Feral Business creates music with an attitude. That statement is more descriptive of what Feral Business is doing creatively than any single genre designation could ever be. The music itself can range from post-punk anxiety, to darkwave atmosphere, to alternative rock, to electronic pressure, to funk, to hip-hop, to dance music, to unexpected experimental excursions.
While the sounds change shape, there is always a sense of the same animal beneath them. This refusal to confine himself to one category is not indecision. Rather, it is a deliberate decision that is integral to the design of the project.
A Project Driven by Instinct
Genres serve as a guide for listeners to find music, help artists find their place in a scene, and offer a common vocabulary for describing sound.
However, genres can also be limiting—especially for artists who begin to make creative decisions based on what a category permits instead of what a song needs. Feral Business operates on the principle that the song dictates the form. A guitar may drive one track.
Another may be based on a synthesizer, drum machine, bass line, vocal rhythm, or some other sonic element that resists being confined to a particular form. Some songs require the nervous energy associated with post-punk. Other songs require the physical power associated with electronic dance music. Still other songs require the swagger of funk. Other songs require the abrasive qualities of punk. Still other songs require the dramatic scope of gothic rock. The goal of this project is not to demonstrate versatility for the sake of demonstrating versatility. Rather, the goal of this project is to find the form that best expresses each idea.
The Bloodline: Post-Punk, Darkwave & Beyond
Post-punk remains an essential component of the Feral Business DNA. The genre opened up possibilities beyond those typically found in conventional rock music by using rhythm, texture, electronics, repetition, noise, and negative space as creative resources. Darkwave extended some of these principles into a cooler, more atmospheric style. Industrial music transformed machine-generated sounds into emotionally charged experiences. Dance-rock proved that movement and tension could coexist in the same space. Feral Business draws from that lineage without attempting to replicate a particular decade. The project exists in today's world: a world where musicians can combine elements from rock music, electronic music, hip-hop music, pop music, experimental production techniques, and underground culture into a single recording session. These influences do not necessarily have to be separated from one another. In many instances, these influences collide. Sometimes the collision is precisely the reason why a song exists.
Dark Music Can Move
Although darkness is often treated as a visual or emotional signifier of genre (black clothing, minor keys, slow tempos, distant vocals, etc.), Feral Business is more concerned with the physical manifestations of darkness.
Although the music may be shadowy, anxious, sarcastic, bizarre, or confrontational, it can move. A song about a serious topic can be carried along by a danceable beat. A threatening soundscape can support an irresistible hook. Humor can exist in the midst of chaos. Beauty can grow fangs. That tension—between darkness and movement—is a key element in this project. Feral Business does not create background music for quietly admiring the void. Rather, Feral Business creates music for dancing on the periphery of it.
Bear Cole Behind the Noise
Bear Cole is responsible for writing the music created under the moniker Feral Business. Cole has worked under several different musical identities over the years. Under the moniker Feral Business, songwriting and production are informed by a particular set of instincts: raw nerves; catchy hooks; electronic muscles; dark humor; restless rhythms; and an aversion to domestication. Cole's production methods enable traditional songwriting and modern sound design to coexist. Guitars; vocals; synthesizers; programmed rhythms; improvised musical decisions; digital processing; and studio experimentation are all tools available to Cole when a track requires them. Unless otherwise noted in a credit listing for a given release, Cole also handles the production duties for each track. This is significant because the diversity of tracks represented in the Feral Business catalog is not due to multiple unrelated artists contributing tracks to a single compilation. Rather, this diversity results from Cole being able to allow different facets of his creative personality to express themselves through a single medium.
What Connects Everything?
Given that Feral Business can span so many genres, what ties together all of the various aspects of this project? The point of view. The catalog explores themes such as outsider status; systems; anxiety; appetite; resistance; contradiction; and the absurdity hidden within everyday life. The sounds used in each track vary significantly; however, the perspective behind those sounds remains watchful and somewhat aggressive. There is almost always something scratching at the surface.
Another connecting thread is provided by the visual representations of this project. Gothic creatures; wild animals; decaying luxury; dark comedy; bizarre beauty; and surreal menace are all part of the same ecosystem. The artwork and videos associated with this project are not simply decorative additions to the music. They serve as extensions of the emotional and narrative worlds established by the music itself. A Feral Business track should feel as though it originated in that ecosystem regardless of whether its musical components resemble one another.
A Better Way To Explore The Catalog
Listeners do not have to select a single genre before accessing this catalog. The official Feral Business music catalog lists every release along with associated artwork, credits, genres and available listening options. The genre directory offers multiple access points for listeners who come across this project via alternative music; darkwave; electronic music; rock music; funk music; hip-hop music; or other aspects of this project's evolving sonic vocabulary. The official Feral Business playlists organize songs according to mood; energy level; rhythmic characteristics; thematic content; and creative relationships among tracks. The video collection brings this project into its visual realm; while the Feral Business story archive preserves the context surrounding releases and ongoing creative work. Taken together, these pathways enable listeners to appreciate the breadth represented in this catalog without eliminating any of its unique characteristics.
Part Of The 1st Drop Music Ecosystem
Feral Business is part of 1st Drop Music, an independent ecosystem designed to support multiple musical identities without having to consolidate them into a single generic artist brand. This structural framework enables Feral Business to remain distinct. Listeners can delve further into this project's universe while also discovering additional works by Bear Cole and other artists affiliated with 1st Drop Music. The ecosystem provides structure. Feral Business provides fangs.
The Genre Is Feral Business
Feral Business will continue to employ genre terminology because it enables listeners to better comprehend and discover this music. Post-punk; darkwave; alternative rock; electronic music; synth rock; dance music; funk music; and experimental music are all valid terms used in discussions about this music.
However, none of these labels receives the final word regarding this music. The ultimate standard for assessing whether a given track falls under the umbrella of Feral Business is much simpler: Does it move? Does it leave an impression? Is it sufficiently alive to avoid being caged? If so, then it belongs here.