a runoff list of all the nominated albums would be nice!
― mh ๐, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 15:43 (seven years ago) link
Fair enough (pun intended).
Speaking of 'idm', I was just thinking about this album this morning, I always forget the name and have to dig it up but it's beautiful listening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXw_dz1BRYY&list=PLDJsU_5F23c53SuzhGrHKh_9OLKhseDm2
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 15:51 (seven years ago) link
It's pretty weird to see an "IDM" list where so many of the albums are not IDM but minimal or dub techno, even straight techno. I would never call Carl Craig or Isolรฉe or bloody Drexciya IDM. That feels like broadening the genre definition to a point where it's meaningless.
― Tuomas, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 16:21 (seven years ago) link
imo defining "idm" as a genre was exclusionary and started out as people talking about "dance-derived music that's good for home listening" and eventually turned into "stuff to listen to on headphones in dark rooms that's good for posting on messageboards about"
if you think of Selected Ambient Works as a seminal album and the Artificial Intelligence comps as an entry point, things like that Carl Craig album fall right in there
― mh ๐, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 16:33 (seven years ago) link
It's pretty weird to see an "IDM" list where so many of the albums are not IDM but minimal or dub techno, even straight techno. I would never call Carl Craig or Isolรฉe or bloody /Drexciya/ IDM. That feels like broadening the genre definition to a point where it's meaningless.
Cannot believe "intelligent dance music" has been broadened to meaninglessness
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 16:36 (seven years ago) link
genre of exclusion
― mh ๐, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 16:41 (seven years ago) link
I get that there were the records that made people start calling things IDM, there were the ones made to be 'IDM' (or at least made after there was some vocabulary established), and there were the spiritual cousins and descendants. It seems a little weird to me include the latter on a list like this but whatevs.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:13 (seven years ago) link
why is it weird?
― the late great, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:14 (seven years ago) link
seems pretty straightforward to me that a genre-eclectic magazine would choose to publish a list based on the idea of "if you like aphex and autechre you'll probably like ..." rather than "here's 50 albums that sound like aphex and autechre"
― the late great, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:19 (seven years ago) link
That feels like broadening the genre definition to a point where it's meaningless.
this is also weird to me. what is the value of having tightly defined genres?
― the late great, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:21 (seven years ago) link
you get to snipe on the internet about how something isn't *really* idm
or be on a genre-defining listserv about it and complain a lot
― mh ๐, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:23 (seven years ago) link
I just would have done either a strict archival thing, or split it out to be able to be able to include more contemporary stuff. But nbd, it's just a list.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:23 (seven years ago) link
if I had to hazard a guess, they reached out to a pool of music writers, asked for albums to put on a ballot, then everyone voted on the list
so a fair number of people contributed with a narrow scope, and a handful contributed newer stuff?
― mh ๐, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:26 (seven years ago) link
Actually panel individual ballots writer massage editor votes tallied was emails discussion shortlist
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:30 (seven years ago) link
I just would have done either a strict archival thing
right, ok, this i can see having some value, doing a history of IDM
of course simon reynolds would be one of the last people i would choose to lead that project
― the late great, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 17:36 (seven years ago) link
Am I the only one here who loved the list? It's not purist but was IDM really well defined as a genre? There's a major difference between, say, Autechre and Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin.
― dance cum rituals (Moka), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 20:01 (seven years ago) link
probably safe to say it was defined more by the labels releasing it and the attitude of the artists than the specifics of the sound
― the late great, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 20:31 (seven years ago) link
I thought it was a solid list
am kinda disappointed that no post-98 Autechre made it. once you get into their later work the early stuff seems like its just a run up to it.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 20:52 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, list is fine
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:00 (seven years ago) link
Nice list shame about the title
― nashwan, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:06 (seven years ago) link
NO MAX TUNDRA NO CREDIBILITY jk good write ups, Ned!
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:07 (seven years ago) link
Max Tundra doesn't sound as IDM does it? It's like some progressive electronic zolo shit
― frogbs, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:09 (seven years ago) link
he was on warp and had skittery beats what else do you want sheesh
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:16 (seven years ago) link
pretty good list, glad to see clark - body riddle getting some credit, always felt like that one was underrated coming at the very very tail end of the genre's heyday
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:25 (seven years ago) link
max tundra was on domino but released a single on warp /pedant
― mh ๐, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:35 (seven years ago) link
Max Tundra also out on Kid 606's Tigerbea6, and had an instrumental album before Pitchfork found out about him which is easiest to classify as IDM. Was definitely in the crew that included Kid606, DAT Politics, Blectum from Blechdom, and by extension, Kit Clayton, Sutekh, even Matmos
I enjoyed reading the list -- I don't think at the time I would have considered Kompakt type stuff (or minimal house at all) to be "IDM". IDM was always glitchier and wonkier to me
― Dominique, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:36 (seven years ago) link
yeah I guess it's easy to make a case for that first album. in my opinion MBGATE and Parallax Error are better than most the albums on the list but they don't fit with anything on the top 10
― frogbs, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:41 (seven years ago) link
I can't even think of any big names this is missing, so kudos on that. I would have went with the first Prefuse album tho.
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:46 (seven years ago) link
And I guess I would rather have seen the Farmers Manual, Oval, Alvo Noto end of the spectrum represented instead of like making the case for JLin or w/e
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:51 (seven years ago) link
So you guys are arguing whether some artist was a bit too wonky to be IDM and whether being on Warp qualifies him, but everyone disagrees with me when I point out that a straight-up Detroit techno album that was put out by motherfucking Tresor might not belong on the list?
― Tuomas, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 21:53 (seven years ago) link
tuomas you are a tresor
― Islamic State of Mind (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 22:00 (seven years ago) link
feel like richdork contributors are definitely cognizant that some of the entries do not fit the more classical definition of idm but willfully included some more diverse music
― Islamic State of Mind (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 22:01 (seven years ago) link
Would have loved to see Max Tundra on the list. Would love to see him in any list tbh... I guess I relate him more to weirdo synth pop than IDM but some of his songs would definitely fit with other artists on the genre... again that's the problem with IDM it's more related to certain labels like Warp than a particular sound.
― dance cum rituals (Moka), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 22:13 (seven years ago) link
Thanks!
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 22:32 (seven years ago) link
That top 10 made me smile so much
also now is as good a time as any to say that I think I've heard SAW maybe twice and couldn't tell you a damn thing about it
― (The caption: โfine dining.โ) (DJP), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 22:40 (seven years ago) link
I'm still going to bat for the first Telefon Tel Aviv album as having aged the best out of more or less everything. You can tell what they were inspired by with the labored-over glitchiness, but setting it against half-time 808 beats was prescient (not to mention the melodies and general lushness of the record).
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 22:48 (seven years ago) link
not a particularly great list, not a particularly bad one, would ordinarily be inclined to talk a bunch of shit out of principle but since they put urban tribe on itย all is forgiven
― the late great, Tuesday, 24 January 2017 23:00 (seven years ago) link
I am glad a lot of bad things were omitted
― mh ๐, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 01:35 (seven years ago) link
No Confield OMG.
― attention vampire (MatthewK), Wednesday, 25 January 2017 03:46 (seven years ago) link
agreed, that record still sounds utterly alien 15 years later, it's fantastic
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 04:42 (seven years ago) link
I listen to it rarely because there's at least one track that makes me feel physically unsettled
― mh ๐, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 14:44 (seven years ago) link
that one track is "Bine"
it is the aural equivalent of food poisoning
still awesome though
― frogbs, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 14:47 (seven years ago) link
First off, I come in peace - this is overall a great list, especially for a genre with an offensive name that nobody from the golden age wants to admit being a part of.
"idm" for me is whatever the hyperreal list was biggin up '96-'02, so the list felt sorta narrow to me - no Amon Tobin, no Fennesz, no Vladislav Delay of any kind. And trust, every FSOL, Orbital and Orb release got the microscope treatment. Do you think Orbus Terrarum got more love in some other scene? Will any electronic track ever satisfy the cerebral idm fan's pretensions to symphonic glory more than The Girl With The Sun In Her Head? I understand why they didn't show up, but it feels like an incomplete representation of what idm heads were listening to.
On the other hand, I was surprised to see Drexciya. _Glad_, but surprised. I like to think that this is a nod towards the fact that "idm" was a gradual evolution from Detroit techno, not a drastic break. (Hm ... now why would the Detroit artists not get the "intelligent" tag? Hmmm ....)
Oh and Bytes >>> Spanners, what happened here.
― 0 / 0 (lukas), Wednesday, 25 January 2017 18:39 (seven years ago) link
I am thankful to this list for getting me to listen to Hard Normal Daddy today
― (The caption: โfine dining.โ) (DJP), Wednesday, 25 January 2017 18:44 (seven years ago) link
me too, for Farben last two days
re: lukas - I thought the same thing about Fennesz not being there, especially as Jim O'Rourke showed up. Still, one good thing about the list was that seemed like a clear attempt to expand the IDM definition (FlyLo, Jlin, Jon Hopkins -- really anything after about 2005). It's not like this kind of stuff ever went away, just the specific genre tag did
― Dominique, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 18:53 (seven years ago) link
a little disappointed that jon hopkins was the 'this is idm today' inclusion and not the much more adventurous and imo praiseworthy james holden record from the same year
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 19:01 (seven years ago) link
just saw Squarepusher with his live band play like half of Hard Normal Daddy and it was the best music ive ever seen or heard in the history of music
― kurt schwitterz, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 19:03 (seven years ago) link
lukas very otm (and how the hell did I miss the lack of Amon Tobin inclusion?!?)
― mh ๐, Wednesday, 25 January 2017 19:13 (seven years ago) link
I was the president of my own personal Amon Tobin street team back in the day and I totally didn't notice that he wasn't on this list, oops
― (The caption: โfine dining.โ) (DJP), Wednesday, 25 January 2017 20:12 (seven years ago) link
no Cylob? Luke Vibert?
shit's wack.
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Thursday, 26 January 2017 01:46 (seven years ago) link