10 albums that kickstarted new 21st-century genres
When sci-fi writers became fixated on the idea of what the future would look like, there weren’t many examples that were totally on the money when it comes to how culture differs from today.
Aldous Huxley didn’t foresee the advent of hyperpop in Brave New World, and nobody is listening to phonk in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. While the dystopian worlds they imagined were elaborate and, in some cases, foreboding for what the modern day we now live in would come to be, the music of the future was barely discussed.
While the technological concerns that were voiced in such works have become a reality in some cases (Big Brother is indeed watching you), the advancement of technology has also led to the creation of some of the most forward-thinking works of art in music. On the other hand, some music has further simplified itself and chosen more of a back-to-basics ethic, shunning technology in favour of more rustic or primitive styles.
Rock critic Mark Beaumont might have tried his damned hardest to coin several new terms for emergent scenes and genres in his columns for NME, but sadly crank wave and gristle rock haven’t been adopted or caught on to the same level as he might have hoped. That being said, some genres that have emerged in the 21st century, and with equally baffling names, have become widely used to describe some of the most inventive diversions from pre-existing forms, and below are ten defining albums of genres that have cropped up in the past 24 years.
10 albums that started new genres:
Egg Punk: Human Exploration by Uranium Club (2014)
Let’s get the silliest name out of the way first – egg punk is a genre that takes the jerky stylings of bands like Devo, strips it of any sense of polished production and speeds up the tempo by half to create a lo-fi and DIY spin on punk. It came around at the same time as a sister genre, known as chain punk, which was more influenced by the hardcore punk movement as opposed to the more experimental edge that its counterpart had.
The eggiest and most essential release in the microgenre’s sphere (ovoid?) goes to Human Exploration, the debut album from Minneapolis screwball foursome Uranium Club. While it’s only seven songs and 18 minutes long, its brash and snotty nature is the epitome of the genre that would go on to birth bands such as Snõõper and Powerplant. It’s musically no-nonsense, thematically all-nonsense, and it’s a riot throughout.
Vaporwave: Replica by Oneohtrix Point Never (2011)
Experimental producer Daniel Lopatin has operated under various guises throughout the 21st century, and virtually all of them have broken ground in one way or another. He might be writing film scores and collaborating with some of the biggest and most diverse names in music these days, such as The Weeknd and Iggy Pop, but in his earlier years, he was considered a pioneer of vaporwave.
Characterised by synth sounds that sound more like long breaths and use of retro samples from all forms of media, the otherworldly Replica from Lopatin’s Oneohtrix Point Never project became a touchstone for many aspiring vaporwave producers that came along in its wake, and its influence is still going strong today. It might have always looked to the past for its inspiration by sampling snippets of sound from ‘80s commercials, but the end result was something that sounded so futuristic and ahead of its time.
Chillwave: Psychic Chasms by Neon Indian (2009)
Yep, we’ve got another ‘wave’ genre for you. Often seen as a sibling of vaporwave, the term chillwave was actually coined as a joke by the satirical shit-stirring website Hipster Runoff. It referred to a trend appearing in indie rock around the end of the 2000s, a time when acts adopted a style heavily influenced by sounds of the past but applied a filter that made it sound perfect for kicking back and relaxing.
The album that best sums this up comes from Alan Palomo’s Neon Indian project, an act that in its earliest years was synonymous with chillwave, and it’s perfect for concocting a long drink and reclining in your sunbed to. Psychic Chasms might have kickstarted an unfortunate movement where pastel colours were back in vogue and wearing slatted aviators was a signifier of being cool, but at least it was a damn good record.
Bubblegum Bass: Product by Sophie (2015)
It would have been possible to put the late electronic producer Sophie as the essential artist in a whole host of different genres, but her debut record, Product, truly was a game-changer. Not only did many find it tough to categorise her music at first, but people were also unsure as to whether it should be taken seriously at all, with its sound being so far removed from anything else that was being released at the time.
Consisting of eight singles that fuse saccharine vocals with club-ready beats and leathery sound effects, this record not only exemplifies the sound of bubblegum bass, which associated label PC Music were pushing at the time but would go on to be hugely influential to the hyperpop movement that exploded shortly after and has since become a major force in the pop landscape, influencing the likes of Charli XCX and 100 gecs.
