The document discusses debates around the lack of ethnic diversity among indie bands. It notes that the ethnic makeup of indie bands generally reflects the ethnic makeup of its audience, which in the UK is around 1-2% non-white. It suggests that the aesthetics of indie, which include themes of melancholy, poverty, and simplicity, may not appeal to marginalized groups who have genuine experiences of poverty and outsiderness. However, it also points out that globally, there are many non-white indie bands, such as from Indonesia, showing that the indie aesthetic can be meaningful in different cultural contexts.

1. Ask the indie professor: Why are there so
many white indie bands?
There is much debate concerning the ethnic make-up of indie
bands. But is it really a problem? And if so, why does nobody
complain about the same issue in country music or hip-hop?
Different class ... Pulp
Why are there so few non-white artists in indie? I'd be interested in your
perspective.
There is continuing interest in the ethnic make-up of indie. Like other music
genres, indie mirrors the ethnic make-up of its audience. The number of non-
white artists is relatively the same proportion as the audience, which is 1–2%
in the UK. People often do not count ethnically diverse indie bands, unless
the singer is non-white. I'm not going to list them because it forces you to
think of artists according to their ethnic backgrounds, which is not how they
choose to define themselves. It's interesting that there isn't a similar ethnic
scrutiny of hip-hop or country. Or for that matter, why Balinese gamelan music
is disproportionately popular with Balinese people? In some ways, this
question is similar to asking why are there different cultures? Why do you like
the music of your culture or a different culture best? Eventually, you are
brought to the question of why does anyone like any particular form of music.
Music expresses cultural values through conventional sounds. For example,
in the west, minor chords are often thought of as sad – yet even our notion of
a chord is formed by western ideas of tonality. If being part of a music
community is sharing similar sentiments, it should be no surprise that people
raised in the same culture would have a similar ethos and conceive of the
aesthetically pleasing in a similar fashion.
The aesthetics of indie: the longing for a golden age, the melancholy, poverty
chic, and the overall values of simplicity, autonomy and austerity. This may
not be appealing to immigrant or marginalised groups who have already
experienced poverty and experience genuine outsiderness as a social class.
As expressed in Pulp's Common People, people who have a genuine
experience of being poor do not like it when other people play poor. Indie's
vernacular aesthetics do not speak to their life experiences or aspirations.
Pop or hip-hop values are often at odds to the indie DIY ethos. Can you
imagine an indie band singing name-dropping lyrics of wealth/status-markers
such as Cristal, Louboutins or Prada? Or displaying affluence by putting
diamonds in their teeth when for an indie band even putting on a suit is seen

2. as dressing up? Aggrandisement is not part of the philosophy. On the other
side, why long for the past when it includes slavery or colonial imperialism?
You might make this ethnic characterisation of indie bands, only if you don't
look globally. Brent Luvaas's work on youth culture in Indonesia shows there
are many Indonesian indie rock bands including La Luna, Pure Saturday, and
the Upstairs. The indie aesthetics are consistent, but meaningful in a different
way. Here there is a nostalgic longing for an imaginary past. For them, indie is
a way to create an identity beyond a confining national model of Indonesian
ethnicity. Their world music is worldly, not ghettoised. Our society is
heterogeneous, with different cultures living together. So indie bands are
generally white in the UK and US, but so what?