View source for Electroclash

{{short description|Music genre}}
{{distinguish|Electronic rock#Synth-punk{{!}}Electropunk|Electronicore|New wave of new wave}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Electroclash
| other_names       = * Synthcore
* retro-electro
* tech-pop
* nouveau-disco
* new new wave
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Electro (music)|Electro]]|[[synth-pop]]<ref name="ishkur">{{Cite web |author=Ishkur |date=2019 |title=Ishkur's Guide: Electroclash |url=https://music.ishkur.com/?query=Electroclash |access-date=November 16, 2023 |website=[[Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music]]}}</ref>|[[New wave music|new wave]]<ref name="dancecult">{{Cite journal
| author = David Madden
| url = https://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/dancecult/article/view/342
| title = Crossdressing to Backbeats: The Status of the Electroclash Producer and the Politics of Electronic Music
| journal = Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture
| date = 2012
| pages = 27–47
| access-date = January 3, 2015
| quote = Electroclash combines the extended pulsing sections of techno, house and other dance musics with the trashier energy of rock and new wave.
}}</ref>|[[post-punk]]|[[House music|house]]<ref name="dancecult"/>|[[techno]]<ref name="spectator_clash"/>|[[electropop]]|[[alternative dance]]|[[Italo disco]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Late 1990s,<ref name="ishkur"/> [[Netherlands]], [[France]], [[Austria]], [[Germany]] ([[Munich]]<ref name="mjunikdisco">{{cite book |last1=Hecktor |first1=Mirko |last2=von Uslar |first2=Moritz |last3=Smith |first3=Patti |last4=Neumeister |first4=Andreas |date=1 November 2008 |title=Mjunik Disco – from 1949 to now|isbn=978-3936738476|page=8|publisher=Blumenbar |language=de}}</ref>) and [[United States]] ([[Detroit]] and [[New York City|New York]]<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Reynolds
| first = Simon
| title = Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture
| year = 2013
| publisher = Soft Skull Press
| quote = Go to Berliniamsburg, the Brooklyn club at the epicentre of New York's eighties-inspired 'electroclash' scene, and you feel a peculiar sensation: it's not exactly like time travel, more like you've stepped into a parallel universe, an alternative history scenario where rave never happened.
}}</ref>)
| derivatives       = {{hlist|[[Electro house]]|[[tech house]]|[[bloghouse]]}}
| subgenrelist      = 
| subgenres         = 
| fusiongenres      = 
| other_topics      = {{hlist|[[New rave]]|[[big beat]]|[[Madchester]]|[[electropunk]]||[[Romo]]}}
}}
[[File:Fischerspooner NYC 2005.jpg|thumb|[[Fischerspooner]], an American electroclash act]]
'''Electroclash''' (also known as '''synthcore''', '''retro-electro''', '''tech-pop''', '''nouveau disco''', and the '''new new wave'''<ref name="spectator_clash">{{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Carpenter |date=July 28, 2002 |title=New Songs, Old Beats |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jul-28-ca-carpenter28-story.html |access-date=June 9, 2022}}</ref>) is a [[Music genre|genre]] of [[popular music]] that fuses 1980s [[Electro (music)|electro]], [[New wave music|new wave]] and [[synth-pop]] with 1990s [[techno]], retro-style [[electropop]] and [[electronic dance music]].<ref name=Lynskey2002/><ref name="MusicReview">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,448998,00.html|title=The Electroclash Mix by Larry Tee|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=18 April 2015|archive-date=30 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930181935/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,448998,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Yahoo">{{cite web | first=Andy | last=Kellman | url=http://music.yahoo.com/ar-300621-bio--Larry-Tee | title=Larry Tee Biography on Yahoo! Music | publisher=Yahoo! Music | access-date=2016-08-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318002327/http://music.yahoo.com/ar-300621-bio--Larry-Tee | archive-date=18 March 2007 | url-status=dead }}</ref> It emerged in the late 1990s and was pioneered by and associated with acts such as [[I-F]], [[DJ Hell]], [[Miss Kittin]] and [[The Hacker]], and [[Fischerspooner]].<ref name="stylusmagazine">{{cite web |last=Juzwiak |first=Richard Moroder |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/electroclash-in-limousines-we-have-sexin-nyc-we-have-clash.htm| title =Electroclash: In Limousines We Have Sex/In NYC We Have Clash - Article | work= [[Stylus Magazine]] | date=30 September 2002 |access-date=11 August 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101202035511/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/electroclash-in-limousines-we-have-sexin-nyc-we-have-clash.htm| archive-date= 2 December 2010 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="velle">{{cite web|url=http://www.velle.us/features/couture-soundtracks/|title=Velle - Couture Soundtracks - Winter 2010|last=Gagne|first=Justin|work=Velle|access-date=11 August 2016 |year=2011}}</ref>

