Showing posts with label indie rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label indie rock. Show all posts

Thursday, February 22, 2024

New Order - Complete Music

Mute: 2016

I made a bold claim in declaring this 'remix' album New Order's best body of work outside of 'Best Of' packages, and now I get to show my receipts. Actually, no, I don't think I can, at least without bringing up the context that led to the album this sprung from, Music Complete. And that would eat up way too much word count that I'd rather spend detailing the tunes here. Besides, as my purchase of Complete Music included a free download of Music Complete, it'll at least leave me something to ramble on about whenever I get around to that record.

And the honest truth is, had my 'Surveying' stipulation not forced me to check out Complete Music, I may not have in the first place (or much of New Order in general, but stick with me). Yeah, there's been some ace remixes handed out to New Order's catalogue over the decades, but this was an entirely in-house project, simply taking the existing songs and extending them for maximum dancefloor efficiency. Hey, that's great, as I already liked the clubby nature of the originals, so more of that isn't so bad. A little more rhythmic intro here, a lengthier bridge there, and holy cow, these seven-to-nine minute versions are just so much better! I don't think I can even go back to the Music Complete variants, coming off like radio edits now. It almost makes me wonder if these were the finished songs, but in realizing it'd balloon the album to double-LP length, were forced to pare things down for commercial interests, rendering Complete Music to 'Director's Cut' side-project status. Probably not, but it's a fun notion if so.

So Restless comes in with all those peppy rhythms, hooky guitars (but no Peter Hook, he gone), emotional string swells, and synthy punctuations. And then, some two minutes in, Bernard comes in, and if this track hasn't fully won you over, then I don't know how you've been a New Order fan. Right, it's not Blue Monday, but hardly anything else in their catalogue is.

This is the sound of a band that's been through it all, having the skill to incorporate all their learned influences, and still find room to add some (then) contemporary tricks. A festival-ready breakdown in Singularity. A festival-ready build in Unlearn This Hatred. A little d'n'b momentum in Stray Dog (complete with a gravely Iggy Pop) and Superheated, and so on. Nor have they side-stepped other eras of their career, like the NRG pulse of Plastic or synth-pop campiness of Tutti Frutti (a song I dreaded going in based on title alone, winning me over regardless), both vintage '80s without sounding canned or retro-trendy. Or jubilant '90s funky piano house vibes of People On The High Line. Or the '00s indie rock janglyness of Nothing But A Fool and The Game. It's a little bit of everything you know of New Order and then some.

And then performed extra length, just because they can!

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: STEREOLAB

Some bands seem to exist just on the periphery of one's attention forever. A name you know you've seen many times, occassionally in association with some other artist you're fond of, or misattribute to a different act due to similarities. You may go decades never hearing a single song from them, or heard dozens without realizing it was them all along. In ye' olden days, the only way to get confirmation one way or the other was to scour the music shops, looking for any hints or clues that might trigger some memory synapses, spurring you further into actually listening to their catalogue, should the means and wants perfectly align. However, when I finally found out it was Cappella that was behind the line-up roll-call of the '90s Houson Rockets, I was disappointed to learn they didn't release much at all. Oh, and Stereolab is another such band, but at least they've released a whole lot more!

Primarily helmed by Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the band has seen many members rotate in and out (including an unfortunate death), mostly serving whatever musical angle they wish to explore. And explore many they have indeed, carving out a lane in the nascent '90s scene of lo-fi indie rock and electro pop. At least, that's what I assumed going in, but that's barely scratching the surface. With nearly two decades worth of music making, they had plenty of time dabbling in whatever floated their fancy. Didn't know if it'd make for a good 'sportsing' soundtrack, but I've been pleasently surprised before. So let's dive in.










This was a bit of a weird one for me. I can't say I disliked anything I heard, but nor was I inspired to buy up a bunch of Stereolab records for personal use either. Which is a bit of a shame, because this is a band that needs more than one listen for their music to truly sink in, not the sort that can be shrugged off as 'one-and-done', as most acts in these surveying exercises are. I feel like I owe it to them to at least pick up Dots And Loops, since that album was kinda' the catalyst in all this, but that feels I'm doing them a disservice settling on just one. Ah well, there's plenty of time to continue mulling it over - it's not like their catalogue is going anywhere, right?

Anyhow, now that we're coming upon the one-year anniversary of this little gimmick (and of me getting back into shape ...holy cow!), I figure it's time to take on a talent that I've long included in Mastodon polls for surveys, but for some reason has always brought up the rear: Tipper!


Friday, July 28, 2023

SadGirl - Water

Suicide Squeeze: 2019

”So [Vol. 3 – Head To The Mountains] wasn't what I expected or hoped for, not really convincing me SadGirl was actually a contemporary surf rock band. And yet, I still went and ordered their debut album, Water. Go figure.”

Flash forward nearly four years later, and here I am, finally reviewing the darn thing! If you ever wanted an idea of how backed up my queue has gotten, that's as good an indicator as any. I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother with the alphabetical stipulation at all. Like, it was a handy bit of organization when I was initially going through my original music collection, a definitive end-point to work towards. Now that that's done and dusted, however, what real need for it is there? Legacy? Maintaining a gimmick well past its usefulness? What I'm getting at is, for all practical purposes, shouldn't I now review items I get as I get them, rather than let them languish in a 'To-Review' pile for years, long after their 'hot on the streets' drop dates have cooled? Mind, if I was doing that, I'd probably still be going through all those goa trance CDs I bought earlier this year. Yeah, maybe let's keep things as are for now...

Anyhow, SadGirl. The band was tapped by Bandcamp as one of the nu-surf scene's ascendant acts, and at the time, they certainly seemed primed as such. A run of solid singles with eye-popping artwork, a debut album primed for launch... What could go wrong? Oh, yeah, that whole pandemic thing. That would stall any musical career dependent upon live shows for sustainability, and it seems SadGirl stalled indeed, nothing new released for a couple years now. Maybe they'll reconvene for a comeback, but as it stands, Water remains their lone LP.

They don't waste any time letting you know you're in for 'life's a beach' vibes either. Opener The Ocean immediately drops you into a lazy, hazy, dreamy bit of echo-drenched croon, organs swaying and electric guitars sliding. Follow-up Chlorine gets more into the cabaret side of classic rockabilly, while instrumental Hazelnut Coffee may have your Khruangbin triggers flaring. If you have any Khruangbin triggers to flare in the first place, that is. Y'know, the sort of easy-peasy tiki lounge jam music best enjoyed while laying in a hammock, frilly drink in hand.

Water mostly flits about such songs for its duration, unashamed in its ultra-retro aesthetic, never upping the tempo to more than a lukewarm simmer. I guess that doesn't really make it a proper surf rock album, even though you can't help but be reminded of endless waves as the sun sets below the distant ocean horizon. Forever remembering those loves lost, drifting somewhere out at sea while you remain landlocked and moribund. Oh yeah, the metaphors on this album are rather blunt and obvious, but hey, it is a surf record, a genre of music that was seldom ever subtle in execution.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (Proper Review)

Parlaphone: 2020

Strange days indeed. The global pandemic almost may have benefited the Gorillaz project, at least with regards to the Song Machine cycle. Being forced to strip back all the indulgent studio time and guest collaborators made this album a far leaner outing than the bloated Humanz. Even better, with no pressure to go on tour in support of a new record in the foreseeable future, Damon and Jamie could primarily focus on other multi-media aspects of the band, in particular music video and animations.

Because let's face it: for as much as we enjoy Gorillaz music, it's the videos and such that truly grab our imagination. Trouble is animation is expensive, and with more money being allotted for studio production and tours, this aspect of the project sometimes gets shuffled to the side-line. Again, just look at the Humanz roll-out for proof, only one video of significant note released in support of that record.

In treating Song Machine as an episodic venture, however, you were basically guaranteed a video with each song this time out. Whether an elaborate 'lore' builder with The Lost Chord, a simple loop session with Aries, or 'Roger Rabbit'ing their way about Kong Studio with guest musicians (Momentary Bliss, Pac-Man), it definitely felt like you were getting your dollar's worth. Oh, wait, watching the vids was free on YouTube. Erm, I mean, it definitely felt like you were getting rewarded for sticking with this fickle project even during the less-than-great times.

And even with all that, holy Hell, but does Song Machine ever come loaded with ear-worms! You could always count on a number of them per album, but even the best Gorillaz records will have a few tunes that could be left aside. Not so here, every song a winner. Well, okay, I could maybe leave Friday 13th off, but that's more because I'm not much a fan of mumble rappers, and Octavian doesn't do much to convince me otherwise. At least The Pink Phantom has Elton John's big, boisterous voice on hand to counter 6LACK's mumbling. Everything else though – from rowdy rockers (Strange Timez, Momentary Bliss, The Valley Of The Pagans) to electro boppers (Pac-Man) to soulful poppers (The Lost Chord, DĂ©solĂ©, Dead Butterflies), and all else between, Song Machine's got all you could want from a Gorillaz album.

It's funny though, because there's a hint Song Machine could have had some of the same issues as Humanz. The bonus disc includes half a dozen nifty tunes, mostly on the hip-hop side of things, but definitely don't quite fit the vibe of the main album. Which is how bonus tracks should be treated, the b-sides that are here for your enjoyment without sullying the flow of the main feature. Somehow though, I sense had this been Humanz-era Gorillaz, they would have tried to force them in, once again bloating an album beyond what was necessary. Song Machine is perfectly paced at its eleven tracks, once again showing smart restraint in the final product.

Monday, March 20, 2023

Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (Kayfabe Review)

Parlaphone: 2020

Last time I talked up Gorillaz, I lamented we'd never seen a truly collaborative effort from this group. Yeah, they've all been present for a number of albums (their self-titled debut, Demon Days ...Humanz, if only barely), but generally speaking, one or two members are the driving force behind a given record, leaving the others to simply contribute their requisite parts in support. No, what I wanted to hear is a Gorillaz album where everyone - 2-D, Noodle, Russel, and yes, Murdoc – all have equal share in the writing process. Given the chaotic nature of this band, it seemed it'd take nothing less than an Act Of God for such a thing to happen. Or, in a pinch, a global pandemic.

