Research into a Genre

Indie Pop

What is it?

• A genre of alternative rock that originated in the mid 80s in the UK.
• Indie pop differs from indie rock as it is more melodic and less abrasive.
• Indie pop was inspired by Punk's 'do it yourself' attitude and ideology.
• The genre is characterised by pop conventions and structure such as a melodic and light hearted sound. However, typical rock instruments are used such as drums and bass.
• The genre was inspired by the music of 'The Velvet Underground', pulling together 1960s pop, power pop and post punk.

Artists Include:

• Foster the people
• MGMT
• Marina and the Diamonds
• Florence and the Machine
• Bat for Lashes
• Bastille
• The Killers
• The XX
• The Smiths
• Imagine Dragons
• St Vincent

What does Indie Pop sound like?


Conventions of Indie Pop videos

• They are generally lower budget music videos with locations including, cities, studios and forests.
• A lot of indie pop videos include a live performance from the artists or lip syncing in general.
• They tend to have a strong narrative which is complementary of the melodic tune.
• Indie pop videos tend to be either really colourful or bright (e.g. MGMT 'Time to Pretend) or in filters such as black and white or sepia (e.g. Ed Sheeran 'The A Team')