==Terminology and characteristics==
The term electroclash describes a musical movement that combined [[synthpop]], [[techno]], [[punk rock|punk]] and [[performance art]]. The genre was in reaction to the rigid formulations of techno music, putting an emphasis on song writing, showmanship and a sense of humour,<ref name=Lynskey2002/> and was described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as one of "the two most significant upheavals in recent dance music history".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/theguide/music/story/0,,2281522,00.html "The female techno takeover"], ''The Guardian'', May 24, 2008</ref> The visual aesthetic of electroclash has been associated with the 1982 [[cult film]] ''[[Liquid Sky]]''.<ref>[http://www.phinnweb.org/313ctr0/electroclash/index3.html "The Great Electroclash Swindle"]. Retrieved August 10, 2008.</ref> [[DJ Hell]] is widely credited as inventor and name giver of the genre,<ref name="PureFM">{{cite web| url = http://www.pure-fm.de/dj-hell-rhabarbersaft-schorle-und-champus/| title = The gentleman of electronic music| publisher = Pure FM| date = 11 June 2014| access-date = 11 August 2016| language = de| archive-date = 1 January 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150101012852/http://www.pure-fm.de/dj-hell-rhabarbersaft-schorle-und-champus/| url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="FAZEmag">{{cite web| url = http://www.fazemag.de/dj-hell-electronic-music-megastar/ | title = DJ Hell – Electronic Music Megastar| date = 6 April 2012| publisher = FAZEmag| access-date=26 August 2016|language=de}}</ref><ref name=arte_documentary>{{cite AV media | people=Pailhe, Dimitri (Director), Marx, Jean-Claude, Alary, Romain, Sève, Thibault | date=2014 | title=Bienvenue au club : 25 ans de musiques électroniques | trans-title=Welcome to the club! 25 years of electronic dance music | medium=Motion picture | language=fr | location=France | publisher=[[Arte|Arte France]], Bellota Films | url=https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/074985-000-A/bienvenue-au-club/}}</ref> while DJ and promoter [[Larry Tee]] later popularized the term in the US by naming the Electroclash 2001 Festival in New York<ref name="FREEwilliamsburg"/> after it.<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |last=Paoletta |first=Michael |date=27 July 2002 |title=Nü-Electro Sound Emerges |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | issue=114| volume=30 | pages=66–68 | issn=0006-2510 |location= New York| publisher=Nielsen Business Media Inc. }}</ref><ref name="Yahoo"/>

