IDM Thread - Who needs Dance music when you have bed music
21 replies, posted
This is for discussing all forms of experimental electronic music including but not limited to IDM, folktronica, glitch, breakcore, acid or even trip-hop, downtempo, chillout, and ambient music!
[b]What is IDM?[/b]
IDM stands for intelligent dance music. Yeah, the name is lame and pretentious, but for some reason that's what caught on in the 90's and there's pretty much nothing else to call it (besides electronic music, which is too broad). It spawned in the early 1990's and has stylistic origins in hip-hop, ambient, house, techno, and drum n bass music. It still has a considerably huge influence on music and also a relatively large fanbase. There isn't really a specific sound, rather it's a genre that "tends to rely upon individualistic experimentation rather than on a particular set of musical characteristics."
Basically, though, it's mostly used as a catch-all term for electronic that is more headphone music than dance music.
[b]Godfathers:[/b]
[i]Aphex Twin[/i]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/iyQS8.jpg[/IMG]
"The most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music." If you've never really heard of him before, you might know him best for being an absolute fucking nutter with [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWTzaChJhIA]crazy music videos[/url] who lives in an abandoned bank driving tanks around hating everyone he comes across. In [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9G1sdo8UTY]reality[/url] though, he's a pretty awesome guy. Supposedly he's been releasing stuff under the alias The Tuss, and he's also in the process of making a new album under the Aphex name according to Steve Beckett of Warp. I'd recommend starting with [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0q1gCsZykg]Selected Ambient Works 85-92[/url] and the [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iiK4MgIPtI]Richard D. James Album[/url].
[i]Boards of Canada[/i]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Fm8xR.jpg[/IMG]
Two brothers from Scotland who have a ridiculously zealous fanbase for whatever reason. They are perhaps most famous for their subliminal and cryptic messages that they put into their songs, their incredibly secretive behavior, and their extensive [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXfYYNHESSQ]backcatalog[/url]. They are in the process of releasing a new album according to a source close to Boards (mdg from Hexagon Sun). I would recommend starting with [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKSM-jyQh3o]The Campfire Headphase[/url] since it's probably the most accessible, but the [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UYQqeLvHns]other[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfVfRWv7igg]albums[/url] and [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvLoVCIhmyE]EPs[/url] are fantastic as well.
[i]The Flashbulb[/i]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/68sGl.jpg[/IMG]
Benn Jordan, as he is also known, has a really impressive discography, ranging from more acid sounding stuff in earlier work to more ambient stuff later on. Personally, I would recommend checking out [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk3E3PCj6Rg]Kirlian Selections[/url] and [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0UqzBHcE9w]Soundtrack to a Vacant Life[/url].
[i]Autechre[/i]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/FASnj.jpg[/IMG]
I'll be honest and say that I'm not the biggest fan of Autechre. I guess I just don't "get" it, but it's pretty undeniable that they have a huge fanbase, have been really influential, and they've been around since the dinosaur times so, here they are. They just released a new album entitled Oversteps to lots of publicity and great reviews. Someone else could probably give better recommendations, but I've been told that [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coPcRW1Xm2g]Tri Repetae[/url] and [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrblkP1dM1k]LP5[/url] are great places to start.
[i]Guys I left out in this category that you should also check out:[/i] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qje7q_OmPh8]µ-ziq[/url], [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxEb2FrQUbE]Squarepusher[/url], [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDDnuZAL9ps]Plaid[/url], [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOWZd8102Jo]Global Goon[/url], [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMWWs-GQzb0]Luke Vibert[/url], among others.
[b]Recent Artists I Like:[/b]
Esselfortium
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOItmORII5Y[/media]
Boy Is Fiction
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA6vlhanlOk[/media]
So yeah, those are pretty much the basics. Please don't post content that belongs in other threads, there's a broad line between IDM and traditional dance music.
Motherfucking Richard D. James, son.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iiK4MgIPtI[/media]
Autechre are great too, just getting into them. :buddy:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgNwfMoyNs0[/media]
:D
[b]Tycho[/b]
Tycho is the music project of San Francisco artist and producer Scott Hansen. As Tycho, Hansen blends swirling melodies into vaguely triumphant arcs that crisscross between stuttering beats and vocal samples, creating rolling sonic landscapes that extend into the horizon. Known in the design world as ISO50, Hansen is famed for his bucolic, sun-drenched design style, which serves as a backdrop and mirror for his musical output. Hansen began his electronic-music career with 2002’s
The Science of Patterns EP , which was followed in 2004 by his first full length, Sunrise Projector. The critical acclaim continued in 2006 with the release of Past Is Prologue on Miami-based IDM imprint Merck records. Ghostly met Scott Hansen in 2007, and like everybody else, we simply had to work with him. So far, so good: in 2008, Tycho received a nod as one of URB magazine’s “Next 100” artists to watch.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmYz9XFOuOg[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYIlKkOSW2s[/media]
[b]Yasume[/b]
Yasume was formed in late 2001 by John Twells (aka Xela) and Gabriel Morley (aka Logreybeam).
After successfully completing a remix for Metamatics, which is to be released on Hydrogen Dukebox this November/December they decided to carry on collaborating and have finished an EP, Where We’re From the Birds Sing a Pretty Song, named for a line in a dream sequence in David Lynch’s seminal tv series ‘Twin Peaks.’
