Once upon a time, before I had written any music under the name Poly Gecko, I found myself trying to forecast what genre I should be. My internal monologue sounded like a few music buffs on an indie radio station who felt the need to give every artist their own specific genre: “this, to me, sounds like experimental-indie house-punk”, “no no no no. To me, this sounds like post-alternative ska-jazz”. I guess I was trying too hard to select a niche genre to fit into before even having any music written. I often times put the cart before the horse in my head but I had to learn some discipline and just start writing music and not worry about genres at all.
Eventually, I had some songs. People would ask me “what kind of music is it?” and I would ponder and come up with a different story for every different person who asked. I guess it really depends on what I’m writing or working on at the moment. Some days I’ll feel more like a dance music producer, somedays I’ll be more interested in writing spacey soundtracks for movies and then other days might become centred around Lorde-esque drum beats but with just piles of synth. Chances are if you’ve asked me what genre I fit into, I’ve given you a story that only made sense for that specific day.
The problem I have with genres is that almost every artist is influenced by more than one genre and those genres / influences are reflected in their music. One of my favourite bands of all time is the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They can go from rap in the verse to funk and rock in the chorus. Even Deadmau5 can switch from club-banger mode to spacey acoustic guitar mode for the next song. I don’t want to compare myself to the likes of RHCP and Deadmau5 but I’m heavily influenced by a number of different artists in different ‘genres’: Lorde, Trent Reznor, Purity Ring, The Mars Volta and Hey Rosetta! I’m humble enough to know I’m not the only one being influenced by a multitude of genres but we’re left with something fantastic when genres collide – we’re left a lovely potluck of music, where genres are becoming less relevant than ever.