Electrelane - Rock it to the Moon

2001; 11 tracks

Here is the debut album by all-female British band Electrelane.

Download.

Com.A - Shot of Love

2002; 14 tracks

Com.A is a Age Yoshida, a Japanese electronic/idm/glitch musician who began releasing tracks on compilations and remixes in 1998. Shot of Love is his third full-length out of four, along with several other EPs and singles.

"To me Com.A is one of the most interesting and advanced artists in current electronic music. His tracks are very well produced and complex and they reach an incredible intensity. In most cases Com.A is combining lots of different kinds of sounds and samples with phat and/or abstract beats that can be really catchy and hiphop-esque or completely weird and ultra cut-up as well. Other tunes surprise with much straighter beats and beautiful 8bit-style electro melodies or experimental ambiences... I don't want to downgrade this by categorizing it, but all in all I would call it some kind of strange and funky alien tech breakstep hop that should be recommended to every fan of sophisticated electronica like (for example) Eight Frozen Modules."

As I am not exactly a fan of sophisticated electronica (not because I don't want to be, I'm just not), that review seems to echo my own thoughts regarding Shot of Love. It is fast and furious but not without structure. A little "tough on the neurons," at times, but worth a listen.

bitches from outer space

...is my favorite song

Klaus Doldinger & Giorgio Moroder - The Neverending Story OST

1984; 15 tracks

This is a really incredible soundtrack to the 1984 fantasy film The Neverending Story.

Download.

Blue Daisy & Anneka - Raindrops EP

2010; 4 tracks

This is really nice. Blue Daisy is Kwesi Darko, an electronic musician based in the UK, and Anneka is a vocalist/instrumentalist who's worked with bass/electronica producers such as Falty DL, Starkey, Ital Tek, Vex'd and Blue Daisy. Raindrops is their first collaboration.

Download.

Pogo - Texturebox

2010; 13 tracks

I have been extremely obsessed with Pogo lately. He is Nick Bertke, an an emerging electronic music artist in Perth, Western Australia known for his work recording small sounds from a single film or scene and sequencing them to form a new piece of music. Many of the clips are from old Disney movies from when I was a little kid. *sigh*

Texturbox is his only full-length, and consequently his most recent release. Every single song on here is fucking amazing.

try / buy

Max Richter - Waltz with Bashir OST

2009; 20 tracks

The soundtrack to Ari Folman's groundbreaking animated documentary Waltz with Bashir. In one of Max Richter's most rich and stunning scores, you will be sure to find an incredible array of simplicity, passion, and longing. Among the originally composed pieces is "Enola Gay" by O.M.D. (Ochestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) and "This Is Not a Love Song" by P.I.L. (Public Image Ltd.) My favorite track is definitely "Haunted Ocean," a single image with 5 variations.

Memory takes us where we need to go.

Fantastic Plastic Machine - Beautiful

2001; 13 tracks

Okay. The truth? I did not like this album. Not as much as I wanted to.

Fantastic Plastic Machine is Tomoyuki Tanaka, a Japanese electronic/shibuya-kei artist/DJ. This is his third album, and it incorporates elements of jazz, electronic, downtempo, and even some j-pop.

Here's a review just in case you're not convinced:

"The Fantastic Plastic Machine’s third album, Beautiful, is much more steeped in disco than his previous two, which is both good and bad. It's bad in that it narrows the eclectic sound that made his first two albums so fun; it's good in that he can still pump out a great track like 'Beautiful Days.' There's no mistaking the disco strings on 'On a Chair;' 'The Whistle Song' isn't a remake of the famous Frankie Knuckles track as you might think - it's a peppy number with more of a flute than a whistle. 'I'm Still a Simple Man' sounds like it came straight from vaudeville. Not all the tracks are as charming, though: 'God Save the Mona Lisa' seems rambling and 'Take Me to the Disco' shows you why disco had a short shelf life. Still, not a bad album."

I am beautiful

Genghis Tron - Cloak of Love

2005; 5 tracks

An incredible blend of grindcore and electronic by the three-piece group from NY.

Download.

Audion - Suckfish

2005; 11 tracks

Audion is Matthew Dear, a minimalistic techno musician from Detroit. Suckfish is his first and only full-length. The music of Audion is slightly on the abrasive side, but I like it a lot.

Download.

HTRK - Marry Me Tonight

2009; 9 tracks

This. This is seriously the most amazing thing that has ever reached my ears. It will pound in your head and you'll never want it to stop. I was unsure of it at first, but no more. This is the best no-wave/experimental/noise album I've heard in nearly 18 years.

Where is my sun to keep me warm? *

* Download link taken down upon request.

Lindstrøm & Christabelle - Real Life is No Cool

2009; 10 tracks



Lindstrøm & Christabelle is a Norwegian electronic/disco duo who have released a few things, Real Life is No Cool being the most recent. Their sound is overall fairly dark and club-like, but Christabelle's sultry vocals pair well with the wild beats.



