Genre Extravaganza: IDM - Music - Forums : Best Ever Albums

Anonymous · 2014-07-21T12:44:54-04:00

"Intelligent Dance Music". A pretentious and poorly conceived name first used to describe the sounds coming from a number of electronic artists during the early 90s who's work didn't really fit squarely into the already preexisting parameters of ambient techno, minimal techno, and various other forms of (more or less experimental) electronic music that, while frequently able to describe aspects of the music being produced by these "IDM" artists, always seemed to fall short when really attempting to encompass the sonic-boundary-pushing noises coming from the likes of Warp Records artists B12, Plaid, Speedy J, Aphex Twin (among many others). Although what is and isn't considered "IDM" has become increasingly ambiguous and arguably arbitrary, its origins lie simply in Warp Records looking to market their special brand of electronic music designed "for long journeys, quiet nights and club drowsy dawns" rather than straight-up dancing. Of course Warp was hardly the only record label of the early 90s producing forward thinking electronic music not explicitly made for dancing (see: Rather Interesting, Chain Reaction, R&S Records, Mille Plateaux, Aphex Twin's Rephlex Records, µ-Ziq's Planet Mu), but, at least for the majority of the early-mid 90s, Warp Records and the IDM tag were to go hand-in-hand THE TERMINOLOGY It's no secret that "IDM", whether being used as a genre tag, umbrella term, or just a catch-all term used to describe electronic music that just doesn't seem to fit anywhere else, as a term, is subject to mass controversy, a great deal of which derives from those very musicians whose work gets labeled as IDM. Aphex Twin, μ-Ziq, Kid606, and any number of other big name musicians have all spoken out against the usage of the term. Alternatives (most notably "Electronic Listening Music", a title with which Warp was labeling the musicians on its roster circa 1992, and later, Aphex Twin's "Braindance"). Despite the controversy over and significant animosity towards the term itself, and, especially recently, the increased ambiguity as to what actually falls within the IDM designation, the label appears to be here to stay. Now so as not to focus too much on the semantics, onto the music. BEFORE IDM Sonically, from artist to artist, IDM is all over the place. The stylistic origins of IDM cannot be directly traced seeing as the music of artists classified as IDM hardly consist of one traceable style. Any one individual artist classified as IDM can exhibit innumerable influences ranging from the ambitious Acid and Deep House of Mr. Fingers and 808 State to 70s electronic music a la Eno, Art of Noise, Göttsching, etc., to experimental and minimalist compositions going as far back as the earlier work of Cage and Reich. Luckily, we have this as a cheat-sheet Warp 10+1 Influences by Various Artists The first album in the Warp 10 series of albums, Warp 10+1 features a variety of mainly acid house and techno tracks, many of which are considered classics in their respective genres and all of which have in some way influenced at least one prominent artist on the Warp roster, and by extension, have influenced the development of the sounds that would later come to be classified as IDM. NOTABLE INFLUENCES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykIA2ddd8Bo 808:90 by 808 State Newbuild by 808 State (particularly influential to a certain Richard D. James) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpcb70Npp50 20 Years Of Metroplex: 1985-2005 by Juan Atkins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiEFi3FNBPE Ammnesia by Mr. Fingers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeiH9Mm0E5Y Frequencies by LFO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpZVPSCv79U Accelerator by The Future Sound Of London Orbital by Orbital E2-E4 by Manuel Göttsching Autobahn by Kraftwerk Solid State Survivor by Yellow Magic Orchestra Who's Afraid Of The Art Of Noise? by Art Of Noise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux3u31SAeEM Virgo by Virgo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B58_VFnjdV4 The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld by The Orb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DetiWap-FM The Snow EP by Coil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDeQgWAlz6w EARLY EXAMPLES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: No discussion concerned with IDM can omit, or even begin without at least mentioning, Warp Records' Artificial Intelligence series of albums. First dubbed as the almost-as-bad-as-"IDM" title "electronic listening music", these series of albums released from 1992–1994, first showcased the sonic-boundary-pushing sounds of early Warp artists Richie Hawtin, Autechre, Plaid, and the many aliases of Richard D. James (among others) in a collection of 8 albums who's main purpose was to act as electronic music designed for the living room with headphones rather than for the dancefloor, which is in essence is what initially defined "IDM" as having any concrete meaning. The Artificial Intelligence series is as follows: Artificial Intelligence by Various Artists Surfing On Sine Waves by Polygon Window (aka Aphex Twin) Bytes by Black Dog Productions (personal favorite) Electro-Soma by B12 Dimension Intrusion by F.U.S.E. (aka Richie Hawtin) Ginger by Speedy J Incunabula by Autechre (which also happens to be the debut album by Autechre, marking the beginning of a wonderful, long, and intensely adventurous career) Artificial Intelligence II by Various Artists Post-Artificial Intelligence, the IDM tag stayed, being used to describe more and more music coming from far more than just Warp Records, even as it became increasingly less clear what "Intelligent Dance Music" actually implied... ESSENTIALS AND PERSONAL FAVORITES This is by no means a conclusive list, (given the ambiguous nature of the term I doubt there could ever be a truly "conclusive" list of IDM albums), and many of these albums may differ greatly from each-other sonically (such is often the case with IDM, especially mid 90s-onward), but they all share at