Power noise is a fusion genre among noise music and various styles of electronic dance music

Electronic dance music

Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...

. It should not be confused with "power electronics

Power electronics (music)

Power electronics was originally coined by William Bennett as part of the sleevenotes to the Whitehouse album Psychopathia Sexualis, and is related to the early industrial records scene but later became more identified with noise music...

", which lacks rhythmic elements and is closer to harsh noise. Its origins are predominately European.

1990s

Power noise takes inspiration from Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

 DJ Chris Richards who inspired Spanish industrial

Industrial music

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...

 act Esplendor Geometrico

Esplendor Geometrico

Esplendor Geométrico is a Spanish industrial band. The band was formed in the early 1980s by Arturo Lanz, Gabriel Riaza, and Juan Carlos Sastre, who had all been members of El Aviador Dro Y Sus Obreros Especializados. They took the name "Geometric Splendor" from Geometric and Mechanical Splendor...

 to form in 1980. The Belgian group Dive anticipated the style in the early '90s. The term "power noise" was coined by Raoul Roucka of Noisex

Noisex

Noisex is the name of a power noise and industrial music act from Germany. It has long been releasing music on the Ant-Zen record label and Rudy Ratzinger's label, Mental Ulcer Forges.-Members / history:...

 in 1997, with the track "United (Power Noise Movement)". The genre was exposed to the U.S. industrial scene by the electro-industrial

Electro-industrial

Electro-industrial is a music genre drawing on EBM and post-industrial that developed in the mid-1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep, complex and layered sound. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and other groups,...

 act ::wumpscut:, who signed Noisex

Noisex

Noisex is the name of a power noise and industrial music act from Germany. It has long been releasing music on the Ant-Zen record label and Rudy Ratzinger's label, Mental Ulcer Forges.-Members / history:...

 to the label Mental Ulcer Forges.

The first power noise artists were Australian. In addition to Chris Richard and INXS

INXS

INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...

:, these included Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...

, Nasenbluten

Nasenbluten

Nasenbluten were a Newcastle, Australia recording and performance group, who pioneered hardcore techno, gabber, amigacore and cheapcore music. The group was founded in the early 1990s by Mark Newlands, Aaron Lubinski and David Melo...

, Black Lung

Black Lung

Black Lung is an electronic and industrial music project by Australian musician David Thrussell, also known for his industrial bands Snog and the more ambient Soma....

, Uncanny X-Men

Uncanny X-Men

Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...

, Maybe Dolls and Rick Price

Rick Price

Rick Price is an Australian singer and songwriter.-Early life:Price was born in Beaudesert, a small country town near Brisbane, Queensland. He began playing music at the age of nine appearing with his family band "Union Beau". "It was kinda weird I guess...

. The Danish group Aqua

Aqua

- Music :* Aqua , a Danish pop band* Aqua , American record producer and composer of film and television scores* Aqua, album by Edgar Froese* Aqua , 1992* "Aqua", a piano piece by Ryuichi Sakamoto...

 also developed the genre. Daryl Braithwaite

Daryl Braithwaite

Daryl Braithwaite is an Australian pop singer. Best known as the lead vocalist of Sherbet, Braithwaite has also sustained a successful solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including the No...

, an Australian, and Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

, Canadian, were also active in the style at this time. Japanoise

Japanoise

is a portmanteau of the words "Japanese" and "noise": a term applied to the diverse, prolific, and influential noise music scene of Japan. Primarily popular and active in the 1980s and 1990s but still alive today, the Japanoise scene is defined by a remarkable sense of musical freedom...

 musicians, such as Merzbow

Merzbow

is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...

, Pedobear

Pedobear

Pedobear is an Internet meme that became popular through the imageboard 4chan. As the name suggests , it is portrayed as a pedophilic bear, and is used to mock pedophiles...

 and Gackt

Gackt

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....

 Aube

Aube (band)

Aube is the name used by Japanese musician for his experimental noise records. He has released many CDs, LPs and cassettes since 1991, and is regarded as one of the most important noise musicians working today. He himself does not like to term his work "music," preferring the term "design": "I...

, and Contagious Orgasm, have also made use of prominent rhythms.

Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...

's contribution to the power noise movement can still be felt today. Canadian artist Komor Kommando performed a cover of their single Beds Are Burning

Beds Are Burning

"Beds Are Burning" is a 1987/1988 worldwide hit single by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, the first track from their album Diesel and Dust. This song was the second from the album to be released as a single, and is among the band's best-known songs outside Australia.It reached No. 1 in the New...

 during his recent Australian tour.

