Music discovery · Influence explorer

Artists like Rex Orange County — and the music that made them

Bedroom Pop · 2016-present

Bedroom pop crooner blending jazz, indie, and heartfelt vulnerability

Alex O'Connor, known as Rex Orange County, is a British singer-songwriter who rose to fame in his teens with his dreamy, jazz-inflected indie pop and collaborations with Tyler, the Creator. His confessional lyrics about love, mental health, and growing up, paired with lush arrangements featuring live instruments, have made him a defining voice of modern bedroom pop.

Essential tracks

►Loving Is Easy

►Best Friend

►Pluto Projector

Did you know

He taught himself to play multiple instruments and produced his early albums in his childhood bedroom

Tyler, the Creator discovered him on SoundCloud and featured him on 'Flower Boy' before he had a record deal

His stage name comes from a childhood nickname and his love of orange clothing

“Tender vocals over jazz-tinged chords create intimate, confessional bedroom pop anthems.”

generations
of influence

Influence tree

Trace Rex Orange County's roots back through history

Every sound has a source. Click any node to hear the connection.

Rex Orange County

2016-present

Tyler, the Creator

2007-present

cited

Frank Ocean

2005-present

sonic

Daniel Caesar

2014-present

sonic

D'Angelo

1991-present

sonic

Norah Jones

2002-present

sonic

Kings of Convenience

1998-present

movement

Stevie Wonder

1961-present

sonic

Burt Bacharach

1950s-2010s

movement

Antonio Carlos Jobim

1950s-1990s

movement

↑ Click any influence node to see the connection and where to start listening.

What makes the sound

Sonic elements

Jazz-influenced chord progressions

Lo-fi bedroom production

Tender, conversational vocals

Indie pop instrumentation

Start with these tracks

Loving Is Easy

Best Friend

Pluto Projector

Sunflower

If you like Rex Orange County, try these

Boy Pablo

Shares dreamy indie pop sensibilities with lush, romantic production.

Masters the same laid-back, jangly guitar-driven indie rock aesthetic.

2010s · Indie Rock

Cuco

Blends dreamy pop with R&B influences and introspective songwriting.

Shares smooth R&B influences and collaborated frequently with Rex.

2010s · Alternative R&B

Key influences explained

Tyler, the Creator

Rex Orange County's breakthrough came through his collaboration with Tyler on 'Flower Boy' (2017), contributing vocals to 'Foreword' and 'Boredom.' Tyler's genre-fluid approach and willingness to embrace vulnerability over traditional hip-hop machismo directly informed Rex's own comfort with wearing sensitivity as strength. This connection legitimized Rex's bedroom pop sensibilities within hip-hop adjacent circles, bridging indie intimacy with rap's confessional tradition.

Mac DeMarco

DeMarco's wobbly, chorus-drenched guitar tones and slacker authenticity on albums like 'Salad Days' (2014) provided the sonic blueprint for Rex's laid-back aesthetic. Both artists share a commitment to analog warmth and deliberate imperfection, rejecting the clinical precision of contemporary pop production. Rex adopted DeMarco's approach to using vintage Jazzmaster guitars and tape saturation to create music that feels lived-in rather than manufactured.

Stevie Wonder

Wonder's influence permeates Rex's keyboard work and harmonic sophistication, particularly evident in the Clavinet lines and major seventh chord progressions throughout 'Apricot Princess' (2017). Rex frequently employs Wonder's technique of layering multiple keyboard parts to create lush, orchestral textures within intimate song structures. This classical soul foundation elevates Rex's bedroom pop beyond simple nostalgia into genuine musical craftsmanship.

Context

Rex Orange County emerged from the late 2010s bedroom pop revival, part of a generation of young artists who grew up with unlimited access to music history via streaming platforms. His Surrey, England origins placed him outside traditional music industry centers, allowing him to develop a distinctly DIY approach that combined American indie sensibilities with British introspection. The bedroom pop movement itself represented a reaction against the maximalist EDM and trap that dominated mid-2010s pop, offering instead a return to analog warmth and emotional directness. Rex's timing coincided perfectly with a cultural moment when vulnerability became commercially viable, particularly among Gen Z listeners seeking authentic emotional expression.

Legacy

Rex Orange County's success opened doors for a wave of bedroom pop artists like Clairo, Boy Pablo, and Cuco, proving that lo-fi intimacy could achieve mainstream success without compromising artistic integrity. His integration into Tyler, the Creator's orbit also demonstrated how genre boundaries could be productively dissolved, influencing a generation of artists to embrace musical eclecticism over stylistic purity.

Why it matters

Understanding Rex Orange County's influences reveals how contemporary indie music functions as sophisticated musical archaeology, with young artists consciously synthesizing decades of recorded music into new hybrid forms. His work demonstrates that bedroom pop isn't mere retro pastiche but a genuine evolution of soul, indie rock, and hip-hop traditions adapted for digital-native audiences. Recognizing these connections illuminates how Rex transforms familiar elements into something distinctly contemporary and emotionally resonant.

About this page

Music like Rex Orange County — Alex O'Connor, known as Rex Orange County, is a British singer-songwriter who rose to fame in his teens with his dreamy, jazz-inflected indie pop and collaborations with Tyler, the Creator. His confessional lyrics about love, mental health, and growing up, paired with lush arrangements featuring live instruments, have made him a defining voice of modern bedroom pop.

Artists like Rex Orange County today include Boy Pablo, Clairo, Mac DeMarco, Cuco. If you enjoy Rex Orange County, these artists share similar sonic qualities, influences, and emotional range.

Bands like Rex Orange County and songs like Rex Orange County are among the most searched music discovery queries — rootz.guru goes deeper by tracing the roots of the sound itself, not just surface-level similarity.