The Indie Odyssey

Written by Tanvi

Illustrated by Kanishka Hardasani

An unconventional diegesis, humble production, and absence of a glamorous launch. A garage to record, riveting lyricism, and maverick ideas. That’s what the term Indie meant when it was first coined from “independent”. The purpose was to bring a concept, often outlandish, to life, unaided; with no parenting by established companies, no strings of monopoly entangled in their fingers, and no margins to creativity. Indie was a way of doing things; the result of a lack of reception from traditional labels due to free-spirited ideas, or the effort to foster a novel culture, perhaps. Contemporarily, this crux has inched into the arcane strata of mainstream entertainment.

Music, films, literature, paintings, games – any art form can carry an indie scent with it. But today, it entails myriad notions. Minecraft (a personal favorite), as a top-rated video game, seems demanding to digest when it’s called indie; whereas Alto’s Adventure (another personal favorite), with its idyllic aesthetic and limited reception, doesn’t. Similar are the cases with other art forms categorised as indie. It seems there isn’t a clear line of demarcation between the various derivations of this term, owing to its fluidity, which causes us to interpret it at our disposal.

This very interpretive freedom of “indie” begot an array of classic artworks. An encapsulation of the foundational indie spirit in movies is John Cassavetes’ self-financed Love Streams, an ambivalent journey of two siblings, of discovering love not as a solution to failure, but as a necessity. It explores the often untouched themes of family dysfunction and emotional dependency, while backing it with no lucid plot, but mere psychological dissection and surreal sequences. Set in the same timeline of the 1980s, this concept of imbuing art pieces with serious undertones found a musical parallel in the alternative rock band Pixies. Under the indie label 4AD, they released “Here Comes Your Man” from their album Doolittle – the very definition of a cheery 3.5-minute pop single (one that stands out in their oeuvre). Characterised by a strange idea, a fatalistic narrative, and unreasoned presentation, it explores the ominous underlying theme of impending doom and misfortune. Both these works typify how independent artists use juxtaposition as a tool to convey deeper subjects.

Generous delivery of such unique perceptions oftentimes calls for empathy, more precisely, sheltering of some sort. This vital role was played by early “indie labels” like Sun Records, in the blooming of genres overlooked by mainstream labels, for instance, jazz and rock-and-roll. Such labels gathered new artists under a roof and released albums on their behalf. C86, a pioneering indie cassette compilation by New Musical Express, promoted the sounds of jangling guitars and power pop, and the do-it-yourself ethos. An analogous principle, in the world of cinema, was embodied by “indie production companies” like United Artists, which promised financing and distribution to independent filmmakers, without operating under a broader industry framework. This aspect – artists producing art with minimum external intervention – is more of a matter concerned with artistic integrity, since becoming part and parcel of a corporation, advertently and inadvertently, more often than not, leads to the sacrifice of creative control, for the sake of commercial viability. 

However, individuals always try to cultivate an identity, which testifies to their artistic intent,  regardless of the production mechanism. And often, when such an intent surges to success,  the advent of a brand image follows. The Bowie-ness or the Tarantino-esque aesthetic identified by headings of multi-facetedness, genre-bending, stern narratives, and creative control are prime examples. The way David Bowie let his artistic vision completely infiltrate all spheres of music production, be it through his album cover arts, lyrics, stage costumes, or music videos, so does Quentin Tarantino, with the musical scores, dialogues, color palettes, and the specific camera angles in his movies. Ultimately, their art establishes a cultural portal – a signature that delivers typically, and upholds artistic integrity. A noteworthy detail here: Bowie was never “conventionally” indie like Tarantino is; he was signed to labels like RCA Records, yet his perception adhered to the principles of indie.

Elementary artists have thus formulated a “checklist” of features an indie art piece encompasses— independent creation, an unusual vision, and wilful execution. The former more often breaks out as a consequence of the latter two, due to the absence of the customary conviction to appease the masses and make it to the charts. One way to put the evolution of indie in words might be through the three pointers in this checklist. Clairo, a contemporary indie-pop artist, elucidates this with the transitioning nature of her music production. Her initial bedroom-recorded Soundcloud releases, as well as the latest studio album, Charm, are her own productions. A slight metamorphosis took place when she was signed to Fader Records from her 2018 debut project Diary 001, through to the release of her sophomore album Sling, causing a momentary absence of the first condition of ‘producing independently’. Regardless, she has always had unique sonic blends, stripped-down instrumentation, and introspective lyrics, which check off the latter two boxes in the list. So, it’s quite evident that with the growth of the idea of indie, the initial requisite of satisfying every pointer has been liberated, and any number of ticked checkboxes holds good today, for a work to be called “indie”. 

Indie as a concept is quite haphazard, with hazy definitions and hazier interpretations. But it’s still a way of doing things, albeit not necessarily alone. It now clings tighter to an exploration of the uncharted territories of art, with novel lines of thinking and novel depictions. A statement such as “Indie films are my go-to” doesn’t have to refer to the size of production of a movie; it might just be the rough, raw spirit it comes with. Because Indie isn’t always a lexical entry in a list of new words – it’s a genre, a school of expression.