Research into the indie-rock genre, and existing indie-rock artists and bands

Indie-Rock

As I stated in my last blog, I have made the decision to base the genre of my magazine around the genre indie-rock.  Indie rock is a branch off of the widespread genre rock, and first originated in UK and US in the early 1980’s, although the genre has mainly rose to popularity throughout the 2000’s.

‘Indie’ is an abbreviation used for ‘independent’, as indie artists are renowned for producing music individualistically, breaking the barriers against large, major record companies in an effort to maintain total control over their own music and what is produced.  Some indie artists even go to the length of self-owning and controlling their own record label in order to maintain their total control and freedom.

Commonly noticed factors about Indie-Rock

Indie rock bands and artists consider themselves unrestrained to explore lyrical subjects, sounds, emotions and attitudes that may not necessarily appeal to a large, mainstream audience. Indie artists have a passion for their music, the profit being made not being the main concern to them - the main aim and focus being maintaining their personal taste without influence from anything mainstream, and harboring concerns about commercialism. 

Indie-rock seems to be predominantly produced by male artists, although attracts an audience from both the male and female population. 

Examples of existing bands and artists in the indie-rock genre

Cold War Kids

Cold War Kids are an example of a indie-rock band of four members from Long Beach, California, formed in 2004. The Cold War Kids are especially a good example of how the internet today is having an influence on how smaller bands are promoting and making a name for themselves through the growing, popular internet blogging and networking community without the aid of a large, mainstream record company. After some time, the band signed to the large record label Downtown Records.

Something in particular I noticed about the Cold War Kids when watching their music videos, is that the band themselves are not usually involved. This fits in with the stereotype that indie artists and bands want to be known and respected for their music, rather than the band ‘personalities’ or personal image that they might present. The way they appear and their personal image is not the top priority for the Cold War Kids, they do not want to attract an audience who like them for their image, instead aiming to target an audience who enjoys and appreciates the music they produce, rather than whom the band consists of.

Cold War Kids are particularly an example of a band who maintains an incredibly individual style with their music, I cannot name one other band who are quite like Cold War Kids. Their lyrics are emotive, expressive and personal, and in some particular songs almost tell a story, such as the lyrics to ‘Saint John’.

Arctic Monkeys

The Arctic Monkeys are an English band of four members from Sheffield, England, and formed the band in 2002. Though the top genre of Arctic Monkeys is debatable, Arctic Monkeys can definitely be described as indie-rock as one of their many mix of genres, others of which include alternative rock, garage rock, and post-punk revival. Arctic Monkeys are also an example of how modern-day bands are finding fame and success via the internet (social-networking, blogging, etc), Arctic Monkeys in particular holding the title for being one of the first bands to get extremely successful in this way.

Typically of an indie rock band, Arctic Monkeys are well-known for resisting signing to a large record label in order to maintain their freedom and control over what was produced and avoid conformity, refusing to change their songs or take advice from labels to suit the industry.

Eventually Arctic Monkeys made the decision to get signed to a small record label named ‘Domino’ in June of 2005. The band were attracted to the record company for the DIY approach to it, the way the label was run from the owner’s flats and he only signed bands that he actually personally liked, not what was going to potentially do well in the industry and make lots of profit.  

Editors

Editors an indie rock band formed in 2002, in Birmingham, and consists of four members. Aswell as indie-rock, Editors could also be described under the genre of post-punk revival. 

Editor’s own adaptation of dark indie rock makes connections or draws influence from older bands and contemporary, newer ones. Editors are often compared to post-punk bands Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen by the media, although Editors actually deny these claims, implying that those bands are too dated to have impact on their musical style, and that their music style is independent.

Another heavy comparison was made of the Editors to American indie band Interpol, causing both bands to immediately play down both associations with each other and their musical style in a bid to keep as independent as possible.
The first record label that Editors were signed to was a small indie record label based in Newcastle called Kitchenware Records, which Editors is now the biggest successor of. 

Conclusion drawn from this research

Using the research on the three bands described above, I have come to the conclusion that indie-rock is a genre based mainly on individuality and independence. Nothing is more important to artists of this genre than the music, with the personal appearance and image of the band not being the top priority at all. Therefore, through my magazine if I am intending to reflect the genre of indie-rock, I intend to solely focus on the band’s music more than the members themselves who are involved, in order to reflect ‘Indie-rock’ the best I can through my magazine.

Although, of course, personality and personal image is important to a band in order to attract the fan-base, but indie-rock doesn’t see this as a priority; such as the Cold War Kids, who would rather their fans appreciated them for their music, rather than who they are themselves.