Checkout: My Bloody Valentine - Loveless - Isn't Anything - MBV. Kevin Shield's masterpieces going beyond britpop/dreampop!
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I originally made a fetailed write up. Lots of information. Anyways. Phones crash. I’ll just list the names. All of these artist can be found on YouTube or Soundclud before purchase. As Tower Records once had their section Desert Island Discs. Additionally, I would use Discogs, and Ebay for comparative pricing. 40 on eBay. 5 on discogs, or vice versa. Shop smart. lots of these Artist on Bandcamp. You can purchase FLAC or WAV. Though the highs always sound muted. Not recommended. Discogs also provides a great synopsis of all artis and various projects. For Podcast Elie Verveine Cio Dor, also produces. Kerri Chandler also produces. Donato Dozzy, also produces. Fred P, also produces Carl Craig, also produces ——————- Mainly production. Some podcast. Moodyman Mika Vainio Rod Modell Steven Hitchell Echososoace Levon Vincent Theo Parrish Yesterdays New Quintet Alva Noto & Ryuchi Sakamoto. Both do solo production as well. Though their work together. Stellar!! Jimi Tenor Senor Coconut Flying Lotus Radio Fore Sahko Records Helsinki Finland Sotofet / Sex Tags Mania Theo Parrish / Sound Signature Jeff Mills, / Axis Records Carl Craig Valdislav Delay 4 Hero - Two Pages. Import Album. Not domestic. Savath & Savalas - Post Folk, Portuguese/electronic Sonar Kollektivr presents “Secret Love” Volumes 1 - 6. Still low key. Though most accessible on this list. Definitely purchase the entire collection. Post Fiolk, electronic close to 8 hours of music. I usually throw it on shuffle. |
Speaking of old stuff from the 70's.. klaus schulze released an album called "moondawn" in like 1973.. it is pretty analogue sounding but trance music none the less. similar but not exactly like some of the material released currently or in the 90s.. according to one web site, moondawn is the most accessible album for the american audience being that it was widely released states side in the 70s.. in other kraut bands.. the album zeit by tangerine dream is quite a classic.. some realllly wicked manipulations done to audio on that one.. again it is like early 70s.. but these albums are more on the avantgard tip instead of the alternative tip.. not that there is much of a distinction between the two but to me it is noticable... |
two new discoveres for me which are the among the best I have heard...new to me that is Bugge Wesseltoft: Moving Steve Kuhn: Trance both are heavily influenced by jazz but are very chill and atmospheric...recording quality is quite good as well....Steve Kunn's album is visionary in that the orginal pressing was in 1976...waaay ahead of its time |
Anything by Boards of Canada (Warp Label) Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 1 and 2 Global Communication 76:14 incredible! Tetsu Inoue Fax Label material...smooth and chill Ulrich Schnauss....fantastic Bill Laswell just about anything as well Early Autechre material Amber would be a great selection oh there is so much the list can go on and on......:) |
Harold Budd- some of these should be included: 1984 The Pearl 1986 Lovely Thunder 1988 The White Arcades 1991 By the Dawn's Early Light 1993 Music for 3 Pianos 1994 She Is a Phantom [live] 1996 Luxa 1998 Walk into My Voice: American Beat Poetry 2000 The Room 2003 La Bella Vista 2005 Avalon Sutra/As Long As I Can Hold My Breath |
agreed on aphex twin's selected ambient II (most his stuff is good to great, with a few exceptions) clouddead- ten boards of canada- music has a right to the children can- tago mago (although my friend said this was top ten music went it was released in germany- so it is not exactly alternative) nurse with wound- spiral insana hood- cold house- interesting version of early 90s british drone rock, electronics and hiphop my bloody valentine- glider ep olivia tremor control- black forest autechre- chiastic slide miles davis- panthalassa (while their are many good lps from miles' fusion period, this is an excellent remix by jack of all trades producer bill laswell using the best tracks of miles' fusion period) |
