Steampunk Popularization (part 5 of 5)

Music

Steampunk music is very broadly defined, as Caroline Sullivan says in The Guardian: "Internet debates rage about exactly what constitutes the steampunk sound." This range of steampunk musical styles can be heard in the work of various steampunk artists, from the industrial dance/world music of Abney Park, the folk rock of Steam Powered Giraffe, the straightforward Punk of The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, the inventor/singer-songwriter creations of Thomas Truax or of the 'mad scientist' of 1980s fame, Thomas Dolby, the Carnatic influenced music of Sunday Driver, the "industrial hip-hop opera" of Doctor Steel, the darkwave and progressive rock sounds of Vernian Process, the Unextraordinary Gentlemen, the electronic sounds of The Wet-Glass RO, Darcy James Argue's 18-piece big band Secret Society and the musical storytelling of Escape the Clouds. The British-American composer David Bruce's 2010 octet 'Steampunk' was commissioned by Carnegie Hall.
Joshua Pfeiffer (of Vernian Process) is quoted as saying “As for Paul Roland, if any­one deserves credit for spear­head­ing Steampunk music, it is him. He was one of the inspi­ra­tions I had in start­ing my project. He was writ­ing songs about the first attempt at manned flight, and an Edwar­dian air­ship raid in the mid-80’s long before almost any­one else….”
Steampunk has also appeared in the work of musicians who do not specifically identify as steampunk. For example, the music video of Turn Me On by David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj takes place in a steampunk universe where Guetta creates human droids.