Does Music Genre Limit An Artist?
The ever expanding world of music genres can be, to the uninitiated, a baffling experience. Over recent years, the trend amongst journalists seems to be to create increasingly ridiculous genres (and sub genres) for new artists, rather than attempt to define them within the existing musical spectrum. Is it simply lazy journalism? Well no, not necessarily.
Some are fairly self explanatory; mumble rap, for instance. But what about the more, shall we say, obscure ones such as crabcore? The distillation of the rhythms generated by crab claws during the mating season into soft jazz, perhaps? Not an unreasonable guess, admittedly, but instead it's actually a metal subgenre from the early 2000s that can be explained far, far more simply as an extremely brutal and basic style of heavy metal.
Artists are, for the most part at least, embracing a new wave of creativity and blending all manner of styles and influences to create a unique sound that they make their own. Nine Inch Nails are a textbook example here; throughout their twenty-plus year tenure they have blended melancholic piano, squelching synths and drum machines, as well as angsty, scuzzy guitars, to produce some of the most compelling music. On recent releases they have largely eschewed the latter, favouring more measured vocal delivery and hypnotic drum samples to create something entirely different from their earlier output.
There are also of course some artists who stick within the boundaries of one genre as a means of defining themselves because it’s what they choose to do creatively, and that is of course also fine. Bad Religion, for example, have made a career out of immaculately crafted three-ish-minutes long slabs of breakneck punk rock, and they're damn good at it. As is Adele, who uses her not insubstantial pipes to croon through emotion-laden pop nuggets. It's no bad thing to stick to what you know and what you are good at.
As an artist myself, when I write music, I draw influence from an incredibly diverse pool of influences. It can be absolutely anything; a great lyric, a melody, a rhythm, or a great riff, and that can come from just about anywhere. A snippet of conversation, a painting, jamming with my drummer, or trying a new technique on guitar after having watched a YouTube lesson. The single unifying factor for me is to be open to something that inspires and excites me. I don't write to a template, necessarily. I have tried that in the past, and I don't find it works. I would rather fill my CD changer (remember those?) with a selection of albums and listen, and pick a single element that grabs me as a jumping off point.
The music I've written has come from all manner of places; in one memorable case I remember my drummer played me a part he had written; a danceable, immediate shuffle beat. It was instant for me - I stood there and played with some riffs to complement the part. It ended up as a hard-but-groovy industrial rock track and it’s now one of our favourites to play live. Another - a close friend of mine went through what must have been a horrendous experience, a breaking point that had been building for years. I felt compelled to tell her story (in an indirect way), and the lyrics fell out of me during a bus journey home; musically, it’s a world away from industrial rock, as I wanted it to be a dreamlike, trip-hop style track. Think ‘Teardrop’ by Massive Attack and you’re getting close.
I have attempted in the past to write to a genre template; specifically punk, as it’s music I know and love. The results have been mixed and it isn't something I would choose to do regularly. However, if I wanted to write an exclusively punk album, I'm certain I could, but I choose not to as it wouldn't be as easy to create an engaging body of work. But, perhaps that's just my preference as a musician.
Everything considered, I don't believe genre, as a concept, is a limitation for an artist. It’s more like another element that can be called upon from an artist’s palette, whatever side of the argument they come down on.
Written by Chris Hughes
Chris, a self styled 'average guitarist extraordinare' is a content manager originally from the UK but now living in Hamburg, Germany. He is a proud European, and loves (in no particular order) music, raking through the dusty shelves of hidden record shops, red wine, cheese, his Gibson SG, and a small stuffed Highland Cow called Mr. Moo.
Instagram: searchingforthefourthchord / lightthecannonsmusic
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