Maybe you’ve confusingly scrolled past a bizarre TikTok set to abrasive electronica, or you were front row at 100 gec’s Minecraft concert — for those terminally online chances are the rumblings of bubblegum bass have been felt. 

As a style of electronic music under several aliases, bubblegum bass reaches into deconstruction and post-modern territory by making use of pitched up vocals and heavily artificial synths to create an exaggerated pop listening experience. The bright and colorful sounds often take the style’s inherent cute factor to its peak, but is just as evenly contrasted with industrial elements or abrasive switch ups. 

Those familiar with bubblegum bass are aware of its common love and hate reactions from listeners, much like many music phenomena before it. Some may even be quick to compare the genre to internet-born music fads such as vaporwave, nightcore or witch house, given bubblegum bass’s strange approach to pop.

However in 2020, many unique voices implementing their own original concepts exist within the medium, influencing artists from mainstream to underground while also resonating in the ears of unlikely listeners. The extent of bubblegum bass’s influence and creative heights feel boundless given the emerging popularity and increased cult following of affiliated acts in just the past year.

Now is the best time to attempt immersion into this art movement, as its evolution begins to kick into high gear. Here are a handful artists to scratch the surface of familiarizing yourself with bubblegum bass: 

SOPHIE

Recommended album: “OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES”

In the early 2010s, musician SOPHIE was among the first to gain traction in the genre with singles like “LEMONADE,” catching the ears of prominent artists like Madonna, Lady Gaga, Vince Staples and Charli XCX, which she later produced tracks for. 

SOPHIE’s jumping off point came from creative collective and record label PC Music. Founded by producer A. G. Cook, PC Music’s goal was to give inexperienced yet unique artists the resources of a major label while encouraging collaboration among the acts, a level of collaboration that has maintained across the entire genre. With more inspection of the production credits of any given album under the bubblegum bass umbrella, the connections between artists become endless. 

While churning out many PC Music attached acts with A. G Cook’s pioneering production behind them, PC Music’s body of work served as inspiration for other acts to come, while SOPHIE reached a level of success and importance above the rest with debut album “OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES.” The Grammy-nominated album makes the strongest case for why the genre is and should be taken seriously, exploring complex topics from a modern perspective with fitting pop experimentation. 

Charli XCX

Recommended album: “how i’m feeling now”

While finding success in the mainstream pop realm, Charli XCX has increasingly planted seeds of experimentation up until going all in on “how i’m feeling now.” Dropping in 2020, the album is a perfect starting point as Charli XCX is an accessible and popular artist influenced by bubblegum bass. 

Charli XCX’s knack for belting catchy hook after hook when paired with daring production from the genre’s heavy hitters A. G. Cook, Dylan Brady and Danny L Harle, makes for a perfect match.

While not being the dynamic pop classic her 2019 album “Charli” was, which featured experimental cuts as well as wide-reaching pop anthems, “how i’m feeling now” is Charli XCX’s embrace of the advancing bubblegum bass genre. It’s a perfect example of the potential influence the genre has on mainstream artists and a potential signal for the future of pop music. 

Dorian Electra

Recommended album: “Flamboyant”

Dorian Electra’s “Flamboyant” showcases the duality of bubblegum bass. On one hand, the pitch-shifted vocals, energetic synths and song topics allude to parody. But “Flamboyant” explores the very serious concept of gender politics with sharp songwriting and infectious production. 

The album’s concept revolves around conforming to and rejecting gender roles, and Electra presents an entire spectrum of perspectives and situations throughout the tracklist. Electra’s relationship with gender is sometimes explored humorously like on “Guyliner” and “Daddy Like,” but tracks like “Man To Man” and “Adam & Steve” are truly empowering deconstructions of stereotypes.

The title track, “Flamboyant,” sounds like an explanation for why Electra expresses these ideas through bubblegum bass, a musical representation of the conflicting nature of gender identity through their flamboyant nature, which goes all the way in their sound. Electra’s impressive ability to encapsulate a multifaceted concept in an album like “Flamboyant” is another testament to the excitement around the future of bubblegum bass. 

100 gecs 

Recommended album: “1000 gecs”

The duo of Laura Les and Dylan Brady have made waves rippling throughout the music community since they teamed up to form 100 gecs. They’ve also managed to do it while being among bubblegum bass’s weirdest and most abrasive offerings. 

Their breakout album “1000 gecs” earned them a spot as an opening act for BROCKHAMPTON, and Brady’s production and songwriting talents were soon employed by Charli XCX. But given 100 gecs’ bizarre but highly enjoyable genre clashes like “stupid horse” and “800 db cloud” as well as the squeaky and sporadic pop rap track “ringtone,” one may think the duo is among the unlikely few within the movement to make an impact. 

For unseasoned listeners 100 gecs may at first be taken as music made solely for viral intent, however their implementation of rhythm and blues and rap is the likely receptor for unlikely fans and intrigued hip-hop artists. “money machine” is a grander display of confident energy than most well-known trap ragers, and the shouted delivery on “800 db cloud” generates feelings of hip-hop’s most aggressive moments.

It’s 100 gecs’ quirk that earned them an online cult following, but it’s their talent for creating unimaginable combinations of sounds that become unexpectedly compelling that makes 100 gecs impactful.