least one commonality, and that is that I enjoy them enough to have written something about them and to be recommending them to you here. (starting with 10, but this list will likely be augmented in future posts) Let's start with the obvious: Selected Ambient Works 85-92 by Aphex Twin We've all become so familiar with the haunting beauty of these defining compositions of RDJ that we often overlook the deceptive simplicity of the whole affair. A few synth lines, and some meticulously arranged percussion. That's it. These ambient works are sparse of course, but this hardly makes them lacking in any form. The creativity with which these minimal components are arranged arrives at a sonic conclusion indebted to early forms of dance music just as much as is to the atmosphere of Eno, but not nearly as much as it is to Aphex Twin's own humble ingenuity. Even among an already very active IDM "scene" (if it could really be considered a scene), the recordings found on this landmark collection hardly sound like anything created before or since, even by RDJ himself. Music Has The Right To Children by Boards Of Canada I will attempt to summarize what it is I love about Music Has the Right to Children by elaborating on why I chose this over the almost equally amazing "Geogaddi". Geogaddi and "Music" vary in several very significant respects. Arguably the most significant difference between BoC's two masterpieces is that of emotional versatility; both albums express deeply human emotion, and explore the emotions that they do express with more or less the same degree of depth, but Geogaddi's range of emotional expression is comparatively limited, focusing only entirely on exploring the implications of paranoia and fear on a very deep level. MHtRtC has its moments of fearful paranoia, but it contrasts those with a range of emotional expression that includes everything from the hypnotic melancholy of "An Eagle in your Mind", to the chilled out and cerebral "Aquarius", to the childhood innocence-soaked sparklings of "Open the Light". This album is a journey, a journey across the ocean of human feeling, and the complexity of the arrangements which are responsible for this degree of emotional expression (a complexity which gives the music a degree of intellectual stimulation to mirror the emotional expression) does nothing to conceal this album's deeply human nature. Confield by Autechre Autechre have gone through a few distinct changes over the course of their career, or really just one, very gradual change. From their early Incunabula days as melodic technicians, Autechre have crafted some of the most intelligent and intensely mathematical electronic on the IDM scene, but the shape that their music takes has, with each new album, been slowly moving away from the comparatively logical constructs of Tri Repetae and Incunabula into even more dense and kaleidoscopic territory; Confield is where they hit the apex of this progression. Far more than a means for showing off the musicians' programming prowess and showcasing their knack for studio trickery, Confield manages to engender a unique kind of mental stimulation that, while being the product of something very technical, is hardly devoid of emotional content, nor is it the inaccessibly cold ball of cacophonous intricacies that it is so often accused of being. Quite to the contrary, Confield is in a way more accessible than any of Autechre's more straightforward early albums; if anything Confield exhibits more unrestrained freedom than any of its predecessors. This, while initially jarring, results in their most uniquely "human" album to date, despite it's many complexities and its somewhat erratic composition. The album's seemingly aleatoric rhythmic constructs are really no more random than, say, jazz improvisation. Initially I considered my favorite Autechre work to be Draft 7.30, which, for all of its rhythmic fuckery, was really little more than a (albeit brilliantly executed) return to a more Tri Repetae-esque means of production, perhaps a bit of an overcompensation for the unbridled risk-taking that occurred on the above masterpiece Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is OK by múm For something so complex and exhibiting so many rhythmic oddities, Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today is OK feels strangely inviting. The glitched out electronics found throughout the album mange to challenge your brain while still feeling innately human, and exhibiting a very human warmth that slowly builds throughout the course of the songs before erupting at a an emotionally warm yet forceful climax. Mum exhibit musical traits similar to Autechre, but where Autechre are cold and chaotic in their mathematical arrangements, holding your attention by the sheer merit of how interesting the music is, múm are simply inviting you to come inside and sit by the fire in their very surreal and dream-like world. This album is a trip to that world, and after it's over you'll only want to go back Warp 10+2: Classics 89-92 by Various Artists Please excuse my while I continue to fanboy over Warp some more. Warp 10+2 (the second compilation in the Warp 10 series) sonically picks up a little after where volume 1 left off. in Warp 10+1 we got to hear the early acid and techo that inspired the sounds that appear here on volume 2 (all of which were produced 1989-1992). It's a collection of songs and remixes taken from Warp's vault (many of which previously only appeared on vinyl and/or out-of-print medium). LFO are a massive statement on this compilation, exhibiting some of their most powerfully evocative early tracks, but they are pushed to the sidelines (at least in comparison to their apparent omnipresence in Warp 10+1) to make way for, of all people, Nightmares on Wax. Yeah that trip-hop guy. Turns our his sonic origins lie elsewhere, and even though we hear little, it any, of these strange and wonderful sounds of "Dextrous" and "A Case of Funk" in his comparatively recent work, his influence on the early development of IDM within Warp is made astoundingly clear in this 2-disc compilation, as is that of practically every other artist to appear (namely, once again, LFO, who