Genre clusters
Genre clusters on the Suede Cosmos map
Suede Cosmos sorts 180 of its 181 artists into 8 genre clusters, each drawn in its own color on the map. One artist carries no genre tags and stays outside them. Each cluster page lists its artists with their MusicBrainz genre tags, the strongest connections inside the cluster and every link that crosses into another genre.
Rock is the largest cluster with 30 artists. R&B and Soul has the most links into other genres: 32 of its connections lead to artists in Pop, Jazz and Hip-Hop.
The 8 clusters
Rock
30 artists · 63 connections inside · 21 links out
Top tags: rock, alternative rock, indie rock, pop rock. Most connected: David Bowie and Radiohead (11 each).
Hip-Hop
22 artists · 58 connections inside · 8 links out
Top tags: hip hop, pop rap, boom bap, hardcore hip hop. Most connected: Drake (11).
Electronic
25 artists · 54 connections inside · 13 links out
Top tags: electronic, house, ambient, downtempo. Most connected: Aphex Twin, Bicep, Boards of Canada, Caribou and deadmau5 (8 each).
Pop
20 artists · 40 connections inside · 29 links out
Top tags: pop, dance-pop, electropop, contemporary r&b. Most connected: Beyoncé (11).
Jazz
23 artists · 51 connections inside · 14 links out
Top tags: jazz, post-bop, hard bop, jazz fusion. Most connected: Wayne Shorter (8).
Classical
17 artists · 37 connections inside · 9 links out
Top tags: classical, modern classical, opera, minimalism. Most connected: Steve Reich (8).
Folk and Country
22 artists · 50 connections inside · 18 links out
Top tags: country, folk, singer-songwriter, americana. Most connected: Phoebe Bridgers (10).
R&B and Soul
21 artists · 41 connections inside · 32 links out
Top tags: contemporary r&b, soul, r&b, neo soul. Most connected: Janelle Monáe and Leon Bridges (9 each).
Where genres meet
72 of the map's 466 connections join artists from different clusters. The pairs below are ranked by how many connections they share, with the strongest single link in each.
- Pop + R&B and Soul17 links
Strongest: Beyoncé and Janelle Monáe at 50%, sharing pop, contemporary r&b, pop rap and soul.
- Rock + Folk and Country13 links
Strongest: Big Thief and Iron & Wine at 83%, sharing indie rock, alternative rock, folk rock, lo-fi and singer-songwriter.
- Jazz + R&B and Soul10 links
Strongest: Ray Charles and Otis Redding at 30%, sharing soul, blues and r&b.
- Electronic + Classical9 links
Strongest: Ólafur Arnalds and Steve Reich at 36%, sharing ambient, modern classical, classical and contemporary classical.
Strongest: David Bowie and Lorde at 30%, sharing alternative rock, pop and art pop.
- Hip-Hop + R&B and Soul5 links
Strongest: Drake and Anderson .Paak at 44%, sharing hip hop, r&b, contemporary r&b and alternative r&b.
- Pop + Folk and Country5 links
Strongest: Olivia Rodrigo and Joni Mitchell at 27%, sharing pop, singer-songwriter and folk pop.
- Electronic + Jazz2 links
Strongest: Bonobo and GoGo Penguin at 20%, sharing electronica and nu jazz.
- Hip-Hop + Electronic1 link
Strongest: Flying Lotus and Bonobo at 30%, sharing downtempo, electronic and nu jazz.
Strongest: BADBADNOTGOOD and Robert Glasper at 22%, sharing jazz and hip hop.
- Rock + Electronic1 link
Strongest: The Smashing Pumpkins and Caribou at 18%, sharing dream pop and neo-psychedelia.
Strongest: David Bowie and Doja Cat at 18%, sharing alternative rock and pop.
Strongest: Beyoncé and Sade at 18%, sharing contemporary r&b and soul.
How an artist lands in a cluster
Each artist goes to the cluster named by the first of its MusicBrainz genres that matches a cluster keyword. Connections are scored separately, from shared genre and tag labels, so an artist can sit in one cluster and link straight into another. Read how the map is built for the keyword lists and the scoring rule, or open the map to explore them star by star.