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With a few exceptions, like Wednesday Campanella, all artists on these lists meet the criteria for this sub.
This article is a collection of album lists and playlists for 16 languages of Japan and their corresponding music traditions. For excluded languages, see the table at the end of the article. The album lists and playlists are intended to be comprehensive, covering everything that exists on YouTube and Spotify that meets the criteria. This is a rewriting and update of an article I wrote in 2019 because the lists have grown substantially since then.
Criteria
The first criteria for inclusion on the playlist is that the track be free of audio defects that hinder listening enjoyment, such as unnatural jump cuts or background noise. This means I have excluded all recordings of live performances on YouTube, as they tend to be of poor quality. However, live recordings on Spotify don't have the same issues, so I included them.
Here are a couple of recommendations for high quality live recordings on YouTube: Yonashiro Miwa - Sakitagawa and Asazaki Ikue - Tida nu Utimagure Bushi feat. UA.
The second criteria is that it fits into the musical tradition. The language list in each category is followed by a "unique characteristics" list and an "other characteristics" list. Every track included in the playlists has some influence from at least one of the listed "languages" or "unique characteristics" in that category. A variety of edge cases can be dealt with by enumerating musical characteristics in this way. These languages and characteristics are linked to my favorite examples of each. For modern innovations I noted the inventor and date of first attestation in parentheses when known.
Albums are included in the album list if they have four or more tracks that meet the criteria and a majority of tracks meet the criteria. Albums that did not meet this still had the relevant tracks added to a playlist. In addition to avoiding track duplication between the album lists and playlists for each language, Spotify playlists only include tracks not on YouTube.
In four cases, every album on an artist's page met the criteria, so I linked to their artist page instead.
Organization
The languages are ordered by prefecture from north to south: Hokkaidou, Toukyou-to, Kagoshima, and Okinawa. After listing the language, I added an endonym in brackets when needed. Album lists are broken down by genre and then listed in order of my personal preference. As a default, YouTube playlists are sorted by artist and then sorted by personal preference, but I have noted exceptions. Personal preference means that the best artists tend to be at the top of the playlist although later on down this principle sometimes gave way to other concerns like placing similar artists together. Spotify playlists are also sorted in this way as a default, except I divided them into not georestricted, US-restricted, and Japan-restricted sections in that order. To get around georestrictions see this guide.
To help those who saw the article last year, I put the album or artist name in italics if it was not on last years list. Bold indicates it was newly uploaded in 2019 or had georestrictions removed. However, the renovations to each playlist were extensive, so I did not annotate them. The largest change was adding tracks from the sally YouTube channel. The second largest was removing miyako宮古島民謡 channel tracks from the Miyako playlist due to lack of quality.
Hokkaidou
Four languages: Nivkh, Ulta, Karapto Ainu, and Hokkaido= Ainu
Nivkh Music
Content: 1 playlist and 3 albums
YouTube Playlist - 8 tracks
Traditional Album
Western Classical Albums
Criteria
Language: Nivkh
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of the Nivkh, Nivkh vocal modulation techniques, Kalni vocal modulator, Kanga brass jaw harp, Zakanga iron jaw harp1, T'ynryn fiddle, Kkas drum, Jampa jingle belt, and Tja tja chkar musical beam2.
Ulta Music
Content: 1 playlist
YouTube Playlist - 11 tracks
Criteria
Language: Ulta
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of the Ulta25, Daali drum, Jaakpa jingle belt, and Joodopu rattles2.
Ainu Music
Content: 3 playlists, 2 artist pages, and 11 albums
YouTube Playlist Karapto Ainu - 14 tracks
YouTube Playlist Hokkaido= Ainu - 154 tracks
Music influenced by the language and melodies of the Karapto Ainu is placed in the Karapto Ainu playlist, and everything else is placed in the Hokkaido= Ainu playlist.
Spotify Playlist - 19 tracks
Traditional Albums
Marewrew Artist Page (if you browse from your US Spotify account you will see one additional album)
Pro Sound Effects Library - Ainu Music of Japan
Pop Albums
Oki Dub Ainu Band Artist Page (best to browse this from your US Spotify account)
Experimental Albums
Criteria
Languages: Karapto Ainu and Hokkaido= Ainu
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of the Ainu, Ainu vocal modulation techniques, Tonkori zither, Mukkuri jaw harp, Kaco tambourine, Cirektekuttar flute, Pararayki lute, Ainu fiddle3, and Ainu singing bowls4 (2008).
Toukyou-to
Two languages: Hachijou and Ogasawara creole
Hachijou Music
Content: 2 playlists
YouTube Playlist - 11 tracks
Spotify Playlist - 5 tracks
Criteria
Language: Hachijou
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of Hachijou, Hachijou method of striking wadaiko drum from both sides5, and Daitou Islands songs influenced by Hachijou6.
Other characteristics: Songs accompanied by drum.
Ogasawara Music
Content: 1 playlist and 2 albums
YouTube Playlist - 15 tracks
Albums
Ring Links - Bonin Islands Old Song Book
Ishida Osamu - Bonin Island Songs
Criteria
Even books on the region failed to uncover even a single example of Ogasawara creole put to music. The musical traditions of Ogasawara are still intriguing in their own right.
Unique characteristics: Nanyou Odori (Joseph Gonzales,1923), Ogasawara Koyou (1940)7, Kaka cabbagewood drum (Ikeda Nozomu, 1984)8, and Japanese songs incorporating Ogasawara idiom.
Nanyou Odori are Ogasawaran adaptations of 6 dance songs brought from Micronesia. The mixture of Micronesian languages and Japanese is puzzling as it bears little semblance to vernacular Ogasawara creole7. Perhaps the Japanese portions replaced fragments lost during oral transmission or that were difficult to pronounce. During this period, Micronesian songs hopped between islands, so the place names in parentheses below are best guesses only for places of origin.
6 Nanyou Odori: Urame (Saipan)9, Yoake Mae ni (Koror), Uwadoro (Chuuk)7, Gidai (Indonesian)10, Aftairan (Marshallese), and Aftaiwan (Marshallese)9.
There are also Japanese versions of two Nanyou Odori: Yoake Mae ni and Shime Odori (Japanese version of Aftairan).
Ogasawara Koyou are 4 songs with Japanese lyrics set to Palauan melodies: Marukibune by an unknown lyricist first attested in 1940 and the other three Oyado no tame ni, Palau no 5 Choume, and Lemon Bayashi by Sebori Abell first attested in 1955.7
Other characteristics: Ukulele and steel pan.
Kagoshima
Six languages of the Amami islands
Amami Music [シマ唄]
Content: 2 playlists, 1 artist page, and 12 albums.
YouTube Playlist - 258 tracks organized by traditional, enka, and pop genres. Within each genre sorted as usual.
Spotify Playlist - 57 tracks organized by traditional, live, enka, and pop genres. Within each genre sorted as usual.
Traditional Albums
Tokuhara Yamato - Shoki no Tokuhara Yamato Amami Shimauta Kessakusen Ichi
Douglas Haring - Folk Music of the Amami Islands
Sato Kunitaka - Amami no Nakiuta
COLEZO - Amami and Okinawa Island Songs
Pop Albums
Asazaki Ikue Artist Page (From US you will see Amami album, and from Japan you will see Obokuri album.)
Rikki - Amami no Uta Asobi RIKKI no Kurousagi Haneta
Hajime Chitose - Hajime Uta Yuugen
Criteria
Languages: Kikai [キャー]11, Amami [ウシマ]12, Setouchi, Tokunoshima [トゥクヌシマ]13, Okinoerabu [いぃらぶ]14, and Yoron [ユンヌ]15. Tonfutsuugo dialect of Japanese16. Translations of songs originally in an Amami language.
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of the Amami islands, Amami shamisen, Chidjin drum, Utakake vocal accompaniment17, Bou odori stick percussion, Amami tategoto (Sato Kunitaka, 1937)18, and Amami modern warabeuta genre (Rikki, 2017).
Other characteristics: Falsetto19, melisma20, and yubibue whistling.
Okinawa
Four languages: Kunigami, Miyako, Yaeyama, and Yonaguni.
Kunigami [ヤンバル] Music
Content: 3 playlists and 1 album.
YouTube Playlist - 126 tracks
YouTube Playlist - 4 single track albums of mostly Okinawan music with a smattering of Kunigami, Miyako, and Yaeyama music. The individual tracks weren't available separately.
Spotify Playlist - 43 tracks
Pop Album
Criteria
Language: Kunigami. Translations of songs originally in Kunigami.
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of northern Okinawa, Izena, Iheya, Ie, Tsuken, and Kudaka21.
Other characteristics: Okinawa sanshin, kutu harp, kuuchoo strings, fansoo flute, wood blocks, paaranku flat drum, shime daiko mini drum, hira daiko drum, kakegoe abstract interjections, and yubibue whistling22.
Miyako [Myahk] Music
Content: 2 playlists and 5 albums.
YouTube Playlist - 99 tracks
Spotify Playlist - 24 tracks
Traditional Albums
Yonashiro Miwa - Myahk Song Book
Nakasone Yutaka - Hoshizuna no Shima kara Aagu
Miyaguni Yoneo - Okinawa Miyakojima Koyou
Pop Album
Criteria
Language: Miyako. Translations of songs originally in Miyako.
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of the Miyako islands.
Other characteristics: Okinawa sanshin, kuuchoo strings, kutu harp, fansoo flute, shime daiko mini drum, hira daiko drum, kakegoe abstract interjections, and yubibue whistling.
The single track album at the start of the main YouTube Yaeyama playlist also has some Miyako music.
Yaeyama [ヤイマ] Music
Content: 3 playlists, 1 artist page, and 12 albums.
Main YouTube Playlist - 142 tracks
YouTube Playlist of Duplicates - 170 tracks
Even more than the other categories, the music of Yaeyama has tons of duplicates - different performances of the same song. To keep things organized, I ordered the playlists alphabetically (Japanese) by song title. Then I put the best version of each song at the beginning of the main playlist and moved duplicates to a separate playlist for the most often covered songs (4 or more duplicates). This improves the listening experience for the main playlist while specific performances are still on hand when the mood strikes. The number of duplicates for each song on the duplicate playlist is as follows: Akan Ma Bushi 4, Agarooza 4, Asadoya Bushi 6, Asadoya Yunta 52, Katami Bushi 4, Kabira Bushi 4, Kurushima Kuduchi 4, Shiraho Bushi 5, Tsuki nu Kaisha 14, Densaa Bushi 10, Tubaraama 28, Hatoma Bushi 16, Basi nu Turwi Bushi 8, Yamazaki nu Abujaama 4, and Yonaguni Shonkanee 7.
Spotify Playlist - 88 tracks. Also organized alphabetically by song title. Within each georestriction section I moved the best version of each song to the top followed by duplicates.
Traditional Albums
Masuda Megumi - Ichiro Yaeyama Minyou
Yamasato Yukichi - Yaeyama Sodachi
Ase - Yanbaree Yunta Shimajima no Uta Dai 3 Shuu
Hanashiro Zensei - Yaeyama Koten Minyou
Pop Albums
Matsutake Kenshiro - Churashima
Iramina Koukichi - Furusato Pray from the Islands
The Sakishima Meeting - The Silence of Sakishima
Parsha Club - Yukito Ara Parsha Club Ver. 1.02
Criteria
Language: Yaeyama. Translations of songs originally in Yaeyama.
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of the Yaeyama islands.
Other characteristics: Okinawa sanshin, kuuchoo strings, kutu harp, fansoo flute, wood blocks, shime daiko mini drum, hira daiko drum, kakegoe abstract interjections, and yubibue whistling.
Yonaguni [ドゥナン] Music
Content: 2 playlists
YouTube Playlist - 34 tracks
Spotify Playlist - 10 tracks
Criteria
Language: Yonaguni
Unique characteristics: Traditional melodies of Yonaguni.
Other characteristics: Okinawa sanshin, fansoo flute, wood blocks, shime daiko mini drum, hira daiko drum, and kakegoe abstract interjections.
Excluded Languages
| Reason for Exclusion | Excluded Languages |
|---|---|
| Too many examples for a comprehensive list | Japanese, Okinawan [ウチナー], and Pseudo Classical Japanese |
| Sign languages | Japanese Sign Language, Amami Ooshima Sign Language, and Miyakubo Sign Language |
| Could not find any high quality music examples | Sanka, Matagi, Manchurian Creole, Yilan Creole, Yokohama Pidgin, Zainichi Korean, Kanbun Japanese, Yamataikoku Japanese, Nara Japanese, Central Old Japanese, Heian Japanese, Medieval Japanese, Early Modern Japanese, reconstructed proto-Japanese, reconstructed proto-Ryuukyuuan23, reconstructed Kumaso, reconstructed Hayato, and reconstructed Kuril Ainu. |
| Languages on Sakhalin24 with no presence in Hokkaidou | Evenki (Kilin dialect), Ulch, and Yakut. |
| Would be better as separate series of articles | Various Yamato dialects |
If I find something else, I will be back next year!
Please:
- Overlooked and/or underappreciated artists only (i.e. not popular or "mainstream").
- Albums/EPs only, no single tracks.
- Include a description, if possible.
- Provide a link.
Although we will be more lax on our popularity rules, repeated comments about albums/artists that are undeniably, exceptionally popular (e.g. Cardi B, Arctic Monkeys, etc.) will be removed. All others will be considered for our annual Best Of list.
You may additionally submit your suggestions to our official Best Of 2018 submission form.
Lastly, be nice & let's hear some good music :)
Reply here with what you think have been the best albums released this year so far.
Albums/EPs only, no single tracks.
The artist may not:
- have over 250,000 listeners or 4 million plays ("scrobbles") on Last.FM.
- have three tracks over 500,000 plays across all media (YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, etc.).
- have celebrity status.
- be a sideproject of an artist who exceeds one of the above criteria.
- be Kendrick Lamar.*
Format as follows:
Artist Name - Album Name [genre1, genre2]
And provide a link.
Optionally, include your reasoning as to why you believe the album(s) you chose to be the best.
It's that time again.
We'd like everyone to reply here with your favorite albums of the year and tell us your thoughts on those albums. All genres welcome. Give us as many recommendations as you like in your reply, there's no limit.
The mods are getting ready to put together the best of 2015 - this thread is your chance to get your favorites added to that pile of tasty records.
As usual, AOTY's master list provides us with a good overview of what's been released this year and how the music press reacted to those albums. If you found something good this year that isn't on the list, or think an album should be much higher up the list than it is, we want to hear it!
If you've seen any particularly good music videos this year, we'd also like to know about them.
Firefox throws an error while trying to connect, stating that the site is not presenting valid identification. Is this a known bug?
Edit 2 - All right, elitists, the great Crowbar Debacle has been taken care of and order has been restored to the hall.
Edit - Just a reminder, it's a big help if you can include a link to a track or a band page if you're recommending other groups in the comments!
"Sludge is harsh doom metal with hardcore punk and/or noise rock elements."
I'd like to thank the grim as fuck /u/VonWolfhaus, /u/CosmicDruid, and other kind moderators of /r/sludge for putting this together. Stop by and check out their community when you get a chance! I'll start off with a couple of my own picks that made me want to further explore the genre and subscribe over there myself, some time ago:
Bison B.C. - "Primal Emptiness of Outer Space", I've posted this here before, so apologies for the repeat, but I like it so damn much.
The Secret - "Bell of Urgency" (Wait for it!)
If you have picks that you feel should also be on a must-listen list for the genre, please post them in the comments below
Early Sludge:
Melvins - Night Goat, Melvins are often cited to be the creators of sludge; their first releases in 1986 & 87 circulated around the southern metal scenes which helped grow the genre.
Melvins - The Bit, Melvins’ style has fluctuated around many subgenres genres, mostly rock, but this remains a sludge fan favorite, often used in their setlists
Grief - Hate Grows Stronger, Early 90s Boston sludge that really raised the bar for aggression in the genre
Iron Monkey - Bad Year, Old school English Sludge band. One of the major influences in the subgenre.
Down - Temptation's Wings, Phil Anselmo from Pantera fame, along with members of Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity, and Goatwhore round out this southern NOLA sludge staple.
Acid Bath - Jezebel, Never gained much popularity but were essential in creating the hardcore dirty sound straight from NOLA.
Buzz*ven - Don't Bring Me Down, Oldschool grinding, groaning, and overall disturbing NC sludge.
