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Dream pop is a type of alternative rock that originated in Britain in the early 1980s, when bands like Cocteau Twins, The Chameleons, The Passions, Dead Can Dance, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane (to whom the term has been attributed) began fusing post-punk experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into sensual, sonically-ambitious soundscapes. The term was only used in the United States, although frequently used, and allegedly coined, by Melody Maker journalists Simon Reynolds and Chris Roberts. An "all-star" dream pop collective named This Mortal Coil were known for covering obscure pop songs of the 1960s to '80s. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock... Gothic rock (sometimes called goth rock or simply goth) is a genre of alternative rock that originated during the late 1970s. ... Ambient music is a musical genre in which sound is more important than notes. ... For space rocks, see asteroid. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze or shoegazer; practitioners referred to as shoegazers) is a genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. ... This is a list of dream pop artists. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1982 to 1997. ... The Chameleons in 1984: Mark Burgess, Reg Smithies, John Lever, Dave Fielding The Chameleons (called The Chameleons UK on American releases) were a post-punk band that formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England in 1981. ... The Passions were a British pop band, which formed in 1978, and disbanded in 1983. ... Dead Can Dance is a band comprised of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. ... Dif Juz was an influential, primarily instrumental, British group that created uniquely atmospheric effects-laden music with dynamic emotional range during the early to mid 1980s. ... Lowlife was a Scottish alternative rock/dream pop band, active from 1985 to 1997. ... A.R. Kane were a 1980s and 1990s British indie band. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock... Depending on context, pop music is either an abbreviation of popular music or, more recently, a term for a sub-genre of it. ... This article is about the music newspaper. ... Simon Reynolds (born 1963 in London), is an influential British music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term post-rock. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

The essence of the music is a focus on ethereal textures and moods, rather than on propulsive rock riffs. Breathy, high-register female vocals (and androgynous male vocals) are the preferred means of lyrical delivery; lyrics are generally introspective and existential in nature. Cover art tends to consist of blurry pastel imagery and/or stark minimalist designs. Overall, the 4AD record label is the one most associated with dream pop, though others such as Creation, Projekt, Fontana, Bedazzled, Vernon Yard, and Slumberland also released significant records in the genre. If referring to a flower, see disambiguation under bisexual Androgyny is the state of indeterminate gender, or characteristics of gender. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement emphasizing individualism, individual freedom, and subjectivity. ... This article is about the record label 4AD. For the year, see 4. ... At least two different record labels called Creation Records have existed. ... Projekt is a Brooklyn, New York based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ethereal, darkwave, ambient, shoegazer, dream-pop and dark cabaret created by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. ... Bedazzled Records was an American record label, based in Washington, D.C., which existed from 1989 to 2000. ... Slumberland Records is a United States independent record label formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C.. The label has released recordings from artists including Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, The Lilys, Stereolab, St. ...

Later

In the late 1980s to early 1990s, bands such as Slowdive, Lush, Pale Saints, Spoonfed Hybrid, early-period Seefeel, early-period Verve, Kitchens of Distinction, The Sundays, The Ocean Blue, Galaxie 500, Bel Canto, Cranes, Frazier Chorus, late-period Talk Talk, Strange Boutique, Curve, The Dream Academy, and No-Man were representatives of the genre. Slowdive // Slowdive were a shoegazing band formed in 1989, lasting until 1995. ... Lush was an English shoegazing band, formed in 1988. ... Pale Saints began their existence as a three-piece ethereal pop band based in Leeds, England. ... Seefeel are a British music group. ... The Verve (originally Verve) are an English alternative rock band formed in 1989 at Winstanley Sixth Form College, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, by vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. ... Kitchens of Distinction were a band from South London, UK. History The band Formed in 1986, their name pulled from an advert on the side of a lorry spotted by guitarist Julian Swales while on his bike. ... “sundays” redirects here. ... The Ocean Blue, formed in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1986, is a band that combines synthesizer-based New Wave hooks with bluesy saxophone solos and high tinsel guitars to produce a truly unique sound. ... This article is about the American indie rock band. ... Bel Canto is a music trio fronted by Anneli Drecker. ... Cranes are a British band, often described as gothic rock, Dream Pop or shoegazers. ... Frazier Chorus is a rock band from Brighton, England. ... Talk Talk was a popular English music group that was active from 1981 to 1991. ... From Washington D.C., Strange Boutique rose out of the ashes of the Washington harDCore and transformed the Dark/Alternative music scene. ... The cover of Curves first full length album, Doppelgänger, from 1992 Curve was an English music group formed in 1991 chiefly around the collaboration of singer Toni Halliday and guitarist Dean Garcia. ... The Dream Academy were a 1980s folk rock and Dream Pop band from England, comprising singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist (chiefly oboeist) Kate St John and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. ... No-Man is a British duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island (Except The Isle Of Man) by Tim Bowness (from Stockton Heath, Cheshire, born, November 29th, 1963) and Porcupine Trees Steven Wilson (from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, born, November 3, 1967). ...

Concurrently, a number of more predominantly guitar-driven dream pop bands emerged in the United States, including For Against, Alison's Halo, Low, Mazzy Star, Velour 100, Love Spirals Downwards, Ars Poetica, and Duster. // For Against are a United States post-punk/proto-shoegaze rock band from Lincoln, Nebraska. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota. ... Mazzy Star was an American 1990s dream pop/alternative band. ... Velour 100 (more accurately spelled Velour 100; sometimes spelled as Velour100) were a dream pop/ethereal rock band from Michigan, USA. The band existed from approximately 1995 to 2000, with most of its music seeing release via the Christian rock label Tooth & Nail Records in 1997. ... Love Spirals Downwards were an ethereal darkwave, dream pop and electronica recording act from California. ... Ars Poetica is a term meaning The Art of Poetry or On the Nature of Poetry. Early examples of Ars Poetica by Aristotle and Horace have survived and have since spawned many other poems that bear the same name. ... Duster is an American indie-rock band. ...

