all about indie music
In music nothing is free and to make a new band known you must make a contract with a famous record label. However, in indie music you should not spend too much money, as you can produce an album in your home studio or pay a cheap independent label.
What is indie music and how did it originate?
Originally, indie was about independent music, which did not correspond to any famous record label. Likewise, indie is an English word that means independent or independence, so what we have said in the previous sentence makes more sense.
Indie is not a musical genre, but the media lists it as a subgenre of alternative rock, due to its origins. This is because many of the bands or solo artists that began recording their albums on independent labels were playing a non-commercial type of rock for the time (1960s to 1990s or so). That type of rock was called “alternative” and for many it entered the lists of cultured or experimental music. Alternative rock has a bit of various styles, hard rock, punk, pop, experimental rock, etc.
Although at that time in history (the 1980s) indie music was not considered commercial by the major record companies, radio, the Internet or television made many bands and soloists of this style known. In this sense, it should be noted that Sony Music, Universal Music and Wagner Music are some of the most famous record companies. Therefore, record companies that are not part of them are considered “independent”.
In the 1980s, the word indie began to be known , when British post-punk groups emerged. Since then, many artists began to make their own records, using the “DIY” (Do It Yourself) technique, which means “ do it yourself ”. Also, various rock groups began to make their own record labels.
This is how the indie style was born, which is known to this day. Now, with technological advances and Internet streaming companies, anyone can record their unreleased songs from the comfort of home, without having to pay a record label. You simply record your music and publish it on the internet, for example via YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, etc.
Interestingly, if we analyze the meaning of indie, we could say that reggaeton, hip hop, rap or electronic music made by independent labels is also indie. However, traditionally rock is the one that enters indie music charts, in fact, you can check it out on Spotify. You won’t find reggaeton charts in the indie category there. In other words, the media or streaming platforms decide what is indie music. They respect the roots, since, from the beginning, indie is related to music styles such as rock, folk and pop.
The best Spanish indie groups
Among the best indie groups of Spanish origin , Love of Lesbian and Vetusta Morla stand out . However, there are also other Spanish indie groups and artists with a large following, including La Pegatina, Russian Red, Iván Ferreiro, Supersubmarina, Lori Meyers, etc.
The Barcelona band “Love of Lesbian” makes indie music in Spanish with cultured lyrics. His song “Where we used to scream” is currently one of the most played on the YouTube platform, with 21 million views and seventy thousand likes.
On the other hand, we mention that the Spanish indie group Vetusta Morla has recorded several albums with Pequeño Salto Mortal, their own label. This band is based on indie pop, alternative rock, indie rock and pop rock. Among his most popular songs on the Internet are “Advice of Wise Men” and “Wish me luck.”
Both music bands are very well received by the Spanish public, as well as other countries in Europe and Latin America.
What are the best indie songs?
This time we present several indie songs that have reached the top of various music charts. Our goal is to help you with a selection of 15 songs that you can later listen to on your karaoke speaker or MP3 player.
- “I bet you look good on the dancefloor” by Arctic Monkeys
- “Council of Wise Men” by Vetusta Morla
- Radiohead “Just”
- “Getting Drunk” by Lori Meyers
- “Last Nite” by The Strokes
- “When you don’t see me” by Love of Lesbian
- “Don’t look back into the sun” by The Libertines
- “Agnes” from Glass Animals
- “Someone great” by LCD Soundsystem
- “Of infinite doubts” by Supersubmarina
- “Feel the pain” by Dinosaur Jr.
- Reptile by The Strokes
- “To be alone with you” by Sufjan Stevens
- “A Good Day” by Los Planetas
- “Do you” by Spoon
Top 10 indie music bands
This list is not organized from best to worst, since we consider that all the mentioned bands have a good musical level. Also, the most important thing is that you decide for yourself which is the best indie band in this top 10.
- Radiohead
- Arctic Monkeys
- The Killers
- Ancient Morla
- The Smith’s
- Low
- love of lesbians
- The Strokes
- Glass Animals
- The planets
The move from independent to famous labels
Some groups that start out creating and producing their own albums or pay independent labels gain a lot of fame. Therefore, they may later do productions with big record labels like Sony Music or Wagner Music. In this sense, many people agree with continuing to call them “indie”, out of respect for their origins. An example of this is the band Love of Lesbian, since they have also produced music with Warner Music Group since 2009.
In any case, we invite you to listen to indie music while you work or play sports, to be more motivated. Likewise, we recommend you buy the best quality-price telescope, because that way you can see the moon or the stars while you relax listening to indie music.
