Dark wave

Dark wave or darkwave is a music genre that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of new wave and post-punk. Building on those basic principles, dark wave added dark, introspective lyrics and an undertone of sorrow for some bands. In the 1980s, a subculture developed primarily in Europe alongside dark wave music, whose members were called "wavers" or "dark wavers". In some countries such as Germany, these terms also included fans of gothic rock (so-called "trad-goths").

History

1980s

The term was coined in Europe in the 1980s to describe a dark and melancholy variant of new wave and post-punk music, such as gothic rock and synthwave (i.e. electronic new wave music), and was first applied to musicians such as Bauhaus,Joy Division,The Sisters of Mercy, Cocteau Twins, The Cure,Siouxsie and the Banshees,The Chameleons,Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, and Anne Clark.