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Electronic Body Music
In an era where music defines cultures and shapes identities, the birth and evolution of Electronic Body Music (EBM) remain a mystery to many. But not anymore. "Electronic Body Music", a groundbreaking book, unravels the enigma that is EBM, shedding light on its origins, evolution, and global impact. Written by the passionate and knowledgeable duo, Yuma Hampejs and Marcel Schulze, this comprehensive compendium offers an unprecedented exploration into the heart of EBM.
The journey began with a simple phone call in rainy November 2019, when Yuma, inspired by "Den svenska synthen" by Bengt Rahm, envisioned a book that could capture the essence of the EBM scene. Fueled by the lack of comprehensive resources and the desire to demystify the genre, the duo embarked on a mission to create something extraordinary. "Electronic Body Music" is not just a book; it's a testament to the global EBM community's spirit and diversity. With contributions from over 150 individuals, including musicians, promoters, DJs, bloggers, radios, photographers and record companies, this book dives deep into the roots of EBM. From the historic Ratinger Hof in Düsseldorf to the influence of punk on EBM's birth and its subsequent impact on the techno scene, every facet of EBM's evolution is meticulously explored.
The journey began with a simple phone call in rainy November 2019, when Yuma, inspired by "Den svenska synthen" by Bengt Rahm, envisioned a book that could capture the essence of the EBM scene. Fueled by the lack of comprehensive resources and the desire to demystify the genre, the duo embarked on a mission to create something extraordinary. "Electronic Body Music" is not just a book; it's a testament to the global EBM community's spirit and diversity. With contributions from over 150 individuals, including musicians, promoters, DJs, bloggers, radios, photographers and record companies, this book dives deep into the roots of EBM. From the historic Ratinger Hof in Düsseldorf to the influence of punk on EBM's birth and its subsequent impact on the techno scene, every facet of EBM's evolution is meticulously explored.
600 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2024
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March 30, 2025
This is a massive 600-page book about the EBM music and scene. I'm reading the English version (which isn't on Goodreads yet unfortunately, if it is added I'll move my review to that edition). The translation is nicely done. It is also a nice complimentary reading to Den svenska synthen from a few years back.
The book could be described as separated into three main parts.
First come the golden years, the classic EBM, from the 1980's postpunk to the 1990's high and subsequent decline, with a lot of documentation about all the bands I liked, (and some I didn't like of course as well).
I really like these chapters even though they don't really bring much news to me, but I still think it's important to see written, since already now so many obscure small bands from back then are completely lost and forgotten, and actually some of the bigger too are really hard to track down when it comes to details, sometimes discography, and especially lyrics.
The second part is more about the newer bands from the last few years of the 1990's and well into the 2000 and beyond years. By this time I had in some ways left the scene as I didn't find the bands or their music interesting any more, and I still don't, so this part of the book for me felt quite uninteresting. This is of course a matter of personal taste and others will see it differently.
The third part is more about the scene itself, mostly from Germany of course since the book is German, but a surprising amount of Swedish scene interviews, at least compared with the amount of writings about the scene in other countries. This part is more ups and downs depending on who's retelling, and harder to give a generic view on. But again based on my preferences there's too much focus put on the more recent years from 2000 and forward. Call me old...
And specifically on the topic of the Swedish scene I feel we, the readers, are missing out on several major parts of history. Again this is not a book about the Swedish scene so it's understandable, but as it is now we only see the scene-view from the declining years, all the major influencers, clubs, festivals, and concerts from the late 80's and early 90's are missing. And thereby also all the controversy, and the collapse of at least the Stockholm scene that coincided with the end of the 90's and the high points of the EBM era.
As a last side note. When I'm reading the last chapters in the book, feeling a little sad about missing and dead friends and nostalgic about all the fun we had during those years, the kids are playing on their computers in the nearby living room, probably some game like Roblox, Minecraft or something. They're really like their friends in that they don't really listen to bands or albums at all. They listen to songs that play in the background of what they're doing or reels.
All of a sudden, these classical, and for me always recognizable guitar tunes that absolutely without a doubt are the start of a Joy Division track starts playing, and I hear my older daughter saying "oh, this is so cowboy music".
My inner goth weeps in silence.
The book could be described as separated into three main parts.
First come the golden years, the classic EBM, from the 1980's postpunk to the 1990's high and subsequent decline, with a lot of documentation about all the bands I liked, (and some I didn't like of course as well).
I really like these chapters even though they don't really bring much news to me, but I still think it's important to see written, since already now so many obscure small bands from back then are completely lost and forgotten, and actually some of the bigger too are really hard to track down when it comes to details, sometimes discography, and especially lyrics.
The second part is more about the newer bands from the last few years of the 1990's and well into the 2000 and beyond years. By this time I had in some ways left the scene as I didn't find the bands or their music interesting any more, and I still don't, so this part of the book for me felt quite uninteresting. This is of course a matter of personal taste and others will see it differently.
The third part is more about the scene itself, mostly from Germany of course since the book is German, but a surprising amount of Swedish scene interviews, at least compared with the amount of writings about the scene in other countries. This part is more ups and downs depending on who's retelling, and harder to give a generic view on. But again based on my preferences there's too much focus put on the more recent years from 2000 and forward. Call me old...
And specifically on the topic of the Swedish scene I feel we, the readers, are missing out on several major parts of history. Again this is not a book about the Swedish scene so it's understandable, but as it is now we only see the scene-view from the declining years, all the major influencers, clubs, festivals, and concerts from the late 80's and early 90's are missing. And thereby also all the controversy, and the collapse of at least the Stockholm scene that coincided with the end of the 90's and the high points of the EBM era.
As a last side note. When I'm reading the last chapters in the book, feeling a little sad about missing and dead friends and nostalgic about all the fun we had during those years, the kids are playing on their computers in the nearby living room, probably some game like Roblox, Minecraft or something. They're really like their friends in that they don't really listen to bands or albums at all. They listen to songs that play in the background of what they're doing or reels.
All of a sudden, these classical, and for me always recognizable guitar tunes that absolutely without a doubt are the start of a Joy Division track starts playing, and I hear my older daughter saying "oh, this is so cowboy music".
My inner goth weeps in silence.
Displaying 1 of 1 review