From the Cocteau Twins to Pearling: Scotland’s Rich Topography of the Hyperpop Subgenre

From the Cocteau Twins to Pearling: Scotland’s Rich Topography of the Hyperpop Subgenre

Words by Milly Cooke

Difficult to pin down, understand, and ascertain - the genre of music commonly known as ‘hyperpop’ really grew in prominence in the 2010s, due largely to A.G. Cook’s production label ‘PC Music’. From this bubble of synths, electronic intensity, and dreamlike craze, London held focus regarding the scene as Cook worked with the likes of GOFTY, Hannah Diamond, and Danny L Harle; the big names in the UKs hyperpop scene. Whilst London, LA, and California are regularly geographically attributed to the general scene of hyperpop music, Scotland has been paving the way for the genre’s emergence for years, through various machinations of musical artists, diverting away from the microgenre whilst simultaneously obtaining the unique intensity of the style. 

In 1988 American journalist and critic, Don Shewey wrote an article titled ‘Cocteau Twins: Mood Music for the Arty,’ in which the first instance of the term ‘hyperpop’ was used. Shewey wrote of the Cocteau Twins helping the ’80s having “nurtured the simultaneous phenomena of hyperpop and antipop”. Further along, Shewey writes that the Scottish trio were part of a larger growing musical landscape in the ’80s, making political music that deliberately subverted the conventions of commercialism. With this point in mind, hyperpop as we know it today, does just that. Large parts of the microgenre are heard as irritating earworms of glitches and high pitches, drawn out with a jarring electricity that many people aren’t enamoured by, whilst making strong political and personal statements. Whilst the Cocteau Twins may align with shoegaze, (with an added rock element, albeit) their music subtly helped start the slow progression into areas of bubblegum, dream, and bedroom pop that are so closely aligned with hyperpop.

Fast-forwarding to the 2010s, and Sophie Xeon arrives on the scene – a Glaswegian music producer, DJ, and lyricist who is arguably the face of hyperpop, with A.G. Cook and Charli XCX as her limbs. Sophie, who tragically passed away following an accident in Athens in 2021, produced many songs of the hyperpop genre, such as the collaborative Hey QT with Hayden Dunham (Hyd) and A.G. Cook, Shygirl’s Slime, and a number of Charli XCX songs including Lipgloss and Vroom Vroom. In addition to producing some of the most popular tracks of the microgenre, Sophie’s single compilation album Product grew her prominence, particularly with the singles LEMONADE, HARD, and BIPP. A quintessentially PC Music album, hyper-visualised critiques of commercialism, and bassy undercurrents interjecting deep synth chimes, Product helped launch the Scottish artist into the throws of hyperpop. However, with her debut album OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES of 2017, a sparkly, ethereal ambience entered Sophie’s soundscape, particularly in It’s Okay To Cry that introduces the album. A vulnerability entered the genre with this album; a turning point for hyperpop that allowed PC Music and hyperpop artists to follow in Sophie’s direction, exploring the sleepy worlds of dreampop, and atmospheric styles of ambience, whilst maintaining a ripple of hyper texture. 

Much like Sophie, Kilmarnock-born and Glasgow-based TAAHLIAH has continued to make moves in the Scottish ambient, electropop music scene. Whilst having been openly critical of the term hyperpop, much of TAAHLIAH’s back catalogue shares mutual styles with her contemporaries, but with an edgier sound rooted in trance music. TAAHLIAH’s 2021 album Angelica bends genres seamlessly together with political and personal narratives pulsing throughout. Working with Scottish electronic musicians such as Spent and LVRA, respectively based in Glasgow and Edinburgh, TAAHLIAH, Sophie and their contemporaries have shown how Scotland’s electronic, digital, and contemporary soundscape is working with and against politics, personal vulnerabilities, and openness in discussing queerness, transness, and racial inequalities throughout their music. 

Whilst working within a more dreamlike take on the microgenre, taking us back to a Cocteau Twins era, Glasgow-based self-confessed ‘ethereal ambient pop’ artist, Pearling discussed with me her musical influences and takes on the oeuvre of the genre. 

Hyperpop is an incredibly loose and broad term to categorise a range of music. How would you best describe your musical aesthetic and style?

P: I would describe my musical style as more like ethereal ambient pop. I love pop music, but I also love making pretty sounds and building fantasy worlds. My aesthetic kind of goes together with that; I create an angelic, strange, and ethereal version of myself that belongs in this sonic landscape. 

What drew you to work within these genres?

P: I’ve always been hugely into electronic music, and particularly pop music. I love catchy pop songs that are played in clubs, but I also listen to a lot of ambient dream pop and shoegaze. I like to combine that pop catchiness with ethereal soundscapes because, honestly, that just combines all my favourite music. 

How do you think the musical landscape in Scotland is shifting for new artists?

P: I think that there’s a lot more intrigue and interest directed towards electronic musicians now in particular. Glasgow has always had a very ‘indie-rock-band-centric’ scene, and we are definitely starting to see more artists making things that are more experimental in form, and is equally being appreciated by people. In a lot of ways though, I suppose the industry is constantly trying to catch up with all the fast trends that emerge in music due to platforms like TikTok, and that’s kind of funny to observe too. 

If you could pick any artist (living or dead) to perform with, who would it be and why?

P: If I was to work with anyone it would be Lana Del Rey because I’d produce the dreamiest beats for her and that’s just my goal forever! However, to perform with I’d probably say Iggy Pop. He’d bring the energy; he’d bring the heat. We’d just be on stage together whipping off our shirts, combining our completely different genres – iconic, truly. 

From the ’80s’ ambience of Cocteau Twins, we have traversed the Scottish soundscape from Grangemouth in Falkirk to Glaswegian hyperpop pioneer, Sophie who explored similarities in style and history to Ayrshire-born TAAHLIAH. We have stopped off in Edinburgh, and a couple more times in Glasgow to negotiate the subgenres of this loosely defined style of emerging artists in Spent, LVRA, and Pearling. The waves that Scottish producers, DJs, songwriters, and singers are making in the broad sphere of hyperpop is bubbling with excitement, tipping over in every which way to encapsulate a cacophony of sonic gorgeousness.