Indie Nation

Indie.. a music genre, a lifestyle!

"Indie", the term used to define the sound that a musician presents, but when interpreted more literally, it is the way that sound is presented or made, that's why it can be some sort of lifestyle. It often refers to an artist or band that is not part of the mainstream culture and/or making music outside its influence. Though the sound of these bands may differ greatly, the "indie" definition comes from the "do-it-yourself" attitude and ability to work outside large corporations.

Actualy, when you think of "indie" you don't connect it with one of the four main record labels (Warner, Universal, Sony BMG and EMI), and that fact also define's the genre. Well, maybe 'cause indie and alternative music isn't the kind of music you get to hear each day on your local radio... it isn't pop, pop-rock or house, sometimes you need to listen to it with time and explore it, sometimes you need to open up your music tastes to something that may seem a little weird, a little agressive, maybe way too calm or even just not the "common music".

There are several subcategories which music from the overall indie scene are often grouped broadly into. Music ranging from alternative rock to punk rock to experimental music has long existed in indie scenes, often independent from one another. Indie rock and indie pop are the most common groupings that conform to an "indie" sound. The difference between these is difficult to pick up from the instrumentation or sound, as both genres include distorted guitar-based music based on pop-song conventions. Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs, The White Stripes, Interpol and The Arcade Fire are just some good examples of the "indie rock" and "post rock" bands most people interested seem to follow. There is also indie dance, which comes from a fusion of indie pop and electronic/dance music, and can even techno-minimal influences. Crossover between electronica (mostly glitch) resulted in so-called indietronic or subpop, electronic indie or indie electronic, for example some artists on the German Morr Music label, or others like The Postal Service. Another type is post-rock, which includes bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, God Is An Astronaut, Chromelodeon, or Sigur Rós. The idea behind post-rock is that there are very few (if any) lyrics, yet the songs are long (sometimes upwards of 20 minutes), and the point of the songs are to paint an emotional landscape with just music and no words...

Well, this was just some sort of intruduction to this blog, I'll try to bring you all the info on the bands I know and continue do discover each day, and I promise I'll bring you the best of them! Enjoy... cheers! \o

Info on the "indie culture" taken majorly from Wikipedia