ScreenshotFor most of us, the name “PC Music” doesn’t come to mind when someone mentions labels that have transformed pop music.
Founded in 2013 by producer A.G. Cook, PC Music takes a cutesy, energetic, bubbly, and sometimes even dissonant approach to pop music, combining happy-hardcore melodies with pitch- shifted vocals and upbeat tempos to create music that has been extremely polarizing in the mainstream.
After rising to fame with the release of Hannah Diamond’s “Pink and Blue” in late 2013, both amateur and professional music critics weren’t sure what to make of this odd UK label whose songs consisted of innocent, puppy-love-driven romantic lyrics and commentaries on consumerism. Some hated the PC sound, and were quick to voice their opinions on the web. One YouTube user, Missy Teree, commented, “This is vapid, stupid and terrible. It’s like really, really half assed Korean pop,” on the music video for quintessential PC banger “Hey QT.”
Some believed that it was just satirical of modern pop music, a piece of art criticizing modern pop’s obsession with money and sex. Some believed it to be pure genius, with Clive Martin of Vice saying, “I think they bring a much-needed element of playfulness and femininity back to a club culture that is rapidly turning into guys with Mourinho stubble and expensive hats standing near the booth Shazaming rare disco records.”
In the midst of this polarization, PC Music continued to rise in popularity, performing at an SXSW showcase in March 2015 and later performing at their own event, “Pop Cube,” in May 2015 in collaboration with Red Bull Music Academy. Despite coming under scrutiny for their feminine aesthetic, which has been described as appropriative, it seems that PC Music has made a splash not only on the Internet but in mainstream pop as well. Back in October 2015, PC Music announced a partnership with the massive label Columbia Records, and has so far released an EP by PC artist Danny L. Harle and a single by A.G. Cook and Chris Lee as part of that partnership. Prominent pop diva Charli XCX has recently collaborated with PC-associated producer SOPHIE, releasing the four track Vroom Vroom EP, as well as performing live with him at an SXSW showcase on March 18 of this year. This EP was released on Charli XCX’s new label, Vroom Vroom Recordings, which is branded as an experimental pop label much like PC Music.
Now that PC Music has melded with modern pop and the Internet hype has begun to fizzle out, what can we say it’s done for pop? I think we can say it’s opened the doors to experimentation and fresh ideas that are desperately needed in a horrifically stale pop scene. Bringing back femininity, innocence, and playfulness to a pop and club culture chock-full of testosterone and EDM bros gives the scene a breath of fresh air and a new sense of sonic direction. I think pop has begun to take itself too seriously — PC Music came to remind it to have fun.
