Galen Tipton
Galen Tipton, also known as recovery girl (born 1996), is an American hyperpop musician based in Columbus, Ohio.[4] She is the founder of the Community Garden record label. Her sound has been described as an experimental electronica fusion of ASMR sounds, IDM and the hyperreality focus of hyperpop. Her music has gone viral on the TikTok platform.[5]
Galen Tipton | |
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Also known as | recovery girl |
Born | 1996 (age 26–27) |
Genres |
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Occupation(s) | Musician, Sound Producer |
Years active | 2010s - present[1] |
Labels |
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Website | o0o0o0o0 |
Life and work
Tipton grew up in a small farm town, where she was “one of the weird kids” who spent a lot of time immersed in the world of fiction novels and video games.[6] She considers this an influence on her music, which she has branded in the realm of fantasy and science fiction.
She was first inspired to make music playing Guitar Hero 2 as a child.[7]
According to Tipton she started the recovery girl project as a method of self therapy for working through her trauma. She chose the name "Recovery Girl" after the My Hero Academia character of the same name because she identified with her healing powers.[7] Galen Tipton is a transgender woman and was encouraged by a trend of dissonant, pitch shifted vocals in hyperpop to express herself without vocal dysphoria under the "recovery girl" name.[6]
Tipton is part of a duo called "Digifae" together with singer/producer Diana Starshine.[3]
Sound
Her music has been described as "hyperactive and intentionally overstimulating digital orchestral soundscapes".[8] According to Pitchfork: "..largely improvised chords and melodies acting secondarily to the constant rush of squelching synthesis underneath. A hypercute take on avant-garde synth music".[9] Her music has been praised by figures like Iggy Pop and David Byrne.[10][8]
She said in an interview that she intended to make accessible experimental electronic music that didn't take itself seriously, partly in reaction to the more self serious inaccessible experimental music she was interested in at the start of her career, to invite people to stranger forms of music.[5]
Influences
She has cited SOPHIE as an influence for her sound design, textural elements, experimentation and "Her whole public coming out, and all of the songs related to her trans-ness and identity gave me so much life, as a non-binary, trans girl producer".[11] She has also cited the formlessness of early Arca music and her interest in nature aesthetics and folklore, ASMR and field recordings[5] Other influences include minimalist composer Steve Reich,[8] 100 gecs, Machine Girl, street sects, Deli Girls, Giant Claw[7]
She has cited the Japanese footwork music scene as an influence, “I don’t consider my music footwork, by any stretch, but I feel a strong creative kinship with the Japanese experimental scene that dabbles in footwork. To me, the music these artists make sounds like pure freedom and play, and that’s the space I like to create from—one of unrestricted expression and emotion.”[11][12]
Discography
As Galen Tipton
Year | Title | Label | Ref |
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2016 | Spell Books O1 ::: Ideonella Sakaiensis | Them There Records | |
2017 | treats 2! | [13] | |
2018 | QUEER FLESH | postgeography | [14] |
2018 | Nightbath | DESKPOP | |
2019 | fake meat | Orange Milk | [15][16] |
2020 | Ungoliant | Orange Milk | |
2020 | Goddex | Orange Milk | [17] |
2020 | carepackage | ||
2022 | Nymptones | ||
2022 | cycles | ||
2022 | phone mouth music | ||
2023 | brain scratch | Self released | [9][5] |
As recovery girl
Year | Title | Label | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | recovery girl | ||
2021 | recovery girl & friends (mixtape) | ||
2021 | Nausea Pop, Vol. 1 | ||
2022 | Grit Ur Teeth (mixtape) | ||
2022 | Nausea Pop, Vol. 2 | ||
2022 | Nausea Pop, Vol. 3 |
As Digifae
Year | Title | Label | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | digifae | [3] |
References
- AllMusic: Galen Tipton Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | AllMusic, accessdate: June 1, 2023
- Galen Tipton - orange milk records
- August LGBTQ music: Demi Lovato, Doechii, and Digifae: August LGBTQ music: Demi Lovato, Doechii, and Digifae, accessdate: June 3, 2023
- galen tipton uses her music to craft miniature universes of sound - Alternative Press
- MusicRadar: How improvised MPE, misused plugins and AI speech software made Galen Tipton’s mind-boggling brain scratch: "A lot of my work is made by experimenting and learning something new" | MusicRadar, accessdate: July 2, 2023
- galen tipton Navigates America’s Turbulent Times as recovery girl: galen tipton Navigates America’s Turbulent Times as recovery girl Archived November 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, accessdate: June 1, 2023
- Our Culture: Artist Spotlight: recovery girl - Our Culture, accessdate: June 2, 2023
- Wexner Center for the Arts: Otherworld Performance Lab: galen tipton | Wexner Center for the Arts Archived March 23, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, accessdate: June 1, 2023
- Pitchfork: Galen Tipton: brain scratch Album Review | Pitchfork Archived May 27, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, accessdate: June 1, 2023
- Splice: 8 transgender music producers who are making waves with their sounds in 2023 - Blog | Splice Archived March 31, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, accessdate: June 1, 2023
- Mixmag: Post-PC Music: How the London label inspired a new stage in the pop continuum - Scene reports - Mixmag, accessdate: June 3, 2023
- The Guardian: Bradford bassline and ketamine-charged punk – 50 new artists for 2020 | Music | The Guardian, accessdate: June 3, 2023
- Tiny Mix Tapes: galen tipton - “ਭ३౽=͟͟͞͞(((ഽʻ⁸ʻ)ഽ lurch ਭ३౽=͟͟͞͞(((ഽʻ⁸ʻ)ഽ” | LISTEN | Chocolate Grinder | Tiny Mix Tapes, accessdate: June 3, 2023
- Tiny Mix Tapes: GALEN TIPTON - QUEER FLESH | LISTEN | Chocolate Grinder | Tiny Mix Tapes, accessdate: June 3, 2023
- Galen Tipton - fake meat - Tiny Mix Tapes
- The Pulse » Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative: New Music From FITTED, galen tipton - The Pulse » Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative Archived December 16, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, accessdate: June 1, 2023
- PAPER Magazine: Galen Tipton on the Trans Deity at the Center of 'Goddexx' - PAPER Magazine, accessdate: June 3, 2023
External links
- Galen Tipton at AllMusic
- Galen Tipton discography at Discogs