Strictly speaking, C86 is not a trend, let alone a musical style. It has always been unpopular in the British music scene. Almost typical minority music, it is too early to develop specific modes and creative methods. Moreover, it is difficult to classify the original band styles of C86, so C86 should refer to the British independent underground guitar rock band from 1986 to 1989. They are remembered again because they have a great influence on British guitar rock, so the C86 cassette which first witnessed this history is naturally regarded as a synonym, which is a kind of karma coincidence. Punk created an unparalleled explosive revolution in 1977. After being annihilated, post-punk took its place and became the indicator music style of guitar rock in 1980s, such as Joy Division, the Fall, Gang Of Four, Buzzcock, the Cure and so on. These have brought countless guidance to the younger generation. It also makes the British independent rock label seem to have gradually gained a foothold. Well-known independent brands such as Chuangshi, Rough Trade, Factory and Beggars Banquet rose at this time. Among independent factories of all sizes, the postcard record from Glasgow, Scotland is the most legendary and has a great influence on the future C86 orchestra.
Although the life span of postcard factory is only two years (1980- 198 1), it plays a connecting role for British independent guitar rock. There are only four bands in postcards, Aztec camera, Joseph K, matchmaker and orange juice, but they are all classic in the future. Their attitude towards music experiments, fresh and simple guitars, punk-dominated music forms and rich literati lyrics are the highest guiding principles that C86 Orchestra regards as the standard, among which orange juice is the most important. The new pop style advocated by them combines some popular elements of the 1960s, which is the most important creative source for C86 orchestra to create melodies.
Besides the well-known C86 cassette, NME released a cassette named C8 198 1 as early as1,which included many new bands of post punk and new wave, and four bands of postcards were also listed impressively, but the style of this collection was too complicated, so it didn't receive any response, but it was later C86.
Apart from postcards, there are two important orchestras that can't be ignored when it comes to the influence of C86, that is, felt and TV personality. These two bands, known as the originator of Twee-Pop and Indie-Pop, were born after punk in the early days, but soon established their own style. Their guitar sound lines are fresh, simple, lively and moving, and they are used repeatedly in arrangement. This seemingly clumsy and rough expression technique contains introverted musical wisdom, and is called "jingling guitar" or "jingling pop", which is different from punk.
Although the influence of these two orchestras on C86 was not as great as that of the postcard factory, they played an important pioneering role in the decade of 1980s. There are countless guitar orchestras influenced by them, and their commercial achievements are always miserable, but they have always maintained a relaxed and independent attitude, and inadvertently erected a life attitude of playing music for C86 orchestra.
1986- 1989
After the postcard factory closed down, its orchestra signed contracts with other independent brands, and their works gradually changed people's concepts and attitudes towards guitar rock like ripples. Minority underground bands began to imitate the guitar style of orange juice, and the psychological candy released by Jesus Mary Chain 1985 injected a shot in the arm into this underground trend. For a time, quite a few bands played guitar sounds that were not allowed in the mainstream market.
Because many songs are not included in any single or album, it increases the rarity and uniqueness of this tape. From the repertoire, we can find that the number of orchestras is quite large, and the complexity of different styles is absolutely imaginable. Some bands disappeared and broke up before they had a chance to release their albums, and some bands are still active today. Like all collections, the C86 cassette is not a completely pleasing album, and the level of songs is quite different. However, this cassette was repeatedly mentioned because of her inspiration and the idea of guitar experimental style, as well as the outstanding performance of several orchestras afterwards.
Because of this, it will be very complicated and difficult to discuss the arrangement style of C86 tapes as a whole, but on the whole, they follow the same concept. As far as the interpretation of guitar is concerned, the guitar sound lines in this collection seem to be changeable, but in fact they have completed the inheritance of their predecessors, from the transformation of folk guitar, the composition of anxious sound lines, the concept of noise experiment, to the copying of Jangly bright guitar. They all inherited the ingenious ideas outlined by their predecessors for guitar rock, and because of this conceptual collective performance, the C86 cassette has a profound creative function, even exceeding the original feeling of listening to music.