Details are hazy what the initial ideas for Song Machine were going to be – something to do with a music device Noodle acquired. Regardless, the lockdowns in the following year essentially isolated the band within the new Kong Studio. Never mind their corporeal nature likely wouldn't be an issue in dealing with meat-space viruses, they stood in solidarity with society at large.

With nothing better to do than hang out together making music, that's basically all they did. No ideas for a specific album concept or contractual obligation, just jam away and see what sprung forth in a given session. That isn't to say some didn't have other things on their mind while holed up at Kong – you just know Murdoc would look for any opportunity to get out of house, especially having just gotten out of prison the previous year. Overall though, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez is possibly the band's most satisfying album in... gosh, a decade? However long it's been since Plastic Beach, at least.

Again, it's all about bringing every member's influences and interests under one big tent. Gorillaz have always been adventurous in their genre fusions, but you can generally tell who's doing the most production in a given project. 2-D likes his electro pop, Russel likes his American hip-hop, house, and soul, Noodle likes her esoteric indulgences, while Murdoc likes his punk and bass-driven rock. Indeed, there are songs on here you can tell who's influence is felt. Peter Hook on Aries? Oh, that's gotta' be a Murdoc get. ScHoolboy Q on Pac-Man? Russel, absolutely. Beck on The Valley Of The Pagans? Seems like the sort of musician Noodle would have on dial. And of course Elton John and Stuart Pot have talked collab' at some point.

Yet as mentioned, no one song feels like someone's taking a back seat in the writing process, everyone part and parcel in some way. Maybe that's why, for the first time in Gorillaz history, the album's unofficial song-writing credits goes to 'Gorillaz'.

According to lore, Murdoc and Russel did Humanz and the self-titled, Noodle did Demon Days, Mr. Niccals did Plastic Beach, while 2-D did The Fall and The Now Now. Song Machine though? Everyone! And it's all the greater for it.

Saturday, May 22, 2021

La Luz - Floating Features

Hardly Art: 2018

And so we come to a conclusion in my little excursion into the world of surf rock. As my music collection currently stands, I've no more items waiting in the never-ending queue, and it's appropriate La Luz brings things to a finale. They were the first band introducing me in my initial wanderings into 'nu-surf', and with the dust all settled, remain my favourite of all my samplings. Just a shame the band's been stuck on hiatus these past few years.

Of course, it's not their fault, the 2020 Pandemic putting a halt on the careers of many musicians. Small, underground artists especially felt the crunch, and while band leader Shana Cleveland did release a solo folk album in the interim, one hopes this forced interlude hasn't put a permanent mothballing of Lu Luz. There's only so many 'retro dream pop by way of contemporary surf rock' all-women bands out there.

More so, their last album was showing some growth in musicianship, leading to potentially fascinating avenues in the future. I've mentioned before the band's version of surf rock wasn't really what you'd think of traditional, in that their aesthetic didn't always reflect southern California vibes. For sure there's the dream pop attributes, but location more often than not influences art, and La Luz' Pacifc northwest heritage could not be ignored (erm, especially if you're intimately familiar with the lands). With Floating Features, the band looked to shake off some of that greytone, fully embracing the summery Cali sound, with a sprinkle of psychedelia.

You can just feel it from the opening few tracks on the album, things just a little on edge even as the production is more expansive than ever. The titular instrumental opener is big and strident, letting you know you're in for an adventure in sun-baked clime's rather than insular coastal forests, while follow-up Cicada quickens the pace some, sparing no space in the reverb. Loose Teeth gets fuzzier and full of guitar grit, and Mean Dream... Well, it sounds more like traditional mellow La Luz, but the music video certainly dips deep into retro substance shenanigans. Blacklights will never grow old.

Much of Floating Features carries on various dream rock vibes, Lonely Dozer and Don't Leave Me On The Earth the only other times things get 'surfy'. It's honestly hard pegging this album as surf rock though, as the reverb is much more vast than the frenetic shredding of the genre could allow. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some folks get turned off by the grand sonics on display. It's certainly far removed from the basic garage production of earlier La Luz, but the song-writing is still top notch.

Whether we'll get another La Luz album remains to be seen. There were some personnel changes before everything was put on hold, but I can't imagine this being a final outing. Shana Cleveland seems far too motivated to end a band just because a global virus stalled momentum.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

La Luz - Weirdo Shrine

Hardly Art: 2015

Just how '60s retro did La Luz intend to initially go anyway? For sure you had the dreamy, psychedelic pop overtures and the surf rock nods, but the band's debut album didn't completely sell you on being there, in the era of mini-skirts and beehive hairdos. Which is understandable, La Luz undoubtedly concerned they'd seem more of a gimmick if they went all The B-52's with their presentation. They were already battling assumptions being an all-girl band to begin with. The indie rock scene is already a difficult one to crack with that feature over-hanging, so no need to complicating matters with pageantry. Get in, establish your stylee, then expand if the results turn successful.

I guess that's why I feel like La Luz' sophomore effort, Weirdo Shrine, hits so many similar beats as their debut, It's Alive, but does it all better. These gals are more assured of what their music can be, tighter as a unit, fully embracing the dream-surf rock jams such that they sound more attuned to the decade they're drawing influence from. It's to such a point that they even included chintzy 3-D glasses into the package, with art that pops at you from the second dimension! Well, kinda'. I don't think these glasses fit my face too good, seemingly made for petite ladies. Like, the little doggo figurine in the assemblage of knickknacks forming the inlay's weirdo shrine looks well removed from the pile, but not much else. To say nothing of the lack of depth from the hands playing cat's cradle on the cover. Maybe it works better with the larger vinyl canvas.

Anyhow, Weirdo Shrine opens with the dream pop of Sleep Till They Die as felt being sunkissed by California shores, then kicks out the surf jam right after with You Disappear. Okay, not a 'pure' surf jam, since this is still an actual song with actual lyrics and stuff, but its hard not to feel the waves beneath your plank of fibreglass as the splashy guitar reverb hits when it kicks off. And speaking of reverb, is it just me, or do the vocals sound more airy as well? Like, everything just has a richer texture about it, my ears breathing in the resonance as guitars and drums and organs sound both up front and distant as a canyon's walls.

It feels weird(o) to say this next: I'm not sure if there's anything else I can say about Weirdo Shrine. Detail all eleven tracks by track? So, Don't Wanna Be Anywhere does that Khruangbin loungey thing. I Can't Speak and I'll Be True slow things down, while I Wanna Be Alone and the titular song pep things up. Hey Papi and Oranges are the token instrumentals, while True Love Knows is the sort of ballad you can imagine swaying back and forth with your sweetie in your arms, as the malt shop nears closing. Mush, but eh, I'm sure I'll be able to relate again, one of these days.

Monday, September 21, 2020

Buttertones - Midnight In A Moonless Dream

Innovative Leisure Records: 2018

There's no dodging this, so I'll just get it out of the way: as of two months ago, this band was #metoo'd. Not all the members, just a couple, being outed as womanizing creeps, one in particular having a preference for those who weren't even legal age of consent. I only found out about this as I started my preliminary research right after my last review. I never knew about this when I got this album over a year ago. Almost no one knew, the allegations and confirmed shared stories getting aired out just this summer. The fall of Buttertones was swift and complete, however, their social media presence utterly scrubbed from the internet, their label dropping them like a ten tonne rock, the remaining band members forced to scuttle the project. A token 'all future album purchases goes towards women help charities' is the only thing keeping their Bandcamp page afloat.

Obviously, that puts a huge damper on whatever thoughts and opinions I had going into Midnight In A Moonless Dream. All the mental notes I'd gathered seem inconsequential and pointless now. Talking about how my explorations of 'surf rock' bands straying so far off the beaten path, that I'm listening to a band that sounds more like a cabaret quintet than a group for beach bums. Wow, what a wonderful discovery (thanks, Bandcamp newsletter)! What does that matter when it's giving abusive assholes attention though? The music's great, fantastic even, but I feel ultra-icky praising it.

The ol' 'separating art from artist' topic naturally comes up, which everyone has their own take on. While some are absolute in their perspectives, I'm a little more flexible, in a 'time plus distance' sort of way. The further you get from certain art being created during which its artist was being an asshole, the easier it is to separate the two, especially if said artist no longer benefits from the art they created (dying helps). Again, this is no hard or fast rule, but it does allow me to enjoy things like Michael Jackson's Thriller or the symphonic suites of Koichi Sugiyama with peace of mind. Some things are almost impossible to let go though, like watching a Chris Benoit wrestling match – no matter how 'lost in the moment' I can get with bouts two decades old, that knowledge of him murder-suiciding his family forever looms overhead.

I honestly feel fortunate that the bulk of my musical interests haven't been revealed as individuals deserving of cancellation, selfish though that sounds. I'm sure there are a few with skeletons in their closet that could still be unearthed, but hopefully nothing to the extent as has been going on with other producers in recent years, especially in the local festival scene. Buttertones? No great loss on my part, as they were a band I only came across by happenstance. I may be able to play this album again with time and distance, but as of now... yeah.

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Tijuana Panthers - Max Baker

Innovative Leisure Records: 2010/2015

It was bound to happen sooner than later. As much as you'll find throwbacks and homages to the genre throughout the decades, surf rock is just too niche a style for any modern band to make hay playing only that genre. Heck, it was lucrative for a mere half-decade to begin with, and while five years in '60s time is, like, eleven years in modern time (somehow), it's so intimately tied to a specific setting that a lasting rebirth simply can't happen again. Even Bandcamp, the last refuge for any band or musician who just don't give an f' so long as their craft is out there, freely admitted that its surf rock recommendations quickly disintegrate into indie pop or garage rock standards, some included bands barely touching the vintage shredding instrumentals with splashy reverb.

