Chloë Sobek is a Melbourne musician who plays the violone, a Renaissance precursor to the double bass. But instead of playing it traditionally, she wedges wobbling pieces of cardboard between its strings or uses a sheep’s bone as a bow. These unusual techniques have become catnip for Instagram’s algorithm, earning her tens of thousands—sometimes hundreds of thousands—of views for each of her self-made performance videos. “Despite how it might appear, I’m a reasonably shy person,” she says.
When Laurie Anderson’s robo-minimalist masterpiece O Superman reached No. 2 on the UK charts in 1981, thanks to constant airplay on John Peel’s radio show, it signaled the power of media to push experimental music into the mainstream. That’s happening again today. Artists like Sobek, along with experimental pianists, microtonal singers, and other boundary-pushing solo performers, are routinely breaking out of underground circles as their self-recorded home videos go viral on TikTok and Instagram.
You might have encountered a cover of a Mitski song played on a haunting microtonal scale, a piano piece where the performer frantically draws a circle across the keys, or, in the case of Brad Barr, a tense drone created by pulling a long piece of polyester through his guitar strings. It all suggests the public is far more receptive to unusual music than many assume—but why is it resonating so strongly?
The success of these bedroom virtuosos is already spilling into the real world. After millions viewed her expressionist solo piano and synth performances, Arkansas musician (and part-time piano teacher) Precious Renee Tucker was recently invited to perform for her hero, Solange Knowles. “I’m definitely still processing everything,” she says. Her TikTok is a chaotic digital sketchbook of her lifelong friendship with the piano, captioned with enthusiastic exclamations like “i don’t know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” and “music is fabric!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” “I’m always releasing things without thinking too hard about the need to comprehend them,” she explains. “It’s really these fragments of myself.”
Other experimental artists, such as Maddie Ashman and Bryan Deister, are captivating TikTok scrollers with microtonal music—a vast wilderness of dissonant notes hidden between the standardized Western scale. “This blows my mind; it’s like we’ve been living in a musical matrix of prescribed noises that are ‘OK,’” reads one comment under Ashman’s work.
“I’m led by questions,” says Ashman, a British musician who creates microtonal pop filled with eerie harmonies and unpredictable vocal hocketing—a technique of interlocking melodic lines reminiscent of avant-garde hero Meredith Monk. “I’m happiest when I’m moving between places and approaching one instrument the way I would approach another.” During her four-year rise on short-form video platforms, culminating in her debut EP release last week, she embraced microtonality precisely because few artists can do it. “For a lot of people, their experience of microtonal music is that they can’t play it, and it hurts.”
Ashman structures her videos around surprise, starting with a playthrough of the raw microtonal scale before pulling a captivating song from it. “I suppose that works well for the algorithm,” she hypothesizes, “because people have an expectation of what it’sThen we defy those expectations, and people feel something.
However, just like Anderson’s chart success, these musicians are as divisive as they are prominent. Each video is guaranteed to have its share of detractors questioning the validity of the music. “People start having arguments in the comment threads,” Sobek says. In her case, people often express concern for her instrument. “Because it’s this beautiful Renaissance instrument and I look like I’m bashing it, people ask, ‘How can you do that?’ But the way I play is actually quite gentle if you saw it in person. I’m saying these old instruments don’t have to be behind glass. In a way, I’m bringing them to life more than someone who’s stuck trying to replicate history.”
That provocation helps Sobek stand out on social media, an attention economy where every comment—positive or negative—registers as engagement. Meanwhile, mainstream musicians like Rosalía and Jacob Collier have driven interest in classical performance and music theory in recent years. But the success of Sobek, Ashman, and others is mostly due to genuine excitement from people who have grown numb to boring influencer culture and AI-generated content. “We are genuinely desiring something brand new, or at least to be inspired to have that perspective,” says Tucker. “To let go of the past, detach from what we’ve seen before, and have the courage to do something creative that hasn’t existed yet.”
In a roundabout way, it’s a re-engagement with experimental art’s purpose: to provoke and gauge reaction by bending invisible rules. “That is my favorite part about the experimental realm,” Tucker says with a smile. “I’m not necessarily saying the way that I play is correct or the standard. I really love the conversations that come up: Is this acceptable? Does this sound good? What is this?” She compares the process to a lab full of scientists comparing notes.
However, some comments underneath female artists’ videos veer into misogyny. “There’s definitely an element of me being a woman doing something that’s confronting,” Sobek says. “I get a lot of men having strong reactions, and I do wonder, would it be different if I were a guy? Would it be slightly more accepted?” Ashman sees a similar pattern of self-appointed male experts questioning how “truly microtonal” her music is, but says that “we’re now in a society where the majority of people can laugh at them rather than being hurt too much, which is amazing to be able to say.”
For all their online success, these artists are also anxious about appeasing the social media algorithms that promoted their videos in the first place. “Can I keep the same mindset of doing this for fun? Can I take a break, or do I need to keep making and push it out regardless?” Tucker questions.
“There have always been gatekeepers,” Sobek argues. “We think the internet has democratized things, but it’s still defined by this gatekeeping algorithm. It’s all the same thing.”
Not only does this create pressure to post regularly, but short-form video could warp the idea of what experimental art actually is in the eyes of those who have just discovered it via an algorithm. “It’s pushing this idea of spectacle, and I don’t think art is just about spectacle,” Sobek says. “I’ll post a video that’s more ‘musically serious’ and it won’t get anywhere near as much interest as the fun and crazy stuff.”
But short-form video also offers new ways to express oneself—you can see it in the superimposed lyrics descending down the stairs behind Ashman in her videos, or how each of Tucker’s lo-fi…The impulsive clips combine to form a cohesive whole—this is art engaged in a uniquely public dialogue with its audience. “It’s surprising,” Tucker says, “that so many people are willing to embrace the unknown in such an immediate digital space, where every kind of stimulation is available. I’m proud of all of us for having the courage to go there.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the shift from AIgenerated content to the rise of human creators framed around the idea of viral music maestros bringing intelligence and artistry back to social media
FAQs The Human Creator Comeback
Beginner Definition Questions
1 What does AI content step aside even mean
It means users are getting tired of generic AIgenerated posts videos and music Theyre craving authentic skilled and emotionally resonant content made by real people
2 Who are these viral music maestros
They are musicians producers and composers who gain massive popularity on platforms like TikTok Instagram and YouTube by showcasing exceptional skill clever composition and genuine artistrynot just using AI tools as a shortcut
3 Isnt a lot of viral music already made with AI
Some beats or ideas might start with AI assistance but the maestros stand out by adding deep musical knowledge live performance unique arrangement and human emotion that AI cant replicate on its own
Benefits The Why Now
4 Whats the benefit of humanmade content over AI content
Human content has soul imperfection and a story It creates a real connection You can feel the artists intention struggle and joy which makes it more memorable and shareable
5 Why is this happening now on social media
After a flood of similarlooking AI filters songs and scripts audiences have AI fatigue Theyre hungry for something that feels true and showcases real talent which cuts through the noise
6 Does this mean AI is bad for creators
Not at all Smart creators use AI as a toollike a metronome or a synth pluginto enhance their workflow The shift is away from AI as the sole creator and toward AI as an assistant to human genius
Common Problems Concerns
7 But isnt AI content faster and cheaper to produce
Yes but faster and cheaper often leads to a crowded lowquality feed Taking time to create something artful makes it stand out building a stronger more loyal audience in the long run
8 What if Im not a musical genius Can I still compete
Absolutely Artistry doesnt just mean
