Trying to put PinkPantheress into a single genre is difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The simplest description is alternative pop built from UK garage, drum and bass, jungle, R&B and early-2000s dance music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PinkPantheress herself has described her music as alt-pop and, more memorably, as a form of drum and bass that works for home listening. Her music has also been classified as bedroom pop, 2-step, jungle, dance-pop and hyperpop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That mixture is exactly why a PinkPantheress song can simultaneously sound new and strangely familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Partly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drum and bass is one of the strongest ingredients in her sound, particularly the fast rhythmic patterns that sit underneath relatively soft vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But calling PinkPantheress simply a drum-and-bass artist misses much of what makes her interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traditional drum and bass can be aggressive, bass-heavy and designed around clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PinkPantheress frequently takes those rhythmic ideas and shrinks them into compact pop songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The drums might be moving quickly while the vocals remain intimate and almost conversational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That contrast has become part of her signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UK garage is another huge influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Garage typically uses syncopated rhythms and swung percussion rather than a completely straight dance beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PinkPantheress grew up long after UK garage’s original late-1990s and early-2000s commercial peak, but she has helped introduce many of its sounds to a younger audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One obvious example is \u201cPain\u201d, which samples \u201cFlowers\u201d by UK garage duo Sweet Female Attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For listeners discovering PinkPantheress first, following those samples backwards can open up an entire generation of British dance music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PinkPantheress has used the phrase \u201cnew nostalgic\u201d to describe her approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s a useful description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her music often contains sounds associated with the late 1990s and 2000s, but it doesn’t feel like straightforward retro revivalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, older ideas are compressed into the language of modern internet pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Songs are short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hooks arrive quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Genres collide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samples can evoke a half-remembered childhood track while the vocal melody feels entirely contemporary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s nostalgia reconstructed rather than nostalgia reproduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStateside\u201d, currently enjoying another burst of attention through PinkPantheress’s collaboration with Zara Larsson, has been described as big beat and drum and bass with R&B elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s almost a perfect example of why the broader genre question is difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The percussion belongs to one musical world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vocals suggest another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The structure works like pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The production references British dance culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trying to force it into one box misses the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Short songs are another defining characteristic of her music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PinkPantheress has said that she doesn’t believe songs necessarily need to exceed roughly two and a half minutes or contain conventional features such as repeated verses and extended outros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That approach suits modern listening habits, but it also gives her records an unusual quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They often finish before you’ve completely settled into them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The natural response is to play them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you like PinkPantheress, several musical directions are worth exploring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the UK garage side, try artists such as Craig David, MJ Cole, Artful Dodger and Sweet Female Attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more modern genre-blurring British pop and dance music, try piri & tommy, Nia Archives and Shygirl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For melodic drum and bass, explore artists such as Kenya Grace and Rudimental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if it’s the combination of intimate vocals and electronic production that appeals, Burial provides a darker and more atmospheric route into UK electronic music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PinkPantheress is interesting because she shows how genre works differently for younger listeners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone growing up with streaming doesn’t necessarily experience music chronologically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A jungle record from 1994, an emo track from 2006 and a brand-new pop single can sit beside one another in the same playlist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PinkPantheress makes music in much the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The past isn’t something separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s simply another set of sounds available to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s why the best answer to \u201cWhat genre is PinkPantheress?\u201d is probably:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pop \u2014 but built from decades of British dance music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trying to put PinkPantheress into a single genre is difficult. The simplest description is alternative pop built from UK garage, drum and bass, jungle, R&B and early-2000s dance music. PinkPantheress herself has described her music as alt-pop and, more memorably, as a form of drum and bass that works for home listening. Her music has also been classified as bedroom pop, 2-step, jungle, dance-pop and hyperpop. That mixture is exactly why a PinkPantheress song can simultaneously sound new and strangely familiar. Is PinkPantheress drum and bass? Partly. Drum and bass is one of the strongest ingredients in her sound, particularly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2149,1254,21,2150],"coauthors":[2],"class_list":["post-3519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-pink-pantheress","tag-pinkpantheress","tag-pop","tag-sounds-like"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n