Minimal Wave
tagStarted 1978Peak 1980-1984Last big hit 1985
Located in 4 routes
Stripped-down, lo-fi synth music made on cheap home gear: a few primitive analog synthesizers, a drum machine, deadpan or alienated vocals, and stark repetition with little overdubbing. Cold, hypnotic and skeletal, sitting where synth-punk, post-punk and early synth-pop overlap. Raw, hissy, hermetic and machine-bleak.
History
An underground that lacked a name until Veronica Vasicka's Minimal Wave label coined it in the mid-2000s via reissues. Daniel Miller's 1978 single as the Normal set the synth-punk template; small private-press acts across Europe and the US (Oppenheimer Analysis, Solid Space, Das Kabinette) recorded in bedrooms. Largely forgotten, it was revived by collectors decades on.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimal_wave
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Normal
- https://dangerousminds.net/comments/minimal_wave_the_80s_synthpop_underground2/