The Way Electroclash Brought Back Glamour, Grit and Fun to 2000s Music Scenes
Jonny Slut understood his club night Nag Nag Nag had hit a new level when he spotted a legendary TV host dancing. “I think that’s the sole moment I got really excited,” he chuckles. “My selection included the reimagined edit of the song My Neck, My Back – as Cilla grooved.”
An International Movement of Electroclash
An emerging trend of electronic music surfaced around the world in the early 2000s. Germany introduced feminist collective Chicks on Speed and pioneering an influential DJ. France produced Miss Kittin, The Hacker, and additional artists. The UK spawned Ladytron and Add N To (X). Canada showcased Tiga and Peaches who transformed her music with a synthesizer.
New York had Fischerspooner and Larry Tee who popularized the term electroclash. Song texts were humorous, at times explicit, and theatrical. The sound mixed house with a DIY vibe.
“Production wasn’t as easy,” explains an originator. “Artists made releasable music in your apartment.”
An Answer to the Mainstream Industry
This genre felt like a counterpoint to slick superclubs. As one artist stated, it was music by “marginalised creators … fed up with a system” that restricted what electronic should be.
Electroclash soon built an crowd. This event showcased not only electroclash but also R&B songs. It turned out to be an instant hit, drawing in well-known personalities like a model, a designer, and Boy George.
Legacy and Revival
Despite media attention, the sound failed to yield a huge commercial act. Some performers had difficulty on traditional tours. However its impact spread mainstream sounds through artists like a girl group, an electronic duo, and even the pop icon.
Stateside, however, electroclash encountered a backlash. Larry Tee believes it was because the establishment didn’t invest “girls, LGBTQ+ people and theys.”
Recently, however, the term has enjoyed a revival. Young musicians and club nights are using the name. Peaches performed her first record to excited crowds, including twentysomething followers.
“In my view the younger generation get it,” comments Larry Tee. “This was like the resistance.”
The music of electroclash still sound fresh in the present. Its attitudes – sexual openness and independent spirit – are more timely than ever.
