Dream Pop

Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock or indie pop.

Genesis of the concept of genre

Dream Pop was born in the United Kingdom of the mid-to late 80s, when bands like Cocteau Twins, The Chameleons or AR Kane ( in which the term in a review for the first time showed up ) element of the post-punk and ethereal mixed with light pop tunes. The term was used almost exclusively in the United States, although it was also the British Melody Maker magazine (before all the journalist Simon Reynolds and Chris Roberts) often used.

Style

The essence of the dream pop is a focus on ethereal textures and moods rather than driving rock riffs. Breathy, often high female voices or almost whispered male voices usually determine the vocals. Lyrics often introspective and existential motives. CD cover often tend to be very minimalist design and / or soft, pastel or blurred images. The 4AD record label is one of the most talked about labels in the context of dream pop, but also labels such as Creation, Fontana or Slumberland have published this respect, style-defining records.

History and important artist

Influences

Early songs, which have influenced the genre include Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground and # 9 Dream by John Lennon. These songs already contain all the key elements of dream pop, for example, breathy vocals and atmospheric, wide sound. Other artists who are considered as influences, among other things, Cocteau Twins, Sonic Youth, Hüsker Dü, Spacemen 3, The Cure or Galaxie 500 (see their album "On Fire" ).

Start times

In the late 1980s to the early 1990s represented British bands like Seefeel, early Verve, Kitchens of Distinction, The Flaming Lips, The Chameleons, The Dream Academy or No-Man the genre.

Likewise arose about the same time a gitarrenorientiertere dream pop scene in the United States, with bands such as Mazzy Star or Ars Poetica. In Europe, some dream pop bands also mixed folk elements or electric content in their compositions. An important volume of this " Mixstils " is The Legendary Pink Dots.

Further development

In the late 90s and early 2000s, bands like Sigur Rós, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Dubstar, Asobi Seksu, Broken Social Scene, readymade, Halou or Trespassers William were occupied with the genre name. Many were also categorized as Shoegaze, from which the music critics at a new subgenre, Nu gauze revealed; on some of these bands, the term was applied "Ambient Pop ".

Dream Pop is often regarded as " anti -rock " genre, along with other textuelleren genres such as trip hop, Slowcore or post-rock.

2008 Dream Pop experienced an unexpected renaissance, as a relatively successful indie acts like Silversun Pickups, The Hush Sound, Beach House or Lykke Li published plates with typical dream pop elements. Also The xx or the Wild Beasts are expected to this renaissance. Some successful artists have dream pop approximated, such as Goldfrapp. This began with dance, then turned, however, a mix of dream pop and folktronica to.

Influences on other genres

A louder, more aggressive style of dream pop was known as shoegazing. Key bands of the shoegaze were Lush, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine or Catherine Wheel. These bands kept the atmospheric parts of the dream pop, but added the intensity of (again, from the post-punk -influenced ) added bands like The Chameleons or Sonic Youth. So Shoegaze used the textures and moods of dream pop, but rejected the passivity of the genre.