Seeking Electronic Music Recommendations
Dec 12, 2005 at 12:36 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 37

sumguy_

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Hey all,

Lately I've been enjoying some Dance/Trance style music, and I am loving it, but I never really got "into" this genre, so it is very hard to start building a collection.

On tv music stations/shows (in NZ anyway) this kind of stuff is very rarely/never on, so I am finding it hard to get to know electronic music a little better: like which artists are good, the differences between various subgenres etc...

Basically the most important thing for me is though, to get to know the "MUST HAVE" / the basics of any electronic music collection. I think its always best to start with that.
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Dec 12, 2005 at 12:57 AM Post #2 of 37
that's a really big genre.. give me some stuff you like.

(This is lifted word for word..)
"
So where did it all begin? How did it all start? Who was the first guy who said "Holy ****, this buzzing, spitting, throbbing, pulsing din of an inane sequence of noises that might arguably call itself music sounds totally awesome on ecstasy!" And what made him do that?

But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. To try and pinpoint the exact origins of electronic music, you first have to look at how it's made. Because as amazing as it sounds, electronic instruments did not always exist. The vast majority of them are barely more than 20 years old. And it's not like you can just pick up a sampler, synth and drum machine and jam away. Unlike conventional music, electronic music isn't played, per se. It is PROGRAMMED. So any study of the history of electronic music is really a study of its programmers--that is, the people who make the machines that make the sounds that make the music what it is. Without some guy tinkering with diodes and transistors, electronic music is just a fancy, lifeless hunk of junk. Just sitting there. Not doing anything.

Because of this, more than any other music medium, electronic music thrives on technology to make it what it is. And moreover, to make it better and different than what it was. Other instruments have remained largely unchanged since their original design centuries ago, but electronic music is constantly evolving and changing its sound with the application of technology. A new oscillation, patch or filter could take it in an entirely new direction. It is the one form of music where the equipment manufacturers have probably a greater control over the final musical output than the artists. Acid wasn't invented by a musician, it was invented by Tadao Kikumoto, creator of the Roland TB-303 Bassline. Without the 303, there is no acid. Without Kikumoto's ****ed up design schematic, there is no 303. Up until recently, electronic musicians were practically at the mercy of the designers who programmed the sounds into the machines. In a way, the instruments don't make the music, the instruments ARE the music. It's a very Macluhanesque way of looking at things, I know, but trust me: It all makes sense.

[...]

All electronic music that exists today originated in three principle nerve centres: The Caribbean (Jamaica), the American Midwest (Detroit and Chicago), and Western Europe (France, Italy and Germany). There are other hot points that have contributed lots of good things along the way, like Japan, India, Great Britain, Scandinavia and other areas of America, but chiefly these are the Big Three.

The Caribbean fermented reggae and dub, introduced MCing, exported rapping to New York where it promptly became the most popular music in the world, kickstarted dancehall and DJing, and was the womb of the Breakbeat and Jungle sections of this guide.

The American Midwest enriched us with jazz, soul, RnB, funk and blues, morphed into electro, merged with hip hop, toyed with disco, championed the 'black gay club' aesthete, combined all-night dancing with ecstasy, and was the flowerbed of the Techno and House sections of this guide.

Western Europe cultivated electronic instruments, attracted freaky arthouse intellectual scenes like the futurists, dadaists, existentialists, and beats which all which helped found post-modernism, developed minimalism and musique concrete which transformed into industrial, created spacey film soundtracks, ambient and krautrock, sent disco to America and promptly took it back when America got sick of it, and was the test tube of the Trance, Hardcore and Downtempo sections of this guide.

"

I wont even attempt to explain all the genres
See here
http://www.di.fm/edmguide/edmguide.html
 
Dec 12, 2005 at 4:20 AM Post #3 of 37
That is a good history there ATAT. The first thing to know about Electronic music, EDM, Techno, Electronica or whatever you want to call is that everyone wants to call it whatever they want to call it!
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To me, the current scene is kind of stale. Here are some older recent classics I would recommend. The following are melodic, have crossover appeal, and can lead one in many directions.

Trip Hop - Massive Attack - Mezzanine
Ambient House - Orbital - Insides
Techno - Underworld - Second Toughest in the Infants
Electroclash - Fischerspooner - #1
Hard Trance - Juno Reactor - Bible of Dreams
Ambient - Future Sounds of London - Lifeforms
Big Beat - The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust
 
Dec 12, 2005 at 4:49 AM Post #4 of 37
Agreed with Massive Attack, Orbital and Chemical Brothers..

Add Infected Mushrooms .. (YES YES YES!!!), Hallucinogen, Digitonal.
 
