Hyperpop, digicore, glitchcore, dariacore, hyperflip–the list goes on. If you were involved with the underground music scene circa 2020, hearing these names might evoke hazy memories of Minecraft music festivals, twenty person Soundcloud cyphers, and the stuttering, pitched up vocals of bedroom-bound teenagers. Under the hyperpop umbrella lay a collection of ill-defined, loosely organized microgenres that seemingly spawned into existence during the early Covid-19 lockdowns, fizzling out and dying just as quickly as they came. Much ink has been spilled and bandwidth expended asking what happened; why these genres and the artists that built them didn’t have the staying power many assumed they would. Music publications and artists opine alike: hyperpop is dead. But who killed it?
Truth be told, hyperpop was never really a thing. The post-100 gecs landscape of lockdown artists held little in common with their PC Music forefathers–the original owners of ‘hyperpop’ as a term. Hyperpop was a Spotify playlist; an attempt by the streaming service to unite a disparate landscape of artists with only a few stylistic similarities under a single unified banner. The members of Drain Gang were placed within the same algorithmic bubble as figures like SOPHIE, Charli XCX, and the ever-growing ranks of teenage musicians whose bitcrushed and formant-shifted vocals found success through platforms like TikTok and Instagram. As lockdowns began winding down, the terms ‘hyperpop’ and ‘digicore’ began to define more a community of like minded individuals than encapsulate any distinct sonic identity. The actual “death” of hyperpop is decently well attributed–the most prominent figures in the scene simply just moved on. The Covid restrictions ended, and they either got bored and moved on with their lives or abandoned the genre to try and find mainstream success.
Looking back on 2020’s starting roster, this trend becomes obvious. aldn makes indie rock, Midwxst abandoned his earlier sound for mainstream rap, glaive was labelled a sellout after a widely-panned single with MGK, and ericdoa became the “what if Ninja got a low taper fade?” guy. Of course, that’s not everyone. Some of the biggest up-and-coming acts in the music community got their start in the scene. Some, like Jane Remover and underscores, have become total indie darlings. Their recent albums have garnered widespread acclaim and propelled their careers far further than their peers–both just wrapped up tours opening for JPEGMAFIA and Porter Robinson, respectively. But despite their genre switchups, the DNA of their past work remains undeniably present.
Out of this entire scene, it might be hard to name anyone who’s seen widespread success and while still working within the genre. 2hollis seems to be the only artist making waves while still staying true to the genre’s original trappings. Not even an afterthought back in the scene’s heyday, he wiped his old discography and leaned even further into the electronic aspect of hyperpop’s sonic makeup–something other former scenesters have seemed reluctant to do. If anything, his recent meteoric rise and tour with the Opium label has proven that the sound still has legs–a positive sign for his contemporaries still relegated to the underground.
As it happens, the underground hyperpop scene is still thriving, but it’s unrecognizable compared to just five years ago. The rising voices within it have now all but abandoned previous genre markers, only united by the fact that they mill about in the same spaces as those who once pioneered the sound. Remember: hyperpop was a community before it was a genre. So, while you could say that hyperpop has abandoned itself, its ethos hasn’t changed much at all. For a community and sound whose very essence seemed predicated on being different from everything else on the market, it makes perfect sense.
Many in this new generation carry with them the blessings of those who came before, often opening for and frequently collaborating with those bigger acts who have largely left the scene. They still collaborate with each other too, in a way reminiscent of the genre’s overly crowded ciphers that clogged up Soundcloud back in 2020, but their influences are even more eclectic. Go to the ‘Fans also like’ section on Spotify for any of the aforementioned artists, and see who pops up. A cursory listen to a few acts showcases just how drastically the scene has transformed. You’ll likely come across figures like Bryce Bishop, who makes what can only be termed midwest emo-pop, or ericdoa protegé reefuh, who manages to seem just as at home working with indie artist Cybertrash in “SOS” as he is on a regalia beat. rouri404’s raspy vocal affect is provably just as comfortable floating over bass growls as it is over his own distorted guitar, and while thatcherblackwood’s acoustic strumming is often interspersed with otherworldly granular synthesis and driving white noise, his talents are similarly apparent when he tries his hand with EDM. Despite their drastically different sounds, you’ll find all of them (and more) collaborating and milling about in the same online spaces as their predecessors–paradoxically, many of those spaces which previously served as the scene’s online graveyard have once again become full of life.
Often, the only connecting thread between these artists is little more than camaraderie and a shared interest in pushing boundaries. Much of their work is crudely made and a little rough around the edges–more proof of concept than polished product–but they wear their influences on their sleeves, as the DIY attitude and overall weirdness of early hyperpop remains deeply embedded within their work. I won’t lie to you and say that these artists make masterpieces, but to say the genre died is to ignore all of the innovation coming out of the scene right now. Its’ heart is still beating. Hyperpop, digicore, glitchcore, whatever you want to call it; it’s always been a sort of franken-genre, stitched up with disparate parts, only now more than ever. It never died, but this next generation of artists has stitched on so many new, disparate influences that the scene has been rendered completely unrecognizable.