I’m looking for suggestions for electronic albums in any sub-genre that you think exemplify dedication to craft and careful consideration of detail in any aspect: production, sound design, composition, etc.
Here are examples of some artists that I think have consistently released music in this vein:
Daft Punk (on this list particularly due to everyone’s go-to for great production, Random Access Memories)
If I had to recommend one artist, it would definitely be this. I've never heard anything like it. Chaotic, lighthearted, masterfully crafted beats and percussions, and a lot of heart. There's also a little world built around the music with alien creatures and their own languages.
Yes! Great recommendation. Neō Wax Bloom is an overwhelming 40 minutes, but Iglooghost's colorful sound palette and sense of melody keeps it intensely listenable. I'm amazed by how he fuses recorded instruments and synthesized soundscapes like it's nothing.
Four Tet's unpronounceable side-project is great too. Search for:
⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ
This EP is a great place to start:
ooo ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮̭̬̫̪̩̦̥̤̣̠҈͈͇͉͍͎͓͔͕͖͙͚͜͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢ͅ oʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡( ؞ৢ؞ؙؖ⁽⁾˜ัิีึื์๎้็๋๊⦁0 ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮
It's a bit more analogue than his normal stuff? But definitely hits the "intricately crafted" mark!
I mean Aphex Twin probably goes without saying, given the influence on some of the listed artists alone. Can't go wrong with any album but "...I Care Because You Do" or either of the "Selected Ambient Works" would be good starting points. Could also throw Autechre or Squarepusher in for the same reason too!
If you want something a bit more melodic, I love Stimming's album "Ludwig." Lisa Bella Donna's stuff is also a treat.
And I'll sneak in another style yet with Helene Vogelsinger! "Contemplation" is a great album.
I’ve listened to Selected Ambient Works and Squarepusher’s Hard Normal Daddy in the past, both great! Have also listened to lots of Lisa Bella Donna. Have somehow never dived deep into Autechre before. Thanks for all the good recommendations!
Igorrr is great.
Boards of Canada. very good.
Aphex Twin was my favorite thing for like a year.
and very recently i've been enamoured by Patricia Taxxon. its queer as fuck furry art, and it makes me cry every time i listen. the texture of her sound is really intricate, it feels tactile to me. lots of super well crafted sound synthesis. i like it alot.
I’d highly recommend these - they’re not all strictly electronic but I feel there’s overlap at least:
Sasha - Scene Delete
Jon Hopkins - Immunity
Daniel Avery - Drone Logic
Bonobo - Black Sands
BT - This Binary Universe
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow’s Harvest
Hugo Kant - Far From Home
Bicep - Bicep
Sub Focus - Sub Focus
Bonobo spans genres but he’s probably my favourite artist right now. His Late Night Tales entry (not electronic) was one of the best albums I’ve ever heard.
Starcadian, any of his albums but especially Radio Galaxy.
He says he "makes ear movies," and I'd say that's about the best description. His music is very cinematic but also expansive and diverse. Radio Galaxy in particular reminds me very favorably of Random access Memories in the way that it experiments with different genres a bit more than previous works.
I found Starcadian 8 years ago and I've listened to some of his music almost every day since. I keep finding new things.
They've been, and still are, making electronic music, specifically PsyTrance, for 25+ years. Their music is phenomenal.
I've actually just sorted through their discography file on my pc (life is going down the drain and I need the distraction, plus their music provides such an escape, my mental health would seriously be even worse without them) and am now listening through my final playlist, and it's over 360 tracks, and I couldn't pick a single favourite! But I also don't want to infodump on you, so I'll limit myself to 5 tracks and try to give you a good sample of their work:
Release Me is from their first full album and is still one of my top most played.
It's Behind Me Now to contrast, is one of my favourites from their most recent album.
Bust a Move - a masterpiece really. Their own remix of it and Bliss's remix are as good as the original, which isn't something I say lightly.
And I'll leave you with a taste of their more mellow side with Animatronica, though I can't help myself and will also sneak Shakawkaw and I Wish in under that category, sorry, I couldn't help myself lol
Seriously though, the number of tracks that didn't make the playlist is probably in single figures, and many of those are because the music personally brings up bad memories, not that it isn't good to listen to, so it's a deep and fantastic rabbit hole to dive in to - enjoy!
