Genre

The artist we have chosen to use for our promotional music video is Natalie Lungley, whose musical style is indie or alternative. Genre is defined by the conventions of the music such as rhythm and tone as well as the songs themes and lyrics. There are many musical sub-genres such as for Rock music e.g. punk rock and alternative rock. However there are also hybrid genres which combine two existing genres together such as indie rock.

The band Nirvana, an inspiration for Natalie Lungley
 in her formative years

The genre of indie music covers a wide range of styles and concepts because it is 'independent music'. This means that the main reason for an artist being considered 'indie' is because their music is very unique and unusual making it difficult to place into regular niche category (such as 'Pop'/'Rock'/'Hip-Hop' etc).
The term 'indie' traditionally refers to independent art (music/film/literature or anything that fits under the broad banner of culture) created outside of the mainstream and without corporate financing. Generally indie music artists are inspired by folk music or singer/songwriters and many have been inspired by the likes of Elvis Presley and The Beatles who began to not conform to the normalities of the 50s and 60s and became more independent artists. In terms of more modern artists, many indie artists are inspired by the likes of Nirvana, The Kooks and Florence & The Machine. Lana Del Rey is an alternative artist who has drawn inspiration from artists such as Amy Winehouse as well as having a fascination with old Hollywood which has moulded her unique style with elements comparable to Marilyn Monroe. For example the image below shows Marilyn Monroe during her famous beach photoshoot and one of Lana Del Rey's music videos 'Blue Jeans':

The selling point of an indie artist is their individuality. If their songs are easily recognisable as one of their own because it is distinctive and has unusual content then they are a successful indie artist. The alternative and indie genre has emerged recently as a combination of many different musical styles and genres and has rapidly grown in popularity in the last few years. The target audience for indie artists is usually very particular and includes people who prefer not to listen to mainstream and chart music because it can be thought to all be very similar and not have deeper meanings. This is a key concept for indie/alternative music because the lyrics are usually formed from personal experience and contain ambiguous meanings or metaphors as well as strong emotive lyrics. This creates an artist who an audience feels they can understand and attracts an audience who is different from that of mainstream music as these artists tend to be seen as 'untouchable' and their music generic. Indie rock & indie pop artist St. Vincent believes that artists should 'forget the idea of making money out of albums' and concentrate on the messages and quality of the music they are creating.

Indie rock & indie pop artist St. Vincent 

The audience age for indie music is usually mid-teens and above because they relate to the unique looks indie artists have and take inspiration from them while also relating to the way indie artists have strong opinions and generally rebel against higher powers. The target audience gender for indie music is usually both genders depending on the artist. For example Arctic Monkeys and The Beatles have an audience who are equally male and female stereotypically males being fans for the music and females more for the members of the band. However indie/alternative artists such as Florence & The Machine and Lana Del Rey have an audience of more females because of the themes of their music and their fashion influences. The background and class of indie music listeners tend to be of a lower class and a humble background due to the themes and lyrics being from the personal experience of the artist who is usually of low class themselves as they are signed independently and not with a major record label. The video below is of the indie artist Birdy performing the song 'Wings':

Indie music generally uses acoustic instruments and are more slow and meaningful in their sound. The sound evokes strong emotion, sometimes being nostalgic for the audience. It can create a sense of synaesthesia when the sound of the music creates a mental image. Alternative music is similar however the instruments used are more varied and has a sound relating to rock music using instruments such as an electric guitar. Lana Del Rey is an example of an alternative artist who uses a variation of alternative pop and alternative rock music too.

A key indie/alternative artist from the last decade is Nirvana. Usually indie and alternative music does not amass much popularity on mainstream radio or TV because the songs do not appeal the masses compared to how mainstream pop music and R&B does. Nirvana is an exception of this with their breakthrough album 'Nevermind' soaring to the top of the charts in the 90s with arguably their most well known songs 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and 'Come As You Are'. This created a turning point for alternative music and allowed many more artists to be recognised by the mainstream scene which resulted in greater popularity. From then onwards, indie music expanded to cover a range of different music styles from dance to folk with every artist maintaining individuality and a certain unusual edge to their music.

Florence & The Machine is an example of an indie artist with sub-genres tied into some of her music such as indie pop and indie rock. She debuted in 2007 and has remained a popular indie artist since. Her music is a perfect example of how indie artists use metaphors and ambiguity in their lyrics. The song 'Ship To Wreck' which opens her 2015 album 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful' begins with the lines 'Don't touch the sleeping pills, they mess with my head' which many believe is Florence explaining that in this new album she is pure and adulterated much like how many perceive the indie genre compared to mainstream music. All of her songs contain intricate lyrics which express her emotions and they are very open which is a key convention for indie music. Natalie Lungley is very similar to Florence in this way and falls into the indie genre through her emotional and metaphorical lyrics and her unique melancholic sound. 

Florence & The Machine - Ship To Wreck (Music video)

The appearance of an indie artist varies greatly due to one of the conventions of an indie artist being that they have something unique which separates them visually and aurally from other artists. Usually indie artists dress in a casual way and without any costumes or extravagant makeup as associated with the pop or rock genre. Some indie artists may follow the latest fashions or choose a decade as the influence for their style as that would just be their preference because in modern terms an indie artist in an artist who is producing music independently from major record labels because they are quirky or unique in some way. Below are examples of indie artists album covers and styles:

Arctic Monkeys:

Arctic monkeys are an English rock band whose much style alternates between indie rock and psychadelic rock. Their band style as whole is influenced by the 50s decade which visually makes them unique. The album cover on the right hand side is their first album titled 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'. This album cover represents their musics 'grittiness' and imperfect nature as the black and white filter makes the image less clear while the man on the front of the album is smoking a cigarette which seems quite casual and careless. A Scottish health official said the photo 'reinforces the idea that smoking is okay' to which the bands product manager replied, "You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good". This and the bands title shows that the band is rebelling against those of a higher power and has their own opinion which is a convention of traditional indie artists. 

Regina Spektor: 

Regina Spektor is an American singer-songwriter and pianist and her music alternates between indie folk and indie pop. Her style is influenced by the 60s and 70s which is what makes her a visually memorable indie artist. The look of an indie artist is very important as not being signed by a major record label company means they need to make themselves noticed and memorable to the audience. Regina Spektor's album cover is very impressionable and the hat she is wearing is a fashion piece inspired by 1960s pillbox hats and army hat detailing. The albums title 'What We Saw From The Cheap Seats' also relates to the conventions of indie music because it rejects the mainstream artist stereotype of being untouchable and instead relates to the audience due to the word 'cheap' indicating that she could not afford good seats for a show.

The above examples suggest that indie music artists are heavily influenced by past fashions and music styles and use intertextuality in their work often.

Below is a 'Prezi' analysing indie artist Lana Del Rey's promotional music video 'Summertime Sadness' and linking it to the indie genre: