electroclash

A style of electronic music fusing elements of techno, punk and 80’s synth pop. Epitomised by a move away from the largely DJ-driven dance music of the 90’s towards a more performance-based format with a much stronger emphasis on lyrical content. Essential early influences include 80’s synth artists like Gary Numan, New Order, pre “Dare” Human League (eg: “Being Boiled”), The Normal with “Warm Leatherette” and the dark disco style of Giorgio Moroder. Aesthetically the movement owes much to the 80’s cult sci-fi film “Liquid Sky”. The term “Electroclash” was coined (and copyrighted) by New York DJ Larry Tee who staged the first “Electroclash” festival in 2001 grouping together likeminded electro artists including Fisherspooner, A.R.E. Weapons, Adult., Peaches, Chicks on Speed and Ladytron. The term gained widespread currency that same year when established DJ Felix Da Housecat teamed up with the High Priestess of Electroclash, Miss Kitten to produce “Silver Screen - Shower Scene”, giving the movement it’s first worldwide smash hit. Lary Tee’s act of copyrighting the term “Electroclash” appears to have alienated many artists who now furiously deny any association with it leading to some uncertainty of where the movement’s boundaries actually lie. This situation has been further compounded by later bandwagon jumpers latching on to the movement’s more obvious cliché’s (eg: vocoded vocals and lyrics about androids) resulting in some ridicule incurred by the independent artists being undeservedly heaped upon the wider movement.