In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, new music styles like neo-psychedelia and psychedelic rock started to appear. But shoegaze didn’t really become its own genre until the late 1980s, when it grew out of styles like neo-psy.

Shoegaze is known for its heavy use of guitars with lots of effects and feedback, along with soft, dreamy vocals. The music often features long, repeating guitar riffs, and lots of effects like reverb, delay, and chorus, with a lot of distortion. The mix is often full of fuzz, creating a thick, layered sound.

In 1988, the band My Bloody Valentine from Dublin, Ireland, released their first album Isn't Anything. It was an instant hit in the shoegaze scene and inspired bands like Slowdive and many others to help shape the genre.

https://www.allmusic.com/style/shoegaze-ma0000004454

 Slowdive is a shoegaze band that formed in Reading, Berkshire and it is my choice of insperation and research.

Slowdive focus on a heavy use of effects and techniques, some key effects (that i will be using in my work) are:

Reverb: Specifically hall reverb is a key choice for this specific genre. It makes guitars sound like they are echoing of distant walls which will be significant in my work.

Delay:  "Delay pedals generate an echo effect that can go from slapback, instant repeat, to drawn-out repeats. When a guitarist plays between the repeats, the delay pedal stores that signal and then plays it back, creating an overlapping effect." -BOSS Articles. Delay in shoegaze is very common, you can find it in many songs, the most notrious being https://youtu.be/oMAJ7RsuYUs?feature=shared Souvlaki Space Station

Fuzz: Fuzz is a key component of shoegaze, It provides  the warm thick wash that alot of shoegaze artists use, for example: https://open.spotify.com/album/3USQKOw0se5pBNEndu82Rb?si=Sz5RID7DSGm4Tg-YcdQNIg the majority of my bloody valentines "loveless"

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-swirlies-mn0000049017

Swirlies are a band from America that are regarded as one of the most creative shoegaze groups around. The band consists of 6 members. These members being Andy Bernick, Damon Tuntunjian, Ben Drucker, Seana Carmody, Adam Pierce, Anthony De Luca, Rob Laxo.

Their hit album "Blonder tongue audio baton" is remarked as one of the most unique shoegaze albums that have inspired many. After a quick listen it is clear to see why. The album consists of these experimental songs with different effects and noises, it has even been referred to as noise rock. In my opinion these "noises" suit the songs almost blissfully, and it is something I want to experiment in, for example using feedback on a guitar, or combining so many pedals that you create some sort of strange note that somehow just works. Swirlies do this perfectly. For example their song "Pancake"