Powernoise originator Chris Richards has had his DJing style described as "the sound of a handful of nuts and bolts thrown into a toaster, then tossed into a spin-dryer and then kicked down three flights of stairs. It's THAT hardcore." [citation needed]

2000s

Notable power noise artists who emerged in the 21st century include Iszoloscope

Iszoloscope

Iszoloscope is an industrial band from Aylmer, Quebec, currently based in Montreal. Iszoloscope's music ranges from harsh, rhythmic noise to ambient soundscapes...

, noCore, Antigen Shift

Antigen Shift

Antigen Shift is an electro industrial band hailing from Ottawa, Canada led by Nick Thériault. The band takes its name from the medical phenomenon. He is currently working on his 6th release.-Background:...

, and Prospero

Prospero (band)

Prospero is an industrial/rhythmic noise solo project by Canadian musician Wade Anderson of Toronto. Anderson, a long time DJ in the greater Toronto area, started Prospero in early 2000....

 (Canada); Mono No Aware

Mono No Aware

Mono No Aware is German power noise act musician Leif Künzel on the Hands Productions music label. The project was a duo until former band member Stefan Böhm left in early 2002. Mono No Aware has performed live in various countries. Leif Künzel also has a sideproject called NORM which has had two...

; Tarmvred

Tarmvred

Tarmvred is a music group from Gothenburg, Sweden that is the brainchild of Jonas Johansson.-History:Johansson got his start musically by making his own remixes of tracks by Skinny Puppy and posting them online under the name Triptamine, in 1998...

 (Sweden); Converter, Terrorfakt

Terrorfakt

TERRORFAKT is an industrial-power noise musical project from New York City, and created in response to the events of September 11, 2001. They are currently signed to Metropolis Records....

, Alter Der Ruine

Alter Der Ruine

Alter Der Ruine is a power noise group from Tucson, Arizona. After self-releasing their first album The Ruine Process in August 2006 the band began playing shows across the southwestern United States and Mexico.In 2007 the group was signed to Sistinas Music, expanded to four members and produced...

, Panzer Division

Panzer Division

A panzer division was an armored division in the army and air force branches of the Wehrmacht as well as the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II....

, C/A/T

C/A/T

C/A/T , also known as Chaos and Terror, was the Folsom, California based industrial band created by film and sound engineer and founder of the Crunch Pod music label and distribution, Ben Arp, back in 1998. Originally based in Davis, California, Arp was active in the Northern California electronic...

 (U.S.),Xotox, The Peoples Republic of Europe and SAM

Sam

-People:*Samuel , includes a list of people known as "Sam"*Samantha*Sām, a Persian folk hero, whose name means 'very dark'*Sam , the third son of Lehi and elder brother to the prophet Nephi-Animals:...

 (Germany); Magnitudo 8 (IT)http://www.myspace.com\magnitudo8, and Endif (US) http://www.endif.org

Characteristics

Typically, power noise is instrumental, based upon a distorted kick drum from a drum machine such as a Roland TR-909

Roland TR-909

The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a partially analog, partially sample-based drum machine built by the Japanese Roland Corporation in 1983. The brainchild of Tadao Kikumoto, the engineer behind the Roland TB-303, it features a 16-step step sequencer and a drum kit that aimed for realism and...

, uses militaristic 4/4 beats. Sometimes a melodic component is added, but this is usually secondary to the rhythm. Power noise tracks are typically structured and danceable, but are occasionally abstract. This genre is showcased at the annual Maschinenfest

Maschinenfest

Maschinenfest is a yearly, three-day underground music festival featuring industrial, power electronics, noise and other alternative electronic performers. There are both independent and signed bands who are booked to play, as well as many vendors for music and related paraphernalia...

 festival in Krefeld

Krefeld

Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, as well as Kinetik Festival in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Some groups, such as Combichrist

CombiChrist

Combichrist is a Norwegian Aggrotech band formed in 2003 by Norwegian Andy LaPlegua based in Atlanta.-Formation:The first material LaPlegua wrote was a few powernoise/techno crossover tracks under the moniker DRIVE...

 and Dulce Liquido

Dulce Liquido

Dulce Liquido is a Mexican aggrotech and power noise group. The band is a side project from Hocico member Racso Agroyam.He describes his music as electro-noise.-External links:**...

, practice power noise along with aggrotech. Others, such as Tarmvred

Tarmvred

Tarmvred is a music group from Gothenburg, Sweden that is the brainchild of Jonas Johansson.-History:Johansson got his start musically by making his own remixes of tracks by Skinny Puppy and posting them online under the name Triptamine, in 1998...

, meld the style with breakcore

Breakcore

Breakcore is a style of electronic music largely influenced by hardcore techno, drum and bass and Intelligent dance music. Its sound is largely characterized by a high-tempo, well-timed mingling of distorted kick drums , break beats arranged from samples of the Amen break, and audio samples from a...

