The Electronic Thread
Paysage d'Hiver - "Die Festung" demo (1998)
Swiss atmospheric black metal producer Tobias Möckl burst onto the underground scene in the late 1990's with a slew of demo recordings that might as well have been proper releases by the quality on offer. "Die Festung" was the third of these releases to appear in 1998 alone but this time we see Paysage d'Hiver offering up a collection of five tracks that stick entirely to the ambient/dungeon synth sound that has always been a part of Paysage d'Hiver's black metal releases. It's a damn one too just quietly. In fact, "Die Festung" is pretty much the catalyst for the entire "winter synth" variety of dungeon synth music & you can easily see why because the quality of this material in impeccable, leading me to make the unexpected claim that this may actually be the finest dungeon synth release I've heard to date. The fifteen-minute space ambient opener "Eishalle" is absolutely out of this world & is the perfect embodiment of the "Lord of the Rings" aesthetic while the beautiful "Eisprinzessin" paints clear images of dripping ice in a snow-covered landscape. This dude is an incredibly talented composer with unbelievable creativity & focus, paving a musical path that sees Paysage d'Hiver perennially sitting on top of the extreme music pile.
For fans of Jääportit, Aindulmedir & Örnatorpet.
4.5/5
Tangerine Dream - "Rubycon" (1975)
The sixth full-length studio album from these Berlin progressive electronic legends is one of their finest works. It's perhaps not as classic as 1972's incredible space ambient epic "Zeit" but it's a great listen nonetheless. In fact, I think it may just top 1974's excellent "Phaedra" & I'm a big fan of that one too.
For fans of Klaus Schulze, Vangelis & Steve Roach.
4/5
Scorn - "White Irises Blind" E.P. (1994)
Yet another enjoyable early Scorn record that I return to every so often. There's very little sign of the Birmingham illbient duos early industrial metal sound with only the very solid "Drained" treading that sort of space. There's an impressive consistency to the five songs on offer & it's interesting that the opening title track is clearly the least impressive of them. These days I rank "White Irises Blind" pretty similarly to 1992's "Lick Forever Dog" E.P. & their debut full-length "Vae Solis" while I'd suggest that it's a clear step up from the "Deliverance" E.P. & Scorn's 1993 sophomore album "Colossus".
For fans of Techno Animal, mid-90's Meat Beat Manifesto & "Pure"-era Godflesh.
4/5
Autechre - "Garbage" E.P. (1995)
The third release from Manchester duo Autechre is yet another masterpiece from one of my all-time favourite artists. It's comprised of four lengthy tracks with the A side being a very solid example of complex IDM. It's the B side where the gold can be found though as I prefer the added depth of ambient techno number "Bronchusevenmx24" & the beautiful ambient closer & release highlight "VLetrmx21", both of which I consider to be perfect realisations of the enormous potential of electronic music. "Garbage" should be essential listening for all electronic music nuts.
For fans of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada & Monolake.
4.5/5
Autechre - "Garbage" E.P. (1995)
The third release from Manchester duo Autechre is yet another masterpiece from one of my all-time favourite artists. It's comprised of four lengthy tracks with the A side being a very solid example of complex IDM. It's the B side where the gold can be found though as I prefer the added depth of ambient techno number "Bronchusevenmx24" & the beautiful ambient closer & release highlight "VLetrmx21", both of which I consider to be perfect realisations of the enormous potential of electronic music. "Garbage" should be essential listening for all electronic music nuts.
For fans of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada & Monolake.
4.5/5
I went on a bit of a discovery session outside of metal last week and hit upon Autechre and Boards of Canada also as it happens. Ended up putting together a couple of playlists for my non-metal moods and would be interested to hear any other recommendations you may have around IDM, Daniel.
These releases were some of the ones that originally got me into the genre during the late 1990's & early 2000's Vinny so they're probably a pretty good place to start:
Aphex Twin - "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" (1992)
Osamu Sato - "Transmigration" (1994)
Various Artists - "Artificial Intelligence" (1992)
Various Artists - "Artificial Intelligence II" (1994)
These releases were some of the ones that originally got me into the genre during the late 1990's & early 2000's Vinny so they're probably a pretty good place to start:
Aphex Twin - "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" (1992)
Osamu Sato - "Transmigration" (1994)
Various Artists - "Artificial Intelligence" (1992)
Various Artists - "Artificial Intelligence II" (1994)
Thank you
These releases were some of the ones that originally got me into the genre during the late 1990's & early 2000's Vinny so they're probably a pretty good place to start:
Aphex Twin - "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" (1992)
Osamu Sato - "Transmigration" (1994)
Various Artists - "Artificial Intelligence" (1992)
Various Artists - "Artificial Intelligence II" (1994)
I listened through these recommendations, thank you Daniel. I hadn't realised that Aphex Twin had been going since the eighties (but then again I am a complete beginner here) and therefore there was plenty to keep me intrigued on that one. I found Osamu Sato's stuff to be too happy for me and didn't really find much on that first compilation but the second one is full of great stuff. I found alot of stuff via the "audiofonos con cable" playlist on Spotify. It was mostly the ambient stuff that I got into, the garage stuff being the least popular for my tastes.
Pole - "CD 1" (1998)
The debut full-length from this German producer offers a lovely ambient, dubby take on the glitch genre that's done with enough class to leave me impressed. I didn't get as much out of this record back in the day but it would seem that I'm able to cope with the lack of clear structure in some of this material these days.
For fans of Deadbeat, Porter Ricks & CV313.
4/5
Pole - "2" (1999)
The second full-length from this German producer which sees him upping the ambient dub component that was hinted at on the debut for a genuine hybrid sound that compliments the glitchy soundscapes nicely. The result is an album of similar quality although I think the enhanced dub component gives "2" a slight edge.