"An edgy pop album of structured chaos and hypnotic beats."



Download.

TOKiMONSTA - Complete Discography

Bedtime Lullabies

2008; 5 tracks

Download.


Mary Anne Hobbs Mix

2009; 1 track

Download.


Midnight Menu

2010; 11 tracks

Download.


Cosmic Intoxication EP

2010; 6 tracks

Download.


TOKiMONSTA Live in London, Brainfeeder Sessions, 2010

2010; 1 track

Download.


Analogue Monsta

2011; 2 tracks

Download.


Creature Dreams

2011; 7 tracks

Download.


Re-mixes & Extras

23 tracks

01 Megajoy (TOKiMONSTA's Unsound Bliss Remix) [Original artist: Kidkanevil)
02 Mileena's Theme (Full Version)
03 Big City Lights (TOKiMONSTA Remix) [Original artist: Shing02]
04 Hot Boxing the Cockpit (TOKiMONSTA Remix) [Original artist: Shlohmo)
05 Horizontal Figuration (TOKiMONSTA Remix) [Original artist: TAKE]
06 Alive
07 Almost Free
08 Breaking Atoms
09 Breath on my Contacts
10 Cigarette Lust
11 Hungry Stomach
12 Last Nights Blurry Memories
13 Line To Dot
14 Little Bit (Remix)
15 Madness
16 Moving Forward (Remix)
17 Park Walks
18 So Sick (Instrumental)
19 Stargazing Coma
20 Taste
21 The Black Heart
22 The Word (Unreleased)
23 Yo B!

Download.

Beautifully constructed instrumental hip-hop by Jennifer Lee.

CDR - CDR on CRD

2008; 14 tracks

CDR is Japanese breakcore/electronic artist Hikaru Tsunematsu, who is sometimes called a "madman." It's not often you'll hear something this fast-paced and strange.

Download.

Anika - Anika

2010; 9 tracks



You might like this, but you also might not. This is Anika's first album.



Download.

Rah Bras - Ruy Blas!

2001; 12 tracks



Ruy Blas! is one of the most lovely, strange albums I've ever had the chance to listen to. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I am insanely infatuated with it.



Rah Bras was a trio from Virginia consisting of brothers Boo and Jean Rah and Isabellarah Rubella that disbanded in 2007, but plan to return to the music scene in 2037. B. and Jean Rah were also members of Men's Recovery Project at one point.



They are noisy and nonsensical. While listening I couldn't help myself but think of their overwhelming similarity to The Residents, even though it is clear they are two totally separate entities after all. With mysterious changes in mood and atmosphere, Ruy Blas! rarely meanders in the direction you expect it to. Isabellarah's voice is very beautiful and foreign-sounding, and I especially love her part in "Civic" (and how she says the word "hummingbird"). From a techno-infused, neon-lit night club, one might be swept instantly to, I don't know, a marketplace on some alien planet where noisy bees accompany even the most James Bond-like melodies. That probably made no sense. Truthfully, though, this is an incredible album of experimental electronoise, I guess you could call it. "Hardvard" and "Bitchin Fissure" are probably my favorite songs.



"Consisting of a gigantic keyboard, bass, and drums, Rah Bras layer provocative vocals over tight little riffs and throbbing tempos. Ruy Blas! is an audacious concoction of pop presence and electronic abrasives that gallops the gamut from gamelan to garish."



Download.

Dot Allison - Afterglow

1999; 10 tracks

Dot Allison, or Dorothy Elliot Allison, is a Scottish singer / songwriter, and former lead singer of the trip-hop / electronic group One Dove. Afterglow is her first album as a solo artist.

"This album finds her breaking free of One Dove's sound, beginning her free-form expression within her chosen musical genres. But she does bold new things with the techno/choir/pop hybrid on this album. The lonely piano that begins 'Alpha Female,' for example; the sensual Eurodance grind of 'Mo' Pop;' the absolutely lovely 'Did I Imagine You?;' the Eastern-flavoured keyboard riff that permeates 'Close Your Eyes' -- every song is a gem, infused with Allison's trademark multitracked vocal magic and her daring arrangements. Allison's on-record charisma is phenomenal but despite her ice-goddess looks, her voice can convey a real warmth that makes these songs not just a collection of machinery and mechanized beats, but organic lifeforms with a beating heart."

This may take some getting used to among some, but through the haze Afterglow shows itself to be a charmingly oneiric album. (Yes, I did just come across that word only yesterday, but it is exactly the word I was looking for.)

Download.

2NE1 - 2NE1 EP & To Anyone

2009; 7 tracks

01 Fire
02 I Don't Care
03 In the Club
04 Let's Go Party
05 Pretty Boy
06 Stay Together
07 Lollipop

Download.



