Index

 

B. C. Slumber (Australia)

Slumber Assistant (2021)

Nice, relaxing ambient EM from this Melbourne-based synthesist. Inspired by "New Age, Japanese Ambient and Fourth World Jazz".

 


B/E/T/A/M/A/X (France)

B/E/T/A/M/A/X_170908 (2017)
B/E/T/A/M/A/X_180420 (2018)

Long, droning ambient tracks.

 


B Frix (Switzerland)

Abelhas (Apis Mellifera) (2020) (S)

Weird, wacky, sample-laden compositions dedicated to bees.

 


B. Michaael (Canada)

Modern Séance (2020) (EP) (with Mor Air)
Built2Crawl (2022)
Gore (2023)

Complex electronics with climatic and hypnotic ambient sections. A project of Branton Olfert.

 


b°tong (Switzerland)

Probing the Boundaries (2019)
A Fleeting Moment of Superabundance (2023)

A project of Chris Sigdell. I am not sure about his other releases (further investigation is needed), but Probing the Boundaries is a nice album of subtle and moody Noise Ambient.

See also: NÍÐ, BU.D.D.A.

 


B|_ank (USA)

Lone Dot Home Recordings (2018) (S)
Age(Time (2019) (S)
Silents & Precipitation (2020)
Th Moof (2021)

A project of Baltimore-based William Passionfruit Hicks. From noisy and intense electronic composition to complex themes betweem EM, math rock / fusion and electroacoustics (on Th Moof).

 


B77 (France)

Fleur (2019) (EP)
The Wonderful Labyrinth of the Mind (2021) (recorded in 2020)

French duo in strange hauntology / lo-fi vintage synth mould. Some of the sounds they use are pretty nice, although I would definitely have done without the singing.

 


Baaden, Andreas (Germany)

Gamma (2005)
Slow Down (2010)
Aufbruch (2019) (with Uwe Cremer)
Home (2020)
Night Walk (2021)

Andreas Baaden has been involved in the creation of Electronic Music since the early 1980's. His style is melodic and rhythmic.

 


Baal & Mortimer (Germany)

Deixis (2020)
The Torso Tapes (2021)

A project of Alexandra Grübler. She mixes avant-pop with Cluster-like electronics.

 


Baalberith (Russia)

Snu microkosmos tegn (2003)
Medieval Darkness And Evil (2003)
En skog av svarteguds (2004)
In the Autumnal Forest Realm (2004) (S)
Northern Nebular (2004)
A Dreaming Kingdom (2005) (S)
The Embrace of the Pale Moon (2006)

Russian Dark Ambient project from Kirov, apparently inspired by Nordic myths and legends. Dominated by keyboards and various samples. A few tracks have heavily effected vocals (naturally, dealing with burning crosses and similar bullshit). The first demo contains a Burzum cover.

See also: J.A.M.

 


bààn (Belgium)

bààn (2018)
Outtakes (2019)
Reset (2020)
Shadowboxing (2022)

A keyboards / drums duo of Pascal Paulus and Jean-Philippe De Gheest. Energetic or relaxed. Mostly cosmic and Pink Floyd-like... Nice EM in a unique style.

 


Baartmans, Peter (Netherlands)

Eye-Witness of the Digital Date (1985)
Select (1988)

A pianist, jazz musician and keyboard player, Peter Baartmans released an electronic album called Digital Date which was apparently distributed by Yamaha at the time. The style is not known. The second album Select was done on a Kurzweil digital system. It seems than Peter currently resides in Germany.

 


Baast (USA)

Trident (2020)

Jazz fusion band. Trident is their third album that tends towards the ambient electronics side. Some tracks are pure EM soundscapes, with theremin, mellotrons and all. Nice.

 


BAÄSTET (Belarus)

Прасвет (2023)

Varied, mostly ambient compositions created for a performance reading (with two tracks being pieces intended for a diploma animation). BAÄSTET is a project of Yana Maroz.

 


Baba Yaga (Germany)

Baba Yaga (1974)
Collage (1974)

Baba Yaga was essentially a project of keyboardist Ingo Werner (ex-My Solid Ground) who released these two completely different works, the second in collaboration with the percussionist Nemat Dauman. Whereas the first eponymous release is song-dominated (in the style of British progrock), there are a few instrumental tracks that demonstrate Werner's keyboard / electronics skills (including the mellotron) and serve as precursors of what was to be heard on the follow-up. Released in the same year, Collage featured two tracks of primordial World Music, where sitars and percussion are combined with hypnotic electronic workouts resulting in a sort of an early Popol Vuh (Affenstunde, In der Garten Pharaos) feel.

 


Babbitt, Ben (USA)

Paris Window Original Score (2019) (soundtrack)
Kentucky Route Zero - Original Soundtrack (2020) (soundtrack)
I Hate It Here (2021) (with Felicita and Steph Kretowicz)

Californian composer of soundtracks for movies and video games. He has a lush, symphonic electronic style.

 


Babel (Canada)

Apraxia (2015)
Novus (2015)
Thirteen Exquisite Corpses (2019)

Babel is a diverse musical project of Toronto-based Jakob Rehlinger (aka Moonwood). He mostly uses electric guitar with processing, as well as acoustic instruments / concrete sounds to craft his experimental compositions. However, Apraxia is a synth oriented effort and is a blast of dramatic Schulzian chords and solos (the opener, "Apraxia III", "Antacid Haus"), John Carpenter pulsations and Tangerine Dream-y cosmic journeys ("Polar Vortex"), with some experimental moments as well (reminding on Conrad Schnitzler even). Further investigation is needed.

See also: Rehlinger, Jakob

 


Babicz, Robert (Poland)

Utopia (2020)

Nice Progressive EM / deep house mixture from this Polish-German artist.

 


Babushkin, Viktor (Russia)

Russian sound engineer and electronic musician. He has written some soundtracks for feature films and documentaries.

 


Babyxxan (Australia)

Lost Tapes From the Lilac Island In Space (2023)
In-Tran-Situ (2024)

Long-form ambient works with sort of an environmental theme going. A project of Xan Coppinger.

 


Bacchus, Stephen (Canada)

The Returning (1986)
Visions of Unity (??)
Pangaea (1990)
Ancient Mysteries (1993)
Bardo (1996)
Ambient Origins (1998) (recorded in 1983 - 1987)
Waterhaven (2001) (with Danna & Clement)
Wilderness Mysterium (2002) (with Danna & Clement)
The Keep (2010) (recorded in 1979 - 2010)
SoundSeed Sessions Vol. 1 (??) (EP)
Hinterland (2016)
Circadia (2018)
The Memory Tap (2021)
Of Magicks, Myths & Mortals (2022) (recorded in 2000)

Canadian composer whose real name is Grant Mackay. He makes Ambient music which sometimes comes close to new age. Mix of acoustic & electronic sounds.

 


Bach Revolution, The (Japan)

Waga Kokoro Imada Yasuraka Narazu (1976)
Sand Boat (1978)
Synthesizer Study (1978)
Kwaidan (1978) (with Teizan Ichiryusai)
Sound Wars (1978)
No Warning (1979)
Digital Bach (1980)

Synth trio of Kazutaka Tazaki, Motoaki Suzuka and Akiro Kamio (later reduced to a duo). At times pretty experimental (like a more out-there Tomita) but with a strong cosmic edge.

 


Bachmeier, Stefan (UK)

Anomaly On Meadow Lane (2017)
The Infernal Machine (2018)
Döppel (2019)

Accrording to the legend, Stefan Bachmeier is a German sci-fi writer and electronic musician who moved to the UK shortly after WWII. But that's the label's legend, you know. Anyway, the music is nice, analog and soundtracky.

See also: Polypores, Leproto, Stefano, Buczkowski, Szczepan.

 


Back To the Moon (Germany)

Dreamcatcher (2007)
Streetview (2010)

A crossover project, Back To the Moon was formed by Jürgen Drogies (founder member of the krautrock band Thirsty Moon) to explore a more contemporary sound where Electronic Music, rock guitars and Jürgen's voice combine to form a unique melodic sound.

 


Backhausen, Peter (Germany)

Planet Show (1979)
Picture Dreams (1992)
Art of Magic (1993)
Villa Lilla (1994)

Synthesist on Sky label with other musicians helping out.

 


Backhouse, Andrew (UK)

Exits & Epiphanies (2016)

Long-form Ambient.

 


Backnee Horn (Israel)

Backnee Horn (2009)
II (2011)
Backnee Horn III (2012)

Improvising psych rockers. They use synths, mellotrons, guitars, bass, drums and a few other instruments. As their music is so synth-heavy (the electronics seem to be the primary component of their music), I decided to include them here as an EM-related outfit. Influences of krautrock (Can, Faust, Amon Düül) are heard, as well as those of bands like Gong and early Tangerine Dream. There are also vocal rants (hardly can be called signing) on some of the tracks that I would certainly do without. They are best when they are creating synthesized atmospheres and are completely instrumental. Mostly long tracks. Backnee Horn consists of Rudy J., Yevgeny Kushnir, Alex Furman (replaced Shimon Afriat after the release of the debut album) and Zohar Cohen.

 


Båd (Denmark)

Oktober vipper bladene af træerne (2021)

Pastoral EM with acoustic guitars and ambient synths.

 


Bad Girl (Italy)

Bad Girl (2013) (EP)
Cosmi (2016)
Borders (2018)

Stark analog synths and slow rhythms with something of a Heldon feel in places.

 


Bad Pritt (Italy)

Bad Pritt (2018)

No, it's not Brad Pitt, it's Bad Pritt, a project of Luca Marchetto. It mixes a post-punk / pop aesthetic with lush strings and some mellotron choirs.

 


Bad Sector (Italy)

Ze (1994)
Ampos (1995)
Vacuum Pulse (1996)
Pressurized Music (1997)
Polonoid (1998)
Plasma (1998)
Dolmen Factory (1998)
Jesus Blood (1998) (S)
Transponder (1999)
Toroidal Body (2000) (S)
The Harrow (2001)
Survival Tools (2001)
Retrovirus (2001)
Xela (2001)
Bad Box (2001)
Idio Blast (2005) (with Astro)
Kosmodrom (2005)
Reset (2005)
CMASA (2007)
Raw Data (2011)
Chronoland (2011)
Unification (2013)
Cephus (2015)
Absolute (2017)
Live At Maschinenfest 2015 (2017)
Yela (2022)

Basically a project of Italian musician Massimo Magrini. Judging from what I've heard about it, it's mindblowing Noise Ambient / Dark Space, using analogue synths, theremins, various found sounds, self-built instruments, etc. Dark, sometimes sad, industrial soundscapes that have been even compared to John Carpenter, Goblin and various 70's sci-fi soundtracks.

See also: Olhon

 


Bad Trips (USA)

From Beyond (2021)
Ridgewood Ayahuasca (2021)
Drink the Ooze (2023)

Experimental / psychedelic electronics trio from Queens. Lots of noises and bleeps & beeps here, but also a weird cosmic vibe at times.

 


Badarou, Wally (France)

Echoes (1984)
Words of A Mountain (1989)
Colors of Silence (2023)

Wally Badarou was born in 1955 in Paris to a family of West-African (Dahomey, now Benin) parents. Although he initially planned a career of a pilot, his love for music (both popular and European classical) prevailed and he got involved in many productions as a session player and producer. As a keyboard player, he worked with M ("Pop Music"), Joe Cocker, Herbie Hancock, Black Uhuru, Grace Jones and Level 42. He has also composed several soundtracks. In 1980, his first solo album appeared, the song-oriented Back To Scales Tonight. However, it wasn't until his highly acclaimed 1984 effort, Echoes, that his instrumental mastery of the synthesizer began to shine. The album featured many different styles, from the rhythmic and dance-oriented to the atmospheric. Another all-instrumental album followed in 1989, called Words of A Mountain which features atmospheric compositions with a strong classical influence.

 


Baddoar (France)

Wandering Knight (2022)
Wild Magical (2023)

Repetitive "comfy synth" pastiche. Nice, but I wish he would vary his synth patches a bit.

See also: Wydraddear

 


Badge Epoch (Canada)

Scroll (2021)

Aka Badge Époche Ensemble. Totonto-based progressive funk ensemble. There are touches of Zappa and Daevid Allen's Gong throughout their album Scroll, although it never reaches the levels of wackiness of these two artists / groups. The real interest EM-wise, however, are some of the shorter tracks and interludes that are partly or completely electronic. File under EM-related.

 


Badmixday (Turkey)

Goya (2021)

A project of Istanbul-based Anıl Berk Çetin. Although the bulk of Goya contains essentially different forms of IDM music with touches of instrumental hip-hop, the author also places an emphasis on sound creation (instead of just using a few samples thrown together) and both the opener, as well as the closer, are nice, if a bit short, atmospheric EM pieces with touches of cinematic Vangelis and Klaus Schulze even (in his later phase from The Dresden Performance and up to Contemporary Works series perhaps). I think if the author would build and improve on those ideas, he would come up with a nice, fully-fledged Prog EM sound next time, as he definitely has a talent for creating atmosphere and unique sounds.

