Social Repose

Richard McLean Giese (born February 9, 1990), better known as Richie, and professionally known as Social Repose, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and social media content creator. He attended American University in Washington, D.C. for film production and started making music while working on his degree.

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.

As of January 2025, he has over a million YouTube subscribers, 4.5 million TikTok followers, 1.1 million Facebook followers, and ‌1.3 million followers on Instagram.

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 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.

In 2025 he collaborated with Fairlane on a cover of "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy.

Concert Tours

*Reckoning Tour (2014)
*Grow Wild Tour (2015)
*Yalta Tour (2016)
*Somewhere Before Christmas Tour (2016)
*Empress Tour (2017–2018)
*Twenty-Ninescene Tour (2019)

Filmography

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

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)

Full Cover Songs

This table below lists all of the full cover songs recorded by Social Repose since his internet debut in 2011. It does not include partial recordings or original material.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Social Repose
American atheists
21st-century atheists
Living people
YouTube channels launched in 2011
21st-century American singers
Place of birth missing (living people)
American male songwriters
American ukulele players
21st-century American pianists
American indie pop musicians
Art pop musicians
Avant-pop musicians
A cappella musicians
American electronic musicians
21st-century American male singers
1990 births
American music YouTubers