Scratch My Itch: request specific sounds you're searching for here

Emil.y I’m sure you’ve heard him but have you tried Vitalic? His last album “Voyager” has lots of heavy synth.

His cercle set is a pretty good sampler: https://youtu.be/IGUAChyue2I

I actually made a playlist for a friend years ago who wanted a new wave/italo/electro sampler for a fashion show... cointans several songs with heavy synths + motorik or disco beats.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2S4JDwyn1VVosCsFCasEYB?si=s6-WrTKMSx6PDWc9W2YSdQ

Here’s some songs I’m picking from there, me know if any of these work for you:

Boy Harsher - Pain
Adult. - Hand to Phone
Elecktroids - Silicon Valley
Tevo Howard - all this pain
Hanayo - Joe le Taxi
College - Can you kiss me first

Ah thanks - I will listen to these new things later. I did try Vitalic back when ilx went crazy for 'em but that was a long long time ago, will give it another spin. And I've definitely been meaning to sample Boy Harsher a bit more, did like the small amount I've heard (might include that song even, everything is unclear rn).

I'm also friends with Bufi and I've seen him talk about artists like Space and Crash Course in Science as big inspirations to him. His last album "Mexico 70" has definitely some songs that fit into the description of synth with motorik / disco beats, some even have more kitschy, fun latin-influenced rhythms if that's something you might be interested in.

I’m not running out of Motörhead albums to listen to yet... but anybody wanna recommend some hardass d-beat/speed metal records with strong vocals? especially anything with double bass drums a la “overkill” or Judas priest’s “exciter”

― brimstead

are you familiar with Tøronto? half of the guys who used to be in Morbus Chron; their latest might be close to what your looking for

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/t-ronto-under-siege

Hahaha oh dear, an ILX0r who I guess wishes to remain anonymous granted my request and emailed me:

-Scottish
-nindie plus beats
-a bit kinda druggie, I guess?

So I spent the afternoon listening to an 18 Wheeler record. Honestly, it was not as terrible as I thought a late-period Creation Records act was going to be? Past the hump of the first few songs, it got musically far more interesting than I thought it would be (kinda like a baggy Boo Radleys). Singer was absolutely dire, though. Makes me realise how much 'singer can actually do decent harmonies' is a prequisite for me - hence why Spirea X scratch my Shamen itch, they do really lovely vocal harmonies.

Looked up a picture to see if they were at all cute, GIS decided '18 wheeler band' looks like this:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81xc2QvXBZL._SS500_.jpg

(Spoiler: unfortunately they do not look like that.)

hey thanks, gaudio! I will check that out

Hahaha oh dear, an ILX0r who I guess wishes to remain anonymous granted my request and emailed me:

hello branwell : was never bothered re anon groove.
just wanted to see what you thought as you expressed interest in the spirea x album and scottish rave/pop.
this was all i could come up with from the archive (along with The Apples, r.i.p Ian Stoddard, and IF?).
totally agree re the vocals re 18W, they totally hold the band back.
not heard their final album for a very long time until yesterday when i zipped it up etc.

still think i have some scottish rave/pop buried deep that i cannot recall at the moment.

Apropos of nothing: one of Spirea X is now a Glasgow based Social Worker. My wife worked alongside him and by all accounts a lovely fellow

xxp

nice. let me know if you enjoyed it

and obv i meant "you're looking for", as in you're welcome, brimstead

Scottish 1986, and sounds a bit like the Jesus Loves Amerika version of the Shamen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQW4C1gG5dQ

OMG, everything - Mackenzies - A1.Mealy Mouths

YES! YES! THE ITCH IS SCRATCHED!!! Big beats PLUS big indie guitar, and ~Scottish Voice~ yes! (Haha, I don't think it's actually 'Scottish' voice per se, but there's a certain treble tonal quality to the voice that this guy has, that Colin Angus has times a million, that Sice from the Boo Radleys has, where I am just like... more of this singing, please.)

never heard that before. i really like it.
reminds me of early CHAKK.

