Greatest pieces of electronic music ever made

[s7ntax]

What a wonderful thread, so many great memories in lots of those classic tracks.

This classic by BC - Quadrant Dub will always be special to me. I used to play this tirelessly, both sides and it still remains one of my most treasured records.

youtu.be/mlI0xqbIqD4

[Trom]

I find more or less everything they made some of the best music ever, unfortunately though thats just a handful of songs... This one is my fav of the lot, best accompanied by total silence and a fat J, esp after coming home from a good party

youtu.be/d8NaWT0WvEE

[Mslwte]

youtu.be/omJuxrA5NhM

youtu.be/lsuDBiWO3fs

youtu.be/wLAst89wwvE

youtu.be/v84mJACUmu8

youtu.be/F1Fditzd-JM

youtu.be/yGbDvjKbPhA

All tunes there mate

[Lost to the Void]

Such an impossible thing to deal with.
I`ll have to go by my own sub categorisation to make choices on this, those of originality, influence and artistry.

TG`s final, and I would say best, album. I`d submit the whole thing, but this is a great track. The beautiful and the grotesque perfectly balanced in one track.

youtu.be/0O2i-zraYzA

Coil... How do you pick a best Coil track??
This is great, the final iteration of Amethyst Deceivers, a track that was a constant in their live performances.
The world is a worse place for no longer having Peter and John in it.
youtu.be/7F0JOdLZ9DE

Lassigue Bendthaus is a legend.
And his reinterpretation of a James Brown track is just fucking awesome.

youtu.be/mQz72-ib9e8

I think this track pretty much captures everything that was great about Reznor. Musicality, intelligent sound design, claustrophobic despair, nihilism and rage.

youtu.be/D5KlwGB9A5I

Depeche Mode, Songs Of Faith And Devotion, amazing album, Alan Wilder clearly took over in the studio, add flood as producer and they ended up with what I would call perfection. Ridiculous immersive production.

youtu.be/p_6GYfSea5Y

Massive Attack - Teardrop..... a pretty good example of perfection I would say.

youtu.be/3h-JYx76QNM

Three tracks in one, the way it develops, the cutup vocals, epic.
youtu.be/0oYoRg6Ws9U

Front 242 have done a lot of good stuff, the obvious track to post would be Headhunter, but I prefer their less cheesy non-ebm phase.
This is another epic track that explodes late into the track.

youtu.be/OAifZTRnnKg

Andrew Eldritch Solo/Side project. Something timeless about it.

youtu.be/IZqgxWQ0AiQ

Ministry.... Again, lots of great stuff. Their best stuff was more experimental. This track is probably more Paul Barkers input that Uncle Al. It`s a big slab of aggressive blackness that makes me want to smash everything.

youtu.be/EYvT95pQwa0

This is hands down the best prodigy track for me, it`s them at their darkest and most underground.

youtu.be/K_Ft8y-TMo8

Biggest selling techno track of all time, featured in it`s entirety at the beginning of the film blade, knocked off and ripped off loads.
And the man that made it, my old mate Dan Zamani, never saw a penny for it......
Music biz
It`s about 13 hours long, it builds forever, and it`s guaranteed that 80% of the time it destroys dancefloors all of the time.

youtu.be/d_Hw_UC314M

New Order - Blue Monday... it`s possibly a cardinal sin to remix this track. However, Hardfloor did it, and they knocked it right out of the fucking park. You can play this anywhere it will bring the dead back to life.
No one knows how to use a 303 like Hardfloor.

youtu.be/08wQBfEahdM


Don`t need to say anything about this.

youtu.be/qmsbP13xu6k


John Carpenter. I could go on all day about John Carpenters fantastic minimalist scores. This is my fave,

youtu.be/LS7k3G_6IjE

[juodas]

this one of my favourites, whole ep is amazing Leitmotiv
youtu.be/0VMoLqPqK6s

[terryfalafel]

Three tracks in one, the way it develops, the cutup vocals, epic.
youtu.be/0oYoRg6Ws9U

Love, love, love this record. Can't believe I haven't already posted it here tbh.