Eyehategod - Ruptured Heart Theory | Alternate YT link, Southern US scenes were integral in popularizing and spreading sludge.
Eyehategod - Revelation/Revolution | Alternate YT link.
Crowbar - Planets Collide, Formed in 1989 and pioneered a slow, heavy sound.
Crowbar - Repulsive in its Splendid Beauty
Editor's aside: This was my first exposure to Crowbar as a wee lad
Later/Contemporary:
Thou - Smoke Pigs, Thou are well-known in the community and inspired a lot of darker and harsher sludge bands in the early/mid 2000s
Thou - Rats and Mice and Swarms of Lice
Mastodon - March of the Fire Ants, Innovators of progressive sludge; arguably the most famous of Georgia’s “sludge trinity” which have all moved into different styles later in their discographies
Mastodon - Blood and Thunder, Their most popular work, but listen to their remastered demo ‘Call of the Mastodon’ and compare the styles
Editor's aside: Mastodon - "Cut You With a Lineoleum Knife", from ATHF: Movie Film for Theaters. Now back to the regularly scheduled program!
Baroness - Tower Falls, Second of the georgia three, fully transitioned to rock over the course of their career but maintain quality songwriting throughout
Kylesa - Where the Horizon Unfolds, Last of georgia’s big three, Kylesa use varying amounts of psychedelia in their sludge, more and more in their latest work
Neurosis - The Doorway, Neurosis are the innovators of post-metal, a more atmospheric form of sludge intended to provide a wider range of intensity and emotion
North - Old Blood, Post-metal veterans
Northless - Flesh & Ghost, Not to be confused with the above band; Heavy with a very original riff-writing style
Yob - Atma, Modern sludge/doom with a lot of psychedelic elements in their songwriting
Yob - Burning the Altar, (10:12 slays)
Snailking - In the Wake, Some describe them as a grittier Swedish Yob
Dark Castle - Awake In Sleep, Prog/Psych Sludge band who often use foreign scales
Dark Castle - Seeing Through Time
High on Fire - Serums of Liao, Pummeling side-project of Matt Pike from famous stoner/doom band Sleep
Sadgiqacea - False Segments, Philly’s own “Black DMT Sludge” (Inactive)
Fórn - Dweller on the Threshold, Boston’s own trippy doomsday conjurers, massive stuff
Fórn - Gates of the Astral Plane
Phantom Glue - Perils Weird & Fun but still heavy Boston sludge project
Coffinworm - High on the Reek of your Burning Remains, Indiana, some black and death elements
Coffinworm - Instant Death Syndrome
Primitive Man - Antietam, Brutal, modern blackened sludge
Bongripper - Descent, Bassy doom from Chicago
Bongripper - Reefer Sutherland
Corrupted - Loss, Japan’s heaviest export, been around for a long time
Auric - Husks, Newer Arkansas band, really reviving prog-sludge with some originality
Pyres - Atlas Cast No Shadow, another psych/prog sludge band that takes influence from the Georgia scene
Old Man Gloom - Promise, Ambient/noise merged with sludge to form their signature sound
Torche - King Beef, Staple of the Miami scene, usually with a much more fun take on sludge, but these two tracks are no cakewalk
Torche - Barrier Hammer, This track uses some ‘bomb strings’ (super low ‘flab-tuned’ notes), pioneered by Steve Brooks’ other doom band Floor
Shroud Eater - Sudden Plague, Another big name in Miami, Jean Saiz’s got one mean voice
Shroud Eater - High John The Conqueror
Senior Fellows - ATROCITIES EXPLODE THE DELUSION OF TOLERANCE (#24), Fresh anger from Tulsa, LP2 out soon
Senior Fellows - GOD ENDORSED SLAVERY (#2)
Bison B.C. - Fear Cave, Beefy canadian stoner sludge
Bison B.C. - One Thousand Needles
Conan - Foehammer, … Become a caveman
Sea of Bones - The Stone, The Slave and The Architect, Bleak, unforgiving
Sea of Bones - Failure of Light
Buried at Sea - Migration Track 1, Similar to the above
Graves at Sea - Betting on Black, Groovy & Dirty
The Body - A Curse, Monstrous riffs topped with fearful, paranoid vocals and noise elements
The Body - An Altar or A Grave, They often collaborate with Connecticut choirs/string players, and don’t forget to check out their collaborations with Thou
Downfall of Gaia - Carved into Shadows, Uses black metal passages & post-metal elements
Downfall of Gaia - In The Rivers Bleak
Amenra - The Pain. It is Shapeless, More on the post-metal side of things with a little black/post-hardcore
Amenra - Silver Needle, Golden Nail
Love Sex Machine - Warstrike Takes The Piss, These guys have some ‘core’ elements in their riffs, similar to Admiral Angry and Black Sheep Wall; this track is much more sludge though
Beast in the Field - Wakan Tanka, Rifftastic instrumental 2-piece
The Christpunchers - Tread of the Iron Legion, Instrumental heaviness
The Christpunchers - Black Lung in the Age of Crime
Weedeater - God Luck and Good Speed, Super stoner/sludgy metal; very blues/groovy
Harvey Milk - Jim's Polish, More dirty, slow, and trudging sludge metal. You’ll note some aspects of stoner and doom metal in their approach.
Jazz Fusion began in right about 1968-1969, when two unstoppable forces of music asked a very important question "Hey, what would happen if we mixed rock-n-roll and jazz?"... well actually that's a lie, there was definitely more than two, but they get the most credit. Anyways, this new genre of music has since blossomed into a wild and vibrant scene encompasing so much more than 'Jazz-Rock'.
Major Players
Miles Davis
The two landmark albums you'll hear discussed time and again in this genre are Miles's:
Together they are two of the most influential albums of this entire genre, and beyond that they were the springboard for a huge number of musicians that would dominate the Fusion landscape for years (or decades) to come.
It's pointless to try and pick out a single track from these, such is their importance... so you're getting the whole thing.
Frank Zappa
The 'Stashe was doing Fusion before (practically) anyone else
Frank had four(ish) distinct Fusion eras in his career:
- The first was mixture of Free Jazz & Rock, with wild ranging ceaseless jams; King Kong is perhaps the best introduction to this era. Required listening: Uncle Meat, Burnt Weenie Sandwich & Weasles Ripped My Flesh.
- The 1.5th era is the Hot Rats "band". Realistically, they played ~4 shows, and although this is most well known FZ fusion work, to my ears it's the most boring (*ducks*).
- The 2nd, and by far my favorite is the Petite and Grand Wazoo Orchestras.
Simply unparalleled work from a 20+ piece (Grand) and trimmed down (Petite) 10 piece band, must listens include The Grand Wazoo, Waka Jawaka, Wazoo and Imaginary Diseases - partial / alternate. - Then, we have the Jean Luc-Ponty and Roxy Mothers era.
Considered to be the best lineup by many, they just smoke. One Size Fits All, Apostrophe/Over-nite Sensation & YCDTOSA v2 are the albums of choice here (besides the previously linked Roxy & Elsewhere) - Finally, we have the 1988 band, well typified by the Make a Jazz Noise Here album.
I gotta cut myself off, but I can and will go on about FZ's fusion all day.
The Canterbury Scene
Basically in tandem with the American Jazz Fusion development, a bunch of freaks (and I mean that in the Freak Out!-iest sense) in England started brewing their own blend of Fusion.
It all began with The Wilde Flowers - Impotence which would splinter off to form the Softs and Caravan
- Soft Machine - Out-Bloody-Rageous, "Anyone can open for us except Soft Machine" - Frank Zappa. That is, nobody else could blow them out of the water.
- Gong - Master Builder, Love is How Y Make It Daevid Allen was a genius
- Caravan - Winter Wine
- Hatfield and the North - Shaving is Boring
- National Health - Dreams Wide Awake
- Matching Mole - Instant Kitten
- Henry Cow - Half Asleep; Half Awake
The (Mostly) 70's
The Direct Linage
These are all bands with tons of former members of FZ or Miles Davis' fusion era bands.
