How bedroom pop has given young musicians a more personalized way to make it big
Photo courtesy of Pixels
May 10, 2023
The term “bedroom pop” emerged in the mid 2010s and refers to music that can be made from the comfort of someone’s bedroom, using computer programs that anyone can learn.
NBC’s Olivia Roos had an interview with Maia, who uses the name “mxmtoon” as her musician pseudonym, and Maia said, “Bedroom, it’s more of an idea, of a person sitting in a small space and using whatever resources you have to make songs that you’re proud of.”
Roos said, “bedroom pop has emerged in recent years as a music movement shaped and established by the internet, fueled by online platforms, easy access to high-quality music software and algorithmically driven recommendation systems that can take an artist from obscurity to fame.”
The song that introduced me to the genre was “Pretty girl” by Clairo, who wrote and recorded the song entirely on her computer after a breakup. She then recorded a music video where she’s sitting at her desk in her room with no makeup on, bobbing her head and singing along to her song. The video was uploaded 5 years ago on YouTube and now has 90 million views, showing the validity of this unique genre.
Another one of my all-time favorites is Omar Banos, who goes by Cuco in the music scene. According to an interview with NPR, Cuco began creating music with Ableton Live Lite, a downloadable recording platform.
Cuco is a multi-instrumentalist, largely self-taught, and his trumpet playing can be heard in his songs, such as “Lover is a Day” and “Lo Que Siento.” He released his first album “wannabewithu” in 2016, and now has over 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. I highly recommend listening to all of his songs, each and every one.
One of the videos deep down in my “liked” list on YouTube is a lyric video from a few years ago of a song called, “Ocean Eyes.” Billie Eilish’s first hit, “Ocean Eyes,” was created by Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell. In an interview with Vox, O’Connell said, “We come from a place as outsiders because we’re still in our childhood bedrooms making music.” Needless to say, Eilish, managed by her brother, quickly became nothing short of a sensation.