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Today:
Best Electronic Group?
OK, time to test the waters and see if this crowd is into electronic music. Here's the challenge: What's the single best album release of an electronic musician or band?
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I have to give it to a trip hop group that is a combo electronic/live instrument classic.
Artist: Portishead
Album: Portishead
Year: 1997
And now a prediction or two:
Everyone will pick a work composed by Trent Reznor or Aphex Twin.
Some annoying little person is going to put down BT or Fat Boy Slim.
(PS) ----: My second place is Trent and third is Aphex.
Probably followed by one of the Prodigy albums, then the Basement Jaxx, Massive Attack, Tricky, Kruder and Dorfmeister, Daft Punk, Squarepusher, Jega, Venetian Snares, Derrick Carter, Peaches, the Hacker, Felix the Housecat, Miss Kitten and Bent.
How about Benny Benassi or Eric Prydz or the man Dj Shadow?
How about Benny Benassi or Eric Prydz or the man Dj Shadow?
word.
Shadow can't be tamed. I once got in an argument with a room mate over whether or not the hip-hoppers or the beat freaks could claim them as their own. I say he's ours.
Gotta cast my vote for:
Tri Repetae++ by Autechre. It's a bloody difficult listen, not something I pop in lightly, in fact I listen to it rarely. The album deserves it's own pedestal though. I swear those guys are alien machine intelligences.
After that, mmmm in no particular order, Coil's 'Black Light District' and 'Loves Secret Domain', The Orb's 'Orblivion' and 'Bicycles & Tricycles'.
As for your predictions... :-)
It's difficult to make generalities about Aphex Twin albums. They are so all over the place. Selected Ambient Works II was pretty much without any major failings, and I think his small releases like the Window Licker EP might be his strong suit.
My favorite thing by Mr. Reznor was PHM and that was a long long time ago!
Happy blipping!
Top 3 and two oddballs (not sure if most people really count them, but I think they fit ... and I'd put them ahead of most of the top 3). In no particular order:
Chemical Brothers: Dig Your Own Hole
UNKLE: Psyence Fiction
Portishead: Dummy (I like the album you mentioned as well Doug, but prefer Dummy)
And the oddballs: Radiohead — Kid A and Beastie Boys(/Dust Brothers) — Paul's Boutique
Aphex Twin scares me.
Agreed that Aphex Twin is scary. I describe anything on Boltfish Recordings as "what Aphex Twin would sound like if he were medicated."
I once heard a nu skool remix of Kid A that remains, to this day, the most incredible track I've ever heard. I just wish I knew who did it. :-)
Aphex Twin is not scary, he's just right. Plus he has the best videos around. Check out Rubber Johnny if you haven't seen it yet. Creepy! Did you know that he has synaesthesia? Might explain alot of his ambient stuff and the crazy 'blue-green' split time stuff.
Also, Jammy you are revitalizing my hope in Indy (I didn't know there were other hoosiers into autechre).
Dummied, Radiohead doesn't count, as they are the biggest electronic influenced band and not the other way around. Thanks for playing.
word. Shadow can't be tamed. I once got in an argument with a room mate ...
I'd consider DJ Shadow to be more hip-hop. Possibly not as much for his latest album, but for "Endtroducing.." which is easily his best album and one of my favorites. Judging from some interviews with DJ Shadow that I've read, I think he considers himself to be in the instrumental hip-hop genre as well.
My favorite electronica albums that I can think of right now include "Music Has the Right to Children" by Boards of Canada, "Moon Safari" by Air, Múm's "Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is OK".. definitely agree about Portishead (either self-titled or Dummy).
Other favorites include M83, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin, Prefuse 73 (if glitch-hop counts), Massive Attack, Caribou, Bent, Röyksopp, Daft Punk and Plaid.
I'm not good at picking a favorite or ordering them (it always seems to change), but Justice is a recent favorite of mine. Celldweller's songwriting and production always amaze me.
Others: Kraftwerk, The Echoing Green, Shiny Toy Guns. I like a variety, but tend towards synthpop, electro-rock, and some industrial.
I've always enjoyed myself some Daft Punk.
One of my favorite electronic albums right now is '13 & God', which is a collaboration between The Notwist and a hip-hop group called Themselves. They do this weird stream-of-consciousness style drone-rap that's not easy for most people to listen to, but I love it for some reason. It's unlike anything else I've ever heard. Also liked Sneaker Pimps' "Becoming X".
Electronicky stuff -- not all of it strictly electronic (some of it veers more toward pop -- but all of it is very, very good:
M83
Boards of Canada
BLOW
DNTEL
Manitoba
Cornelius
Enon
Flunk
Bjork
Gary Numan
Fennesz
Mouse on Mars
Hood
Hot Chip
Rabbit in the Moon...or the Bruce Haack tribute album...
Daft Punk
Portishead
Meat Katie
Massive Attack
Miss Kitten
The Hacker
Thom Yorke
Hot Chip
Mr. Oizo
Digitalism
Justice
Kavinsky
Klaxons
Paul Anthony (who is coming to town soon, btw)
Bryan Jones (orig. from Ft. Wayne, now in Chicago)
Matthew Dear
Röyksopp
Delerium - Chimera, St. Germain - Tourist, Oakenfold - Voyage into Trance, Digweed - Global Underground - LA, The Cystal Method - Vegas, Van Dyk - Out There and Back, Air - Premiers Symptomes, The Future Sound of London - The Isness are among my choices along with many of those named already.....
Mum: Finally We are No One. Mouse on Mars are great! Yay Daft Punk! What about Whitest Boy Alive? What about LCD Soundsystem?
How did Simian Mobile Disco, Boys Noize and Junior Boys not make this list? I'm also really getting into the newest Burial album, Untrue.
Black Moth Super Rainbow
Damn I love Tiesto, Oakenfold, and Gabriel & Dresden.
Some other great stuff Felix da Housecat, Thievary Corporation, Massive Attack, Motorcycle, Armin van Buuren, BT (guess I'm annoying), Daft Punk (especially Discovery), of there are so many.
I love it all.
I wonder if there are any Psy/Goa Trance lovers here. Infected Mushroom, Cosmosis, Shakta, Man with no Name, 1200 Micrograms, Astral Projection, Psycraft, Skazi, Kai Tracid, Talamasca, Fractal Glider anyone?
Brooklyn Bounce is ok but Benny Benassi FTFW