by the way do a collab with F.U.S.E on the final track of the second disc that is the greatest fucking thing ever. Seriously.) Tango N Vectif by µ-Ziq The perfect representation of all of the components that comprised the mid 90s UK IDM and acid explosion. Heavy distorted beats fused with waves of thoughtful ambience and Mike Paradinas' quirky and crisp melodies, u-Ziq's debut acts as a milestone release in the world of convention-defying electronica, as well as one of the most thoroughly enjoyable albums of the 90s, IDM (or whatever the hell you want to call this) or otherwise Environments II by The Future Sound Of London Sonically, it lies far closer to Aphex Twin's earliest compositions than it does to anything we've known to define TFSOL. There are elements of the ambient dub, house, and techno that pervaded the landmark release Lifeforms, but Environments II, both in contrast to it's predecessor and the aforementioned Lifeforms, is distinctly ambient in it's composition, though given the lo-fi selections that warrant the Selected Ambient Works 85-92 comparisons, as well as the unique layering of strings and a multitude of synthesizers, Environments II falls into a sonic territory actually less abstract than the vast majority of FSOL's prior work, but significantly harder to categorize, and so it falls, loosely, and very arguably, within the IDM designation. Not nearly as energetic as Lifeforms, Environments II acts almost as a chilled over counterpart to FSOL's universally hailed masterpiece; the energy found on Lifeforms presents itself here melding with the mechanical, drifting across a solemn yet beautiful landscape that acts as a residual wave, an echo left by the power of Lifeforms, (which by the way you should all check out because holy shit) The Braindance Coincidence by Various Artists Aphex Twin invented "Braindance" because he, like many others producing this wonderful inventive electronic fuckery, despised the IDM tag. Nonetheless, (and RDJ would likely smack me for saying this), "Braindance" is essentially interchangeable with IDM. Now I'm gonna take a brake from my Warp Records fanboying and start swooning over Rephlex. Founded in 1991 by Aphex, and home to some of the craziest fuckers to ever touch a MIDI, and also the best (these are the same people by the way. Crazy is good at Rephex. Trust me.) Taking both previously released and rare and/or out of print tracks from Rephlex's intense history (featuring the likes of µ-Ziq, Cylob, Bogdan Raczynski, Luke Vibert, just to name a few), every single track on The Braindance Coincidence is dramatically different from the one proceeding it (once again, such is IDM). Your mind stays focused on the complex and/or unexpectedly (brilliantly) arranged sounds of all shapes and sizes while still remaining intensely prepared for each coming track knowing that every new song found on this perfectly arranged compilation brings something entirely new to the table. With such stylistic diversity it's amazing how remarkably consistent these Rephlex all-stars can remain over these 16 tracks. Never a tiring moment. Time Tourist by B12 Time Tourist follows a similar stylistic pattern to B12's earlier contributions to the Artificial Intelligence series, exhibiting the same heavy use of hi-hat 808 and 909 beats, but Time Tourist is by no means a straight-up continuation of the sounds of Electro-Soma. Electro-Soma, while still falling fairly firmly within the IDM tag (such as it was defined circa 1993) paid heavy tribute to the more danceable side of techno that, while being an undeniable influence to B12 and many of their contemporaries, wasn't to become the element that defined B12 by the time their career hit it's apex; on Time Tourist we see what sets B12 apart from their Warp contemporaries. The 808s and 909s, the hi-hats are still here, but the entire affair of Time Tourist is washed over with layers of oscillating synths and complexly arranged yet understated percussion, topped off with a fair amount of echoes and static, evoking something akin to an air of retro-futurism, like delving into the active mind of Arthur C. Clarke... Hongkong by Monolake Alright to be perfectly honest I am more than happy to throw this beautiful piece of work by German electronic musicians Monolake in any number of genre designations that are not IDM. Hongkong fits comfortably in a range of styles from ambient dub to minimal techno... perhaps I mention it here simply because, while it exhibits these traits heavily, and indeed a fair portion of the album could probably be described in far simpler terms than I would like to admit, I still have difficulty classifying the dubby ambience + field recordings + rhythmic static + I don't even know what the fuck else into any one category, and sometimes that's where the IDM label just de facto falls in: when slightly moronic pedants like myself simply don't know what else to call our favorite music for which we otherwise cannot find a name. Maybe it's silly to think that we have to apply a title to everything. Maybe "IDM" is the epitome of that silliness. Maybe "IDM" is meaningless and this thread has been a waste of your time. I love sounds, but I will readily admit that sometimes the tags we attach to sounds can be, well, ridiculous. Maybe "IDM" is ridiculous, but there is so much great music to which a very possibly ridiculous term has been applied. My intention with this thread is not to fervently argue for the legitimacy of notoriously controversial terminology, but rather to share some of the amazing music with which this terminology, for better or for worse, has been associated. I don't know what IDM is. I don't even know if IDM "is". But I know that the music "is", and sometimes, it flies so far by all established convention that we don't know what the fuck to call it, so what the hell, let's call it IDM and just get on to listening already. It's good shit and if ya dig, here's some of that good shit from 2014. It's been a sick year for "what the fuck am I supposed to call this" electronica: ESTOILE NAIANT by patten E S T A R A by Teebs Sigh by Valentin Stip Ghosts Of Then And Now by Illum Sphere Ghettoville by Actress

