Like most music, Steampunk music is subjective to taste. While there continues to swirl controversy over what is and isn’t Steampunk music, or who is and who isn’t a Steampunk band, we take a more neutral route. This is because often we enjoy what we are first drawn to, so when we hear something that has a vastly different sound than that which we’ve become accustomed to, we assume it is something different. And, because Steampunk began as a literary genre, the real “Steampunk Revolution” is in the evolution of the music itself.
Our first introduction to Steampunk music was during the planning of our wedding. We had decided to do a Steampunk themed wedding because of a top hat sitting in a box in our closet. No other reason, really, since neither of us knew much about the sub-culture, let alone the music. So, as we searched for songs for the ceremony and then those to fill an after-ceremony playlist, we first discovered the band, Abney Park. There is an ethereal quality to much of their early Steampunk albums that delighted us. We used “Steampunk Revolution” mixed down with some clocks and rusty gears as the “wedding is about to start” music, followed by “She,” which is what accompanied the attendants and the bride down the staircase, where we, the bride and groom, finished the song in a dance while our guests clapped and stomped in time to the beat. It was magnificent, and by all accounts, a lot of fun. You can hear our ceremony mix HERE.
Anyhow, long story short, because Abney Park was our first, we tend to favor them personally but have found we also like The Cog is Dead, Victor Sierra, Steam Powered Giraffe, Frenchy and the Punk, Clockwork dolls, and others. We have since begun making some of our own Steampunk music.
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