 


Badun (Denmark)

QS (2017)
Future Twenty-Four (2020)
Dreamers In the System (2022) (soundtrack)

Improvisational jazz ensemble with heavy use of electronics. The above works have some elements of Prog EM.

 


Bahnson, Tore (Denmark)

Machine (1988)
Scrap (2007)

The 1988 cassette was sponsored and released by Commodore Denmark. It's a demo of Amiga computers as instruments and production tools (i.e. the music was made entirely with Amiga computers). The style is not known at the moment.

 


Bæk, John (Denmark)

Another Mountain (1989)

John Bæk is a member of folk band Kætter Kvartet. He released Another Mountain inspired by Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells and indeed, the music bears a striking resemblance to Oldfield's style, but relying more on electronic keyboards rather than acoustic instruments (although these are used as well).

 


Bagaski (Germany)

J O Y (2021)

Berlin-based artist. Definitely experimental, but with melancholic / cosmic touches.

 


Baggaley, Kurt (UK)

Former Self (2015) (EP)
Remembering Infinity (2017) (EP)

Techno-related artist from the UK. On some releases, he shows an ambient or EM influence. I will try to list these.

 


Bagge, Rune (Denmark)

Pink Dreams (2018)
P&U59 (2019)
Stick 2 the Code (2022)
Grab A Star (2022)

Techno artist who opens each side of this LP (Pink Dreams) with an ambient track. File under EM-related.

 


Baghiri, Amir (Iran)

Red Fly (1980)
Slow Motion (1981)
Dakhmeh (1982)
Rubartan (1982)
Graphieh (1983)
Visions of the Night (1983)
Colours of the Caspian Sea (1984)
Ouruj (1984)
Quiet Desert (1985)
UFOgraphity (1985)
Silent Red Planet (1987)
Cages (1996)
Winterscape (1996)
Arcanum (1997) (with Mathias Grassow and Rudiger Gleisberg)
Time (1997)
Autumn (1998)
True North (1998) (with Matthias Grassow)
Upuaut (1999) (with Mathias Grassow and Oophoi)
Bluebox Collection (2000)
Rooms (2001)
Private Archive (2002)
Dreamresources (2002)
Yalda (2003)
Entities (2003) (with Nimh)
Lucid Circles (2004) (with Brannan Lane)
Ghazal (2004)
Exosphere (2005)
Planet X (2006)
Orbital Repose (2007)
A Brief History of Light (2007) (with Wee Bandits)
Live Long And Prosper (2011)
The Serenity (2013)
Prayers For the Earth (2013)
Light Textures (2013)
Private Archive (2014) (recorded in 1983 - ??)

Ambient composer. From airy and expansive Steve Roach-like soundscapes to darker atmospheric structures. Recommended for fans of Ambient music.

See also: Seamus

 


Bagsby, David (USA)

The Aviary (1991)
Hydrophony (1992)
Bizaria (1993)
Ephemeron (1993)
The Tulsa Project (1999)
The Magic Empire Strikes Back... (1999)
Transphoria (1999)
Happy Hour For A Pack of Screaming Monkeys (2000)
Translator (2000)
Keystone Lake And Palmer - Welcome Back My Friends To the Gun Show That Never Ends (2001)
David Bagsby Live In London (2002)
The Lamb Fries Down On Broadway (2002)
Scream In the Dark (2002)
Gang Green Country (2002)
Lunaria (2004)
Syllogisms (2005)
Serigraphs (2005)
Hallucinographs (2006)

Euphoricon (2006)
Watch Out (2010)

Experimental artist. The Aviary is made using bird sounds analysed by a computer software which builds patterns for synthesizers to play sounds based on those bird songs. So, what we get here is basically music "composed" by birds. Hydrophony continues in that direction but the sound source is running water this time. He can also compose in numerous other styles, such as country / western, neo-classical, progressive rock (Jethro Tull and ELP styles), progressive and academic EM, etc. Hallucinographs contains crazy synthesized "outer space" music.

See also: Xen

 


Bahasmanuti (Italy)

Golyat (2014) (with Oky)
100 (2018)

Improvised music with multiple sequences from this trio.

See also: Sharema

 


Bahía Mansa (Chile)

Memorias de los Pajaros Niños (2020)
La Orilla en la que Habito (2021)
Boyas + Monolitos (2021)
Botánica del Olvido (2021)
Grietas (2022)
Ausencia o la Virtud de los Árboles (2022) (S)
Costa Documental (2022)
Mallki (2023)

Ambient project of Chilean sound artist Iván Aguayo. Relaxing sound with a microsound touch.

 


Baier, Harry (Austria)

Kamikaze (1983)

This album starts with two vocal pop tracks and then settles for an instrumental, melodic, easy-listening sound. Not very progressive, more like Space mixed with the cheesiest Jarre material. Real name of the musician: Harald Baierl.

 


Baijkonour Ghost, The (Germany)

The Baijkonour Ghost (2012)

See also: Navel

 


Baïkonour (France)

For the Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos (2005)
Your Ear Knows Future (2008)
Everybody Knows This Is Hardware (2018)

A project of French musician Jean-Emmanuel Krieger, who currently resides in the UK. The music is fairly adventurous, mixing kraut, progressive rock, EM and maybe also techno influences. Your Ear Knows Future seems to be more guitar-dominated and more pastoral. On the other hand, the somewhat rough and in-yer-face electronics of Everybody Knows... remind me on the Heldon school of the more aggressive and neurotic kind of EM, sprinkled with moments of chiptune cheesiness. Quite complex overall and at times genuinely enjoyable.

 


Bailey, James (Canada)

Dimensions (1986)

Canadian improviser and experimental musician. Dimensions is a 3-track LP with one synthesizer piece and two electronic guitar workouts. The pieces were recorded in 1978 - 1984. For fans of Frippoid experiments and soundscapes.

 


Bailleau, Christophe (France)

Outshining Memories (2013) (with Julien Demoulin)
How To Help A Star To Leave the Sky (2013)
Sonic Pool Hypnose Club (2014)
The Darkest Friend My Heart (2015)
Porcelaine (2016)
Gaz Giant (2018) (with Pulse Emitter)
Evol (2022) (with Innocent But Guilty)
Vertical Moon Phase Charm (2023)
Ekitai-On-Keiho (2024) (with Julien Ash)

French artist residing in Brussels. His music is rather unclassifiable and includes lots of different elements and influences, but is rather psychedelic and trippy overall. This is not his full discography, as I don't know at the moment how much of his output could be classified as EM or EM-related.

See also: 11H60

 


Bainbridge, Harvey (UK)

Interstellar Chaos (1993)
Red Shift (1995)
Live 2000 (2000)
Harvey Bainbridge @ The Grog Shop (2005)
Dreams, Omens & Strange Encounters (2010)

British synthesist who was Hawkwind's keyboard player from 1978 to 1991. Floating space music with traces of Tangerine Dream and Schulze. Should be very good.

See also: Hawkwind, Alman Mulo Band, The.

 


Baird, Bill (USA)

Owl (Arthur King Presents) (2019)
Daily Ever Dawning (2019)

Psych pop musician. Owl was partly recorded in the museum of vintage synthesizers and is fittingly electronic / kraut-sounding. Mostly synths and drums, with sparse guitar injections. Nice for fans of motorik. Daily Ever Dawning returns to the typical pop sensibilities. The shorter instrumental tracks on that album are definitely EM, definitely Prog, though.

 


Baird, Ken (Canada)

August (1997)

This album is like a more electronic Mike Oldfield, with influences from Vangelis and other melodic EM artists. Ken Baird released more albums but I am not sure that these would fit in stylistically.

 


Baird, Maddi (USA)

Holobiont (2021) (S)

Partly composed by processing energy waves coming from plants, Holobiont combines wordless vocalizations and ambient synth soundscaping. Maddi Baird is a composer and experimentalist based in Los Angeles.

 


Bairy, Herbert F. (Germany)

Traumspiel (1980)

Sort of a World Music / krautrock / fusion / EM hybrid. Herbert F. Bairy is a pseudonym of German musician and instrument builder Ferdinand Försch (b. 1951). File under EM-related

 


Bait e Borghi (Italy)

Flatform (2020)
Hotflare (2022)

Italian duo of Claudio Fagnani and Giuseppe Palmieri with something of a hybrid downtempo / Dusseldorf School sound.

 


Bajardi, Mario (Italy)

LUX - Theatre Works (2021)
Vortex (2022)

Aka BJM Mario Bajardi. Italian classical violinist, electronic musician and theater soundtrack composer. On Vortex, he mixes different styles, including rhythmic / melodic or sequencer-based EM.

 


Bajeux, Renaud (France)

Magnetic Voices From the Unseen (2019)
Seeking A Vision (2021)

The 2021 effort is EM made on a Serge synthesizer combined with field recordings. Flowing, meditative, a bit noisy and grating.

 


Bajram Bili (France)

You're A Ghost In A Tipi (2011) (EP)
Sequenced Fog (2013)
Distant Drone (2015) (S)
Saturdays With No Memory (2015)
Remembered Waves (2017)
Reshaped Distortion (2019)
Detuning Euphoria (2021)
We Will Have Been Happy (2023)

A project of French artist Adrien Gachet. Diverse, with influences from synthwave, techno, electro and Prog EM. The latter shines in full glory on 12-incher Sequenced Fog, which is a slab of classic style Electronic Music with lots of sequences.

 


Baked Beans (Germany)

Baked Beans (1993)
Bean Me Up, Scotty (1995)
Two Beans Or Not Two Beans (1998)

Unique Ambient music from the trio of Helmut Zerlett, Gottfried Tollmann and Nicole Tollmann.

See also: #9 Dream

 


Baker, Aidan (Canada)

Element (2000)
Letters (2002)
Pretending To Be Fearless (2002)
I Fall Into You (2002)
Eye of Day (2003)
At the Fountain of Thirst (2003)
Loop Studies One (2003)
Dreammares (2003)
Concretion (2003)
Metamorphose (2003)
Threnody I: Lamentation (2004)
Ice Against My Skin (2004)
The Taste of Summer On Your Skin (2004) (EP)
An Intricate Course of Deception (2004)
At the Base of the Mind Is Coiled A Serpent (2004)
Field of Drones (2004)
Blauserk (2004) (EP)
Candescense (2005)
Still My Beating Heart Beats (2005)
Undercurrents (2005) (with Matt Borghi)
At Home With (2005) (with Ultra Milkmaids)
Pendulum (2006)
The Sea Swells A Bit (2006)
Oneiromancer (2006)
Dance of Lonely Molecules (2007)
Exoskeleton Heart (2007)
Noise of Silence (2007)
An Open Letter To Franz Kafka (2007) (with Beta Cloud)
Live At the Rotunda (2008)
A bout de souffle (2008) (with Jakob Thiesen)
I Will Always And Forever Hold You In My Heart And Mind (2008)
Suchness #1 (2008)
Fragile Movements In Slow Motion (2008) (EP)
Gathering Blue (2009)
A Picture of An Picture (2009) (with thisquietarmy)
Pure Drone (2011)
Glass Crocodile Medicine (2013) (with Plurals)
Aneira (2013)
Live At Lab.30 (2013) (S)
The Confessional Tapes (2015)
In the Red Room (2015) (with Idklang)
Synth Studies II (2016)
Enomemi (2016) (with Dirk Serries)
Heteroticisms Volume 4 (2017) (with Lärmschutz)
Landlos (2017) (with Karen Willems)
Nonland (2017) (with Karen Willems)
Letters (2017)
Aberration (2017)
Hypnotannenbaumdronefuzz (2017)
Synth Studies (2018) (recorded in 2013)
Chrome Mouth (2018)
Portraits (2018)
Deer Park (2018)
Doppellive (2019) (recorded in 2016) (with N)
Kinetic Theory (2019) (with Jérémie Mortier)
The Forever Tapes (2019)
The Forever Tapes (Forever Versions) (2019)
The Forever Tapes (Ambient Versions) (2019)
Treml (2019)
Soil (2020)
Strung (2020)
The Bit (2020) (with Simon Goff and Thor Harris)
There / Not There (2020)
The Dark Well (2020) (with Ekin Fil)
Live in Münster (2021)
True Dreaming (2021)
Plague Fantasies / Sorry For What I Said To You In Your Dream (2021)
Nalepa (2022) (with Nadja)
The Sheep Look Up (2022)
You Are All At Once (2022)
The Evelyn Tables (2022)
Tenebrist (2022)
Crocodile Tears (2022) (with Jussi Lehtisalo)
Engenderine (2023)
Diaphaneities (2023)
Parapluie (2023) (with Hyacinth.)
Pithovirii (2024)

Drifting soundscapes with a dark edge made mostly with the use of various guitars and processing (ala Troum, although different in texture). For this particular artist the discography is not complete because some of his releases that are more pop or digital electronics-oriented, were excluded from the list.