They were around for a couple of years as a band heavily influenced by the Fire Engines before following their heroes' swerve into glorious technology with two final 12"s (which are all versions of the same track). The Fire Engines->Win trajectory is the foundation here. There's at least 3 bands on the C86 album who trod that path (Mackenzies, Big Flame>Great Leap Forward, Age of Chance). Re the vocals, Davy Henderson has a lot to answer for there too. Branwell, I'm assuming you've checked out Win already? If not you should go there now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZWh8ezykkM
There's this lot, contemporaries of the Drop-era Shamen. With hindsight, these lyrics are hilariously brilliant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0WS6nn7L7g

The answer to this question may involve Finitribe. They existed. Finitribe: They Existed

Not Scottish, but very nice trebly vocals over psyched-out trippy indie-techno.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCKaA6-H7ew&t=147s

Did that embed work? If not, it's Sudden Sway's Ko-Opera (1990).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCKaA6-H7ew&t=147s

Re the vocals, Davy Henderson has a lot to answer for there too. Branwell, I'm assuming you've checked out Win already? If not you should go there now.

― everything, Friday, 9 October 2020 14:21

OMG, I had not, but I have now, and wow, yes, that scratches the itch very nicely, thank you for the rec!

(Also, while playing 'is this Scot hot or not?' the following image appeared, warning: may involve past ILX0rs of yore)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/FkQ3vyH2elIdauvI-DvD8eMHiE1lCd_sXCNURuEr05rf_mVKtF13wIyrSm80rgM97ZQ3-9w

I expect one of these days I am going to have to dive deeper into Finitribe but I'm scared.

Wait, OMG, Davy Henderson is ... HIM!?!?!? As in, that guy? Without whom, Freaky Trigger and by extension ILM wouldn't even exist?

Hahaha OK the joke is on me, yes, this is a cheeky boshing Scottish art-prankster A++ ripe for crushing just kill me now

Momus's eyewear there seems inspired by the traditional Scottish square sausage.

Wait, OMG, Davy Henderson is ... HIM!?!?!? As in, that guy? Without whom, Freaky Trigger and by extension ILM wouldn't even exist?

yup.
so glad to see WIN getting a mention (think i mentioned them in the email to you Branwell).
after WIN, Ian went onto form The Apples.
a couple of singles, a very low key release of an album, and that was it.
i bloody loved The Apples.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmS3ek1k1Cc

Haha, oh god I didn't realise when you wrote 'Scot Pop Heroes WIN' that WIN was a *band* and not a comment on Scottish pop heroes - "for the win!" I am really dumb. (That particular email address goes into a tab in my work browser so I'm sorry that replies there tend to be really distracted and cursory inbetween programming jobs.)

Wow, that Apples track is so so sooooo 1991 (in a delightful way, because *I* am from 1991) but wow, it is so of its time!

glad the penny dropped.
a couple of years ago i decided to track The Apples album down (don't think it ever got a full proper release in the uk).
it is so so good.
not WIN level good, but very little is.
as you say, very very timestamped.
in a good way.

re ian : https://www.jockrock.org/news/ian-stoddart-rip/

gaudio this Tøronto album is sick, thank u

yes, yes it is!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eij0h_X6Fwc

This might be a little niche, but I'm currently listening to a lot of huge natural electroacoustic/drone stuff (Deep Listening Band, Stuart Dempster, David Hykes - stuff that sounds like earth exhalations) and would really like some recommendations if anyone has any.

organum, loren chasse, I think you know Köner already, tom heasley (tuba thru delays etc), duane pitre "bayou electric", maybe christophe charles?

Been really in the mood for spoken word shit lately, but preferably desolate or depressing, like Dead Flag Blues by Godspeed or Freedom by Mingus. I’m not picky on the type of music, just looking for spoken word desolation vibes, if anyone’s got any.

I want more "ambient country" like this Chris Bathgate song - sort of like if william tyler type stuff had vocals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRdKvn7SfYo

Chinaski - if you want drones then check out the Low Point catalogue, from my home town: https://lowpoint.bandcamp.com/music

Been really in the mood for spoken word shit lately, but preferably desolate or depressing, like Dead Flag Blues by Godspeed or Freedom by Mingus. I’m not picky on the type of music, just looking for spoken word desolation vibes, if anyone’s got any.

check out Hymnambulae, a Swedish brother/sister electroacoustic duo who would fit in here. Their second album Nausikaa uses voice recordings from the poet Gunnar Ekelöf and feels a lot like those GYBE breakdowns

https://hymnambulae.bandcamp.com/album/nausikaa

Also Current 93's 'I Have A Special Plan For this Word' may work gloomily well for you.

