Indie Music Scene

IT’S NOT ALWAYS SO BAD

          When being asked about independent music, the term “unsigned” is uttered. But the irony of being part of this music scene is that you try not to have its status. Battling to obtain the recognition they believe they deserve by applying efforts and of course, showing their talent to people with good connections. I must say that I have personally heard most of these artists’ material and have thought, “Why do they have to go through so much? These guys need to get discovered, pronto!”

    Sadly, not everyone gets to have the same opinion as mine, which explains why they have to keep working for it. Luckily, playing their material would be no work for them at all. Instead, they’d be doing what they have chosen for themselves to do. Considering that the music they play is their passion, frustrations are all covered. But still, help for them is needed, even if the pleasure is already with them in what they do.

INDIE LOVER

Don’t like indie songs? Listen to some, and you might be surprised at what you find. Here are some tips for you to follow on your way to appreciating the indie music scene.

Ø       If you have a portable music player, bring it along to somewhere that you haven’t been before. A different surrounding usually paves the way for a different set of reactions towards a particular song.

Ø       Listen to the lyrics of the music. It will help you appreciate the song more if you know what it’s trying to say.

Ø       Lose yourself in the music. Soak up its beat, its tempo, its lyrics and the message it wants you to hear.

In Existence

 

The indie music scene had existed for like decades now, based on an article that I have read a few days ago. It was somewhat important during the early 1980’s when the rest of the country caught up with punk rock music from New York and London. The aspect of becoming more inventive is still the challenge why artists have decided to put up the scene and of course, to preserve it in a way. The opportunity that people would acquire once they would hear about the indie music scene will be a way to improve the craft and to make it more known.

Fanbridge – Scene Site

An indie site can be visited by many if one is interested with communicating with people who have the same interest. FanBridge.com was founded in 2006 by three music-loving business majors that wanted to bring new ease and ability to bands’ communication efforts with their fans. With advanced email list and mobile messaging tools, FanBridge is designed to save time and effort while improving the return on investment of communicating with your fans (as well as industry contacts). Indie-Music.com recently spoke with Co-Founder Spencer Richardson to find out more about the Company and how you can use it to advance your career.

On Memphis

It’s no surprise to hear that Memphis is the home of blues, brews, and barbecues. No matter how you stack (or, Stax) it, music roots run deep in this full-of-soul southern city. In fact, you can’t walk down Beale Street without passing a blues bar or barbecue joint within 10 seconds. The list of musicians hailing from this city reads like a who’s who of rhythm, blues, and soul, but it’s the dedication and commitment to the local music scene in modern times that keeps the spirit of soul alive. Music fans flock here every year for many fine festivals, a chance to visit historic Sun Studios, or get their Elvis on at Graceland. Memphis may not be the first city that fans think of when they’re marking down travel destinations, but for this writer’s money, it’s a trip well worth taking more than once to soak in all this traditional city has to offer. Forsaking rhinestones for grittier textures, this “other” Tennessee music capital provides less glitter and more groove.

Then There was Toronto

On the other hand, Toronto, another place in Canada, is home to the Canadian Music Week (CMW) and NXNE (North by Northeast) music festivals. North by Northeast is based on the more popular SXSW festival in Austin, Texa . The city is also home to indie record label Arts & Crafts and the now defunct Three Gut Records. The awareness of the Toronto indie scene is being publicized by websites such as Toronto Music Scene and the like sites. Toronto is also the hometown of veteran rock legend, Neil Young. Dan Smith of Caribou/Manitoba is also from nearby Dundas, Ontario.

THE INDIE FAMILY TREE

Indie’s genre is only an umbrella, this particular kind of music can still be divided into a variety of subgenres, some of which are:

Ø Indie rock

Ø Indie pop

Ø Indie dance

Ø Indietronic

Ø Post rock

This subgenres come from a variety of fusions like Indie dance, which came from a combination of dance music and indie pop. Sometimes, the distinctions between the subgenres are a bit tricky to decipher, as they somehow have an underlying singula theme to them. The differences lie mainly in how strongly they follow a certain genre or kind of music, such as rock or pop.

Thoughts on Indie Music Awards

As I was browsing the internet, I was surprised to see that there are actually Indie Music Awards. I never thought that such awards exist. Just like any other music awards – AMA, Grammy’s and MTV Music Awards – Indie Music Awards give common awards such as Favorite Single of the Year, Favorite Solo Artist of the Year and Favorite International Artist /Group of the Year. One of the music awards that I found was held in Canada. It was called the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards. Here the following artists were recognized for their music: Feist, Alexisonfire and the Arctic Monkeys.

Image source: www.webindie.com

Indie Music Charts 2007

Are you interested to know the hottest indie music artists today? Well, with all these indie artists around making good music, it is kinda hard to choose which artist to follow and which album to buy. To end your suffering, let me give you the Top 10 Indie Underground Music CD Albums. Hope this list will help you decide which album to buy.

1. The Reminder – Feist
2. The Shepherd’s Dog – Iron and Wine
3. Cease to Begin – Band of Horses
4. Under the Blacklight – Rilo Kiley
5. Icky Thump – The White Stripes
6. Let It Die – Feist
7. Challengers – The New Pornographers
8. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – Spoon
9. In Our Nature
10. Hey Eugene! – Pink Martini

If you want to know more about these artists and their music just visit Indie Music Exposed at www.indiemusicxposed.com

Image source: www.masternewmedia.org

Indie Music Musings

I never thought that indie music is really popular worldwide. When I searched through the net using the keyword ‘indie music,’ that was when I found out that indeed there are many indie or independent artists all over the world. And just like any other type of music, indie music is also classified according to different categories such as pop, gospel, jazz and others. Together with my searching, I also found out different sites that promote indie music. Some of the sites are:

• Indie Axe
• Web Ring
• Indie Music
• Make Use Of

Image source: www.indiebible.com