 


Baker, Dean (UK)

Constellations (2018)

Dean Baker is keyboardist of neo-prog band Galahad (more or less along the lines of Marillion). After discovering a collection of EM CD's in his late friend's house, he composed Constellations, which is inspired by EM pioneers like Jarre, Vangelis, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream.

 


Baker, Ross (UK)

Air (2024)

Prolific synthesist known under several pseudonyms.

See also: Enofa, International Debris, Intergalactic Debris, Winter of the World.

 


Bakground (???)

Memory Card (2022) (recorded in 2019)

Ambient music with a dreampunk feel.

 


Bakker, Ferdinand (Netherlands)

Themes From Dr. Himmelsleiter (1986)

Ex-Alquin. The music is on the avant-garde side of things. With Michel Mulders on synths.

 


Baklu (Poland)

Bagry (2023) (EP)

Polish ambient musician using loops and synthesizers.

 


Bakradze (Georgia)

Restless (2016)
We Must Be Woods (2017) (EP)
Word Color (2018)
Monument (2019) (EP)
Extensions (2019) (EP)
Obscure Languages (2021)

Gacha Bakradze is a diverse artist, releasing music under various pseudonyms. He is mostly influenced by deep house, though, and his 2-LP production Restless will be a delight for aficionados of that smooth style of club-oriented electronic music. However, the truth is that he opens and closes this album with two genuine EM pieces - the excellent, smooth, sequencer chugger "Navel" and the ambient floater "For Silence". Both are rather short unfortunately, but as the Prog EM influence is there, I think it is fair to expect or at least hope for a more EM-oriented production next time. File under EM-related.

 


Balaam Galang (Canada)

Noyer Neptune (1990)
We Ran Out To Uranus (1997)
A l'ombre des machines en sueur (2007)

Ambient soundscapes with some techno elements and hints of artists like Jean-Michel Jarre from Francois Landry.

 


Balago (Spain)

Darder (2013)
El Demà (2018)
Els Altres (2020)

Started as a post-rock three-piece band led by Catalan artist David Crespo, for El Demà, the line-up was reduced to a duo format, consequently focusing on a more ambient electronic sound.

 


Balance (Italy)

Balance (2015)
2 (2015)
3 (2016)
Rio Negro (2016)
00 (2017) (recorded in 2015) (S)
Notte di giorno (2021)
6 (2022)

Rome-based duo of Davide Ricci and Luciano Lamanna. Exploring the possibilities of Eurorack modular synths, they create dark, stark, often noisy soundworlds. I guess it will be enjoyed by fans of industrial and the darker, more aggressive forms of techno, but I imagine some of this stuff appealing to a part of the Prog EM audience (Heldon fans, anyone?). The first two cassettes are very rough, but on their third release (an LP), they've developed a more refined and captivating (also more Prog EM-related) sound.

See also: Ricci, Davide

 


Balance (USA)

Convergence (1987)

Sort of a new age concept tape here, with one vocal side and one instrumental side. Both are new agey and the music was composed by one Kristopher Witty. The instrumental side, however, you can compare to Vangelis or Kitaro, if you're generous. File under EM-related.

 


Balazs, Ferenc (Hungary)

Register (1985)
Best of Bach (1985) (with Lippenyi and Herrer)
Szerelmi Almok (1990)
Antológia 1984 - 1990 (2012)

Keyboardist of Koral (Omega-styled band) who worked solo in the Electronic Music vein. Szerelmi Almok contains interpretations of classical works. Ferenc Balazs died in November 26, 2020.

 


Balbo, Fausto (Italy)

Zero (2000)
Falbo (2005)
Detrimental Dialogue (2010) (with Andrea Marutti)
Login (2012)

Spacey EM with electronic guitar licks. Think Schulze and TD meet King Crimson. Fausto Balbo mostly played guitar-based rock music during the 80's, but at the start of the next decade he developed an interest in Electronic Music. All of these influences were merged into a rock-flavoured EM style, displayed on Zero. Second album, called Falbo, followed in 2005. Having listened to it, I must say this is really an intriguing release. It contains lots of diverse influences but mainly sits somewhere between Experimental electronic music and electroacoustic music, with elements of glitch / noise in there as well. Lots of samples were used, as well as processed voices that make this album an odd experience. This is electronic music coming out of the kitchen of a large Italian family. It cracks, pops, wails and is laden with sounds of a kitchen sink, a hairdryer, TVset, vacuum cleaner and God knows what else. There's also a slight progressive rock influence in the form of guitar playing which is handled expertly and provides some reflective / spacey moments. By the end of the disc, the music becomes more chaotic and the noisy / glitchy elements become more prominent, while never actually going into overdrive. I haven't heard Zero but judging from the reviews, Falbo is quite a departure from that album's style and will appeal mostly to adventurous listeners and fans of electroacoustic music of all sorts. Not an easy listen I must admit, but not a terribly difficult one either. Fausto is a man with humor, so he'll entertain you big time, if you let him do so. Me, I found this work very enjoyable.

 


Balconi, Lucien (France)

Marionnette (2020)
Saw the Feeling In the Heart of Things (2022)
Lucien Balconi & Manuninho (2023) (with Manuninho)

Varied, cinematic, collage-like, digital / virtual reality electronics from this artist.

 


Baldan, Bebo (Italy)

Vapor Frames 96/91 (1991) (with Steve James)
Soniasikri - A Day of Music (1991)
Earthbeat (1995) (with David Torn)

World Music.

 


Baldruin (Germany)

Schatten & Lichter (2011)
Nachtfalter (2012) (S)
Baldruin & das Ensemble der zittrigen Glieder (2013)
Im Delirium (2014)
Portal (2015)
Klaue (2015)
Miniaturen (2015) (S)
Biotische Verwitterung (2017)
Vergessene Träume (2018)
Die halluzinierte Welt (2020)
Kleine Freuden (2022)
Relikte aus der Zukunft (2023)
Unterholz (2023)

Musician from Wiesbaden who on Vergessene Träume presents an absolutely unique music that often sounds like Forst-era Cluster gone evil.

 


Baldych, Vitaliy (Russia)

Music For Planetarium In Yaroslavl (2012)
Planetarium II (2012)
The Seagull (2012)

Musician from Yaroslavl. Must be on the relaxing side of things.

 


Balestracci, Franck (France)

Reflexions futures (1999)
Existences invisibles (2002)
Modified Reality (2006)

Unique Electronic Music artist whose albums were produced by Carbon 7 Records. Franck has a very diverse style that involves elements from such genres as RIO and avant-prog.

 


Balin (Germany)

An Adventure Through Time And Space (2023)

Varied, soundtracky, theme-based EM inspired by "Dr. Who" and vintage sci-fi in general. Previous releases are "regular" dungeon synth.

 


Ball, Dave (UK)

Photosynthesis (2016) (with Jon Savage)

Ex-member of Soft Cell. Photosynthesis is an experiment in ambient composition.

 


Ball, Edward (UK)

L'orange mechanik (1989)

Edward Ball is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist. He is a solo artist as well as a member (or has been a member) of several bands. This is his first solo work that is quite atypical. Inspired by the poems of the great E. A. Poe, this is dark, Gothic synth music. And then... then he released some pop albums...

 


Ball, Peter & Norman, Kerry (Australia)

South (1993)

 


Ballard, Jim (USA)

Long Days (2006)

Ambient artist from Colorado, influenced by Steve Roach and sequencer music.

 


Ballard, Steve (USA)

Libration (2006)
Tiu Vallis (2008)

A mixture of ambient and rhythmic styles from this Missouri-based artist.

 


Ballerini, Alessio (Italy)

Me And (2010)
Music For the Puddle (2011) (S)
Becoming Sound (2014) (S) (with Pietro Riparbelli)
Beautiful Ground (2015)
Wiwanana (2018) (S) (soundtrack)

Interesting ambient artist who mixes electronics with the sound of ancient Italian keyboard instruments.

 


Balloonist, The (UK)

The Balloonist (2022)

Dreamy, pastoral EM depicting a balloon flight over England. A mixture of guitars and synths.

 


Balög Mörund (USA)

In the Tormented Halls of the Goblin King (2020)
Hilbörn Îatoll (2020) (S)

Dungeon synth with some variation and elements of Ambient.

 


Balona, Célio (Brazil)

Voo Noturno (1986)

Brazilian keyboardist (born in 1938 in Minas Gerais). He has been around since the early 1960's, releasing a few bossa / samba records. In the 1980's, though, his output was mainly in the vein of jazz fusion, of which the above LP is a nice example. The reason I include it here, though, is the nice closer ("Mística"), which seems to be a fine electronic track a bit in the style of 1980's Tangerine Dream or solo Edgar Froese. The rest is pretty much your standard jazz fusion with a Brazilian flair. An earlier album Imagens from 1983 may be interesting as well, although that one seems to be mostly a regular jazz fusion effort with nice, lush keyboards but not much in terms of electronics. Additional investigation may be needed.

 


Balrog (France)

Khazad Dum (2014)
Minas Morgul (2014) (S)
The Ringwraiths (2016) (recorded in 2014) (S)
Ancalagon the Black (2016) (recorded in 2014) (S)
A Red Sun Rises (2016) (recorded in 2014) (S)
Beowulf & Dragon (2016) (S)
The Shadow And the Flame (2018)
The Dark Tower (2019) (S)
Night Settles On the Mountains (2020) (S)

Tolkien-inspired ambience from France. Ranges from full-blown orchestral to dungeon synth-like and subtler ambient moods.

See also: Weress, Draconis Star, LOCUS.29.

 


Bålsam (USA)

Dream Landscapes (2017)
Rebirth (2019)
Soul Offerings (2019)
Midnight Visions (2020)
Subtropic Year (2021)
Flora y Fauna (2021)
Arboreal (2022) (with Atmøsphäre)
Monte Niebla (2022)

Ambient soundscapes with lots of field recordings. A project of Anthony Asher-Yates from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 


Balsam, Jan (USA)

Pattern Dialect (2015) (with Hermon Cone)

Duo improvisations performed on a Buchla Electric Music Box. Wacky, but quite listenable.

 


Baltes, Steve (Germany)

Pictures In Rhythm (1995)
Rhythm of Life (1998)
Vier mal Drei (2001) (with Grosskopf and Heilhecker)
Bochum Sky (2014)
S-thetic² (2015) (with Stefan Erbe)
Electric Garden (2017) (with Stefan Erbe)
A-11 (2019) (with Stefan Erbe)

German musician and a member of Ashra. His music is very rhythmic and has some techno elements. The 2001 album with Grosskopf and Heilhecker is just like modern Ashra minus Manuel’s guitar playing. The guitar is played by Heilhecker instead. Baltes also makes music with Harald Grosskopf under ‘Holo Syndrome’ project name.

See also: Ash Ra Tempel / Ashra, Holo Syndrome, N-Tribe, Sunya Beat.

 


Baltic Fleet (UK)

Baltic Fleet (2008)
Towers (2012)
The Dear One (2016)
Tuns (2018) (EP)

Solo project of ex-member of Echo And the Bunnymen Paul Fleming, operating on the intersection between new wave and kraut / EM.

 


Baltic Flour Mills (Latvia)

Baltic Flour Mills (2004)

Dark Ambient from Darius Ciuta.

 


Baltic Furs (USA)

Contemporary Ruin (2023)

Varied modular synth-cenetered compositions from Matt Irwin. Alternatively noisy, electroacoustic and / or vaguely melodic.

 


Bambi (Australia)

Unfolding (2020)

Warm synthesizer compositions from Freemantle-based Dominic Simper, memer of a couple of psychedelic rock / indie rock bands.

 


Bambi Kino Duo (USA)

See Heat (2015)

A duo of Justin Walter (electronic valve instrument) and Brian Case (guitar, keyboards). They have something of a post-rock sound, with lots of distortion, but also very ambient in spirit and remind a bit on Robert Fripp's frippertronics stuff, but will added keys and EVI.

 


Bamma Gamma (Russia)

Lemon Resort OST (2017) (S) (soundtrack)

Short electronic soundtrack from these psychedelic rockers.

 


Banabila, Michel (Netherlands)

Marilli (1983)
Des traces retrouvees (1984) (S)
Des traces retrouvees 2 (1985) (S)
Des traces retrouvees 3 (1987)
The Lost Drones Tape (1988) (S)
Spherics (2001)
Spherics 2 (2003)
Macrocosms (2016) (with Machinefabriek)
Sound Years (2017)
Trespassing / Marilli (2017) (recorded in 1982 - 2017)
Entropia (2019) (with Machinefabriek)
Uprooted (2019)
Live 2015 (2020) (with Radboud Mens)
All Connected (2020)
Wah-Wah Whispers (2021)
Echo Transformations (2021)
Monochromes (2022) (S)
One Moment In Time (2022) (S) (with Stijn Hüwels and Cok Van Vuuren)
More Research From the Same Dept. (2022)
Singles (2020 - 2022) (2022)
Tightrope (2023)
Baba Soirée (2023) (with Pierre Bastien)
The Unreal Realm (2024)

Michel Banabila has been called "The Dutch Jon Hassell" and, indeed, he has been perfecting his own brand of pioneering World Music / cross-culture electronics for many years. He doesn't use "mutant trumpet", though. I am not sure how much of his output would qualify as prog EM, so the discography is incomplete at the moment.

