Hyperpop is a genre characterized by a maximalist and exaggerated take on pop music, oscillating between bubblegum melodies to jarring sounds with pitched vocals, glitched beats, and vibrant electronic sounds.

Origins

The genre first emerged in the mid-2010s among artists associated with the UK-based record label PC Music and label head A. G. Cook. Some people credit the genre’s origins and stylistic influences to Grimes, Castelwaves, and Poppy. A.G. Cook later connected with Charli XCX and SOPHIE, who are considered pioneers of the scene. These three wanted to bring back authentic craft to pop music and redefine it as pop’s current state was known to be soulless and disingenuous.

growth

Summer 2019 saw the explosion of 100 Gecs, consisting of producers Dylan Brady and Laura Les, with their popular single, “Money Machine”. 100 Gecs garnered a lot of attention from popular news outlets. Brady and Les inspired a new generation of Soundcloud artists to venture down the road of hyperpop, creating a cult-like, underground community.

Now, some hyperpop artists are bursting out of the Soundcloud platform into the mainstream. Many of these Soundcloud artists take a lot of influence from Bladee and Drain Gang. Of these Soundcloud artists, the ones who have gained large followings include: Glaive, Eric Doa, Midxst, Winterwells, Dollywood, and P4rkr.

This website was designed and developed by Taylor Pirtle in Spring 2021 for her Digital Interaction Capstone at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visuals Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. 
A million thanks to Jonathan Hanahan for his guidance on this project and to my fellow 2021 Communication Designers for being pillars of support.
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And thank you to Will Bates, Molly Needleman, and Aaron Zemach for sharing your time and expertise.
Typefaces in use include ABC Favorit designed by Johannes Breyer and Fabian Harb from Dinamo Typefaces, Ultra Hyper designed by Jeremy Rieger, and Magistral designed by Andrey Kyukov and Dmitry Kirsanov from Paratype. 

Hyperpop is a genre characterized by a maximalist and exaggerated take on pop music, oscillating between bubblegum melodies to jarring sounds with pitched vocals, glitched beats, and vibrant electronic sounds.

Origins

The genre first emerged in the mid-2010s among artists associated with the UK-based record label PC Music and label head A. G. Cook. Some people credit the genre’s origins and stylistic influences to Grimes, Castelwaves, and Poppy. A.G. Cook later connected with Charli XCX and SOPHIE, who are considered pioneers of the scene. These three wanted to bring back authentic craft to pop music and redefine it as pop’s current state was known to be soulless and disingenuous.

growth

Summer 2019 saw the explosion of 100 Gecs, consisting of producers Dylan Brady and Laura Les, with their popular single, “Money Machine”. 100 Gecs garnered a lot of attention from popular news outlets. Brady and Les inspired a new generation of Soundcloud artists to venture down the road of hyperpop, creating a cult-like, underground community.

Now, some hyperpop artists are bursting out of the Soundcloud platform into the mainstream. Many of these Soundcloud artists take a lot of influence from Bladee and Drain Gang. Of these Soundcloud artists, the ones who have gained large followings include: Glaive, Eric Doa, Midxst, Winterwells, Dollywood, and P4rkr.