What Is Cyber Goth?
Exactly where Cyber Goth began is open to debate. In the late 80's and early 90's, in the UK rave was climbing through the efforts of former industrial pioneer Genesis P Orridge (a member of Throbbing Gristle and founder of the legendary Industrial Records label). Meanwhile industrial was creeping into the Goth clubs such as Inferno in the Electric Ballroom and Slimelight (until then known as the Kit Kat Klub). This crossover brought with it merging of the fashion of the rave and industrial scene in the already rather bizarre London Gothic scene.
The influence of cyberpunk literature and movies and Japanese animation is also obvious in the subculture.
Exactly where the label originates is even more debateable. I've never even seen a reference to the first mention of Cyber Goth anywhere, it seems it came without anyone taking note.
While no official statistics are available anywhere, it would seem aparent from the number of stores in each country that the scene is largest in the UK, France, Sweden and Canada. [I've VERY open to being corrected on this if anyone has good backed up info].
Cultural influences (credit to GilAskan):
Blade Runner / Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Neuromancer (and the trilogy)
Asimov's Works
A Scanner Darkly
Ghost in the Shell
The Matrix
Serial Experiments Lain
Minority Report
Akira
Cyberpunk 2020
Inquisitor / Warhammer 40,000 Universe
Shadowrun
Tron
Fifth Element
Aeon Flux (TV)
Batman Beyond
Ergo Proxy
Clubs and Festivals
[Need to expand this list! Please give details anybody!]
Since the scene originated in London, it seems to have set up shop in London mostly.
Slimelight [UK, London] Often considered the motherload. Slimes is divided into three floors - the top floor is for live acts, then for noise and extreme industrial. The second floor is Cyber Goth central - with EBM being the primary music played, followed by industrial and some more generic electronic dance music. The bottom floor is for Trad Goths, playing Gothic, death rock, new wave and dark wave.
Inferno [UK, London] More industrial and metal focused than Slimelight, Inferno has a main dance floor mostly occupied by industrial, EBM and such with ocassional forrays into metal and trance.
Synthetic Culture [UK, London] Can't say a lot about this place as I've never been, but apparently it blends everything from Gothic to hard dance music.
Synthklubben [Sweden, Goteborg] While compared to the London clubs it has a fairly tame and underdressed crowd, Synthklubben is one of the most dedicated EBM, futurepop and synthpop clubs in the world, with frequent live acts such as Prototyp and Leibach.
Der Bunker [Sweden, Goteborg] A secret party held in the side of a mountain in Goteborg. You need to register on the website to get onto the guest list - not on the list, no entry. Its quite hard to find the entrance to the mountain, but once in, you're in a candle lit, intimate little place with a friendly, chatty crowd and lots of pounding industrial into the early hours of Saturday morning.
Club Barcode [Sweden, Goteborg] I've never been myself, but it advertises as an EBM/Gothic/industrial focused club with a sci-fi flavour.
Electronic Pleasures Festival [Germany, Berlin] Berlin's own industrial/EBM/darkwave festival, attracts the likely crowd.
Infest Festival [UK, Bradford] The scenes one true home is Infest, the UK's biggest industrial, EBM, dark wave and synthpop festival.
Music
There are no solid rules on this - a Cyber Goth might listen to a wide diversity of music, but the scene is concerntrated on a few genres and subgenres.
EBM Electronic Body Music, a more rhythmic take on industrial founded by Front 242. Example bands: Die Krupps, Nietzer Edd, Bigod 20, Tysk Ludder, Spetsnaz, Faderhead.
Futurepop A blending of three genres (trance, EBM and synthpop) divised by VNV Nation and Apoptygma Berzerk in a Side-Line interview. VNV Nation have since expressed regret about founding the term, but this has not hampered the massive success of the genre, which has since outlived its parent genre of EBM. Example bands: Code 64, Covenant, Assemblage 23, Angels & Agony, Pride & Fall, Deviant UK.
Synthpop No Goth club would be complete without synthpop. It surely needs no introduction, nor does its subgenres. Example bands: Gary Newman, Ladytron, Erasure, Rupesh Cartel.
Darkwave Goth has its own subgenre of new wave, darkwave, which is popular in the Cyber Goth scene. Consider it a more aethereal new wave, with some added darkness at points. Example bands: The Cruxshadows, Diary of Dreams, Wolfsheim, Blutengel, Zeromancer.
Industrial While it has its own seperate subculture, industrial will normally form part of a Cyber Goths music collection and is played in the same clubs. Example bands: Throbbing Gristle, Leather Strap, Skinny Puppy, Portion Control, NIN (sue me).
Noise Literally speaking, this is a genre dedicated to thrashing your eardrums be disregarding all musical structure in favour of a full-on attack. Not popular in the Cyber Goth scene, certainly hard to find venues for. Example bands: NON, Merzbow, Nic Endo.
Rave-oriented dance music In the late 90's when the Cyber Goth subculture was still formulating (it was a slow process beginning in the late 80's/early 90's, finally taking form around 2000), the popularity of trance and house had an impact on much of the EBM and industrial scene, and this followed through to the point today its not uncommon to see Cyber Goths dancing away to trance at Synthetic Culture right after EBM.
Stores
Probably the best way to explore the subculture of futuristic clubwear is to examine its clothing range. Pay for goods, you helpless consumers!
Cyberdog
Bizarre
Battery Organic
Plastik Wrap
