Music is a beautiful thing. Like any art form it transcends the boundaries of expression to create something unique and whole. It can be from a single strum of a guitar string or a note from a piano. Our music industry has expanded into genres that cross over and use influences from new and old to create lyrical expressions of their artists as well as melodies that lock memories into our minds. While modern day music has evolved into popular culture, there are still many musicians who continue to work with the grassroots of underground beats and mixed genres. The indie scene provides an entry for new and emerging artists to formulate themselves regardless of criticism since the basis of indie music is dependent on self-expression and producing a wider range of artists by independent record labels. Here are our picks for 5 indie female artists you should be listening to.
Esthero:
One of the most underappreciated artists of her time, Esthero continues to reinvent her music by sampling from genres as different as hip-hop and electronica in order to create her blend of soulful, heart-gripping music. She can be classified under so many titles: artist, singer, composer, producer, and poet but what makes her music so important to the indie scene is her ability to stay true to herself. Working with everyone from Ian Pooley to Goodie Mob, Andre 3000 to Sean Lennon Esthero understands that producing good music is different from singing songs. The song “Heaven Sent” is still hauntingly beautiful and even though it took her 7 years to release her second, full-length studio album Wikked Lil’ Grrls, traces of those same influences can be found in that album. Although Esthero has not been releasing studio albums at the same rate of some of her contemporaries, she has continued to work by collaborating with an eclectic mix of artists like Lisa “Lefteye” Lopez, Nelly Furtado (who was influenced by Esthero’s early work), The Black Eyed Peas and even the Blue Man Group. Esthero has appeared on soundtracks and also was featured on many other artists’ albums with the likes of Kanye West and Mos Def. While Esthero is working more behind the scenes as a writer and producer, her hiatus from producing studio releases is no surprise. As long as she has something to say, Esthero will continue to amaze and her fans will be there to listen.
Cat Power:
Also known as Chan Marshall, Cat Power’s musical career spans all the way back to the early 90’s where she began playing in bars in Atlanta after dropping out of high school. From her first single Headlights which was raw and new to her cover of Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain” off her Jukebox album Cat Power has always let her musical influences guide her to make the best version of a song in her own interpretation. Working with musical influences from The Memphis Rhythm Band which includes Al Green’s guitarist, Teenie Hodges on her album The Greatest to her earlier collaborations with Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, Cat Power has let her music be the influence behind her reasoning. Choosing to record two cover albums and featuring covers on almost all her albums, Cat Power has continually mentioned that she has grown tired of recording original material and as a result, the decision to work with music that has influenced her have become a staple of her musical arsenal. Marshall is known to sing covers of songs during her live performances, often seeming more comfortable doing that then her own material. Regardless of the reason, Cat Power’s influence has crossed not only genres but generations. With dulcet tones her voice reaches that dark part of humanity and pulls at the heartstrings that some would not remember they had. Her cover of Oasis’ Wonderwall is a perfect example of simplicity meeting genius. For Cat Power, it is about expression whether she is singing her song Lived in Bars or Bob Dylan’s Kingsport Town. Despite the awards and the accolades, Cat Power remains true to her roots which dictate when and what she sings.
Sia Furler:
This Australian chanteuse has the perfect blend of eclectic tones mixed with murmured yearnings. After gaining notoriety with British group Zero 7 after being featured on all three of their first studio albums, Sia went on to record solo material and collaborated with other artists as well. Zero 7’s Destiny, one of their most successful releases, captures Sia’s brilliance behind the microphone. Her own song, Breathe Me was featured in the series finale of HBO’s Six Feet Under and sent fans of the show scrambling to unearth the hidden treasure of Sia’s voice. After various licensing agreements, her music has been used in commercials from a Coca-Cola campaign for the Beijing Olympics to being featured in movies and television. Sia signed a deal with Starbucks music that allowed them to sell and promote her latest album Some People Have Real Problems in stores while rotating her music on their Hear Music program. In 2008 Itunes chose the album as the top Pop Album of the year. While she has been performing for over a decade, Sia’s voice is her true gift. Her melodies reflect her mood and her voice carries that emotion. A favourite of DJs around the world, many of Sia’s tracks have been remixed and released as club beats. Her song Death by Chocolate is a dedication to hope and new beginnings and with Sia and her penchant for sampling with funky beats and soulful melodies new music from this songstress is worth the wait.