People can define C86 as an imaginary style and distinguish it from indie pop music and guitar pop music because of their unique musical forms. Most orchestras in this collection follow the rhythm foundation of punk music and spread in different directions. You can hear most orchestras playing Jangly's guitar on the drums of post-punk music. The melody is very simple, and it is really as good as it was in the 1960s, but the recording and texture are very low, fax and rough, which is the general way to define the C86 style. The following are some important bands in the C86 cassette.
Primitive cry
The original scream, the most famous combination of C86, no one can imagine their success in the mainstream market, they come from the origin of C86. Before 199 1 this groundbreaking dance cross-rock masterpiece Screamadelica, their debut album "Sonik Flower Trough" played fresh and pure guitar rock, in which "Gentle Tuesday" was a famous song imitated by many younger generations, and their "Speed Girl" presented on the cassette has long been regarded as the national anthem of C86.
The lead singer Bobby Gillespie used to be the drummer of Jesus and Mary Chain, so the two albums he heard were classic works. They are undoubtedly the most important orchestra in the C86 era. In addition to the unique and ingenious guitar sound, the later qualitative change of electronic sound made the mainstream market rediscover the history of the orchestra and indirectly aroused the interest of the world again. Although they have let go of the identity of C86, there is still no far-reaching power to promote and spread it at that time.
McCarthy
McCarthy is my favorite C86 band. They collected the beauty of their predecessors and wrote rare protest lyrics at that time. In addition to the content in the text, the change of their musical style has also witnessed the changes of the times. From the short punk of the first album "I am a wallet" to the smooth guitar popularity of "Angry Will Inherits the Earth" and finally to the electronic style of "German Rock", McCarthy will always be the most energetic spectrum of the C86 Orchestra.
The compilation of double guitars inherited from felt is the focus of his musical instrument performance. Jangly is always pleasant, simple and monotonous, but it is full of layers along the way. They attracted people's attention with their satire on Mrs. Thatcher's The Red Sleeping Beauty, which repeatedly represented the original spirit and creativity of C86, regardless of their living years or their tragic commercial achievements.
Among many struggling bands, wedding gifts are the only ones that can sell money. They were also criticized by the media for sticking to the basic teachings of C86 all the way. Their music is always played with a serial guitar out of order, supplemented by a short punk rhythm, but they don't forget to make beautiful guava songs. Their debut album "George the Best" is also the most representative work among peers in the C86 era.
And their attitude towards guitar has indirectly influenced the interpretation of guitar by many post-rock and shoe-fan bands. Different from the short-lived C86 period, wedding gifts have always adhered to the line, released works steadily, and the level is also very good. They are still active today, just like the living fossil of C86.
crayon
Pastel, always called the godfather of indie pop music by MCB magazine, has really influenced countless fresh music. They can be said to be the noisy and violent reaction of C86. They play innocent and lovely pop tunes on the basis of folk guitars, but they do not lose their independence and diversity. They always show sentimental and melancholy feelings in love, and inherit the amateur clumsy spirit of TV personality. It is common for them to play wrong chords on the guitar.
salesclerk
Only those who have released albums have great influence, and they play an important role in the female roles of flowers and independent music. In addition, their experiments and development of dream pop music, chansons music and shoeshine music almost directly influenced women's bands such as Slowdive.
Before they became rich, these orchestras all followed a simple and simple creative way, recording in the living room at home, using the concepts of low fax and family Demo, forming their own music boundaries, getting rid of the complex professionalism of the new wave of exquisite romance, but without losing the focus of punk music, laying an important foundation for the development of independent music, which is also closely related to the C86 orchestra's love to release seven-inch single vinyl.
Because the seven-inch vinyl is small and easy to collect, the design cover is extremely convenient and concise, and in the space of three or four songs, the orchestra can give full play to its experimental and independent nature without worrying about the integration concept of similar albums, so the cute and small seven-inch vinyl has been the favorite distribution method for musicians and fans since the C86 era, and this tradition has been passed down to the current Flower Orchestra.
If the above bands have a common benefactor to help them through the bleak years of band management, that person is the famous BBC DJ John Peel. Skinning the old man is not exclusive to the C86 era, but there is no doubt that those bands are his favorite young people. Many C86 orchestras have been to several John Peel conferences to promote their music for free. Even though the results were limited, John Peel took great pains to continue to let C86' s orchestra have their own voices, which helped many orchestras from different regions to get to know each other and conduct joint tours.
