1. Indie Music
Independent music also known as Indie music is a genre of music in which
artists have a relaxed do-it-yourself approach to recording their music. This type of
music has been around for years, but in resent years has become more common as
many artists no longer want to be labelled as pop, rock etc. Studying the different
types of music has allowed me to realise, many artists no longer have one genre of
music, and with the Medias attention on the music industry many artists want to
shock the public by trying different and new music that in the past would not have
been linked with them. Indie music is a large genre and many twenty first century
artists consider themselves an indie artist, not because they are independent, simply
because it has so many different versions of indie they can consider themselves as
part of this large relaxed collective group of artists, and change their music when
they want to, without being judge in some cases.
Indie music was most well known in 1980’s in the United Kingdom, even
though it was around in USA and other countries, it was not as well recognised.
However, The growth of the digital age and downloading music has lead indie artists
to be discovered by fans without having to buy a CD and be apart of a record label,
this has meant the laid back indie artists who sing songs on You Tube to fans, are
being picked up by record labels quicker and quicker, with already established fan
base across the world.
Indie artists usually consist of a band, without any digital enhancement to
their voices or instruments. Many male bands consider themselves to be a indie
band, and female artists who consider themselves to be indie artists are usually just
single singers, female groups are not as popular to be an indie artist.
The sub genres consist of, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Indie Dance and Indie Folk.
Artists that are considered apart of the indie genre, Interpol, The Script, Manic Street
Preachers, Mark Ronson, Arcade Fire, Brandon Flowers, Katy Perry, Bandon Flowers,
Rumer, The Pretty Reckless, Muse, Goo Goo Dolls, Klaxons, C.W. Stoneking, The
Rifles, Linkin Park, Tame Impala, Eels, Biffy Clyro, 30 seconds to Mars, Lily Allen, Kings
of Leon, The National, Arcade Fire, Pendulum, Eliza Doolittle, Scouting for girls,
Gorilliaz, Snow Patrol, Paramoe, Kasabian, Muse, Cherry Ghost, Two Door Cinema
Club, etc. Some of these artists are less famous than others, but I think that is the
appeal to the indie genre as it there is such a wide variety of music and the artist’s
idea of indie music.

2. Indie music, has become so popular is resent years, it also has its own fashion
style, all the artists embed this style, making fans idolise the bands and artists of this
genre, therefore it is now on the high street available to buy from places such as
Topman and Topshop. The look reflects the indie music genre, a relaxed do-it-
yourself approach, usually a mix between casual (jeans) and smart (shirts or blazers)
for men, for women casual (dress or trainers) and smart (blazer) this look can be
seen on the high street but also on the run way. Some fashion items can look random
and out of place, but that is the look this fashion wants, ‘just put on whatever you
find first and like, even if it doesn’t match’. Males are seen wearing make-up and
jewellery, similar to the punk rock look, but more colour and up to date fashion is
included in this indie style.
The Attitude of the indie music artists, are similar to the genre and fashion, it
is very laid back and often not seeking attention from the media, for example Lily
Allen has reportedly retired from the music industry because of the media and its
judgement of her and her music. The band Gorilliaz is another example for just
wanting to play music to their fans without media attention, for many years Gorilliaz
hid their identities from their fans with characters that they played on stage, this
allowed them to keep a close personal life without being named by the media. This
laid back approach isn’t always positive as seen with Pete Doherty from The
Libertines, he was so laid back that he got heavily involved with drugs, putting a
negative light onto his music, amongst fans. Another issue with this laid back
approach is some bands do not want to make the normal public appearances, which
is needed to become successful in the music industry and usually leads to bands
bringing out one single or album and not being seen or heard from again.
Indie Artists usually perform at a variety of venues, from large popular
concerts, to small gigs at little venues. The most popular place for indie bands to
appear is at a music festival. Indie artists perform with a band and usually singing live
and without many props or distractions, they usually just sing their music and get off
stage. This is also reflected into their music videos; however some artists with certain
songs will make a music video with a theme, props and a story. Demi O’Shea