I was recently discussing with a friend whether or not we need to instantiate a new genre label for whatever Remi Wolf has been doing recently. Her new singles, which I hope are signs of a forthcoming album release, are funky and have fans buzzing about her whole discography. She’s featured on “indie” Spotify playlists, which means she’s lumped in with everyone else innovating on the concept of genre. While it’s still a good indicator of new artists with young audiences, indie has ceased to have a coherent sound.
I’ll be the first to say that genre itself is antiquated. As Remi Wolf said in an interview once, “Everything is soup.” I’m more interested in description than categorization; the artists on this playlist are emerging from the chaos of indie music to form something really fresh, with elements of pop, hip-hop, funk, and soul production.
My favorite aspect of all this music is the use of space--the percussion is often completely dry and many of the instruments are played staccato so that there are brief moments of silence. On close listen, it seems that there are fewer tracks than are usually present in pop production, which is still largely informed by the wall of sound style. This sparseness has a focusing effect, like the sharpness has been turned up on the image. Every flourish or additional layer has an express purpose.
The intentionality really fascinates me. Even as someone who makes music, it’s hard for me to imagine having the idea to use a panned siren sample in the second verse or the xylophone in the chorus of “Woo!” The song is only about three minutes long, and there’s so much packed into it: stacked vocals, funny lyrics, a good mix of smooth and sharp instrumentation. Remi Wolf uses her danceable, intensely creative music to express things that are too tough to say from within the box of a typical pop song. It’s easy to think that someone who makes fun music would have a purely fun persona, but she incorporates very personal material into the seemingly light songs. Her audience resonates with both with this juxtaposition and her disregard for labels and rules.
The first artist I remember making music like this was Still Woozy, the solo project of Sven Gamsky. His first single came out in 2017 and later that same year he released “Goodie Bag,” which is still his most popular song. He seemed to emerge from the bedroom-pop scene with a hip-hop sensibility; his vocal delivery is soft but very tight and the production is rooted in electronic drums and samples.
He just released his first album, after a long string of singles. It’s a collection of songs teeter on the edge between groove and chill, good for a party or an afternoon walk. Gamsky has a degree in classical guitar, and his technical prowess shows in the sonic diversity of this record. Coming in at just over thirty minutes for thirteen songs, it packs a punch.
Tierra Whack is the reigning queen of short songs. Her latest album Whack World (2018) is a collection of fifteen tracks that are exactly one minute long. The debut was accompanied by a visual album which is a work of art in its own right. She’s one of the most creative people making music right now, someone committed to changing the game since she started playing it.
A video of her freestyling went viral when she was fifteen. She started meeting her idols and becoming an internet sensation. She moved from Philly to Atlanta back to Philly in pursuit of a music career. When Whack World came out, it was an instant hit. She released the short film in one minute clips on her Instagram; the album was formatted for the digital age, one of shortened attention spans and intense visuals. She still somehow manages to pack in incredible rhymes in these bite-size songs. I’ll leave off today with my favorite lyrics from “Hungry Hippo,” featured on this playlist:
He likes my diamonds and my pearls
I said, "Thank you, I designed it"
Not your average girl