COLD WAVE
Late 70s
Cold wave is a musical genre which appeared in France at the end of the 1970s. It was popularized in the 80s, such as dark wave.
The sounds are described as "cold", where the name comes from, compared to new wave (which was the main genre during the emergence of cold wave).
The instruments used are a synthesizer, drums (or drum machine), and often a guitar and bass.
The definition of cold wave varies from person to person: some say it is a separate genre from dark wave but with some similarities (bands like Guerre Froide for example), and some say that it is synonymous with dark wave, but that cold wave is used to describe the dark wave of certain countries in particular (France, Belgium, Switzeland).
Important bands are for example KaS Product, Little Nemo, Trisomie 21 and Guerre Froide.
Playlist you should listen to:
- gothique