See also: Chi

 


Banal Amml (USA??)

Misantropics (2017)

Weird and crazy electronic compositions for fans of Experimental EM.

 


Banasik, Christian (Poland)

Film Music 1993 - 1995 (1998)
Electronic Music (2005)

Polish electroacoustic composer living and working in Germany. During the early 80's he developed an algorithmic composition software for Atari ST computers.

 


Banco del Mutuo Soccorso (Italy)

...di Terra (1978)

Released under the simple name of "Banco", di Terra was the group's second completely instrumental album. This time a real orchestra plays alongside the rock instrumentation. This is soundtracky, orchestral music with one track ("Nei Suoni e Nei Silenzi") marked by electronic sequences and synth solos ala Vangelis. It's a nice hybrid orchestral / electronic composition. However, although interesting, it's EM-related at best.

See also: Nocenzi, Gianni

 


Band Ane (Denmark)

Anish Music Caravan (2016)
Anish Music V (2020)

A project of Ane Østergaard. She had at least two releases prior to Anish Music Caravan. At the moment I don't know how they sound, but the above certainly has something of a Roedelius feel to it, but with a feminine touch. Anish Music V is a very nice work of dark and cosmic electronics.

 


Band of Cloud (UK)

This is Tomorrow (2022)
A For Andromeda (2022)

Electronic Music from Leeds-based David Owen. Ambient, collage-like, with lots of samples. Sometimes melodic.

 


Band of Pain (UK)

Argento (1994)
You're Miss Fortune (1996)
Reculver (1999)
Sacred Flesh (2000) (soundtrack)
Singles And Outtakes (2001)
¿Que Amiga? (2003)
Through the Past Darkly (2006)
Abbey Rd (2017)

One half of Intravene (Steve Pittis). Dark Ambient.

See also: Intravene

 


Bandera, Paolo L. (Italy)

Registrazioni di campi tellurici e strutture abnormi (2020)
Segni entropici di urbanizzazione (2020)
Catalisi / Massa / Anafilassi / Sterilizzazione (2020)
Catarsi mnemonica trascendentale (2022)

Pioneer of Industrial in Italy, member of Sigillum S, Sshe Retina Stimulants and other projects. Registrazioni Di Campi Tellurici E Strutture Abnormi, released under his real name, is expectedly harsh, but it is also strangely ambient and could be enjoyed by fans of Noise Ambient and related genres.

See also: Helix

 


Bandhagens Musikförening (Sweden)

Protokoll A (2017)
Victory Over the Sun (2019) (with Wanderwelle)
Nedgrävd i naturen (2021)

The ambient tracks on Protokoll A sound very much Prog EM. Then there are also rhythmic electro tracks.

See also: Hypnobirds

 


Banfi, Baffo (Italy)

Galaxy My Dear (1978)
Ma dolce vita (1979)
Hearth (1981)
Frontera (2015) (with Matteo Cantaluppi)

Italian synthesist and ex-Biglietto Per L'Inferno keyboard player who made a few albums of Berlin School Electronic Music (much brighter in mood than his German cohorts, though). He was one of the first few to sign for Klaus Schulze’s IC label in the late Seventies. The music should be very good.

 


Bānhūs (???)

Ophidian Depths (2022)
Thread Of Ar​á​khnē (2023)

Strange "spider synth" music - complex, proggy and sometimes even jazzy.

 


Banished Pills (Italy)

Corrupted Waves / Silence (2017)
A Pill For Your Heartaches (2017)
Lithium Salt (2018) (with Camilla Pisani)
Failure (2018)
Patterns of Death (2019)
Have Mercy (2020) (S)
Beheld Perceptions (2020)
Reality (2021) (with Emile Bojesen)

Ambient artist from Turin. Relaxing sound.

 


Bańka, Piotr (Poland)

Imaginary Landscapes (2005)

Cosmic, melodic, dramatic, sometimes with soft and heavier rhythms.

 


Banks, Robert (USA)

Ion (1979)

 


Bansheebeat (USA)

Lumine (2015)

Sitting on that elusive line that separates progressive EM from chiptune, Bansheebeat is an Arizona-based project that certainly veers more towards the latter. There are only slightest prog EM influences by way of melodic solos, tinkling sequences and a bit more complex structure than what you'd normally get with typical chiptune. There are also slight synthwave and maybe also IDM influences. File under EM related.

 


Barabé, Charles (Canada)

Les confessions (2014)
Stigmates (2014)
Dates & Confessions (2014)
Empreintes (2014) (S)
Huh? (2015) (with Wether)
Les dernières confessions (2016)
Cicatrices (2016)
Cicatrices II (2017)
La livre des battements (2017)
De la fragilite (2018)
La révision (2018) (S)
La lente histoire de l'oubli (2019)
Le cycle de l
'instabilité (2020)
La vie des objets (2022) (S)
Journal (2022)

Quebecois experimental musician who is into musique concrete, noise, sound collages, electro-acoustic music, sampling, glitch, warped electronics, spoken word, MIDI sequencing, etc. Some of his works lean in the direction of Prog EM, retaining the experimental edge. I will try to list these albums here.

 


Baradelan (Germany)

Irminsul (1998)
Laplace: Transformation (1999)
Anorgonia In the Carcinomatous Shrinking Biopathy (2000) (EP)
Somnolence And Shivers (2001)
Non omnis moriar (2001)
Infrasonic Cathedral (2006)
Lange vor Dalem (2007)

Dark Ambient with elements of musique concrete from Thomas Sauerbier. For fans of Inade, the darkest Asmus Tietchens and Bad Sector.

 


Baran, Bob (USA)

The Life On Mars (2004)
Martian Wonders (2004)

Space Music with elements of general rhytmic / melodic EM and new age.

 


Baransu (Italy)

Kosmos (2018)

Abstract, cosmic electronics that for some reason remind me on Zeit by Tangerine Dream, although with elements of glitch, noise and minimal techno.

 


Barata Cósmica (Portugal)

Soyuz 1 (2020) (S)

One side of throbbing techno rhythms and another of spacey ambient electronics in progressive / Space Music tradition from this synth duo.

See also: Silver, George

 


Barban, Stefano (Italy)

Bodymap (1982)
Zip (1987)
Estremitá (1989)
Visozone (1990)
Audiofonie (1990)
Chiaro scuro (1991)

Electronic soundscapes from this synthesist & Ambient composer.

See also: Ambulatorio Segreto

 


Barbieri, Antonio Celso (Brazil)

Orion - Looking For the East Inside My Mind (2014)

Cinematic compositions with an Eastern flair.

 


Barbieri, Caterina (Italy)

Vertical (2014)
Patterns of Consciousness (2017)
Born Again In the Voltage (2018)
Ecstatic Computation (2019)
Spirit Exit (2022)
Myuthafoo (2023)

Young analog synth artist (born in 1990 in Bologna) who achieves a rich, sequencer-full sound on her album Patterns of Cosciousness. Fantastic stuff.

See also: Punctum

 


Barbieri, Richard (UK)

Worlds In A Small Room (1985) (with Steve Jansen)
Stories Across Borders (1991) (with Steve Jansen)
Beginning To Melt (1993) (with Jansen and Karn)
Flame (1994) (with Tim Bowness)
Seed (1994) (with Jansen and Karn)
Stone To Flesh (1995) (with Steve Jansen)
Other Worlds In A Small Room (1996) (with Steve Jansen)
Changing Hands (1997) (with Steve Jansen and Takemura)
Live At the Milky Way (1997) (with Steve Jansen)
Ism (1999) (with Jansen and Karn)
Playing In A Room With People (2001) (with Jansen and Karn)
Cosmic Prophets (2004) (with Jan Linton)
Things Buried (2004)
Stranger Inside (2008)
Lumen (2016) (recorded in 1996) (with Steve Jansen)
Breakable Moons (2016) (S) (with Jansen and Karn)
Planets + Persona (2017)
Variants.1 (2017) (EP)
Variants.2 (2018) (EP)
Variants.3 (2018) (EP)
Variants.4 (2018) (EP)
Variants 5 (2018) (EP)
Under A Spell (2021)

Richard Barbieri is of course the ex-keyboard player of Japan and present-day keyboard player of Porcupine Tree. On Other Worlds In A Small Room he and Steve Jansen (Japan) have crafted a unique type of Electronic Music using various synths and percussion.

 


Bardu, Brigitte (France)

Muzak pour ascenseurs en panne (2020)

Actually a pseudonym of Pépé Bradock. Varied EM in French style (the non-commercial one) - a bit of guitar, collages, neurotic synths, etc. I hear shades of Heldon, Hydravion, Pierre Henry and more.

See also: Bradock, Pépé

 


Bardens, Pete (UK)

Seen One Earth (1987)
Speed of Light (1988)
Whispering the Wind (1988)
White Magic (1990) (soundtrack)
Watercolours (1991)
Further Than You Know (1993)
Big Sky (1994)
The Art of Levitation (2002)

Pete Bardens was a member of famous group Camel. He has released a lot of albums starting from the early 70's. Look for his Cinema label stuff, i.e. Seen One Earth and Speed of Light. His other albums reportedly have not much to do with Electronic Music (early albums are just typical, slightly progressive psych / blues). Pete died of cancer in 2001.

 


Bardo:Basho (USA)

Bardo:Basho (2015)
Alinea (2021)

Portland, Oregon-based artist. Ethereal voice and ambient / cosmic electronics with lots of tribal rhythms.

 


Bardo Todol (Argentina)

El Origen del Pensamiento Mágico (2018) (with Devid Ciampalini)

Experimental musician. So far only one album by him is included here: a mishmash of field recordings and analog synth parts that get quite cosmic in places.

 


Bardoseneticcube (Russia)

Disease (1999)
Necklace (2001)
Technosphere (2001)
Geosphere (2001)
kachaREX (2001)
Biosphere (2002)
The Other Heaven (2003)
Teologic (2003)
Live 19082000 (2003)
Myzantrofy (2005)
Bad Heaven (2006)
Deadhead (2006)
XXX (2006)
The Perpetuum Mobile Space Vehicle (2006) (with Igor V. Petrov)
Naegleria Fowlery (2007)
Telloram (2007)
Monolith (2008)
Exclusion Zone (2009) (with Miguel Angel Ruiz)
zig-ODA (2009) (S)
Lilac Honey (2011) (S) (with Kromeshna)
Ambiwax (2013)
Game Over? (2013)
The Dark Mathematics (2014)
The Traditions of Changes (2014) (with Pacific 231)
Koyamby (2016)
DroBussy (2018) (S)
Kaleidoscope (2019) (with Kromeshna)
Beyond the Edge of the Universe (2019) (with Shinkiro)

Saint-Petersburg based outfit in Dark / Ritual Ambient vein. The band members are Igor Potsukailo and Sergey Matveev. This is not their full discography as I'm not sure if all releases fit in stylistically.

 


BardSpec (Norway)

Hydrogen (2017)

Solo project of Enslaved guitarist Ivar Bjørnson. Technically a mixture of guitar and electronics, the album follows a hypnotic, neurotic, chilled and repetitive formula that reminds on Heldon in places, but with heavier and modern rhythms. The author also describes a hypnotic effect of listening to Richard Burmer's Mosaic, confirming an influence spanning several decades of EM.

 


Barefoot (UK)

Dregs (2020) (S)
Fulmar (2020) (EP)
Internal Wave Sequence 1 (2021) (EP) (with The Vision Reels)

Ambient music. Sort of lo-fi. A project of Plymouth-based Tom Parker.

 


Barel, Ori (USA)

Alkaline River (2023)

Playful, inventive, abstract synth compositions with influences from jazz, RIO, krautrock, academic and progressive EM from this Californian artist. Sometimes sounds like a Synergy's synth exploration gone terribly wrong.

 


Bargz (Turkey)

Children of Illúvatar / Breezes of the Nature (2022) (recorded in 2018 and 2017)

Atmospheric synth / dungeon synth project from Izmir.

 


Barhûs (Netherlands)

Vasteland (2013) (S)

Rather simple ambient sound here, consisting mostly of drawn-out synth pads.

 


Bariloche (???)

LAZY (2017)

Unique electronics based on rich synth sounds, lots of samples and some techniques borrowed from club / post-club music.

 


Baris, Alessandro (Italy)

Sintesi (2022) (S)

Varied electronic tracks - mostly intense and emotional, with sort of a post-rock aesthetic. Some guest vocals and some instrumental numbers.

 


Baris, Alexi (Canada??)

