✩⡱ american roots: indie!

In this week's blog, we're supposed to research an American-rooted musical genre, so I decided to research one of my favorite music genres - indie!

I'll discuss what "indie" music is, how and where it started, what music genres it's stemmed from, and more.

What is indie music?

"Indie" music stands for "independent", meaning music done without publication from major commercial record labels. So, "indie" doesn't exclusively mean a music genre, but it's a term used to refer to a form of released music too. To be considered indie music, an artist can't be signed to a major music or entertainment label, meaning the music will often have a more "personal" sound, since record labels won't be able to have an influence on the artist. Indie music is also music that retains a non-commercial, record-label sound.

According to musicgenres,net, an indie artist's "style is often more personal and emotional, and there is an emphasis on the creative process and putting it on display."

What is the history of indie music?

The idea and sound of indie music originates from genres such as folk, dance rock, and hip hop, as "many artists utilize alternative instrumentation [and] jangling guitars" (Last.fm).

Indie music first appeared in the 1970-80s, "with a rise of the shoegazing movement, a form of rock music where the artist stared at their feet and used elaborate guitar effects" (Magnetic Magazine). With indie music originating in America and the United Kingdom, indie music became popular starting in college towns and cities. College radio stations and arts-schools boosted the indie scene especially.

Indie music also started off as mostly punk music. Rock punk music heavily inspires indie music, with one of the first indie groups being the Buzzcocks. In 1977, Buzzcocks' EP, "Spiral Scratch", was the debut of indie music. The band did not have sufficient funds in order to promote their music and extended play, leading them to raise their own money from their family and friends.

In the 2000s, indie subgenres, such as "Lo-fi, emo, noise pop, math-rock, post-rock, and indie-dance" (musicgenres.net) evolved as both more people branched out into their own musical styles, as well as more people expressed desires for more genres of music.

Can indie music be under labels, though?

Indie music actually can be under labels, even though indie music is traditionally from non-labeled artists. Indie artists can go under labels and still be counted as an indie artist, so long that they keep their own personal sound and skip out on the big-modern record label music style.

According to promusicianhub, indie labels that are made solely focus on the music itself, not the income and style of music that will bring in a certain audience. These indie labels aim to preserve artists' own individualistic music styles.

What was indie music culture like?

Indie music culture was a blend of rock, folk, and queer culture, according to musicgenres.net. The incorporation of multiple genres and queer culture had the effect of making music more personal, as stated before. The personalization of music (with the effect being indie music) made it extremely popular among people.

What does indie music usually sound like?

It's not right to categorize all of "indie-sounding" music into one genre - indie. This is because there are so many subgenres of indie music. "Shoegaze" is arguably one of the most recognizable and most well-known indie musical genres, and it can be considered as a subgenre of dream pop. Shoegaze has "fuzzy, glowy, hazy, and warm" (promusicianhub) sounds to it - something that lies between psychedelic rock and indie music. Pop melodies are usually mixed with heavy guitar, with intense reverb.

A good example of dream pop, or shoegaze, would be one of my favorite songs, "A Dream of You", by Far Caspian. 

- There are the aspects of heavy-reverbed guitar, and there's a very dreamy sound to the song. 

- "Shoegaze" is also usually known for its dreamy vocals and airy tones.

Another extremely well-known and popular genre of indie would be indie rock. Indie rock is most known for its notable use of heavy guitar (that is popular in rock music) with the signature "indie sound". An indie sound would refer to music that is not mainstream on the radio.

An iconic indie-rock band would be the Arctic Monkeys! One of their most, popular, if not the most popular, song of theirs would be "Do I Wanna Know?"

- As stated by Magnetic Magazine, indie-rock songs usually follow a "pop form", but don't try to appeal to mainstream music trends or songs for the radio.

The Wallows are also a well-known indie-rock band, with one of their most well-known songs being "Are You Bored Yet?" featuring Clairo.

- There is an obvious 80s sound, which reflects the indie-rock sound that a majority of 80s music had, as indie became most popular during that time.

Another popular genre is "indietronica"! This indie subgenre "encompasses both rock-based bands and those that prefer electronic sounds" (musicgenres.net). With the rise of punk and noise rock in the 90s, the indie music genre became more popular, with Britpop and grunge becoming well-known and mainstream.

Indietronica became more popular with the rising technology during the 2000. Majority of indietronica tracks are made with "DAWs (digital audio workstations) and include drum machines and synths" (Magnetic Magazine). These digital audio workstations are made on laptops or computers. However, before laptops were made, indietronica was made by "electronic artists fusing acoustic and electronic sounds by physically splicing and combining tapes" (Magnetic Magazine).

An extremely popular band known for their electronic-indie music would be Daft Punk. Although their music is mainstream, they model exactly how indietronica music is. One of their most iconic songs would be "Get Lucky", featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rogers.

- In indietronica, there's a lot of percussion and synth, which almost sounds like synth waves. This is prominent in indietronica, giving the music a futuristic, yet groovy electronic sound.

In conclusion, indie music is a huge and diverse genre. Understanding what indie music is and how it originated is interesting to learn about, as it is not only a musical-business term, but also a musical genre. It certainly was fascinating for me to research about, as its one of my favorite music genres, and I hope it was interesting to read about!

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Sources:

1. Branco, Holly. “Indie Music: The Complete Breakdown of the Most Diverse and Well-Loved ...” Magnetic Magazine, https://www.magneticmag.com/2022/08/what-is-indie-music/. 

2. Bushell, Zoe. “What Is Indie Music? the Truth behind This Unique ‘Genre.’” PRO MUSICIAN HUB., 22 Dec. 2021, https://promusicianhub.com/what-is-indie-music/. 

3. “Indie Music: Definition, Examples, and Artists.” Musicgenres, https://musicgenres.net/indie-genre/#:~:text=Lo-fi%2C%20emo%2C%20noise%20pop%2C%20math-rock%2C%20post-rock%2C%20and%20indie-dance,reach%20larger%20audiences%20and%20break%20into%20the%20mainstream. 

4. “Indie Wiki.” Last.fm, https://www.last.fm/tag/indie/wiki.