For fans of Rhythm & Sound, Basic Channel & Deepchord.
4/5
Pole - "3" (2000)
The third & final Pole album is also his best, taking the ambient dub/glitch hybrid sound slightly further. To be fair, it's the dub material that makes up the highlights of "3", putting me into that deep, fuzzy headspace that leaves my whole body feeling warm. Unfortunately, the straight-up glitch tracks tend have significantly less impact but that doesn't stop "3" from pushing for one of my more elite ratings. Unfortunately, it couldn't quite get there though.
For fans of Oval, Jan Jelinek & Deepchord.
4/5
Pole is the only electronic act I have seen in a live setting. They supported labradford at their 3rd Festival of Drifting at the Union Chapel in Islington, London. Great gig, he was really good and I do enjoy the albums
Yellow Magic Orchestra - "Solid State Survivor" (1979)
The most highly celebrated of this Japanese synthpop outfits many studio albums is yet another one that fails to connect with me on any level due to its inherently cheesy approach to music production. A lot of this material sounds like a cheap early-80's video game soundtrack which I assume is a large part of the appeal for some people but which puts me off pretty majorly. I'd probably take "Solid State Survivor" over the first two Yellow Magic Orchestra records but it still never manages to ascend out of the garbage bin at the back of my home office & I think 1981's "BGM" follow-up was a good couple of steps up from here, even if I still have no time for that particular release either.
For fans of Telex, Kraftwerk & Ryuichi Sakamoto.
2/5
Delerium - "Syrophenikan" (1990)
I really enjoyed the first two full-lengths from this Canadian electronic duo so I didn't waste any time checking out their next album shortly afterwards, apparently way back in 2010 according to my records. I'm glad I did too as I've once again found "Syrophenikan" to be a high-quality electronic release that spans electro-industrial, dark ambient & IDM sounds in roughly equal portions. I still rate Delerium's classic 1988 debut album "Faces, Forms & Illusions" more highly than this one but it's probably slightly better than 1989's excellent "Morpheus" record in my opinion so there's a lot to enjoy here. If you get the opportunity then I recommend you check out the 1997 re-release with the "Brainwaves" bonus track as it's the best version of this record & a genuine classic in my opinion.
For fans of Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy & Dead Can Dance.
4/5
Burzum - "The Ways of Yore" (2014)
I checked out Varg's first two prison-recorded dungeon synth albums "Dauði Baldrs" & "Hliðskjálf" back in the day as I was pretty obsessive about Burzum during the entire 1990's. Neither were anywhere near as bad as fans seemed to suggest & I found myself quite enjoying both of them, particularly "Hliðskjálf" which is really very good & has seen me returning to it a few times since. Interestingly though, I hadn't explored any of the other dungeon synth releases in Burzum's back catalogue until now but I've found that 2014's "The Ways of Yore" is another underrated release in the Burzum discography. There's some really solid dungeon synth & ambient material included here but, unfortunately, it's offset by some pretty fucking terrible pagan folk pieces at times. Thankfully, the quality overpowers the shite by a fair margin & I've ended up with a strong 3.5-star rating that sees me placing "The Ways of Yore" between the two releases I mentioned earlier in terms of overall value. Closer "To Hel & Back Again" is a fucking belter of a dungeon synth track too just quietly.
For fans of Malfet, Thangorodrim & early Mortiis.
3.5/5
Harmonia - "Deluxe" (1975)
Harmonia was collaborative German project between past & present members of Cluster, Kraftwerk & NEU! with this sophomore album sitting somewhere between krautrock & progressive electronic from a stylistic point of view. It's got the quirky electronic melodicism of the krautrock scene which is an element that I struggle to connect with at times but there are clear moments of depth in some of the more trance-inducing sections (particularly early in the tracklisting) that offer me plenty of appeal. Overall though, I've found "Deluxe" to fall just short of my enjoyment threshold with disappointing closer "Kekse" being the deciding factor in me tagging this record as not really being my thing.
For fans of Cluster, NEU! & Manuel Göttsching.
3/5
Delerium - "Spheres II" (1994)
I recently revisited the first few albums from this Canadian duo & really got into all three, particularly their classic debut. 1994's "Spheres II" was their eighth full-length & their third from that year alone. I hadn't heard it since I reviewed it way back in 2010 so couldn't really recall a lot about the experience but it's definitely got a different sound to the IDM, electro-industrial & dark ambient-driven early material. Instead, "Spheres II" sits somewhere between psybient & progressive electronic with a bit of space ambient here & there. In fact, after giving the album a few spins, I'm gonna have to suggest that this may well be the very first legitimate psybient release ever recorded & could have been the catalyst for what was to come. It's not as strong as the early Delerium records in my opinion though. The progressive electronic material hasn't aged all that well & the quality levels drop over the second half of the album. Still... it's not a bad listen either & isn't far off being another compelling Delerium release.
For fans of Front Line Assembly, Enigma & Pete Namlook.
3.5/5
Aphex Twin - "I Care Because You Do" (1995)
The Irish IDM wizard's third full-length is yet another strong album from Richard David James whose first two "Selected Ambient Works" records were both essential releases for this ol' metalhead. This time, we see James opting for a much more chaotic & complex brand of composition, highlighted by the regular use of abrasive distortion which is effectively complimented by Aphex Twin's signature ambient synthesizers. While I wouldn't take "I Care Because You Do" over either of the two earlier ambient releases, I still find plenty to enjoy here, particularly the acid techno-infused material.
For fans of µ-Ziq, Autechre & Squarepusher.
4/5