Tijuana Panthers fall into this category, a three-piece band having far more in common with Violent Femmes than anything Dick Dale turned out. On the other hand, their lyrical content sure brings to mind the simpler antics of teenagers hanging out at malt shoppes than all d'at angst of later generations. Never before has getting a crew cut sounded so daring and rebellious! No, wait, wasn't getting a crew cut the norm of ye golden oldies days? Like, having a mop-top hair-do, or something as scandalous as side-burns, those were the styles that gave young women their sexual awakenings. So is proudly proclaiming you're getting a crew cut an act of preppy defiance, or are Tijuana Panthers just playing up the stereo-type in a modern era? So much contemplation for a song that has a chorus of “I gotta crew cut baby; I gotta crew cut baby; I gotta crew cut baby; I gotta crew cut baby.”

Still, as a band that hails from Long Beach, Tijuana Panthers do bring a 'carefree fun in the sun' vibe to their music (including the song Summer Fun), which was aesthetically part and parcel to surf rock as the shredding and reverb ever was. The Beach Boys continuum, if you will, and this debut album of theirs is brimful of the stuff. Tunes like New Boots, Red Headed Girl, Two Step, and Angie will transplant you to the era of mini-skirts and little deuce coups no problem. If you want something a more 'rebellious' and rockin', however, how about rabble-rousers like This Town, and Girls Gone Wild. And yes, a couple songs do get more proper-surf (for lack of a better term), the aforementioned Summer Fun almost entirely a reverb-heavy instrumental, while Prayer Knees meets things in the middle.

Was Max Baker the sort of album I was after, then? Not really, but I do enjoy it for the time it plays. As mentioned, finding bands who specifically play the specific style of surf I like is a nigh impossible task. If my explorations cross paths with those who dabble though, who am I to complain? Beggers can't be choosers, and all that rot.

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

La Luz - It's Alive

Hardly Art: 2013

That there would be modern bands making early '60 rock music isn't surprising. They've been doing that since the '80s. But while the surfer style has received minor bumps of recognition over the decades (thanks, The B-52's and Quentin Tarantino), it's never seen anything close to a real revival, forever remaining this quirky niche thing. Still, I'd totally expect a band or three to have their stabs at it, and Bandcamp has proven it to be so. What I hadn't counted on was one of those bands – indeed, one of the highest rated ones – would be an all-girl group called La Luz.

And I know that comes off completely sexist on my part, because I honestly did not even consider this could be a thing. A lady or two in a band, sure, no problem, but for whatever reason (one of its originator's being named Dick?), surf rock has forever remained an extremely male-dominated genre of music. What's great about La Luz, though, is they don't come off like a gimmick in the slightest. Yeah, they're a unique quartet in a relatively obscure music scene, but that's just circumstantial. No one would have bat and eye if they'd gone punk or country instead (well, fewer). It just so happened they were into making these kinds of tunes, and the world of dreamy surf jams is all the more richer for it.

I suppose you could say La Luz isn't a strict surf rock band either, blending somewhat into that nebulous indie dream pop world. The vocal harmonies are certainly there, and I'm sometimes reminded of Khruangbin when they slow the tempo down some. And Khruangbin has that 'lazy times in beach-fronted tiki lounges' vibe going for them, which is surf adjacent, right? Gotta' relax after hitting those waves, dude.

Anyhow, that's beside the point. La Luz has a drummer, a bassist, an organier, and a guitar lead with that distinctive 'splashy' reverb you can't help but think of when surf rock comes to mind. Some light shredding too, though obviously nothing to the level of Dick Dale. Nor is there any need for Shana Cleveland to go there, her guitar strums fun and jammy when called upon, while Alice Sandahl gets occasional turns for solos on the organ too. It's Alive breezes by at eleven songs long, flitting between the peppy upbeat rockers and dreamy downtempo ballads. It may be surf rock with modern indie rock overtones, but it still feeds that need of mine to hear-

No, I can't hide it any longer. There's another reason I dig the La Luz style, something entirely geographical. See, they hail from Seattle, which has somehow imparted a rather... foggy aesthetic, I want to say? Like, surf rock typically has a very sunny, southern California feel to it, but listening to this, I imagine the waves of Tofino instead, surrounded my misty mountains overgrown with thick rainforests. Such an easy sell for a West Coast lad like myself, that.

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Frou Frou - Details

MCA Records: 2002

(a Patreon Request)

Like 97% of the world, I've only really known Imogen Heap via memes. Absolutely she has fans that extend beyond those hearing her synthesized croon as some helpless schlub is ironically shot in slow motion. Some of them even existed before Hide And Seek became her defining work. The amount of buzz that single generated for her career cannot be denied though, going from a non-charting oddity to Top 5 selling artist in America. Even Zach Braff including her Frou Frou track Let Go didn't accomplish that!

Right, to call this a strict Imogen project would do Guy Sigsworth a great injustice. Yeah, that's her voice on all the songs, and her glamming it up like she's about to go shopping Madison Avenue on the cover art, but Frou Frou was initially the brain-birth of Mr. Sigsworth. He'd participated in a few mildly successful UK bands in the '90s, but truly made a name for himself lending his production talents to the likes of Seal, Madonna, and Björk. He also crossed paths with a young lass with a quirky name, and helped produce her debut single called Getting Scared. I cannot deny it's weird seeing Ms. Heap as a raver-goth grrl in that video, given the future her career would take.

Anyhow, itching to make a proper album of his own, Guy set out to do just that, working under the project handle of Frou Frou. Realizing he needed a little female vocal talent to give his songs that extra bit of class, he got in touch with Imogen again for a contributing lyric or two. She soon became so involved with the creative process that they decided to make the whole Frou Frou gig a collaborative process. And thus Details came forth to much... mm, no, 'aplomb' isn't the right word. It did okay, from what I can tell (I recall Breathe In being rather popular on the radio for a spell), but it didn't light the UK on fire either. Still, those college kids in America seemed to like it, enough for a lengthy tour there.

I can hear why this album was popular with such a particular demographic – this totally makes sense hearing out at coffee shops or sorority parties. Guy definitely knows his way around a studio, expertly blending multitudes of instruments and musical styles into an indie-pop soup such that Details defies easy genre classification (my WMP suggests New Wave; capital attempt, ol' chap). To my ears though, that studio expertise flattens my enjoyment out of this album. The music within is just a tad too slick and polished, such that it kinda' fades to the background of my attention after a few tracks (the delightfully twee Maddening Shroud notwithstanding). As for Imogen, she sounds fine, I guess, certainly an integral part of the Frou Frou package. The chorus to Breathe In aside, however, nothing here eclipses Hide And Seek. And how could it, the latter a fixture of late '00s meme culture?

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Various - Back To Mine: The Orb

DMC: 2003

Sure is a nice coincidence that the alphabetical order of my Back To Mine CDs is also in chronological order.

Folks who came around to the series later in its run may have noticed something different about the first couple I've covered. Indeed, when DMC launched Back To Mine, the cover art wasn't too distinctive from many other DJ-featuring compilations out there. Sure, Warren and Seaman were lounging in comfy chairs, while Tenaglia and Armada had cute little lights, but it still felt run-of-the-mill where chill-out CDs were concerned.

Following Faithless' entry, however, DMC commissioned illustrator Tommy Penton to shake things up, giving Back To Mine its distinct, abstract comic look for many years after; I hated that look. Yeah, it was unique, which undoubtedly helped it stand out from overcrowded compilation racks, but gads, the artwork reminds me of bad lucid dreams, not at all feelings of being chill. Whatever happened to the soft, inviting mood lighting?

So I wasn't too keen on picking up more Back To Mines with the art change. Compounding things further was the fact Ultra Records lost the domestic distribution rights after the seventh (Morcheeba's, for the record), leaving DMC to handle it themselves. They... weren't very efficient at it, leading to few copies, if any, found on my local store shelves. And whenever one did happen by at those slightly inflated prices, always was I met with that butt-ugly cover art. You understand why I let the series pass me by, then.

Still, when I heard The Orb had been tapped to head up a Back To Mine, I knew I had to get my hands on that! The O.G. chill-out maestros, who's early sets were well known for unearthing all sorts of weird, blissy records of yesteryear, compiling a CD that's right up their lane? How could this fail? It could not, is how! No, Muzik Magazine and their middling 2/5 score had to be wrong. It... had to be good...!

Back To Mine was primarily billed as showing off one's personal collections, and you'd think chaps like Dr. Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann would have ludicrously deep crates to pull music from. And maybe compared to typical punters of the U.K., that's true, but I was stunned that I already had so many of these tracks in my own collection. Two Aphex Twin cuts, yep. Julee Cruise's go with Falling (aka: the Twin Peaks theme), uh huh. And why on Earth is Juno Reactor's Nitrogen Part 1 on here, and at the third position no less? Okay, Alex helped produce that, but no way does it fit as a 'chill-out' option.

The remaining selections are definitely an eclectic sort of stoner chill and indie-techno, but lacks much of a unifying theme to them. It's as though The Orb rounded up a pile of tracks they happened to like that given month, arranged them in alphabetical order, and called it a day. Who'd want to listen to something like that?

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Ringo Sheena - ShĹŤso Strip

Virgin: 2000

(a Patreon Request from Philoi)

I think we all have to come to grips that I'm woefully unqualified to talk about Japanese pop music with any sort of authoritative perspective. Yeah, I can appreciate, and even enjoy it, at a basic, superficial aesthetic level (sounds do good things on brain, me likey!), but I've no real insights or analysis to provide from the experience. Beyond what a couple Wiki links of information can offer (y'know, collegiate level research), there's very little I can explore or detail regarding the cultural impact of such music.

Like, I can get proper-deep regarding rave music, as I've been part of, digested, consumed, and researched nearly all facets of it for a quarter of a century now (a significant portion of my life indeed). And while I've covered other music genres or scenes I'm not so involved with (your alternative rock, your jazz-bop, your country twang), they're at least still prevalent enough in my sphere of the globe that I know enough about them via cultural osmosis. It's incredibly rare that mass market music from other (non English-speaking) artists ever had much impact here, no matter how successful they may have been elsewhere.

It's almost entirely thanks to the power of global social media that we've started seeing actual cultural cross-over in the Americas from the mega-stars of Japan and Korea. Even as I type this, my localized Twitter feed is blowing up about Wonho leaving MONSTA X (everything else is Halloween stuff). Let's face it, a newer, younger generation has discovered something they know their parents just won't understand. What better rebel music than music that's not even Caucasian, amirite? Nah, guy, there's just a lot of East Asian transplants in Vancouver.

Anyhow, Ringo Sheena (or Shiina Ringo, if you're Discoggian) turned quite a few heads upon her debut, a teenage wonder-kid who fused noisy Western rock with noisy Japanese rock, presented in that spiffy, over-the-top j-pop stylee everyone just thinks all Japanese pop music sounds like. Sales proved her a potential break-out star that could possibly make it big overseas, thus was immediately signed to the mighty Virgin empire, the quick follow-up ShĹŤso Strip the result.

Almost too quickly, apparently, as the budding star felt the tracklist was too similar to her debut. I can dig that, as I felt like I was listening to Muzai Moratorium all over again with this one. Yeah, there's a few additional wrinkles here and there (ooh, techno thump-thumps in 浴室) and the song-writing comes off more polished than the first – the chaotic production is focused and targeted. Yet I still had to double-check I was listening to the correct album a couple times, unsure whether it was the first or second (didn't help my digital player couldn't convert kanji properly).

And sadly, I can't give any deeper analysis than that. As mentioned, I simply don't connect to this music beyond the superficial. Y'all would be better served listening to the Spotify link for your own conclusions.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Phantogram - Voices

Indica: 2014

(a Discography Patreon Request from Omskbird)

I may have oversold my enthusiasm for the Nightlife mini-album. Maybe for Phantogram too? I don't dislike anything I've heard, and find their music worming its way into my brain the more I listen to it, but I can't say I want to re-listen to it. They fall into that nebulous blob of genre interest I think of as the 'This Is Fine' bubble – where every critic's 6/10 records reside. Not that I'd give this such a ranking myself (and even if I did, probably a little higher), but as my music collection balloons and grows, things get lost in the shuffle, including the Random Shuffle feature on my PC. So many songs to 'randomly' choose from, yet it never, ever lands on Fu-Schnickens' Sneakin' Up On Ya? What's up with that? Erm, what I'm getting at is, if Spotify Discovery was to discover me some Phantogram, I'd enjoy it, but wouldn't go out of my way to explore their discography further.

Anyhow, we've flash-jumped a few years, and our intrepid Sarah & Josh duo have hit the big-time, in a low-key sort of way. Tons of tours, tons of festivals. Tons of appearances on late night talk shows (so many Jimmy Fallon performances, just... so many). Tons of nods and approvals within their scene (opening for genre icons M83 couldn't have hurt) and from players outside looking in (yes, Big Boi had taken a liking to them by now). You'd almost think they were half a dozen albums deep into their career with this much promotion behind them, and yet Voices is only their second LP, released half a decade after their first. Dang, dawg and dawgette, you gotta' get into that studio and start cranking out some more music stat, lest your set playlist grow old and stale. Maybe get a major label backing your efforts in the process, for that little extra exposure, really go for the 'pop' in the synth-pop.

I feel like I should like this more. The songcraft is more refined, the production is top-grade, and there's plenty of moments that leap out at me as it plays through. The crunchy guitar action in Nothing But Trouble. The buzzy, punchy bassline in Fall In Love. The percussion in Howling At The Moon (yeah, there's trap snares in there, but oh so much more too). Josh Carter's one-the-nose Peter Gabriel wailing in Never Going Home (whole track sounds like a Peter Gabriel tune, for that matter). There's a few moments that strike me as odd choices, like that same buzzy bassline used in the dream pop of Bill Murray - how can I feel bliss and chill with a sputtering transistor in the background? - but it's hardly detrimental to the album as a whole.

Yet, Voices doesn't grab me the way Eyelid Movies did. It's like, in perfecting their genre fusion, it's turned their neapolitan style into a strict vanilla flavour. But one of those good vanilla flavours, like vanilla bean, or dame blanche.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Phantogram - Nightlife

Bursak Records: 2011

(a Discography Patreon Request from Omskbird)

The debut album's out, the buzz is building, but all that touring is impacting your ability to hop into the studio for another full-length session. Fortunately, the good ol' mini-album option has become quite fruitful in the modern era, a handful of songs all that's needed to be propelled into super-stardom. Why, look at that Skrillex kid, one of the biggest acts of 2011, based almost entirely off a single EP. If he can do it, why not Phantogram? Oh, that whole 'completely different genre and scene' factor, I guess. Yeah, Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel definitely make music of a different style compared to headline festival mosh. I sure didn't hear anything resembling overblown anthems in Eyelid Movies, nothing even hinting at such potential. Guess they'll stay in their lane, the steady rise of synth-pop songcraft within a nurturing indie scene bringing them the fame their later sales numbers indicate. Have I mentioned looking only at Wiki sales charts isn't a good idea to get a full story of a band's development?

The other good thing about making a mini-album is how it keeps things to the point. Eyelid Movies had plenty of good musical ideas about it, but was kinda' rambly in its direction too, one of those LPs where the musicians tend to throw everything at the wall. Such is the case with many debut albums though, muses bursting at the seems to flood out for all to hear. Typically a producer can reign things in, but Phantogram apparently did it all themselves, so here we are. Time to focus your ideas into with surgical precision, then, using what you've learned and build upon it.

Nightlife definitely is that, to such a degree I almost wish this had been longer, exploring these musical ideas and themes for a proper full-length. Sure, the concept is straight-forward enough, one of those inside-out looks at the self-destructive romanticism of hitting up bars and clubs when you're young. I'm sure touring about exposed Sarah and Josh to all manner of ups and downs within their scene, the decadent highs and the dilapidated lows. It's not a specific narrative, mind you, but it does capture the roller coaster of feelings in a night out with an always lingering, nagging doubt of whether your actions mean anything at all. Or maybe I'm reading a bit much into it, but hey, sometimes over-analyzing music half the fun of listening to music. Like, it's practically a mission statement from all those Pitchfork wanna-be clones that existed a decade ago. This is catnip for them! The indie-leaning genre fusion too.

Oh, and of that genre fusion? Yeah, it's still on that synthy indie-rock, dream-pop vein, though less of the wilder leaps into things like funk and soul and whatnot from Eyelid Movies. Again, smaller record, less room to let the muses roam free. Makes for a nice, tight listening experience though, leaving the listener anxious for more. All hail the mini-album, for those who don't have time for artistic bullshit!

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Phantogram - Eyelid Movies

Indica Records: 2009

(a Discography Patreon Request from Omskbird)

I didn't know what to expect when I put Discography Reviews up as an option for Patreon Requests. Most likely an obligatory opportunity to fill out some glaring gaps in my own music collection, but just as easily a chance for y'all to expose an act or artist that needed some extra shine in the limelight. I've yet to discern where Phantogram falls on that spectrum. I can't claim I was familiar with the duo prior, but a brief glance through their Wiki indicates they've seen their fair share of activity within the upper echelons of indie-leaning synth-pop stardom. Not top tier, but enough presence to do respectable numbers on sales charts with songs featured in a variety of soundtracks. A nod from Big Boi likely didn't hurt.

They had to start somewhere though, and Eyelid Movies is that start. I'm not so sure I'd call it a breakout, since it didn't land them all the crossover attention they seem to have garnered in the past decade, but it's as solid a debut an act with almost no prior exposure could have hoped for. It establishes a sound unique enough to stand out in an over-crowded indie synth-pop market, but retains enough style and sounds of that scene that can lure in potential curious passer-byes in the rotation of playlists and radio streams.

Of course, my frame of reference in indie synth-pop is woefully small, undoubtedly a huge number of acts others could namedrop that Phantogram are comparable to. It's probably a real sad thing the strongest comparison I can make is Gorillaz, in that I hear a lot of the same genre-fusion going on from track to track in this album (oh man, does As Far As I Can See ever remind me of Plastic Beach-era Gorillaz). Heck, Josh Carter even has a similar croon Damon Albarn 2D's, and shows no qualms in feeding his voice through different effects for that authentic dream pop/digital funk feel. Sarah Barthel's no slouch on the pipes either.

And genre fusion? Oh yeah, there's plenty of that, Phantogram showing little fear in tackling whatever strikes their fancy. The aforementioned dream pop? Here's Turn It Off, All Dried Up and You Are The Ocean for you. Something funkier for your feet? Try Running From The Cops or Bloody Palms for size. In need of intimate glitch-soul? 10,000 Claps is all up on that. Got a hankering for that melodramatic, trip-hop blues that Moby's known for? Then When I'm Small and Futuristic Casket have you covered. Yeah, I pulled a Moby namedrop here. I told you my frame of reference sucks in this genre.

But hey, Eyelid Movies is regardless a strong start to this dive into the Phantogram discography. The album could have used a bit more cohesion between songs for it to truly shine, but it does leave me intrigued in how the story unfolds from here, how gained exposure and experience will form and shape their future releases.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

ACE TRACKS: September 2019

And this month started out so well too.

