"Music sucks now" - a counterpoint

This is my record collection, there are many like it but this one is mine...

I've seen a few people on here lament that music sucks these days so I thought I would offer what I think doesn't suck from the perspective of an old, grumpy music snob who is still overwhelmed with how much good music is being made. This list is a fairly diverse grab-bag of styles but it's all pretty mellow, spacey, moody, a bit experimental and all released in the last 5 years.

My knowledge base is much more centred around drum'n'bass/electronic music so my genre descriptions will vary in accuracy depending on my familiarity. I've posted full albums when I could and my favourite track when I couldn't.

Please note that a lot of this stuff requires a pretty decent system to appreciate, especially the drum'n'bass stuff. so if you're listening it on computer speakers and you're like "this is lame", I would suggest listening to it on a system that can reproduce sub bass at least somewhat well.

Foreign Fields - Anywhere But Where I Am (LP) [2013]

"electronic folk" or "world/folk/country"

Two guys based out of Nashville. I stumbled across this album recently and I've probably listened to it about 30 times in the last 2 months. Moody, intimate, etherial folk with some electronic elements (mostly drum machines and some pads/drones).

https://youtu.be/6jXV1AceDuE

Seba & Method One - Dawn Patrol (12") [2016]

"atmospheric drum'n'bass"

I've been a fan of Seba for well over a decade (I own about 45 of his releases). He's a Swedish drum'n'bass artists who made his mark on the legendary Good Looking/Looking Good label in the mid 90s. He's been releasing music regularly ever since on pretty much every drum'n'bass label worth their salt.

Method one is a San Francisco based drum'n'bass producer who's been experimenting with "ambient" and "grey area" of late.

This track harkens back to some of Seba's earlier sounds (Seba & Lotek - So Long, specifically). Spacey FM synth pads, deep sub bass, and a bit of an amen workout.

https://youtu.be/3-0NCeAs-iE

Low Roar - s/t (LP) [2011]

"electronic folk/indie rock"

Icelandic folk group. I don't know much about these guys (I think it's just Ryan Karazija on this album) but I love this album, which I also Happened across randomly. Their use of electronics and studio techniques reminds me of radiohead if radiohead were even more meloncholic

https://youtu.be/1E7tz0zRlpE

Kid Drama - Auto State Of Mind (12") [2015]

"autonomic" "minimal drum'n'bass"

Kid Drama has been crucial in the reinvention and re-visioning of drum'n'bass as a genre along with dbridge with their autonomic and heart drive podcasts. The result was inadvertent invention of "autonomic" as a sub genre and kicked off a lot of experimentation and pushing of the boundaries of what drum'n'bass is as a genre. He has several aliases and has been in several groups all of which are worth listening to.

This particular release has pretty clear synthwave/chillwave influence with a late 80s/early 90s synth arpeggio and analogue pads and drums. The vocal also adds to this "vintage" aesthetic.

https://youtu.be/9qVAF1g2os0

Junip - s/t (LP) [2013]

"electronic folk" "folk/indie/world"

Junip is Jose José González' current band and I discovered Junip through him. José González is in my "top 5 live shows" list 3 times: once as a solo act, once with Zero 7, and once with Junip. Watching Junip live felt like a drug trip. It was incredibly emotionally intense while also being very comfortable. Their music is thick and lush. Their use of analogue synths and distortion/overdrive lend to the feeling of being immersed in sound.

https://youtu.be/hGjdkab3RSM

Alix Perez - Recall And Reflect (EP) [2015]

"atmospheric drum'n'bass" "liquid funk"

Alix Perez currently has 2 main sounds: deep drum'n'bass rollers and wonky halftime drum'n'bass. His deep rollers, like this, are impeccable, in my opinion. His drums are tight and well programmed, his basslines are deep, and his atmospherics are haunting.

https://youtu.be/hQOxs_pBC5g

Rhyming in Fives - Hindsight (EP) [2013]

"autonomic" "synthwave"

I don't know much about Rhyming in Fives. I discovered them through Blocks and Escher's Narratives Music label. Though Narratives is ostensibly a drum'n'bass label, Rhyming in Fives is strongly influenced by synthwave and autonomic sounds.

