Description

Book Synopsis

During the 1970s, the synthesizer spurred many fundamental shifts in the mechanisms of music-making. Along with the popularization of the musical aesthetics established by both the punk and post-punk movements, the synthesizer led to ground-breaking effects and processes. Dark Waves examines the role of the synthesizer in shaping the dark and dystopian sound of electronic music in 1970s Britain and is the first collected musicological analysis of The Normal, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and John Foxx. Many of these acts, dark in content, presentation and manner, would go on to influence the more commercial sound of 1980s synth pop, which in turn shaped mainstream electronic music today.



Table of Contents

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

Dark Waves: The Synthesizer and the Dystopian

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    A Hardback by Neil O'Connor

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      View other formats and editions of Dark Waves: The Synthesizer and the Dystopian by Neil O'Connor

      Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
      Publication Date: 15/02/2023
      ISBN13: 9781538165300, 978-1538165300
      ISBN10: 1538165309

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      During the 1970s, the synthesizer spurred many fundamental shifts in the mechanisms of music-making. Along with the popularization of the musical aesthetics established by both the punk and post-punk movements, the synthesizer led to ground-breaking effects and processes. Dark Waves examines the role of the synthesizer in shaping the dark and dystopian sound of electronic music in 1970s Britain and is the first collected musicological analysis of The Normal, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and John Foxx. Many of these acts, dark in content, presentation and manner, would go on to influence the more commercial sound of 1980s synth pop, which in turn shaped mainstream electronic music today.



      Table of Contents

      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

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