Aesthetics Wiki
Advertisement
Aesthetics Wiki
Aesthetics Wiki
892
pages
in: Internet Subculture, Internet Aesthetics, Music,
and 5 more

Drain

Sign in to edit
Needs Work 🛠️
This page requires improvement. Please help us by expanding it. If you are unsure how to help, check the article guide Format and Content.
Reason: Some sections are superficial and require rewriting.

Drain (also known as Drainer, a term referring to people who listen to Drain Gang)[1][2] is an aesthetic and internet subculture that is heavily inspired by the Drain Gang music collective, consisting of Bladee, Thaiboy Digital, Ecco2K, Whitearmor and Yung Sherman. Not only music, but they were also the trailblazers in visual sense, fashion and lifestyle. Bladee and Ecco2K are also visual artists, creating many of the group's album covers. They collaborate with Yung Lean and Sad Boys Entertainment, producing songs and creating merchandise designs. The group's music videos are often low-budget, edited and filmed unconventionally, using low resolutions, flashing colors and lights, abrupt cuts and custom clip art overlays.

Drainers gained popularity through the internet, coming off of a wave of post-ironic fashion and music enjoyment. The subculture is said to have started on the 4chan boards /fa/ and /mu/ as well as Reddit. Initially, the subculture was a meme and likely part of Sad Boy culture.

Trends[]

There are some trends that are emphasized by the Drainer subculture:

@monclerkvinna
  • 2000s styled edits inspired by Emo, Scene, Mallgoth, and Y2K.
  • Chains and skeleton gloves along with rhinestone clothing and baseball caps
  • Oakleys
  • Interest in cloud rap/tread artists and groups such as Drain Gang, Sad Boys, Goth Money, Working on Dying, and Reptilian Club Boyz
  • Asymmetrical earrings
  • Long bangs that cover the eyes (for boys and/or masculine people), and Ramona Flowers-inspired bangs (for girls and/or feminine people)
  • Androgynous fashion
  • Drain Gang merch and/or thrifted clothing
  • Using Reddit for r/sadboys
  • Bling belts
  • Layered fashion
  • True Religion jeans
  • Camouflage
  • Ed Hardy
  • Prada
  • Jessie Pinkman-inspired clothes

Music[]

Musically, Drain Gang has been influential in the genres of trap and sad rap, being early collaborators of the collectives Working On Dying and Goth Money Records. Here's a list of affiliated artists:

Artists[]

  • Ecco2K
  • Yung Lean
  • Bladee
  • Thaiboy Digital
  • Mechatok
  • Whitearmor
  • VilloVilduVeta
  • Gud
  • Yung Sherman
  • Ripsquad
  • Black Kray
  • Working on Dying
  • Cartier God

Fashion[]

The basis for Drain fashion is inspired by the 90s, especially black fashion and hip-hop. Baggy jeans are a huge focus, as well as hoodies/jackets. It has elements of Y2K, 90s Hip-Hop, streetwear, Grunge, and brown and earthy tones in fashion. Around 2023, Drain Gang would begin experimenting with more androgynous/feminine clothing and aesthetics. Many fit pics of Bladee would be edited to be more distorted or heavenly before posting.

Visuals[]

Album covers are typified by the heavily distorted collage drawings. Commonly, these experimental, maximalist artworks consist of chroma, cyber overlays, chrome effects, black metal fonts, sparkles, lens flare, and clip art. Their music videos are often low-budget, edited and filmed unconventionally and often using low resolutions, flashing lights/colors, abrupt cuts, as well as custom clip art overlaid with the video, thereby giving off a more amateur-ish and unfamiliar vibe from other artists.

Draincore[]

Content Warning: The following visuals contain bright colors and lights. This may not be suitable for people with epilepsy and photosensitive sensitivities. Viewer discretion is advised. This doesn't actually have anything to do with Drain Gang's aesthetics.

Note: Not all of these visual creators listen to or enjoy the Drain Gang music.

The original Drain aesthetic is much more similar to 90s hip-hop and real Grunge fashion while the visual art made by the fans is heavily feminine, sparkly, and kawaii.

This fan-made drain aesthetic, called Draincore, is best known for its Y2K Futurism-inspired themes. Draincore can be applied to or taking influences from many other aesthetics, including Animecore, Sanriocore, Glitchcore, Xpiritualism, Weirdcore, and many more. It is anything with obscure lights, noisy and trashy visuals[3].

Subgenres[]

Cyber Fairy[]

Cyber Fairy is a specific aesthetic depicting fairies, pixies, and flowers and is a counterpart to Drain. You can also find related images with the keywords "Cyber Y2K" or "Drain Fairy".

Cybergoth / Cybergrunge[]

Cybergoth or Cyber Grunge is a blend of anime and Sanrio-styled edits with drain elements.
(Not to be confused with the Cybergoth or Cyber Grunge subcultures and their dark fashion. Possibly happens due to mislabelling.)


Resources[]

External links to learn more about the aesthetic:

YouTube[]

Introduction to the Drain Gang, their influence, and the aesthetic.

Every Noise At Once[]

Playlists[]

Pinterest Boards[]

References[]

  1. ↑ "Drainer" on urbandictionary.com
  2. ↑ "Inside the Cathartic Bliss of Drain Gang, Gen Z’s Emo Torchbearers" on rollingstone.com
  3. ↑ How would you guys describe the drain aesthetic | Reddit, r/sadboys

Navigation[]

Internet Subcultures

2020 TikTok (Alt TikTok • Deep TikTok • Straight TikTok) • 2020s Gamer • Art Hoe • Bimbocore • Bloghouse • Cherry Emoji Twitter • Coquette • Dark Academia • Dead Inside • Doomer • Drain • E-Girls and E-Boys • Femcel Weeaboo • Gamer Girl • Gamer • Hacker • Hallyu • HexD • Hyperborean • Larpercore • Meme Culture • Microtrends • Opium • Sadbois and Sadgirls • Seapunk • Studyblr • TikTok Preppy • VSCO • Waif • Weeaboo • Xpiritualism

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement