Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles.
Cheapcore or Casiotone is the name given to music made with home
keyboards and consumer electronic instruments as opposed to
professional synthesizers. Typically, Cheapcore is minimally
produced, and often recorded on inexpensive equipment, such as
answering machines or boombox. Technically a subgenre of
electronica, Casiocore music often blends genres and stylistic
elements together. Its name is a reference to the Casiotone brand
of home keyboards, manufactured by Casio, although artists do not
necessarily confine themselves to Casio instruments.
Casiocore
can be viewed as an application of kitsch aesthetics to electronic
music. It has its roots in outsider artists such as Daniel
Johnston, who utilised consumer electronic instruments such as
chord organs in his music. Wesley Willis also used consumer
keyboards extensively in his music. Recent high-profile artists,
such as Hot Chip, Trio, and The Human League, have used Casio
keyboards in their music; however, they cannot be considered
Casiocore music, since they do not exclusively use consumer
keyboards.
One of the most prominent Cheapcore artists is
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.