Social Repose

Richard McLean Giese (born February 9, 1990), known professionally as Social Repose, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and social media content creator.

Social Repose
Social Repose in 2019
Born	Richard McLean Giese (1990-02-09) February 9, 1990
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, musician, social media content creator
Years active	2011–present
Musical career
Genres	Indie pop art-pop experimental avant-pop a cappella electronic emo
Instruments	Vocals ukulele piano guitar flamethrower
Labels	Talent Shoppe Artery Global
YouTube information
Channel	SocialReposeMusic
Years active	2011–present
Genre(s)	Music, comedy, commentary
Subscribers	1,100,000+ (September 19, 2024)
Total views	260+ million (September 19, 2024)
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 2015 1,000,000 subscribers 2018

YouTube channel and social media presence

Richie Giese launched his YouTube channel, Social Repose, in April 2011, uploading the video for his original song "Helium House". He posted his first vlog in July of that year, introducing himself and defining Social Repose as a musical project. He later posted more vlogs, comedy, and reaction videos.

As time progressed, he began posting barbershop-style a cappella covers, loop covers, video shorts, and other musical content such as songs in multiple genres and songs made from tweets. He also continued to upload his original music and artistic videos.

He currently has over a million YouTube subscribers, 4.3 million TikTok, 1 million Facebook, and ‌1.1 million on Instagram.

Social Repose with signature smile

Artistry

Richie started his online presence appearing largely with no costumes or makeup. He says that his defining moment heralding his emo-alt-goth days was seeing a Mindless Self Indulgence concert in 2007. Taking inspiration from trademark looks such as the Deadmau5 head and World of Warcraft characters, he started to expand his look. He added new elements over time and often filmed vlogs detailing the increasingly intricate outfits, makeup, "goth moth" wings, and accessories.

The controversial costume piece over the course of his career has been his choice of headpiece. He debuted a white feather bonnet in July 2014, which resembled a Native American War bonnet and for which he received widespread criticism. Subsequent iterations included replacing it with a black one, then later adding a lighted purple crown and purple feathers. He exchanged the purple crown for a thorn crown, and finally replaced the entire bonnet with what he referred to as a "black gothic hat" which featured upright head feathers, a long feather tail down the back, and decorations including black branches and metalwork. The latest iteration at time of publishing is the same feather arrangement and tail, but with black horns.

He claims that his outfits are meant to be memorable and garner attention for his music, and feels that it's important to pair talent with a memorable look. He considers looking boring "a wasted opportunity."

Musical career

Social Repose began his musical career in 2011, making electronic and synth-pop music, which he released independently through YouTube and Bandcamp. He made his first song, "Helium House," while still in film school, and the accompanying video is the first upload on his YouTube channel. The song was included on his first album, Paradise. He laughingly refers to this portion of his career as "cringey."

2013 and 2014 saw a shift towards more of an EDM style, with a Lana Del Rey cover of “Summertime Sadness”, as well as the Crazy Manic Love EP and Reckless Closure LP.

Social Repose released Yalta in 2015. This LP heralded a complete shift in direction, featuring softer electronic sounds and calmer melodies. He wrote and produced this transitional record and says it touches on the theme of identity. It is considered alternative or indie, and has been compared to the sounds of Owl City and Panic! at the Disco. He cited Imogen Heap and Twenty One Pilots as big influences for this album.

2017’s Empress EP let Social Repose further refine the dark, often melancholy music he’d verged into with his previous record. He enjoyed adding percussion as a change to the sound. Accompanying surreal videos were intended to create a world around the main characters appearing in "Filthy Pride", "Villain", and "Empress".

In 2018, Social Repose's cover of "You Should See Me in a Crown" was featured on Glamour magazine's YouTube channel, where it was watched by Billie Eilish. She complimented him on his talent and described the video as "impressive".

Social Repose released a video titled "Me" in January 2020, which was the opening track for the Calamity album, released that March. "Me" looked at the irony of how talking about trying to be less selfish is counterintuitive because you're still talking about yourself. Calamity was scaled back, with videos for "What Will You Do When I'm Gone?" and "Is This Love?" being animated line art.

In the years since Calamity, Social Repose has released widely varied covers such as "The Wellerman" shanty and "Teenage Dirtbag". He has also published original singles, such as "Dry Run" with an artistic concept video, and an acoustic renditon of "Gauze".

Collaborations

Social Repose collaborated in 2016 with musician BryanStars on an a capella cover of Bring Me the Horizon's "Follow You".

He also worked with Johnnie Guilbert on an a capella cover of Blink 182's "I Miss You."

In 2021 he appeared in two videos for Sadboy2005, a Trisha Paytas project.

2021 also found him singing on "Villains", a K-popK/DA cover by MasterAndross also ft. Kuraiinu, Hyurno, & Will Stetson

He performed in 2023 on the hook of "My Way" from the Tom MacDonald and Adam Calhoun album The Brave 2 (2023).

Social Repose also guested onstage for "The Kill" with 30 Seconds to Mars at the iHeartRadio ALTerEGO concert, held 1/24/24 in Anaheim.

Discography

Albums and EPs

• Paradise (2011)
• More of the Same (2011)
• The Modern Age (2012)
• The Machine That Learned How to Love (2012)
• Reckless Closure (2013)
• Crazy Manic Love (2014)
• Just Let Me Go (2014)
• Covers (2015)
• Yalta (2015)
• Empress (2017)
• Calamity (2020)

Popular Singles and Covers

• "Summertime Sadness" (Lana Del Rey) (2013)
• "True Friends" (Bring Me the Horizon) (2015)
• "Island Of Yours" (2015)
• "Take Me To Church" (Hozier) (2015)
• "Demons" (2015)
• "If You're Thinking of Leaving, You Should" (2015)
• "Stressed Out" (Twenty One Pilots) (2016)
• "Dollhouse" (Melanie Martinez) (2016)
• "Closer" (The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey) (2016)
• "Pity Party" (Melanie Martinez) (2016)
• "Helena" (My Chemical Romance) (2016)
• "Love Yourself" (Justin Bieber) (2016)
• "Numb" (Linkin Park) (2017)
• "Villain" (2017)
• "Kill This Love" (Blackpink) (2019)
• "x0" (2020)
• "Running Up That Hill" (Kate Bush) (2022)
• "Little Lion Man" (Mumford & Sons) (2022)
• "Mary On a Cross" (Ghost) (2022)
• "Zombie" (The Cranberries) (2022)
• "Creep" (Radiohead) (2023)
• "After Dark" (Mr.Kitty) (2023)
• "Somebody That I Used to Know" (Gotye) (2023)
• "My Mother Told Me" (2024)

Performances and Tours

Social Repose's earliest performances were at house parties and clubs. He then went on to tour in support of his albums.

• The Yalta Tour (2016)
• The Somewhere Before Christmas Tour (2016)
• The Empress Tour (2017–2018)
• The Twenty-Ninescene Tour (2019)

Filmography

• Shane and Friends (2017)
• The Skeptic's Guide to Wellness (2017)
• The Andy Show (2017)

External links

• Social Repose's channel on YouTube