It's no coincidence that they are some of the biggest names in Fusion
- Return to Forever - Sorceress argueably the most famous Fusionists ever
- The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Meeting of Spirits / You Know You Know John McLaughlin destroys the world
- Herbie Hancock & the Head Hunters - Chameleon Herbie will always be a huge player
- Herbie Hancock & Mwandishi Sextet - Sleeping Giant
- Weather Report - Cucumber Slumber an incredible amount of amazing musicians and divine albums
- George Duke - Funny Funk, Pyschosomatic Dung doesn't get better than this. George Duke's solo stuff (pre disco-Duke) is sublime. Even his disco era is pretty great if you like it cheesy
- Billy Cobham, George Duke, Alphonso Johnson - Hip Pockets I'll link the whole show later on. A+++
- Billy Cobham - Stratus
- Billy Cobham, Alphonso Johnson, Steve Khan - Bahama Mama
- Stanley Clarke & George Duke - School Days Look at them smiles
- Tony Williams Lifetime - Spectrum
- Jean-Luc Ponty - Imaginary Voyage pt. 3 & 4 a cosmic message... telling you to be happy. JLP is a fusion superstar, working with the Mahavishnu & Return to Forever. Further, his solo work from Upon the Wings of Music to Individual Choice is one of the best run of albums of all time.
- The Rite of Strings - Song for John Ponty, Di Meola & Clarke <3
Other Big Names
- John Abercomie - Timeless just wow
- Al Di Meola - Race with the Devil on a Spanish Highway if it was any faster it would be illegal. Elegant Gypsy is a must have
- Stanley Clarke - Desert Song crazy good track off School Days
- Jaco Pastorius - Come On, Come Over of Weather Report fame, but had many wonderful albums before his untimely death.
- Miroslav Vitous - Freedom Jazz Dance better known for his work with the Weather Report, but has excellent albums in his own right
- Jeff Beck - AIR Blower off the simply incredible Blow By Blow
- Allan Holldsworth - Pud Wud ... and his weird ass sound
- Bill Bruford - Sahara of Snow of KC and Yes fame
- Brand X - Hate Zone Phil Collins goes deep into the funk
- Nucleus - Torrid Zone
- Larry Coryell - Spaces
- The Brecker Brothers - Some Skunk Funk
The West Coast Inspired
- Tom Scott & the L.A. Express - L.A. Expression
- Larsen/Feiten Band - Danger Zone
- Joni Mitchell & Jaco Pastorius - Dry Cleaner From Des Moins Sublime album from Joni
- Joni Mitchell's Hejira - Hejira
Crossovers
These guys didn't do Fusion for all (or even most of their career's) but my god they did it well
- Donald Byrd - Love's So Far Away, Blackbyrd
- Grant Green - Ain't it Funky Now
- King Crimson - Lark's Tounges in Aspic honestly, they tend to lie on the Prog side of the great Fusion divide, but not including them felt... wrong
- Ahmad Jamal - Tuscon
- Stevie Wonder - You Haven't Done Nothin
- Electric Flag - Another Country
- Roy Buchanon - Done Your Daddy Dirty
- Joe McPhee - Shakey Jake excellent proto-Fusion track
- Eddie Harris - Is It In?
- Jerry Garcia & Howard Wales - DC-502
- Traffic - Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Free Funk
Created by one of the Fathers of the Free-Jazz movement, Ornette Coleman, Free Funk is not so much a style as a way of being.
- Ornette Coleman - Times Square
- Ornette Coleman & The Prime Time Band - Latin Genetics
- James Blood Ulmer - Theme from Captain Black, Love Dance
- Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Sophisticated Us (look at that suit!), Flashback
- Luther Thomas Human Arts Ensemble - Funky Donkey
- Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society - Alice in the Congo
Southern Fried Fusion
- Sea Level - Rain In Spain, Midnight Pass
- The Allman Brothers - In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Jessica
- Dixie Dregs - Country House Shuffle, I'm Freaking Out
- Buddy Emmons & Lenny Breau - Compared to What off the wonderful Minors Aloud
- Danny Gatton & Buddy Emmons - Orange Blossom Special/Foggy Mountain Breakdown ludicrous playing off the Redneck Jazz Explosion tour
The 80's
Honestly, Fusion took a pretty crappy turn soundwise in the 80's... It got plauged with a discolike sound that pervades most of the recordings from this time.
It's really not my thing, so I'm a bit light here
- Steps Ahead - Both Sides of the Coin
- Mike Stern - Mood Swings
- Hiram Bullock - Window Shopping
- Pat Metheny Group - Third Wind
- Chick Corea Elektric Band - Cascade II
The 90's
Took a different direction. Lots of Funk and bled into a more Proggish sound later on.
Bring on the Funk
- The Aquarium Rescue Unit - Stand Up People fuck yeah Jimmy Herring
- Charlie Hunter Trio - Bullethead! in a completely different vein
- TJ Kirk - Get on the Good Foot, Rockhard in a Funky Place super cool project from Charlie Hunter and Will Bernard that merged the music of Thelonious Monk, James Brown, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk
- Praxis - Seven Laws of Woo Bootsy, Bernie and Buckethead
- Screaming Headless Torsos - Hope
- Living Color - Funny Vibe
- Niacin - Hog Funk
- Tribal Tech - Face First
Jazz and Outer Space
- KVHW - Ring Around the Moon > Nine Steve Kimock's best band (w/ Ray White!)
- Jazz Is Dead - Blues for Allah Medley Billy Cobham, Alphonso Johnson, Jimmy Herring
- Bill Bruford/Ralph Towner/Eddie Gomez - Thistledown
- Living Daylights - Zeepa
Modern Fusion
Since around 2000 we have been blessed with a resurgance of just excellent new ideas and blood into the Fusion scene.
Personally this was the area I knew the least about going in to this project, and the one I'm most excited about now.
Prog / Fusion Intersection
- Mike Keneally - Worrywort Spoonguy
- Snarky Puppy - Skate U, Lingus They are the biggest face of the modern Fusion movement IMO
- Hiromi Uehara - Return of the Kung Fu World Champion the words "unbelievably fucking awesome" don't even begin to cover it.
- Kneebody - Stillplay, You Have One Unheard Message these guys are incredible
Hip-Hop Fusion
- Robert Glasper Experiment - Gonna Be Alright off the phenomenal Black Radio
- Esperanza Spalding - I Can't Help It
- Badbadnotgood & Ghostface - Ray Gun if it makes you feel better I kind of hate that I'm linking this on this sub (how many times has it been posted now?)
Funk
- Martin, Medeski, Wood - Pappy Check
- Will Bernard & Motherbug - Afro Sheen
- Wayne Krantz - It's No Fun Not To Like Pop
- John Scofield - Ideofunk
- Soulive - Uncle Junior
Electro-Acoustic
- Donny McCaslin - Green Mill
- Dave Holland's Prism - A New Day one of the best albums I heard in all of this
- Meliana - Hungry Ghost probably the only work of Melhdau that can really be called fusion, but it's excellent
- Now vs Now - Far
- Avishai Cohen Trio - Nu Nu
- Chris Potter - Underground
- Tom Harrel - Dream Text
- Tigran Hamasyan - Shadow Theatre
- Jenny Scheinman - Ali Farka Touche
- Stanley Clarke Trio w/ Hiromi Uehara - Paradigm Shift
- The Bad Plus - Flim
World Fusion
Fusion incorporating sounds from various countries
Japanese
Has a very distinct sound I'm not a huge fan of, fairly talented groups of people though
- Naniwa Express - Emergency, despite what I said above this track rips pretty hard
- Dimension - Se.Le.Ne
Quebecois
- Quintonal - Antonine some serious grooves on this album
Middle Eastern
This is a mix of traditional Israli / African / Middle Eastern / Qawwali sounds
- John Zorn's Masada - Bith Aneth
- Avishai Cohen - One For Mark
- Dhafer Youssef Quartet - Les Ondes Orientales
Brazillian
- Airto Moreira - Samba de Flora, he played with everyone from Miles, to RTF to Weather Report to... name 30 other people.
- Chick Corea, Airto Moreira & Flora Purim - Sometime Ago
- Cyro Baptista's Beat the Donkey - 21st Century Schizoid Man > Batida, audio is a bit wonky (bass thump) but damn
Indian
- Shakti - What Need Have I For This-What Need Have I For That-I Am Dancing At The Feet Of My Lord-All Is Bliss-All Is Bliss John McLuaghlin + L Shankar = love
Danish
French
German
- Embryo - You Don't Know What's Happening, one of the few Krautrock bands that really land on the Fusion side of things
Dutch
Oddballs
Stuff that doesn't really fit in anywhere else
Classical / Acoustic
- Miroslav Vitous - Mood
- Oregon - Brujo, Vessel
- Michael Hedges - Peg Leg Speed King, The Funky Avocado
- Jon Gomm - Passionflower just nuts.
