New York DJ

Over many years of DJ-ing non-traditional weddings in New York City and the surrounding area, we’ve seen that the increasingly popular phrase “indie wedding” - like the “indie music” aesthetic it’s largely derived from - is a wide-ranging idea that encompasses all kinds of different styles. But in general, it often eschews much of the feel of “grandness” of traditional ceremonies and receptions - from the fussy long dresses to the large catering hall to the cake cutting.

The more stripped-down and often eclectic indie wedding concept seems to partly a reaction to this traditional kind of fancier-looking wedding experience, and how it has seemingly throughout the last few generations become a one-size-fits-all package of assembly-line luxury that’s incessantly marketed and promoted from storefronts to television to the internet. Many of the couples we work for have told us that this style doesn’t appeal to them because of its generic feel, suspected insincerity on the part of its sellers, or often simply because its “blinging out” every aspect of the celebration doesn’t reflect a vibe that these couples want to portray to others, or be surrounded with.

Therefore, many couples who want an indie wedding will make things more personal (and often more inexpensive) - they’ll have a ceremony in the backyard of one of their parent’s homes instead of a chapel, or have the reception in a historical society museum instead of a “wedding factory”-style hall that schedules multiple weddings at once, or they’ll have cupcakes instead of a formal cake cutting moment. To some, this might sound reductive - and handled the wrong way it certainly could be. But to so many couples in the city we have worked with, these couples see a bit less as a lot more - more, in that their wedding will feel a lot more reflective of their spirit, as well as more fresh and less predictable to their guests.

Of course, these couples usually want music that reflects their mostly non-mainstream tastes. (Over the years we have put together a large amount of blog posts of recommendations of songs for all components of indie weddings and weddings of a more eclectic style; go here to read them.) While most couples going for the indie wedding vibe won’t go completely esoteric on their dance playlist as not to alienate guests, for the earlier parts of the wedding, they generally want to use music - especially at the ceremony - to establish their more simple and/or eclectic vibe.

But simply-constructed or obscure songs don't mean the music for an indie wedding ceremony has to feel small or unelegant - there are plenty of tunes out there that don't use orchestras, or even a ton of schmaltzy production effects, and yet still conjure a magical or expansive mood. A perfect example of this is the song “Walk With Me” by the Toronto duo Memoryhouse (from their recent debut album The Slideshow Effect, pictured above). "Walk With Me" begins with a soft, dreamy sound that chimes along for a few moments until airy but clear female vocals deliver a mix of visually concrete and emotionally reflective lyrics - skylines and heads resting on shoulders are mentioned alongside remembrances of youth and leaving behind old ways. Then, as the chorus kicks in and increases the energy and sweep of the song, the vocals center on the idea of walking together into a new, better life. The mingling of the tangible with the more abstract, as well as the ethereal atmosphere of the tune, give the song a distinct cinematic feel, as if it's meant to accompany a flashback scene from some art house film.

Have a listen, and if you enjoy the mood the song creates, I think you’ll find it quite easy to picture a wedding processional starting for the quiet but evocative verses that introduce the tune, and then the bride entering on the chorus, when the pace gets faster, the sound bigger, and the lyrics poignantly applicable to the moment just before marriage as the vocalist sings: This life could be / grace with symmetry / walk with me / do you walk with me?

Also, as a bonus, there’s a quiet break toward the end of the song, and then it picks up again and repeats the chorus to the end - a moment that could be played on a couple's kiss or an officiant’s pronouncement, so as to use the chorus' lyrics of walking together to capture the joy and festivity of a ceremony recessional.

Memoryhouse - Walk With Me

Chairlift are one of the more prominent bands often lumped in with the hipster-favorite genre "chillwave," characterized mainly by its heavy use of '80s-inspired new wave synthesizer washes coupled with bits of homemade electronica touches, from skittery dance beats to ambient nature sound loops. Because of this, chillwave often has a more messy, cobbled-together, and at times endearing feel that balance out its slick new wave influences and - at its best - make this emerging style sound new and fresh.