Even after the end of the C86 era, John Peel still strongly supported the budding independent guitar rock circle. His loyal and unrepentant comeback has stained all the Indie-Scene with the dew of kindness of the peeling old man, and made the British independent music flourish and the system sound. Of course, the most important thing is that he still played an important role in information dissemination and let more people know about the excellent orchestras of this period. He is definitely the greatest behind-the-scenes player in the C86 era.
The concepts of performing live at John Peel Sessions and receiving radio also influenced many concepts of C86 orchestra's live performance. In view of the fact that many orchestras simply don't have enough songs to perform, many familiar and friendly orchestras often perform together, and even put out a song "You and My Plum Blossoms-Song Like", which bombarded fans' ears in turn. Because it is too small and familiar with many fans, many Gig performances are quite easy in a family garden concert.
This often happens in livehouses of Glasgow, Scotland. Just as the predecessor postcards were born in Glasgow, many orchestras of C86 also made their fortune in the second largest city in Britain. Glasgow has almost more fans listening to minority music than the capital London, so the independent guitar bands of that era listed it as a key city for live performances, so the independent guitar rock in Britain has blossomed beautiful flowers around Glasgow, from Orange Jucie to Belle &；; Sebastian, as well as Franz Ferdinand and C86, have successfully promoted Glasgow-Scene, putting the city in a three-legged position with London and Manchester. At the same time, the independent guitar rock industry in the British Isles is in the ascendant, and the bands are not limited to cassettes, but also flourish in all aspects. Although many of them are not allowed by the mainstream market, they have participated in this magnificent era without reservation.
Jesus And Mary Chain, an absolutely familiar name, is actually a typical C86 orchestra, but few people know that they are actually a typical C86 orchestra, because the world is too focused on their extraordinary creativity in guitar noise and effects, and ignores the flesh and blood in their beautiful skin, which is actually composed of the C86 backbone. Whether it is classic psychedelic candy or sweet dark place, it is full of the shining independent guitar rock spirit of that era. The inclusive key of Jesus and Mary can be said to be a bright guide on the table of that era, and every young generation can find its starting point among its many ideas.
The Chuangshi record company they belong to is an important brand in the C86 era, including the original scream, BMX bandits and so on. Of course, the most important thing is that they signed shoe owesting's Bamba Orchestra. This is my bloody Valentine's Day.
Of course, not all guitar rock is so miserable and lonely. At the same time, the rising The Smiths is a combination of mainstream, independent underground, guitar rock and new wave. Their commercial achievements are quite good, but the guitarist John Marr's fresh and simple deconstruction chords are inspired by the felt guitarist Maurice Dibank, which can be said to have a similar growth environment and origin to the C86 orchestra, while the guitar orchestra in the late 1980s was hardly influenced by them because of mainstream reasons.
Strictly speaking, it is a serious fallacy to insist that the Smiths have influenced the C86 orchestra, because they are both rising bands at the same time. Although they received different musical influences, they all created a prosperous era of guitar rock in the future, including guitar pop and British pop.
Of course, at the same time, it is not only the band on the cassette that is inspired by this guitar spirit, but also others such as Biff Bang Pow! , BMX robber, June bride, legend! Razor blade, Talulah Gosh
Other orchestras were later classified as C86 era.
Some of them were born a few years earlier, some refused to participate in the collection, and some debuted too late, but they created music that was not inferior to other peers. For example, the BMX bandit is a typical C86 orchestra, but refuses to participate in the collection. Their music styles are changeable, covering C86 and Indie-Pop, and their cute and shy attitude is the favorite of fans. The first album was named "C86" directly to commemorate this wonderful time. Although the members of the orchestra have changed, they have been writing steadily for twenty years, and even released a new album this year.
Other bands, such as Razorcuts, were once completely forgotten, but were excavated and recalled by Martinee. Their music was deeply influenced by the psychedelic folk group Byrds in the 1960s, which sounded simple and restrained but full of retro flavor, and Talulah Gosh was the most direct bridge connecting C86 and the salad factory. They take the female punk route, but they are regarded as the originator of Gril-Pop in the independent branch, although.