- Mike Keneally - Dee 'n' A
JazzGrass
A wonderful little side-genre of Newgrass primarily practiced by David Grisman, Tony Rice, Bela Fleck & Sam Bush
- David Grisman - Opus 12
- Tony Rice Unit - On Green Dolphin Street
- Strength In Numbers - Blue Men of the Sahara, Bela, Sammy, Jerry Douglas, Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer
Bill Frisell
- Bill Frisell & Ronald Shannon Jackson - When We Go, the master himself with a driving ambient fusion tune (yeah, seriously) courtesy of RSJ
John Zorn
He's done so many wonderful, wondeful things. We saw a bit of his Masada band before, but these are totally different
- Toys
- Naked City - Batman, The Sicilian Clan grindcore/metal/noise
Full Concerts
As a mod of /r/listentoconcerts it would be somewhat treasonous of me not to link you all to my favorite jazz fusion shows
- Billy Cobham, George Duke, Alphonso Johnson, John Scofield - Montreaux '76 AKA the best thing ever
- Miles Davis 'Call It Anything' - Isle of Wight '70 Pure brilliance
- Herbie Hancock - Live @ the Ultrasonic Studios '73 Funkier than 5 week old milk
- Herbie Hancock Headhunters - Musikladen '74 See above
- Return to Forever - Musikladen '74 Chick Corea, saviour of jazz-kind
- Soft Machine - Paris '70 a unique and stunning show from the Softs
- Weather Report - Montreaux '76
- Carlos Santana, John McLauhglin, Billy Cobham - Santa Monica '73 shredding like you've never heard before
- George Duke, Alphonso Johnson, Chester Thompson - Village Gate '75 lineup makes me weak in the knees
- Jean-Luc Ponty - Hamburg '76 Ponty at his absolute prime, do not miss
- John Zorn's Electric Masada - Nancy Jazz '04 Zorn's beautiful eccentricity
- DRKWAV - Poisson Rouge '12 Medeski, Deitch, Skerik
Backstory
Every year around this time, I put together a mix CD of some of my favorite cover songs that I've come across in the preceding year. I only use versions that are recorded by actual bands in a studio, or in rare cases, a professionally recorded live setup. I'm not interested in "guy in bedroom recorded a cover of a band's song using one instrument and singing into the computer" types of things. In my book, bonus points are awarded when a band reaches across boundaries of genre and does a song completely at odds with their general aesthetic..
This year, when planning my covers album, it occurred to me that I really haven't found many that stood out, so I thought, "Hey, let's make this a community effort". I'm going to share a few that have made my list that I heard for the first time fairly recently.
What are some that you've come across in the last year or so (whether they were recorded in the last year or not) that stand out? Make sure to credit the original artist somewhere if the song isn't one that is so incredibly popular you'd have to be living under a rock to not know what it is! Here are some favorites of mine that I've heard in the past year or so. My list is definitely rock-centric this year, but I like plenty of other stuff too!
Touché Amoré - "Lounge Act" (Nirvana) - Just heard this on a Record Store Day release featuring the entirety of "Nevermind" covered by different bands. Some of them were disappointingly terrible, some were so-so, and a couple really stood out to me as above average. This one might have been the best combination of being both inventive and preserving the sense of the original. Some tried to go way too far off in their own direction, such as Boris's version of "Lithium." I love Boris, but I had to exercise a great deal of patience not to skip the track. In contrast, I think last year's "In Utero" Record Store Day covers album was really solid through and through, particularly Daughters covering Radio Friendly Unit Shifter (one of my favorite bands doing their take on my favorite song on that album).
Local H - "Team" (Lorde) | Local H always does fun covers, and they've ventured into pop territory before with a version of Toxic that's also enjoyable. I liked "Team" so much that I checked out the Lorde album and I really like it as well.
Mega Beardo - "Triforsphere (The Legend of Zelda soundtrack) | I love this guy's metal versions of game music. He has done Mega Man 2 as a straightforward tribute album, and also an album of Castlevania-inspired material.
Goodnight Nurse - "Milkshake" (Kelis) | Nothing much to say here, just an amusing, heavy take on a once-ubiquitous pop tune.
Anthrax - "New Noise" (Refused) - I didn't care for this at first even though I like both groups, as my hardcore sensibilities are a bit stronger than my metal sensibilities, and the two are definitely in a bit of a struggle here. But after a few listens, it definitely grew on me.
I love contemporary classical music. My never ending quest to chase down new sounds and expand my horizons has lead me straight to it, and it has offered me an unending wealth of music that surprises, astounds, captivates, and intrigues me with concepts and sounds that I have never heard before. Unfortunately, I just get a blank stare when I tell people what I'm into. I know it's not for everyone, but I think that there are a lot of people out there who could dig it if given the chance. I would like to attempt to share that with you.
Myth #1: Classical Music is dead.
There are a ton of people out there making new classical music. There are ensembles all over the place. The music is very much still being written and performed.
Myth #2: Contemporary Classical is all inaccessible and made up of dissonant, random noises
Some contemporary stuff is pretty chaotic sounding or difficult for the listener, but my goal here is to just share some amazing stuff that someone with an open mind might enjoy.
(Most of this music will be from the last 20 years, but some will reach back to the mid-1970s, which is often what people will refer to as contemporary. This introduction is by no means exhaustive and is skewed towards my tastes mixed with what I think inquisitive music enthusiasts might find palatable and enjoyable.)
John Adams
John Adams has been the big name in the American scene for a long time. You may have heard of him from the news of protests every time his opera The Death of Klinghoffer is performed. He began tinkering with minimalism, a style that takes small cells made up of notes and rhythms and creates larger pieces through repetitions with slight changes, back in the 1970s. Some found this curious, as he was a bit late to the game since it was pioneered by the likes of Steve Reich, Terry Riley, La Monte Young, and Phillip Glass. However, he developed it into what some would call "post-minimalism" if you're really into naming things. Either way, he put a distinct stamp on it that includes his own version of melody, harmony, and structure.
- Short Ride on a Fast Machine - 1986
A short ride indeed, this is a charming piece that serves as a great introduction to what John Adams is all about. Strong, pulsing, and repetetive rhythms, much like other minimalists, but so much more traditional drama that is hard to find in the earlier minimalists who were more concerned with process (indeed, that type of stuff is sometimes called process music. Essentially setting up a process and seeing what ends up coming out of it!) You also hear his bright and distinctly American harmonies, and of course his distinct style of melody. Bright and fun piece.
This piece was commissioned shortly after the tragic events of 9/11, and John Adams won a Pultzer for it (because how does a serious piece about 9/11 not win it so soon after?) It is a piece for symphony, choir, children's choir, and pre-recorded material. In the words of the composer: &gt;I want to avoid words like 'requiem' or 'memorial' when describing this piece because they too easily suggest conventions that this piece doesn't share. If pressed, I'd probably call the piece a 'memory space.' It's a place where you can go and be alone with your thoughts and emotions. The link to a particular historical event – in this case to 9/11 – is there if you want to contemplate it. But I hope that the piece will summon human experience that goes beyond this particular event.
He attempts to avoid tastelessly dramatizing the events. The text is pulled from posters around ground zero written by survivors searching for loved ones. Very different feel to this piece than the first one, but very distinctly Adams-ish.
- The Dharma at Big Sur - 2003
This is a gorgeous piece for electric violin and orchestra. Again, the words of the composer:
&gt;"I wanted to express the moment, the so-called “shock of recognition”, when one reaches the edge of the continental land mass. On the Atlantic coast, the air seems to announce it with its salty taste and briney scents. Coming upon the California coast is a different experience altogether. Rather than gently yielding ground to the water the Western shelf drops off violently, often from dizzying heights, as it does at Big Sur, the stretch of coastal precipice midway between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. Here the current pounds and smashes the littoral in a slow, lazy rhythm of terrifying power. For a newcomer the first exposure produces a visceral effect of great emotional complexity.
Influenced by minimalism, and yet with a very melodic use of the electric violin front and center.
