The ARCTIC MONKEY live back in 2006.

Alright kids, time for the final history lesson, at least for now. After already taking you to the roots of modern day indie music in the 1980s and watching the scene slowly getting bigger in the 1990s it’s now time for the fulminant finale on our Spotify channel. The still often nameless decade we like to call ‘the Noughties’ brought the ultimate breakdown of all the rules and restrictions the music scene had come to love. And in retrospect it’s fair to say that the scene was an entirely different one by the end of 2009 than it was ten years earlier. The landscape of the industry drastically changed in the first decade of the 21st century, forcing the old ‘indie’ label to more or less open itself while somehow also giving up his strict limitations.

While the lines between what was considered independent and what you call mainstream or pop were pretty clear at the beginning of the century it is now way more blurry; some say it totally vanished. The internet did not only change the ways of distribution but also the way people consumed music, albums and also the way they worshipped sudden bands. The way it is right now started back in the 00s and that evolution is really interesting to see in retrospect. Pretty soon after we all survived that ‘horrible’ millennium bug, new and exciting band’s on both sides of the Atlantic emerged which reignited the love for raw and furious independent rock. America had its WHITE STRIPES, STROKES and YEAH YEAH YEAHS while the UK gave us THE LIBTERINES and later the furious debut album of FRANZ FERDINAND. Especially Great Britain came out with countless young, hungry and furious new guitar bands that took the energy of the past and put it into the here and now: Whether it was BLOC PARTY, MAXIMO PARK, ARCTIC MONKEYS or FOALS – between 2004 and 2006 it felt as every new band between London and Glasgow was destined to become really huge. And don’t forget about the crucial part Scandinavia played in this as well.

While the 90s already saw the rise of countless sub-genres, 00s indie music made it even more dificult to categorize the music. Some bands spread a bit more garage rock flavor, others took it to sophisticated pop levels. Later, in the course of the decade the weariness of electric guitars even resulted in a fusion between rock and electronic dance music. The sudden influence of urban music vibes and the consequent mixture of all different sorts of genres made specific classifications even harder. One thing remains for sure: 00s indie music heavily relied on a certain retro aspect and therefor kindly resurrected the vibes from the early 80s and introduced that sort of sound to a new generation. The post-punk and new wave revival even saw old heroes like MORRISSEY and THE CURE return in full glory.

While our previous two indie classic playlists were already pretty packed, this beautiful beast is the most massive one so far. 250 tracks, over 15 hours of music showcase the sheer amount of bands and artists that showed up in this golden era for independent music. Well, and it’s also pretty much the soundtrack of ‘our’ generation which should explain the extended knowledge in that field. It’s tender, but also reckless nostalgia, from the gentle lo-fi independent rock charm of GRANDADDY, THE SHINS and early DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, right to the short living nu rave madness of KLAXONS and JUSTICE and straight to the first steps of such diverse groups like TAME IMPALA, THE XX and FUTURE ISLANDS who would become the new indie music big players of the decade we’re all living in right now. The whole path from the early 80s to the late 00s hopefully helped you to acknowledge the roots of contemporary music and also introduced you to plenty of new tunes and bands which is something we’re always trying to push. But, well, you should know this by now, shouldn’t you?

For now, please follow the playlist below, hit the ‘play’ button and maybe also the ‘shuffle’ one to unfold the ultimate element of surprise.

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