Indie folk

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Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation.

The genre has its earliest origins in 1990s folk artists who displayed alternative rock influences in their music, such as Ani DiFranco and Dan Bern, and acoustic artists such as Elliott Smith and Will Oldham. [1] [2] In the following decade, labels such as Saddle Creek, Barsuk, Ramseur, and Sub Pop helped to provide support to indie folk, [2] with artists such as Fleet Foxes breaking into the pop charts with albums such as Helplessness Blues . [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

In the United Kingdom, artists such as Ben Howard [8] [9] [10] [11] and Mumford & Sons [12] [13] [14] emerged, with the latter band promoting the music style through their Gentlemen of the Road touring festivals. [15] [16] [17] The success of acts like Mumford & Sons led some music journalists like Popjustice's Peter Robinson labelling this new British music scene as The New Boring or Beige Pop. [18] [19] [20] [14] A decade later, the terms "stomp and holler", "stomp clap hey", and "hoedown pop" were coined to refer retrospectively to such bands. [21]

In the late 2010s, artists such as Phoebe Bridgers [22] and Julien Baker [23] revived interest in the genre. Bridgers cites Elliott Smith as a foundational influence on her sound. [24]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mumford & Sons</span> British folk rock band

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<i>Moonfire</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Boy & Bear

Moonfire is the debut studio album by the Australian indie rock band Boy & Bear. It was released on 5 August 2011 in the band's home country, with later release dates elsewhere. Recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with producer Joe Chiccarelli, the record garnered comparisons to other indie folk bands such as Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons.

<i>Helplessness Blues</i> 2011 studio album by Fleet Foxes

Helplessness Blues is the second studio album by American band Fleet Foxes, released on May 3, 2011, by Sub Pop and Bella Union. The album received universal acclaim from critics, going on to be nominated for Best Folk Album at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. The release peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200, the band's highest position on the chart to date. To support the album, the Fleet Foxes embarked on a worldwide Helplessness Blues Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Bison</span> American indie folk band

The Last Bison, formerly known as Bison, is an American indie folk band formed in Chesapeake, Virginia. The Last Bison originally dubbed their sound "mountaintop chamber music," combining elements of alternative indie-folk with classical sensibilities. Their first album Quill was released independently in September 2011 and received critical praise, noting the band's complex arrangements, refined lyrics, and vocal harmonies.

<i>Babel</i> (Mumford & Sons album) 2012 studio album by Mumford & Sons

Babel is the second studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. As with Sigh No More, the album was produced by Markus Dravs. The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed by United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tennessee. It was released on 21 September 2012 in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Australia and New Zealand. It was released on 24 September 2012 in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe, South America, and on 25 September 2012 in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Lovett (British musician)</span> British musician

Benjamin Walter David Lovett is a British musician and producer, best known for being a member of the Grammy Award-winning British folk rock band Mumford & Sons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston Marshall</span> British musician (born 1987)

Winston Aubrey Aladar deBalkan Marshall is a British musician. He is best known as the former banjoist and lead guitarist of the folk rock band Mumford & Sons. Prior to this he was in the bluegrass sleaze rap group Captain Kick and the Cowboy Ramblers. With Mumford & Sons, Marshall won multiple awards, including a Grammy and two Brit Awards. He has performed music with different supergroups and collaborated with Baaba Maal and HVOB. After leaving Mumford & Sons, Marshall started an interview podcast with The Spectator.

<i>Wilder Mind</i> 2015 studio album by Mumford & Sons

Wilder Mind is the third studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released on 4 May 2015 through Gentlemen of the Road, Island, Glassnote and Universal Music Group. It was an international success in its first week on sale, charting at number one in seven countries, topping both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, and reaching the top 5 in nine other countries. Five singles have been released from the album, "Believe", "The Wolf", "Ditmas", "Tompkins Square Park" and "Just Smoke".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wolf (song)</span> 2015 single by Mumford & Sons