Other notable works by John Adams:
- Harmonielehre
- Nixon in China
- The Death of Klinghoffer
- The Chairman Dances
- Shaker Loops
- Phrygian Gates
- Hallelujah Junction
George Benjamin
George Benjamin thrust himself into the lime light at a very young age with an extremely high level of talent, craft, and inventiveness. He uses texture and sound gorgeously while centering his music around harmony. Just an all around amazing talent with such well balanced and wonderful music. To me, probably the best all around composer in terms of what he is able to do with harmony, melody, texture, and listenability (is that a word? I'm going with yes.)
- Dance Figures - 2004
This is a good starting point for Benjamin. The harmonies and textures are somewhat simplified and clarified to make apparent the driving rhythms that allow this to be danced to. For me, this piece is somewhat reminiscent of the Rite of Spring (never a bad thing in my book!), probably because of the unique and imaginative textures that often use the doubling of woodwinds and the strong, blaring rhythms. However, to me this is a thoroughly modern and contemporary piece and a masterful modern creation of dance music.
- A Mind of Winter - 1981
Inspired by the Wallace Stevens poem titled "The Snow Man," this work premiered when Benjamin was 21 (!!!!) and shows off his use of texture and color, all while maintaining and adherence to structural uses of harmony. The icy glissando (that sliding sound the violins make at the beginning the gets repeated) is so damn cool to me I actually purchased the score so I could look at it whenever I wanted.
- Viola, Viola - 1996
This is for two violas but at times sounds like many more than that. Insanely brilliant use of the instruments. If you are somewhat knowledgeable about music and want to read about it, this is a great resource.
Other works to check out:
Joseph Schwantner
Joseph Schwantner is another one of my favorites. He has carved out a very unique voice that eschews classic tonality and makes great use of avant-garde techniques while still remaining very listenable and exciting.
...and the mountains rising nowhere - 1977
Not what you'd typically expect a wind ensemble to sound like! Pulsating rhythms, otherworldly textural sounds, heavy use of unpitched percussion, dissonant piano, and even a brass fanfare! What's not to like?
**Esa-Pekka Salonen
You may recognize him from his apple commercial featuring the same piece I will share here. I was very surprised and excited to see him on tv! Salonen is a venerated conductor who also composes some wonderful pieces, most notably for me being his violin concerto.
Violin Concerto - 2009
Four movements of great virtuosity and wonderfully colorful music. This is a very exciting piece written at the end of his long tenure as the conductor of the LA Philharmonic.
Kaija Saariaho
Less accessible than some of the other names here, I had to include her because she is one of the only composers currently working that can compete for my number one spot with George Benjamin. Kaija Saariaho has an immense grasp of the power of texture, color, and pure sound. She often combines live sound with electronics to create mysterious and complex sound worlds. I want to stress that while her music can sound rather wild, to me it is extremely unified in a very organic way. She pulls from the spectralism movement, in which single sounds are used as starting points to be pulled apart, penetrated, and explored, which provides rich yet unified material.
- ...à la Fumée - 1990
A sequel to her work Du Cristal, this piece features a cello and a flute, both distorted electronically, soloing with an orchestra. This is an amazing tapestry of and meditation on sound.
- 6 Japanese Gardens - 1994
This is for percussion and electronics. A very interesting sound world inspired by, you guessed it, Japanese Gardens.
Henryk Gorecki
After shifting from dissonant, modernist avant-garde music to what some dub "holy minimalism," Gorecki (rhymes with Wayne Gretzky) became the best selling contemporary composer by a long shot due to a recording of his "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs." His shift was widely criticized at the time, with contemporaries and critics essentially accusing him of "selling out" for moving away from the dense, cerebral, and dissonant music of the Polish avant-garde scene.
About a decade after writing this, a recording randomly sold 700,000 in two years, topping the US classical charts for 38 weeks. I have a hard time believing 700,000 actually sat down for 54 minutes to listen to this music very slowly unfold. Regardless, this is perhaps one of the most moving works I have ever heard. The lyrics, pulled from old Polish folk songs and from scribblings on the inside of a Gestapo cell, explore themes of motherhood, loss, tragedy, and war.
Steve Martland
A man who hated "the man," Steve Martland was an interesting character who died too young. He believed in the power of creativity and ran many operations that sought to bring music and creation to all children.
- Horses of Instruction - 1995
This pretty well sums up what Martland was all about. We have amplification, we have a drum set, we have complex rhythms, well defined sections, and an in your face aesthetic that flies in the face of high modernism.
Other names
George Crumb
Luciano Berio
Georg Friedrich Haas
Thomas Ades
Jennifer Higdon
Avner Dorman
John Zorn
Phillip Glass
Arvo Part
Brian Ferneyhough
Thanks for reading! I hope that this provides a way to dip the toes in so to speak. I have tried for the most part to keep it to composers who are very current. Again, this is far from exhaustive and just serves as a couple suggestions for getting into this type of stuff. I'm happy to answer any questions, and please share if you have anything to add.
Here's a link to the recent appreciation thread
From the kind souls at /r/contemporary, here are some must-listens in the field of contemporary classical. Special thanks to /u/unequaltemperament, moderator of /r/contemporary, who helped facilitate this and also wrote a short introduction. Feel free to chime in with your own recommendations as a top level comment, and it'll get picked up by the raddit playlist below.
Contemporary classical music is a hugely, hugely diverse heading. Unlike other genres that refer to the style of music, contemporary really only indicates that the music has been relatively recently, and the styles and motivations of composers have been exponentially exploding for the last hundred years. If something on this list doesn't suit your tastes, try others. Few things here will sound similar, so it may take some exploration to get your foot in the door!
David Bruce - Gumboots - To start, contemporary classical isn't all scary and thorns
Per Norgard - Symphony 6 "At the End of the Day"
Fausto Romitelli - Professor Bad Trip Hard to explain this one
Tristan Murail - Winter Fragments
Christopher Rouse - Trombone Concerto
Georg Friedrich Haas - In Vain Need to watch this one
Luca Francesconi - Riti Neurali
Steve Reich - Piano Phase This guy is absolutely nuts. Even if you know Piano Phase, watch this!
Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians eighth blackbird are a "must see" group
John Adams - "News Has a Kind of Mystery" from Nixon in China
John Adams - Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Terry Riley - In C - For any and every ensemble, for any length of time
David Lang - little match girl passion
John Luther Adams - Become Ocean - 2014 Pulitzer winner
Nico Muhly- Drones in Large Cycles
Krzysztof Penderecki - Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima - Majorly disruptive work, first major texture music
Krzysztof Penderecki - St. Luke Passion
John Corigliano - Symphony No. 1
John Corigliano - Circus Maximus - Ends with a shotgun blast, need I say more?
Caroline Shaw - Partita IV. Passacaglia - For 8 vocalists; incredible writing here
Harrison Birtwistle - Earth Dances
Arvo Pärt - Fratres - Example of Pärt's "tintinnabuli" style
George Crumb - Black Angels - For electric string quartet
George Crumb - Vox Balanae - For amplified cello, amplified flute and amplified piano
Jennifer Higdon - Blue Cathedral
Jennifer Higdon - Violin Concerto - Played here by the incomparable (and gorgeous) Hilary Hahn
Gerard Grisey - Les Espaces (Partiels) - Early experiment in spectralism, or "music based on sound color"
Kaija Saariaho - Sept Papillons - You've never heard a cello sounds like this; another spectralist
Kaija Saariaho - Laterna Magica - State of spectralism today
Ben Johnston - 'Amazing Grace' Quartet - A popular example of various temperament systems
Charles Wuorinen - Sax Quartet - Like being accosted by a very smart person
Elliott Carter - String Quartet No. 2
Elliott Carter - Cello Sonata - Carter's first "mature" piece
Brian Ferneyhough - La Terre est Un Homme - Extremely, extremely complex music
Zhou Long - Taigu Rhyme Driving, pounding, Eastern-driven awesomeness
Khalevi Aho - Symphony No. 7 "Insect Symphony" Possibly the finest composer alive today
David Maslanka - Symphony No. 4
Henri Dutilleux - Ainsi la nuit, for string quartet - A rare chamber work from a phenomenal composer
Witold Lutoslawski - Symphony No. 3 - Harmony is completely reinvented here
Luciano Berio - Sequenza No. XIII for solo violin A series of solo works that push the instruments to their limits, 14 in all
William Schuman - Violin Concerto
And here are a few of my own suggestions:
Gyorgy Kurtag – Kafka Fragmente Some wildly varied material here, using soprano voice and violin, taking excerpts from Franz Kafka's diaries as their lyrical source.