Feist:
One of the most successful indie female rockers of her generation, Fiest has known success on all levels with the band Broken Social Scene as well as a solo artist. Beginning her career at the tender age of 15, Feist started a local punk band in Calgary. That influence coupled with chance meetings with future band mates Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew who would later help form Broken Social Scene, allowed Fiest to grow in her element as an artist. Like most indie artists she sampled liberally with different genres from pop rock to folk music and even some electro pop with the influence of another indie female artist and friend, Peaches whose main influence was electro punk. Feist is most notably known for her song writing skills with lyrics that can mirror emotions in an almost hauntingly perfect way. In 2007 Feist released The Reminder, her third studio album and most successful one to date. With songs like 1,2,3,4 which was catchy and featured in the IPod Nano advertisement and Honey, Honey which was a played with a more folk influence. Feist, who faced a major hurdle after injuring her vocal chords and having to take a long break from singing, has not let adversity get her down and continues to work with long time collaborator and friend Gonzalez. After an extremely successful year in 2008 where she sold over 1,000,000 copies of The Reminder and winning 5 Juno Awards and having been nominated for 4 Grammy awards, Feist has stepped out of the limelight to focus on her career. It is a smart move from a woman whose career has only continued to flourish with the release of each studio album.
Björk:
The woman who influenced so many, Björk is one of the gems of the female music scene as she has pioneered a new form of musical expression. Sampling everything from trip-hop to ambient to rock, she has stepped away from traditional boundaries in the music industry. She has sold millions of albums world wide, been nominated for an Academy Award, and two Golden Globes with one of them being for her acting role in Dancer in the Dark. With a career spanning four decades, Björk has redefined what music is all about. Her music is merely a self-expression of her thoughts as the melodies paint pictures of her Icelandic roots. While her choices in music have dealt her a fair share of controversy, especially with her attacks on members of the media and paparazzi, Björk always marched to her own beat. With eclectic videos to match her experimental sound, she has reinvented her sound, going from Debut which had a bigger pop influence to Homogenic which featured heavy beats to Medúlla, which was comprised of mostly vocally arranged tracks with very little instrumental backing. After releasing her album Volta in 2007 to wider commercial success, Björk embarked on a massive 18-month tour of festivals all over the world. With so much success under her belt and new influences waiting, we can only hope that Björk continues to astound us with her array of vocals. Simply listening to her soul gripping scream in Human Behavior is enough to enchant even the coldest heart. Björk is a true artist, married to her craft and the rest of the world is only lucky enough to be privy to her creations.
Overall these musicians have influenced the expansion of music in their own ways. Cat Power has a soulful voice that is reminiscent of the late Billie Holiday while Esthero echoes Björk in her wide vocal range. Newer artists such as Flyscreen, Tina Dico and others continue to create music based on the expression of voice and not the promise of popularity. With thousands of musicians producing new and innovative sounds, it is only a matter of time until the rest of the world hears the newest underground sounds from clubs in New York to small cafes in Denmark. Music, is after all, the way to heal the soul.
esthero is the shiz.
feist is what good music should be
dorkybird
February 28, 2009 - 23:01
Subject: Great article
Yeh! Let's have another one with the top 20.
uhhhhh
February 24, 2009 - 15:09
Subject: not really accurate.
thats funny..but.. isnt' bjork on a major label?
not soooo indie.......
Gabby – Vancouver B.C.
February 24, 2009 - 03:19
Subject: Congratulations!!!
This article its awesome!!! I really like it!! thank you for let us know more about this great musicians and the music around!!! thats great!! Now Im a fan!!!
One of the most underappreciated artists of her time, Esthero continues to reinvent her music by sampling from genres as different as hip-hop and electronica in order to create her blend of soulful, heart-gripping music. She can be classified under so many titles: artist, singer, composer, producer, and poet but what makes her music so important to the indie scene is her ability to stay true to herself. Working with everyone from Ian Pooley to Goodie Mob, Andre 3000 to Sean Lennon Esthero understands that producing good music is different from singing songs. The song “Heaven Sent” is still hauntingly beautiful and even though it took her 7 years to release her second, full-length studio album Wikked Lil’ Grrls, traces of those same influences can be found in that album. Although Esthero has not been releasing studio albums at the same rate of some of her contemporaries, she has continued to work by collaborating with an eclectic mix of artists like Lisa “Lefteye” Lopez, Nelly Furtado (who was influenced by Esthero’s early work), The Black Eyed Peas and even the Blue Man Group. Esthero has appeared on soundtracks and also was featured on many other artists’ albums with the likes of Kanye West and Mos Def. While Esthero is working more behind the scenes as a writer and producer, her hiatus from producing studio releases is no surprise. As long as she has something to say, Esthero will continue to amaze and her fans will be there to listen.