After talking about so many minority bands with poor business performance, what is the mainstream rock of 1986? In fact, Syth-Pop and the new wave were popular at that time. In the mid-1980s, the post-punk, which had a great influence, had faded out and was replaced by a new wave movement which was based on romanticism and divorced from the real environment, and paid attention to exaggeration and popularity. The new wave and Syth-Pop inspired by the electronic music of the German power plant orchestra dominated the mainstream music in the 1980s. At this time, the synthesizer keyboard and electronic sound effects have become the leading role in musical instrument interpretation, instead of being dominated by guitars in the 1970s, C86 music has officially played this role.
The initial impact after extinction
Why define the era of C86 in the four years from 1986 to 1989? Where did C86 go after that? In fact, it is reasonable to set the date at 1989, because at this moment, all bands capable of releasing albums have released their first albums, and some have also released two albums. At this time, the orchestra coming from the seven-inch vinyl is facing unprecedented difficulties, that is, the confusion of music style and the economic pressure to maintain the operation of the orchestra, so many orchestras either choose to dissolve at this time or make compromises and changes in their second album.
Another reason doomed the short life of C86, that is, the emerging music styles influenced by it developed too fast, completely covering up and engulfing the original C86 trend. Twee-Pop, Indie-Pop, Guitar-Pop and shoe staggering rooted in C86 almost all broke out in 1989, sweeping the whole guitar rock circle. It also indirectly forced the original orchestra to degenerate or change itself to join it. Although some orchestras still insist on themselves and refuse to change, Indie-Scene's love for the new and dislike for the old directly sentenced C86 to death.
The best way to continue the spirit of C86 is Sarah Records, which originated in Bristol. The legendary salad factory in the new century, from recording to performance, from seven-inch vinyl to bleak management, is quite similar to C86 at that time, but it has tapped the atmosphere of Indie-Pop and Twee-Pop. In the past, the rich punk spirit in C86 faded a lot in the salad factory, and it was replaced by the backbone of fresh folk guitar, but it still has the characteristics of C86, which was also passed down through the salad factory.
Before Salad was honored as a legend, its major orchestras, such as Field Mouse, Orchid and Haiyuan, were labeled as post-C86 by the media from time to time. Although they hate this name, it also shows that they are closely related to C86, and Tarullah Ghosh, who was born at the same time, is also a member of Sarah Records. They have been transformed into a way of heaven, which should be regarded as the best adhesive to closely combine C86 and Sarah's records.
If Inide-Pop/Twee-Pop is the dominant gene of C86, then shoe-staring is the recessive gene, and the founders of shoe-staring style, Jesus and Mary Chain, originally belong to one of them. Although later bands such as MBV, Ride and Slowdive were influenced by VU, Beach Boys and Sonic Youth, the basic form of guitar noise was completely C86, which can be seen from the immature first album of My Bloody Valentine's Day.
After the wave of C86 dissipates, two out-of-date orchestras must be introduced, namely Love House and East Village.
Love House just crossed the boundary between 1980s and 1990s. Their first album of the same name released in 1988 was full of C86 amorous feelings, but they did not forget the fluency and moving of guitar -Pop. The butterfly album released in 1990 made the guitar sound more vivid, but Love House was never a band willing to listen to minority music. They are called the heirs of the Smiths. However, it was still one step away from real commercial success, and it was eventually replaced by Shi Meigui, who was more topical in Manchester City, and finally dissolved in depression. They always put soup in these two times and music styles, which can't be a fierce group of atmosphere, but they are not too independent. Fortunately, they came back last year to continue their beautiful music journey.
Relatively speaking, Dongcun, which is in extreme decline, has no time to participate in the glory of the times of C86. Even after the album was recorded, I couldn't find a label that I was willing to release. Totally miserable, but their music is orthodox guitar pop/indie pop, deeply influenced by C86. It influenced many flower orchestras throughout the 1990s and was finally widely discussed after the Millennium. This year, the only CD album was re-released, which was a grand burial after death. Bob Stanley(Melodyt Maker's music criticism and Saint Etienne's brain) has always been the favorite of the orchestra and an important promoter of the renewed attention of the C86 trend.