*World oops

Cheers for the drone recommendations. Tom Heasley very much what I was after. And I love Gareth Hardwick (it's his label right, emil.y?). I'm going to play Sunday Afternoon later.

The 'ambient country' thing is puzzling me, Simon H, because I can think of a bunch of the more ambient end (most of which is pushing into wide open desert music material) but nothing with vocals. That Bathgate track is gorgeous; shout if you find anything else!

Probably for the desert thread, but Suss are lovely:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjEH-cduaDo

this may be a terrible description, but can anyone recommend me some ✨ microtonal ambient with pitch wheel shenanigans ✨, similar to Sun Electric's "Newambi"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSbAgE-8Yus

Eno's On Land is the most obvious influence I can hear, but it isn't really the same thing. bonus points if you have any idea what traditional ("world music") genre Sun Electric are drawing upon. I thought "Newambi" might mean something in another language, but nope, it's probably just "new ambi(ence)"

I can think of a bunch of the more ambient end but nothing with vocals

the king creosote/jon hopkins collaborations are sort of in this wheelhouse a bit too it just now occurs to me, though they're generally a bit more "active" than what I had in mind

this Suss track is a beaut, thanks!

First thing I think of re: "ambient country" is Scott Tuma's first solo record:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3o-XGfaPu8

Tuma is magnificent. His Not for Nobody album probably fits here too.
I wonder about Headfull by King Black Acid?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVeL20DJgAI

There must be a shit ton of these but I'm blanking a bit: I'm gong to call it 'soft, sad horns' as in things like Pink Mountains' Snow is Falling on Manhattan and Tindersticks' Patchwork. Exquisite warmth and resignation.

hmm what about Virðulegu Forsetar by Jóhann Jóhannsson?

oh but that’s more “ambient” music actually, sorry

i may be taking you too literally but i recommend The Westerlies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvKByGmoOE4

'soft, sad horns' as in things like Pink Mountains' Snow is Falling on Manhattan and Tindersticks' Patchwork. Exquisite warmth and resignation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evpvu6WD6UI

Oh this Mayo Thompson is just the thing, cheers. The Westerlies is lovely too.

I guess Nixon would be the motherlode for a lot of the soft sad horns thing.

The Mountain Goats song "In Memory of Satan" has an absolutely gorgeous-sounding horn arrangement that is so soft and billowing you could throw it underneath someone who just fainted, to keep them from hurting their head on the floor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5WH18sg0Hw

Epic Soundtracks and Mountain Goats tracks both gorgeous, cheers.

As an old indie kid I feel like I should be much more useful in providing soft, sad horns but damn, I am blanking on this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUa78y4k2aw

tons of maher shalal hash baz

Are there any more game soundtrack songs that sound anything along these lines, I'm sure there must be?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEpR6wH4RJs

never heard that before, pretty bazonkers and sui generis

soft sad horns =

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUlX4WeA-3w

i'm looking for instrumental solo albums, ie one instrument. Preferably pretty, vibey, moody, minimal. Examples include Mary Lattimore, Mary Halvorson, many of the tracks on this <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6eKMfZuW64vh3wnI6VkabD?si=oaM9gwt6SVWvx6kbYOlofQ";>i never meta guitar</a> comp, Glen Velez, etc.

Solo piano is disqualified (unless it's prepared or electric, sorry but I make the rules)

oops

Also in the act of posting this, I found a Cthulu-themed solo marimba album on Bandcamp with a fantastic description:

https://paytonmacdonald.bandcamp.com/album/solo-marimba-commissions-vol-4

One rekkid that springs to mind is David Torn's 'Only Sky'

I keep thinking about 'soft, sad horns' but also 'triumphant horns', which must be more common. Not an obvious example, but this came to mind (final verse):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR32O2vXLHQ

OK, so, for a long time I've been aching to hear what could be best described as "Sandy Denny backed by stoner/doom/sludge." I know there's gotta be plenty of stuff out there that sounds like this, but I haven't found it yet. That Emma Ruth Rundle/Thou record from last year came close to scratching this itch, but it was too metal and not-at-all folk. Help me out, ILX!

i'm looking for instrumental solo albums, ie one instrument.