Dec 12, 2005 at 5:13 AM Post #5 of 37
Must Haves by Genre:
(for mixed albums there are so many DJS, ill name some of the classics):

1)Deep House:Junior Vasquez, Hex Hector, Dj Enrie (my fave)
2)Detroit House/Techno-Josh Wink
3)Techno:Richie Hawtin, Dave Clarke, Jeff Mills, Umek
4)Jungle/Dn'b
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ieselboy, Grooverider, LTJ Bukem, Goldie,DB
5)Breaks:Baby Anne, Meat Katie, Adam Freeland, James Lavelle
6)Trance/House:paul Oakenfold, Tiesto, Sasha ,Digweed
7)Ambient:The Orb, Boards of Canada, Rabbit in the Moon

Must Own classic albums:

1)Aphex Twin-"I care because you do"
2)Chemical Brothers-Exit Planet Dust
3)The Prodigy-Experience
4)DJ Shadow-Endtroducing
5)Daft Punk-Howework
6)Bassment Jaxx-Remedy
7)Plastikman-Sheet one, Muzik
8)The Crystal Method-Tweekend
9)Underworld-1992-2002
10)Orbital-In Sides

For someone just getting into Trance-the following are staples:
John Digweed-Northern Exposure
Paul Oakenfol-Tranceport
X-mix (Richie hawtin and John Aqcauviva)-incredible trancey/techy/house
All the "United DJ's of America" mixed sets are great too.
 
Dec 12, 2005 at 5:44 AM Post #6 of 37
"Electronica" is usually what the genre is called, and it is HUGE. I'll break down with a short list of some essential artists with must-have CDs:

Orbital (trance)
- Orbital II (aka "Brown Album"), Snivilisation, In-Sides

The Crystal Method (breakbeat - American)
- Vegas, Tweekend

The Future Sound of London / Amorphous Androgynous (ambient, psychedelia)
- Lifeforms, ISDN, Dead Cities

Autechre (IDM/electro)
- Tri Repetae++

Aphex Twin (IDM/electro)
- Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Leftfield (techno/drum 'n bass)
- Leftism, Rhythm and Stealth

The Prodigy (breakbeat - UK, punk rock)
- Music for the Jilted Generation, Fat of the Land

You should also get the soundtrack CDs for "Wipeout XL" and "Wipeout Pure." If you haven't heard of those games, Wipeout XL was made for the PlayStation 2, and Wipeout Pure for the PSP. Both arcade racers, but the highlight of the soundtracks is the fact they're a various artists-type CD with contributions from top electronic artists.
 
Dec 12, 2005 at 5:52 AM Post #7 of 37
i don't know near as much about electronica as some of the previous posters, but one of my favorite albums in the genre is Martes by Murcof.. a glorious marriage of organic orchestration, digital texturing, and moody analogue elements.

check it out
 
Dec 12, 2005 at 7:34 AM Post #9 of 37
Thanks, this is all great... I am going too go look up some of those in the weekend
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Dec 12, 2005 at 9:34 PM Post #10 of 37
I'm a big fan of downtempo. It's close to ambient, but more upbeat.

If you have a conversation about electronica and don't mention Thievery Corporation it's not a very interesting conversation
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Pick up Mirror Conspiracy... it is nothing short of excellent. It is not, however, trance. Way more laid back, way more chill.

Other artists/albums I like:
Freezone - The phenemology of ambient (it's ambient, not downtempo)
Gotan Project
Hi Fidelity Lounge (they're mixed albums and all 4 are excellent)
OM Lounge (like Hi Fi, but not as good. Still quite good though)

How bout a free options? Go iTunes? Try Radio -> Electronica -> Groove Salad on SomaFM. Great station.
 
Dec 12, 2005 at 9:45 PM Post #11 of 37
Lots of good recs already, you may also ant to check out Lords of Acid
 
Dec 13, 2005 at 10:17 PM Post #13 of 37
Paul Oakenfold - Another World and Paul van Dyke - Global (it's kinda a "greatest hits" album) are two of my favorites.

Ditto on the Crystal Method recommendations. Different style from the two Paul's, but every bit as good. I don't think they've put out a bad album.

Aphex Twin is amazing - but very very strange. Give him a try sometime, but definitely give it a good listen before you buy. He is one of those artists that some people just can't like.

Kinda on the fringe of electronica (that is, I'm not sure they really fit the broad genre "electronica" very well, but maybe that's just my own narrow view...) are Propellerheads and Moby. If you have no idea who Moby is, watch "Gone in Sixty Seconds"... he does the opening title song ("Flower"), which is fairly representative on much of his work. Propellerheads had a song in "Something About Mary" I believe (but not sure), entitled "History Repeating" and a song (at least one, maybe more) in "the Matrix" entitled "Spybreak" during the rescue attempt for Morpheus - it starts when Neo and Trinity start shooting gaurds. those two songs are fairly indicative of most of their work as well. Both of them are quite different from mainstream electronica, but certainly worth looking into if you like electronica.
 
Dec 14, 2005 at 12:03 AM Post #14 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by superjohnny
I'm a big fan of downtempo. It's close to ambient, but more upbeat.

If you have a conversation about electronica and don't mention Thievery Corporation it's not a very interesting conversation
wink.gif
Pick up Mirror Conspiracy... it is nothing short of excellent. It is not, however, trance. Way more laid back, way more chill.

Other artists/albums I like:

Gotan Project
OM Lounge (like Hi Fi, but not as good. Still quite good though)

How bout a free options? Go iTunes? Try Radio -> Electronica -> Groove Salad on SomaFM. Great station.



good mentions there, love theievery and yeah that radio station groove salad is great, have you ever tried http://www.properlychilled.com another good site about downtempo etc with some samples and new artists features and reviews
 

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