Epic is exactly the word; it's so deep. The last four minutes or so when it returns to the main riff and the little arpeggio from the beginning is utter bliss.

It's in my top 5 of all time tracks I reckon.

[Mslwte]

youtu.be/uj9FQIWFblg

youtu.be/iQ91gMHkOoM

youtu.be/z15lJR79pTg

youtu.be/IAvHjoLxxh8

[Mslwte]

youtu.be/HaZth6fz9jQ

youtu.be/zOJO4GDDMwc

youtu.be/2FvHVogDbGA

[Lost to the Void]

Three tracks in one, the way it develops, the cutup vocals, epic.
youtu.be/0oYoRg6Ws9U

Love, love, love this record. Can't believe I haven't already posted it here tbh.

Epic is exactly the word; it's so deep. The last four minutes or so when it returns to the main riff and the little arpeggio from the beginning is utter bliss.

It's in my top 5 of all time tracks I reckon.

I saw them play it in its entirety last year at the Roundhouse through a mahoosive soundsystem.
I very nearly cried, that track has a special place for me (as does the album), there's a cool little story about the first time I heard it too, I'll never forget it.

But yeah the real payoff is that reprise you mentioned, it's transcendent and uplifting and slightly melancholy.

[splitcane]

So many great classics in this thread, so I also leave here some my favourites <3

No thread without Bells, but this time Tubular Bells - not The Bells. Not full of synthsounds, but plenty of electric guitars put through effects, fooling around with tape recorder, etc.
youtu.be/TXvtDm820zI

SSQ's Playback album is amazing, but I myself prefer the Walkman on instead of more popular Synthicide.
youtu.be/0hcVFdRaGMg

More gems from the 80s. I found these only much later, but I have been brainwashed as kid with tracks like Laura Branigan's Self Control, Sandra's Maria Magdalena and In the heat of the Night, Alphaville's Big in Japan, etc, so no wonder these hit later deeply in my heart.
youtu.be/t42uzzrCgow
youtu.be/bOrRdlRRl6s

This track from 1980 is absolutely legendary in Finland, because it was theme on daily sport news tv-program from 1983 to 1993.
youtu.be/wY220nuT_3M

Then couple of banging classics from Mark Acardipane.
youtu.be/BL5xh-wt3Vc
youtu.be/5980YkG0L80

And how I couldn't see anyone mention the guys from Black Dog Productions. Absolutely magnificent stuff.
youtu.be/YoSN7tmTDbc
youtu.be/4pb_jxz4P8s

Waiting for Cousteau is also definitive classic when discussing about electronic music.
youtu.be/pH2UxxdXAfg

This many and I didn't yet even think about stuff from Pete Namlook, Kitaro, etc.

[Lost to the Void]

Lots of good stuff here that has stood the test of time.

[ozias_leduc]

plaid - superpositions

with a cool video by bob jaroc

this song = goosebumps every time for me

the chord progression around the 4:28 mark is just amazing

youtu.be/wfGMzqMtywY

[Revaron]

A nearly 50 year old recording of a 330(ish) year old piece of music. But still some of the most otherworldly haunting synthesiser shit I've ever heard.

youtu.be/HI-mDTdeKR8

[chava]

A nearly 50 year old recording of a 330(ish) year old piece of music. But still some of the most otherworldly haunting synthesiser shit I've ever heard.

Word. Also this:

youtu.be/9spGH0YMkj8

[lauren]

can't believe no-ones posted this yet...

youtu.be/SVHCSNSROxA

tristan murail used spectral composition as technique of composing pieces for orchestras, all whilst still using orchestral arrangements to perform it. does this count?

youtu.be/4basuUUatf8

or the hood himself

youtu.be/2pCd4b1KGys

[dcom]

This question is a wicked one, as there is so much exceptional music in the world that it would take a lifetime of listening to come up with an exhaustive list; to cultivate a taste takes time, dedication and plowing through mounds of shite to extract the rare elements from the slag. It's also a bit problematic that taste is personal and mostly hard to explain why a piece of music is exceptional. I agree with a lot of the suggestions already made, here's a selection I haphazardly dredged out.

