Alternative music (also called alternative rock, alt-rock or merely alternative) is a style of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. In this instance, the word refers to the genre’s distinction from mainstream rock music. But the term’s original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style or simply the independent, DIY ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for it. The term is a broad umbrella term consisting of music that differs significantly regarding its sound, social context, and regional roots. By the end of the 1980s, magazines, and zines, college radio airplay, and word of mouth had increased the prominence and highlighted the diversity of it, helping to define some distinct styles (and music scenes) such as noise pop, indie rock, grunge, and shoegaze.
– Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
by A friend of Leo (Vinyl Motherfuck)
Vinyl Head is a LP made by Vinyl Motherfuck, the songs of the album talk about problems and thoughts Leo (aka Vinyl Motherfuck) had since his last (good) work, the “Spring Is Out There” EP.
This record has 11 songs written and composed by Leo, and this songs are (in his own words) “good, catchy, and a little mature” compared to his previous work.
In 1986 it all began near Cologne (Germany) in a little town called Kerpen Sindorf. For me, it was clear that it would be a long journey, and it still is. Now 33 years later and after 33 released albums, it is still something special and every day something new to create music.
Right now, we just released the album “Laughter filled with pain” – eight acoustic songs with some electronic elements here and there. It is a very personal album reduced to the essentials.
In 2018, I completed my first LP album as a solo artist. It is called Kriya and features ten tracks (in 37 minutes). I later realized that even though I spent a lot of time and energy on the album, most people wouldn’t be able to listen to it from start to finish in today’s hectic times. So, I decided to tell the story of finding our center (relevant to each of us!) in the form of a shorter 3-track EP, where each song represents a different genre, a different sound, and lyrically offers a diverse point of view. The Hara EP (10 and a half minutes) was born.
by Rob Sheppard
As somebody who enjoys making music, I often find myself getting lost in a series of questions when writing and producing. The overriding thought being “What value does this have?”.
It is easy to deter ourselves from creating art, and putting ourselves in a vulnerable position, simply by talking ourselves out of finishing or sharing a creation in fear that it doesn’t add anything of value to the world, or worse; detracts value.
Due to these thoughts and conversations within my own mind, I haven’t shared an entire song or idea for many months, perhaps even years now.
The time to start a musical project should probably have been in a university where access to a range of different musicians was abundant. But then most people choose to learn the hard way…
The New Nervous Kind was created in the wake of the university with nothing more than a laptop (to program drums), a guitar, and a bass guitar, with the help of a trusty microphone. The setting was an isolated attic space, far from friends or family, which would serve well as the basis for the nostalgic lyrics and mechanical quality for our first single “Going Nowhere.”
It is Free!! It costs nothing!! Stated the elderly anesthesiologist to the boy’s family. To put your son to sleep for his surgery costs absolutely nothing!! It is Free!! Free!! But to wake him up??………very very expensive!!
Indeed.
Moments earlier, in the same pre-operative area in this public hospital in a large Central American city, I witnessed another local medical doctor, drill a metal rod horizontally and completely through an indegenous patient’s femur, with the patient wide awake, and only after injecting numbing medicine, not much deeper than the skin, on the entry site of the thigh.
Such is the plight of the poor and marginalized, of which I have witnessed as an anesthesiologist, in over 30 international surgical missions, and which dominate the lyrical content of Ojos Feos’ original psychedelic Afro-Latin rock compositions.
by Artjom
Photo taken by Evert Palmets.
Hi, my name’s Artjom. I am from the city of Tallinn in Estonia, a country on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. I’m the guy behind electronic projects such as Oudeis, Jaded Fields (drone and ambient), and Democide (techno). As of recent, Jaded Fields and Democide are on hiatus since I’m trying to experiment with sounds, to explore, which is the basis of my Oudeis project.
In Spain, to be honest, it is hard to find excellent independent musicians (composers) in electronic music. It’s true that in other music cultures, like jazz, rock, blues, etc., we have some outstanding musicians. But if we talk and refer to (only) in electronic music, it is a colossal disaster.
Born and bred in Bristol, UK, I have always been surrounded by music. My father is a guitarist and always listens to Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. My mother is not a musician, but she always listens to AC/DC and Billy Idol. At age 8, I started playing guitar. I am now 19 and have made guitar my main instrument, but I can also play drums. Last year, however, my musical journey nearly ended.
by Dim Kouchnir
I guess to start things off I didn’t really have this direct introduction to music as blatantly most people get it (I think). You could say I kinda got ushered into it slowly during the period of 14 to 20ish.
Around my mid-teens, I started writing poetry in my native language which is Flemish (same as dutch), and in that same period, I also got into dancing, particularly in the styles hip-hop, poppin’, and bboying. Being a dancer and mainly educating myself in the field choreography, I got in contact with a lot of the musical influences that show themselves in my work today.
I think of people like: Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Sholomo, Clams Casino; and the list goes on…
I remember my dance tutor having this immense iTunes library, and after a lot nagging, I got him to put it on my blackberry tablet (hahaha). Having that period in my life gave me a passion for music in general, And helped me to develop my taste.