May 20, 2025 |
Young people finding solace in community is a tale as old as time. Coalescing on the outskirts of the mainstream, they become tribal, developing unique styles and vibing to their own soundtracks. Back in 1979, New Romantics danced at the Blitz Club night in Covent Garden to the sounds of Bowie and Roxy Music in clobber that got brighter and more outlandish with every outing. A few years earlier, London’s punks had been spitting along with the Sex Pistols while styling themselves in mohawks, ripped tees and studs up to their eyeballs.
Fast forward a few decades and the setup is the same but the environment is different. Shaken up by the gamut of aesthetics that social media offers us, people are freer to chop and change, finding their feet in patchworked microcosms that grow online before spilling over on to the streets. These subcultures and tribes are widespread, propelled by the speeding trend cycle that torpedoes across our For You pages. They’re small slices of subculture that act like homes away from home for those who seek shelter from the weight of difference, like they always have. For this piece, 10 interviewed an eclectic group of young people who consider their music tastes and styles to fall outside the mainstream, allocating them a newly identified tribe that captures how they express themselves in today’s cultural landscape.
Beth, 22 – Music Tribe: The Queer Underground
What music tribe do you most identify with?
The underground queer scene.
How would you describe your personal style?
I feel like I live two lives, as my everyday style is super covered up and baggy and then when I go out it’s way more revealing and sexy – but one thing in common between the two is I’m always in black.
What’s a record that defines you?
Windowlicker by Aphex Twin because it’s weird.
What’s a concert that changed your life?
I went to Melt Festival in Germany two years ago with my friends. It was my first festival and it was probably one of the best times of my life – the atmosphere and music was so much fun, as well as being with the best group of people to experience it all with. Shygirl, Two Shell and Brutalismus 3000 were standouts for me.
What’s your prized wardrobe possession?
My hot-pink Balenciaga city bag of course.
Your life is a TV show – what song is soundtracking the title sequence?
Bitch by Meredith Brooks.
Beth
Kris – Music Tribe: Nu-Metalist
What music tribe do you most identify with?
There are a lot of genres I incorporate into the way I dress, but it’s all under the blanket term of rock, nu metal, shoegaze etc. All of those elements coming together.
How would you describe your personal style?
Its base comes from streetwear, but I have a lot of high-fashion pieces. I try to make it look comfortable as well as a bit subversive.
What’s a record that defines you?
[The 2012 album] Koi No Yokan by Deftones. When I feel the best about myself I’m listening to that type of music and it’s associated with the way I dress.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
From when I was a kid. I listened to rock growing up because of my dad. Then when I grew up, I listened to rap and then the two influences started to come together.
If you could adopt a wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
Sid Vicious, especially his stuff from Seditionaries, [which was] early Vivienne Westwood.
You’re curating your own festival – who are your top three headliners?
Deftones, Alice in Chains and Bôa.
What’s your favourite song to listen to when you’re getting ready to go out?
Gore by Deftones.
What’s one music tribe you would never want to be identified with?
Opium, the Playboi Carti stuff.
What’s your prized wardrobe possession?
My black T-shirts.
Your life is a TV show – what song is soundtracking the title sequence?
Entombed by Deftones.
Kris
Ellie-May, 21 – Music Tribe: The New, New Wave
What music tribe do you most identify with?
Goth and new wave.
How would you describe your personal style?
It’s what makes me happy. I’m drawn to lots of things, but I’m also always questioning. I don’t have to put all the effort in the world in. You don’t have to show off.
What’s a record that defines you?
Sex Dwarf [by Soft Cell, from 1981]. I think it’s so funny. You can do a little jig to it.
Which concert changed your life?
Um, I saw Bauhaus when they played in London [in 2022] ’cause they got back together. I think that was the first ever concert I’ve been to that I wanted to go to myself. And that was like, “Do you know what? I want to see this band and I want to go there.” That was nice.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
I don’t know. I think it takes a long time to not figure out what it is, but have the confidence to say, I do identify with this and it’s something that I’m here for.
If you could adopt a wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
You’re curating your own festival – who are your top three headliners?
Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and someone newer.
What’s one music tribe you would never want to be identified with?
Swifties.
What’s your prized wardrobe possession?
I’ve got this long umbrella. It’s green and has this purple head that looks like a tulip. It’s just sick. I love it.
Your life is a TV show – what song is soundtracking the title sequence?
Mahogany Wood by The Residents.
Ellie-May
Louis, 30 – Music Tribe: J-Rave
What music tribe do you most identify with?
I find myself in the experimental and darker electronic music scene. Especially in Tokyo, which is where I’m based. I go to a lot of raves or hidden events. I’m interested in the intersection between art and music as well, so ambient or noise or drone music.
How would you describe your personal style?