Just because Chairlift are often considered "hipster cool" though, don't think you haven't heard of them. This Brooklyn-based band got some short but heavy exposure that gave them a bump to near-mainstream pop notice a few years ago because of their fun synthpop tune "Bruises." You probably know it not by the title, but by the lyrical riff "I tried to do handstands for you, I tried to do handstands for you" sung to a bright, catchy melody.

When it comes to not only chillwave acts, but most artists inspired by the new wave or new romantic sound of the '80s - from really popular groups like The Killers, to moderately-known bands like La Roux (read about them in a post from this blog here) to more obscure ones like The Mary Onettes (read about them in a post from this blog here) - their songs usually either feel "influenced by" or "derivative of" their inspirations. The former often means a song takes a cue from the genre but makes it into something original and alive, while the latter just sounds dated and flat.

"I Belong in Your Arms", from the group's new album Something, has so much of an '80s feel that it shouldn't sound so alive and fresh, but it does, and therefore impressively makes wondering whether it's the most original sound or not unimportant. Like "Bruises", it's great because it simply sticks in your head with bouncy verses and a uplifting chorus that resides in that sweet spot of being catchy and fun but not too cutesy or cloying. This new song, though, is not a simple re-hash of "Bruises" - there's a bit less quirkiness, and a bit more sexiness. Plus, you'll no doubt be into this song right away if you're a fan of New Order of the Cure  - the chorus here has a soaring beauty reminiscent of the best New Order songs, and singer Caroline Polachek even does a yelp and that Robert Smith "happy growl" thing with her voice that seems straight out of the Cure's "Lovecats." But ultimately, even if you don't know the styles that may have inspired the song's sound, this tune will win anyone over with its giddy joy. It's a song that simply but completely captures the feeling of being in Big Fun Love; it's like a little kid who's dancing and goofing around for you so much that after a few moments you can't help but smile.

Because this song goes down so easy and never "gets in the way" by being too bass-heavy, but also always feels lively and fun, it's perfect to include almost anywhere - from events where cool and interesting background music is important to setting a mood, like cocktail parties and slient auctions, to places where music is much more on display, like clubs, fashion show runways, and dance floors at indie weddings.

Have a listen, and whether you call this song new wave, chillwave, indie electro-pop, or ditch the labels and simply call it just catchy and fun, I think most anyone will agree that "I Belong in Your Arms" is quite easy to embrace.

Chairlift - I Belong in Your Arms

Though the funhouse mirror-like psychedelic pants on her Experiments EP cover might make you think this song is influenced by late-seventies disco and/or early nineties rave music, "Begging Me," a 2011 single from up-and-coming English singer/songwriter Florrie Arnold, is much more a catchy dance-pop song in the mold of '80s synth revisionist bands like La Roux, Cut Copy and Class Actress.

While many of the "new" new wave artists these days can feel tiresome since it seems like they often lift synth riffs straight from New Order or The Cure, this tune, right from the start, punches through any suspicion of being overly derivative with the immediate intro of its sexy chorus that hooks you with its catchy melody. From there the song never lets up, with its addictive mix of ethereal vocals and synth washes coupled with the female R&B-like swagger of the lyrics.

The sexy confidence of "Begging Me" has more in common with the R & B / house music fusion anthems as done in the past few years by Rihanna, Lady Gaga, or Flo Rida. But because the sound of "Begging Me" is breezier - there's no overly booming bass, stretched-out drum loop builds-ups, or even any calls to put your hands in the air - it falls somewhere in between housey R &B and the aforementioned sound of the moodier electro artists. And maybe that's more than anything why the song feels fresh - it seems to be going for the spot just under dance floor rager, but over the chilled-out synth vibe. As a result, this is perfect to be played in those many moments at events like fashion shows or cocktail lounge mixers, where you need sexy energy that adds to the atmosphere, but not a full-on thumping that gets in the way.