Like, I'm feeling a good clip. The words are coming to my head just fine, I'm articulating my points as cleverly as I ever have, no screen is left blank for more than a second before I start committing letters to fingers to keyboard. And yet, it all suddenly went crashing down on me, like a total and complete mental failure that needed not just a reboot or defrag, but a hard drive replacement too (or however this metaphor goes). I've had 'issues' before, sure, but this took me quite by surprise in just how swift and absolute it did me in.

Naturally there are a number of things that contributed to this, much of which needn't nor should be brought up here. One thing that really stands out to me though, in how it should have been a warning sign something wasn't quite right with the ol' brain chemistry, is when I discovered I'd lost two CDs of mine. And I only noticed they were missing because they were supposed to be part of this current run of reviews: Autumn Of Communion's Reservoir Of Video Souls and Biosphere's Shenzhou.

It strangely and scarily unnerved me just how much losing these two CDs (one of which comes in a DVD-sized package, no less) affected me. It felt like I'd lost control over something I knew, with absolute certainty, I had total control over: the state of my music collection. And if not this, what else was I losing control over? It started a very vicious, hyper-critical mental cycle that took some time getting out of, especially when you know 'taking time for yourself' is only putting you behind the schedule you demand of yourself. I know, logically, I have very little to worry about, so why does everything feel like crap?

So it goes when the sun starts retreating further and further onto the southern horizon. Meanwhile, here's the ACE TRACKS that did make it into the month of September:


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Ylid - Transcend!
Le Moors - Tendrils
Crystal Moon - Temple
Various - A Taste Of Kandi Summer 2007

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 7%
Most “WTF?” Track: One of the Ezdanitoff tracks, if for nothing else than seeing the cover art.

Fun fact: usually when I'm compiling these playlists, it's in one fell swoop, going in reverse from newest to oldest reviews. While making this one, I noticed how I wasn't skipping any due to a lack of Spotify presence. As I inched closer to the end, I wondered, could this be it? Could this, finally, be the ACE TRACKS playlist that doesn't have a single missing album? Like, there's certainly a smaller selection than most months, so it could happen, right?

Then came the obscure ambient/experimental stuff. Yes, even more obscure than Ezdanitoff, somehow. Strange how so many older Hed Kandi releases never made their way to Spotify though. Yeah, the licensing of those old comps would be a bitch to go through nowadays, but surely the mighty Ministry Of Sound has enough scene clout to pull it off?

Friday, September 20, 2019

Hot Chip - The Warning

EMI: 2006

I can't look at this album and not think of a totally different release called The Warning. This particular Warning is a classic tech-step cut from Grooverider, operating under his Codename John alias, released on Metalheadz at the peak of tech-step's dominance. With its spacious sonics, flanged-out surf sounds, low-riding rhythms, and bass reverberating from the depths of oceanic halls, it's a perfect mood setter for a session of prop'ah underground t'ings. Oh, and a repeated vocal of “This is... the warning”, forever lodging itself inside your brain, such that you can't see any other iteration of “the warning” without having that voice saying it for you.

Not that Hot Chip could have known this when they named their sophomore album The Warning (are any of them closet junglists?). Like, the titular song opens with twinkly bells and twee electro-pop rhythms, about as far removed from the rugged 'n' ruff jungle scene as one can ever get. To say nothing of Alexis Taylor's gentle croon at total odds with an ominous sampled voice. Still, there's something to be said for the unnerving way they calmly sing the chorus here: “Hot Chip will break your legs; Snap off your head.” And you know they will too!

Anyhow, I've been meaning to get back into Hot Chip, as the occasional replay of Made In The Dark leaves me yearning to hear more of the group's electro-pop disco-punk palette. I just can't bring myself to revisit One Life Stand though, for reasons I needn't bring up here (damn you, 2010). If I can't go forward, then I must go backward, to the record that truly broke the five-piece out from indie obscurity into... well, indie stardom at least. Despite the DFA association, it'd still be a little longer before dance music followers truly caught onto them (*cough*).

So The Warning, the album that basically cemented what we'd expect to hear out of Hot Chip forever after. The record that fuses so many idiosyncratic musical genres into a charming electro-soup. The LP that let every indie rag flex their name-dropping ability of all the various other bands Hot Chip reminded them of. I kinda' want to avoid doing that, but I honestly understand why they initially did. Very few sounded like what Hot Chip were doing, including Hot Chip themselves. By now though, their style is so distinct, I can easily say, “Yeah, it's a Hot Chip album, from back in the day,” and y'all know exactly what that sounds like. Makes for a poor review on my part though, doesn't it.

I think the trouble I'm having with The Warning is it hasn't quite sunk into me yet, lacking the immediacy Made In The Dark had. This is for the better though, as I'm quite certain I'll get more out of this record the more I return to it. And I will return to it indeed. Just, um, after some other music I need to hear is dealt with first.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

SadGirl - Vol. 3 - Head To The Mountains

self release: 2016

You gotta' hand it to Bandcamp newsletters: they are committed to deep dives within the website's archives, unearthing potential up-and-comers so you don't have to. I can't imagine the soul-sucking experience it must be, sifting through so many amateur musicians, some of which have clearly just cracked open their first freeware producing studio and uploaded their first sessions onto the website in the hopes of a few takes. Not that Bandcamp is anywhere near as bad as Soundcloud in this regard – I'd like to think Bandcamp is where artists release the material they at least believe has some potential of actual money being earned from it – but how many mediocre items must the newsletter writers go through before stumbling upon something worth consideration of a spotlight? Why, it's just like the street 'zines of old!

For sure I'd never have had SadGirl brought to my attention without one such Bandcamp newsletter. Indie rock with influences of archaic surf rock is so far outside my usual wheelhouse, I wouldn't have any clue where to start looking for a fix, much less the commitment to do the necessary digging. If a Bandcamp newsletter promoting surf rockers on their website claims this is a band worth checking out though, then by g'ar I'll check 'em out. Or a tidy little EP on the cheap at least.

And had I first heard the opening song Going Down without that recommendation, I probably would have skipped on by. There's nothing wrong with it, of course, indie rock that's enamoured with the scraggly aesthetics of '60s garage rock and all the punky attributes that'd be adopted in later decades. There's even some nifty echo and reverb on those guitar tones, though nothing that gives me those 'surf' feels, y'know? What's always drawn me to this genre is the open vista it creates with its sonics, and Going Down feels like its still sprung from the tiny rock halls SadGirl cut their mustard in. But hey, they're at least Californian, so some ties to the surf and all.

Nothing sells the punk vibe more than a one-minute ten follow-up in Drowning though, and Someone Else's Skin is a right noisy little number too. I like it fine, I guess, and there's some cool, wavy, echoing solo action, but still not really what I was expecting out of a surf rock newsletter recommendation. Fortunately, we have The Hand That Did The Deed, one of those jangly instrumental ditties that's as much spaghetti Western rock as it is surf rock – the two were synonymous back in the day anyway. Up to this day too, come to think of it. Desperado rock. That's the name it should be called. Someone should make a guide to classic rock to make the name authoritative.

So this EP wasn't what I expected or hoped for, not really convincing me SadGirl was actually a contemporary surf rock band. And yet, I still went and ordered their debut album, Water. Go figure.

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Ylid - Transcend!

Unknown Tone Records: 2014

I kept getting this album and Le Moors' Tendrils mixed up, and not just because they're side-by-side in my current queue, nor because they're both items from Unknown Tone Records. It's the cover art, see, with that muted beige-yellow border, and a blue-something in the middle. Having absolutely no prior knowledge of who either act were, they naturally meshed into my mind as a singular entity, for so long leading me to believe Ylid was Le Moors, and Transcend! was Tendrils. In fact, the only way any of this stood out to me as something distinct from the other is when my new Sony Walkman MP3 player would oddly default first to the Ylid album whenever I plugged it into whatever car I was renting for this past summer's road trips. And boy howdy did it ever leave an impression with that Chant track being the kick off. Ain't nothing like hearing heavily synthy 'aahh's just as you're about to hit the open road, believe you me. Who knew Ylid was a fan of Skin To Skin?

Anyhow, it seems we're back to the outright obscure material again, very little information available regarding Ylid via my usual Discoggian means. One Robert Lyon, he released some half-dozen mini-albums and EPs throughout the mid-'00s, then disappeared for a spell before reappearing out of the blue with this album for Unknown Tone. The only connection I can find between these two periods of Robert's music-making career is Tim Martin, whom he worked with as the short-lived project Somme. Tim Martin's career has been more fruitful, especially as Maps & Diagrams, which led him to Unknown Tone along the way (among other labels I've name-dropped in the past). That good will likely helped give Somme some in with Unknown Tone, after which Robert got to dust off his Ylid project for the label as well. So it does all tie together, guy, but boy, are these ever tenuous strings used.

That's a huge chunk of word count burned getting through particulars, which always means I don't have much to say regarding the actual music within Transcend! It's quite clear Ylid comes from the indie side of things, the Kid A influences dripping throughout the album. Sparse electric and acoustic guitar plucking, fizzy-poppy glitchy treatments, overlaying ambient drone tones, abstract twee electronics, all presented in a sketch-book sort of manner. It's clear Mr. Lyon has lots of little ideas for minimalist compositions, but isn't sure how to present them as a cohesive whole, so here they all are as emerged straight from his brain matter.

For sure there are a few that grab my attention. Thames has a peppy, dreamy pulse going for it, while tracks like Volume Of Air, Overhead and Death Thoughts do the thick, layered reverb ambience nicely. Can't say much else does it for me though, but hey, if you prefer your experimental music from a post-rock angle, this may come off better.

Things I've Talked About

...txt 10 Records 16 Bit Lolita's 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 Play Records 2 Unlimited 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 20xx Update 2562 3 Loop Music 302 Acid 36 3FORCE 3six Recordings 4AD 6 x 6 Records 75 Ark 7L & Esoteric 808 State A Perfect Circle A Positive Life A-Wave a.r.t.less A&M Records A&R Records Abandoned Communities Abasi Above and Beyond abstract AC/DC Ace Trace Ace Tracks Playlists Ace Ventura acid acid house acid jazz acid techno acoustic Acroplane Recordings Adam Beyer Adam Ellis Adam Freeland Adham Shaikh ADNY Adrian Younge adult contemporary Advanced UFO Phantom Aegri Somnia AEI Music Aes Dana Afgin Afrika Bambaataa Afro-house Afterhours Agoria Aidan Casserly Aira Mitsuki Airwaves Ajana Records Ajna AK1200 Akshan album Aldrin Alex Smoke Alex Theory Alice In Chains Alien Community Alien Project Alio Die All Saints Alpha Wave Movement Alphabet Zoo Alphaxone Altar Records Alter Ego alternative rock Alucidnation Ambelion Ambidextrous ambient ambient dub ambient techno Ambient World Ambientium Ametsub Amon Amarth Amon Tobin Amplexus Anabolic Frolic Anatolya Andrea Parker Andrew Heath Androcell Anduin Andy C anecdotes Aniplex Anjunabeats Annibale Records Anodize Another Fine Day Antendex anthem house Anthony Paul Kerby Anthony Rother Anti-Social Network Anzio Green Aoide Aphasia Records Aphex Twin Apócrýphos Apollo Apollo 440 Apple Records April Records Aqua Aquarellist Aquascape Aquasky Aquila Arcade Architects Of Existence Archives Arcturus arena rock Arista Armada Armin van Buuren Arpatle Artifact303 Arts & Crafts ASC Ashtech Asia Asian Dub Foundation Astral Engineering Astral Projection Astral Waves Astralwerks AstroPilot AstroPilot Music Asura Asylum Records ATB ATCO Records Atlantic Atlantis atmospheric jungle Atom Heart Atomic Hooligan Atomine Elektrine Atrium Carceri Attic Attoya Audiobulb Records Audion AuroraX Autechre Autistici Autumn Of Communion Auxilary Auxiliary Avantgarde Avatar Records Aveparthe Avicii Axiom Axs Axtone Records Aythar B.G. The Prince Of Rap B°TONG B12 Babygrande Balance Balanced Records Balearic ballad Bålsam Banco de Gaia Bandulu Barker & Baumecker Battle Axe Records battle-rap Bauri Beastie Boys Beat Buzz Records Beat Pharmacy Beatbox Machinery Beats & Pieces bebop Beck Bedouin Soundclash Bedrock Records Beechwood Music Benny Benassi Bent Benz Street US Berlin-School Beto Narme Beyond bhangra Bicep big beat Big Boi Big Dada Recordings Big L Big Life Bill Hamel Bill Laswell Bill Leeb BIlly Idol BineMusic BioMetal Biophon Records Biosphere Bipolar Music BKS Black Hole Recordings black metal black rebel motorcycle club Black Swan Sounds Blanco Y Negro Blasterjaxx Bleep Blend Blood Music Blow Up Blue Amazon Blue Hour Blue Ă–yster Cult blues blues rock Bluescreen Bluetech BMG Boards Of Canada Bob Dylan Bob Marley Bobina Bogdan Raczynzki Bombay Records Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Boney M Bong Load Records Bonobo Bonzai Boogie Down Productions Booka Shade Botchit & Scarper Bows Boxed Boys Noize Boysnoize Records BPitch Control braindance Brandt Brauer Frick Brasil & The Gallowbrothers Band breakbeats breakcore breaks Brian Eno Brian Wilson Brick Records Britpop Brodinski broken beat Brooklyn Music Ltd Bryan Adams BT Bubble Buffalo Springfield Bulk Recordings Burial Burned CDs Bursak Records Bush Busta Rhymes Buttertones bvdub C.I.A. Calibre calypso Canibus Canned Resistor Capitol Records Capsula Captain Hollywood Project Captured Digital Carbon Based Lifeforms Caribou Carl B Carl Craig Carlos Ferreira Carol C Caroline Records Carpe Sonum Novum Carpe Sonum Records Castroe Casual Cat Sun CD-Maximum Ceephax Acid Crew Celestial Dragon Records Cell Celtic Centaspike Cevin Fisher Cheb i Sabbah Cheeky Records chemical breaks Chihei Hatakeyama Children Of The Bong chill out chill-out chiptune Chris Duckenfield Chris Fortier Chris Korda Chris Liebing Chris Sheppard Chris Witoski Christmas Christopher Lawrence Chromeo Chronos Chrysalis Ciaran Byrne cinematic soundscapes Circle of Pines Circular Ciro Berenguer Cirrus Cities Last Broadcast City Of Angels CJ Stone Claptone classic house classic rock classical Claude Young Clear Label Records Clementz Cleopatra Cloud 9 Club Culture Club Cutz Club Tools Cocoon Recordings Cold Spring Coldcut Coldplay coldwave Colette collagist Columbia Com.Pact Records Coma Eye comedy Compilation Comrie Smith Congo Natty Conjure One Connect.Ohm conscious Control Music Convextion Cooking Vinyl Cor Fijneman Corderoy Cosmic Gate Cosmic Replicant Cosmo Cocktail Cosmos Studios Cottonbelly Council Estate Electronics Council Of Nine Counter Records country country rock Covert Operations Recordings Craig Padilla Craig Richards Crazy Horse Cream Creamfields Creedence Clearwater Revival Crockett's Theme Crosby Stills And Nash Crossing Mind Crosstown Rebels crunk Cryo Chamber Cryobiosis Cryogenic Weekend Cryostasis Crystal Moon Cube Guys Culture Beat Curb Records Current Curve cut'n'paste CYAN Cyan Music Cyber Productions CyberOctave Cyclic Law Cygna Cypher 7 Cypress Hill Cyril Secq Czarface D-Bridge D-Fuse D-Topia Entertainment Daar Dacru Records Daddy G Daft Punk Dag Rosenqvist Damian Lazarus Damon Albarn Damon Wild Dan Terminus Dan The Automator Dance 2 Trance Dance Pool Dance With The Dead dancehall Daniel Heatcliff Daniel Lentz Daniel Pemberton Daniel Wanrooy Danny Howells Danny Tenaglia Dao Da Noize Daphni dark ambient dark disco dark psy darkcore darkside darkstep darksynth darkwave Darla Records Darren Emerson Darren McClure Darren Nye DAT Records Databloem dataObscura David Alvarado David Bickley David Bridie David Cordero David Guetta David Morley DDR De-tuned Dead Coast Dead Melodies Deadmau5 Death Grips death metal Death Row Records Decimal Deconstruction Dedicated Deejay Goldfinger Deep Dish Deep Forest deep house Deeply Rooted House Deepwater Black Deetron Def Jam Recordings Del Tha Funkee Homosapien Delerium Delsin Deltron 3030 Denshi Danshi Depeche Mode Der Dritte Raum Derek Carr Detroit Deviant Records Devin Underwood Devroka Deysn Masiello DFA DGC diametric. Dido Dieselboy Different DigiCube Dillinja Dirk Serries dirty house Dirty South Dirty Vegas Dis Fig disco Disco Gecko disco house Disco Pinata Records disco punk Discover (label) Disky Disques Dreyfus Distant System Distinct'ive Breaks Disturbance Divination DJ 3000 DJ Brian DJ Craze DJ Dag DJ Dan DJ Dean DJ Gonzalo DJ Heather DJ John Kelley DJ John Storm DJ Merlin DJ Mix DJ Moe Sticky DJ Observer DJ Premier DJ Q-Bert DJ Shadow DJ Soul Slinger DJ-Kicks Djen Ajakan Shean DJMag DMC DMC Records Doc Scott Dogon Dogwhistle Dooflex Doom Poets Dopplereffekt Dossier Dousk downtempo dowtempo Dr. Alban Dr. Atmo Dr. Dre Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show Dr. Octagon Dragon Quest dream house dream pop DreamWorks Records Drexciya drill 'n' bass Dronarivm drone Dronny Darko drum 'n' bass DrumNBassArena drumstep drunken review dub Dub Pistols dub techno Dub Trees Dubfire dubstep Dubtribe Sound System DuMonde Dune Dusted Dyadik Dynatron E-Mantra E-Z Rollers Eardream Music Earth Earth Nation Earthling Eastcoast Eastcost Eastern Dub Tactik EastWest Eastworld Eat Static EBM Echodub Ed Rush & Optical Editions EG EDM World Weekly News Ektoplazm Electric Universe electro Electro House Electro Sun electro-funk electro-pop electroclash Electronic Dance Essentials Electronic Music Guide Electrovoya Elektra Elektrolux em:t EMC update EMI Emiliana Torrini Eminem Emmerichk Emperor Norton Empire enCAPSULAte Encym Engine Recordings Enigma Enmarta Ensiferum Enya EP Epic epic trance EQ Recordings Equal Stones Erased Tapes Records Eric Borgo Erik Vee Erol Alkan Escape Esko Barba Esoteric Reactive Espacio Cielo ethereal Etic Etnica Etnoscope Euphoria euro dance eurodance eurotrance Eurythmics Eve Records Everlast Ewan Pearson Exitab experimental Eye Q Records Ezdanitoff F Communications Fabric Facture Fade Records Faex Optim Faint Faithless Falcon Reekon Fallen False Mirror fanfic Fantastisizer Fantasy Enhancing faru Fatboy Slim Fax +49-69/450464 Fear Factory Fedde Le Grand Fehrplay Feist Fektive Records Felix da Housecat Fennesz Ferry Corsten FFRR Fictivision field recordings Filter filters Final Fantasy Firescope Five AM Fjäder Flashover Recordings Floating Points