Such as the spirit of ripple diffusion
It seems that C86 is a historical event that belongs exclusively to the British, but it is not. On the other side of the Atlantic, there are still Americans who have noticed the revolution that the seedlings are as small as cockroaches, but at the same time, another revolution is going on in the North American continent, that is, the formation of an alternative. R.E.M tried to subvert traditional rock music and create an alternative choice with their college rock. From a macro point of view, the alternative-rock/pop and C86 do have many similarities, and the concept of "ruthlessness" is quite similar.
1985 There is a band born in the wrong mainland, that is, playing. They are deeply influenced by R.E.M, but they are mixed with the characteristics of postcard factory, felt and TV personality. Their neglected degree and tragic sales performance are more like C86 fraternal twins. Of course, they also secretly learned the guitar charm of C86, and added some British accents to their American indie pop music. Most importantly, Beat occuring's attitude towards popular melodies deeply influenced low-fax bands such as Yo La Tengo, pavement and voice guidance, and indirectly spread the spirit of C86.
Let's look back at Britain. After entering the 1990s, the mixed music style of electro-acoustic rock became popular. In this music style called dance rock, the three most important orchestras are closely related to C86. Primitive Scream, as the most important orchestra of C86, embraced the mainstream dance and sour house styles in the early 1990s, but it did not become an electronic group, but integrated the musical style of C86 into dance music and psychedelic music. This can be proved by the extension of the famous song I 1LL, the last C86 song, which lost more than I did. Although they later chose to embrace blues music, when they listened to Screamadelica again, they had already heard the music structure of C86 and the fresh guitar.
In the early 1990s, Saint Etienne, who combined French chansons, Independent Electronics and British pop music, was an out-and-out C86 fan. Besides being a friend of Dongcun, Bob Stanley is also committed to promoting many classic combinations of C86 to Melody Maker readers. Saint Etienne never forgets to sort out the stupid guitar and rock tracks in every album, and makes no secret of her love for the C86 era. She even reissued CD86 this year, trying to introduce more beautiful orchestral music from that year.
Known as the most influential Stereolab in contemporary times, it is the originator of many musical styles. Perhaps the most outstanding one is that they inspired post-rock, but few people know that Tim Gane, the main member of the orchestra, used to be McCarthy's guitarist, and Laetitia Sadier also played the keyboard in the last album. Although Stereolab was deeply influenced by Kraut-Rock in experimental style, McCarthy was everywhere when they wrote popular tunes and arranged guitar sound lines in their early days, and sometimes their deep fax performance was full of the legacy of C86.
If we insist on connecting C86 with later Brit-pop, it will be a bit like a thousand miles away, but these orchestras are indirectly inspired by the spirit of that era. For example, Blur always used the low-fax but melodious garage rock in his early days, which coincides with the creative mode of some C86 orchestras. Pulp, born in the 1980s, was deeply influenced by flower orchestras such as Smith and Felt, and the radical leftist lyrics of manic street missionaries. But at this time, guitar rock has entered a golden age, and the spirit of C86 and the appeal created in that year can be seen almost everywhere. Although it is not obvious, it is hidden in the blood of every guitar rock band in the 1990 s.
After C86, Japanese brands have mushroomed, from Cherry Red, Darla, Elefant, K, Martinee, Sarah Records, Setanta, Shinkashen, Vinyl indie pop, Labrador and so on. But almost all of them followed the spirit of C86, kept small and independent colors, and released cute and compact singles. After introducing the influence of C86 in broad sense and narrow sense, in fact, these small brands can best represent the spirit of the C86 era, because they are always so fresh and moving, but they do not easily compromise with the commercial mainstream, just as those predecessors insisted.
Conclusion-the beginning of independent music
This year happens to be the 20th year of the birth of the C86 cassette. The British rock circle has changed a lot of music styles these days. Perhaps the mainstream orchestras on the table have little to do with C86, but many underground minority orchestras still follow the creative mode of that year, playing an independent spirit, and creating changeable and ingenious ideas with guitars.
The use of C86 should not be limited to this series. After listening to many of their later works and disciples, you can gradually understand the true value of C86. Its contribution to the development of British rock music is absolutely as important as punk music. Bob Stanley made a best footnote for C86: the beginning of indie music.