Be warned: I go into alot of detail with the music I listen to (aka; I went WAY overboard with this post).
I am addicted to my music, and it holds a lot of meaning for me. I have it on at all times, if I have the option. It is an outlet for me to relate and express my feelings. Many times, I can't express my feelings in words, so I need something as an outlet to do so in sound. Also, because of that, lyrics are not a factor for me in determining if I like something or not. It is nice to find lyrics that I can relate to, but I won't notice them until I have listened to a band for a long time.
I stick to a bubble of genres, and rarely deviate from them. I have found though a common theme that I look for in music is "constant noise". Which basiclly means there is always some kind of droning instrument in the background. I also like broken overtones as well, or things that sound out of key. I also do like each of these individually as well, but if both are put together I will love the music quite alot. I will go into more detail with each genre, in order of how much I listen to it. Also note, alot of the stuff I listen to has genre crossovers.
For more details on all of the artists I listen to, visit my
last.fm page. All links I set up should autoplay in a new window (they either are youtube, or last.fm links)
Trip-Hop:
Trip-Hop is my main genre of choice. It orginated back in the early 90's as a fusion of differnet kinds of hip-hop, electronica, chillout, downtempo, and jazz styles of music. All were put together until it becames it's own sound. Another key element of this genre is a female vocalist that is not at the forefront of the music, the vocals are basiclly another instrument. I have found alot of love for this style of music over the years, and I doubt I will ever outgrow it.
Hooverphonic - Out of Tune : This is a very good example of what trip-hop is and contains all the main elements of it, and has feelers in many different subtypes of trip-hop.
Tricky - Ponderosa : This is what you would call "purist" trip-hop. It is basiclly trip-hop, and nothing else.
BLACK ERA - The Black Page : This is an example of more vocal heavy trip-hop, in which you can hear hip-hop roots.
Perfume Tree - So Far Away : This is a great example of the vocals being used purely as an instrument, but upon closer listning, it becomes apparent that the lyrics are actaully an important element. (note: the link for this is correct).
This genre has so much more to it, and there are many may different subtypes and even more fusions. I could seriosuly write a book about all the different kinds there are, but I doubt people are interested and I don't have the time.
Electronic:
Electronic music speaks for itself, it is basiclly anything made with a computer. Electronic music has many branch-off genres that I listen to more (
electro,
electroclash,
IDM), but I am just going to include all of them in this. Most of the electronic I listen to contains a fusion from another genre. As such, I will end up going in circles with this one, so I will simply list some examples that I prefer, and explain the fusion that it contains.
Leila - Mollie : This is my
favorite kind of electronica. Electronic with a heavy IDM influence. I love this artist, and the main reason is because unlike most electronic, there is a constant backnoise, with broken elements in the forefront.
Artemis - Sync or Swim : This is a big fusion of many different kinds of electronic; IDM, dnb, electro, ambient, ect. It also has trip-hop overtones with a space element. As such, this is one of my favorite tracks.
Faithless - She's my Baby : Electronic with a dance influence (and a touch of trip-hop because of the vocals). What I like about this is how much detail there is to it.
The Knife - Like a Pen : Electronica with alot of synth sound, but the synth sound is original and does't sound generic. It is also very strange, another important element that I like.
Laika - Breather : This has alot of crossover genres, but the core of it is electronic. It has a very outer-space feel and it has a constant bass background. It's overall very chill electronic.
Autechre - Leterel : This is pretty much pure IDM. I am picky with this subtype as it can be too mathamatical and broken for me. but this has ambience to soften out the edges.
The breath to which the electronic music that I like is really wide, and like I have covered with trip-hop, I could go on forever with this genre. what I have noticed with me is that it is harder for me to find electronic music that I truly like. However, once I do find some that I like, it has really strong staying power.
Ambient:
I also enjoy alot of ambient music. Ambient music is basiclly just very minimal electronic. That overall has no sharp edges to it, and is plesent to listen to. I like to call it nap music. I don't have much ambient music as I can find it boring after a while, but overall I do like it. True ambient can actually be boring, so most ambient music has influences from other genres.
The Starseeds - Parallel Life : This is a pretty purist ambient form, of course though, it has influences from other genres. And true to ambient style, it has a very space theme to it literally.
Boards of Canada - Dawn Chorus : This has a very offkey and dark feel, but it also has alot of electronic and trip-hop influences, but it is ambient at it's core. I do have a prefrence for ambient with a "gloom" feel to it.
Trentem