Flowers For Bodysnatchers Flowjob Fluke Fluxion Flying Lotus folk Fontana footwork Force Intel Fountain Music Four Tet FPU Frame Francis M Gri Frank Bretschneider Frankie Bones Frankie Knuckles Frans de Waard Fred Everything freestyle French house Front Line Assembly Frou Frou fsoldigital.com Fugees full-on Fun Factory funk future garage Future Sound Of London Futuregrapher futurepop g-funk G-Prod gabber Gabriel Le Mar Gaither Music Group Galaktlan Galati Gang Starr gangsta garage Gareth Davis Gary Martin Gas Gasoline Alley Records Gee Street Geffen Records Gel-Sol Genesis Geometry Combat George Issakidis Gerald Donald Get Physical Music ghetto Ghostface Killah Ghostly International Glacial Movements Records glam Gliese 581C glitch Glitch Hop Global Communication Global Underground Globular goa trance Goasia God Body Disconnect Gorillaz gospel Gost goth Grammy Awards Gravediggaz Green Bay Wax Green Day Grey Area Greytone Gridlock grime Groove Armada Groove Corporation Grooverider grunge Guru Gustaf Hidlebrand Gusto Records GZA H:U:M H2O Records Haddaway Halgrath happy hardcore hard house hard rock hard techno hard trance hardcore Hardfloor Hardly Art hardstyle Harlequins Enigma Harmless Harmonic 33 Harmonic Resonance Recordings Harold Budd Harthouse Harthouse Mannheim Hawtin Headphone Hearts Of Space Hed Kandi Hefty Records Helen Marnie Hell Hercules And Love Affair Hernán Cattáneo Hexstatic Hi-Bias Records Hic Sunt Leones Hide And Sequence Hiero Emperium Hieroglyphics High Contrast High Note Records Higher Ground Higher Intelligence Agency Hilyard hip-hop hip-house hipno Hollywood Burns Home Normal Honest Jon's Records Hooj Choons Hope Records horrorcore Hospital Records Hot Chip Hotflush Recordings house Howie B Huey Lewis & The News Human Blue Humanoid Hybrid Hybrid Leisureland Hymen Records Hyperdub Hypertrophy Hypnotic Hypnoxock I Awake I-Cube i! Records I.F. I.F.O.R. I.R.S. Records Iboga Records Icarus Music Ice Cube Ice H2o Records ICE MC IDM Iempamo Ignis Fatum Igorrr Ikjoyce illbient ILUITEQ Imogen Heap Imperial Dancefloor Imploded View In Charge In Trance We Trust Incoming Incubus Indica Records indie rock Indisc Industrial Infastructure New York Infected Mushroom Infinite Guitar influence records Infonet Inhmost Ink Midget Inner Ocean Records Innovative Leisure Records Insane Clown Posse Inspectah Deck Instinct Ambient Instra-Mental Intellitronic Bubble Inter-Modo Interchill Records Internal International Deejays Gigolo Interscope Records Intimate Productions Intuition Recordings ISBA Music Entertainment Ishkur Ishq Island Def Jam Music Group Island Records Islands Of Light Italians Do It Better italo disco italo house Item Caligo J-pop Jack Moss Jackpot Jacob Newman Jafu Jake Stephenson Jam and Spoon Jam El Mar James Blake James Holden James Horner James Lavelle James Murray James Zabiela Jamie Jones Jamie Myerson Jamie Principle Jamiroquai Javelin Ltd. Jay Haze Jay Tripwire Jaydee jazz jazz dance jazzdance jazzstep Jean-Michel Jarre Jefferson Airplane Jerry Goldsmith Jesper Dahlbäck Jessy Lanza Jimmy Van M Jiri.Ceiver Jive Jive Electro Jliat Jlin JMJ Joel Mull Joey Beltram John '00' Fleming John Acquaviva John Beltran John Digweed John Graham John Kelly John O'Callaghan John Oswald John Shima Johnny Cash Johnny Jewel Jon Hester Jonny L Jori Hulkkonen Joris Voorn Jørn Stenzel Josh Christie Josh Wink Journeys By DJ™ LLC Joyful Noise Recordings Juan Atkins juke Jump Cut jump up Jumpin' & Pumpin' jungle Junior Boy's Own Junkie XL Juno Reactor Jupiter 8000 Jurassic 5 Kaico Kay Wilder KDJ Keith Farrugia Ken Ishii Kenji Kawai Kenny Glasgow Keoki Keosz Kerri Chandler Kevin Braheny Kevin Yost Kevorkian Records Khetzal Khooman Khruangbin Ki/oon Kid Koala Kiko Killing Joke Kinder Atom Kinetic Records King Cannibal King Midas Sound King Tubby Kitaro Klang Elektronik Klaus Schulze Klik Records KMFDM Koch Records Koichi Sugiyama Kolhoosi 13 Komakino Kompakt Kon Kan Kool Keith Kozo Kraftwelt Kraftwerk Krafty Kuts Kranky krautrock Kriistal Ann Krill.Minima Kris O'Neil Kriztal KRS-One Kruder and Dorfmeister Krusseldorf Kubinski KuckKuck Kulor Kurupt Kwook L.B. Dub Corp L.S.G. L'usine La Luz Lab 4 Ladytron LaFace Records Lafleche Lamb Lange Large Records Lars Leonhard Laserlight Digital LateNightTales Latin Laurent Garnier Layer 3 LCD Soundsystem Le Moors Leaf Leama and Moor Lee 'Scratch' Perry Lee Burridge Lee Norris Leftfield Leftfield Records Legacy Legiac Legowelt Lemony Records Leon Bolier Les Disques Du CrĂ©puscule LFO Linear Labs Lingua Lustra Lionel Weets Liquid Frog Records liquid funk Liquid Sound Design Liquid Stranger Liquid Zen Literon Live live album LL Cool J lo fi Loco Dice Lodsb LoFi London acid crew London Classics London Elektricity London Records 90 Ltd London-Sire Records LongWalkShortDock Loop Guru Loreena McKennitt Lorenzo Masotto Lorenzo MontanĂ  loscil Lost Language Lotek Records Loud Records Louderbach Loverboy Lowfish Luaka Bop Lucette Bourdin Luciano Luke Slater Lunarian Records Lustmord M_nus M.A.N.D.Y. M.I.K.E. Mack 10 Madonna Magda Magik Muzik Mahiane Mali Malignant Records Mammoth Records Mantacoup Marc Simz Marcel Dettmann Marcel Fengler Marco Carola Marco V Marcus Intalex Mark Farina Mark Norman Mark Pritchard Markus Schulz Marshmello Martin Allin Martin Cooper Martin Nonstatic Märtini Brös Marvin Gaye Maschine Massimo Vivona Massive Attack Masta Killa Master Margherita Matthew Dear Max Graham maximal Maxx MCA MCA Records McProg Meanwhile Meat Loaf Median Project Medicine Label Meditronica Melusine Records Memex Menno de Jong Mercury Merr0w Mesmobeat metal Metal Blade Records Metamatics Method Man Metro Area Metroplex Metropolis MF Doom Miami Bass Miami Beach Force Miami Dub Machine Michael Brook Michael Jackson Michael Mantra Michael Mayer Mick Chillage micro-house microfunk Microscopics MIG Miguel Migs Mike Saint-Jules Mike Shiver Miktek Mille Plateaux Millennium Records Mind Distortion System Mind Over MIDI mini-CDs minimal minimal tech-house Ministry Of Sound miscellaneous Misja Helsloot Miss Kittin Miss Moneypenny's Mistical Mixmag Mixmaster Morris Mo Wax Mo-Do MO-DU Moby Model 500 modern classical Modeselektor Mohlao Moist Music Moljebka Pvulse Moodymann Moonshine Morgan Morphic Resonance Morphology Moss Covered Technology Moss Garden Motech Motionfield Motorbass Mount Shrine Move D Moving Shadow Mr. Scruff Mujaji Murk Murmur Mushy Records Music link Music Man Records musique concrete Mutant Sound System Mute MUX Muzik Magazine My Best Friend Mystery Tape Laboratory Mystica Tribe Mystified N-Trance Nacht Plank Nadia Ali Nano Records Napalm Records Nas Nashville Natural Life Essence Natural Midi Nature Sounds Naughty By Nature Nav Bhinder Nebula Neil Young Neo Ouija Neo-Adventures Neon Droid Neotantra Neotropic nerdcore Nervous Records Nettwerk Neurobiotic Records neurofunk Neuropa Records New Age New Beat New Jack Swing New Order new wave Nic Fanciulli Nick Höppner Night Hex Night Time Stories Nightmares On Wax Nightwind Records Nimanty Nine Inch Nails Ninja Tune Nirvana nizmusic No Mask Effect Nobuo Uematsu noise Noise Factory Records Nomad Nonesuch Nonplus Records Nookie Nordic Trax Norken Norman Cook Norman Feller North South Northumbria Not Now Music Nothing Records Nova NovaMute NRG Ntone nu-italo nu-jazz nu-metal nu-skool Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Entertainment Nulll Nunc Stans Nurse With Wound NXP Nyquist Oasis Ocelot Octagen Offshoot Offshoot Records Ol' Dirty Bastard Olan Mill Old Europa Cafe old school rave Ole Højer Hansen Olga Musik Olien Oliver Lieb Olivier Orand Olsen OM Records Omni Trio Omnimotion Omnisonus One Little Indian Onyx Oophoi Oosh Open Open Canvas Opium Opus III orchestral Original TranceCritic review Origo Sound Orkidea Orla Wren Ornament Ostgut Ton Ott Ottsonic Music Ouragan Out Of The Box OutKast Outmosphere Records Outpost Records Overdream Owl P-Ben Pale Glow Paleowolf Pan Sonic Pantera Pantha Du Prince Paolo Mojo Parental Advisory Parlaphone Part-Sub-Merged Pascal F.E.O.S. Past Inside The Present Patreon Patrick Dream Paul Moelands Paul Oakenfold Paul van Dyk Pendulum Pentatonik Perfect Stranger Perfecto Perturbator Pet Shop Boys Petar Dundov Pete Namlook Pete Tong Peter Andersson Peter Benisch Peter Broderick Peter Gabriel Peter Tosh Phantogram Phonothek Photek Phutureprimitive