Electronic Body Music Guide: A Brief History of EBM

Electronic body music, or EBM, is a type of electronic dance music that combines steady 4/4 drum machine beats, propulsive and repetitive basslines, and shouted commando-style vocals. The genre came of age in Belgium and Germany in the early 1980s.

EBM music derives from the German electronic tradition of Kraftwerk, while also bringing post-punk, synthpunk, and new wave energy to the dance floor. It helped kick off a multi-year embrace of danceable industrial music in the nightclubs of western Europe.

Electronic body music served as a 1980s link in the multi-decade evolution of industrial music.

• Punk and industrial origins: EBM began in cities like Berlin, Germany, and Aarschot, Belgium. Its leading artists grew up listening to European electronic music like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. They were also inspired by hard-edged punk and industrial acts like DAF, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Die Krupps, Liaisons Dangereuses, and Killing Joke. Even synthpop acts provided inspiration with their innovative use of synthesizers.
• Embrace of synths and drum machines: Electronic body music began to stand out as its own genre when German groups like DAF and Die Krupps started using modern synthesizers and drum machines—including the Roland SH-101, the Korg MS-20, the E-mu Emulator II, and the ARP Odyssey. Belgian groups like Front 242 and British groups like Nitzer Ebb embraced similar technology to define their sound.
• Adoption of the term “electronic body music”: Kraftwerk's own Ralf Hütter coined the phrase "electronic body music" in 1977, but it wasn't until the 1980s that the term was used to describe the musical genre. DAF specifically began calling their music “körpermusik,” which translates to "body music."
• Darkwave and militarism: As EBM expanded, it took on darker themes with militaristic soundscapes. KMFDM, Leæther Strip, Front 242, and Skinny Puppy all embraced this aesthetic to varying degrees, producing a style that some critics called "dark electro" and "aggrotech."
• New beat: Belgian groups like the Klinik, the Neon Judgement, and A Split-Second took on elements of hip-hop and acid house as the decade progressed. This created a subgenre called new beat.
• Expansion to new countries: The first EBM bands were German (like And One), Belgian, and English (like Portion Control), but soon other countries embraced the genre. Canada produced Front Line Assembly, which put out albums on the Swedish Energy Rekords, while the US produced acts like Ministry, which was based on Chicago's legendary electronic label Wax Trax! Other acts hailed from Sweden (Pouppée Fabrikk) and Japan (DRP).
• Transition into industrial rock music: By the early ’90s, some EBM artists integrated hard rock into their sound and found a degree of mainstream success. The highest-charting artist with roots in old-school EBM was Nine Inch Nails. To a lesser degree, groups like Ministry, Bigod 20, and KMFDM also found slivers of mainstream success.

Electronic body music built its name on several key characteristics.

1. 1. Throbbing dance music: The core sound of EBM is thumping 4/4 drum machine grooves with heavy, looped basslines.
2. 2. Shouts and sound effects: Electronic body music often simulates the ambiance of a factory assembly line. It does this by adding shouted commands and industrial noises to the musical landscape.
3. 3. A blend of militarism and goth: The aesthetics of EBM often involved military regalia with tinges of sadomasochism, as seen in the on-stage look of Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF) and Front 242. Yet EBM bands were equally likely to dabble in moody goth imagery—particularly groups like Borghesia, Skinny Puppy, and Placebo Effect.
4. 4. Dark lyrics: EBM and its various offshoots like dark electro and aggrotech feature dark lyrics and themes from the occult. The groups' militarism has its own undertones of violence and oppression, which lends to the overall dark mood.

Electronic body music produced many notable electronic dance artists.

1. 1. Front 242: One of the most prominent of Belgium's many EBM bands, Front 242 was committed to electronic instruments from the start. They are also known for aggressive stage performances featuring flashing lights and barked, militaristic lyrics.
2. 2. DAF: Germany's DAF (the abbreviated name of Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) came early to the EBM movement and influenced many other bands within the genre. Singer Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López frequently pushed boundaries with his lyrics, and drummer/programmer Robert Görl pioneered the blending of acoustic and electronic percussion.
3. 3. Ministry: Ministry was a Chicago-based group that led EBM up to the edge of heavy metal. Bandleader Al Jourgensen intentionally conjured up unsettling lyrics and confrontational stage performances and was rewarded with unflagging devotion from fans.
4. 4. Nitzer Ebb: Led by Douglas McCarthy, the British group Nitzer Ebb drew aesthetic inspiration from mid-twentieth-century totalitarianism for a style of music Nitzer Ebb's manager called "iconoclastic minimalism."
5. 5. Spetsnaz: A twenty-first-century group heavily inspired by old-school EBM acts like DAF, Die Krupps, and Nitzer Ebb, Spetsnaz is Swedish but takes its name from the Russian phrase for "special forces."

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