The sound is somewhere between the choppy digital crunch of Miami’s Schematic label and the hazy dreamlike melodic quality of ‘Twin Peaks’ composer Angelo Badalamenti.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65yAqQSv4DI[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1LZKg-GQsg[/media]
[b]Four Tet[/b]
Four Tet is the name used by Kieran Hebden (born 1980 in Putney, London, UK) for his experimental electronic music-oriented solo efforts, to differentiate from his work with post-rock band Fridge.
Hebden’s solo work typically utilises samples lifted from various sources including hip-hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and folk mixed with his own guitar playing. Four Tet shares some stylistic similarities with other musicians, such as Prefuse 73, who use computer editing techniques that give the music a staccato, cut-up feel. Hebden’s music is notable for its rich, organic sounds and harmonious melodies as well as for eschewing the traditional pop-song format in favour of a more abstract approach.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwbn_sKCVRo[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kAqjtRCfsM[/media]
[b]Helios[/b]
Raised in rural Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Keith started playing drums, guitar and bass at a very young age. He played in a variety of touring bands, from rock to jazz and classical, and took influence from each situation, learning from the successes and inevitable failures, discovering his musical likes and dislikes. He was finally drawn to study percussion at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music.
He took a keen interest in film, taking time to study it whenever he could to broaden his knowledge of independent and world cinema and filmscore. Through his interests in music and film, Keith developed a sense of space and restraint, which are evident in his musical projects.
His primary musical venture is the solo project ‘Helios’, showcasing his skill in percussion, his delicate touch on the guitar, his measured and spacious songwriting, and his self-taught electro-acoustic production.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTbVGPSBO6Y[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj55nG2tkKw[/media]
[b]Casino vs Japan[/b]
sino Versus Japan is the recording name for Erik Kowalski (born May 5, 1973), a United States-based electronic musician from Lexington, Kentucky by way of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who produces intelligent dance music (IDM for short) with baroque melodies and distorted trip-hop beats.
As a young boy in Wisconsin he recorded episodes of television series Miami Vice, sampling Jan Hammer’s music, later collecting them, and playing them over the backdrop of other musical genres. After a brief stint with model railroading such experiments with tape grew less obvious. Samples were collected from a range of sources, and eventually mixed with meagre homespun recordings. Later attending Lincoln High School in Manitowoc, Kowalski would often be found playing the grand piano in the empty auditorium rather than attending class, slowly teaching himself chord progressions. During this same period, he also learned the basics of other instruments including guitar and drums in an effort to put together simple songs. By then, other influences began to take hold.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzK1YYldoic[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVwyB3nhwws[/media]
I have alot more if anyone wants me to post.
^^Helios fuckin owns^^
any love for ochre or secede? aphex twin and sweet trip are probably my favorite "IDM"/braindance artists ever
also have a free ep: [url]http://www.archive.org/details/xgn023_-_dgoHn[/url] or [url]http://www.last.fm/music/dgoHn/%5Bxgn023%5D+-+dgoHn[/url]
it's very break-y, nothing too special but it's about average. vase is p. awesome though
[QUOTE=Systema;30092186]any love for ochre or secede? aphex twin and sweet trip are probably my favorite "IDM"/braindance artists ever
also have a free ep: [url]http://www.archive.org/details/xgn023_-_dgoHn[/url] or [url]http://www.last.fm/music/dgoHn/%5Bxgn023%5D+-+dgoHn[/url]
it's very break-y, nothing too special but it's about average. vase is p. awesome though[/QUOTE]
I have both of their discographies :D
Isn't aphex twin more like glitch?
Then again I never actually knew what IDM was until I opened this thread.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ce5lVjuvKs[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHkyYHg9ocY[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh4xtQr9iJ4[/media]
[b]Download[/b] has been compared to the works of Aphex Twin and Autechre
eww you just called it IDM
I thought this was just Electronica?
yeah not to mention autechre is definitely still rooted in dance music
their live sets even more than the albums
I think the Chemical Brothers fit into this genre, they are pretty nice to listen to.
[QUOTE=Agent_Wesker;30096622]I think the Chemical Brothers fit into this genre, they are pretty nice to listen to.[/QUOTE]
Eh, not at all actually. They are more big beat, dance, and techno.
they're all techno
Or braindance, as Richard D. James puts it.
What makes it intelligent
Does it have a brain?
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu63PlHZM0I[/media]
<3 Benn Jordan (The Flashbulb)
[QUOTE=En-Guage V2;30113716]What makes it intelligent
Does it have a brain?[/QUOTE]
No that would make it sentient.
[QUOTE=Soviet Russia;30092437]Isn't aphex twin more like glitch?
Then again I never actually knew what IDM was until I opened this thread.[/QUOTE]
Aphex Twin is a lot of things. IDM is a pretty loose term. Like SAW 85-92 is more Ambient Techno... and more or less IDM I guess, but definitely not glitch.
anyway, here's Plat
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhuliKiFQHo[/media]
Clark
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMS3gqc7eRs[/media]
u-ziq
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWYXzzytKSg[/media]
Ah, I was told it was glitch so I didn't know for sure.
A lot of IDM basically is glitch, it's just generally a bit mellower in the IDM field.
I love to call all of this IDM just to piss people off
also where's the love for venetian snares
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PBeKzVhWHY[/media]
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