I assume you’re aware of these? – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solos_(Matthew_Friedberger_album)

xp Heron Oblivion?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNgij4jBNJI

This is good! More psych-rock than the doomsludge I'm seeking, but real good regardless

Cool! I was worried it wasn't metal enough but figured it was worth throwing out there. :)

I was listening to The Tony Williams Lifetime record Turn It Over the other day and wishing I knew of more records that sounded like it. Can anyone point me in the direction of more evil, heavy rock music played by jazz musicians that it doesn't feel right to call fusion?

dan weiss' starebaby albums?

Thanks! I've never heard of him, but just looked up Starebaby and saw that the band includes Trevor Dunn, Craig Taborn and Matt Mitchell, so this looks like it's right up my alley.

sorry i was on my phone when i posted that or i would have also linked to this very good piece: https://burningambulance.com/2020/10/06/starebaby-2/

so i'd like to hear some late 70s / early 80s r+b that's not really disco, but more focused on ballads or mid-tempo numbers. i put on some later minnie riperton with the hope that it was what i was wanting, but it's too schmaltzy with all the orchestrations. something a little more stripped down with a lot of fender rhodes. thinking like a quiet storm, but less "BIG" arrangements, if that makes sense.

any thoughts?

Heron Oblivion def gets the most towards Sandy Denny, but also in the 21 century Fairport/Doom sweepstakes

Blood Ceremony
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8anMLvwa7I

Esben and the Witch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WckSWlEf2nM

I'm slowly building a playlist called 'Drifting'. It's stuff that kind of gently skitters. There must be a name for the particular kind of drum pattern/BPM but probably easier to just list a few of the tracks.

Underworld - Dune (Single Version)
Move D - Let's Call It A Day
Eddie Chacon - Sundown (Gigi Masin remix)
Neu! - Seeland
Directions - Echoes (Continental Drift Version)

What else moves like this?

Tomaga- Intimate Intensity
Joan Bibiloni - Sa Fosca
Jeff Parker - After The Rain
Molero - Jaguar Capybara

Hope I got the right idea

I take it you mean something more specific than just general Balearic-adjacent jams?

Thanks for the recommendations. All gorgeous tracks. I think the Biblioni drifts (lol) too far into Balearic (though the sound is, as you say, verging on that scene) and the Parker too insistent and 'on the one'.

The specific thing I'm thinking of revolves around a regular skittery drum pattern (somewhere between 110-130bpm?) and stays with it.

'70s/'80s German takes on what I understand this sound to be:

Wolfgang Riechmann
Deutsche Wertarbeit
Harald Grosskopf

While looking up the youtubes to attach, it turns out all of these have been reissued by Bureau B so that may be a good place to look further. Also, you get TWO guys painted silvery blue, how can you not want that?

Love all of those (and the blue paint just *works*). Maybe a bit propulsive to be truly skittery but the Deutsche Wertarbeit is definitely going on the list.

Looking back at the original list, I realise my inclusion of Neu! is plain confusing. I guess it's a more straightforward 'songs that have the same insistent yet skittery beat as Custard Speedtalk'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtU2Yi2xgGE

I think a lot of it is down to walking and how certain tracks act almost like Google glasses, painting the landscape in glitter as you move.

Ah yeah, I see what you mean - I was concentrating more on the vibes of the top lines which do match, and while none of the ones I suggested have what I'd consider 'heavy' beats they aren't very skittery. I'm sure some stuff I loved in the '90s would be right for this, but knowing my brain it won't give up any names easily. Maybe Bowery Electric??

Pole comes to mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGlPCAE3_uM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKrjdL0ycx4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n_8EUjM-MY

A track like Tanzen by Pole might work

Oh bendy literally just said this