The world of music contains countless genres that cater to many different people, making the art form highly versatile and capable of appealing to various different groups of people.
One such genre is indie, a term that derives from the word ‘independent’. It refers to music that is associated with independent record labels instead of one of the bigger record labels that some of the biggest stars in the world are signed to. These days indie is music that is associated with a certain style of playing and a certain type of sound rather than what type of record company they are part of, but it still exists as a popular genre. Many bands that are deemed ‘indie’ because of their sound would still find themselves under the original term due to the way in which they market themselves.
Here in the UK indie music has been around for a while, with various artists emerging in the decades since the 1980s. The Smiths and The Stone Roses are perhaps the most well known indie artists that were around in the 80s, along with American bands like Pixies, who were highly influential in the late eighties (Nirvana are thought to have been heavily influenced by them).
In the 1990s, indie music was perhaps defined by bands that confined to the banner of ‘britpop’, with groups such as Blur hitting the airwaves. It goes to show how much influence and popularity these bands held, as they are still remembered around 20 years after they originally formed. It was during this decade that indie became largely redefined, particularly with the emergence of grunge and other alternative rock acts which started out as independent and made the leap to a major label.
Today indie rock can still be heard with many different bands gaining widespread popularity on various labels and by playing their music on student radio stations and performing at venues across the country. Bands like Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, Maximo Park, The Futureheads, The Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, The Ting Tings and The Shins. Some of these bands have found monumental fame and might not adhere to the label ‘indie’ as it was originally supposed to mean. However, they show that there is still a desire to listen to this form of music, whatever shape or form it takes.