Ethereal Wave

Infobox Music genre
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name=Ethereal Wave
stylistic_origins=dark wave, gothic rock, shoegazing, dreampop, ambient
cultural_origins=Late 1980s United States / Europe
instruments=guitar, guitar synthesizer, bass, drum machine, violin, flute, piano
popularity=Small
derivatives=
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Ethereal Wave, also called "Ethereal Darkwave" [ [http://www.waningmoon.com/gothica/articles/6660017.shtml Encyclopedia Gothica] ] or "Etheric Wave" [Music genre classification of the bands Trance to the Sun, This Ascension and Soul Whirling Somewhere · Glasnost Wave Magazine · Issue No. 42 · Pages 32/34 · Germany · April 1994] in Europe and simply "Ethereal" in the US, is a term that describes a subgenre of Dark Wave music. Typical of this kind of music is the use of atmospheric guitar soundscapes, including sound effects like "echo" and "delay". A second typical characteristic is the use of breathy male or high register female vocals - often with hard to decipher lyrical content - and a strong influence of ambient music.

The American music group Siddal described the music as follows: "A product of influences such as the Cocteau Twins, Low, Slowdive, The Cure, and Dead Can Dance, use a blend of ambient music, shoegazer style guitars, synths and sequenced rhythms." [Description from the official homepage of Siddal]

There are overlaps between "Ethereal Wave", Shoegazing and Dreampop, with many artists being heavily influenced by 4AD bands, Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, and This Mortal Coil, as well as early All About Eve and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The style is strongly associated with the Projekt label, which features some of the most well known names of the US scene. Other labels that feature some of the leading lights of the movement are Tess Records (This Ascension), Yvy Records (Faith & Disease) and Middle Pillar (Aenima).

Notable Artists

* Aenima
* Autumn's Grey Solace
* Black Tape for a Blue Girl
* Cocteau Twins
* Deleyaman
* The Dreamside
* Faith & Disease
* Love Spirals Downwards
* Lycia
* Mors Syphilitica
* Siddal
* Soul Whirling Somewhere
* This Ascension
* Trance to the Sun

References