#Seapunk: Oceans of Fun

The Attentive Teen knows that tumblr and twitter aren’t just social networking timekillers: they’re ways of life. Recently a new buzz has been slipped into the main, and the watchword is #SEAPUNK. Pioneered by rising Los Angeles musicians Shan Beaste (Zombelle), Albert Redwine (Fire For Effect) and Sean Bowie (teams), the microgenre is still wearing training wheels, but it’s already starting to gather speed. With connections that range from Scottish 8-bit hero Unicorn Kid to the based hip-hop collective Ocean Gang, seapunk is at that perfect level where the sound is still undefined, but immediately recognizable.

It’s hard to say what the first splash was; it could have been the Tropicult EP Zombelle released with fellow swimmer Myrrh Ka Ba in July. It might be the frequent postings about aquatic lifestyles that Lil’ Wayne did a while back. Or maybe it’s just fun to create stuff like this. Regardless, seapunk is looking like it might not just be another music-meme: the recently-created Coral Records already has a compilation for sale, featuring artists like Le1f, Slava, and of course teams and Fire For Effect (stream it below) and available soon. Summer may be over, but the ocean is forever. Up the seapunks!

Published September 08, 2011.