Morton Feldman – Triadic Memories Long, meandering, and mildly unsettling piano piece that reminds me a bit of Erik Satie. Feldman pioneered “quiet music” that unfolded over long periods of time. One piece, I believe, was even written to be 24 hours long if it were to be performed.
Morton Subotnick – And the Butterflies Begin to Sing
Although I didn't study music, my alma mater has an award for modern music composition that usually gets some attention, and it has served to introduce me to many great contemporary composers. You'll find several of the composers on this list over at the recipients of the Grawemeyer Award. I was fortunate to get to attend a concert performed by the faculty ensemble the year York Höller received the award, and every year I make a point of checking out the winner.
playlist of media in this thread | mobile
Tired of hearing 2014 was a "bad year for music" yet? Come out from under that rock and listen to this. We'll kick off with this playlist... a little something we're hoping reddit will help out with (see the end of this post). And hey, try to watch it in order and don't jump around. Challenge yourself, we're trying for a narrative here...
Below you'll find 179 albums from 179 artists across dozens of musical genres, all with streaming links.
Entries were compiled from our polls here, aoty discussions in /r/letstalkmusic, and dozens of bestof threads from 500+ music subreddits over the last four weeks. Literally thousands of people have contributed this content. Everything here impressed someone enough to share it, others enough to upvote it, and our hipster facista listening team enough to include it. The first set contains listening team favourites. Sets are not in any particular order, nor are there any reviews. Words and rankings are wasted on music. Streams are there so you can listen for yourself and decide.
You'll also notice that most of these albums aren't on any other lists, which is intentional. If they cover it, we don't have to - what's the point discussing the order of the same 50-75 albums? We can listen to that many in a weekend. We love their recs too, but there's always more to be had. This list will provide any music lover with weeks of material. Bookmark it and take the ride, let's all find out what 2014 really has to offer. It's turtles all the way down, tonight.
Happy new year, crazy music peoples. ;)
Reddit Music Best Of 2014 Album Compilation, by /r/listentothis, /r/letstalkmusic, and reddit at large.
Stream Key: SP = Spotify, SC = Soundcloud, BC = Bandcamp, YT = Youtube
Spotify playlists are included at the top for each set (a big thanks to /u/thedannychang for putting these together!), where spotify picks the most popular track on each album.
Set One - Must Listens (any genre)
DJ Phixion - Intermetropolitan (chilled instrumental hip-hop) /u/phixion BC
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (psychedelic country) BC SP
Shakey Graves - ...and the War Came (folk, country, blues) BC SP
Bing & Ruth - Tomorrow Was The Golden Age (ambient/experimental) BC YT
Bohren & der Club Of Gore - Piano Nights (moody dark jazz noir) SP YT
1,2,3 - Big Weather (lo-fi acid folk genre bender) SC
This Will Destroy You - Another Language (crunchy post-rock) BC SP
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - I'm In Your Mind Fuzz (relentless psychedelic jam) YT SP
Slough Feg - Digital Resistance (Tull-esque traditional metal) YT SP
Musée Mécanique - From Shores of Sleep (orchestral dream pop) BC SP
St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Half The City (smooth soul) SP YT
Set Two - Chilled
Hi-Fiction Science - Curious Yellow (mellow post-rock) SP
Ilia Nicoll - Caterwaul (folk pop) BC
Julie Byrne - Rooms With Walls & Windows (folk) YT
Hammock - Sleepover Series v3 (ambient) SP
Ricky Eat Acid - Three Love Songs (electronic ambient) SP BC
Set Three - Progressive & Related
Moonlit Sailor - We Come From Exploding Stars (post-rock) BC SP
Invalids - Strengths (math rock) BC
Zoo Strategies - Zeus Tragedies (math pop) BC
In The Presence Of Wolves - Thalassas (progressive rock) BC SP
Moongarden - Voyeur (progressive rock) SP
Gandalf's Fist - A Forest of Fey (neoprogressive rock) YT SP
Logos - L'enigma della Vita (rock progressivo italiano) BC SP
Want More? Progarchives has you covered, as always.
Visit /r/progrockmusic, /r/postrock, and /r/progmetal sometime.
Set Four - Hip-Hop & Instrumental
Anti-Lilly & Phoniks - Stories from the Brass Section (underground hip-hop) BC SP
Brock Berrigan - Four Walls and an Amplifier (instrumental hip-hop) BC
Blockhead - Bells and Whistles (instrumental trip-hop, nu-jazz) SC SP
Damu the Fudgemunk - Public Assembly (instrumental hip-hop) BC
Saba - ComfortZone (hip-hop) SC
100s - IVRY EP (hip-hop/rap) YT
Main Flow - The Cincinnati Kid (hiphop) SP
Blacastan and Stu Bangas - Watson and Holmes (hiphop) BC
We ran short on time reviewing the hiphop selection this year, and /r/hiphopheads didn't hold their usual bestof so this list is a bit light. We did notice one fellow who had a damn fine list... maybe someone can pick up there.
Set Five - Punk & Related
Trace Mountains - Buttery Sprouts (minimalist folk-punk-emo) BC
Wood Spider - Decadence (folk punk cabaret) BC
Speaker For The Dead - The Ballad Of The Undercrust (folk punk) SP BC
Mallory - To The Hollow Night (folk punk) BC
Cheap Haircuts - My American Dream (folk punk) BC
United Nations - The Next Four Years (hardcore) SP
Mongol Horde - S/T (hardcore) SP
Svffer - Lies We Live (hardcore) BC
Hurricade - Anachronisms (hardcore) BC
Pink Lemonade - Closure in Moscow (hardcore) BC
Antemasque - S/T (hardcore) SP
Pay a visit to /r/folkpunk, /r/poppunkers, /r/hardcore, and /r/metalcore.
Set Six - Metal
Darkspace - Darkspace III I (black metal ... in space) BC SP
Agalloch - The Serpent and The Sphere (atmospheric black metal)YT SP
Mare Cognitum - Phobos Monolith (atmospheric black metal ... in space) BC
Spectral Lore - III (atmospheric black metal) BC
Sun Worship - Elder Giants (black metal/drone) BC
Artificial Brain - Labyrinth Constellation (technical death metal) BC SP
Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel (progressive melodic black metal) BC SP
Panopticon - Roads To The North (atmospheric folk / black metal) BC SP
Insomnium - Shadow of the Dying Sun (melodic death metal) YT SP
The Devin Townsend Project - Z² (progressive metal opera) SP
Woods of Desolation - As The Stars (post-metal/shoegaze) BC
Many entries courtesy of /r/metal's excellent community.
For much more, visit Shreddit's Metal Albums Of The Year.
Set Seven - Electronic & Related
Pludo - Youniverse I (dnb/electronic rock) BC
Dance With The Dead - Near Dark (Carpenter-esque retro synthwave) SP BC
Monomer - Labyrinth (retro synthwave) BC
OGRE - 195 (retro synthwave) BC
Doss - Doss EP (trance) SC
Robert Robert - Pastel (house/synthpop) BC
Leon Vynehall - Music For The Uninvited (drum n bass) SP
Griff - Interstate (electronic) SC
Kimyan Law - Coeur Calme (drum n bass) SP
Silkken Laumann - Not Forever Enough (electro punk/house) BC
PSA: /r/electronicmusic is the gateway to the dozens of electronic music subreddits.
Set Eight - Jazz, Afrobeat, & Related
Ambrose Akinmusire - Imagined Savior (jazz) SP
Jungle Fire - Tropicoso (fast latin funk/afrobeat) SP
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe - New Ammo (heavy jazz/funk) SP
Sean Kuti & Egypt 80 - A Long Way To The Beginning (afrobeat) YT SP
Gideon van Gelder - Lighthouse (jazz) SP
Kris Bowers - Heroes + Misfits (jazz) SP
Polar Bear - In Each & Every One (electronic experimental jazz) BC SP
Joshua Redman - Trios Live (jazz) SP
Tony Allen - Film Of Life (laid back afrobeat/funk) SP
Nathan Parker Smith - Not Dark Yet (proggy big band jazz) BC SC
Bobby Avey - Authority Melts From Me (jazz) YT
John Zorn performed by Zion80 (klezmer inflected Afrobeat/jazz) YT
The Brooklyn Attractors - Good Evil Alchemy (ska/reggae) YT
The String Arcade - S/T (vidya themes for string quartet) BC
Look into /r/jazz, and /r/nosleep's best friend /r/darkjazz.