What's also impressive is that Florrie has come up with a song that feels fresh and confident with relatively little experience making music. She's in her early 20s, with only one EP released prior to this one, though she also is a songwriter, programmer, and drummer. Oh, and also, she's a pretty model, which never hurts - as you can no doubt tell by the sleek video for the song.

The Velvet Underground are considered one of biggest godfathers of today's indie pop and rock music. This is largely because in the late 1960s the group introduced an often dissonant, experimental, unpolished style to rock, as well as treated dark themes like drug use and the hedonism of the New York City party scene they were associated with in a gritty, straightforward way.

Of course, not all bands and performers that were to be called "alternative" and then later "indie" in years to come incorporated these exact elements, but so many underground pop and rock groups from the past 40 years – from Joy Division to The Pixies to Radiohead – have, like the Velvet Underground, introduced what at first were strange new sounds and often unlikely and edgy themes into the world of pop music.

But due to the Velvet Underground's often bleak lyrics and dissonant, droning guitar riffs, sometimes forgotten is that many of their songs had a languorous, shimmering beauty – and along with this, a few songs even had tender and affirmative lyrics. One of the best examples of this is a tune from their first album (produced by Andy Warhol), The Velvet Underground and Nico, called "I'll Be Your Mirror." It was released also as a single, as the b-side to another track off the album, "All Tomorrow's Parties."

"I'll Be Your Mirror" is a brief, sweet song in which the singer desires to show a person how great he or she is at the times when that person can't see it. Because it's the Velvet Underground working with Andy Warhol, this pleasant but rather generic sentiment is given a memorable quirkiness due to the vocals of Nico, a tall German model-turned- vocalist who handled lead vocals on this song and a couple others on the album.

Nico's performance shouldn't really have worked. She's pretty, but her voice isn't very good – it's sometimes off-key, and her English fights through a deep German accent. And while the vocal comes across as odd and icy, it's a credit of the band (and likely Warhol, too), that the oddness sounds endearing – there's a vulnerability to Nico's voice that deepens the sentiment of the song’s lyrics.

Just this might be enough for the couples that often hire us to DJ at their weddings, since they're often looking for a first dance that's sentimental, but also has some sort of eccentric charm. But for those who might like the melody of the song and not be a fan of Nico's vocals, also posted here are two cover versions of the song. The first is from 1989, the second is from 2003 – showing not only the continued affection that the Velvets have had in other artists’ minds over the years, but that the band created a song over 40 years ago that's been sturdy enough to work well when covered in two very different styles.

The Primitives, an English guitar fuzz-pop band best known for their bubbly single "Crash," covered "I'll Be Your Mirror" on a b-side to their single "Sick of It." Their version takes the song in a dreamier, more polished direction, though a bit of ragged guitar jangle shows the Velvet Undergound influence. Singer Tracy Tracy's sweet, lullaby-esque vocals that slighly recall the sound of early '60s girl groups are the star here. I heard this version first, so it's The Primitives’ more full-sounding treatment of the song that I have memories with – though of course those familiar with the original version may accept no substitute for Nico.

Clem Snide, an American alt-country group, recorded their version of the song on a 2003 release called A Beautiful EP. This version is the most stripped-down of the three, featuring only acoustic guitar, a bit of strings, and the fragile vocal – this time a male vocal – of lead singer Eef Barzelay. The effect of this "alt-countrification" of the song is makes it very inimate and warm – listening to it makes you feel like you’re hearing it sung to you while sitting around a campfire.

Whether you prefer vintage offbeat charm, dreamy pop, or mellow alt-country, give a listen to "I'll Be Your Mirror" and consider it for your first dance – however it’s recorded, its tender foundation reflects clearly through.

The Velvet Underground – I'll Be Your Mirror

The Primitives – I'll Be Your Mirror

Clem Snide – I'll Be Your Mirror