I need some good electronica! I'm have a big leaning toward IDM, Drum n' Bass and Downbeat but feel i've just dabbled in the essentials and want some serious recommendations. Here is a list of what I already own and enjoy and some of the things that are on my list:

Own:
Four Tet - All of them but Dialogue
Boards of Canada - Music has the right to children, geogaddi
DJ Shadow - All
Roni Size - Reprezent
Dj DB - Some Dn'B comp he mixed
Kid Koala - all
Venetian Snares - Inside the belly of a snake (super raw. is this release similar to his others?)
Squarepusher - Ultravisitor (I like a lot of this album)

I've had my eye on these titles:

Plug - Drum n' Bass for Papa
Wagon Christ -
Hrvatski - Swarm and Dither
Sientific American -
Scientific American -
Marc LeClair - Musique Pour 3 Femmes Enceintes
Black Dice - Beachs and Canyons
RJ Valeo - September
Minotaur Shock

I'm really just an Indie kid but would really be interested in interesting accessible electronic. Maybe a top 5 (more obscure) albums list or something.

some regular recommandations:

The Postal Service - Give up
The Notwist - Neon Golden
Ms John Soda - No P or D
Air - Talkie Walkie
13 & God - self titled
Junior boys - last exit

quote:

Originally posted by eggTweedyegg:
some regular recommandations:

The Postal Service - Give up
The Notwist - Neon Golden
Ms John Soda - No P or D
Air - Talkie Walkie
13 & God - self titled
Junior boys - last exit

I second all of those recommendations, except for the Air and 13+God albums, which I haven't heard. Also, I would add Caribou's The Milk of Human Kindness, a brilliant record from last year that I don't think got its due.

Really, though, I'm not the right person to answer this question. There are other people here who've heard much more electronic music that myself.

What is Ms John Soda like?

Isolee's "Wearemonster" last year was one of the best IDM albums I've ever heard. It's just plain good.

M83 - "Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts" is pretty sweet, sort of ambient but driven by MBV-style guitars with some sprawling organ anthems thrown in. My favorite electronic album.

The only Venetian Snares album I've heard is "Rossz Csillag Illat Szuletett." Apparently it's a less agressive brand of his breakcore. Basically horror-film and classical violins over breakbeats.

quote:

Originally posted by Sicnarf:
What is Ms John Soda like?

Ms. John Soda is the side project between one of the Notwist members and the singer is from the German post-rock band Couch. They make very warm, simple electronic pop music, much like the Notwist, but with a female singer. They also have a slightly more optimistic sound than the Notwist. Their debut album, No P or D, was great, and their follow-up, Notes and the Like, is due out in a couple months.

Oh, and I'll second Dubs suggestion of M83's Dead Cities, Red Seas, Lost Ghosts. It's fantastic.

quote:

Originally posted by Sicnarf:
Venetian Snares - Inside the belly of a snake (super raw. is this release similar to his others?)
Squarepusher - Ultravisitor (I like a lot of this album)

I've had my eye on these titles:

Plug - Drum n' Bass for Papa
Hrvatski - Swarm and Dither

Plug is the DnB name Luke Vibert (Wagon Christ) produced under. His Yoseph album is classic acid. Venetian Snares was on the tinymixtapes top 25 of last year. That's a dope album but Rossz and Doll Doll Doll are essential. Squarepusher's Go Plastic is also definitely required. That Hrvatski album is the only one you need of his but it's wicked. Him and Venetian Snares release mostly on the Planet Mu label, about 2/3 of the Mu catalogue is the best electronica released in the past 4 years.

