Genre Conventions of Chosen Song

Crystal Castles are of a band of the genre experimental/electronic and alternative. They have been described as “ferocious” and are known for their chaotic live shows. The term "experimental" is used in conjunction with other genres to describe music within specific genres that pushes against the conventional boundaries or definitions and Crystal Castles are certainly this.

Electronic music is a style that can be achieved by using sound synthesizer or computer along with the use of electronic instruments. Electronic music was once associated exclusively with Western art music but during the 1960’s, producing music by electronic means became much more affordable, resulting in the genre becoming much more popular.
The style and dress sense of Electronic bands is usually very alternative, including vintage styles etc. Usually dark clothing and nothing flashy or designer. This would contrast with styles such as pop or R&B where artists usually like to show off their wealth and fame. Female artists within this genre are usually very bold, wearing dark makeup and a bright lipstick colour. It is clear that the females are not trying to be alluring towards the audience, they are simply just performing and acting themselves, again contrasting to more popular genres. Conventionally, artists producing music of this genre are white British.
Watching videos from this genre such as Crystal Castles, The Prodigy, Daft Punk etc, you can see the videos are unconventional. Stereotypically, videos are performance videos with lots of strobe/flashing lighting.

Images such as these are generally what people would expect from an electronic/alternative video. They are very abstract and the artists are rarely showing themselves off. The videos are usually full of scenes with band members playing instruments such as the keyboard or electric guitar. Through watching and analysing the videos I could see that many different camera shots are used to fit with the upbeat, experimental kind of music and this can be seen in my chosen song. The videos are different to main stream music videos as they rarely convey a story to the audience, it is literally just about the music. As well as this, the videos rarely ever include choreographed dance routines or narratives. However, an example of a narrative video for electronic/alternative music would be Smack My Bitch Up by The Prodigy.  This video is highly explicit and was band from music channels. It shows alcohol and drug abuse along with sex and violence which are thing that are seen as deviant. This video portrays an image of what the artists are like in person and the lifestyle that they lead. Bands/artists are stereotyped to occasionally take drugs, although this is a stereotype that exists outside of this genre of music too. Settings and locations for electronic/alternative videos usually include places like basements or garages, somewhere small and grungy with a set-up of instruments. In general, they aren’t very show-off or fake, they are very raw and unprocessed.
Electronic music doesn’t have a huge audience, it is more of an alternative subculture, that doesn’t conform to and breaks the rules of, the conventions of the mainstream music industry. The audience for this style of music is commonly teenagers/young adults of around 16-25. The social economic group they would belong to would be the working class and perhaps middle class. Unlike mainstream pop music, electronic and alternative songs do not contain the message of ‘heartbreak’ or ‘falling in love’, therefore I believe that more males would be interested in this music. However, females are likely to be just as attracted to this style. Overall, I hold a very stereotypical opinion on electronic and experimental music due to the research I have done. Because of this, in my music video I would like to challenge these conventions and create something different.