A New Sentiment (2017)
033186 (2018)
Thema (2020)
Support Surfaces (2022)

Ethnic-spiced, new-agey Ambient. Sometimes reminds on early Kitaro (circa Astral Voyage).

 


Barker, George (USA)

Electronic musician from Tallahassee who released a few tapes back in the 1980's. The music ranges from noisy collages to melodic synth.

 


Barker, Nicklas (Sweden)

El Último Fin de Semana (2011) (soundtrack)
Epektasis (2022)

Member of Anekdoten, Kosmogon, Morte Macabre and My Brother the Wind. Epektasis is a wonderful, deep EM work made with two mellotrons (the real thing, not replicas / imitations), an ARP Odyssey and percussion. Recommended to all fans of Edgar Froese circa Epsilon In Malaysian Pale or Macula Transfer, as well as EM in general.

See also: Kosmogon

 


Barker, Roland (USA)

Vortexes (1979)
The Eternal Optimist (1982)
The Shredders - Shredder Orpheus (1989) (soundtrack)
The Cauldron Journey For Rebirth (1991) (with Jeff Mahoney and Nicki Scully)
Awakening the Cobra (1992) (with Nicki Scully)
The Cauldron Journey For Healing (??) (with Jerry Garcia and Nicki Scully)

Solo Electronic Music from Young Scientist member.

See also: Young Scientist, Sequencer People.

 


Barley, Kirk (UK)

Landscapes (2019)
Marionette (2023)

Yorkshire-born Barley is a synthesist, experimentalist and electronic musician. Minimal, repetitive, ambient compositions with enough playfulness. Sometimes abstract, jazzy or neo-classical.

 


Barlow, Matthew (USA)

Northwest Passage (2013) (with Andy Loebs)
Product (2013)
Sun Showers (2014)
Now Age (2015)
Of Waves (2015)
Hatha (2016)
Sound Meditations (2016)

Asheville-based artist whose main style seems to be either synthesized or semi-acoustic Ambient, sometimes with gentle sequences / pulses.

 


Barn Vilain (France)

Sommeil léthargique (2020)

Darkish synth music, sometimes with slow rhythms.

 


Barnacles (Italy)

One Single Sound (2017)
Air Skin Digger (2018)

A project of Matteo Uggeri in Drone Ambient / tribal mould.

See also: Uggeri, Matteo, Hue.

 


Barnard, Keith (UK)

Colour Harmonies (1985)

Ambient minimal synth music with a kaleidoscopic feel.

 


Barnes, Danny (USA)

Ambient Works Vol. 1 (2014)

American banjo player who has been developing his "barnyard electronics" concept for some years now, where he would treat his banjo in unusual ways, using lots of processing, field recordings, etc. The above is something quite different, though. It is a mixture of rhythmic synth / electronics and his banjo playing and sounds as if Cluster decided to play in a barnyard of a remote rancho somwehere in US Midwest... Unique and quite entertaining.

 


Barnes, Jeremy (USA)

The Coral Casino (2016) (with John Dieterich)
Summer '16 (2016)
Winter '16 (2017)
Spring '17 / Live In Satan's Finger (2018)

Jeremy Barnes is a drummer and member of several bands. On the above album, he uses live drums and percussion along with a multitude of keyboards and synths, including some rare, legendary and collectable items like Davolisint, Hammond organ, mellotron and more. Varied, joyful and tuneful music.

 


Barnes, Mitchell (USA)

Spanda (1993)
Oneiros (1995)
Heavy Water (1997)

 


Barnett, Alex (USA)

Section 1 (2010) (S)
Section 2 (2010) (S)
Section 3 (2010) (S)
Section 4 (2010) (S)
Push (2011) (S)
Retrieval (2013) (with Faith Coloccia)
Weld (2015) (with Faith Coloccia)
Chew From the Mind (2016)
VLF (2019) (with Faith Coloccia)
Third Wilderness (2022) (with Faith Coloccia)

Diverse American musician working mostly within the Ambient paradigm. Seems to have a preference for analog synthesizers.

See also: Runawei, Oeakeater.

 


Barnt (Germany)

Magazine 13 (2014)
If She Says She Is A Healer, She Is A Healer (2017)

Cologne-based artist Daniel Ansorge. Nice, melodic analog sounds on the A side of the above record and hard-hitting techno on flip. File under EM-related. The LP from 2014 also has some interesting material.

 


Baron Oufo (France)

Fréquence néant (2013)
Dar Al-Hikma (2014)

Sort of droning synth / guitar compositions from the duo of Eddie Ladoire and Jérôme Alban.

 


Baroque Bordello (Japan)

First Trip (1979)

One of the early projects of Makoto Kawabata, who would later form the freak-out psychedelic collective Acid Mothers Temple. The line-up was Kawabata, Tetsushi Kawagishi and Yasuo Iwaki. This recording contains one side of experimental acoustic ramblings and another side of electronic stuff, apparently intended as a soundtrack to aerobics. I am not sure if any of their subsequent works could qualify as EM.

See also: Kawabata, Makoto, Dark Revolutionary Collective.

 


Barr, Loren (USA)

Sixteen Systems (2016)

Varied modular synth pieces, ranging from techno-influenced to melodic, always retaining an experimental edge.

 


Barrandon, Thomas (France)

Escape From Earth (2011)
Le réserviste (2012) (soundtrack)
The New Born Between Mountain And Sea (2014) (soundtrack)
When World Collides - Up In the Sky (2020)

French synthwave artist with an EM influence on some of the tracks.

 


Barreca, Marc (USA)

In A Foreign Land (1977)
Raw Fish & Green Tea / Surrogate Religions (1979)
Currents (1980)
Twilight (1980)
Music Works For Industry (1984)
The Sleeper Wakes (1986)
Warble (1988)
Big Dahoney Funeral (2005) (recorded in 1991 - 2005)
Subterrane (2010)
Flash Husted (??) (recorded in 1977 - 1978)
Tremble (2012)
Premap (2014) (with Kerry Leimer)
Beneath the Mirrored Surface (2015)
Field Characteristics (2015) (with Kerry Leimer)
Dual Mono (2017) (with Kerry Leimer)
Aberrant Lens (2017)
Shadow Aesthetics (2018)
Chains of Being (2019) (with Kerry Leimer)
From the Gray And the Green (2019)
Drowning Guides (2022) (with Kerry Leimer)
Recordings of Failing Light (2022)

Twilight contains Eno-like ambience, while Music Works For Industry can be regarded as an inspiration for "industrial" music.

See also: Young Scientist, Three Point Circle.

 


Barriere, Alain (France)

La mer est la (1983)

Chanson artist but this album contains two melodic instrumentals ("Lumiere Bleue" and "Ballade en Synthrock") that are synth-dominated. File under EM-related.

 


Barriere, Jean Baptiste (France)

Pandemonium ville ouverte (1975)
Non jamais l'esperance (1976)

Electronics similar to Tangerine Dream in style, but darker and with a more violent sound.

 


Barringer, Martin (USA)

Mind Sweep (1999)

Pretty much classic formula synthesist, relying on sequencer pulsations, synth atmospheres and melodic leads.

 


Barrio, Dan (USA)

This Physical World (2002)

Ambient by the man who created spooky sound effects for The Blair Witch Project.

 


Barron, Louis & Bebe (USA)

Soundtrack To the Forbidden Planet (1956) (soundtrack)

An absolute classic.

 


Barrott, Mark (UK)

Sketches From An Island I (2013) (S)
Sketches From An Island 2 (2014)
Sketches From An Island 3 (2015) (S)
Bush Society (2015) (S)
Sketches From An Island Winter Edition (2015) (S)
Cascades (2016) (S)
Sketches From An Island (2016) (S)
Music For Presence (2017) (S)
Nature Sounds of the Balearics (2018)
Sketches From A Distant Ocean (2019) (S)
蒸発 = Jōhatsu (2022)

Producer of balearic beat with influences from new age and EM (by means of warm analog synths, some sequences etc). Some releases lean towards Ambient (the "Winter Edition").

 


Barrow, Geoff (UK)

Drokk: Music Inspired By Mega-City One (2012) (soundtrack) (with Ben Salisbury)
Ex_Machina (2015) (soundtrack) (with Ben Salisbury)

Member of Portishead who released a couple of soundtracks in collaboration with film composer Ben Salisbury, which can be roughly placed within the prog EM paradigm.

 


Barry, Lee (USA)

Miles From Mars (1999)

Soundtracky music that reminds on Amin Bhatia's Interstellar Suite. Includes some spoken dialogues.

 


Barry Zogon Band (international)

Pyracrypt (2018) (S)
Neon Nightdance (2019) (EP)
Golden Classics (2020)

A trio based in Tokyo, consisting of Grant McGaheran, Tatsumi Ochiai and Craig Exton. They have a somewhat cartoonish, humoristic krautrock vibe, like Dusseldorf School for kids.

 


BArTc (UK)

Insubstantial As Ghosts (2021)

London-based experimental electronic artist who makes dense ambient compositions that are noisy, grainy but cinematic and evocative.

 


Barten, Bert (Netherlands)

Natuur Moment (1995)
It's All In You (1995)
Amor Fati (??)
Heartbeat of the Trees (2019)

Amsterdam-based composer Bert Barten became known in the early 1980's thanks to his minimal wave / synth-pop work Buried Alive. Natuur Moment is a soundtrack to a nature documentary, supposedly in a relaxed style. Heartbeat of the Trees is excellent sequencer EM.

 


Bartholomew (UK)

Moorbound (2023)

Former theater score composer turned electronic musician from Newcastle. A rather post-modernist EM here, with snippets of classical instrumentation, quirky melodies, collages and sequences. Some nice atmospheric moments as well (the title track from Moorbound is a good example).

 


Bartholomew, Evan (USA)

Borderlands (2007)
Caverns of Time (2007)
Secret Entries Into Darkness (2008)
Tidal Phases of the Moon I (2009)

Chilling and deep Ambient influenced by Brian Eno, Steve Roach and Robert Rich.

See also: Bluetech

 


Bartkuhn, Lars (Germany)

Dystopia (2023)

Basically a jazz / deep house musician. On Dystopia, he goes EM, creating jazzy, cinematic pieces of great depth and emotion. There is a mixture of synths and some acoustic instruments, while his influences from the classic era of Electronic Music are quite obvious.

 


Bartlett, Man (USA)

Space On Earth (2016)
Space On Earth III (2017)
Space On Earth IV (2018)
Space On Earth V (2020)

Slow and tranquil synthesizer tracks in Space Music style from this New York-based artist.

 


Barton, Richard (UK)

Region of Dreams (2006)
Zen Stories (2006)

Pleiades (2006)
Radiaesthesia (2006)
Dragon Paths (2006)
Cosmic Anthems (2007)
Opthe (2007)
Variations No. 7 (2007)
Phrenology (2007)
Teslaic Variations (2007)

Richard Barton is actually Event Horizon, but since late 2006 he has begun to issue albums under his own name. Pre Event Horizon, which began in 2002 Richard recorded and broadcast analogue Electronic Music and talks for several programmes on BBC Radio Leicester, none of which was ever published on record. Later, during the late 80s, he composed music for computer, writing it in software form, later returning to instrumental composition and creation. During this time he also played tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, performing modern jazz at various venues including the Bath Jazz Workshop. Richard also collects and plays medieval and ethnic wind instruments, occasionally using them on EM recordings. (text used with permission) Region of Dreams has some tracks compiled from earlier releases.

See also: Event Horizon, SAIEM.

 


Barton, Todd (USA)

Pieces (1986)
Meditation Environments (1986)
Excerpts (1987)
Music For the Play "Orphans" (1988)
New Music Daily (1997)
Analog Horizonings (2006)
Analogie (2011)
Music For Easels (2015) (with Bruce Bayard, Eden Mononym and Adam Scramstad)
Wood of Uncertainity (2015) (S)
Listenings (2016)
Concaternations: Compositions For the Hordijk Analog Synthesizer (2017)
Multum In Parvo (2018)
Ro (2019)
Spaces (2019)
Pulses / Buchla Nomad (2020)
Notes From Supersurveillance (2020) (with Rachelle Rahme and Robert Lowe)
Spectral (2022)

Todd Barton has been exploring analogue synthesis and computer applications in music since 1979. On Analog Horizonings he uses several classic instruments to create calm compositions that range from reflective ambient floaters to Subotnick-like clickety-clack.

 


Bartos, Carl (Germany)

15 Minutes of Fame (2000) (S)
Communications (2003)
Off the Record (2012)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2024)

Former member of Kraftwerk.

See also: Electric Music, Kraftwerk.

 


Bartz, Jim (USA)

Pictures of Earth & Space (1987)
Build Your Own Planet (1999)
Evolver (2000)

Evolver 2 (2002)

Synthesist with a fairly new-agey sound. Not only the name of his first album is similar to that of Pete Bardens' Seen One Earth, but also the music bears striking resemblance to that mid 80's work. Above all, the year of release is also the same.

