Diorama is a German

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

band. The name of the band is a metaphor which represents their notion of music as an artistic form of expression.

History

Diorama was founded in 1996 as a musical project of Torben Wendt. Torben’s music was soon recognized by Adrian Hates of Diary of Dreams, so with his support and the support of Rainer Assmann (Daf/ Fad Gadget), a debut-album “Pale” was released in 1999. It was received very well both by the critics and the audience. In 2000, Torben’s friend Felix Marc joined Diorama as a keyboard player, co-producer and backing vocalist. The second album “Her Liquid Arms” was released in April 2001. Despite its stronger rhythms and more forceful electronic sounds, the music preserved its distinctive atmosphere, established with the first album. The song “Advance” became one of the leading club hits and the band was becoming increasingly popular. The second album was followed by club-oriented single “Device” (December, 2001). Bassist

Bernard Le Sigue Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

joined the band the following year, and together with Torben and Felix saw the release of the third album, named “The Art of Creating Confusing Spirits”, the album was released in October 2002. During November and December of the same year, Diorama supported Diary of Dreams on tour. 13-03-23 e-tropolis Diorama 09

After a long break and another addition to the band’s line-up (guitar player

Sash Fiddler A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, bu ...

joining in 2003), the long-awaited fourth album "Amaroid" was released in April 2005. For the promotion of the new album, the band joined VNV Nation, on their “Formation” tour. In October 2005, Diorama released two more albums: A re-release of their first album “Pale”, with three new songs (“Don’t Be There”, “You and Ice” and “Crop of Illusions”); and “Re-Pale” – a collection of new versions of earlier songs, remixes and some previously unreleased songs. At the same time, the band went on their first headline tour throughout Germany. At the end of 2006,

left the band. On 23 February 2007, a new single was released: “Synthesize Me”, a prelude for the next album, which was released 4 weeks later. “A Different Life” can be characterized as a criticism of the society ruled by artificial, deviant system of values. With his lyrics, Torben portrayed the revolt of the individual against the imposed principles and general degradation of true values and virtues. "Cubed" is their seventh studio album (released on 19 March 2010). The figurative picture of a cube is the guiding theme of the album - a confined area serving as a living space be it as a stage, as a prison or as a shelter. This concept consequently features throughout the band's artwork and stage setting. This album climbed in German Alternative Charts (DAC of week 16/2010) to the top position. The members of Diorama have collaborated with a number of bands, including Diary of Dreams,

Angels & Agony Angels and Agony are a Dutch futurepop band consisting of vocalist Reinier Kahle, guitarist Erik Wierenga, DJ Marco van Belle on synthesizer and backing vocals and Fried Bruggink as sound engineer and drummer. The band formed in 1995 and produc ...

, Painbastard, Klangstabil and Frozen Plasma.Diorama releases

Style

Diorama are often labeled as "EBM", “ Electro-Pop”, “Future Pop” or “

Darkwave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

” (particularity on the albums "Her Liquid Arms" and "Pale"). The melodies can be fast-paced and backed by rhythms and can be melancholic ballads. The diapason of the lyrics’ motifs takes inspiration from the inner world of the writer himself (Torben Wendt) and also his surroundings. The lyrics are written in a dark,

kafkian Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

style and are often ambiguous. Distinctive playing with words and metaphors is one of the prominent virtues of Diorama’s artistic opus.

Band members

Current

*Torben Wendt – lyrics, vocals, keys, percussion *Felix Marc – co-production, keys, vocals *Zura Nakamura – guitars *Markus "Marquess" Halter – drums

Former

*Bernard Le Sigue – bass *Sash Fiddler – guitars

Discography

Albums

*''Pale'' (1999) *''Her Liquid Arms'' (2001) *''The Art of Creating Confusing Spirits'' (2002) *''Amaroid'' (2005) *''Re-Pale'' (2005) *''Pale'' re-release (2005) *''A Different Life'' (2007) *''Cubed'' (2010) *''Even the Devil Doesn't Care'' (2013) *''Zero Soldier Army'' (2016) *''Tiny Missing Fragments'' (2020)

Singles

*''Device'' (2001) *''Synthesize me'' (2007) *''Child of Entertainment'' (2010)

References

External links

*
Diorama on MySpaceHome of the Diorama LemmingsAmaroid - a tribute to the band diorama
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diorama German electronic music groups Musical groups established in 1996 German dark wave musical groups