RepoMan

Kickass work, DBZ!!! And awesome contribution, Satiemaniac! I worship Pole. This is totally a perfect time to drop some Detroit Techno and/or Dub Techo recs. Even if we do eventually get to Techno, it's totally cool for certain pivotal artists such as Jeff Mills to be mentioned in multiple genre threads. Essentially, don't hesitate to mention some of your favorite albums just because your not sure if they fit. At the very least, any controversial recommendations will encourage discussion.

As far as what the best name for IDM should have been, I personally think Richie Hawtin coined it best w/ Plastik.

Here are a few of my favorites that, if you squint just right, can fall under the IDM umbrella.

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Quique by Seefeel

Despite what sp4cetiger says, there are indeed ways around the Laws of Thermodynamics. Just ask Seefeel who developed their own perpetual motion machine with Quique. Which makes it the album to beat for post-midnight, no one else on the highway, road tripping music when you need to sleep NOW but just cannot afford nor justify a motel. (The campground's just a few more hours away, he says…) For when you need something to both keep you energized AND soothe your overtaxed, sleep deprived nervous system. Or for when your down to your last adderall. This propulsive lovechild of Loveless and Ambient Works Vol. 1 just can’t be stopped.

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Microgravity by Biosphere

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In Pine Effect by µ-Ziq

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Musik by Plastikman

and I know it's already been mentioned, but it's just that good...