 


Baruch, Tomer (Israel)

Subterranean Currents (2018)

Interdisciplinary artist currently based in the Netherlands. Subterranean Currents is a warm synth album very evocative of its theme. Nice.

 


Barwick, Julianna (USA)

THESIS 10 (2017) (S) (with Rafael Anton Irisarri)
Circumstance Synthesis (2019)
Healing Is A Miracle (2020)

The 2019 release features ambient music by this vocalist and experimental composer, created with the help of an AI system developed by Microsoft.

 


Bary Center (UK)

Guide Me Through the Hills of Your Home (2020)

Varied project of Mark Williams. The above is an album of ambient soundscapes.

 


Baša, Andrej (Croatia)

Između neba i zemlje (1982)

Slovenian-born multi-instrumentalist. The above is an album that alternates between cheesy disco tracks and nice melodic EM, a bit similar to the French style, but rather unique overall. Worth checking out for these slow tracks, as the disco numbers you can easily skip (unless you're a hardcore disco freak of course).

 


Basarabian Hills (Moldova)

Spirit of the Native Land (2012)
A Breath of the Wide Valley (2012)
In the Stillness of the Codrii (2013)
Groping In A Misty Spread (2014)
Enveloped In the Velvet Cloak of Midnight (2017)
Attraction (2017) (S)
Eerie Light of Fireflies (2018)
In the Stillness of the Codrii (2021) (S)

Sort of a hybrid between synth-heavy music and black metal. Some of the tracks are completely ambient (i.e. no guitars, drums or processed hoarse / shrieking vocals). I am no expert on black metal but the project is often compared to Lustre. I must say that there are some similarities indeed but the stuff I've heard from Lustre relied less on synths while the guitars and drums were more upfront. The problem I have with Basarabian Hills is probably the same that can be said about a lot of that "black metal guys doing ambient" stuff - lack of variety and imagination. I mean it's same structure, same key changes, same synth patches thoughout. It does create a nice atmospheric feeling and can be entertaining... for a few minutes. The best track I've heard from the project is on the album Groping In A Misty Spread (2014) and the track is "Snowflakes" - a wonderful cosmic piece (and not long enough to become stale). Other completely ambient pieces are scattered throughout the discography (the title track from Spirit of the Native Land is one example).

 


Basic House (UK)

I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have To Be Destroyed By Me (2017)
Pathetique (2017)
Crown Ever Remain (2021) (EP)
Nu-Antiphon (2022)

Varied soundscapes. I need to investigate more the output of this artist (real name - Stephen Bishop) on the question of "EM compatibility".

See also: Lacrima

 


Basic Principles (Netherlands)

Basic Principles (1985)
Colours (2022)

The 1985 album is a rare tape release, music of an ambient nature by Wladimir Duijndam.

 


Bass Clef (UK)

111 Angelic MIDI Cascade (2019)
Orezero (2020)
Magnetic Chapters (2021)

Diverse project of Ralph Cumbers. The above releases may be of some interest to EM fans, especially those in to Experimental sounds and compositions.

See also: Some Truths

 


Bass Communion (UK)

Bass Communion (1998)
Bass Communion II (1999)
Atmospherics (1999)
Bass Communion Vs. Muslimgauze (1999) (with Muslimgauze)
Bass Communion III (2001) (recorded in 1995 - 1999)
Bass Communion Remixed (2003)
Jonathan Coleclough / Bass Communion / Colin Potter (2003) (with Jonathan Coleclough and Colin Potter)
Ghosts On Magnetic Tape (2004)
Ghosts On Magnetic Tape - A Liles Reconstruction (2004)
Dronework (2005)
Continuum (2005) (with Vidna Obmana)
Indicates Void (2005)
Loss (2006)
The Continuum Recyclings Vol. 1 (2006) (with Vidna Obmana)
Pacific Codex (2006)
Molotov And Haze (2008)
Chiaroscuro (2009)
Litany (2009) (S)
Cenotaph (2011)
Sisters Oregon (2017) (S)
Dronework (2019) (S)
VL Tones (2019) (with Freiband)
And No Birds Sing (2022) (soundtrack)

Bass Communion is a side project of Steve Wilson from Porcupine Tree. Hypnotic Ambient and spacey electronics. Atmospherics is a library CD.

See also: Wilson, Steven, Altamont.

 


Bass, Tim (Australia)

I Have Become Overcome With Thoughts of You (2012)
Downpour (2013)
Pastures (2013)

Ambient drone artist from Melbourne.

 


Bassato, Andrea (Italy)

Parco dei venti (1987)

Andrea Bassato is an Italian keyboardist. He is the founding member of Mysia and also played keys in Le Orme from 1997 to 2008. On Parco dei Venti, he is helped by Franco Pivato, also a future member of Mysia.

See also: Mysia

 


Bassett, Marcia (USA)

Lapidary (2010) (with Helena Espvall)
Sunday Night, Sunday Afternoon (2012) (with Samara Lubelski)
110 Livingston (2014) (with Samara Lubelski)
Live, NYC (2017) (with Samara Lubelski)
Losing Circles (2021) (with Thomas Dimuzio)
Midnight Xpander (2022)
Undulating Akrasboning (2022)
West Coast Live (2022) (with Samara Lubelski)
Covering the Surface (2023) (with Sergej Vutuc)

This music sounds like a mixture of Fripp & Eno and Zeit.

 


Bassi, Enrico (Italy)

Qprika (1993)
L'eclisse del mare (1995)
Ascending-Descending (1999)
Scandinavia (2004) (soundtrack)
71º 10' 21 N (2006)
Mystery Experience (2007)
Synextesy Exultet (2008)
The Wind In the Willows And Other Stories (2009)
Ab origine fama (2015)

Interesting synthesist creating music with (mostly) analogue synthesizers, with melodic and ambient styles prevailing, but also with some guitar and / or ethnic elements (like percussion for example) popping up. Also a slight classical influence is discernible.

 


Bassic (Sweden)

Nightowl Chronicles (1999)
Rhythmic Floatations (1999)
Sleepwalker (1999)
Golden Oldies (2000)
Precipitation (2001)
Artificiality (2002)
Daydreamer (2003)
The Complete Chronicles 1991 - 2003 (2004)

Bassic is Martin Lindhe, a synthesist / electronic composer from Sweden (currently living in the US), who was one of the artists signed by the now obsolete MP3.com label. Melodic music with piano leads and sometimes danceable rhythms in the style of Andrea Priora and 1990's Jean-Michel Jarre.

 


Bassifondi Orchestra (USA)

Lasagna ictus (2001)

Organic drone mixed with spacey soundscapes from Chris Blazen.

 


Basso, Luciano (Italy)

Voci (1976)
Cogli il giorno (1978)
Frammenti tonali (1979)
Arc-en-ciel (1980)

Keyboardist from Venice who released a number of progressive records. These represent a driving and melodic mix of progrock ala keyboard maestros like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the classical influences and electronics. Voci is his most rock-oriented effort. Later albums are reportedly much more classically-tinged. Nowadays, Luciano Basso mainly composes classical music and tours as a professional concert pianist.

 


Bastardo, Joseph (USA)

At Ease (2014) (with Howard Stelzer)
deCordova (2016)

Analog modular sound sculptures, warm and sometimes based on arpeggios / sequences.

See also: Void, Bastian, Homeowner, Looks Realistic.

 


Bastow, Geoff (UK)

The Video Age (1980) (with Trevor Bastow)
Tomorrow's World (1982)
The AV Conception Vol. 1 (1986)
The AV Conception Vol. 2 (1987)
The AV Conception Vol. 3 (1988)
The AV Conception Vol. 4 (1988)

Library electronic records with some nice and some cheesy short tracks. Not extremely progressive, as one would guess...

 


Bataille (France)

The Warmonger (2020) (EP)
Reverb (2021)
5 Magics (2023) (EP)

The 2023 EP features epic synthesizer music between "dungeon synth" and melodic / rhythmic EM, as well as synthwave.

 


Bataille Solaire (Canada)

Baal Shamash et son char celeste (2012)
Documentaries (2013)
Jap (2014) (S)
Dolby's ON (2015)
Enter (2015) (S)
Jap (2016) (S)
Amen Herb (2016) (S)

Varied EM (ambient, rhythmic, melodic, atmospheric...) from Montreal-based musician Asaël Robitaille.

 


Batchas (Switzerland)

Armi chimiche (1985)
Musique de milieu Part I (1986)
Musique de milieu Part II (1987)
Musique de milieu Part III (1987)
Caracteres (1987)
Hyioide (1987)
Schizoidie - Trilogie Part I (1988)
Schizoidie - Trilogie Part II (1989)
Schizoidie - Trilogie Part III (1989)
Tahafut-Ul-Tahafut (1993)
Live Nevers (1995)
Mydese (1996)
Xhponozon Festival (1996)
Future Sounds (1997)
Explorations 85-95 (2007) (recorded in 1985 - 1995)

Swiss synthesizer ensemble stylistically somewhere between industrial / experimental soundscapes and ambient synth. Batchas was formed by Robert Masse in Zurich. The project released several albums before calling it quits in 1998. Several years later, Russian label Monochrome Vision released a retrospective album Explorations that gathered pieces recorded and mixed from 1985 to 1995. "Immersion" provides the album with a deep intro. Echoing clangs and subtle drones give the piece a dark, unsettling mood. This is great pioneering Dark Ambient with a slight industrial vibe. "Descent" delves even deeper into the shadowy world of spooky atmospherics and dark electronic abstractions. This time the soundscape is augmented by heavily processed whispering, the droned becoming heavier and more menacing. More quirky and odd is the following track called "Submersible" It consists of strange processed insect-like noises and drones and is very short. "Approach" has more of a classic Dark Ambient feel, with distant menacing voices, heavy drones, layered atmospheres and the feeling of general gloom'n'doom. "Turbulences" continues in similar fashion, although this time things are much more industrial-sounding. It's still dark and ambient, but this time it sounds like you're trapped inside some evil engine. Various clangs, beeping sounds and radio chatter support this purely technological concept. Even more industrial and noisy is "Flash Flood". There's still that feeling of menace lurking inside those textures and drones but the execution is bolder and more direct this time. The track lasts less than 2 minutes. "Coal Harbour" continues with pitch-black ambiences and industrial-tinged explorations. Ever wondered what an abandoned coal mine sounds like? Well, this might be it. Deep, deep and very echoey, that's what this track is. "Pipeline" is what the title promises - a very metallic, industrial sonic environment. The track has less of an ambient quality to it, approaching the territory of the less aggressive forms of noise. "Prospecting" is more reflective and paranoid, with sparse piano notes processed by effects such as echo, harmonizing and so on. There are also subtle whispers, found sounds and various concrete textures. It could be called "room ambient" or Isolationism, it really has that claustrophobic vibe to it. "Malachite Mines" returns to the pitch-black soundscapes of "Coal Harbour". Subtle creaking, drones, unidentifiable sounds - it's all here in spades. "Amphibians", on the other hand, is strangely glitchy and subtle. Sounds like noise music for the faint-hearted. "Revelations" brings in the noise. Not that it's some wall-shattering stuff but in its peak it's quite intense. The track is only two minutes long. The long "Landing" reaches a balance between to noisy bits and the purely ambient mood, the chirping, mechanical synths combined with a deep drone. If you are interested in Dark Ambient or experimental arts, grab this album while you can.

 


Bates, Nigel (UK)

Electronic (1983)
Space (1986)

Electronic library records.

 


Bath Consolidated (USA)

Narryer Gneiss Terrane (2019)
Milieu (2019)

A project of Noelle Johnson based in Kansas City, Missouri. Complex music in an individual style, mixing melodic synth, heavy sampling, noisy assaults and seemingly disparate elements thrown against each other. Creative stuff that keeps your attention. Nice.

 


Bathing (USA)

Bathing (2016)
You Are Enough (2018)

San Francisco-based modular synth duo composed of Ryan Smith and Emma Jackson with a bit of a Cluster mindset.

 


Bathory, Kristof (USA)

Humanoid Dystopia (2023)

Moody, darkish, sci-fi-ish electronic compositions from this member of Void Stasis.

See also: Void Stasis

 


Bathroom Plants (USA)

Installing Symbiotopia 2.0.1 (2019)
Garden of Accrescent Vistas (2023)

Melodic, ambient, vaporwave-influenced electronics from this Philadelphia-based project. Flutey synths and marimbas overload.

 


Batsaykhan (Portugal)

Batsaykhan (2022)

Portuguese trio with a rhythmic, melodic, sometimes rock-influenced sound. Lots of nice synth solos on this one. Sometimes with guitars, sounding like a slightly World Music-tinged Ashra.

 


Battema, John (USA)

The Machine Man (2000)
Der Golem (2007)
Between the Axiom And the Sigh (2020)

Solo Electronic Music from Virginia-based John Battema, member of symphonic / gothic metal bands Ephemeral Sun and Rain Fell Within. Varied, melodic, cinematic...

