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Windmill scene

Windmill Scene
Isaac Wood of Black Country, New Road performing in 2020.
Isaac Wood of Black Country, New Road performing in 2020
Other names
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsLate 2010s – early 2020s, United Kingdom

The Windmill scene (also known as the Speedy scene) is a musical scene that originated around the Windmill pub in Brixton, London, during the late 2010s and early 2020s. The term is usually defined with a blend of experimental rock and post-punk, featuring erratic, spoken vocals as well as inspiration from genres such as progressive rock and post-rock.[2][3][4][5] A key figure on the scene's formation is producer Dan Carey, who signed many Windmill bands to his record label, Speedy Wunderground, which has also given it the name Speedy scene.[6]

Among the bands described as being part of the scene are Black Midi, Black Country, New Road, Squid, Shame, Maruja, the Last Dinner Party, Fat White Family, Heartworms, Goat Girl, PVA and occasionally, Fontaines D.C.[2][3][4][6][7][8][9]

History

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Described by the Ramapo College of New Jersey's Ramapo News in 2025 as "the most significant movement in rock music in the past decade",[This quote needs a citation] the Windmill Scene began to be acknowledged by mainstream outlets like NPR Music and The Independent in the early 2020s as an emerging force in British guitar music. Another name used to refer to the scene is "Post-Brexit" new wave, scene or music. Matthew Perpetua of NPR explained the term, writing "For one thing, there's no getting around how much of this music is a direct response to the social dynamics of post-Brexit England... The politics aren't always foregrounded, but there's an unmistakable feeling of shame, disappointment and pessimism about Britain's future permeating all of this music." Nonetheless, Black Midi bassist Cameron Picton criticised the term in an article in 2022, saying "I don't think there's actually any bearing of Brexit on any of our music. And if you were going to call anything post-Brexit, it would be the bands that are starting out now, maybe."[10]

The movement's frontrunners have achieved important commercial success, with Black Country, New Road's Ants From Up There album debuting at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart, and a well received performance by Black Midi of the song "bmbmbm" on the Hyundai Mercury Prize in 2019. The scene is widely described as sharing a spoken vocal style as well as a blend of experimental rock and post-punk.[2][3][4] Nonetheless, some of the scene's biggest exponents, such as Black Midi and its guitarist Geordie Greep, began to incorporate different influences to their work, such as progressive rock and world music, as well as indie rock and chamber pop in the case of Black Country, New Road. The Windmill scene has also begun to have an influence in foreign acts, with the United States' Geese[11][12] and Sprain,[13] and Chile's Hesse Kassel[14] and Asia Menor [es][15] being compared to Windmill bands.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Perpetua, Matthew (6 May 2021). "The Post-Brexit New Wave". NPR. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Lane, Oscar (29 October 2020). "The Brixton pub that became the centre of innovative music". whynow. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Megathlin, Kate (14 March 2025). "Change The Record: Squid – Cowards". The Seattle Collegian. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Kelly, Laura (12 October 2023). "How London music venue The Windmill made Brixton a mecca for the best new bands". Big Issue. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  5. ^ Schonfeld, Zach (13 October 2021). "The Eternal Cool of Talk Singing". The Ringer. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b Read, Kieran (23 June 2020). "'There's a complete fearlessness to them': Inside the raucous new south London guitar scene". The Independent. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  7. ^ Wolf, Dylan (13 February 2025). "Squid's 'Coward' is a pleasantly unique blend of sounds". The Ramapo News. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  8. ^ Singh, Jay (19 November 2020). "'What Can I Do' is a no-holds-barred introduction to Heartworms' beguiling post-punk". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  9. ^ Chatterton, Caitlin (4 January 2024). "Next Wave #1153: Heartworms". Clash. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  10. ^ Brasil, Sydney (14 October 2022). "black midi Push Back Against Being Labelled 'Post-Brexit'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  11. ^ Martínez Sevilla, Jesús (19 July 2023). "Geese amenizan el fin del mundo". El Independiente de Granada (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  12. ^ dean (8 November 2023). "Geese: Rock Is Dead. Long Live Rock". Relix Media. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Sprain – The Lamb As Effigy or Three Hundred And Fifty XOXOXOS For A Spark Union With My Darling Divine". veilofsound.com. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  14. ^ Hypermusica (15 October 2024). "Hesse Kassel estrena 'Postparto', un sensible e hipnótico rock experimental". Hypermusica (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  15. ^ Merino, Nicolás (1 September 2023). "Química: Asia Menor debuta con su primer disco, 'Enola Gay'". Expectador (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2025.