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1 2 3 by Pole

Last edited by RepoMan on 07/23/2014 09:45; edited 2 times in total

Kool Keith Sweat

Some musicians that will cross over from IDM to my post-rock post include Seefeel, Bowery Electric, Mouse on Mars, To Rococo Rot, and mum. Recs for Seefeel and mum have been made, but I'd add Succour and Finally We Are No One. Beat and Bowery Electric for Bowery Electric; Ioara Tahiti, Instrumentals, Autoditacker, and Vulvaland for Mouse on Mars; and TRRD (w/ D), Veiculo, and The Amateur View for To Rococo Rot.

satiemaniac

META NOTE: At RepoMan's suggestion, I am archiving for the benefit of the future House thread an exchange between Graeme2 and me in this thread. The exchange is presented here in its original format, but if you have any feedback for me on streamlining this (or you're the future House thread creator and you were directed here by someone and want some help weaving in the CliffsNotes of the exchange) PLEASE PM me, so as not to interrupt the flow of this thread more than is necessary.

satiemaniac wrote:

That list is a shitshow that summarizes the wholesale erasure of the actual forefathers of house music because the majority of them were LGBTQ and/or people of color (in American scenes, mainly black). It disgusts me that when these people made disco, (white) Americans BURNED the music, but when a couple white French guys try their hand it gets a Grammy. It pisses me off that house music was relegated to underground clubs for weirdos until white people figured out how to make it into a cost-prohibitive industry of excess to market to frat boys.

As an aside, noWaxJim between this comment and the crux of the discussion provided some great input about specific categorization:

noWaxJim wrote:

The problem here is how people are interpreting what constitutes 'house music'.

Satiemaniac is absolutely right in so far as the 'original' Chicago house music of Knuckles, Levan et al go. For an 80s child like me there was always something wildly sexy about tracks like French Kiss - most of the modern stuff that has been mentioned are pale, euro-pop comparisons which bar the beat strip everything away from what was so exciting about the genre in the first place.

You've also go to be careful how you catagorise Daft Punk - personally Homework is the album that fits most neatly into the house genre (check out the track Teachers, where Lil Louis and a number of other house innovators are mentioned, along with the likes of Joey Beltram (Techno), George Clinton (Funk) and so on). The closest to house DP get would be Bangalter's solo stuff on Roule Records - Trax On Da Rocks, Club Soda, etc.

Back to our scheduled programming, Grame2 replied to my original post with the following, and the exchange continues from there.

Graeme2 wrote:

What's colour got to do with it? Anyways the origins of house were as much white as black. The 70s influential electronic music was nearly all made by whites, the influential new york djs who pioneered the sound by mixing post punk, disco, Italo etc were mostly non white. Anyways although the actual makers of the first actual house music were black american, they were virtually ignored and unheard of in their own country, but became stars in the uk that really embraced the whole house thing. Since the massive uk house boom of the late 80s, house and dance music has been mainstream. Not in America though, seems they only heard about it when daft punk made their 2nd album. I don't think race has anything to do with the reason the US didn't take to house for many years, maybe just stupid. All the cool people in NY etc were down with it anyways, the masses just wanted hair metal.

satiemaniac wrote:

Well, seeing as the evolution we're seeing is distinctly European electronic influences coming back with a vengeance in the US, I don't think it's outlandish to cite the LGBTQ-dominated Hi-NRG scenes in Germany as well as the US black American house influences that, as you so rightly point out, made a bigger splash in Europe, as major contributors to the evolution of the sound that now is so popular. "The 70s influential electronic music" bit bugs me a lot. Yes, progressive electronic music was a major stepping stone for electronic music as a whole. Many a DJ, black, white, or other, cites Kraftwerk as a perennial influence. But to completely off-handedly ignore disco as a MAJOR MAJOR phenomenon, in the US and abroad, and again as a MAJOR rallying point for communities of color and of LGBTQ individuals is ludicrous. Bringing it back to the music, I challenge you to find a single house DJ with major influence through the '80s and '90s who was not influenced, directly or indirectly, by the likes of Walter Gibbons and Larry Levan. Were they the only disco artists making splashes? No. Were only black Americans making important disco music? The entire Dinosaur L project says no (and others probably do, too - here I default to ignorance in that the only disco I can think of off the top of my head made by a white producer was a project that in its time had much more regional than worldwide influence), but they were making the majority, and looking at the court of public opinion was my main point. In the '70s, disco was viewed as trash in the US, and sure that had a lot to do with hokey white folks making it into a mockery with silly movies and sillier dances, but it had a lot more to do, in my opinion and many others', with racial tension. Yeah, hair metal was a major cultural landmark, but do you really think that had nothing to do with race? I surely don't see that tension as the ONLY contributing factor, but I don't find it outrageous to point out the masses' hypocrisy in, even today, dismissing disco music yet LOVING Random Access Memories (or at least the critical establishment of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, etc.).