 


BatteryDead (Germany)

Deep Discharge (2010)
Sands of Deception (2011)
Raumzeit 2011 (2011)
Shades (2013)
Yield To Gravity (2016)
Live Muenster 2017 (2018) (with Moonbooter)

BatteryDead is Christian Ahler who creates rhythmic, easy-listening, melodic and relaxed brand of EM.

 


Batti, Elisa (Netherlands)

The Logic of Chaos (2022) (S)

Varied experimental musician (full name - Elisa Battistutta). The Logic of Chaos features two electro-acoustic and two electronic pieces creates with a single instrument each.

 


Battiato, Franco (Italy)

Fetus (1972)
Pollution (1972)
Sulle corde di Aries (1973)
Clic (1974)
M elle le gladiator (1975)
Franco Battiato (1976)
Juke Box (1977)
L'egitto prima della sadie (1978)

Joe Patti's Experimental Group (2014) (with Pinaxa)

Italian pop singer (1945 - 2021) who in the Seventies released a string of progressive experimental / electronic albums. Different albums may appeal to different categories of listeners. Fetus has a bit of just about everything, including experimental synth sounds. Sulle Corde di Aries contains rather minimal electronics. On the other hand, fans of Klaus Schulze would be happy to sink their teeth into Clic which sounds like a more avant-garde version of one of Klaus' albums, although there are classical vocals here. Later albums venture into extremely minimalist experimental field. For instance, there are pieces where Battiato just repeats one single piano chord over and over again, without any changes. These works are only for the extreme.

See also: Telaio Magnetico

 


Battistetti, Fabio (Italy)

Into the Wood (2014)
Tau Neutrino (2022)

Italian artist with a unique style. The music you hear on Tau Neutrino is strongly influenced by the electroacoustic genre, featuring some acoustic sounds processed by electronics, but also has a cold and genuinely cosmic / scientific electronic sound.

 


Batu (UK)

Half Speed (2023) (S)

Bristol-based deejay and artist (real name - Omar McCutcheon) with a club (bass music / techno) background. Half Speed is a testament to his recent interest in beatless forms of electronic-based music. Some nice sounds on this one.

 


Baty, Fabrice (France)

Guitares (1976)

Weird French equivalent of German krautrock, this LP recorded in 1973 - 1974 and issued in a plain black sleeve is, if anything, even crazier than that scene. Featuring one guy with his guitars (both electric and acoustic) and tons of processing, he creates long tracks of totally freaked out textures. Sometimes you get a feeling that he is aiming at a "Forbidden Planet"-type sound with this stuff. It's not for purists as it's mostly guitars, but processing and electro-acoustic / electronic techniques are used so extensively, that it in essence becomes a pioneering hybrid EM / rock work that gives a nod to French cohorts Heldon on one side and to the nascent noise / industrial scene on the other.

 


Bauch, Uwe (Germany)

Electric Garden (1995)
Eclipse (1998)
Century City (2002)

German synthesist. Melodic electronics with sequences.

 


Bauchet, Lyonel (France)

The Diver (2021)
Tractatus Lyra-Organismus (2023)

Parisian composer who is very much into modular synthesis. He is an established master of library music, with around 100 albums of sound examples and short compositions of varying moods to his credit. On The Diver, he lets his imagination fly, unrestrained by the library music's format limitations, creating longer pieces and suites that rely very much on his expertise in working with modular synths, especially the Buchla 200e system.

 


Baudet, Roger (Switzerland)

Rêveries d'un père tranquille (1985)
Musique électronique pour la scène et l'image 1976 - 1992 (2021)

Cosmic EM with some tribal drumming and processed vocals.

 


Baudot, Pascal (France)

Empreintes (1997)

Said to resemble the music of Changing Images or Mind Over Matter. With guitar.

 


Bauluna (Spain)

Healand (2013)
Lunacy (2014)
Aligned (2019)

A project of Eric Baulenas and Joaquín Luna that marries instrumental progressive rock and Electronic Music.

 


Baum, Christian (Germany)

Dedications (1996)
Made In England (1998)

German musician born in 1972. In 1982 he started playing the electric organ and a bit later he acquired his first synthesizer. Dedications was released on cassette in 1996. Made In England followed, which, apart from electronics, featured some additional musicians on acoustic instruments.

 


Baumann, Peter (Germany)

Romance’76 (1976)
Transharmonic Nights (1979)
Repeat Repeat (1981)
Strangers In the Night (1983)
Machines of Desire (2016)

German synthesist. Member of Tangerine Dream from 1972 to 1977. During these years TD have produced some of their best works. Baumann is indeed one of the most influential figures in the Electronic Music history. His style perfectly blended with the rest of musicians, that’s why the line-up of Froese, Franke and Baumann turned out to be one of the steadiest in the history of the group. During his years with Tangerine Dream, and after that he has also released some solo albums. The first two LP's are classics and well worth good hunting. Unfortunately, with the 1981 album (after moving to USA) he took a turn towards simple and surprisingly bland synth-pop sound with vocals. Therefore, his last two albums should be avoided by an average EM fan and are for completists only. In 80’s he founded the Private Music label on which several Tangerine Dream albums were released. He also made the legendary Blue Room project with Paul Haslinger but, unfortunately, it never got past the demo stage (although according to some sources, musically it was very good). After that, further financial losses followed. All this could contribute to Baumann's decision to leave music business for good. According to Chris Franke, he currently resides in Mexico.

Update 20.06.2016: In 2016, after years of virtual absence on the music scene, Peter Baumann returned with a new album on Bureau B. There are also rumors about him possibly joining the new Tangerine Dream (sans Froese). Let's see what the future brings.

See also: Tangerine Dream, Leda, Neuland.

 


Baumann/Koek (Germany)

Baumann/Koek (1978)

Two German musicians who have released at least one album in 1978. The Baumann mentioned here has actually nothing to to with Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream fame, it is another musician (full name - Wolfgang Baumann and he is helped by Eta Koek), but the music is reportedly very good.

 


Baušķenieks, Ingus (Latvia)

Koncerts sintezatoram ar pedali (1986)
Majas dzive (1988)
Klusais okeans (1990)
Burvju pusdienas (1995)
Digitala ziema (1998)
Viduslaiki (2003)
Nezinamais sedevrs (2004)
Spoki (2018) (recorded in 1988 - 2011)

Latvian synthesist with a fairly cosmic style. Ingus Baušķenieks is also known as the bass player of the group Dzeltenie Pastnieki (The Yellow Postmen). Both the group and Ingus as a solo artist relied largely on magnitizdat (copying tapes) to distribute their music.

 


Bautista, Teddy (Spain)

En los Bosques de mi Mente (1971) (S)
Ensayos para un Vacio (1978)
La Memoria del Agua (1993)

Teddy Bautista is one of the pioneers of synthesizer music in Spain, playing moog both as a soloist and with Los Canarios on their monumental Ciclos album. After Los Canarios disbanded, Teddy went solo in the Electronic Music vein and also did a pop record (Radioactivo from 1981) with ex-Modulos member Pepe Robles. He then became the president of the Spanish Authors Society and his music activities gradually went downhill.

See also: Canarios, Los

 


Bavota, Bruno (Italy)

For Apartments: Songs & Loops (2021)

Italian neo-classical composer. For Apartments: Songs & Loops was recorded during the lockdown caused by the Covid pandemic and is half (rather nice) repetitive synth pieces half piano songs.

 


Bayer, Stefan (Germany)

Mental Distortion (??)
Mars (??)
A Space of Time (??)
The Lake (??)

Also known as Bay.

 


baze.djunkiii (Germany)

In Macrospace (2022)

Noise Ambient from Andreas Rathmann.

 


Bazila (???)

Paralyzed And Free (2022)

Dense, melodic ambient works a bit reminiscent on stuff released on Janushoved and Posh Isolation labels.

 


Bazin, Alexandre (France)

Full Moon (2016)
Sun Dog Trail (2017)
Oceans / Dream-Land (2020)
Concorde (2021)
Percussion-Resonance (2022)
Four Steps (2022) (S)
Innervision (2023)
Therapy (2023)

Experimental composer and member of Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM). You would expect something very dry and academic but no - Full Moon is a surprisingly accessible and listenable effort, featuring melodic analog synth compositions (playful, a bit Cluster-like) and even one piano interlude ("The Glass Key").

See also: Two Colors

 


BbartokK (USA)

Metamorphosis (2023)

Relying on modular synths and Soma Labs instruments, Los Angeles-based BbartokK creates spontaneous compositions with sequencing and often a kind of wall-of-sound analog approach, which is totally improvised and DAW-less. Metamorphosis was released on a reel-to-reel tape.

 


BBR/NJR (Belgium / France)

2 rue de Paris (1988)
A réau... gare (1988)

Improvising electronic ensemble consisting of M.Nomized, Pol Silentblock and Guy Stuckens. Mostly rhythmic, ranging from Dusseldorf motorik to more free-form explorations with soloing synths, but always retaining the electronic rhythms.

See also: Silentblock, Pol, Stuckens, Guy.

 


Be (UK)

One (2015)

Ambient soundtrack to an exposition about bees and their role in nature and human life. Neo-classically-influenced, with some mellotron and lots of field recordings from nature. Be is a duo of Kev Bales and Tony Foster.

 


Be Zet, Stevie (Germany)

Archaic Modulation (1994)

Ambient from Steffen Britzke on Recycle Or Die label.

 


Beach Mountain (USA)

Beach Mountain (2017) (S)
Sonic Pathways To Psychic Healing (2018)
Life Time (2021)

Low-fi synths, strange rhythmic and noisy compositions.

 


Beachers (UK)

Pretend (2014)
I Wanna Be Your Wall (2016)
Interruptions (2019)
The Interview (2021)
All Houses Are Haunted (2021)
A Precipice Is All We Have (2021)
The Problem (2023)

Side project of Daryl Worthington aka Kostoglotov. This is totally different - extremely quite, ambient and minimal, sometimes like a soundtrack to a suspense movie but with added deep, throbbing rhythms in places.

See also: Kostoglotov

 


BEAK> (UK)

Kosmik Musik (2022)

Bristol-based krautrock group making a foray into (largely) Electronic Music on their 2022 release.

 


Beale, Monica (UK)

Music For Micros (1983)
Synthymusic (1983)
The Living Planet (1985)

Electronic library records with some nice melodic tracks.

 


Beamer Project, The (USA)

Sidetracked (1987)
Point of Departure (1988)

Joe Robertson and John Wilson. Private press from Phoenix, Arizona. Jazzy music with orchestral elements.

 


Bean, Richard Anthony (UK)

Wonders of the World (2018)
Summer Solstice (2018) (EP)
Shoreline (2018)
Elements (2019)
Electric Visions (2019)
Earth Follower (2020)
Transcender (2020)
Ascension (2021)
Victopia (2022)
Destination Central (2023)
The Compass (2023)

Rich, orchestral (and sometimes bombastic) electronics in the style of Vangelis.

 


Bear Bones, Lay Low (Venezuela)

Backward Arrow (2005) (S)
Mud Tones (2006) (S)
Djid Hums (2007)
Maldad Humana 1 (2007)
Vallee de Dith (2009)
Smoked the Whole Thing (2011)
Basement Surge (2011)
Vagaciones (2012)
El Telonero (2012)
Occultciti (2013)
Improvisaciones Caseras (2013)
Recalentaitos (2014)
Vagaciones II (2014)
Winged Simians (2015)
Visions From Limbus (2016)
Hacia la Luz (2016)
Entropismus (2017)
Atlantean Encrypted Message (2018)
Ses Kondi (2019)
Live (2020)
Ideas Flotantes (2023)

Diverse psychedelic soundscapes created on analogue synthesizers. Music by Ernesto Gonzalez.

See also: Tav Exotic, Carcass Identity.

 


Bearburger, The (Norway)

The Bearburger (1983)

Solo cassette released on Uniton label. Music by Bjørn Sorknes, ex member of Fra Lippo Lippi. Mostly rather sparse and gloomy Ambient sound, with a touch of minimal synth, especially on the closing rhythmic track.

 


Bearns & Dexter (Canada)

Golden Voyage Vol. 1 (1977)
Golden Voyage Vol. 2 (1978)
Golden Voyage Vol. 3 (1979)
Golden Voyage Vol. 4 (1982)
Golden Voyage Vol. 5: The Heralding (1984)
Golden Voyage Vol. 6 (1987)

A duo of Robert Bearns and Ron Dexter. Instrumental synth in floating, meditative style.

 


Beasley, Adrian (UK)

The Early Years (2002) (recorded in 1980 - 2000)
Powerhouse (2007)
Stories (2022) (with John Christian)

Solo Electronic Music from member of Airsculpture.

See also: Airsculpture, Cosmic Smokers.

 


Beasley, Peter (UK)

Coruscation (1987)
UK Tour 1986 (2010)

Peter Beasley is a former rock drummer who got some interest in composing Electronic Music during the 1980's. That decade saw the birth of British AMP Records, of which Peter was one of the founders, together with Mark Jenkins. In 1987, he also released an album of upbeat, energetic EM tracks in Tangerine Dream / Ashra mould. All music was recorded in 1986 and the album was re-released with a bonus track in 2007.

