Bardcore or tavernwave is a musical
microgenre
A microgenre is a specialized or niche genre. The term has been used since at least the 1970s to describe highly specific subgenres of music, literature, film, and art. In music, examples include the myriad sub-subgenres of heavy metal and electr ...
that became popular in 2020, consisting of
medieval-inspired remakes of popular songs.
History
Before the term Bardcore was widely known, in December 2017 a medieval version of "
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...
" by
System of a Down
System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...
was published on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
by Algal the Bard. By 2020, it had achieved a few million views.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' dates the origin of bardcore as a distinct trend to 20 April 2020, during the
COVID-19 lockdown
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
, when 27-year-old German
YouTuber
A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006.
Influence
Influe ...
Cornelius Link released "Astronomia (Medieval Style)". The track is a remake of
Tony Igy's 2010 electronic dance track "
Astronomia", which had gained widespread attention as the soundtrack to the
coffin dance meme.
Link followed this a few weeks later with a medieval-style instrumental version of
Foster the People
Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members are singer Mark Foster, guitarist Sean Cimino, and keyboardist Isom Innis.
Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending several years in ...
's "
Pumped Up Kicks
"Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the band's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP ''Foster the People'' and their debut album, ''Torches''. "Pu ...
", which Canadian YouTuber
Hildegard von Blingin' (a play on the name of the medieval composer
Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...
) then re-released with an added vocal track using a medieval-style adaptation of the original lyrics. By the end of June, both versions had reached 4 million views.
Hildegard von Blingin' has also covered
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
's "
Bad Romance
"Bad Romance" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), ''The Fame Monster'' (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). Gaga wrote and produced the song with RedOne. Following an illegal ...
",
Radiohead's "
Creep",
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
's "
Jolene",
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...
's "
Summertime Sadness" and
Gotye
Wouter André "Wally" De Backer (born 21 May 1980), better known by his stage name Gotye ( ), is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The name "Gotye" is a pronunciation respelling of "Gauthier", the French cognat ...
's "
Somebody That I Used to Know
"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced, and performed by Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter Gotye featuring vocals from New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand by Eleven Music on ...
", changing the rhythm and lyrics to fit the genre.
Wu Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affi ...
endorsed Bardcore artist 'Beedle the Bardcore' by reposting his cover of their track
C.R.E.A.M on their official YouTube channel.
The trend was joined by other YouTubers, including Latvian band
Auļi
Auļi is a Latvian folk/ world music band formed in 2003. The band consists of 6 bagpipers, 3 drummers and 1 electric cello player.
History
In 2005 Auļi released their 12-track debut album ''Sendzirdēju''. In 2010 the band released their th ...
, Graywyck, Constantine Bard and Samus Ordicus.
Elmira Tanatarova in ''
i-D'' suggests bardcore "carries with it the weight of years of memes made about the medieval era, and the bleak darkness of that time period that appeals to
Gen Z
Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the Western demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birt ...
's existential humour." The artwork for bardcore songs are frequently medieval representations of the song being covered, often in the style of the
Bayeux Tapestry or
illuminated manuscripts.
In October 2020,
Scott Mills featured tracks by prominent Bardcore artists Beedle The Bardcore, Hildegard Von Blingin', and Stantough (covered Harry Styles' "Watermelon Sugar") on his prime time
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show.
See also
*
Cottagecore
Cottagecore is an internet aesthetic popularised by teenagers and young adults celebrating an idealized rural life. Traditionally based on a rural English and European life, it was developed throughout the 2010s and was first named ''cottagecore ...
*
Hauntology
Hauntology (a portmanteau of ''haunting'' and ''ontology'') is a range of ideas referring to the return or persistence of elements from the social or cultural past, as in the manner of a ghost. The term is a neologism first introduced by French ...
*
Nightcore
A nightcore edit is a version of a track that increases the pitch and speeds up its source material by approximately 35%. This gives an effect almost identical to playing a 33⅓-RPM vinyl record at 45 RPM. This 35% increase in RPM causes the ...
Notes
References
Musical subcultures
Internet memes introduced in 2020
21st-century music genres
{{Music-genre-stub