Also known as Chan Marshall, Cat Power’s musical career spans all the way back to the early 90’s where she began playing in bars in Atlanta after dropping out of high school. From her first single Headlights which was raw and new to her cover of Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain” off her Jukebox album Cat Power has always let her musical influences guide her to make the best version of a song in her own interpretation. Working with musical influences from The Memphis Rhythm Band which includes Al Green’s guitarist, Teenie Hodges on her album The Greatest to her earlier collaborations with Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, Cat Power has let her music be the influence behind her reasoning. Choosing to record two cover albums and featuring covers on almost all her albums, Cat Power has continually mentioned that she has grown tired of recording original material and as a result, the decision to work with music that has influenced her have become a staple of her musical arsenal. Marshall is known to sing covers of songs during her live performances, often seeming more comfortable doing that then her own material. Regardless of the reason, Cat Power’s influence has crossed not only genres but generations. With dulcet tones her voice reaches that dark part of humanity and pulls at the heartstrings that some would not remember they had. Her cover of Oasis’ Wonderwall is a perfect example of simplicity meeting genius. For Cat Power, it is about expression whether she is singing her song Lived in Bars or Bob Dylan’s Kingsport Town. Despite the awards and the accolades, Cat Power remains true to her roots which dictate when and what she sings.
This Australian chanteuse has the perfect blend of eclectic tones mixed with murmured yearnings. After gaining notoriety with British group Zero 7 after being featured on all three of their first studio albums, Sia went on to record solo material and collaborated with other artists as well. Zero 7’s Destiny, one of their most successful releases, captures Sia’s brilliance behind the microphone. Her own song, Breathe Me was featured in the series finale of HBO’s Six Feet Under and sent fans of the show scrambling to unearth the hidden treasure of Sia’s voice. After various licensing agreements, her music has been used in commercials from a Coca-Cola campaign for the Beijing Olympics to being featured in movies and television. Sia signed a deal with Starbucks music that allowed them to sell and promote her latest album Some People Have Real Problems in stores while rotating her music on their Hear Music program. In 2008 Itunes chose the album as the top Pop Album of the year. While she has been performing for over a decade, Sia’s voice is her true gift. Her melodies reflect her mood and her voice carries that emotion. A favourite of DJs around the world, many of Sia’s tracks have been remixed and released as club beats. Her song Death by Chocolate is a dedication to hope and new beginnings and with Sia and her penchant for sampling with funky beats and soulful melodies new music from this songstress is worth the wait.
One of the most successful indie female rockers of her generation, Fiest has known success on all levels with the band Broken Social Scene as well as a solo artist. Beginning her career at the tender age of 15, Feist started a local punk band in Calgary. That influence coupled with chance meetings with future band mates Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew who would later help form Broken Social Scene, allowed Fiest to grow in her element as an artist. Like most indie artists she sampled liberally with different genres from pop rock to folk music and even some electro pop with the influence of another indie female artist and friend, Peaches whose main influence was electro punk. Feist is most notably known for her song writing skills with lyrics that can mirror emotions in an almost hauntingly perfect way. In 2007 Feist released The Reminder, her third studio album and most successful one to date. With songs like 1,2,3,4 which was catchy and featured in the IPod Nano advertisement and Honey, Honey which was a played with a more folk influence. Feist, who faced a major hurdle after injuring her vocal chords and having to take a long break from singing, has not let adversity get her down and continues to work with long time collaborator and friend Gonzalez. After an extremely successful year in 2008 where she sold over 1,000,000 copies of The Reminder and winning 5 Juno Awards and having been nominated for 4 Grammy awards, Feist has stepped out of the limelight to focus on her career. It is a smart move from a woman whose career has only continued to flourish with the release of each studio album. 
The woman who influenced so many, Björk is one of the gems of the female music scene as she has pioneered a new form of musical expression. Sampling everything from trip-hop to ambient to rock, she has stepped away from traditional boundaries in the music industry. She has sold millions of albums world wide, been nominated for an Academy Award, and two Golden Globes with one of them being for her acting role in Dancer in the Dark. With a career spanning four decades, Björk has redefined what music is all about. Her music is merely a self-expression of her thoughts as the melodies paint pictures of her Icelandic roots. While her choices in music have dealt her a fair share of controversy, especially with her attacks on members of the media and paparazzi, Björk always marched to her own beat. With eclectic videos to match her experimental sound, she has reinvented her sound, going from Debut which had a bigger pop influence to Homogenic which featured heavy beats to Medúlla, which was comprised of mostly vocally arranged tracks with very little instrumental backing. After releasing her album Volta in 2007 to wider commercial success, Björk embarked on a massive 18-month tour of festivals all over the world. With so much success under her belt and new influences waiting, we can only hope that Björk continues to astound us with her array of vocals. Simply listening to her soul gripping scream in Human Behavior is enough to enchant even the coldest heart. Björk is a true artist, married to her craft and the rest of the world is only lucky enough to be privy to her creations.