WI
Windmill scene
The Windmill scene (also known as the Speedy scene) is a musical scene that originated around the Windmill pub in Brixton, London, during the late 2010s and early 2020s. The term is usually
History#
Described by Dylan Wolf of Ramapo College of New Jersey’s Ramapo News in 2025 as “the most significant movement in rock music in the past decade”, Matthew Perpetua of NPR explained the term, writing “For one thing, there’s no getting around how much of this music is a direct response to the social dynamics of post-Brexit England… The politics aren’t always foregrounded, but there’s an unmistakable feeling of shame, disappointment and pessimism about Britain’s future permeating all of this music”. Picton also stated in April 2026 that he didn’t think the label “Windmill scene” accurately encompassed the diversity of bands and musicians operating in London. Frontrunners of the movement have achieved commercial success, with Black Country, New Road’s Ants From Up There album debuting at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart, and a well received performance by Black Midi of the song “bmbmbm” on the Hyundai Mercury Prize in 2019. The scene is widely described as sharing a spoken vocal style as well as a blend of experimental rock and post-punk. and Sprain, and Chile’s Candelabro and Hesse Kassel being compared to Windmill bands.
See also#
- Sprechgesang
- Postmodern music
- Brexit
- Crank wave
- 2010s post-punk revival
- Genre family
- English styles of music, Rock music genres