Does Indie Music Have a Style?
Looking to understand more about what styles accompany indie music? Let's dive in.

Indie music is generally used to describe the music produced and distributed without the help of the top three labels or any of their affiliates. When an artist is said to be indie, it simply means they produce and distribute their music all by themselves or with the help of a small, indie label. But that's not the only definition of indie music.

When indie music began in the 1970s, it had a unique signature sound that grew so popular it became a genre on its own. So apart from being music produced and distributed independently, indie music is also used to describe a particular genre. That's what I'm here to talk about...

Indie as a Genre

Does indie music have a distinct sound of its own? Many would argue yes. They argue that the low-budget, DIY nature of making indie music gives it a certain kind of sound. Unlike the smooth, super-edited music produced by the big labels with their fancy equipment, indie music is rawer and comes with a low-fi grit.

What this second definition implies is that there can be signed artists with an indie sound. It would also mean classification of artists as indie or not is dependent on the context. So we have signed artists in the indie genre, but we have indie artists in every genre. I hope that doesn't twist your brain into a knot.

The Indie Touch

Whether indie music can be considered a genre or not is up for debate. Without any doubt, however, indie music affects the sound. Let me put it this way: the indie version of every genre has a certain type of sound. I'll show you what I mean…

Indie rock

This is where it all began for indie music in the 1970s. The first indie musicians were mostly rock artists who decided to do things differently. Also called an alternative rock in the 80s until Nirvana and many of the alternative bands went mainstream, the major characteristic of indie rock is that there's no care for commercial value, only artistic expression.

Being that it allows any form of artistic expression, indie rock understandably has quite several styles under it. They include math rock, post-punk revival, emo, and noise pop. One popular example of an indie rock band is Imagine Dragons.

Indietronica

Indietronica, a fusion of indie music and electronic dance music, is another indie subgenre. It started as far back as the mid-1990s with Stereolab, Disco Inferno, and Space among the first bands to play this unique mix. Indietronica is a combination of indie pop music, rock music, and electronica. The experimentation of electronica is what helps us differentiate between indietronica and indie pop.

With the arrival of new sound technology on the music scene, the indietronica community has grown massively. Some popular examples of indietronica artists include MGMT, Broadcast, and Animal Collective.

Indie pop

On the other side of indie rock, there's indie pop. Imagine regular guitar pop, but with a ton of DIY ethics. It's a far cry from regular, commercial pop music but it's also much smoother and more direct than indie rock. So you can see it has a style of its own as opposed to simply being pop music but from an independent artist. Indie pop also incorporates the simplicity of punk and the catchy style of mainstream pop music.

Some of the indie pop styles you might've heard of include twee pop which is mainly derived from C86, chamber pop, and Shibuya kei which is a fusion of indie pop with a Japanese style from the 90s. Rex Orange County, Jeremy Zucker, and Billie Eilish are all examples of indie pop artists.

Indie Hip Hop

Also called underground hip-hop, indie hip-hop refers to rap music made by independent rappers without any regard for the commercial value of their music. It's often recognizable more by the socially conscious and brutally honest or politically incorrect lyrics than by any sonic trait. The underground rap scene has been around nearly as long as mainstream rap has been, as far back as 1990 with acts like Black Star.

Today, more and more people are beginning to subscribe to this conscious and real rap. One major artist enjoying bucket loads of fame without conforming to mainstream rules is NF. He used a unique type of instrumental, but it's his lyrics that set him apart from the mainstream industry and keep him stuck almost between underground and mainstream.

Indie folk music

Last but not least, indie folk music started in the 1990s. Folk music, in itself, is quite difficult to put in a box in purely sonic terms. It simply refers to music played in old communities relating to topics such as superstition, traditions, and general community life. Indie folk music takes acoustic guitar melodies and livens them up with modern instruments and equipment. Julien Baker, Iron and Wine, and Bon Iver are some examples you might've heard of.

Top Three Signed Indie Artists

Billie Eilish

You've probably noticed that Billie Eilish doesn't exactly make mainstream music despite being signed to a major label. Her music, speaking in terms of style, is indie pop with an occasional touch of indietronica. For an accurate taste of this, listen to her debut album. It's called When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? It's indie from head to toe and not produced with commercial success in mind. This makes Billie even more special now, doesn't it?

Vampire Weekend

This band was a bonafide indie rock band. Their second album, Contra, became only the twelfth independently released album to top the Billboard 200 chart. So despite now being signed to a major label, their sound remains indie.

Imagine Dragons

Formed in 2008, Imagine Dragons have gone on to become one of the most recognizable names in rock music. They made quite a name for themselves as an indie rock band in Las Vegas but blew up in 2011 when they signed with Interscope Records, a subsidiary of UMG. Since then, they've released six studio albums and won ten Billboard Music Awards and a Grammy. In all this success, their sound remains the same, indie.

Final Thoughts

Although indie music generally refers to a business model, it can be used to describe a genre. That said, no one sound describes indie music. Instead, we must explore the effects of indie music on all our favorite genres. The DIY effect on each genre is what makes a song indie.