Terminal 4/2/23
Ain’t I Folk?
In this episode of Terminal, we dive into two scenes that have grown within indie folk over the last 20 years, anti-folk and folktronica. The former can be traced back to early Beck, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Silver Jews, with artists in the late 90s taking the expectations of the 60s and 70s often politically charged indie folk music( a la Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel) and turning it almost into parody with often humorous lyrics, odd instrumental blemishes, and lo-fi production. While the artists of anti-folk have stripped folk music apart, a new wave of artists in the last 10-15 years have focused on fusing it back together, with artists like Bon Iver, Caribou, and even more singer/songwriter acts like Sufjan Stevens laying the blueprint for meshing electronic production and modern pop and alternative textures into the folk music space. While some songs in this lane closely resemble their traditional folk forefathers, some artists have found ways to elevate the sound into something completely new and unique, throwing in elements of other genres as well to add spice to the mix. Both of these strains of indie folk have seen exponential growth with the internet, especially as music platforms like Bandcamp provide a breeding ground for new ideas and content, and DAWs allowing anyone with a computer to attempt to recreate these sounds. In this set, I selected some small and/or rising artists that I think have either pushed these sub-genres forward, or are putting their own modern spin on it, causing this already eclectic and varied sound to further evolve.
Setlist
- Tea – Frat Mouse
- Cult Boyfriend – Jeffrey Lewis
- Date Night at Daddy Joe’s – Aubrey Key
- Anyone Else But You – The Moldy Peaches
- Random Rules – Silver Jews
- Ravens – Mount Eerie
- Dishin – junk drawer
- Sip – Shelf Life
- Elated – Wyatt Smith
- Del mar county fair 2008 – underscores & Maxwell Young
- Crumbling Together – Mid-Air Thief
- fantasyworld – Quadeca
- After the Magic – Parannoul
