The cassette culture is the amateur production and distribution of music and sound art on compact cassette that emerged in the mid-1970s. The cassette was used by fine artists and poets for the independent distribution of new work. An independent music scene based on the cassette burgeoned internationally in the second half of the 1970s.
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
New Musical Express (NME) is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "rock inkie", the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication, before becoming an online brand which includes its website and radio stations.
Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 NME compilation C86. Twee pop gets its name from the aesthetic of twee, which is known for its simplicity and childlike innocence. Some of its defining features are boy-girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about love. For many years, prominent independent record labels associated with twee pop were Sarah Records and K Records.
Big Flame were a post-punk/indie rock three piece band, based in Manchester, England, and active from 1983 to 1986. The members were Alan Brown, Greg Keeffe (guitar) and Dil Green (drums). After a debut EP ("Sink") on their own Laughing Gun label, they joined the Ron Johnson roster for a series of mid-1980s singles as well as an appearance on the NME's C86 compilation.
Indie pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and subsequently generated a thriving fanzine, label, and club and gig circuit. Compared to its counterpart, indie rock, the genre is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free. In later years, the definition of indie pop has bifurcated to also mean bands from unrelated DIY scenes/movements with pop leanings. Subgenres include chamber pop and twee pop.
Virgin Prunes were an Irish post-punk band formed in 1977 in Dublin. They disbanded in 1986 after the departure of singer Gavin Friday. The other members continued under the name the Prunes until they split up in 1991.
The Wolfhounds are an English noise pop band formed in Romford, Essex, in 1985 by David Callahan, Paul Clark, Andy Golding, Andy Bolton and Frank Stebbing, and originally active until 1990. The band reformed in 2005 and continues to write, record and play live, releasing new albums in 2014, 2016, and 2020.
Since its turnaround in the early-1980s, the New Musical Express has occasionally supplied vinyl, cassettes and more recently CDs on its cover. Many popular alternative artists have appeared on NME compilations, including The Smiths, Blur, Franz Ferdinand, The Stone Roses and The Libertines.
Independent music is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties afforded by independent record labels. Indie music describes a number of related styles, but generally describes guitar-oriented music straying away from mainstream conventions. There are a number of subgenres of independent music which combine its characteristics with other genres, such as indie pop, indie rock, indie folk, and indie electronic.
C81 was a cassette compiled for the British music paper NME in 1981 and released in conjunction with the record label Rough Trade. Featuring a number of contemporary musical acts and performers, it was intended to mark the first five years of the independent label movement in the UK record industry and Rough Trade itself. It was the first in a series of many cassette releases from the paper, including the C86 compilation of 1986.
David Westlake is an English singer/songwriter. He led indie band The Servants from 1985 to 1991.
The Hit Parade is a music group from London that has released eight LPs and fourteen 7" vinyl records. The group has been described as "the very definition of twee Eighties style indie".
Po! are an indie rock band formed in Leicester, England in 1987, with releases dating up to 1998 on Rutland Records, Sunday Records in the US and Elefant Records in Spain.
An independent music scene is a localized independent music-oriented community of bands and their audiences. Local scenes can play a key role in musical history and lead to the development of influential genres; for example, no wave from New York City, United States; Madchester from Manchester, England; and grunge from Seattle.
The June Brides are an English indie pop group, formed in London in 1983, by Phil Wilson and Simon Beesley of International Rescue. Influenced by Postcard-label bands such as Josef K and punk-era bands such as Buzzcocks, The Desperate Bicycles and The Television Personalities, their mix of guitar pop with viola and trumpet formed a blueprint for many of the indie pop bands that would follow.
The Servants were an indie band formed in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England by singer-songwriter David Westlake. The band was the original home of Luke Haines.
CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop is a compilation album of artists from the original C86 era, released in 2006 by Sanctuary Records. It is compiled by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne.
The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead.
"Velocity Girl" is a song by British alternative rock band Primal Scream, originally released as the B-side to their second single, "Crystal Crescent", in 1986. The song has been noted for its influence in indie pop, with Pitchfork Media saying that it reduced "the pop song to its subatomic essence: quick, breezy, quirky, and above all, exquisitely small". The song was partly inspired by the actress, model and Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick.
