Though relatively well-established in the US - think bands like Abney Park, Dr. Steel, Vernian Process and the Unextraordinary Gentlemen - Steampunk has been slower to establish its moorings in the UK.
But establish them it finally has. London's White Mischief host massively successful Steampunk nights and Lincoln is about to succumb to the UK's first Steampunk Festival. 2009 has seen the number of gigs devoted to Steampunk blossom as a host of bands forge links with one another. The Men That WIll Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Trousseaux, Clockwork Quartet, Ghostfire and Sunday Driver are just some of the names that followers of this retro-futuristic fashion will be familiar with.
Musically Diverse
While it may be a manageable task to provide a description of what constitutes Steampunk attire (goggles, waistcoats, corsets, ray-guns, cravats, hats, etc.) it is much more difficult to find the thread that links the music.
"The bands don't seem to have anything musically in common as far as I can tell," says Dr. Lesley Roberts, violinst from Brighton-based Trousseaux. "But why should they? For us it's the aesthetic and attitude we value. For instance, I'd never say 'legs' in public."
Trousseaux themselves are a heady mix of styles - a French ex-cabaret singer floats above a weave of industrial guitar, synth and semi-sampled drums. Add a violinist and cellist and you're starting to get somewhere. "We listen to everything from Philip Glass to Burial Hex to Hawk and a Hacksaw," says Dr. Roberts.
At the other end of the spectrum are Sunday Driver. Led by the incredibly engaging Chandrika Nath, the band "make music with a harp, a sitar, some guitars, some clarinets, tablas and whatever we can get our grubby mitts on". The result is a sort of frontier-land between English folk and Estern mysticism.
The London-based The Men That WIll Not Be Blamed For Nothing meanwhile honour the "punk" element of the genre. Raucous and unpredictable, they describe themselves as "Crusty punk meets Cockney sing-songs meets Grindcore in the 1880s." Fellow Londoners Ghostfire, have a more gothic feel, admittedly with a hint of sea-shanty.
Variations on a Theme
While some critics in the US seem to be claiming their homegrown version as a kind of Tom Waites-meets-Trent Reznor-in-a-tent-at-WOMAD, the UK scene seems resistant to even these outlandish attempts at pigeonholing. And all the better for it. As Abney Park singer, Captain Robert Brown, says: "Can't we just all admit there will be variations on the theme?"
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