Our genre would be considered ‘Indie Pop’ [1] due to the Indie, acoustic feel to the song, but also it is ‘more melodic’ than Indie rock or other indie genres. It could also be considered to have ‘Indie Folk’ [2] influences because of the acoustic tone.
The choice of music, other than Kankouran, for our audience may be artists such as Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons, The Smiths, Ben Howard. These artists are all of a very similar genre and would be the kind of music that our audience would listen to. I think that they would stay within the indie genre and not be massively a consumer of popular culture due to the nature of indie music and it originating ‘in Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early-80s and the dominant UK independent band of the mid-80s, The Smiths. [1]
Our audience would consume independent magazines and be interested in magazines such as ‘Clash’ [3] and ‘NME’ [1] but would be mainly interested in consuming media online on ‘websites like Pitchfork Media, and various parts of Tumblr.’ [3]
The gender of our audience is likely to be male and female, but mainly male; due to the genre being more male dominated than female. This is due to the fact that it is more difficult for women to be accepted in ‘Rock’ and ‘Indie’ genres. [5] However, due to the revival of the ‘Hipster’ [3] sub-culture in the 1990s it has become more accepted in modern society. Due to our band being an all-male band with a female guest vocalist this does re-enforce the typical gender roles in Indie and Rock genres, however the featured vocalist Evelyn Burke [6] would attract more of a female audience.
The sexuality of our audience would be quite open minded, coming from the ‘Hipster’ sub-culture of the 1940s and the ‘relaxed sexual codes’. [4] Meaning that our audience could be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender. However, I think that a majority of the audience for this genre of music is heterosexual males due to the male dominance in the genre.
The habitat of our audience would be ‘urban middle class adults and older teenagers’ [3] interested in independent music, non-mainstream fashion and alternative lifestyles, usually from quite stable middle class families and therefore having middle class values and usually would be quite well educated. They would also be between 16 and 25 years old.
Religion amongst our audience would be ‘alternative spirituality or atheism/agnosticism’ [3] which in-tern reflects the need for individuality and to move away from traditional and mainstream values. I think that the majority of our audience would against organized religion and the traditional Christian belief systems we still hold onto in Britain. Although it is not directly associated with religion I also think that our audience would be against the monarchy and royals of Britain, as personally I do not believe we need to have a royal family, and I think our audience and the genre has a similar viewpoint. I think politics would be a similar viewpoint with ‘liberal or independent political views’ [3] and socialist views against the capitalist western society idealism.
Money amongst our audience would probably not be much of an issue, but the revival of the 1940s ‘Hipster’ sub-culture means that ‘self-imposed poverty’ [4] is a contributing aspect to young people interested in the ‘indie’ genre. ‘Self-imposed’ meaning that they are trying to be or look much poorer than they are to not conform to the commercialised society we live in and also shows individuality to shop online or in charity shops. Money for bands and artists would be different because they need money to function but they would also be ‘self-imposed’ to look much worse off than they actually are to be true to the ‘independent’ roots of the genre – showing they have not ‘sold-out’ to commercial or cooperate labels.
Clothes for our audience consist of some mainstream and high-street fashion; such as Topshop or Topman, however it would also consist of charity shop clothes, vintage clothes and clothes from online boutiques or websites such as ‘eBay.co.uk’. The revival of the 1940s ‘Hipster’ subculture into the 1990s and again into modern day has meant that lots of different types of fashion and alternative clothing are worn amongst the genre. The 1940s/50s ‘Rock’n’Roll’ type clothes are worn, as well as the skinny jeans and denim jackets from the 1980s, which in themselves were a revival of the ‘Mod’ era of the 1960s. The 1990s saw a revival of the punk era of the 1970s and the ‘grunge’ style was created through that, which is being seen more today as it has been another 20 years since its last revival because it is usually every 20 years a style or era is revived by a new generation then altered or added to in some way.
Drink and drugs would be used within the genre and our audience would drink alcohol such a ‘Budweiser’, ‘Bulmers’, ‘Magners’ and other beers and ciders. The drug of choice would probably be cannabis due to the ‘use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic humor’ [4] of the 1940s Hipster subculture.
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1 - ‘Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, with its roots in Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s (Josef K and Orange Juice) and the dominant UK independent band of the mid-'80s, The Smiths. Indie pop was inspired by punk's DIY ethic and related ideologies, and it generated a thriving fanzine, label, and club and gig circuit. Indie pop differs from indie rock to the extent that it is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free.’
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_pop
2 - ‘Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s from singer/songwriters in the indie rock community showing heavy influences from folk music scenes of the 50s, 60s and early 70s, country music, and indie rock.
A few early artists included Lou Barlow, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith. The genre is commonly related to freak folk, psych folk, baroque pop and New Weird America. The genre saw a significant growth from the early 2000s to present, beginning with bands such as Bright Eyes, Iron & Wine, Beirut, Bon Iver, The Avett Brothers, Arthur & Yu, The Decemberists, Okkervil River, Manel, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Mumford & Sons, and others.’
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_folk
3 - ‘Hipster refers to a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers that appeared in the 1990s. The subculture is associated with independent music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility, liberal or independent political views, alternative spirituality or atheism/agnosticism and alternative lifestyles. Interests in media would include independent film, magazines such as Clash, and websites like Pitchfork Media, and various parts of Tumblr.’
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_(contemporary_subculture)
4 - Hipster or hepcat, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: dress, slang, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic humor, self-imposed poverty and relaxed sexual codes.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_(1940s_subculture)
5 - It’s a simple fact the music industry has been, and probably still is, a male dominated industry. Women with guitars prior to 1977 and even then were seen as a novelty; an angle; as something not entirely serious. Women were seen as adoring fans, as wholesome pop models, as singer songwriters.
-http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/womeninrockpart1.htm
6 - Songs written by Tarek Musa of Kankouran. Released 02 January 2012. Composition & Record Production by Tarek Musa with additional Vocals and Cello by Evelyn Burke
-http://kankouran.bandcamp.com/
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