Essential DnB:
DJ Zinc - Faster
Danny Breaks - *any*
Exile - Pro Agonist
DJ? Acucrack - *any*
John B - In:Transit
Photek - Modus Operandi
Spring Heel Jack - *any pre-2000*
Icarus - Fijaka
Cujo (Amon Tobin) - Adventures In Foam

Downtempo/IDM:
Nautilis - *any*
Mouse On Mars - Idiology
Kid606 - *latest 4 albums*
Bogdan Raczynski - Samurai Math Beats
Capitol K - Island Row
Break Reform - Reformation
Christ. - *anything you can find*
Portishead - *any*
Morcheeba - Big Calm
Nobody - And Everything Else
Alias - *any*
Ulrich Schnauss - A Strangely Isolated Place
basically anything on Ninja Tune/Planet Mu and most things on WARP/Mute/Domino/Tru Thoughts

That should be good for a start.

quote:

Originally posted by eggTweedyegg:
some regular recommandations:
The Postal Service - Give up
The Notwist - Neon Golden
Ms John Soda - No P or D
Air - Talkie Walkie
13 & God - self titled
Junior boys - last exit

Not only is only one of these electronica, but it's not even the best Air album, it's just the newest one. If you're gonna get into Air, start with Moon Safari.

quote:

Originally posted by dubs:
The only Venetian Snares album I've heard is "Rossz Csillag Illat Szuletett." Apparently it's a less agressive brand of his breakcore. Basically horror-film and classical violins over breakbeats.

Drum & Bass broken beats: much faster than breakbeat. Pure bliss.

quote:

Squarepusher's Go Plastic is also definitely required.

DJ? Acucrack - *any*

Come On My Selector and Music Is Rotted One Note are vastly superior to Go Plastic, so I'd recommend those first.

Funny you mention DJ? Acucrack, Filmore. I love their creepy, spacey debut, Mutants of Sound, but I gave up on them after a very so-so Sorted. Have they done anything decent since? (Have you heard their 90s industrial-metal stuff? I think it's called Acumen Nation.)

quote:

Originally posted by m.leland:

quote:

Squarepusher's Go Plastic is also definitely required.

DJ? Acucrack - *any*

Come On My Selector and Music Is Rotted One Note are vastly superior to Go Plastic, so I'd recommend those first.

Funny you mention DJ? Acucrack, Filmore. I love their creepy, spacey debut, Mutants of Sound, but I gave up on them after a very so-so Sorted. Have they done anything decent since? (Have you heard their 90s industrial-metal stuff? I think it's called Acumen Nation.)

Mako vs. Geist is a great straightforward DnB album with their usual industrial tinge. But Killing Mobius, their new album, is a solid, varried electronica job. I don't know what genre “Send More Paramedics” is but it's dope. The production is magnificent. It's probably my fave. album of theirs.

quote:

Plug - Drum n' Bass for Papa

Definitely get Plug - it's some of the best dnb I've heard. Luke Vibert also came out with a more trip-hop oriented album called Big Soup that was really good as well.

Keep in mind most of my recommendations are older, as I've veered a bit from this sort of music in recent years.

DnB:

Ed Rush - Torque: From the No U Turn crew. This is the foundational tech-step album. Must have.

Photek - Form and Function: Modus Operandi is good. I think this is better.

Squarepusher - Music is Rotted One Note: I like this one best.

Grooverider - The Prototype Years: classic dark DnB

LTJ Bukem: Logical Progression, Level 1: Mellow breakbeat stuff

Springheel Jack - I really like this guy, good DnB, but I'm forgetting album titles

Quote: Spring Heel Jack - *any pre-2000*- yes, I haven't heard any post-2000 from him, so I concur

To diverge from DnB a bit:

Mu-Ziq - Tango N' Vectif
Lunatic Harness: These are some of my favorite albums in all of electronica. Mu-Ziq is a bit hard to describe - a little like Squarepusher, but not as fast. Throw in a bit Aphex Twin, but better, in my opinion. I don't know, that's the best I can do. Definitely give it a listen, though.

Kruder & Dorfmeister - DJ Kicks: I like this one the best. Not sure if these guys are on Ninja Tune, but they're definitely affiliated in some way.

And how can I sign off without mentioning my dear Dr. Alex Patterson aka The Orb? He's devolved into drivel and detritus in his last couple albums, but his earlier stuff is excellent: Orblivion, Orbus Terrarum and UF Orb coming immediately to mind.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jorgethemolar,

Yeah, The Orb is legendary, as is Orbital. If you are into electronica at all, you should get almost every album by them (I've not been too impressed by the last two Orb's).

