[TempleOfEar]

Description of Leftfield/IDM...(copy/pasted)

Leftfield encompasses the range of music that doesn't fit neatly into any one genre within electronica; some styles are as out-there as the term implies. Often heard in open-minded chill-out rooms, basements of hip London pubs or in the bedrooms of art students in New York, styles such as illbient, bleep and minimal/glitch are the most texturally stimulating, self-absorbed styles of electronica. Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) is a broad classification of post-rave sounds sculpted from the inspired imaginations of such innovators as Aphex Twin, Autechre and DJ Spooky. Startling rhythms incorporating contemplative combinations of unrelated genres react against established dancefloor rules, favoring individualism over conformity...

I'm just now starting to get into this music and so far my favorites Amon Tobin, Bonobo and Four Tet- I like the jazzy flavor they put into some of their songs. And ofcorse there's shpongle. the one that started all for me. Who are you guys' favorites and what other artists have that sort of 'jazzy' sound like the ones i listed above?

 

[Asr]

Source Direct and Photek are definite IDM staples alongside Autechre.

And if you haven't heard Future Sound of London / Amorphous Androgynous, you MUST do so. They don't do IDM per se, but it's close enough - their work is more of a bottle of fizzing electronic surrealism (often laden with samples) designed to take your brain on a trip far, far away from this world. All their CDs minus Accelerator (their only outcast CD containing straight-up techno) are the most mind-boggling experiments I've ever heard. I'm dying to hear Alice in Ultraland (the third disc under the Amorphous Androgynous name) but it hasn't been released in the U.S. yet.

 

[Debaser86]

For jazzy stuff, try listening to "Music Is Rotted One Note" by Squarepusher.

I really like these guys:

Boards of Canada
Freescha
Venetian Snares
Marumari
Secret Mommy
Hrvåtski
Diagram of Suburban Chaos
Casino Versus Japan
Amen Orchestra
Minotaur Shock

 

[TempleOfEar]

do you guys ever watch visualizer with this kind of music? Like winamp, milk drop or best yet, xbox 360 visualizer. I got 360 hooked up to my movie projector and i tell ya, it's more entertaining than disneyland!... provided that you're in a right set of mind.

 

[Barney Rubble]

I am a fellow EDM lover

Hybrid, WOW are mre straight up progressive breaks but with lovely meoldies

Also see James Watts - Kilowatts, Phil K, Orbital, etc

 

[GlendaleViper]

Personal faves:

Aphex Twin
u-ziq
Squarepusher
Solvent
The Flashbulb
Photek
Source Direct
The Egg

And for a GREAT introduction to an assortment of some great groups, pick up the Wipeout XL soundtrack. A good range of the biggest names in the genre circa 1996.

 

[xantus]

did you ever hear "Leftfield"

they have a few standout tracks (melt, sound of life, Original)

 

[GlendaleViper]

Haha! Funny, Leftfield is featured on the Wipeout XL soundtrack! They also had a tune on the horrible movie Hackers, which was I believe the track "Open Up", featuring John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) on vocals.

 

[xantus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper Haha! Funny, Leftfield is featured on the Wipeout XL soundtrack! They also had a tune on the horrible movie Hackers, which was I believe the track "Open Up", featuring John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) on vocals.

yep I first heard them in both those places.

going from Leftfield to Massive Attack seems like a very good progression to follow.

 

[VicAjax]

my personal favorite doesn't seem to get much love around here:

Mouse on Mars

all of their albums are great, but you can start with Iaora Tahiti, Niun Niggun, Autoditacker and/or Instrumentals.

 

[asmox]

My favorites are Murcof, Plaid, Black Dog, Venetian Snares, and Squarepusher. Autechre is nice as well.

 

[s m @]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax my personal favorite doesn't seem to get much love around here: Mouse on Mars

I just love Mouse on Mars, going to see them live in a little while. I hear they're great, it's going to be my first time. For some reason I just got into them a couple years ago, even though I've been into this ungenre forever.

To the OP, I'd recommend checking out some other Ninja Tune acts (that's the label Amon Tobin is on), as jazzy, laid back beats are their stock in trade. You might want to try Cinematic Orchestra or Coldcut. Although many wouldn't consider this IDM, if you want something like Four Tet's glitchy sound you should try Prefuse 73.

As far as other IDM goes, there are other heavyweights that have been mentioned: AFX/Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada etc. Autechre are VERY out there and dissonant, not jazzy at all, but are maybe my favourite of all, depending on my mood. Try before you buy, though.

 

[TempleOfEar]

for me, zen tv dvd was what really kicked the gear for IDM madness. it's a great compilation and some of the videos are just awwesome... can't say that for all of them tho. anybody know of any other cool dvds like that?

 

[s m @]

Warp has a DVD video compilation. I've seen some of the videos and they are seriously weird. I don't have the DVD, but I'm sure at some point I will.

 

[TempleOfEar]

oh yeah, i actually have that dvd. bought it at the same time as Rubber Johnny. I think like only 4 songs on there are IDM and the rest are OLD pop/hip-hop stuff. Anyways, it was not that memorable.