Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

47130

In Depth

Shoegaze Week: An introduction....
Shoegaze Week: An introduction....
domgourlay by Dom Gourlay April 20th, 2009

So what is "Shoegaze"? Initially, nothing more than a derogatory term invented by certain sections of the music press to link a group of artists together more by image and logistical factors than apparent musical similarities, bar the obvious couple. One thing's for sure, there is no definite musical precursor to what embodies this whole genre, other than a diverse, forward-thinking agenda.

Sure, there's little doubt that for many artists both past and present, all roads lead to and from My Bloody Valentine's groundbreaking door, but examine the roots of the whole ethos and sound of the genre that one step further and you'll see traces of The Velvet Underground's revolutionary excursions into white noise, The Standells discordant garage-reared rock and roll, and even Cabaret Voltaire's minimalistic 'Nag Nag Nag' creeping around the concourse (albeit using guitars and fx pedals rather than synthesised sounds). Delve further into the realms and you can pick out Brian Eno and Yellow Magic Orchestra's Ryuichi Sakamoto picking at the seeds, or the avant-garde trappings of Can and Neu! beavering away at the surface. And that's without even mentioning the genre's occasional foray into clubland territories...

Video: The Velvet Underground 'Black Angel's Death Song'
---

No, to dismiss Shoegaze and its associated sub-genres as nothing more than a one-dimensional bypass for bands in permanent thrall to Kevin Shields et al simply does the whole spectrum of artists ploughing their own unique furrows through the genre a massive disservice. The sixties-inspired harmonies of Ride, Slowdive's ambient textured soundscapes, The Jesus & Mary Chain's primal feedback-tinged rock'n'roll and of course, My Bloody Valentine's obtuse noise-flavoured pop and subsequent development through Loveless can certainly be heard at various intervals through newer acts like M83, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, A Place To Bury Strangers and Crystal Stilts but to say these bands all sound the same would be, well... frankly ridiculous!

For me, seeing the Mary Chain tear up the Old Grey Whistle Test and The Tube within a few weeks of each other, watching My Bloody Valentine's coming of age at a half-empty Nottingham Garage (RIP) or chuckling as Loop caused a powercut at the same city's Trent Polytechnic will always hold special places in the memory as to why these bands, and this scene remain more than just a passing fad.

So, this week, Drowned In Sound celebrates the scene that allegedly "celebrated itself". We'll be bringing you commentaries and interview pieces with those who played a part in the movement's initial discourse at the turn of the 1990s and those who are taking the genre into further undiscovered territories almost two decades later. We'll also be examining the labels who've been behind the resurgence of Shoegaze, as well as discovering some of the newer artists we think will take the genre even further away from its humble beginnings in the coming months. Finally, with the help of numerous artists, labels, writers, commentators and of course, fans, DiS has put together what it believes may very well be the ultimate shoegaze mixtape, which we'll be revealing Friday.

Read on...

Video: The Jesus & Mary Chain 'In A Hole' (live)



LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees

Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


Left-arrow

Shoegaze Week: thoughts on My Bloody ...

Mobback
39025
47210

Shoegaze Week: DiS meets Neil Halstead

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE
Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND