The Loudest Whisper

The word music for many people is associated with fast and intense, and in many senses it is, though with the diversity, and devolution of genres in today's music landscape, many bands strive to do the opposite. Instead of making music that is intense, and boisterous they strive to create a sound that's warm, calming, and that resonates with a quieter, shyer, and usually more emotional crowd. This movement is coined, in our modern music scene, as “slowcore”. Since the genre is relatively new, there are lots of creative liberties taken by artists in the genre, slowcore, though the defining aspects can be characterized as dreamy-fuzzy guitar, minimalist drum and percussion, an atmospheric haze sort of sound, and most often emotionally charged lyrics and music.

Though there is no one  single band that has defined this genre, there have been many artists throughout its lifetime that have contributed and shaped it as a whole. Some of the ones most prevalent to me( because music many times is subjective in a sense that people may believe an artist had more or less impact than they did, or that they were more or less prevalent than they were) were Galaxie 500, sign crush motorist, fairies in our house, and Codeine. These bands (in my opinion) have been some of the most influential in the “slowcore” scene. Galaxie 500, one of the founders of this genre, set a basis for the overall sound of it. Their atmospheric guitar and haze, their fuzzy filter put over their music, and their lyrics saturated with emotional and complex feelings have influenced the genre as a whole. Sign crush motorist,Liam Mccay, has contributed to the prevalence of the music genre, finding many of his fans in gen Z, his heavy hitting lyrics, riddled with emotional depth and poetic sadness, pushes the genre into newer generations. Fairies in our house have also been a driving force in this music scene. His somber sound, dreary atmosphere, and gloomy lyrics drive his music into a special place in this genre. Finally, there's Codeine, not only sticking to original barriers of the genre, but exploring outside of them, exploring shoegaze influences, though keeping the atmosphere and lyrics of slowcore. Like stated earlier in the article music is subjective in many senses though these artists in my research and experience in the genre. These artists have made incredible impacts and are not only pushing the genre but also evolving it.

FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC

I have loved music my whole life. When I was 12, I would mow my neighbor’s yard for five dollars a week. This was a two-hour job. I worked my butt off (or at least that is how I remember it). What did I do with my hard-earned $5? I would ride my bike up to Sam Goody—do you remember "Goody’s got it"?—and buy myself a new cassette tape!

This was long before the internet, Google, or streaming services. Back then, most of our music knowledge came from MTV and the radio.

I, however, would often take a leap and buy a tape from a band I had never heard of. I loved the thrill of finding a new artist—one that no one else was listening to (as far as my friend circle went).

I would listen to that tape over and over for the next week—longer if I really loved it—and then do it all over again after another two hours of back-breaking work. Those days shaped my passion for music for sure.

The music we listen to is the soundtrack of our lives. We merge memories, feelings, and events with the music we were listening to at the time.

This is especially true for the music of our youth. Because I spent an entire week immersed in just one album—listening while sweating behind that lawnmower, while doing homework, while dreaming about the future in my bedroom—that music didn't just pass through my ears; it wound itself into my DNA.

Music acts as a sonic form of time travel. It’s far more potent than looking at an old photograph. A photo shows you what you looked like; a song makes you feel exactly how you felt.

Today, if I hear the opening riff of a track from one of those hard-earned Sam Goody cassettes, the decades instantly melt away. I am transported back to being 12 years old. I can almost smell the cut grass and two-cycle engine oil. I can feel the specific anxiety of middle school, the boundless energy of summer vacation, and the thrill of discovery. The music locked those feelings in amber, perfectly preserving who I was at that exact moment.

Because I love music so deeply, I love being a DJ. I get to help create those "3D memories" for you and your loved ones. What an amazing privilege.