Louder

A louder, more aggressive strain of dream pop came to be known as shoegazing; key bands of this style were My Bloody Valentine, Catherine Wheel, Ride, Bailter Space, Flying Saucer Attack, Swervedriver, Bowery Electric, Band Of Susans, Moonshake, and Levitation. These bands kept the atmospheric qualities of dream pop, but added the intensity of post-punk-influenced bands such as The Chameleons and Sonic Youth. Shoegazing arose out of a love for dream pop's textures and moods, at the same time rejecting its more passive tendencies. Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze or shoegazer; practitioners referred to as shoegazers) is a genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. ... This article is about the music group. ... Catherine Wheel is an alternative rock band from Great Yarmouth, England. ... Ride were a British shoegazing band. ... Bailter Space is a noise rock group that formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1987. ... Flying Saucer Attack was an experimental indie rock band that formed in Bristol, England in 1992. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Bowery Electric is a Manhattan-based dreampop duo. ... Band of Susans is a band formed in New York in 1986 by Robert Poss (guitar/vocals), Susan Stenger (bass/vocals) and Ron Spitzer (drums) with Susan Lyall (guitar), Susan Tallman (guitar) and Alva Rogers (vocals). ... Moonshake is a UK-based band formed in 1991 by David Callahan (vocals, guitars, samplers) following the dissolution of his former outfit The Wolfhounds - who were active for much of the second half of the 80s and, often associated with the C86 indie scene at the time, released several acclaimed... Levitation (1990-1994) were an innovative psychedelic mind-punk outfit, fronted by ex-House of Love guitarist Terry Bickers. ... The Chameleons in 1984: Mark Burgess, Reg Smithies, John Lever, Dave Fielding The Chameleons (called The Chameleons UK on American releases) were a post-punk band that formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England in 1981. ... Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1981. ...

Further

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, bands like 7% Solution, Sigur Rós, Dubstar, Eisley, Laika, The FLIR, Readymade, Bethany Curve, Halou, Windy & Carl, All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors, A Minute Away From Snowing, Trespassers William, Ariel Storm, Southpacific, Mira, Yume Bitsu, Devics, Xinlisupreme, Highspire, Air Formation, The Meeting Places, Psychic Ills and Auburn Lull have had the dream pop/ shoegazing labels attributed to them. Groups like these are sometimes (dismissively) called "new-gaze" or "nu-gaze" bands. The term "Ambient Pop" is applied as a genre to some of these artists as well. The Smashing Pumpkins' single "Rhinoceros" from the album Gish (1991) is considered to be a combination of psychedelia and dream pop. Sigur Rós ( ) is an Icelandic post-rock band with melodic, classical, experimental, and minimalist elements. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Eisley is an American indie rock band from Tyler, Texas, consisting of four siblings (Chauntelle, Sherri Gilbert, Stacy, and Weston DuPree) and their cousin (Garron DuPree). ... This article is about the Too Pure band. ... Found art, or more commonly and less confusingly, Found Object (French: objet trouvé) is a term used to describe art created from common objects not normally considered to be artistic (also assemblage). ... // Bethany Curve Bethany Curve is a Shoegaze/Dream-Pop band from Santa Cruz, California. ... // Halou is a band from San Francisco, California. ... Windy & Carl is an indie rock group based in Dearborn, Michigan. ... Trespassers William are an indie rock band known for their ethereal music. ... Southpacific was a post-rock unit that included Graeme Fleming, Joachim Toelke, and Phil Stewart-Bowes. ... Mira are a five-piece dream pop/shoegaze band from Tallahassee, Florida. ... Yume Bitsu, is a psychedelic rock band, the name meaning dream beats in Japanese. ... Devics is a dream pop band from Los Angeles, California consisting of Sara Lov and Dustin OHalloran. ... Xinlisupreme(シンリシュープリーム) are an japanese rock, post-rock, J-Pop band from Oita, Japan. ... Air Formation is an English Shoegaze/Space rock band that debuted with their first 7 in the summer of 1998. ... Auburn Lull is a space rock unit from Lansing, Michigan that was formed in 1995. ... The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago in 1988. ... Rhinoceros is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins (at the time, known as just Smashing Pumpkins) released on their debut album, Gish. ... Gish is The Smashing Pumpkins debut release. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. ...

Dream pop is often credited with providing the creative "anti-rock" catalyst for textural-based musical styles such as trip hop, slowcore and post-rock. Trip hop (also known as the Bristol sound) is a term coined by United Kingdom dance magazine Mixmag, to describe a musical trend in the mid-1990s; trip hop is downtempo electronic music that grew out of Englands hip hop and house scenes. ... The term slowcore, generally used interchangeably with sadcore, refers to a subgenre of alternative rock that developed from the downbeat melodies and slower tempos of late 1980s indie rock. ... The term post-rock was coined by Simon Reynolds in issue 123 of The Wire (May 1994) to describe a sort of music using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbres and textures rather than riffs and powerchords. ...

See also

• List of dream pop artists
• Shoegazing

This is a list of dream pop artists. ... Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze or shoegazer; practitioners referred to as shoegazers) is a genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. ...

External links

• All Music Guide entry on dream pop