==History==
===Role of International Deejay Gigolos===
Electroclash emerged in the late 1990s. The [[Munich]]-based label [[International DeeJay Gigolo Records]], founded by [[DJ Hell]], is considered the "germ cell" and "THE home" of the electroclash sound.<ref>'''Sources''':
*{{cite news| url = http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/dj-hell-vokuhila-koks-und-schampus-a-274462.html |title=DJ Hell: Vokuhila, Koks und Schampus |trans-title=DJ Hell: Mullet, coke and champers |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |author=Ulf Lippitz|  date=18 November 2003|language=de}}
*{{cite news| url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/mar/02/djhell-electroclash-helmut-geier |title = DJ Hell creates dance music heaven at last |newspaper =[[The Guardian]] |author=Tony Naylor |date=2 March 2009}}
*{{cite magazine| url=http://www.factmag.com/2014/03/07/save-the-planet-kill-yourself-remembering-electroclash/2/ |title=Save the Planet, Kill Yourself: remembering Electroclash |magazine=[[Fact (UK magazine)|FACT Magazine]] |author=Joe Muggs| date=7 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="dallach">{{cite news |url=https://magazin.spiegel.de/EpubDelivery/spiegel/pdf/26767194 |title=Aufgewärmte Kälte – Das Revival findet doch statt: Ladytron macht aus Klängen der Achtziger Electroclash |trans-title=Warmed up cold – The revival takes place after all: Ladytron turn the sounds of the eighties into electroclash |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |author=Von Kraehahn and Christoph Dallach |date=31 March 2003|language=de}}</ref><ref name="baines">{{cite magazine| url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-bullshitters-guide-to-electroclash/| title = A Bullshitter's Guide to Electroclash| magazine = [[Vice (magazine)|VICE]] | author = Josh Baines| date =10 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="skiddle">{{cite web| url =http://www.skiddle.com/news/all/DJ-Hell-Interview-Power-and-innovation/26712/| title = Dj Hell Interview: Power and Innovation| publisher = [[Skiddle]]| date=20 October 2015| access-date=26 August 2016}}</ref> Gigolo featured many of the early electroclash songs, such as for example Christopher Just's ''I'm a Disco Dancer'' from 1997 or [[Chris Korda]]'s ''Save the Planet, Kill Yourself'', which originally even had been released as early as 1993.<ref name="Joe Muggs">{{cite magazine| url =http://www.factmag.com/2014/03/07/save-the-planet-kill-yourself-remembering-electroclash/2/| title = Save the Planet, Kill Yourself: remembering Electroclash| magazine = [[Fact (UK magazine)|FACT Magazine]] | author = Joe Muggs| date =7 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/de/Chris-Korda-Save-The-Planet-Kill-Yourself/release/189345|title=Chris Korda – Save The Planet, Kill Yourself|work = [[Discogs]]|date=1993 |publisher=Zinc Media, Inc|access-date=20 August 2016}}</ref> Then in 1998, Gigolo released the songs "[[1982 (Miss Kittin & The Hacker song)|1982]]" and "[[Frank Sinatra (Miss Kittin & The Hacker song)|Frank Sinatra]]" by French recording duo [[Miss Kittin]] & [[The Hacker]], which were among the most successful early hits of the new genre.<ref name="velle"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Miss-Kittin-And-The-Hacker-Champagne-EP/master/38663|title=Miss Kittin And The Hacker* - Champagne! E.P.|work = [[Discogs]]|date=1998 |publisher=Zinc Media, Inc|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="stylusmagazine"/> This was followed by the hit "[[Emerge (song)|Emerge]]" by New York duo [[Fischerspooner]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Fischerspooner-Emerge/release/8348 |title=Fischerspooner – Emerge |work = [[Discogs]]|date=30 July 2001 |publisher=Zinc Media, Inc|access-date=29 December 2020}}</ref> as well as the remake of [[Corey Hart (singer)|Corey Hart]]'s "[[Sunglasses at Night]]" by Canadian duo [[Tiga (musician)|Tiga]] & [[Jori Hulkkonen|Zyntherius]], both released on Gigolo in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Tiga-Zyntherius-Sunglasses-EP/release/18500 |title=Tiga & Zyntherius – Sunglasses EP |work = [[Discogs]]|date=4 September 2001 |publisher=Zinc Media, Inc|access-date=29 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="kleinfeld">{{cite magazine |last=Kleinfeld |first=Justin |date=3 February 2003 |title=Artist Spotlight:Tiga |magazine=[[CMJ|CMJ New Music Report]] | issue=799| volume=74 | pages=20 | issn=0890-0795 |location= New York| publisher=The CMJ Network Inc. }}</ref> DJ Hell brought the artists of the new genre together on the label and acted primarily as their mentor.<ref name="kleinfeld"/> But also Hell's own releases like the album ''Munich Machine'' from 1998 are seen as groundbreaking for the genre Electroclash.<ref name="theguardian_20090302">{{cite news |url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/mar/02/djhell-electroclash-helmut-geier |title=DJ Hell creates dance music heaven at last |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |author=Tony Naylor |date=2 March 2009 |access-date=29 December 2020}}</ref> In the widely recognized film documentary ''Welcome to the club! 25 years of electronic dance music'' by European television network [[Arte]], Miss Kittin describes the origination of the first songs of the new style together with DJ Hell and declares him the inventor of the Electroclash genre.<ref name=arte_documentary/> Since DJ Hell gathered the international artists of the new genre at Gigolo in Munich and many of them gave their first performances in the city's nightclubs, Munich is considered the city in which electroclash "was significantly co-invented, if not invented".<ref name="mjunikdisco"/><ref name="dallach"/> Soon the new style of music also spread to other cities such as Berlin, London and New York.<ref name="hartmann">{{cite news |url=http://www.taz.de/1/archiv/?dig=2003/01/17/a0265 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225023741/https://taz.de/!822729/ |archive-date=25 February 2020 |title=The Great Gigolo Swindle |newspaper = [[Die Tageszeitung]] |author = Andreas Hartmann | date =17 January 2003 |access-date=24 August 2016|language=de}}</ref>

===Other early artists===
Also [[I-F]]'s track "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass", released in 1998 on Disko B, with its "old-fashioned verse-chorus dynamics to burbling [[Electro (music)|electro]] in a vocodered homage to [[Atari Games|Atari]]-era hi-jinks" is considered one of the pioneering tracks of the electroclash genre.<ref name="Lynskey2002">{{Cite journal |last=D. Lynskey |title=Out with the old, in with the older |journal=Guardian.co.uk |date=22 March 2002 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/mar/22/shopping.artsfeatures2?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015225802/http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2002/mar/22/shopping.artsfeatures2 |archive-date=15 October 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/I-f-Fucking-Consumer/release/13567 |title=I-f – Fucking Consumer |work= [[Discogs]]|date=28 March 1998 |publisher=Zinc Media, Inc|access-date=29 December 2020}}</ref> Further early artists include [[Chicks on Speed]], [[Peaches (musician)|Peaches]], [[Electrosexual]] [[Adult (band)|ADULT.]] and Toktok vs. Soffy O with their year 2000 hit ''Missy Queen's Gonna Die''.<ref name="hartmann"/><ref name="baines"/><ref name="eismann">{{cite web| url = http://www.intro.de/popmusik/toktok-vs-soffy-o-1| title = The moment after: Toktok vs. Soffy O.| publisher = Intro Magazine| author = Sonja Eismann| date = 27 September 2002| access-date = 24 August 2016| language = de| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160827161054/http://www.intro.de/popmusik/toktok-vs-soffy-o-1 | archive-date = 27 August 2016| url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=J. Walker |title=Popmatters concert review: ELECTROCLASH 2002 Artists: Peaches, Chicks on Speed, W.I.T., and Tracy and the Plastics |journal=The Boston Globe |date=5 October 2002 |url=http://www.popmatters.com/music/concerts/e/electroclash-2002.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513134503/http://www.popmatters.com/music/concerts/e/electroclash-2002.shtml |archive-date=13 May 2011|url-status=dead }}.</ref>