. Others still, merge elements of IDM, such as Endif.

Related styles

The technoid style is a product of power noise, breakcore, and IDM

Intelligent dance music

Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...

, and was advocated by the Ant-Zen sublabel Hymen Records

Hymen Records

Hymen Records is an imprint of the Ant-Zen record label, founded in 1997 by Stefan Alt . Hymen mainly releases material of a technoid, power noise/rhythmic noise, dark ambient, IDM, breakcore or similar experimental electronic nature....

. Gridlock

Gridlock (band)

Gridlock is a San Francisco based experimental electronic band originally created by Mike Wells in 1994. A year later, Mike Cadoo joined up, and the duo released their first two demos, Sickness and Frozen, and soon signed to Pendragon Records in 1997....

, Somatic Responses and Xingu Hill

Xingu Hill

Xingu Hill is a musical project of musician John Sellekaers.During the last ten years, John has released about forty records on various labels . Sellekaers has also recorded under names such as Dead Hollywood Stars, Ambre, Urawa, Uncotones, Moonsanto and Ammo...

 are notable artists in this style.

Hardcore techno

Hardcore techno

Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...

 and Gabber

Gabber

Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....

 artists have shown influence from power noise, normally called noisecore or industrial hardcore. The subgenre spans quite a range of styles, tracks can sound similar to the dark, brooding sound of Doomcore, or can resemble the harsh sonic assault of Terrorcore

Terrorcore

Terrorcore, terror is a music genre. It originated in Frankfurt in 1994 with the birth of the record label Kotzaak . For a short time, terrorcore artists began to appear in Europe, with Netherlands and Germany having the largest terror scenes. Terrorcore is a faster variant of hardcore techno...

. The style features a noisey 4 to the floor bass drum sound, unlike some industrial music tracks are normally DJ friendly. Artists include Ophidian

Ophidian

An ophidian is a snake-like spirit from Middle-Eastern mythology. Ophidians were said to come to a person as they woke up and steal their memories, especially the memories of what had happened to them while they were in the world ruled by Morpheus....

, Marc Osmate

Marc Osmate

Marc Osmate is a Dutch hardcore techno producer and performer, living in Russia. Osmate is the founder of Platinoids.-Style:His style is typified by a fast tempo and the rhythmic use of distorted, industrial-like beats. The music is aleatoric, and not atonal, instead of industrial hardcore...

, Drillbit, Enzyme x and Surrealizt. And about the most extreme and experimental act, artists as La peste, Mental D-struction, La Foudre

La Foudre

The Foudre was a French seaplane carrier, the first in history. Her development followed the invention of the seaplane in 1910 with the French Le Canard.-Torpedo boat tender:...

.

The term industrial techno refers to hybrid between power noise and hard-techno, but the style rarely falls in the middle, and could be described as either noisey techno or softer highly-rhythmic power noise.

Labels

• Ant-Zen
  Ant-Zen
  Ant-Zen Audio and Visual Arts is a German independent record label founded in 1994 by Stefan Alt , who serves as the art director. Visual arts from Ant-Zen are typically bleak but astonishing landscapes, or microscopic studies of what is often overlooked...
  
   (Germany
  Germany
  Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
  
  )
• Hands Productions
  Hands Productions
  Hands Productions is a contemporary independent industrial music record label, founded in the early 1990s, based in Germany. Hands Productions is known for its CD packaging, using cardboard and paper rather than typical plastic jewel cases, and typically elusive and minimalist designs...
  
   (Germany
  Germany
  Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
  
  )
• Hangars liquides
  Hangars liquides
  Hangars Liquides, also known as HL, is a French electronic label. It was created by La Peste in 1998. Initially Hangars Liquides was Speedcore-oriented but was quickly categorized as experimental music within the hardcore techno scene...
  
   (France
  France
  The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
  
  )
• Hive Records
  Hive Records
  Hive Records is an American independent record label that mainly focuses on powernoise, trip hop, ambient, IDM and sub-genres of industrial music...
  
   (United States
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
  )
• Hymen Records
  Hymen Records
  Hymen Records is an imprint of the Ant-Zen record label, founded in 1997 by Stefan Alt . Hymen mainly releases material of a technoid, power noise/rhythmic noise, dark ambient, IDM, breakcore or similar experimental electronic nature....
  
   (Germany
  Germany
  Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
  
  )
• Moonslave Radio (United States
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
  )

External links

• alphamanbeast's noise directory - information base with literally hundreds of links to artists and labels of the broader noise music genre, as well as miscellaneous related resources. (Currently more than 1000 links.)
• Heathen Harvest Webzine - Professionally presented news, reviews and interviews concerning today's power electronics and noise artists from around the world.