Here are my favorite electronic albums. Some have been mentioned before. Not all of these were well recorded, but the music is good (IMHO). I put an * next to the albums that I think have particularly good sound quality. Record labels are listed in [ ]. Enjoy! dj Mark Farina - "Mushroom Jazz" vol 1. [Om records] Massive Attack - "Mezzanine" [Virgin] Boards of Canada - "Music Has the Right to Children" [Matador/Warp] Shpongle - "Are You Shpongled?"* [Twisted] Future Sound of London - "Dead Cities"* [Astralwerks] (It took me several listens to appreciate this one... "ISDN"* and "Lifeforms"* are also excellent albums.) Autechre - "Incunabula"* [TVT/Wax Trax] Freaky Chakra - "Blacklight Fantasy" [Astralwerks] (My favorite "techno" album. I always use tracks 2, 3, 9, & 10 to test a system's bass response and dynamics) Plaid - "Double Figure"* [Warp] Haujobb - "ninetynine"* [Metropolis] Coil - "Love's Secret Domain" [Wax Trax?] (more down-tempo) Thievery Corporation - DJ Kicks [!K7] ChickenLips - DJ Kicks [!K7] Kruder and Dorfmiester - DJ Kicks [!K7] Orb - "Orblivion"* [Island] Boards of Canada - "In a Beautiful Place out in the Country" [Warp] Biosphere - "Insomnia", "Deathprod" (ambient) Autechre - "Tri Repetea++" [Warp] Aphex Twin - "Selected Ambient Works", "I care because you do" [Sire/Warp] Cris Clark - "Empty the Bones of You" [Warp] Fila Brazillia - "A touch of Cloth" [Tritone] (more up-tempo) Juno Reactor - "Bible of Dreams"* [TVT/Wax Trax] Orbital - "In Sides" [Internal] dj Simply Jeff - "Funk-da-Fried" [City of Angels] Download - "Effector" Please keep the recommendations coming! I need to discover some new music. |
I'll add some stuff that I've been digging or maybe some stuff that slipped through the cracks. 1-The Irresistible Force-Flying High. Maybe the definitve mid-90s ambient album from the rave generation. Mixmaster Morris serves up the psychedelic weirdness on this winner. Sampling everyone from Cage to Stockhausen. Even comes with instructions on the proper way to listen. His other other albums Global Chillage, It's Tomorrow Already & Dreamfish(with Pete Namlook) are also highly recommended. 2-Shpongle-Are You Shpongled? Another psychedelic masterpiece that sounds like The Orb making ambient Goa tracks. BRILLIANTLY PRODUCED and sounds simply HUGE on a great system. 3-Steve Reich-Music For 18 Musicians. Hypnotizing is the best adjective I can come up with this which is by far my favorite Reich piece. Coldcut claims that this is their very favorite piece of music ever. That's a good thing. One of only a handful of albums that I MUST listen to in its entirety. 4-DJ Shadow-Endtroducing. This one should be subtitled "Hip-Hop Album For People Who Hate Hip-Hop Music". Entirely sample-based masterpiece is both timeless and innovative. If you're a fan of old-school funk or r&b(by r&b I don not mean New Edition or Keith Sweat) then you'll dig this one. Obscure as almighty hell breaks and beats are abound. Funky drummer break on this album? Uh.....NO! Even the semi-obscure breaks are nowhere to be found. Still sounds fresh after almost 10 years. I have listened to this album at least 500 times and I still pull it out once every few weeks. Essential. Oh yeah...There's no rapping on this. |
It's awesome to see so many people with tastes similar to mine here. I'll second most of these recommendations. Crystal Method - Vegas is still a favorite after all these years. I saw them live on that tour, and that show still stands out in my mind. The way the lights and the music went together hasn't been matched by anything else I've seen. Hypnotic is an understatement. Massive Attack - Mezzanine is great too. The song "Teardrop" will always be a favorite. Air - 10,000hz Legend has been in heavy rotation too. I haven't noticed Thievery Corporation mentioned yet. Very cool, exotic sound. Kinda jazzy electronic world music type of thing. Another one I like is Telepopmusik - Genetic World. Some of the songs on it are great, some are just ok, but the worst of them have grown on me over the years, and I enjoy the album as a complete work now. For some heavier electronic stuff, don't forget The Prodigy. Fat of the Land is probably their most popular, but I think I prefer Music for a Jilted Generation, especially the songs Break and Enter, and Voodoo People. Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust is fun too. For a good sample of late 90s electronic music, see if you can find MTV Amp Volume 1. Yeah, I know, even typing the letters MTV made me feel like I dropped a couple IQ points, but whoever threw that compilation together had it figured out at the time. |