During their early years, [[Ladytron]] were sometimes labeled as electroclash, but others stated that they were not entirely electroclash<ref name="stylusmagazine"/> and they also rejected this tag themselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nettskinny.com/release/20110214/329-ladytron-best-00-10|title=3/29 - Ladytron - 'Best Of: 00 - 10'|work=nettskinny.com|access-date=18 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224110841/http://nettskinny.com/release/20110214/329-ladytron-best-00-10|archive-date=24 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="dallach"/> [[Goldfrapp]]'s albums ''[[Black Cherry (Goldfrapp album)|Black Cherry]]'' (2003) and ''[[Supernature (Goldfrapp album)|Supernature]]'' (2005) incorporated electroclash influences.<ref>{{cite web |last=Phares |first=Heather |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=black-cherry-r629424/review|pure_url=yes}} |title=Black Cherry – Goldfrapp |publisher=[[AllMusic]]. [[Rovi Corporation]] |access-date=11 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Oculicz |first=Edward |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/goldfrapp/supernature.htm |title=Goldfrapp – Supernature |magazine=[[Stylus Magazine]] |date=23 August 2005 |access-date=11 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205056/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/goldfrapp/supernature.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>

==Electroclash revival==
===Electroclash in the U.S.===
In the U.S., the genre gained media attention when the Electroclash Festival was held in New York in October 2001, aiming to "make a local breakthrough with this scene, presenting a select group of superstar and pioneer artists from Europe and the U.S."<ref name="FREEwilliamsburg">{{cite web |url=http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/october_2001/electro.html |title=Electroclash 2001 Festival: Bringing Innovative Music to NYC |publisher=FREEwilliamsburg, Issue 19, 2001 |date=October 2001 |access-date=26 August 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="stylusmagazine"/> The Electroclash Festival returned in 2002, followed by live tours across the US and Europe in 2003 and 2004. Notable artists who performed at the festival and subsequent tours include [[Scissor Sisters]], ADULT., [[Erol Alkan]], [[Princess Superstar]], [[Mignon (musician)|Mignon]], [[Mount Sims]], Tiga and [[Spalding Rockwell]].

===Global resurgence===
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2025}}
Around 2022, electroclash experienced a resurgence led by several prominent artists. [[DJ Hell]] launched a new electroclash tour, while Konerytmi presented a distinctive electroclash 2022 live act in a steampunk-themed environment. Norbert Thunder contributed to the revival with his "Fembot Actress EP" in 2022, which included the festival hit track "Groove, Style, Lights, Euphoria." Marketed as an effort to reintroduce the electroclash sound to contemporary audiences, the EP gained notable attention. Several record labels also began releasing electroclash vinyl records and EPs, including the Spanish label Veintidós Rec. and the Italian label Rapid Eye Movement Records.

== Criticism ==
The electroclash label and the hype around it were fiercely criticized by some of its acclaimed protagonists in the early 2000s. For example, [[I-F]] and other artists signed an "Anti-Electroclash-Manifest", where they complained about the sellout of the style by those who would "rule the media waves" and only "sell the old freshly packaged".<ref name="hartmann"/><ref name="eismann"/> In 2002, Toktok vs. Soffy O. stated that when they were first asked about electroclash they just thought: "This is nothing else than what we've known for at least five years and what is now reaching the recycling peak for the third or fourth time".<ref name="eismann"/>

==See also==
* [[List of electroclash bands and artists]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://www.factmag.com/2014/03/07/save-the-planet-kill-yourself-remembering-electroclash/ Profile of Electroclash movement in FACT Magazine]
* [http://www.phinnweb.org/313ctr0/electroclash/index3.html Satirical guide on how to become an Electroclash star]

{{synth pop-footer}}
{{Electronic rock}}
{{Electronica}}

[[Category:Electroclash| ]]
[[Category:Synth-pop]]
[[Category:Electronic dance music genres]]