I would recomend these:
PRIMAL SCREAM-EXTERMINATOR(VERY NOISY,DANGERAUOS)
THE GO! TEAM(VERY CREATIVE,WARM,CHILD-ISH,FUNNY...)
M83-DEAD CITIES....
THE AVALANCHES-SINCE I LEFT YOU(VERY BEATIFUL,RARE...)
ebjoy!

quote:

Originally posted by buraj:
I would recomend these:
PRIMAL SCREAM-EXTERMINATOR(VERY NOISY,DANGERAUOS)
THE GO! TEAM(VERY CREATIVE,WARM,CHILD-ISH,FUNNY...)
M83-DEAD CITIES....
THE AVALANCHES-SINCE I LEFT YOU(VERY BEATIFUL,RARE...)

Only M83 is kinda electronic out of that list, aside from about 3 of The Avalanches' turntablist tracks. Primal Scream - Screamedelica would be more appropriate.
More Actual Electronica:
Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy EP / I Care Because You Do (Come To Daddy is essential for and DnB monkey)
Amalgamation Of Soundz - Part II
Cabbageboy - Genetically Modified
Badmarch & Shri - Signs (dope drum n bass)
DJ Wally - *any* (but definitely Stoned Ranger)
Karsh Kale - *either album*
Petter - Six Songs EP
Rubin Steiner - Drum Major!
Tipper - *any*
The Prodigy - *any pre-1998*
The Chemical Brothers - *any pre-2003*
DJ Zinc - Beats By Design (Toothbrush Remix is one of the best DnB tracks of all time)
Frog Pocket - *any*
Jaga Jazzist - A Living Room Hush (Animal Chin is another mind blowing DnB track)
Juno Reactor - *any*
Lords Of Acid - Voodoo U
Pieter K - Everything All The Time
TeeBee and Klute are also pretty dope for DnB

quoted from SPIN

Three artists that humble me, by Andre 3000:

1. Prince
2. Aphex Twin
3. Squarepusher

I thought that was interesting.

Just cause I listened to it again, Primal Scream's "Evil Heat" is a must too. Kinda bridges the gap between Exterminator and Screamedelica

quote:

Originally posted by Sicnarf:
I need some good electronica! I'm have a big leaning toward IDM, Drum n' Bass and Downbeat but feel i've just dabbled in the essentials and want some serious recommendations. Here is a list of what I already own and enjoy and some of the things that are on my list:

Own:
Four Tet - All of them but Dialogue
Boards of Canada - Music has the right to children, geogaddi
DJ Shadow - All
Roni Size - Reprezent
Dj DB - Some Dn'B comp he mixed
Kid Koala - all
Venetian Snares - Inside the belly of a snake (super raw. is this release similar to his others?)
Squarepusher - Ultravisitor (I like a lot of this album)

I've had my eye on these titles:

Plug - Drum n' Bass for Papa
Wagon Christ -
Hrvatski - Swarm and Dither
Sientific American -
Scientific American -
Marc LeClair - Musique Pour 3 Femmes Enceintes
Black Dice - Beachs and Canyons
RJ Valeo - September
Minotaur Shock

I'm really just an Indie kid but would really be interested in interesting accessible electronic. Maybe a top 5 (more obscure) albums list or something.

You want a great electronic album? You got to listen to Fennesz's Endless Summer. I'm not even a big electronica fan, and this is in my top 5 albums of all time.

Haha. DEFINITELY. Endless Summer is so good you can't believe it. EASILY the best album of the 'aughts, in ANY genre.

Man, I can't believe there's been so much discussion of Squarepusher with nobody mention his best - Hard Normal Daddy.

I really dig Venetian Snares' Rossz Csillag Illat Szuletett. It's DnB that's built from samples of Hungarian classical music, and it rocks your face off.

Anything by Jaga Jazzist is good.

Superargo (from Lawrence, KS) is excellent. His self-titled or this year's release are good.

I've been really high on

Run_Return - Metro-North

for the last several months. It's damn good. It was in my overall top 20 for 2005.

In addition to the aforementioned and absolutely essential Endless Summer, Autechre's Tri Repetae++ and LP5 are also extremely rewarding listens.