https://youtu.be/ifO_fwQGgu0

Mimicking Birds - Eons (LP) [2014]

"indie rock" "folk"

I discovered Mimicking Birds randomly on myspace when that was still a thing and he just had a bunch of demo songs posted up for free download. He has since formed a band and "Eons" is their second real album. There is something very unique about their songwriting and lyrics. I always think a song is going to do something and it goes in a completely different direction.

https://youtu.be/GHBvHVVIJlQ

Djrum - Plantain / What I Was Doing When I Was Doing What I Was Doing (12") [2015]

"experimental drum'n'bass" "minimal drum'n'bass"

Djrum makes some weird music. He has several tunes that start in one genre and end in another (Plantain does this. Starts at ~170 drum'n'bass, goes to 140, and ends in a weird cinematic, ambient bit with a sample of Nicolas Cage from Adaptation). His stuff is very cinematic and hard to pin down.

https://youtu.be/VHXWVCG-rWs

Bohren & Der Club Gore - Piano Nights (LP) [2014]

"doom jazz" "dark ambient"

A friend of mine posted that he had just discovered "doom jazz" and that it changed his life. I immediately went down the doom jazz rabbit hole.

The story I heard was the members were formerly in grindcore and death metal bands but found themselves feeling the brinkmanship of those genres were not inspiring them anymore. They got together and went in the exact opposite direction and made "doom ridden jazz music". Their music is sloooooooooow. It requires a lot of time and the right headspace to get into but very worth it.

[personally, I think their "Black Earth" album is the best they've done from what I've heard so far, but that was released in 2002 and wouldn't fit on this list]

https://youtu.be/aVnLon8TvXk

Sam KDC & The Untouchables ‎– Alliance / Suffa Ray Shun (7") [2015]

"dub" "dubwise drum'n'bass"

I found this through Dubmonger's 45Seven label. The music 47Seven puts out sounds like a map of the influence dub and reggae has had having bounced around the world starting from 60s Jamaican dub to 90s UK's jungle to mid 2000s dubstep/grime to modern German minimal drum'n'bass. All their releases are 45 rpm 7" only. No digital releases.

Sam KDC works in a variety of genres from dubstep, drum'n'bass, dub, and grey area. The Untouchables generally work in the dub and minimal drum'n'bass worlds. Alliance is moody an a major bass workout.

https://soundcloud.com/45seven/45712a

Ivy Lab - 20 Questions (EP) [2015]

"atmospheric drum'n'bass" "liquid funk" with some "halftime drum'n'bass"

Ivy Lab is a bit of a super group consisting of Sabre, Stray, and Halogenix who are all great producers in their own right. Like Alix Perez, they have 2 main sounds they focus on as Ivy Lab: deep rollers and wonky halftime. The title track was a big tune in the scene last year.

Ivy Lab and Alix Perez just came out with a collab EP which is fantastic but I though this was a better launch point to introduce people to Ivy Lab.

https://youtu.be/lJBc0ej7myY

Deru - 1979 (LP) [2014]

"dark ambient"

Deru works as a film composer and sound designer and has done work for the Avatar TV series and Kung Fu Panda TV series. That doesn't really give you any idea what this album is like though. It's a think, warble-y, analogue, and melancholic soundtrack to a desolate landscape. I listened to this on repeat for days.

https://youtu.be/11JITPeYAWs

Kimyan Law - Coeur Calme (LP) [2014]

"experimental drum'n'bass"

I discovered Kimyan Law through Chris of Blu Mar Ten who signed him to his label Blu Mar Ten Music (Blu Mar ten is a great source for music new and old and I highly recommend checking out their podcast: http://www.blumarten.com/mixes-podcasts ).

Kimyan Law (real name Nico Mpunga) was 19 when he made this album and made it on a laptop with some shit bud headphones. His music has a very organic sound while still being precise and modern, often sounding like the worlds most complex music box.

Unfortunately there's just clips of the tracks online but this playlist has clips of the whole album:
https://soundcloud.com/kimyanlaw/sets/coeur-calme