Its first usage appears to have been in the early 1980s, to describe a synthesizer-based variant of gothic rock developed largely in Germany. The three most commonly cited bands are Das Ich and Project Pitchfork.
Shortly afterwards, in the United States the term "darkwave" became associated with music produced on the Projekt records label because it was used as the name of their printed catalog. The Projekt label carried bands such as Lycia and Love Spirals Downwards, all characterized by slow, moody ethereal female vocals, with a strong Cocteau Twins influence (something like the later music of Dead Can Dance). This sense of the term darkwave would also apply to similar music from other labels carrying similar work
Still a third commonly used meaning is based on the assumption that "darkwave" is a contraction of "dark new wave", and hence refers to the dark/moody new wave bands such as Ultravox and Gary Numan. One version of this usage takes this category as distinct from the early gothic rock bands (e.g. Bauhaus,Joy Division), another is to regard "darkwave" as a more inclusive umbrella term.
It could be argued that there is still a fourth meaning of "darkwave" evolving, as current fans of the music attempt to both refine the meaning of the term and expand its reach. Current self-identified fans of "darkwave" are inclined to include the works of artists such as Die Form, Blutengel and others, known for experimental recombination of elements of gothic, classical and electronic music. A few other examples of bands included in this meaning of darkwave are The Machine InThe Garden, The Synthetic Dream Foundation and Android Last.
A common criticism of the term is that there's no clear distinction between "darkwave" and the more widely used terms "gothic" or "industrial".
It's often suggested that the primary motivation for using the term "darkwave" is an attempt at gaining some distance from these other categories that are regarded as too cliched, over-exposed, or passé.
Another artist of the Darkwave-scene is Tilo Wolff with his project Lacrimosa.
This melancholic music filled with classical elements, surrounding poetric lyrics and topped by an emotional voice, was something which fascinated many and quickly a scene was raising up, which is nearly already forgotten.
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