| Impact | Noise aesthetics and techniques increasingly incorporated into mainstream popular music |
| Origin | Emerged in the late 1700s alongside the Industrial Revolution |
| Subgenres | |
| Description | Experimental and avant-garde music embracing dissonance, atonality, and unconventional sounds |
| Characteristics | Incorporation of machinery, electronics, and industrial processes • Closely tied to radical political movements |
Noise music is a broad genre of experimental and avant-garde music that embraces dissonance, atonality, and unconventional sounds. Originating in Europe during the late 18th century, noise music has its roots in the sonic disruptions and technological innovations of the Industrial Revolution. Early pioneers incorporated the sounds of machinery, electronics, and industrial processes into their compositions, challenging traditional musical structures and aesthetics.
The foundations of noise music were laid in the 1780s and 1790s, as the rise of factories, steam power, and other new technologies introduced a cacophony of mechanical sounds into the sonic environment of Europe. Composers like Karl Gottlieb Kühn in Germany and engineers experimenting with primitive analog electronic instruments in the Netherlands began incorporating these industrial noises into their avant-garde musical works.
Noise music quickly became associated with radical political movements of the 19th century, including anarchism and early socialism. Composers saw the disruption of traditional musical forms as a metaphor for the disruption of existing social and political orders. This gave noise a subversive, revolutionary charge that persisted throughout its development.
Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, noise music evolved into a diverse array of genres and subgenres:
Industrial music, which emerged in the 1970s, incorporated the harsh, mechanical sounds of factories and power tools. Key artists included Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Godflesh.
Glitch music in the 1990s and 2000s, which used digital errors, audio glitches and signal processing to create fragmented, abstract soundscapes. Exemplified by artists like Oval, Fennesz, and Alva Noto.
Power electronics, a confrontational noise subgenre featuring distorted vocals, extreme volumes, and abrasive textures. Pioneered by groups like Whitehouse, Merzbow, and Dominick Fernow.
The Harsh noise movement, which emphasized sheer sonic overwhelming and sensory overload, often at the edge of human tolerance. Exemplified by artists such as Masami Akita and Russell Haswell.
Noise music also had a significant impact on the development of electronic music, experimental music, and even some forms of rock music over the 20th century.
Once relegated to the outer fringes of music, noise aesthetics and techniques have become increasingly incorporated into mainstream popular genres in recent decades. The influence of noise can be heard in the harsh, abrasive textures of industrial metal, the glitchy, fragmented production in contemporary R&B, and the unconventional song structures of art pop and experimental rock.
Today, noise music maintains a strong global subculture, with thriving scenes in Europe, North America, and Asia. While still considered extreme and inaccessible by many, noise has gained greater recognition and appreciation, with noise artists achieving critical acclaim and even commercial success in some cases. The sounds of industry, technology, and radical politics that birthed noise music continue to reverberate through the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary music.
