Labels are necessary and helpful. They save us time and energy. In the information age where we can't possibly sift through all the content that crosses our path, we need to categorize, sort, label and hash tag content so that we can make a decision as to whether something is relevant and worthy of our attention. As a content creator, everything I publish is tagged with labels so it can be sorted by algorithms and distributed to the audience that will most likely give a fuck about it. While this is efficient for narrowing down a target audience, it is artistically limiting.
Why I Don't Want To Be Reduced To Just Another Goth Cliché
One of the primary labels I use is "goth." Why? Because that has been a label consistently assigned to me by others. I didn't wake up one day and decide to be goth, but I can't even count how many times people have asked me if I'm goth, to which I reply, "if that's how you see me, then to you I am goth and that's fine." However, when I look at myself as a person and an artist I'm not creating content to conform to a subculture's set of parameters by which they define themselves. That mindset goes against every shred of artistic integrity within my being! I HATE conformity, and despite how alternative a subculture may portray it's ideals to be, the very fact that it is a culture unto it's own means that people who identify as part of that culture are conforming to it.
There's a part of me that cringes every time I type #gothgirl, #goth or #gothrock on my Instagram posts, but because it makes my content more discoverable and I know that people who like other content with those labels are likely to enjoy my stuff. It does not mean that I tailor my content to fit the parameters of what is considered goth. It simply means that there are elements of my style that overlap with certain goth clichés.
Why I Have To Reduce Myself To Another Goth Cliché(kind of)
From a business marketing standpoint it would make sense to incorporate more of those clichés into my content, but then I'd be artistically limiting myself. One of the hardest things I have to do is when I'm promoting myself is define myself as an artist. I'm a rock artist, but so is Nickelback and I sound and look nothing like them. I'm technically an indie rock artist, but almost every indie rock publication that I submitted my music to for review didn't find my work to their taste because I don't sound like Arcade Fire or whatever the indie rock flavor of the moment is. There was for a moment the temptation to listen to what was getting publicity on Hype Machine and then try to pick a song of mine that sounded as close that style as possible and then make musical comparisons of my stuff to other bands that are currently popular, just so I could at least get some publicity, but then I'd REALLY be a sellout. So in order to stay true to myself and get publicity I have to find the fans of other artists who possess overlapping sonic and visual elements to mine and then label myself accordingly. In my case, being a pale, macabre artist who's biggest musical influence is Nine Inch Nails means that goth subculture is likely to embrace me.
Why I'm Not JUST A Goth Artist
I do hate to limit myself to one very niche genre though. When I set out to do my album Sex, Drugs & Shiny Brass Poles, I wanted to tell a story through paintings and sound. I didn't have any pre conceived ideas of what it was going to sound like or what genre it was going to be. I wanted to create a world for my audience to experience. I wanted to draw them into the world of Sex, Drugs & Shiny Brass Poles that I experienced so they could see it through my eyes and gain the insights that I did. I wanted to show people that travelling through a dark place can be an enlightening experience.
One of the publications that reviewed my album was Jamsphere and I really appreciated what they had to say because honestly I couldn't have said it better myself.
"she sounds like an artist free of any unnecessary expectations, from herself on any outside sources...From the second “This is Real” kicks off the album, you realize it doesn’t even matter if you’re not into industrial, alternative or electronic music because “Sex, Drugs & Shiny Brass Poles” really can’t be classified or labeled, in such a limiting way. It’s just amazingly composed, brooding, haunting music which takes you into another level of consciousness."(read the entire review here)
If you're curious as to what music without expectations sounds like, you can stream the entire album below and if you like it or just want to support me you can buy it on iTunes or my Official Website. Hope you enjoy!
