Conventions of Music Genres: Indie Rock

Indie Rock is known as a sub-genre of Alternative rock which originated from the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie Rock is very diverse with sub-genres ranging from Indie Pop to Dance Punk. Indie Rock became a separate movement when Nirvana broke into the mainstream along with several other bands taking hold of the "Alternative" label with them. Many musicians were disappointed with the label alternative due to it becoming so conventional that it seemed to be an inappropriate name for these small independent bands who have no desire to be a part of a mainstream movement. These bands slowly began to separate from the label alternative rock and gather their own place as a small underground movement more in touch with the roots of its movement.

The term Indie Rock, coming from "independent", describes the small and relatively low budget labels on which it is released and the do-it-yourself attitude of the bands and artists involved. Although distribution companies are usually struck with major corporate companies, these labels and the bands they host have attempted to retain their autonomy, leaving them free to explore sounds, emotions and subjects of limited appeal to large, mainstream audiences.

Through research, I have discovered that the costume presented through album covers and photos is quite relaxed, casual and often tend to be of dark colours. For example, black skinny jeans, hats and black suits. The dark clothing worn also tends to make a contrast between the background of the image which helps highlight the style of the musicians.

The position of the frame on for example Indie artists album cover is an important convention of the genre. For instance from looking at well known indie rock bands such as the Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon, you can see that on the front of their album design that the typically the lead singer is positioned in the centre and towards the front, because this is the person the audience will recognise the most. Also most people in the Indie Rock genre are in bands and are usually shown performing closely together to promote themselves.
    

However, recently during the 21st Century, more female artists are breaking through into the Indie Rock genre but involving the same type of style as other Indie Rock bands such as Kings of Leon. Indie is known to be a diverse but unique style in which musicians part of that genre tend to create their look presented on their artwork.

A female musician such as Daughter are a great example of a female break-through artist although she performs at gigs with her band, she is known to her niche audience as a solo artist due to the lack of photos including the band as well as her. The mise-en-scene in her images demonstrates the dark style that most Indie artists nowadays like to portray. For example in her album covers, she is presented against a dark background such as a street to emphasise her genre and style.