmaking in late 1970s. The volume traces how, along with the musical aesthetics established by both the Punk and Post-Punk movements, the synthesizer led to new and innovative effects, ideas, processes, and musical genres. Dark Waves explores the background, influences, and use of technology and how such developments would result in the more commercial electronically produced sound of 1980s synth pop which, in turn, shaped the sound of electronic music today.
Dark Waves: The Synthesizer and the Dystopian Sound of Britain (1977- 80) is the first musicological collection of essays on acts that include Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, and The Human League, mapping how the synthesizer spurred toward a fundamental shift in the mechanisms of electronic musicmaking in late 1970s. The volume traces how, along with the musical aesthetics established by both the Punk and Post-Punk movements, the synthesizer led to new and innovative effects, ideas, processes, and musical genres. Dark Waves explores the background, influences, and use of technology and how such developments would result in the more commercial electronically produced sound of 1980s synth pop which, in turn, shaped the sound of electronic music today.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
ISBN-13
979-8-8818-5462-1 (9798881854621)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
02/2025
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€44.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
DR. NEIL O'CONNOR is electronic music producer and academic at DMARC (Digital Media Arts Research Centre), Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, University of Limerick, Ireland.
Content
Introduction
Chapter 1: Background - Social and Cultural Influences
Chapter 2: The Rise of the Synthesizer in Popular Music
Chapter 3: Cabaret Voltaire and Dadaism
Chapter 4: Throbbing Gristle and Confrontation
Chapter 5: The Normal and J.G Ballard
Chapter 6: Fad Gadget and Concrete Britain
Chapter 7: Afterwards and Influences
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 1: Background - Social and Cultural Influences
Chapter 2: The Rise of the Synthesizer in Popular Music
Chapter 3: Cabaret Voltaire and Dadaism
Chapter 4: Throbbing Gristle and Confrontation
Chapter 5: The Normal and J.G Ballard
Chapter 6: Fad Gadget and Concrete Britain
Chapter 7: Afterwards and Influences
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