Set Nine - Challenging Listening
Kevin Nolan - Fredrick & The Golden Dawn (crazy fairy tale blues) SP
Clap! Clap! - Tayi Bebba (trap/footwork) SP
Luz - Polemonta (progressive jazz/fusion) SP
Building Instrument - S/T (experimental folk pop) SP
NickBee - Empty Your Mind (neurofunk) SP
Killers Walk Among Us - S/T (post-rock emo) BC SP (this is a suicide note)
Set Ten - Americana & Related
Greensky Bluegrass - If Sorrows Swim (newgrass) SP
Nickel Creek - A Dotted line SP
Rob McCoury - The 5 String Flamethrower (tech bluegrass) SP
Mountain Faith - Blue (bluegrass) SP
Jerry Douglas, Mike Auldridge, Rob Ickes - Three Bells (bluegrass) SP
The Railsplitters - S/T (bluegrass) SP
Hayden Pedigo - Five Steps (american primitivism) SP
Steve Palmer - Unblinking Sun (american primitivism/psych) BC
They've got it all in /r/newgrass, /r/bluegrass, and /r/indiefolk.
Set Eleven - Rock & Pop Related
Julia Brown - An Abundance of Strawberries (trippy lo-fi neo-psych) YT
Khun Narin - Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band (monster psych/world jam) BC SP
Dead Rabbits - Time Is Your Only Enemy (fuzzy shoegaze/psych) BC SP
Damien Jurado - Brothers & Sisters of the Eternal Sun (chill pop) YT SP
Circulatory System - Mosaics Within Mosaics (freak folk/new wierd americana) SP YT
Set Twelve - Non-English Albums
Strand - Strand (belgian/dutch folk) SP
Elephant Gym - Angle (taiwanese math rock) SP YT (DL in desc)
Kairon; IRSE! (finnish heavy shoegaze) BC
Kauls Johann Grobe - Im Sinn Der Zeit (german pop rock) SP
Ninos Du Brasil - Novos Misterios (brazilian electro) SP
Nada - Occupo Poco Spazio (italian pop rock) SP
DVA - Nipomo (czeck art pop, electro cabaret) BC
Juçara Marçal – Encarnado (brazilian math rock) YT
Tinariwen - Emmaar (african blues) SP
Diana Damrau - Shoka: Japanese Children's Songs (japanese classical) SP
Joyce DiDonato's - Stella Di Napoli (italian classical) SP
Links to other bestofs around the internet...
Album of the Year 2014 Full Ratings Listing (this site is awesome)
Please share other noteworthy lists you've found online in the replies.
List has been cleaned up and corrected a bit, new lists, playlists, and albums added based on comments.
The last listentothis genre appreciation thread was for folk-punk. This time, I thought I'd bring out something a little bit more driven by electricity and...insanity.
What is breakcore? I dialed up the ages-old resource for obscure subgenres of electronic music over at Ishkur's Guide (not always spot-on, but I don't care, it's a hilarious time-sink), and was surprised to see it not listed there. So that forces me to make up my own definition, which would be "breakbeat, drum and bass, and hardcore techno all having a methed-out orgy in a hell whose temporal functions keep losing control of themselves and random movies with pop culture references loop in the background." Or we could go with wikipedia: a style of electronic dance music largely influenced by hardcore, jungle, digital hardcore and industrial music[3][4] that is characterized by its use of heavy kick drums, breaks and a wide palette of sampling sources, played at high tempos.
I've long been a fan of some of the best-known names in the genre, like Enduser and Venetian Snares, but I reached out to the kind souls and scholars in /r/breakcore for the master class in this style. Someone rightfully pointed out that perhaps the track best known to a wider audience that has significant components of breakcore could be Aphex Twin's Come to Daddy (warning: fucking terrifying). Without further ado, here is your master-list. If you have a breakcore track you think should be here, post it in a top-level comment and it'll get picked up by the playlister.
playlist of media in this thread | mobile
Note: some of these videos may contain potentially NSFW content. Due to the volume of songs/videos posted, I have not watched all of them all the way through, but I have seen one that has a questionable still image on the youtube video.
Venetian Snares - Pwntendo. Venetian snares is the ultimate entry drug to breakcore.
Venetian Snares - Choprite. [possibly NSFW image]
Venetian snares - Die Winnipeg Die Die Die Fuckers Die
Venetian Snares - Hajnal
A relatively relaxed track compared to the previous suggestions. Classical, jazz and breaks, what's not to love?
Igorrr - Pavor Nocturnus
Probably the most "relaxed" track of this bunch. Featuring the vocals of öxxö xööx/Laurent Lunoir
Foxdye - MDMA booty bang Meshcore
Amboss - Mad Tuesday Ragacore at it's finest
These (next two) songs showcase how Breakcore can be beautiful and evoke emotion:
Dr. Lefty - Ah Shwe Bah (Raggacore See: 2:00)
Kola Kid - Spaceman (Chipbreak)
Doormouse - "War Pigs" (yes, that "War Pigs*)
Enduser - I Come from Cincinnati. Interesting vocal manipulations and a driving energy
Hecate - "Philosophy in the Bedroom". An overall sinister sound that's delightfully wicked.
Graz - Magic Rug Cutter Graz is the absolute master of mashcore, structuring his music upon crazy chords and intricately constructed mashups. The "Everytime We Touch" drop in the middle here is to die for.
goreshit - welcome to high life!//mimic goreshit brings a lot of idm and 90's rave influences into dancecore and makes some of the most intricately made dancecore out there with beautiful chord progressions and fresh sound design that wonderfully evokes 90's era happy hardcore. This is a two-parter remix of MOSAIC.WAV's mimic me
YZYK - Gravity Distortion Highspeed breakcore on an overclocked Game Boy Color? Yes please! YZYK doesn't just master the Game Boy he throws all the rules of chiptune out the window for intricately woven and technically astounding breakcore and metalcore.
Error - "Nothing's Working" - straddling the line between digital hardcore and breakcore, with vocals by Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato
Aaron Spectre - Look Out Fi Liar
Emotional Joystick - I got the hits and the party jams Vol 35
Istari Lasterfahrer - ce qui reste de ce qui va
Toecutter - The Sugar Before Bedtime Polka
The Flashbulb - Lucid Bass III
Ruby My Dear - The Dreaming Tree
Asfast - I Thought I Cought A Bird
I Broke My Robot - Not So Fast You're Hurting Me
Kettel - Why Aren't We Talking?
Rioteer - Branded
One of my favourite breakcore tunes containing samples from the Big Lebowski, a 60's western series
Servants of the Apocalyptic Goatrave - Blood of Three Virgins
Collaboration of Sickboy & Bong-Ra based on (Hammer) horror-samples, rave and gabber
Killselector - Agoraphobic Breaks
Short but sweet. Found an edit on a compilation, really liked the sound of it.
Otto von Shirach - "When Dinosaurs Rule the Earth"
Otto von Schirach - Pussy Pump
The Blood of Heroes - "Breakaway"
Dev/Null - Fuck anyone who wasn't into the stuff i'm into before i was
Terminal 11 - "Phoenix" - Textures!
You guys are insane. This is the third one I have created and each time I am surprised and excited to compile them. You all took the 'overlooked artists' to heart and uncovered some real treats.
Shout outs to the r/listentothis mods for being awesome. They work hard to maintain a high standard on l2t. Love you all.
As expected with the type of thread this was, a lot of the artists are self-releasing music or only putting it on limited mediums. As a result, there are gaping holes in all the Spotify/Rdio playlists. I encourage you to look at the YouTube playlist for the most comprehensive. Still A-class playlists, just not complete. (For example, Spotify only has 48/93 tracks...)
Without further ado...
Feel free to create playlists in other streaming services (or an Rdio US friendly version) and I'll add the links here.
Thanks sexy friends.