2010; 12 tracks

01 Can't Nobody
02 Go Away
03 박수쳐 (Clap Your Hands)
04 난 바빠 (I'm Busy)
05 아파 (Slow)
06 사랑은 아야야 (Love is Ouch)
07 You and I
08 Please Don't Go
09 Kiss
10 날 따라 해봐요 (Follow Me)
11 I Don't Care
12 Can't Nobody (English version)

Download.

2NE1 is a fairly new South Korean hip-hop / pop girl group consisting of four members - CL, Minzy, Dara, and Bom. Here are their two most recent releases, both full of great k-pop music that tends to the hip-hop / rap / electronic side. They sing a lot of their songs in English. Favorites, ever: "난 바빠" and "Kiss" off of To Anyone. Enjoooyyyy.

Umberto - Prophecy of the Black Widow

2010; 8 tracks

I really like this review and I really love this album:

"Umberto is the alter-ego of which one talented young man - Matt Hill, delivers his fresh and inventive take on the sadly overlooked Italo-Horror soundtracks of the mid-seventies. Total Goblin worship at it's finest, with his own magic-dust sprinkled over it. Matt is no stranger to epic musical landscapes either,he is also the main man behind drone/psych juggernaut Expo 70, who also dish out some fantastic purely instrumental ear candy.

With his fairly recent Umberto project, he conjures up the ghosts of early horror film and soundtrack pioneers like Goblin, John Carpenter, Claudio Simonetti, and even the more recent Zombi works. I can't help but imagine a giant backdrop flashing images of classic Argento films, in a live performance. Hill almost effortlessly creates hypnotic layers of haunting synthesizers, topped with some rather stunning synth arpeggios, as a damp low-end growl slithers around them. His tasteful use of soft synth patches, mixed with the buzzing sine-waves melts together almost too perfectly, creating a dense black cloud of deep chords and brooding swells. He's got quite a knack for melody too, which has been proven time and again with his incredible and expansive work in Expo 70, and he applies the same tuneful wizardry to these blackened electro numbers.Leaning more towards the subtle-yet-danceable downbeat, opposed to the symphonic-progressive rock styles of most of his predecessors.

Now, this isn't a total throwback to the Italian horror genre. Sure, the song titles are spooky nods, and the artwork is just screaming 'Obscure Horror Soundtrack,' and yes, the music is very similar to the aforementioned acts, but with Prophecy there is a much more modern and revitalizing take on this outsider sub-genre. Hill is clearly paying tribute to something that has been greatly overlooked for decades, and he is doing it so,so right. Songs for chasing someone through the woods, peeking through a stranger's window, creaking doors and some late night dancing in the dark."

Download.

The Residents - Demons Dance Alone + Bonus Disc

2002; 28 tracks
everyone is a resident



2002; 16 tracks
Download.

Okay, so, it has to be said... this album seriously makes me swoon. It is utter perfection, any angle you look at it. GOD I FUCKING LOVE DEMONS DANCE ALONE EDFJDGAODFAG.

Anyway, I guess I shouldn't be too lighthearted about it, even if many of these tracks are... well... very cheerful-sounding. This is The Residents' response album to the 9/11 attacks. It is a concept album dealing various emotional effects, such as loss and denial and "three metaphors" signifying something I cannot fathom. Out of the whole of The Residents' discography, which is extensive and I haven't even gotten through it all, these 28 + 16 tracks are full of some of the most touching, comical, absolutely enthralling music. Some tracks are achingly beautiful ("Neediness," "Demons Dance Alone"), others are so hilarious you have to laugh out loud ("Mickey Macaroni," "Make Me Moo"), and then... the ones you just love with all your heart instantly ("Weatherman," "Betty's Body," "Beekeper's Daughter"). So yeah. Try to listen to this album with all of your attention focused on it - imagine the face behind that low, southern-sounding drawl of a voice, and the others dressed as giant suited-up eyeballs of the beyond. If you haven't heard The Residents before, now is a good time to start.

The bonus disc includes 13 early recordings of tracks from Demons Dance Alone, along with 3 previously unreleased tracks.

Modified Toy Orchestra - Toygopop

2006; 12 tracks

Perfect description by weirdbrother:

Rare beastie. Electronica album sans midi, sampling, synthesisers, and laptops. Point of fact: no conventional instruments whatsoever.

Five years in the making - two years stripping, tweaking, rebuilding and learning to play kids' toys; three years unearthing sound collages and musical phrases. Brian Duffy, Modified Toy Orchestra mainman, sees the process as "collaborating with the third mind of the machine." Whether viewed as exploring the hidden potential and surplus value latent inside redundant technology or more straightforwardly as pissing about with car boot sale cast off tech-toys (think Speak and Spell - danke Kraftwerk - Happy Farm Chorus, Play School Saxophone and the Melotone Electronic Jazz Drum), prepare for an accessible, sometimes funny, sometimes moving, sometimes dark and disturbing listen.

Eschewing novelty despite being obviously novel. Play away.