Coldwave: The never existed movement
There is a country in Western Europe called France. And in the late 70’s in this country (like in many other European capitalistic countries) new wave began to exist.
‘The elder brother’ (which was born in Britain) had a bit other backgrounds. That’s the reason why British public didn’t have much interest to the French modification of new wave (Nouvelle Vague). Also it would be important to notice that in comparison with the British line, French new wave was rather chaotic movement. During the whole period this article is about, the movement didn’t manage to become unified. Often, bands which were formed ‘on the wave’, didn’t suspect about the existence of many their colleagues. But, however, after the end of this period, researchers and just fans of the movement have become able to see absolutely unique phenomenon, which seemed like the unified movement. And this phenomenon needed a name. So the term coldwave (or cold wave) seemed very apropos. This term wonderfully characterized the minimal and neutrally ‘cold’ sound of this musical phenomenon.
Such bands as Metal Urbain, Taxi Girl и Marquis De Sade can be called the pioneers of the French new wave movement (and the forerunners of coldwave as well). However, new French musicians went out the borderlines of this music. And even in 1980-1981 the term punk gothique (UK Decay preferred to characterize their style so), positive punk (Southern Death Cult), came to France. Soon there were formed such bands as Charles De Goal, Les Provisoires, Norma Loy, Mathematiques Modernes, Elli & Jacno and others. Listed bands can be referred to the first coldwave bands.
These bands began actively use keyboards in their music and do it in minor and depressive way. In difference to Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Cure and Bauhaus, French musicians didn’t avoid electronics. And if, for example, British musicians didn’t manage to develop their experiments of this kind, and returned to the guitar sound, French ones like Guerre Froide or Clair Obscur added electronics to their work, which saved post-punk sound as well. And new synth-pop bands (Trisomie 21, Visible) brought their contribution to what now is called gothic electro.
Then there was the braking point in 1982-1983 which was caused by the appearance on the coldwave screne such bands as Opera De Nuit, Gestalt, Ausweis, Epitaphe, L’Enfance Eternelle, Pavillon 7B, Odessa, Leitmotiv, End Of Data, Baroque Bordello, Tanit and, of course, one of the most important bands on this scene, – Complot Bronswick. These bands had the obscure sound like so-called ‘occult guitar’ (Odessa, Tanit), or related to deathrock sound of Christian Death and Burning Image (Ausweis, Leitmotiv, End of Data).
There should also be mentioned the development of minimal synth and industrial, closely connected with coldwave. (Pavillon 7B is the best example here, other representatives are – KaS Product, Reseau d’Ombres, Opera Multi Steel, Norma Loy, The Grief, Etant Donnes, Achwgha Ney Wodei, The (Hypothetical) Prophets, Bernard Szajner, DZ Lectric).
Also there should be noticed rather unusual band Trop Tard, which mixed post-punk with ‘dense’, around-drone elements.
The situation had changed in the second half of the 80s, and coldwave obtained other appearance (foremost it was connected with forming of Little Nemo and Asylum Party on the one part and Neva and Exces Nocturne on the other part). The first type of bands began searching for the commercial success, because musicians got bored being ‘idols of garages and basements’. So it caused the appearance of the coldwave branch, called Touching Pop (the representatives are – Little Nemo, Asylum Party, Neutral Project, Mary Goes Round, Babel 17, Club De Rome). These bands were influenced by ‘new romantics’ of the beg-mid of the 80s. For that period it was more actual than obscure avant-garde of ‘early goth stuff’.
The second type, on the contrary, became more radical in the expression of their music and image. Here could be mentioned ‘Neva’ with their fiercest deathrock image.
Also there should be noticed the appearance of neoclassical elements in French coldwave in 1987-88. Of course, the fashion (if it’s possible to say so about neoclassical music) had been run by Dead Can Dance, but the French band Collection d’Arnell~Andrea seems to me more interesting. They managed to mix coldwave and neoclassical in good proportions, so they can be called the innovators too.
In the beginning of 90’s the wave had lost its musical actuality and attraction. This was the end of the important and very interesting space of time. As it’s mentioned before, nobody gave separated characteristics for this style of music at that time. It means there is some kind of paradox, classical coldwave bands, per se, didn’t really know that they were creating the music of that style. The development of the internet made possible the creation of some kind of general view which permitted to researchers to consider by-turn coldwave to the unified movement. If trace the history of the term further, it’s possible to state that it acquired sufficient popularity. In the beginning of the XXI new bands started to appear, which described their sound as coldwave, Paris band No Tears seems the most remarkable of them. And at the same time new labels, as Infrastition (http://www.infrastition.com/) and Brouillard Definitif (http://brouillard-definitif.fr/), specialized on a Guerre Froide, L’Enfance Eternelle, Сlair Obscur and others albums’ reissue, began to appear.
Well, can we really say that the age of coldwave is over? Of course that atmosphere of the spontaneous creation never will be repeated. But it’s impossible not to recognize the interest that appears at the present for this movement which, per se, didn’t really exist at any time before. And at the same time the most part of bands which were at the source of genre, like Clair Obscur or Complot, for now get out faraway of the style’s borders. In terms of this, though the end of this entire age looks undoubted, this age’s overwhelming impact on the actual post-punk/new wave scene is undoubted too.
Rommel
‘Grave Gibes Fanzine’
