Indietronic, or indietronica, is a fusion of many genres. The genre is a culmination of the different styles of music that have been prevalent in the past 30 years. To fully understand how it has become such a popular and unique style music, you have to go digging through its colorful roots.
In the mid to late 1980’s synthesized music was the craze leading to the formation of two very different types of music: Modern Pop and New Wave. New wave focused on the vocals while Bubblegum pop was based around the combination of mass appeal and attractive artists. 20 years later Pop and indie rock mixed with the retro sensibilities of New Wave and lead to Indietronica.
Revitalizing the indie music scene it has been argued that it is the metaphorical Messiah of the music industry. Emerging from this genre, vocal stars like The Chain Gang of 1974, Dan Croll, Tony Castles and Yeasayer have provided the music scene with proof that raw vocal talent can exist in an age of autotune and modified voices. On the opposite side of the spectrum are instrumental legends like Diplo, Deadmau5 and one of music’s most promising rising stars, Dillon Francis.
Francis’s popular songs like I.D.G.A.F.O.S., West Side and Beautician have fostered an underground following of his music. His concert and club performances show the potential for this 26 year-old independent producer legend. Many fans expect to see him make it big with his new album coming out on October 22, “Money Sucks, Friends Rule.”
Perhaps its time you join the rising fanbase, and enjoy the Pop of the future, before it catches on. You’ll be able to “know Yeasayer before he was cool.” Indietronica is in a similar position that Indie Rock was in the mid to late 2000’s but it has more of a mass appeal, with its familiar but unique sound.You’ve most likely listened to some Indietronica without even realizing it, whether it’s Radio Mirror Park in GTA V or Dark Matter and Washed Out in Project X. It is without a doubt the fastest growing genre of music in the past 20 years, but is Indietronica independent musical expression at its finest, or generic, bland, and overplayed? It’s up to you to decide.
-Jon Rose
The Claw 