Dark Cabaret
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dark Cabaret | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Cabaret, Burlesque, Vaudeville, Punk, Folk, Post-Punk, Glam Rock, Deathrock, Darkwave |
| Cultural origins: | United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France |
| Typical instruments: | Vocals, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Drums, Accordion, Piano, Keyboards, Cello |
| Mainstream popularity: | Generally a cult following, though in the mid 2000s became more popular. |
| Derivative forms: | Deathrock Cabaret |
| Subgenres | |
| None | |
| Other topics | |
| Dark Cabaret Artists | |
Dark cabaret is a music genre that can be traced back to the 1970s and is still played today. Dark cabaret artists draw influences from German cabaret, burlesque, vaudeville, folk, punk, deathrock, gothic rock and darkwave music styles, as well as Film noir.
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[edit] Characteristics
Dark cabaret is characterised by driving piano and by deep female or male vocals influenced by the style of Kurt Weill, Marlene Dietrich, Alexander Vertinsky, Cole Porter, Danny Elfman, Nina Hagen, PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, Tom Lehrer, Nick Cave, and even Roxy Music/Brian Eno. Alternatively, the music may center around another instrument such as the cello, violin, accordion, trumpet, or even the voice.
[edit] History
[edit] Origins
Nico's 1974 album The End is an example of early dark cabaret, especially in songs such as "You Forgot To Answer" and "Secret Side" . Other contributors to the dark cabaret sound were Klaus Nomi, Marc Almond, The Virgin Prunes, Nina Hagen's punk opera style, and Lydia Lunch, especially her 1980 album, Queen of Siam.
Seattle-based art rock band, Salon Betty, brought a sexy, sardonic twist to the genre in 1994, with their single "Last Cigarette" and their album, The Big Hair Sex Circus, released on iMusic. Salon Betty was one of the first bands to be broadcast live on the Internet in 1995 through iMusic.
Rozz Williams, the former lead singer of Christian Death, took the dark cabaret style in a darker direction in his recording of Dream Home Heartache in 1995 with Gitane Demone, on Triple X Records. This song (which alludes to a Roxy Music), influenced the goth movement. Sex Gang Children songs such as "Christian Circus Joe" and the jazzier "Psychic Sarah" from 1997 infused the cabaret style into a post-punk art goth sound.
The first record usage of the term "Dark Cabaret" was in a description of Rozz's Dream Home Heartache album, in the late 90s in a mail-order catalog from Projekt: Darkwave. Projekt's 2005 compilation CD, A Dark Cabaret, brought together a number of the current bands in the genre, including a track from Rozz's album.
In 2000 Lexicon Magazine in review of Voltaire's "Almost Human" cd used term "goth cabaret".
[edit] Evolving movement
San Francisco-based chanteuse Jill Tracy released Diabolical Streak in 1999 which garnered two California Music Award nominations, as well as the SIBL international Grand Prize for songwriting. LA Weekly called Jill Tracy "a femme fatale for the thinking man." Diabolical Streak was hailed by Canada's Shift Magazine as one of the "Top 10 Neo-Cabaret albums of all time."
San Francisco's Rosin Coven created theatrically-styled cabaret with macabre tunes, a goth atmosphere, and bizarre performances with Jill Tracy and other musicians on Edwardian Ball - show in memory of Edward Gorey.
Nicki Jaine (album "Of Pigeons and Other Curiosities" and single Revue Noir, her collaboration with chief of Projekt label, Sam Rosenthal) and Amoree Lovell (especially demo songs "Dark Town Sally" and "High Maintenance/Low Tolerance") are also examples of the genre. Danny Elfman's dark cabaret influence can be heard in his scores and character voices in the films The Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicago, and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
London cabaret act, the Tiger Lillies, have implemented dark themes and imagery, but do not typically convey a dark sound. Nonetheless, A Gorey End, their 2003 release featuring the Kronos Quartet and posthumous lyrical contributions from Edward Gorey, helped to create of the genre by earning a Grammy nomination.
[edit] Artists
- See also: List of Dark cabaret artists
The term "Dark cabaret" is applied to a wide range of bands who may also fall into genres such as Punk cabaret, Punk opera, Neo-burlesque, Gothic Ragtime, Vaudeville, Apocalyptic folk, Neo-folk, Psych folk and others. The genre crossovers and blending can make it difficult to define the genre of dark-cabaret-influenced bands.
As the modern Deathrock movement has moved further away from its roots into electronic territory, some bands from the Deathrock movement such as the Deadfly Ensemble (Lucas Lanthier of Cinema Strange’s solo-project) have used the cabaret style. In 1999 Cinema Strange appears on "Goth Oddity: A Tribute To David Bowie" with "Time" - track with the cabaret-style piano lines.
Katzenjammer Kabarett who once referred to themselves as "deathrock cabaret", (which Two Ton Boa also belong), are other examples. Recently Katzenjammer have began to refer to themselves as "post-punk cabaret", in recognition of their widely varying influences.
Deathrock band Deadchowsky on album "Decadence Revolution" (2004) used cabaret elements, especially on track "Le Sandwichier Glauque De Montmartre".
Xyra & Verborgen created in 1998 new music genre classificated as "Cabaret Rock Nouveau - Goth Art Rock".
Schizowave formed by Russian-born singer and a classically trained piano player Lena Potapova in early 2004 created own dark sound, inspired by cabaret, jazz and theatre.
In 2006 italian neofolk band Ataraxia records new album "Paris Spleen", strongly inspired by french chanson and cabaret influences with their traditional dark sound.
And in 2006, Italians Spiritual Front crossed bounds of their "suicidal pop" on album "Armageddon Gigolo" to cabaret sound mixed with apocaliptic/dark folk.
Another Italian martial/dark folk band Ianva records in 2005 mini-cd "la ballata dell' ardito" with cabaretish songs and cover version of Jacques Brel's "Amsterdam". In 2006 Ianva releases the full length "Disobbedisco!", with many other cabaretish songs (see "Tango della Menade").
[edit] Current performers
The Dresden Dolls have garnered some mainstream attention, drawing more attention to the genre. In, September 2005, Projekt Records released a compilation called A Dark Cabaret featuring songs such as "Coin-Operated Boy" by The Dresden Dolls, "Evil Night Together" by Jill Tracy and "Flowers" by the late Rozz Williams.
[edit] Partial discography
- Alacartoona: "Songs From The Show" (2005), "Live On The Air: kkfi radio" (2006)
- Ataraxia: "Paris Spleen" (2006)
- A Particularly Vicious Rumor: "APVR" (2005)
- Bad Things, The: "Vaudeville Show" (2006), "The Bad Things" (2004)
- Dante's Voodoo Cabaret: "Queen of Blades" (2001)
- Deadfly Ensemble, The: "An Entire Wardrobe of Doubt and Uncertainty" (2006)
- Demone, Gitane "Facets Of Blue" (1993), "Am I Wrong?" (1998)
- Devics: "My Beautiful Sinking Ship" (2001), "The Stars At Saint Andrea" (2003)
- Dresden Dolls, The: "A is for Accident" (2003), "The Dresden Dolls" (2003), "Yes, Virginia..."(2006)
- Fury, Hannah: "Soul Poison" (1998), "The Things That Feels" (2000), "Meathook" (2001), "Subterfuge" (2006)
- Gamine: "Sabotage" (2003)
- Hellblinki Sextet, The: "The Hellblinki Sextet" (1999), "A Pirate Broadcast" (2004), "Xmas from Hellblinki (Four Years of The Hellblinki Sextet and The 12 Bands of Christmas)" (2006)
- Humanwine: "For Burning Cities Present" (2004), "Kalifornia EP" (2005), "Rivolta Silenziosa EP" (2006)
- Jaine, Nicki : "Of Pigeons and Other Curiosities" (2004), "Nicki Jaine Live" (2006)
- Eastside Sinfonietta: "Don't Be Afraid - Songs by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht & Hanns Eisler" (2003)
- Fader, Clare : "The Elephant's Baby" (2000)
- Fader, Clare & The Vaudevillains: "Seventh & Trade" (2003)
- Ianva: "La ballata dell'ardito" (2005)
- Ianva: "Disobbedisco!" (2006)
- Katzenjammer Kabarett: "Katzenjammer Kabarett" (2006)
- Kaizers Orchestra: "Maestro" (2005)
- Kitten On The Keys: "Kitty Muffins" (2002), "(it's Not A) Pretty Princess Day" (2004)
- Lovell, Amoree: "The Burning Bush" (1999), "Six Sadistic Songs for Children" (2005)
- Lunch, Lydia: "Queen of Siam" (1980)
- Man Man: "Six Demon Bag" (2006)
- Martin Martini and the Bone Palace Orchestra: "Dream Until You Die" (2006)
- Munich Mannequins: "unsigned" (2006)
- Pretty Balanced: "Icicle Bicycle" (2006)
- Pistolita: "Oliver Under The Moon" (2006)
- Spektor, Regina: "11.11" (2001), "Songs" (2002), "Soviet Kitsch" (2004), "Mary Ann Meets The Grave Diggers And Other Short Stories" (2005)
- Revue Noir: "The Revue Noir Single" (2005)
- Rosin Coven: "Penumbra" (1999), "Live In the Pagan Lounge" (2000), "Menagerie" (2004)
- Schizowave: "Schizowave" (2004), "Love" (2005)
- Spiritual Front: "Armageddon Gigolo" (2006)
- Tiger Lillies, The : "Gorey's End" (2003)
- Tracy, Jill: "Quintessentially Unreal" (1995), "Diabolical Streak" (1999)
- Travis, Abby: "The Abby Travis Foundation" (1997), "Cutthroat Standards & Black Pop" (2000)
- Various Artists: "Projekt Presents: A Dark Cabaret" (2005)
- Vermillion Lies: "Separated By Birth" (2006)
- Voltaire: "Almost Human" (2000), "Zombie Prostitute" (2006)
- Williams, Rozz & Gitane Demone: "Dream Home Heartache" (1997)
- Xyra & Verborgen: "Where Glass Birds Fly" (1998), "Frightening Beauty" (2000)
[edit] Record labels
[edit] External links
- Dante's Voodoo Cabaret
- Gamine MySpace
- Dark Cabaret at EOL Auido
- Dark Cabaret at Last.fm
- Natassja Noctis Site at GraveyardCreepDotOrg
- Troy Banarzi's Euphonika
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