No top ten, just two suggestions: Bill Laswell "Dub Chamber 3" kinda electronic dub; Keith LeBlanc "freakatorium" electronic funk dub if there is such a thing. Both recommended because a) I like'em and b) the production is good. If you ever come across an album by Solaris check it out! I've seen them, its Bill Laswell and Jah Wobble on bass, Jaki Liebezeit (ex Can) drums and two jazz guys (apparently they are quite good/famous but I'm not into jazz so don't recall their names) on piano and cornet. It was a kind of ambient dubby/jazzy improvisational thing and vrey very good. Still regret not having bought a cd at the gig! |
Sean: Nik Turner's "Hawkwind" (Pressurehed, P-Orridge, Helios Creed, etc.), Nik Turner's Sphinx (Gong back in '78, Pressurehed in '93), DarXtar, HawXtar (DarXtar + Nik Turner), Dark Sun's Ice Ritual (feat. Nik Turner), Pressurehed, Farflung, Anubian Lights, Alan Davey, Spiral Realms, The Brain, Chrome, Zero Gravity etc. Oh yeah - Hawkwind. Got 'em covered! I never doubt I'm the only one on the way to work in the morning with Pressurehed charging away on the car CD player... not too many fans up here ; ) |
Some good tunes / bands listed above, but a pretty wide category between "electronic" and "alternative". Having said that and trying not to duplicate items already mentioned, here's a few worth contendors. Jim Thirwell in all of the various multitudes of band incarnations that he's been involved with. While he is best known for his work as "Foetus" i.e. Foetus Under Glass, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath, Philip And His Foetus Vibrations, Foetus Over Frisco, Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel, Foetus Art Terrorism, Foetus Uber Frisco, The Foetus of Excellence, The Foetus All Nude Review, Foetus Interruptus, Foetus Inc, Foetus In Excelsus Corruptus Deluxe, Foetus Symphony Orchestra, etc... he's also done work as Clint Ruin, Wiseblood, Steroid Maximus, etc... Some older "punks" and "no-wave" fans may remember his girlfriend aka Lydia Lunch. She appears on several of his recordings, either as a guest performer or equal partner. The "Wiseblood" stuff that he did was with Rolli Mossiman of "Swans" fame. If you're interested, check out the Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel disc "Hole" and the Wiseblood "Motorslug / Death Rape 2000" releases. The Foetus stuff can range from being very abrasive to being very rhythmic i.e. dance oriented. Expect "non-PC" lyrics. For something that is very dark and heavy sounding with tons of metallic grind and industrial overtones, check out Skin Chamber's "Wound" and "Trial". These guys also played in Controlled Bleeding. How could someone like Gary Numan be missing from a thread like this? His latest releases are much heavier and even darker than his his earlier stuff. I like his earlier stuff before he turned into a discomaniac dance sensation ( Dance ) and his last couple of releases that i bought ( "Pure" and also "Exile"). Can't remember which, but one of these has some VERY potent and very deep bass in it. Another band that belongs here is Nocturnal Emissions. I don't have a lot of stuff by them, but what i have is completely original. How about Throbbing Gristle or Psychic Television? Anybody listen to these bands, brought to us courtesy of Genesis P-Orridge? What about The Teardrop Explodes and more importantly, Julian Cope? I haven't seen any mentions of Hawkwind or even Nik Turner doing his "SpaceRitual" stuff. Gotta be some fans of this seminal and highly influential band here at Agon. I could go on and on, but i don't want to demonstrate just how disturbed i really am : ) Sean > PS... I don't necessarily agree with anything that these artists have to say or what they believe. In fact, many of them produce lyrics / promote ideologies that i completely disagree with. None the less, i still enjoy the music ( if you want to call it that ) that is the by-product of their twisted little worlds : ) |
