View source for Cello rock

{{Short description|Subgenre of rock music}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Cello rock
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Heavy metal music]]|[[classical music]]|[[baroque pop]]|[[art rock]]|[[thrash metal]]|[[symphonic metal]]}}
| cultural_origins  = 1970s, United Kingdom
| other_topics      = [[Baroque rock]]
}}
[[Image:Rammstein_and_Apocalyptica_concert_-_2005.jpg|thumb|right|[[Apocalyptica]] accompanying [[Rammstein]] in concert]]
'''Cello rock''' is a subgenre of [[rock music]] characterized by the use of [[cello]]s (as well as other bowed string instruments such as the [[violin]] and [[viola]]) as primary instruments, alongside or in place of more traditional rock instruments such as [[electric guitar]]s, [[bass guitar|electric bass guitars]], and drum sets.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rockhard.de/megazine/heftarchiv/115/interview/38.html |title=Enter Cellomen |access-date=12 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924091946/http://www.rockhard.de/megazine/heftarchiv/115/interview/38.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Cellos, often in groups of three or more, are used to create a sound, rhythm, and texture similar to that of familiar [[rock and roll|rock music]], but distinctly reshaped by the unique [[timbre]]s and more traditional genres of the cello (in particular) and other string instruments used. Cellos and other stringed instruments are often amplified and/or modified electronically, and they are often played in a manner imitative of the sound of electric guitars. They are often combined with other elements typical of rock music such as rock-style vocals and drumming.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.last.fm/ru/tag/cello+rock|title=Музыка Cello rock|website=Last.fm|accessdate=5 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailybruin.com/2010/02/28/cello-rock-duo-oak-and-gorski-combine-symphonic-ac/|title=Cello-rock duo Oak and Gorski combine symphonic, acoustic sounds for a signature brand in L.A.|website=Daily Bruin|accessdate=5 September 2020}}</ref>

Cello rock can trace its beginnings to the 1971 [[Electric Light Orchestra (album)|self-titled debut]], known in the US as ''No Answer'', by the [[Electric Light Orchestra]], which featured rock songs arranged for cellos, and the subsequent tour consisted of a standard rock band augmented by four cellos. [[Jeff Lynne]] made a return with this format using three cellos for their 2001 comeback album ''[[Zoom (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Zoom]]'' and its subsequent but cancelled [[Zoom Tour Live|tour]]. 

In 1992, [[Rasputina]] formed in New York City, blending baroque cello stylings with alternative rock songs.<ref name="WashingtonTimesInterview">{{cite web |last1=Valcourt |first1=Keith |title=Rasputina cellist Melora Creager discusses steampunk, goth rock and Nirvana's final shows |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/19/rasputina-cellist-melora-creager-discusses-steampu/ |website=The Washington Times |access-date=2 July 2021 |date=19 October 2015}}</ref> Their 1996 debut album of original music, ''[[Thanks for the Ether]]'', introduced this hybrid approach, while their 1998 follow-up, ''[[How We Quit the Forest]]'', incorporated heavy metal distortion and rock drums to create one of the earliest fully realized examples of distorted cello rock.

[[Apocalyptica]], which released their first album, ''[[Plays Metallica by Four Cellos]]'', in 1996, originally used only cellos but has since added drums and bass and sometimes vocals. Starting in 2011, the duo [[2Cellos]] began releasing covers of many rock standards, such as [[AC/DC]]'s "[[Thunderstruck (song)|Thunderstruck]]", and undertaking tours.

==See also==
* [[Symphonic rock]]
* [[Cello#Popular music, jazz, world music and neoclassical|Cello in popular music]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Rock}}

[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:21st-century music genres]]
[[Category:Rock music genres]]
[[Category:British styles of music]]
[[Category:Cellos|Rock]]


{{cello-stub}}
{{rock-music-stub}}