youtu.be/uHp9uL-rF_A
I joined a mailing list in the early 90s where people discussed, obsessed and trainspotted somewhat obscure electronic music spanning a wide range of genres and styles; the mailinglist's name became an umbrella term for whatever people listened to: IDM. To me it's still the name of a mailing list, it's not a musical genre. Balil's Nort Route (explicitly this version, there are two other variants) is rhythmically complex but the harmonic and melodic elements balance the percussive intensity. I thought I could choose between Nort Route and Black Dog's Cost II, but here's the latter, too - the chord progression and melody phrases are just exquisite.
youtu.be/-9WtJqppugE
I'll mention here that I could go on about Autechre until someone tells me to shut it, so I'll desist and simply mention Flutter, Basscadet (Beaumonthannanttwomx), TearTear, Vletrmix21, Eutow, Pule, Drane and os veix3. For the pathologically inclined there's Fold4,Wrap5, Gantz Graf and everything from Exai through Elseq 1-5 to NTS Sessions 1-4 (length: eight hours).

Beaumont Hannant doesn't get too many mentions anywhere; his most intense period was also in the early-mid 90s and then he simply disappeared, and no-one knows what became of him - but at least we have the music. The bulk of his solo output was released on GPR under his own name and the alias YO3. Four albums, one outtake compilation, eight EPs + one album and EP as YO3. You need to go and listen to all of those, now.
youtu.be/ugyp0CAonhA
Warp's Artificial Intelligence series is probably closest to IDM canon that you can get. Hannant's remix of Mark Franklin's Release to the System is sublime.
youtu.be/zf8w11W5ti8
I'll pick another from Artificial Intelligence II (it's almost a perfect collection of emotional electronic music) - Speedy J's Symmetry. It builds and builds and builds but leaves the listener wanting with the release. The track is simply amazing, adding layer after layer of elements in a beautiful progression. There are other variants but this one is the best. Don't take my word for it, though.

I'll cursorily mention The Aphex Twin, but will refrain from a soliloquy expounding on the positives and negatives of RDJ's voluminous output in his numerous guises. It would be boring, so I'll just name drop Polynomial-C, Blue Calx, Alberto Balsam, Quoth and Philip Glass' orchestration of Icct Hedral. YMMV.

Darrel Fitton aka Bola, almost everything released on Skam. Six albums, two EPs and two 7"s. The latest, D.E.G., is not as good as the preceding albums. I was disappointed, the album sounded like a pastiche of his own sound (Aphex Twin's Syro did the same), so you should listen to the earlier ones, like Gnayse. Or Soup. Or Fyuti. Notice the wordplay? Bola - Soup = bowl of soup; Bola - Fyuti = football; Bola - Gnayse = bolognese. Cheeky. Give a listen to Fitton's Peacefrog outings as Jello. Also, Gescom, a loose collective of weirdos making weird music for weirdos.
youtu.be/-3I3mfhMKH0

Skam brought Boards of Canada from relative obscurity to acclaimed fame. About everything they've released is required listening.

Underworld's been already mentioned, but I'll stamp them with my +1. Rez. Dubnobasswithmyheadman. Second Toughest in the Infants. Beaucoup Fish. The somewhat recently released remastered Super Deluxe Editions of the first three albums are worth every penny.

I'm only getting started here, but we humans need to sleep due to sleep pressure caused by the buildup of adenosine in the brain. Sleep is basically neurochemical waste management, neural net reconfiguring, memory combinatorics, storage and scrubbing with a side-effect of generative dadaist hallucinations you won't remember after waking up. Now, sleep.

Cheers, Nuutti.

[0dd]

Wow dude. Cheers!

[dcom]

Reading through my previous post I noticed that I inadvertently left out the YouTube embed of Speedy J's Symmetry from Warp's AI II:

youtu.be/lppXSL-nh7Q

Speedy J's first two albums, Ginger and G Spot, were released on Warp; Ginger is the sixth release in Warp's seminal Artificial Intelligence series. Both highly recommended.

