4 Vastly Different Electronic Albums You Should Listen To
Greetings my fellow listeners! If you haven't noticed by now, it's been a few months since my last article, which was for Nine Inch Noize's self-titled collab album. I have a tendency to post on this website in short creative bursts with a tightly sequenced lineup of current album reviews and classic album deep dives when the inspiration comes. I strike when the iron's hot and I give everything I can when I publish music articles. In the long gaps that follow though, I am regularly taken away on creative detours or for my own professional development. At the present time, I'm working on my biggest update ever for AirdriftSignals, which I will unveil in October...
As time passes by, there are albums that have been out for quite some time that I've wanted to recommend, or recent albums released within the past few years that I have missed for one reason or another. I like listening to them and I wanted to find a meaningful way to present them and share them and the reasons why I believe they stand out amongst the ocean of music that's available nowadays.
AirdriftSignals Recommends is something that I've been meaning to start for a while now. It is my way of grouping random music releases together and sharing my thoughts and ideas and why they are worth your time and energy.
So without further explanation, here are 4 vastly different, excellent electronic albums that I want to recommend to you, in chronological order of release:
Roni Size & Reprazent - New Forms
%20-%20Roni%20Size%20&%20Reprazent.jpg "Roni Size & Reprazent - New Forms")
Genre: Drum & Bass
Release Date: June 23, 1997
New Forms is an album I only discovered within the past few years or so. It is probably my favorite and I’d argue the best album of the drum and bass genre, a style that primarily is focuses on singles or short EPs, much less expansive double albums such as this one. It stands out for one distinct and very good reason: unlike almost all drum and bass productions, which are usually credited to single producers and composed on digital audio workspaces (or DAWS, such as Pro Tools), Roni Size and Reprazent, who are his live band, recorded New Forms with as much live instrumentation as possible, which gives New Forms its beating heart and natural essence.
New Forms feels like it’s living and breathing. It was at the time what new forms of music could become and challenged previously conceived notions of how far music and a relatively young electronic genre, drum and bass, could push past and go beyond what was done before. Having formed in the UK in the early 90’s, New Forms netted Roni Size and his group the Mercury Prize for outstanding music achievement and best album of the year, and when listening to it nearly 3 decades later, it’s unbelievable how fast time has gone by, but also how current and modern music from the 90’s still sounds. This is the first musical decade that I have said more than once when many albums sounded like they could have been released today, three transformative decades later, and New Forms is one of those albums.
It isn’t just an electronic album, it is a drum and bass jazz fusion that exudes class in most of its 2 hour and 20 minute runtime. You don’t have to take my word for it though, because as you listen to these long compositions, soulful jazz brilliance starts to tease itself out if given the time and patience for a reward that makes this an album to be played on repeat. Take for example Let’s Get it On, Matter of Fact, and Hot Stuff. All 3 of these tracks interact with head space, sound, silence, and emotional buildups that make them ecstatic and intriguing. They have a mastery and emotional payoff to them that isn't often heard in electronic subgenres, and a lot of it has to do with the studio collaboration of multiple talented musicians. The drum-solo Matter of Fact in particular I think is a standout track that proves that drum and bass is just as good when done live.
Recommended tracks: New Forms, Let’s Get it On, Matter of Fact, Share The Fall (Full Vocal Mix), Destination, Change My Life, Hot Stuff
The Crystal Method - Vegas
Genre: Big Beat
Release Date: August 26, 1997
This album, Vegas, has several songs that are instantly recognizable. For many reasons, Vegas is the most “mainstream” entry point for listeners who haven’t yet heard some of the more obscure electronic genres that I will be covering. It is the most marketable album of the four, and for that reason, you may have heard some of the songs in various media or advertisements. Trip Like I Do, Busy Child, and High Roller I know were used in things I saw on tv or games that I played growing up. Nobody can listen to Vegas and disagree that it doesn't sound "good", or cool, for that matter, because it is polished electronic beats with a driving energy that can pump you up, whether it be for a workout or just doing anything throughout the day.