"The Wolf" is a song by English rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released as the second single from their third studio album Wilder Mind on 9 April 2015 and charted in multiple countries. The official music video for the song was uploaded on 30 June 2015 to the band's Vevo channel on YouTube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildwood Kin</span> English folk rock band

Wildwood Kin are an English folk rock band, composed of sisters Beth Key and Emillie Whiteside, from Exeter, Devon, England. They released their first album, Turning Tides, in August 2017. They released their self-titled second album in October 2019, featuring the smash hit "Beauty In Your Brokenness", a song inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi. Wildwood Kin appeared on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch in September 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tall Tall Trees (band)</span>

Tall Tall Trees is the musical pseudonym of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist banjo player Mike Savino. Though occasionally joined by collaborators, Savino usually performs as a "one-man psychedelic indie-folk orchestra" when playing as Tall Tall Trees. He is acknowledged as a pioneer in the world of experimental banjo music. The name of the project was inspired by the George Jones-Roger Miller song of the same name.

<i>Delta</i> (Mumford & Sons album) 2018 studio album by Mumford & Sons

Delta is the fourth studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released on 16 November 2018 through Gentlemen of the Road, Island Records and Glassnote. The album was recorded at The Church Studios in London with producer Paul Epworth. The album was supported by three singles, "Guiding Light", "Beloved", and "Woman", and managed to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 and number two on the UK Albums Chart. Delta was their last album with guitarist and banjoist Winston Marshall before his departure in 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 Michael Keefe. "What Is New Folk? A Genre Profile". About.com . Archived from the original on 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  2. 1 2 "Indie Folk Music Genre Overview | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  3. ↑ "American indie band Fleet Foxes drops its latest album Shore". Indulgexpress.com. 26 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Review: Shore Heralds the Welcome Return of Indie Folk Heavyweights Fleet Foxes". Musictalkers.com. 2 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "The Quiet Return of Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens". Pitchfork. 25 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "The Best Indie Folk Albums of All Time". Album of The Year.
  7. ↑ "Fleet Foxes crack Billboard 200 chart at No. 4". The Seattle Times . May 20, 2011.
  8. ↑ "NBHAP Story | Ben Howard doesn't want to be your indie-folk sweetheart". Nbhap.com. June 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ben Howard - Devonian Folk Artist & Guitarist Of Note". Udiscovermusic.com. February 3, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Ben Howard's Collections From The Whiteout". Varsity Online.
  11. ↑ "Ben Howard: the new boring or the next big thing?". The Independent. March 2, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Mumford & Sons | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic.
  13. ↑ "Mumford & Sons Are Harder to Hate, but Sound Less Like Themselves". Theringer.com. 14 November 2018.
  14. 1 2 "Do They Actually Suck? Nickelback and Mumford & Sons". Vice.com. 13 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "What We do - Gentlemen of the Road". Archived from the original on 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  16. ↑ "2013 Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers announced". Mumfordandsons.com. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  17. ↑ "Mumford & Sons Plot 2013 'Gentlemen of the Road' Stopovers". Billboard.
  18. ↑ "Sorry, Adele, but Someone Like You has ushered in The New Boring". the Guardian. October 7, 2011.
  19. ↑ Hawking, Tom (24 September 2013). "Why Did We Bother Hating a Band as Boring as Mumford & Sons?". Flavorwire.com. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  20. ↑ "The return of real folk: The bands consigning Mumford & Sons and nu-folk to the past". The Independent. October 24, 2020.
  21. ↑ Jennings, Rebecca (18 October 2023). "Are we ready for the return of 'stomp clap hey' music?". Vox. Vox Media. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023.
  22. ↑ Fertel, Isabella (2 March 2018). "Interview: Indie–Folk Sensation Phoebe Bridgers on her First Solo Tour". 34th Street Magazine. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  23. ↑ Kaplan, Ilana (24 February 2021). "On Little Oblivions, Julien Baker conquers her darkest thoughts". i-D. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  24. ↑ Zoladz, Lindsay (16 April 2020). "Learning From Elliott Smith, 20 Years After 'Figure 8'". NPR. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
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