Footwork: Double Cup by DJ Rashad (2013)
If there’s one city that can lay claim to having coined the most new innovations in music, Chicago has to be the place. Having been at the epicentre of house and drill over the years, it can lay claim to being one of America’s most important musical hubs, but arguably the most out there and cutting-edge genre to emerge from the city is footwork.
Taking its name from the complex style of dancing that people would do to its intricate rhythms, the undisputed landmark of the genre comes from DJ Rashad. On his sole studio album before his tragic passing, he revolutionised electronic music in unspeakable ways, and he is still regarded as an important figure in Chicago’s musical history even in his absence. Plenty of others have continued his legacy in years since, and the Teklife record label that he co-founded is still going strong, with releases from artists such as RP Boo and DJ Paypal flying the footwork flag.
Wonky: Glass Swords by Rustie (2011)
With a sound that mixed all sorts of different styles of electronic music and turned them on their heads, wonky was a cutting-edge take on dubstep, techno and synth-funk that emerged in the late 2000s and was primarily popular in the UK. While it came and went quickly, some of the artists who were considered to have pioneered the genre are still active today and have continued to create forward-thinking music
The second producer on this list to hail from Glasgow (after Sophie), Rustie created possibly the most out-there and celebrated release in the genre when he released his 2011 album Glass Swords. An album that fused so many different sounds but made them all coalesce in a glorious fashion, it added a glistening and polished edge to some of the sounds of the underground.
Freak Folk: Sung Tongs by Animal Collective (2004)
Folk music has seemingly existed since the dawn of time, but no act stretched the boundaries of what could still pass as folk as much as Animal Collective did on their 2004 album Sung Tongs. The group are possibly better known for their synth-driven psychedelic pop exploits on records such as Merriweather Post Pavilion and Strawberry Jam that arrived later in the 2000s, but this album was arguably where they first began to amass something of a following, simply due to how otherworldly it was.
Reduced to the duo of Avey Tare (Dave Portner) and Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) for this release, the experimental group took folk traditions and beautiful harmonies and subverted expectations by adding in psychedelic weirdness, harshly strummed acoustic guitars and pained yelps. Folk music hadn’t really sounded this strange before, and there aren’t many examples that have perfected what would become known as freak folk to quite the extent since.
Bloghouse: Cross by Justice (2007)
French duo Justice would always have the difficulty of being labelled as ‘the next Daft Punk’ due to their similarity in style and their country of origin, but on their debut album Cross, they proved that they were more than just a rehash of an already legendary act. Having gained some notoriety for a series of remixes for other artists, they truly put themselves on the map with their debut, bringing a renewed sense of vigour and urgency that had been lacking from their contemporaries at the time.
Due to their rise in fame around the same time as online blogging was at the height of its popularity, their take on French house music was dubbed as being part of the bloghouse movement that took inspiration from its predecessors and updated it for the internet age. Justice weren’t just the next Daft Punk, they were the real deal, and this album is proof of that.
Bedroom Pop: Trick by Alex G (2012)
Technological advancements have meant that virtually anyone can make music from the comfort of their own home these days with just a laptop or any basic recording device. While pop music is often characterised by its glossy production, bedroom pop focused on DIY aesthetics and only took the structural elements of pop music, and one of the masters of self-recorded spins on pop was Alex G.
Trick is far from his best album, but it’s the moment where many people realised just how good he was at creating deeply affecting music with minimal resources around him, with tracks like ‘Sarah’ and ‘Mary’ sitting pretty on nine-digit figures in terms of plays on streaming services. He’s now recording much more polished works in a studio, but his early releases, such as this, were prime examples of why you don’t need a big budget to craft exquisite tunes.
Trap: Barter 6 by Young Thug (2015)
Trap might have been around long before Young Thug, with the likes of TI, Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane all being early adopters of the style, but nobody made the genre stand out more than Young Thug. Those who were active in the genre’s infancy didn’t have quite the same level of attention given to them that figures in the mid-2010s trap renaissance would, though, with rappers like Future and Travis Scott emerging alongside Thugger as those who would elevate it to the next level.
His technicolour approach to the minimalistic rap subgenre and bizarre vocal ad-libs were truly unlike anything else that came before and truly changed and influenced the perception of trap as being less of a throwaway fad and more of a cultural mainstay that would be present on many of the best rap records that came in the years afterwards.