The Crystal Method's style is Big Beat, which, if you put any of their songs on, it basically speaks for itself. Similar to Prodigy's Fat of The Land, another album that I would like to talk about in another article, but for my own reasons I didn't put in this roundup, it is a 90's electronic album that bridged the gap from the 80's and early 90's to the 21st century. It sounds just as good today, and for that matter, I don't think this kind of music can ever sound dated really. It's just that pristine and well produced. Take a listen to the trifecta of Crystal Method songs, Trip Like I Do, Busy Child, and High Roller and thank me later.
Recommended tracks: Trip Like I Do, Busy Child, High Roller, She's My Pusher, Jaded
Shpongle - Nothing Lasts...But Nothing is Lost
%20-%20Shpongle.jpg "Shpongle - Nothing Lasts...But Nothing is Lost")
Genre: Psychedelic Trance
Release Date: June 16, 2005
This a doozy of an album, from a notoriously doozy artist. Shpongle takes the crown as the weirdest artist of this roundup. Similar artists that have an almost equally enigmatic way about them include Infected Mushroom or Hallucinogen, who is actually Simon Posford himself, the mastermind behind Shpongle, but this iteration of his work, co-led by shamanic flutist Raja Ram, and this album in particular, might be considered their magnum opus.
Conceived as 8 songs but split into 20 parts, Nothing Lasts...But Nothing is Lost is a ride unlike any other. It is filled to the brim with psybient beats, world chants, synthesized divinations, consciousness expanding vocal samples, and live instrumentation, and it flows so seamlessly that it's easy to drift off and find yourself deeply invested in this album. Take for example Outer Shpongolia, which opens with reverberating strings and builds into an Indian style, female led vocal crescendo, with electronic beats blazing while her vocals are sliced and diced. It is a whirlwind that is well worth it.
The softer songs too are just as compelling. Sung by guest vocalist Hari-Om, songs like When Shall I Be Free?, The Stamen of The Shamen, and Invocation give Nothing Lasts... a much needed breather in the form of a mystical religious-like experience and meditation. Nothing Lasts...But Nothing is Lost features all the hallmarks of world music and psychedelic trance. For those of you with a curious mind and an openness to other world styles of music, this album arrives as the critical intersection of electronic, psychedelic, trance, and world music.
Recommended tracks: Outer Shpongolia, Periscopes of Consciousness, When Shall I Be Free?, The Stamen of The Shamen, Molecular Superstructure
Venetian Snares - Cavalcade of Glee And Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms
Genre: Breakcore
Release Date: May 29, 2006
This may not be the weirdest album of the 4, but it is certainly the most experimental, and when compared to Shpongle, that's really saying something. Venetian Snares was a discovery of mine back in 2008 from The Mars Volta online message boards, which are now defunct. Aaron Funk, from Winnipeg, Canada is the one who makes this music and is a hugely influential figure of what is termed "breakcore" or jungle, a style of music that probably 95% or more of all music listeners have never heard of before. It is a test of the synapses to take it all in; the demented and absurdly fast drums, tuned percussion, stabbing synths, and otherworldly, eerie samples. Intense is an understatement.
Amidst all of this chaos though, there is a calm beauty that is pulsating within. There is order and melody. One of the things I find most fascinating about Venetian Snares is his ability to compose literal classical compositions into extremely intricate and wildly complex rhythms. Some of his best work that's often cited is his 2005 classical breakcore album Rossz Csillag Alatt Született, which has become a seminal work in the genre. This album though, has become my new favorite, with my previous favorites being 2003's The Chocolate Wheelchair Album and 2008's Dentrimentalist. A great example of what Funk does with drum programming is his self-aware Plunging Hornets, which I embedded below from a fan-made music video. It is a worthy introduction to Venetian Snares for those who haven't heard any of his music. His drums are challenging, but most importantly, they are fun! Enter the wonderfully whimsical, sinister, and absurd world of VSnares.
Recommended tracks: Donut, Swindon, Plunging Hornets, Tache, Cancel
Final Thoughts
There you have it! 4 very different electronic albums with 4 distinct moods that run at their own unique tempo. These albums are so fitting for very different vibes. Listen to New Forms if you want to feel old-school cool, listen to Vegas if you're going on a run or a workout, or just want to get $hit done, listen to Nothing Lasts... if you want to mellow out or trip out, or listen to Cavalcade of Glee if you want to break your brain. These albums are all excellent in their own ways and define their respective genres with great precision. I hope you get to experience them at some point in your life.