When One Artist Makes Two Very Different Kinds of Music

Platforms, distributors and radio submissions all ask for one genre. That is simple to answer if the music sits in one place, and harder if it does not.

For this edition of The Inside Track, I am answering a few questions about choosing a label for music that does not fit neatly in one category. It has shaped recent releases, and it may shape how future music is released.

Why does genre matter to you when you are putting an album out?

It comes up at release time, when I have to assign a single genre to an album.

I want the music to be easy to find for someone looking for a particular style, but there is usually no one label that covers all of it. “Genre-blending” has been used to describe my music, and that is fair. The catalogue moves through rock, ambient and electronic, cinematic atmospheres, keyboard-driven experimentation, blues-rock, and a few places in between.

The trouble is that “genre-blending” describes the music but does not answer the question when a platform, a distributor or a radio submission wants one genre. In that case I pick the label that covers the most of it. It is the best option I have.

Was that part of the thinking behind Something a Little Different and Modern Retroism?

Yes. Last year I made a deliberate split between the guitar-driven side of my music and the ambient, keyboard-driven side.

Something a Little Different was meant to be a rock-oriented album. Modern Retroism was meant to be an ambient, cinematic electronic album.

Some songs from each could have gone on the other if the concepts had been different. The split was mostly about the energy of the music and the instrument that inspired each song. It was not a checklist of instruments or a strict genre rule. The album concepts gave each collection its identity, even where individual tracks could have crossed over.

Which songs show that overlap most clearly?

On Modern Retroism, “Synchronize” and “Lost at Groom Lake” were written and recorded just after Something a Little Different was finished, but before it was released. If that album had not already been finalized, they might have gone on it as heavier keyboard songs. “Transit Out” is another Modern Retroism track that could have been on Something a Little Different.

It works the other way too. “Causing Interference,” “Lorem Ipsum,” and “Look into My Dreams” could have gone on Modern Retroism.

Almost every album has a song or two that could sit on the other side.

Did separating those sounds help listeners understand the albums?

I am still working that out.

The split, and probably the timing of Modern Retroism so soon after Something a Little Different, seemed to hurt the radio momentum that Something a Little Different had. Radio programmers gave me feedback, and airplay for it dropped off quickly.

Both albums are getting some radio play now. My reading is that Something a Little Different would have been noticed more if I had not released Modern Retroism under my own name, or so soon afterwards. That is my interpretation, not a proven cause. As time goes on, I think the release cycle may matter more than the genre or the target market.

Is that why you are considering a different artist name for future electronic work?

Yes, partly.

For the material that sits closer to Jean-Michel Jarre or Tangerine Dream, a separate band name could give listeners a clearer path. The artist name would tell them what kind of sound to expect.

I care less about people knowing it is me than about making sure people who like that style can actually hear it. I would still be listed as the composer on the album. This would not be a pseudonym. It would be a band name used for those releases.

What makes that decision difficult?

Once I release an album under a different artist name, I feel committed to that artist, not only for the next release but for continuing down that path.

The practical questions are these. Am I starting from square one in building a path for that artist? Does it need its own website and social media presence? Or can I keep those under my current identity and use the band name only for the releases?

I do not have those answers yet.

What would you like to hear from listeners and other artists?

I would like to hear from anyone who has thought about this from any angle.

Do genre labels help you find the music you want to hear? If you follow an artist for one side of their work, do you lose interest when they release something very different? If you are an independent artist with more than one musical identity, did you build a separate audience from scratch, or keep everything under one website and social presence?

And if you are a radio programmer, how much do release timing, consistency and a clear artist identity matter when you decide what stays in rotation?

Stay tuned. I am still working this out myself, and I hope to know which path is right before I take it.