thanx synthfreak. will check it out. a few more to add for those like jazz and are beg to check out chill out or electronica...or the other way around...in addition to the cinematic orchestra touch acoustra: self titled album. jazz fusion band chills out dj koop: dj uses elements of jazz the bad plus: piano trio rocks, chills, and bops |
Here's my 10 (or so . . .), not necessarily in any order. All of these are well recorded, but as Cdelplato did above, I used an * to indicate those that are especially well recorded. Mike Oldfield: Songs of a Distant Earth*; Ommadawn (HDCD) Bill Laswell: (he lead, plays in many, many bands) - Material - Halucination Engine* - Sacred System Chapter One Tangerine Dream: Riccochet Haslinger: Score Jan Hammer: First Seven Days * (recently remastered onto cd) Klaus Schulze: Time Wind Brian Eno: Another Green World Brian Eno & J.Peter Schwalm: Drawn from Life * Also, I will second the following nominees from above: - Peter Gabriel: Passion - Massive Attack: Mezzanine - Radiohead: all listed, but especially The Bends, and OK Computer And finally, though I'm really not sure I understand what "alternative" is, I think given many of the bands listed above, I would list the following as alternative: Tool: Lateralus |
1.Rapoon - "Raising Earthly Spirits" 2.Zoviet France - "Digilogue" 3.Penumbra- "Scandinavien" 4. Rapoon - "Fires in the Borderland" 5.Gas -"Pop" 6. Ambient Isolationism - "4-1,2" 7. Electric Birds - "Strata Frames" 8. Coil- "Musik to Play in the Dark - 1" 9. Bark Psychosis - "Hex" 10. David Sylvian- "Blemish" |
I too luv jazz.rock.blues and have experimented w/ electronica...as such I tend to get into those with elements of jazz Among them by far the best I've heard is the Cinematic Orchestra...stunning stuff. St.Germain's "Tourist" is also quite good. Two others I love are Caia (the Magic Dragon) and Kruder Dorfmeister (The K&D Sessions). For alt rock, check out Dada: Live Official Bootleg (though perhaps it ain't alternative per se) Opeth: Damnation (heavy metal alt band goes unplugged) Soda Stereo: Sueno Stereo (Latin alt!) Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream (a classic) Moke: Carnival Incubus: Morning View |
I looked for Fish for Fish too and no luck. Raytheprinter are you really a printer? Do you own a printshop? I am just curious as I have worked in printing for about 17 years and when the shop I worked for closed down I was scrambling to get back on my feet. I was in pre press and now helping in the shop at a very nice place... |
Aphex twins, Orb, Massive attack, Air , K and D and other good mentions above. I think some of you missed Future Sound of London- Lifeforms, Dead cities, The issness, The Otherness, ISDN - Good recordings too Autechre- All albums Plaid- Newer ones Aphex twin- Druqks, 26 for cash Amon Tobin Orbital's final album Kraftwerk |
My list leans a little more toward the electronica/ambient/space than it does alternative, however these are what I feel are essential discs (many mentioned here already) -- Eno - Apollo* , On Land Steve Roach - Dreamtime Return*, Magnificent Void Tangerine Dream - Rubycon, Stratosfear Michael Oldfield - Tubular Bells* Constance Demby - Novus Magnificat Budd/Eno - The Pearl* Harold Budd - Lovely Thunder* Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene, Zoolook* Talking Heads - Fear of Music Eno/Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts Laurie Anderson - Mr. Heartbreak Peter Gabriel - Passion * John Serrie - And The Stars Go With You* Aphex Twin - Ambient Works, Vol. 2* Philip Glass - Koyaanisquatsi * Global Communication 76:14 Michael Brook - Cobalt Blue* Biosphere - Substrata James Johnson/Robert Scott Thompson - Forgotten Places Sylvian & Czukay - Plight & Premonition* Patrick O'Hearn - Indigo, Between Two Worlds, Ancient Dreams* Popol Vuh - Tantric Songs/Hosianna Mantra Pixies - Dolittle Radiohead - The Bends, Kid A, OK Computer, Hail to the Thief Massive Attack - Mezzanine Moby - Play Orbital - Snivelization * Particularly well-recorded Of course, I'm sure I've left off some gems. But there are more than enough here to keep one's ears busy for quite a while. Cheers, CD |