Electronic body music, also called EBM for short, or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music. It first came to prominence in Belgium.
Emerging in the early 1980s, the genre’s early influences range from industrial music (Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire), European synthpunk (DAF, Liaisons Dangereuses, Portion Control), and electronic music (Kraftwerk).
From its inception, the style has been characterized by hard and often sparse danceable electronic beats, clear undistorted vocals, shouts or growls with reverberation and echo effects, and repetitive sequencer lines. At the time the genre arose, important synthesizers were the Korg MS-20, Emulator II, Oberheim Matrix and Yamaha DX7. Typical EBM rhythms are based on 4/4 beats, mainly with some minor syncopation to suggest a rock music rhythm structure.
Industrial music electronic dance music synthpunk synthpop post punk