Cheers -- Nuutti.

[terryfalafel]

Cheers dcom! Some great music in those posts! I didn't know that Speedy J record...

[dcom]

As I've not been issued an ASBO for disturbing the peace, intimidation or noise pollution I'll continue my inexhaustible rambling on the best pieces of semi-obscure electronic music in my world (semi-obscure because I'd rather bore you with things that you might not know instead of blathering on and on about Jarre, Vangelis, Tomita, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Walter/Wendy Carlos, Delia Derbyshire and so on ad infinitum - but If you're interested in electronic music from a wider and historical perspective, start from OHM+ and Sub Rosa's An Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music).

Luke Slater is best known for his Planetary Assault Systems and L.B.Dub Corp aliases, but there is a lesser known one from his early years - The 7th Plain. Between 1993 and 1995 two albumis and four EPs were released on GPR, alongside a roster of artists like The Black Dog, Plaid, Mark Broom, Terrace and Beaumont Hannant (who was introduced in my previous post).

By far the best of the EPs is Astra-Naut-E and the standout track is Astra-Naut-E (In The Shadow), where a booming bassline rolls under Vangelis-like pad sweeps accompanied by a beautiful melodic phrase. Seeing Sense (Reprise) on the flip side follows along in the same vein, but doesn't stand out like the title track.
youtu.be/yt4FtxV5i48

The title track from To Be Surreal is the best of the rest of the EPs; TRJ-Cendance and Shades Amaze are worth listening but they pale in comparison to Astra-Naut-E and the My Yellow Wise Rug album, which is beautiful and haunting, moody and thoughtful; the compositions and arrangement are careful and deliberate, and I think Bounderies (sic) drives this point home. The dissonant note at the end of the melodic phrase is like an aural exclamation mark.
youtu.be/dw93OKCrnoY
youtu.be/MlkEt05GPuE

The second album, The 4 Cornered Room, is more rhythm-oriented and if you're so inclined, dancefloor friendly. The track I'm most partial to is Real Life Ceremony due to the exact same reason I like Bounderies on the first album: the simple but effective dissonance at the end of the melodic phrase is strange but beautiful.
youtu.be/F44VqlGaTOc

There was also going to be a third 7th Plain album, Playing With Fools, but it was never released and only a handful of test pressings exist. In 2016 a retrospective compilation of 7th Plain tracks were released on A-Ton as Chronicles I hinting that a second installation could be forthcoming.

Between 1993 and 1996 a label run by Paul Smith, Likemind, released four EPs featuring artists (I'll probably elaborate on in a follow-up) like Stasis (Steve Pickton), Redcell (Michael Golding and Steve Rutter, better known as B12), Tura (Plaid's Andy Turner), As One/Elegy (Kirk Degiorgio) and Nuron/Fugue (Nurmad Jusat). All the releases are absolutely essential listening to electronic music aficionados. Stasis' Artifex from the first release rolls smoothly ahead with a phased 303 and harmonic string elements, definitely one of the best Stasis tracks across his voluminous output.
youtu.be/yy269DhheF8

The most intriguing thing about these four EPs is that they contain all the tracks ever released from Nurmad Jusat as Nuron and Fugue. He is an enigmatic figure with next to no information available on him anywhere, but his tracks are small wonders; all of them are available on YouTube, so I'll shut my trap and present you with two of my favourites, Mirage and Eau Rouge.
youtu.be/RjhbfFRCYMM
youtu.be/H4Jg1ldIsTw

Likemind was relaunched in 2017 with a fifth release by Jimmy Billingham as HOLOVR, his undulating melodic harmonics and rhythmic tranquillity breathing life into the label after almost quarter century of silence. The original four vinyl releases are rare, coveted and relatively expensive (around 100 € or even more for a second-hand copy) and they will never, ever be officially released digitally - but I've been informed that if the universe aligns just right, there could be a remastered collection of Nuron/Fugue tracks released on vinyl in 2019.

Cheers -- Nuutti.