Oh, and just to edit in a bonus fact: they've said things like "We think music should be available for everybody. We don’t care about album sales. We’re big supporters of illegal downloads and shit" on several occasions!
I've been working my way through the playlist some more today, and I just can't not share a few more of my favourites that I don't think get mentioned enough (you know, for posterity lmao):
And this unreleased track I found buried in the discography file, first time I heard it the other week I just had the biggest grin on my face, it's silly and cheeky and groovy all in one - Sleeping
Nicolas Jaar’s Space Is Only Noise and Olafur Arnalds’ For Now I Am Winter (slightly more neo-classical/acoustic) are two I regularly revisit precisely for how cohesively the tracks fit together. Oh, and anything by Floating Points.
Mind, none of these use 100% electronic/synthesized sounds, so I don’t know if they count.
I’ve heard While 1 < 2 and listened to lots of Deadmau5 back in the day! Will have to check out the Mat Zo album, never heard of him or that album before!
+1 For Squarepusher here. There are a lot of good recommendations in this thread but this is the one that immediately came to mind for me.
Hello Everything is great, and I'd also recommend Ultravisitor as well. Both those albums as a whole are masterpieces. Thoughtful, meticulously crafted and absolutely wild. If feels like organized chaos.
Shield is an incredible beat maker. His drum samples are amazing, specifically the snare hits and fills always stood out to me. When he gets together with Jon1st, they bring the best out of each other. Jon1st is an incredible turntablist.
I could go on all day, but the last one I’ll leave you with is Mad Zach. Been a big fan of this guy since he dropped a track called “The Visitor”. He’s quite diverse in style, but definitely deep in the underground bass scene. Hearing this guy on a well tuned f1 rig was incredibly euphoric.
[https://on.soundcloud.com/1UTkVGYt2VeoVumF8](Mad Zach - Brootle)
An aptly named, obsessively produced drum and bass album. Not a huge fan of the second track, Arps of Fury, but the next track and on I feel it really picks up. Black Cloud is incredible, it's got such an atmosphere to it.
Kimyan Law was only 22 when he produced this amazing work. No fat sausages here, just an incredibly well mixed and mastered album. Magic is a very beautiful, minimal track with purposeful breaks.
Very popular release but I have to mention it. The masters of neurofunk in their prime.
Zeitgeist by Camo and Krooked (the official youtube playlist has teaser tracks for some reason, spotify should have the full album)
Another popular release. Nostalgic and futuristic at the same time, reaching back for classic rave and funk influences while evolving the sound of DnB. This album is the first time I ever heard an "anti-drop", where the buildup transitions into a smooth and measured drop, every instrument purposeful and sharp. Ruhepuls is a favorite track of mine.
Try Pogo's Cosmoluxe. Tidal recommend it to me and the first track was enough to hold my attention, but it gets so much better after that (IMO). It's sample heavy but perfectly crafted, clever and fun. It's been a real highlight for me for a while.
entheogenic's library is worth checking out, also I cant tell you how many times I see people recommend the album Prose Edda by Yggdrasil who now go as Kurbeats, they remastered this album in 2022, it can be found on bandcamp.
For sound design, it's hard to beat Metroid Prime Triology's soundtracks. Each is just so good.
For atmosphere and technical ability, I think Xetrovoid's darkwave style deserves a shout, but Pertubator is a little more popular.
Otherwise, there's a lot of stellar vaporwave and futurefunk out there that takes advantage of these. I think a couple favorites are Vaperror, St. Pepsi, and Groceries, Yes We're Open!
Solar Fields- Earlier stuff is ambient, later stuff is more dancy.
Stellardrone- All of it is good. I don't know how he does it.
Hello Meteor- Very prolific. Incorporates some analog instruments.
Mitch Murder- He has some of the best production I've ever heard, but this particular song stands out. The fade at the end is so incredibly well done, I usually follow it all the way down to absolute silence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXFQNaODvMA