can't settle on a genre for my solo project!

[ohmicide]

i seriouly can never stick to one

i like all kinds of electronic and rock/alternative music

sometimes i feel like making something like franz ferdinand, mute math, dredg, the killers, the bravery etc

sometimes i feel more like nine inch nails, muse, spinerette, the raconteurs, etc with all the fuzz guitars and weird effects

sometimes i feel like getting on a time machine and going back to the 80s and making new wave songs like new order and depeche mode

then sometimes i feel like getting funky and making stuff like the faint, late of the pier, south central, does it offend you, yeah?, the black ghosts, digitalism etc

and then sometimes i also want to make be epic electronic dance alternative rock stuff like innerpartysystem

only consistency i have is when i make remixes. i usually stick to dance and electro. basically whatever comes out. i guess i could compare it to deadmau5, chris lake, alex metric, innerpartysystem and whatever else similar kind of remixes.

any thoughts?

[AJ Reynolds]

why don't you just do your own thing and stop worrying about what genre it is. take influence from everything above and make something new. Be an innovator you never know but some stupid music journalist might come up with a new genre to fit your sound. everyone will know you as the creator of "new genre", your album will be in the top 40 and you will live happy ever after. unless you can't handle success and die early from drug abuse or suicide.

[rids]

I don't get why it has to fit in a specific genre. Music is my genre.

How about you call it electronic at first and leave the door open. Since you are looking for guidance, why don't you start making some music and see if you want to remix it / change it later to make it more upbeat or go the other direction and more chill. The only way you'll know what you want is if you ask yourself what you feel like making or what you want the audience to hear.

[Meriphew]

Just write/play, and whatever it is, it is.

[ohmicide]

Originally Posted by rids

I don't get why it has to fit in a specific genre. Music is my genre.

it doesn't have to fit into a genre, im just always going back and forth between contradictory styles of music. well maybe they're not so contradictory but sometimes i feel like they just don't go together.

Originally Posted by rids

How about you call it electronic at first and leave the door open. Since you are looking for guidance, why don't you start making some music and see if you want to remix it / change it later to make it more upbeat or go the other direction and more chill. The only way you'll know what you want is if you ask yourself what you feel like making or what you want the audience to hear.

thanks, this is great advice! i never thought about remixing my own stuff

[plaid_emu]

Some of my favorite artists cover a wide range of genres, sometimes even on a single album. Ween is an excellent example.

I believe you're blessed, not cursed. Roll with it my friend. If you can write good songs it shouldn't matter the genre. You should actually make a whole album where every song is different.

[msl]

Yeah agreed, let it happen and follow inspiration where it takes you. In the best case you'll end up with a mix of all those influences that sounds like you.



.

[diogo_c]

Originally Posted by Meriphew

Just write/play, and whatever it is, it is.

+1 on this

[Farshad]

Why does it matter?

I even do not like it when people find out that I play/write music and ask me about the genre.

My typical answer: er, umm ... I don't know (which is partially the truth) ! anything I like

[ohmicide]

well it doesn't matter what genre it is, i guess i just wanted some consistency rather than being all over the place with the stuff i make

im just gonna go for it rather than think about it so much

[rockstheparty]

bluegrass

[Branmong]

I would disagree to an extent.

One of the truly difficult things about writing a good album is being consistent. You need to have some underlying musical idea which ties the songs together. I had a chat with a friend of mine whose in a very successful band and he said that one of the hardest things they had found when creating an album over four years was to remain consistent in the sound.

Also, if you want to develop any kind of fanbase when you're playing gigs, you need to be associated with a particular genre of music.

This is something I've thought about alot, as I have exactly the same problem

[Diametro]

be happy ...

be efficient, baby ...

be whoever you are ...

[Bob Olhsson]

Genres have always been imposed from the outside and often have remarkably little to do with the music.

The only time to think about genre is after the record is done.

[-Phoenix-]

I was the very same when I got started on hardware based production, but when I first started on software I just did what felt right, now I jsut tend to make music based on specific things that have happened and find a genre that suits it, if not then I just did something of my own.

[Ol' Betsey]

Originally Posted by Branmong

I would disagree to an extent.

One of the truly difficult things about writing a good album is being consistent.

I think consistency comes from the artist and the personal prism through which he views the kaleidoscope of life...

No but really, unless your writing songs just to fill different genres willy-nilly I think your experiences, personality and attitude toward life will come across in each and every song regardless of context.

Go with the flow bro.

R.

[d1rtynyc]

Originally Posted by Branmong

I would disagree to an extent.

One of the truly difficult things about writing a good album is being consistent. You need to have some underlying musical idea which ties the songs together. I had a chat with a friend of mine whose in a very successful band and he said that one of the hardest things they had found when creating an album over four years was to remain consistent in the sound.

Also, if you want to develop any kind of fanbase when you're playing gigs, you need to be associated with a particular genre of music.

This is something I've thought about alot, as I have exactly the same problem

I agree. I have a friend who put together and released 10+ albums this year. 10+ albums that no one will hear. Sure they are on Cdbaby, iTunes, ect., but he is not getting much interest in any.
He is my friend and I don't pay attention. I can't keep up. That and none of the music seems pull off any of it that well. Probably because the sound and style have not been developed. The problem is he is trying cover too much ground with no consistant work.

When he was focusing all his efforts on his band and their music a few years back he had a following, he was getting press, he was developing the sound. In other words he was moving forward and gaining fans.

Putting yourself in a box of genre may be bad and extremely limiting, but developing a sound, your sound I think is very important.

Genre is not that important, the sound and style is everything.

[Wake]

Originally Posted by alehoe

i like all kinds of electronic and rock/alternative music

sometimes i feel like making something like franz ferdinand, mute math, dredg, the killers, the bravery etc

sometimes i feel more like nine inch nails, muse, spinerette, the raconteurs, etc with all the fuzz guitars and weird effects

sometimes i feel like getting on a time machine and going back to the 80s and making new wave songs like new order and depeche mode

any thoughts?

Thoughts? How about you've got good taste in music.

I have the same problem, my tracks go from synthpop to rock to triphop to industrial to dance to pop to alternative ALL in the same song sometimes. lol.

I'm in So. FL. too Alejo. In Miami.

[oudplayer]

You can have elements that provide some cohesion to the album without necessarily placing all the tracks within the same genre. Particular sounds, melodic riffs, effects, etc. PWOG was particularly good at this with their albums.

[Jarkko]

How about having several projects? I don't think it's a good idea to limit yourself to certain types of music. Do whatever you like to hear and then just put that under your several different projects. Work your ass off and have fun!

[ohmicide]

Originally Posted by Jarkko

How about having several projects? I don't think it's a good idea to limit yourself to certain types of music. Do whatever you like to hear and then just put that under your several different projects. Work your ass off and have fun!

i've actually considered this before.. i want to find my own sound though!

hm

[Silver Sonya]

"settle on a genre"?

"contradictory styles of music?"

Musicians don't talk like this. These are journalist notions and, in particular, that callow form of pseudo-journalism that is endemic to the internet.

Turn off the web.

Make a song. Make it good. Make it mean something to someone. Make it memorable.

That's it.

If it's really good, people may just give it its own genre name.

Come to think of it, you know what?

Aim for that.

- c

[Infrablu]

I can understand the need for cohesiveness though, especially when putting together a record. It's valid to take the listener in a direction or on a journey with your musical snapshots. Perhaps to narrow it down, concentrate on your strengths. What is your instrument of choice? Is that instrument prevalent in some of those styles? Visualize yourself delivering your music in a live setting, what style feels most natural? I'm not saying over-analyze but, visualization is a strong tool. I can understand where it can become option-anxiety writing in these different styles. Bounce your strongest ideas off of others that you respect and allow your instinct to guide you. As long as you are sincere in your songwriting, and conscious about developing a unique sound then you will, and it will be yours.

[Beermaster]

The key essential element to becoming a better writer and perhaps THE most important factor to developing an individual style and sound is to learn and experience as much as possible from existing types of music.

If you feel buzz about thrash metal this week then immerse yourself in recordings and find out what makes the genre tick. By making your own tracks inspired by other great artists you learn the craft. Most of the time even if your intention was to mimic an existing track you'll find that the results of your work are original ( unless your intention was to copy note for note )

Most of the worlds greatest original musicians and writers learned their craft and became as great as they are by experiencing and understanding the other genres of music around them at that time:

Film composer John Williams - studied all of the great classical composers and still plays their music..... he was also started out as a jazz pianist before any of his film score commissions 'Johnie Williams'

Matthew Bellamy from Muse has made a fantastic use of Rachmaninoff and chopin styled piano styles as well as harmonic sequences in their songs

Jazz Stride Piano legend 'Fats Waller' when asked about his technique and style swore by the 'three B's' as he put it: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.

Understanding and enjoying different styles of music is not just fun it also gives us huge amounts of knowledge that help us develop and shape our own styles.

Its all good ! The more you understand about different types of the music the more options you have and routes to take when writing.

Beer.

[Bob Olhsson]

Music is all about communication. It's a language. Like using every other language, one needs to build upon words that the intended listeners can understand. Each genre is a group of listeners. They will accept any style provided they can understand the language being employed.