Ultimately, my problem is this: I don't even seek to right the wrongs of history and tell white Americans from the '70s to undo the disco burning. Fuck it. What I do seek, however, is for these punk-ass little DJs who make, let's face it, vapid music for drug-obsessed hedonists viewing themselves as modern hippies (God help us) to stop erasing the cultural scenes forged by LGBTQ and black American communities as the historical forebearers of the music that has made them so fucking rich and important. I want people's "vintage house" to stop being Daft God Damn Punk. Just as rock music was hardly started in the '50s by Elvis Presley, house music was NOT started by two French people with funny hats. I am passionate about it because it is an active historically revisionist campaign that mirrors very closely the erasure of blues musicians from the historical record of rock music. Rock music even today is just starting to actually acknowledge the influence of the blues (instead of shorthand lazy "There's blues influence but fuck me if I've listened to the shit. By the way, have you heard of these massively original Led Zeppelin guys?") and I wish that in a world with immediate access to this information that people were at least respectful enough to give credit where it is due. Shit, house music has always been about paying props to your influences and playing around with it. Increasingly, it is becoming a genre of massive cults of personalities erected around "singular geniuses" like Flume or Disclosure or whatever. To put this into yet another comparable situation, imagine if hip hop history were traced to Kraftwerk without acknowledgment of the influence of jazz musicians. People with brains and consciences would be fucking livid. Anyway, thank you for your contribution to the thread. You do bring up incredibly good points and I'm not looking to pick a fight with the vitriolic language I've used (as I intend it as more an outward energy of frustration than a focused attack). You clearly have good knowledge of the history of house music. Don't you want others to see what's behind the Daft Punk curtain, as well?

Graeme2 wrote:

Think we probably agree. Great post. And race probably has a factor in it for the mainstream 80s media. Just look at hip hop, it really took beastie boys and run dmc with aerosmith to break it to the MTV mainstream. I did mention disco. The dj widely credited as the first real house dj was frankie knuckles who played loads of disco but also Italo, post punk and rock even. I've read loads about the formations of it, a fascinating subject like the formations of hip hop. But the formations of house (not even including the British who actually broke the sound out) was as much a white thing as black. I think that's one reason it was loved initially it was seen as bringing people together, white, black, gay whatever. There's a lot on myths about the start of house and the biggest according to seminal dj Greg wilson (check his blog), is the myth that djs oakenfold, Rampling, holloway brought house to the uk after a holiday in Ibiza. This is quoted again and again by people but Wilson states tht house music nights in Manchester were going way before that and they were actually all black affairs but this has been written out of history. not daft punks fault though as they are always more than happy to say who has influenced then, as mentioned by someone they did a song called teachers and name checked them. By the way, I don't really like house music after the 80s.

satiemaniac wrote:

I'll just clean up a few points since we're in agreement and leave this for others to read. First of all, thanks for the tip on Greg Wilson. Second, fair re: Frankie Knuckles. I listen to him a ton and those influences are there; I just always regard him as house with those influences so you weren't making the disco mention explicit enough for a dumb person like me. 😜 Third, yeah, Daft Punk is more a placeholder for the music media's reaction to them/elevation of them. They seem like charming enough folks, and you're absolutely spot on in that they call a lot of attention to their influences. I think their music is pretty shit, but they're not the problem, as you said, personally. And yeah, I was hardly trying to make house a "black thing" vs. a "white thing," just meant to emphasize that the myriad "black things" about it are being flattened and obscured if not completely excised by music journalists today. Thanks for the fun talk and the blog-reading Homework (pun intended, but you knew that). ;)

Graeme2 wrote:

Good stuff. It's a shame if people can't open their eyes like the journalists you mention. I've just ordered bill brewsters book 'last night a DJ saved my life' which is about all this. I've meant to get it for years but this has given me the inspiration to get it. To go with the other hundred I need to read ha.

satiemaniac

META NOTE: Again at RepoMan's suggestion (see above post), I've assembled a small list of absolutely essential house and proto-house disco albums. Keep in mind that this was largely a singles-based genre, so the albums here are almost entirely compilations. At the bottom, I've included a variety of singles, mainly based on personal taste over "empirical" value (as the compilations serve as a good "essentials" mix, in my view), made up of a range of house subgenres including deep house, Italo-disco, acid house, and others. But first, some suggestions from other users:

joyofdivision wrote:

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Virgo by Virgo

And

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Alcachofa by Ricardo Villalobos

noWaxJim wrote:

Super Discount by Étienne De Crécy

And my suggestions:

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Jungle Music - Mixed With Love: Essential & Unreleased Remixes 1976-1986 by Walter Gibbons

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Journey Into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story by Larry Levan

Frankie Knuckles Presents: His Greatest Hits From Trax Records by Frankie Knuckles

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Faces & Phases by Kevin Saunderson

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Frictionalism 1994-2009 by Anthony Shake Shakir

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Home Town Chicago LP by Boo Williams

Singles Not on Any of These Compilations
Candido - Thousand Finger Man
Cola Boy - 7 Ways to Love
Fast Eddie - Git On Up
Houz' Neegroz - All Night Long
Lil' Louis - Club Lonely
Lisa - Rocket to Your Heart
Ce Ce Rogers - Someday
Joe Smooth - Promised Land

Graeme2 Profile
The Upside Down

Wow, some work been done here, fantastic. I'm going to have a lot of stuff to check out. The stuff I have that I would list here has already been mentioned. Due to the nature of the music and the fact that most of it is probably not album based but rooted in 12"s for djs I might add some classic mix album suggestions. Also I'm quite a fan of them. Ok to list them here? I'll need a think though.

RepoMan

Graeme2 wrote:

Wow, some work been done here, fantastic. I'm going to have a lot of stuff to check out. The stuff I have that I would list here has already been mentioned. Due to the nature of the music and the fact that most of it is probably not album based but rooted in 12"s for djs I might add some classic mix album suggestions. Also I'm quite a fan of them. Ok to list them here? I'll need a think though.

Sure, Graeme! Thanks, satie!!!

Here's a great radio documentary about what satie & Graeme were discussing...
Midwest Electric: Chicago House & Detroit Techno

Also, just going to throw in the vids that NoWax posted because they're both awesome...

Link

Link

Graeme2 Profile
The Upside Down

Just listened to the radio doc, really good. Definitely worth a listen. The quote from theo Parrish is just ridiculous though. Plain racist in my opinion. His full article has some good points and other stupid ones http://www.moodmat.com/?p=977 but saying that white people may just be at a party they were not invited to and have no business being at is pretty shocking. Yes most music originates from black and whites have have since maybe claimed it as their own without paying dues etc, but this guy makes electronic music which originates virtually completely by music made by non black. I'm talking about electronic origins not house, techno etc. I'm quite shocked by it. Not helpful and just plain ignorant.

RepoMan

Graeme2 wrote:

Just listened to the radio doc, really good. Definitely worth a listen. The quote from theo Parrish is just ridiculous though. Plain racist in my opinion. His full article has some good points and other stupid ones http://www.moodmat.com/?p=977 but saying that white people may just be at a party they were not invited to and have no business being at is pretty shocking. Yes most music originates from black and whites have have since maybe claimed it as their own without paying dues etc, but this guy makes electronic music which originates virtually completely by music made by non black. I'm talking about electronic origins not house, techno etc. I'm quite shocked by it. Not helpful and just plain ignorant.

Glad you mostly dug the radio doc. I think the discussion of race, sexuality and music is an important one, and I encourage you to start a new thread on that if you like. This thread is going to serve as an archive for IDM (and now house) recs. Contextual history is important, which is why I wanted yours and satie's discussion yesterday included, but any further discussion on race, sexuality and music should be held in a different thread.

Thanks!

Graeme2 Profile
The Upside Down

Did a write up for a new thread regarding that racism issue but I must not have saved it. Anyways I'll put a few suggestions on here for this thread, though as you know the IDM term is a bit ambiguous.
Some of these I rank in my top 100:

UNDERWORLD Dubnobasswithmyheadman
Second Toughest In The Infants

BOOKA SHADE Movements

THE FIELD Yesterday and Today

MODERAT Moderat

GLOBAL COMMUNICATION 76 14

NATHAN FAKE Drowning in a Sea of Love

Compilations:

Terry Farley Presents ACID RAIN (Acid/Deep House)
Mastercuts: Classic Electro (Compiled by Greg Wilson)
FUSE 15 Years (Classic Techno)
20 Jahre Kompakt (The best tracks from great German Techno label, a 20 years best of)

albummaster Janitor Site Admin Profile

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Plus 8 Classics, Vol. 1: 1990-1992 by Various Artists

Not seen it mentioned, but this is another awesome IDM compilation with tunes from back in the day.