Yesterday – December 1st – saw Spotify unveil their end of year stats, sparking a few surprises.
Users were given Spotify Unwrapped reports, which logged their listening habits on the service.
Fans were left with one over-arching question, however: what the hell is 'chamber psych' when it's at home?
It seems that Spotify have invented an entire trend – if not a fully fledged genre – even if no one involved understands what it is.
There are multiple Reddit threads on the topic, with numerous Spotify playlists being created in an attempt to define that is essentially undefinable.
So, what the hell is 'chamber psych' anyway?
According to that Spotify end of year round-up thing, my 3rd most listened to genre is ‘chamber psych’ and I didn’t even know that was a genre until today. And I can confirm that it is indeed one of my favourite genres.
— Bob Hardy (@B0bHardy) December 2, 2020
Nadine Shah has an answer:
Chamber Psych pic.twitter.com/kd0hnOqqUq
— Nadine Shah (@nadineshah) December 3, 2020
And so does Jane Weaver:
Chamber Psych messing with everyones minds like it whence was supposeth to. pic.twitter.com/R4JfnXOBDt
— Jane Weaver (@JanelWeaver) December 2, 2020
/blockquote>And so does Speedy Wunderground:
CHAMBER PSYCH EXPLAINED:@Spotify https://t.co/yMQuiw1QQi
— Speedy Wunderground (@SpeedyWunder) December 2, 2020
We're still no further forward, to be honest. In truth, it's a little reminiscent of NME's early 90s fixation with sub-genres – the New Wave Of New Wave, the Camden Lurch etc etc etc.
It would be great, however, if Spotify's payment system could be improved…
Join us on the ad-free creative social network Vero, as we get under the skin of global cultural happenings. Follow Clash Magazine as we skip merrily between clubs, concerts, interviews and photo shoots. Get backstage sneak peeks, exclusive content and access to Clash Live events and a true view into our world as the fun and games unfold.