It’s kind of a mix between dark wear, avant-garde style and then some touches of some silly stuff. There’s a lot of vintage Yohji [Yamamoto] and maybe CCP [Carol Christian Poell].
What’s a record that defines you?
In the Court of the Crimson King, [a 1969 album] by King Crimson.
Which concert changed your life?
I went to this really hectic double rave event last year in Tokyo. It was two nights in a row, the same venue, different events.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
Early in university. I had friends who took me to a lot of drum and bass and jungle events and at the time I didn’t get it, but after a while I started to enjoy it. The community and the vibe of being around people expanded what I liked about going to music events. Before that, I just listened to metal and went to concerts often by myself, and I wasn’t sure if I was enjoying them or not.
If you could adopt a wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
I’m never really looking at the musicians themselves. I guess that’s the answer.
You’re curating your own festival – who are your top three headliners?
Ikeda Ryoji, a legendary Japanese audiovisual artist. I love [Japanese dream-pop band] Fishmans. Skee Mask [an electronic producer from Germany].
What’s your favourite song to listen to when you’re getting ready to go out?
I can’t say I’ve ever thought about it. My music’s a bit scattered right now.
What’s one music tribe you would never want to be identified with?
Country music. No offence.
Louis
Zack (aka Synapsefirer), 20 – Music Tribe: Queer Rave Scene
What music tribe do you most identify with?
Definitely the happy hardcore scene, the queer rave scene. It’s something that I’ve really centred myself in as a DJ. Get that in early. That’s my main personality. There’s a fashion side to it as well, as the music sort of goes hand in hand.
How would you describe your personal style?
I’m inspired by repairing, mending. I made these trousers, I made the skirt, everything. From the bottom down, if you snapped off everything I made, I’d be a bit naked.
What is a record/track that defines you?
I’d have to say Heaven by DJ Sammy [and Yanou]. It came into my life because my mum used to go to an aerobics class and I’d sit at the back playing on my [Nintendo] DS while the instructor blasted it on this JVC boombox. It influenced my love for techno.
What’s a concert that changed your life?
Because I’m more familiar with raves, I’d have to say Mums Against Donk. It’s a queer rave. It influences my music tastes more than the fashion side, because it’s quite fruity, fun, upbeat and it filters through the music, filters my personality, filters through colours.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
I’m 20 now, so maybe only about two years ago. I sort of fell away from ’90s rock and heavy metal at 17. Came to London at 18, and my mate introduced me to raving.
If you could adopt the wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
I’d have to say Alanis Morissette. There’s this one particular videography piece where she was on stage performing, wearing the skirt over the trousers. That really influenced me.
If you were to curate your own festival, who would be the top three headliners?
Oh, that’s a difficult one. I still want to stay true to what I liked before DJing, so I’d have to say maybe System of a Down or Alanis Morissette as well. If we’re talking DJs, myself! I’d put myself right there in the centre.
What is your favourite song to listen to when you’re getting ready for a night out?
I record all my own mixes, so usually I’m listening to my own stuff back. I produce my own tracks. But if I were to choose something else, maybe Pretty Green Eyes by Ultrabeat. Something classic, something trance-y.
What’s one music tribe you never want to be associated with?
That’s difficult. Anyone that likes Taylor Swift. Anything mainstream pop. There’s nothing wrong with her, but she permeates mainstream pop. And for people that attend Central Saint Martins, there’s a basis about being unique and having your own thing going on.
Do you have a prized wardrobe possession?
I have a very pink and green hoodie that I made myself. It’s got my name on the back of it, my DJ name. It’s got my birth year, 04, in silver letters, like basketball. It’s pretty cool.
Your life is a TV show – what song is soundtracking the title sequence?
Ironic by Alanis Morissette. That song is in my head all the time. My life is such an ironic piece of shit sometimes. I just think it’s so funny.
Zack
Xander – Music Tribe: Alternative Rocker
What music tribe do you most identify with?
Alternative rock.
How would you describe your personal style?
Opium is a style I’m inspired by. I say I dress dark, mysterious and somewhat rebellious, contradicting the social normalities of mainstream fashion.
What’s a record that defines you?
Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon [1973] will always be in my heart as it was the first record I bought and my dad got me into them from a young age.
What’s a concert that changed your life?
Queen [and Adam Lambert] was one of the first big concerts I went to see at Wembley [Arena] and they put on a show. Freddie Mercury was being projected on the stage and that was quite moving.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
I’ve been into music since I was young, more prog rock and electro goth, influenced by my father and my Uncle Martin. They always showed me good music. My style has been forever changing but when I got to university it started evolving even more. I go to London College of Fashion and everyone influences each other’s style. Music is also more accessible in London. You can go to more events and dress up as part of the community.