Phynn PIAS Recordings Pinch Pink Floyd Pioneer Pitch Black PJ Harvey Plaid Planet Dog Planet Earth Recordings Planet Mu Planetary Assault Systems Planetary Consciousness Plastic City Plastikman Platinum Platipus Pleq Plump DJs Plunderphonic Plus 8 Records PM Dawn Poker Flat Recordings Polar Seas Recordings Pole Folder politics Polydor Polytel pop Popular Records Porya Hatami positivesource post-dubstep post-punk power electronics Prince Prince Paul Prins Thomas Priority Records Private Mountain Procs Profondita prog prog metal prog psy prog rock prog-psy progress house Progression progressive breaks progressive house progressive rock progressive trance Prolifica Proper Records Prototype Recordings protoU Pryda psy chill psy dub Psy Spy Records psy trance psy-chill psy-dub psychedelia Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia Psychomanteum Psychonavigation Psychonavigation Records Psycoholic Psykosonik Psysolation Public Enemy Pulse-8 Records punk punk rock Pureuphoria Records Purl Purple Soil Push PWL International Quadrophonia Quality Quango Quantic Quantum Quinlan Road R & S Records R'n'B R&B Ra Rabbit In The Moon Radio Slave Radioactive Radioactive Man Radiohead Rae Raekwon ragga Rainbow Vector raison d'etre Raja Ram Ralf Hildenbeutel Ralph Lawson RAM Records Randal Collier-Ford Random Review Rank 1 rant Rapoon RareNoise Records Ras Command Rascalz Raster-Noton Ratatat Raum Records rave RCA React Rebecca & Nathan Recycle Or Die Red Fog Red Jerry Redman Refracted reggae ReKaB REKIDS remixes Renaissance Renaissance Man Rephlex Reprise Records Republic Records Resist Music Restless Records RetroSynther Reverse Alignment Reverse Pulse Rhino Records Rhys Fulber Ricardo Villalobos Richard Durand Richard Stonefield Riley Reinhold Ringo Sheena Rising High Records RnB Roadrunner Records Robert Hood Robert Miles Robert Oleysyck Robert Rich Roc Raida rock rock opera rockabilly rocktronica Roger Sanchez ROIR Rollo Roman Ridder Rough Trade Rub-N-Tug Ruben Garcia Rudy Adrian Ruffhouse Records Rumour Records Running Back Ruptured World Ruthless Records RX-101 Rykodisc RZA S.E.T.I. Saafi Brothers Sabled Sun SadGirl Saitoh Tomohiro Sakanaction Salt Tank Salted Music Salvation Music Samim Samora sampling Samurai Red Seal Sanctuary Records Sander van Doorn Sandoz Sandwell District SantAAgostino Saphileaum Sarah McLachlan Sash Sasha Saul Stokes Scandinavian Records Scann-Tec sci-fi Science Scooter Scott Grooves Scott Hardkiss Scott Stubbs Scuba Seán Quinn Seaworthy Segue Sense Sentimony Records Sequential Seraphim Rytm Setrise Seven Davis Jr. Sghor sgnl_fltr Shackleton Shaded Explorations Shaded Explorer Shadow Records Sharam Shawn Francis shoegaze Shpongle Shuta Yasukochi Si Matthews Side Effects SideOneDummy Records Sidereal Signature Records SiJ Silent Season Silent Universe Silentes Silentes Minimal Editions Silicone Soul silly gimmicks Silver Age Simian Mobile Disco Simon Berry Simon Heath Simon Posford Simon Scott Simple Records Sinden Sine Silex single Single Gun Theory Sire Records Company Six Degrees Sixeleven Records Sixtoo ska Skanfrom Skare Skin To Skin Skua Atlantic Slaapwel Records Slam Sleep Research Facility Slinky Music Slowcraft Records Sly and Robbie Smalltown Supersound SME Visual Works Inc. SMTG Limited Snap Sneijder Snoop Dogg Snowy Tension Pole soft rock Soiree Records International Solar Fields Solaris Recordings Solarstone Soleilmoon Recordings Solieb Solieb Digital Solipsism Soliquid Solstice Music Europe Solvent Soma Quality Recordings Songbird Sony Music Entertainment SOS soul Soul Temple Entertainment soul:r Souls Of Mischief Sound Of Ceres Soundgarden Sounds From The Ground soundtrack southern rap southern rock space ambient Space Dimension Controller space disco Space Manoeuvres space music space synth Spacetime Continuum Spaghetti Recordings Spank Rock Special D Specta Ciera speed garage Speedy J SPG Music Sphäre Sechs Spicelab Spielerei Spinefarm Records Spiritech spoken word Sport Spotify Suggestions Spotted Peccary Spring Hill SPX Digital Spy vs Spice Squarepusher Squaresoft Stacey Pullen Stanton Warriors Star Trek Stardust Statrax Stay Up Forever Stealth Sonic Recordings Stephanie B Stephen Kroos Stereolab Steve Angello Steve Brand Steve Lawler Steve Miller Band Steve Porter Steven Rutter Stijn van Cauter Stimulus Timbre Stone Temple Pilots Stonebridge Stormloop Stray Gators Street Fighter Stuart McLean Studio K7 Stylophonic Sub Focus Subharmonic Sublime Sublime Porte Netlabel Subotika Substance Suction Records Suduaya Suicide Squeeze SUN Project Sun Station Sunbeam Sunday Best Recordings Sunscreem Suntrip Records Supercar Superstition surf rock Susumu Yokota Sven Väth SVLBRD Swayzak Sweet Trip swing Switch Swollen Members Sykonee Survey Sylk 130 Symmetry Sync24 Synergy Synkro synth pop synth-pop synthwave System 7 Tactic Records Take Me To The Hospital Tall Paul Tammy Wynette Tangerine Dream Tau Ceti Taylor Tayo tech house Tech Itch Digital Tech Itch Recordings tech-house tech-step tech-trance Technical Itch techno technobass Technoboy Tectonic Telefon Tel Aviv Telstar Terminal Antwerp Terra Ferma Terror Cell Terry Lee Brown Jr Tetsu Inoue Textere Oris The Angling Loser The B-52's The Beach Boys The Beatles The Black Dog The Boats The Brian Jonestown Massacre The Bug The Chemical Brothers The Circular Ruins The Clash The Council The Cranberries The Crystal Method The Digital Blonde The Dust Brothers The Field The Frozen Vaults The Gentle People The Glimmers The Green Kingdom The Grey Area The Grid The Hacker The Herbaliser The Human League The Irresistible Force The KLF The Micronauts The Misted Muppet The Movement The Music Cartel The Null Corporation The Oak Ridge Boys The Offspring The Orb The Police The Prodigy The Real McCoy The Roots The Sabres Of Paradise The Shamen The Sharp Boys The Sonic Voyagers The Squires The Stills-Young Band The Stray Gators The Tea Party The Tragically Hip The Velvet Underground The Wailers The White Stripes The Winterhouse themes Thievery Corporation Third Contact Third World Tholen Thrive Records Tiefschwarz TiĂ«sto Tiga Tiger & Woods Tijuana Panthers Time Life Music Time Warp Timecode Timestalker Tipper Tobias Tocadisco Todd Terje Toki Fuko Tom Middleton Tom Tom Club Tomas Jirku Tomita Tommy '86 Tommy Boy Ton T.B. Tone Depth Tony Anderson Sound Orchestra Too Pure Tool tools Topaz Tosca Toto Touch Touched Tourette Records Toxik Synther Tracing Xircles Traffic Entertainment Group trance Trancelucent Tranquillo Records Trans'Pact Transcend Transformers Transient Records trap Trax Records Trend Trentemøller Tresor tribal Tricky Triloka Records trip-hop Trishula Records Tristan Troum Troy Pierce TRS Records Tru Thoughts Tsuba Records Tsubasa Records Tuff Gong Tunnel Records Turbo Recordings turntablism TUU TVT Records Twisted Records Type O Negative TĂ˝r U-God U-Recken U2 U4IC DJs Ăśberzone Ugasanie UK acid house UK Garage UK Hard House Ultimae Records Ultra Records Umbra Underworld Union Jack United Dairies United DJs Of America United Recordings Universal Motown Universal Music Universal Records Universal Republic Records UNKLE Unknown Tone Records Unusual Cosmic Process UOVI Upstream Records Urban Icon Records Utada Hikaru V2 Vagrant Records Valanx Valiska Valley Of The Sun Vangelis Vap VAST Vector Lovers Venetian Snares Venonza Records Vermont Vernon Versatile Records Verus Records Verve Records VGM Vibrant Music Vice Records Victor Calderone Victor Entertainment Vidna Obmana Viking metal Vince DiCola Vinyl Cafe Productions Virgin Virtual Vault Virus Recordings Visionquest Visions Vitalic vocal trance Vortex Voxxov Records Voyage Wagram Music Waki Wanderwelle Warmth Warner Bros. Records Warp Records Warren G Water Music Dance Wave Recordings Wave Records Waveform Waveform Records Wax Trax Records Way Out West WC WEA Wednesday Campanella Weekend Players Weekly Mini-Review Werk Discs Werkstatt Recordings WestBam Westside Connection White Cloud White Swan Records Wichita Will Saul William Orbit Willie Nelson Wintersun world beat world music writing reflections Wrong Records Wu-Tang Clan Wurrm Wyatt Keusch Xerxes The Dark XL Recordings XTT Recordings Yahgan Yamaoka Yello Yes Ylid Youth Youtube YoYo Records Yul Records zakè Zenith ZerO One Zoharum Zomby Zoo Entertainment ZTT Zyron ZYX Music µ-Ziq