If you could adopt a wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
Probably Playboi Carti – his wardrobe is something else.
You’re curating your own festival – who are your top three headliners?
The Cure, Korn and Pink Floyd, if they were still together.
What’s your favourite song to listen to when you’re getting ready to go out?
It’s a Dream by Snow Strippers.
What’s one music tribe you would never want to be identified with?
K-pop.
What’s your prized wardrobe possession?
An embroidered leather jacket by Aviatrix from the ’80s/’90s, which I got for my 18th birthday.
Your life is a TV show – what song is soundtracking the title sequence?
Welcome to the Black Parade [2006] by My Chemical Romance.
Xander
Rizzy, 23 – Music Tribe: Gay Lad Cosplay
What music tribe do you most identify with?
Disco house. When I was younger, my mum and dad were massive ravers and they were telling me about a rave called Glitterbox when I was maybe 14. They were telling me that I need to go and there were loads of queer people there. Cut to later, when I was 19, I met a bunch of friends who ended up working for Glitterbox and Defected. Then, when I was 21, I ended up going to Glitterbox at Printworks with my mum and dad on New Year’s Day. I feel like I was initiated into the culture of disco house, not just from my taste, but by my family.
How would you describe your personal style?
I would say my personal style is ever-changing. I see myself as a chameleon. But the focal point is always about expression, [being] joyful, optimistic. I like to make people smile with my outfits. Even on a rainy day, I want to be the sunshine.
What’s a record that defines you?
Melvo Baptiste’s Gonna Be Alright.
Which concert changed your life?
I was working at a festival at Wasing Estate [in Berkshire] and they’ve just opened a brand new venue called The Mount. A band called Gabriels were playing and I didn’t know who they were, but we got free tickets. I was at the front and I lost my mind. I felt like it was a religious experience and then I took my mum to see them on Mother’s Day. I love them.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
I would say that I have lots of different tribes and first identified with the love of music when I was young, doing musical theatre. A lot of people think musical theatre is tacky and a bit cringe, but I think at the heart of all good music there is cringe and embracing your cringe is a superpower.
If you could adopt a wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
Probably somebody like Billie Eilish. Somebody who’s able to make generically masculine outfits still feel quite feminine. I quite like cosplaying as a really gay lad. Having the baggy tracksuits and waistcoats.
You’re curating your own festival – who are your top three headliners?
Queen with Freddie Mercury as the headliner. I would have Gabriels play, for sure, and there’s a new artist that I’m loving at the moment called Master Peace.
What’s your favourite song to listen to when you’re getting ready to go out?
Anything from Beyoncé’s, Renaissance. I want to feel my pussy. I want to feel my oats. I want to know that I am that girl.
What’s your prized wardrobe possession?
I ran the door for a club night at [the restaurant] SushiSamba and their main colour is orange. I hand-sewed an orange ostrich feather hat to wear on the opening night of doing the door. It’s something that I’ll hold on to for ever.
Rizzy
Osian – Music Tribe: Japanese Glam Rock
What music tribe do you most identify with?
I feel like I identify with a lot of rock, more specifically Japanese rock. I like a lot of VK [visual kei, a genre where bands wear extravagant costumes], Dir En Grey and Malice Mizer. I know they’re generic, but they’re good. I like the glamorous aesthetic and how over the top they are with their outfits.
How would you describe your personal style?
I’m very inspired by Japanese fashion, like Fruits magazine. I try to do it with less budget, I’m not trying to import a bunch of clothes and get taxed. I’m on a student budget so I mix thrifted pieces with more out-there, archive fashion pieces.
What’s a record that defines you?
The Marrow of a Bone, [a 2007 album] by Dir En Grey.
Which concert changed your life?
Seeing Weezer live. I think ever since then my life has just been inexplicably worse, but in a fun way. I felt like a new wave of celibacy overtook me and now I haven’t looked at a woman in years.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
It’s more recent. I can’t claim to be like an old head with this kind of music. Probably around 2022. I got exposed to it through TikTok, which I know a lot of people are against, but if you find something and explore it at a deeper level, I think it’s still valid.
If you could adopt a wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
Young Thug. In a heartbeat. I need that Margiela Belt Jacket.
You’re curating your own festival – who are your top three headliners?
Young Thug, because he’s my GOAT, and [Japanese rock band] Plastic Tree.
What’s your favourite song to listen to when you’re getting ready to go out?
Hotel Breakfast by Bladee. Terrible song, but I love it so much. It sucks until you get used to it, but it’s a really fun song.
What’s one music tribe you would never want to be identified with?
People who like Drain Gang, formed by Bladee. I would never be seen at a concert. Even though I like the music, I stay far away. You can’t play that on aux. It’s headphone music.
What’s your prized wardrobe possession?
It’s either the Kumri jacket – all my friends take turns wearing it – or a Gunda Junk Heaven necklace. I love it. It’s very ornate and handmade.
Your life is a TV show – what song is soundtracking the title sequence?
Lifestyle by Rich Gang [aka Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan].
Osian
Ella – Music Tribe: Modern Shoegaze
What music tribe do you most identify with?
I’m very into what my parents used to listen to. I’m also a fan of shoegaze. It’s a little mix of everything. I like Bob Dylan right now, but also Mazzy Star.
How would you describe your personal style?
It’s a mix of dressing up but also not wanting to be heckled. It’s party looks but with joggers underneath for a more casual look.
What’s a record that defines you?
Dot Allison, her early stuff. I can’t remember the name, but she has this album where her voice is just beautiful [1993’s Morning Dove White by Allison’s electronic group One Dove].
Which concert changed your life?
Amyl and the Sniffers. I saw them in 2018 and the crowd was all female and all angry. I loved it.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
Probably age 12. I inherited all my mum’s CDs and started to go to gigs underage and meeting people in bands.
If you could adopt the wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
You’re curating your own festival – who are your top three headliners?
Saint Etienne, Mazzy Star and Fiona Apple.
What’s your favourite song to listen to when you’re getting ready to go out?
There are two songs, called Sexy and Comme Ci Comme Ca by [2000s dance-pop group] French Affair. They put you in that mood. You feel sexy and ready to drink wine.
What’s one music tribe you would never want to be identified with?
Anything to do with angry men. Like when Oasis released all their gig tickets, I couldn’t think of anything worse than going there. Your life is a TV show – what song is soundtracking the title sequence? Ooh, I don’t know, I’ve said Fiona Apple already, but I feel like that would be fierce.
Ella
Freya – Music Tribe: Vampire Dolly
What music tribe do you most identify with?
Music that makes you feel like you’re floating around in the clouds. Songs that dance around in your brain, a bit like fairies, are my favourites to listen to – girlhood-vibe music, if that’s even a thing. But it depends on my mood. Sometimes I want those softer songs, but sometimes I need a stronger beat – songs that make me feel like an It-girl.
How would you describe your personal style?
The short answer: Vampire Dolly. The long answer: when I wake up I like to think that I’m dressing to become a different dolly character each day, whether it’s a Y2K Bratz doll or a gothic Monster High doll. I love anything girly, but I also love gothic stuff. I think because the gothic aesthetic involves intricate patterns and silhouettes, and there’s a beautiful decadence to that which I find interesting. I love to pair soft with hard – for example, wearing a floaty powder-pink dress with a big collar on it and pairing it with some black fishnet tights and a grommet belt. That’s almost like my second skin at this point.
What’s a record that defines you?
On the Bound, [from 1999’s When the Pawn…] by Fiona Apple.
What’s a concert that changed your life?
Going to see Laufey at EartH Theatre in Hackney. I’m not much of a concertgoer but I’ve loved her since I was 16, so seeing her in such a gorgeous concert venue, playing live on the piano, was such a great experience.
When did you first start identifying with your music tribe?
Kind of always. I think it’s just naturally evolved. I’ve grown up playing the piano and violin so I love music that involves live string instruments and has more musicality to it, which I find myself leaning towards when I listen to music now.
If you could adopt a wardrobe of any musician, who would it be?
I mean, at the moment Addison Rae is killing me with everything she puts on her body, I need it all. But I would love to have Erykah Badu’s wardrobe – I feel like she’d have some really interesting heirloom pieces with their own stories behind them.
You’re curating your own festival – who are your top three headliners?
Amy Winehouse – duh – Shygirl and maybe a wild card like Nina Simone.
What’s your favourite song to listen to when you’re getting ready to go out?
At the moment I love a lot of Magdalena Bay, but No Comma by Slayyyter is my favourite right now.
What’s one music tribe you would never want to be identified with?
Taylor Swift fans. Need I say more?
What’s your prized wardrobe possession?
I’m going to have to go with my Chloé Betty bag – it is perfect and one of the first designer pieces that I’ve bought for myself so I’m very sentimental about it. I’ve decorated her with lots of little keychains – a Hello Kitty Tamagotchi, a Monchhichi teddy bear and some lace that I had lying around, so it kind of feels like an extension of me at this point.
Your life is a TV show – what song is soundtracking the title sequence?
Maybe something by Joni Mitchell like Both Sides, Now [1969] or – I know it’s basic – Fade into You [1993] by Mazzy Star.
Freya
Taken from 10 Men Issue 61 – MUSIC, TALENT, CREATIVE – on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
Photographer BELLA MACGREGOR
Text BELLA KOOPMAN
Production ZAC APOSTOLOU