 


Beast (Netherlands)

Beast Vol. 1 (2017)
Beast Vol. 2 (2017)
Ens (2018)

A project of Koen Holtkamp dedicated to repetitive electronic patterns inspired by minimalism.

See also: Holtkamp, Koen

 


Beast Nest (USA)

Beast Nest (2013)
Songs For Puppies (2015)
Taste of India (2016)
Sicko (2022)

Experimental project of Sharmi Basu. She is rather diverse, but Sicko has many moments that will interest EM fans, including the analog synth-laden "Into the Tangerine".

 


Beat, Janet (UK)

Pioneering Knob Twiddler (2021) (recorded in ??)

British artist (b. 1937) and a pioneer of Electronic Music in the United Kingdom. She used musique concrete / tape collage techniques, as well as the first commercially available synthesizers to create her wacky compositions that have little to do with what most academic electronic composers were doing at the time (1960's and early 1970's). Focusing on rhythm and melody, her music has a special charm - it's cosmic, nostalgic, but also minimal, repetitive, ethnic-spiced ("Echoes From Bali") and abstract. It's all very listenable, though, and sounds very ahead of its time, really crossing into progressive territory more than once. I wonder how these gems managed to escape the attention of the music crowd and remain in the archives for so long.

 


Beatboys 2000 (Germany)

Citylife1 (2002)
Citylife2 (2002)
Little Place (2002)

A duo of Hardy Kukuk and Matthias Culmey. They have a lot of classic EM influences but if you absolutely don't like techno beats, maybe it's better to forgo these.

See also: Kukuk, Hardy

 


Beatnik (Switzerland)

Nautilus (2012)

Supposedly, electronic album from this Progrock band / project led by Marcel Aegerter.

 


Beattie Cobell (UK)

Treatment Works (2016)

London-based duo that sounds slightly progressive but is also slightly IDM, slightly plunderphonics, slightly noise, slightly everything. Almost non-progressive, but the nice proggy analog synths made me decide in favor.

 


Beauchamp, Paul (USA)

Sala B: Rupture (2009) (EP)
Sala B: Intervention (2010) (EP)
_27022010_ Halle-Saale (2010) (with Jochen Arbeit and Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo)
Arbeit Limited Edition 8: Soundscapes 12 (2011) (with Jochen Arbeit, Julia Kent and Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo)
Torino 012010 (2011) (with Jochen Arbeit and Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo)
Pondfire (2015)
Torturatori (2017) (with Paolo Spaccamonti)
Grey Mornings (2017)
Svalbard, the Land Where Nobody Dies (2019) (soundtrack) (with Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo)
Needs Must When the Devil Drives (2021)

Ambient artist currently residing in Torino, Italy.

 


Beaunoise (USA)

Ambient One (2011)
Ambient Two (2012)
Equipment And Personnel (2015)
Pianoworks (2016)
Buchlaworks: Module I (2016)
Beeptunes (??)
You Never Close Your Lips When I Kiss Your Eyes (??)
Ambient III (2019)
Nornstape (2019)
Bellwether Music Library Vol. 1 (2019)
Buchlaworks: Module II (2020)
Factory Passion (2021)
Buchlaworks: Module III (2022)

Soundscapes from member of chillwave / lounge project Clive Tanaka y su Orquesta.

See also: Exurbs, Sorenson, Beau.

 


Beausoleil, Bobby (USA)

Lucifer Rising (1980) (soundtrack)
Orb (2001)
Dreamways of the Mystic (2005)
Mantra (2008)
Dancing Hearts Afire (2013)
Voodoo Shivaya (2018) (recorded in 2001 - 2015)

An obscurity, this one. This is the soundtrack to Kenneth Anger's film (completed in 1980). The original idea to have Jimmy Page write the score was thrown away and the duties of handling the music were given to Bobby Beausoleil and he completed the task while being imprisoned for murder (he was sentenced to a death row and although the decision was cancelled he must have spent some 30 years or more in prison as of now). Despite his incarceration Bobby continued to be active in music making and thus we have this little masterpiece where Bobby plays various electric pianos, synths etc, accompanied by other musicians (The "Freedom Orchestra" - most likely his fellow prisoners). It's a strange soundscape. Pretty cosmic and sometimes menacing. Well, I hope early Tangerine Dream fans will like this, but beware the psych guitar.

 


Beautiful Schizophonic, The (Portugal)

Product 06 (2005) (with others)
Hyperblue.Hydrophonics (2005)
Musicamorosa (2006)
Radiance (2009) (with Yui Onodera)
Erotikon (2009)
Night Blossom (2011) (with Yui Onodera)
Belkiss (2012)
L'atlier des filles (2016)
Shelter (??)

A project of Jorge Mantas in emotional Ambient vein. For fans of Celer and the like, with even a hint of Aeoliah's new age drift.

 


Beautumn (Russia)

Blanket (2004)
White Coffee (2005)
Nothing (2006)
Bordeaux (2015)

Ambient project of Alexander Ananyev. A warm sound, bringing to mind snowy dreamscapes and half-forgotten dreams.

See also: Sleepy Town Manufacture

 


Beauty Hunters (USA)

Muscle Memory (2020)
Animal Magmatism (2021)

Pulsing, John Carpenter-esque EM from Guy Maddison (of alternative rockers Mudhoney) and Sean Hollowell.

 


Beauty, The (Japan)

Love In the Heart of the World Shout (2012)

Melodic, propulsive music from Kenji Takimi. Elements of rock, shoegaze, etc.

 


Beaver & Krause (USA)

The Nonesuch Guide To Electronic Music (1968)
Ragnarok Electronic Funk (1969)
In A Wild Sanctuary (1970)
Gandharva (1971)
All Good Men (1972)

Legendary American duo of Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause. Hardly famous, but still quite well-known in the EM circles.

See also: Krause, Bernie

 


Bebey, Francis (Cameroon)

Savannah Georgia (1975)
La condition masculine (1976)
Un petit Ivorien (1979)
New Track (1982)
Baobab (1988)

Francis Bebey (1929 - 2001) was a Cameroon-born singer, guitarist, flutist, journalist, sculptor and writer. He is mainly known for his guitar-based songs and traditional / popular African (Afrobeat) music. However, he has also released some purely instrumental works where he plays synthesizers in an electronic style, making him a pioneer of EM in Cameroon (or Africa, for that matter). How does it sound? Well, imagine if Cluster would migrate to African savanna with all their synths, organs, drumboxes and affinity for a quirky melody and you'll get a vague idea. In fact, any comparison is useless as Bebey stands pretty much on his own but is invariably fun. Sometimes he sings a bit over instrumental backing or tells a story. I'll try to list his EM-related albums here (or albums that contain some electronic tracks).

 


Beckahesten (Sweden)

Vattenhålens dräpare (2020)
Tydor (2021)

Intense Ritual Ambient, sometimes with female vocals or recitation.

 


Beckemeyer, Ryan (USA)

( ɵ̥_ɵ̥̥) (2021)

Ambient soundscapes with a touch of glitch.

 


Becker, Bo (USA)

Of Vistula (2010)
Octodurum (2010)
Zephyria (2010) (EP)
Transpiritus (2011)
Brecilian (2011)
Icedria (2012)
Blurreal (2013) (S)
Tale (2015)

Young ambient artist (Bo Becker was born in 1989). Melodic sound with gentle electronics and some guitars.

 


Becker, Frank W. (Germany)

Celebration (1977)
Synthesizer (1978)
The Four Seasons (1978)
The Eternal Seasons (1978)
Synthesizer / Incantations (1979) (with Michiko Akao)

German electronic composer who lived in Japan for 14 years and most of his recorded output was released there (mainly on Toshiba). There is at least one more album by Frank Becker titled Synthesizer - The Beatles 2 (1978) that contains synth versions of Beatles songs.

 


Becker, Fred (UK)

Inner, Stellar (1989)

Dreamy synths with a 'Vangelis' feel. Faster tracks have more of a classic-period TD influence.

See also: Enterphase

 


Becker Lehnhoff (Germany)

Solo Observed (1988)
How Happy I Should Be (??)

Ambient electronics of the experimental variety. Becker Lehnhoff was actually a pseudonym of Stefanie Schwedes.

 


Becker & Mukai (??? / Japan)

Eyes (2017)
Time Very Near (2020)

Improvisational EM in varied style from this London-based duo (Jean-Gabriel Becker and Susumu Mukai).

 


Becker, Rashad (Syria)

Traditional Music of Notional Spieces Vol. I (2013)
Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. II (2016)

Formless, abstract mass of sound and vaguely rhythmic constructions from this Syrian-born artist currently residing in Germany. Way beyond Kluster / Schnitzler. Unique stuff that sounds like living sonic organisms.

 


Beckman, Thomas J. (USA)

Birthstone (2020)
Contempt (2022)

A mixture of dramatic neo-classical compositions like music from some drama / thriller movie and some synthy concoctions that range from lo-fi and atmospheric to rhythmic and technoid.

 


Bédé, Sébastien (France)

Gentil chaos (2017)
J'oublie que je rêve (2020)

French pop / chanson artist with roughly half of the tracks being instrumental on Gentil Chaos and passing to almost 100% instrumental on J'oublie que je Rêve. He also loves his keyboards and plays a minimoog, a stylophone, a theremin and a few other synths. Sort of a French Brian Eno maybe? So typically French, though. Pretty talented, too: tracks like "Boucle Humaine" (J'oublie que je Rêve) are as good as anything Eno ever created. File under EM-related.

 


Bedel, Phil (USA)

Bells On Ice (1980) (S)

Minimal synthesizer sequences.

 


Bedford, David (UK)

Music For Albion Moonlight (1970)
Nurse’s Song With Elephants (1972)
Tentacles of the Dark Nebula (1974)
Star’s End (1974)
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1975)
The Odyssey (1976)
Instructions For Angels (1977)
Star Clusters, Nebulae & Places In Devon (1981)
Song of the White Horse (1981)
Rigel 9 (1985)
Great Equatorial (1994)
My Mother, My Sister & I (1999)
The Odyssey Live (2011) (recorded in 1977)

David Bedford (1937 - 2011) was an accociate of Mike Oldfield and Mike himself played on some of David's albums. Bedford was more of a modern classical musician than electronic. On most of his albums he finds himself in the Stravinsky mode. The two releases that are of interest to an Electronic Music fan is the 1976’s album ‘The Odyssey’, composed for electronic keyboards, that also features vocals to a certain extent, and ‘Instructions For Angels’ where synths are complimented by orchestral elements. Both albums feature the guitar work of Oldfield. Ok, some other albums may be interesting, too. For example, you can try ‘Rigel 9’, which is a spoken story put on top of music, which is half synthesizer and half conventional instruments. It also includes two ‘normal’ short songs. Another electronic work is Great Equatorial from 1994.

 


Bedlam (France)

Mayday (2000)
Microtome (2001)

Repetitive EM by Thierry Vanderstraeten (keyboardist of Malataverne).

 


Bednarczyk, Tomasz (Poland)

Summer Feelings (2006)
Let's Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow (2009)
Painting Sky Together (2009)
Music For Balance And Relaxation Vol. 1 (2018)

Illustrations For Those Who (2018)
Fall Into the Water (2018) (S)
Music For Balance And Relaxation Vol. 2 (2020)
Nothing Much Happens (2021)
Windy Weather Always Makes Me Think of You (2022)

Tranquil and pastoral ambience.

See also: New Rome

 


Bedouin Ascent (UK??)

Science, Art And Ritual (1994)
Music For Particles (1995)

One of the lesser known early-to-mid 1990's ambient techno projects created by Kingsuk Biswas. He had a whimsical, a bit playful style that was still pretty much along the lines of the epoch's ambient techno / IDM sound. On Science, Art And Ritual, he also ventures into weirder realms, as on the epic, 20-minute "Beyond the 7th Gate", which is definitely the album's highlight and will certainly be enjoyed by fans of Prog EM.

 


BedouinDrone (Bulgaria)

The Border (2018)
Conflict (2020)
Dawlat L​ī​biyyā (2023) (with Abu AMA)

Ethnic-spiced ambient drones.

 


Bedoyan, Jean-Pierre (France)

Diavolo Dance Theater 1992 - 1996 (1998)

Theater work from this artist, originally from Toulouse, representing a series of electronic soundscapes and percussive rhythms.

 


Bedroom (USA)

Solipsist (2012)
Trans (2013)
Shade & System (2014)

Varied soundscapes with a strong kosmische / Berlin School bend from Michael Chau based in Brooklyn, NY.

 


Bee Eater (Canada)

Jet Roar Black (2019)

A project of Calgary-based visual artist and musician Fraser Wright. Ranges from completely abstract collage to dark drones and nice melodic guitar / synth ambience.

 


Bee Mask (USA)

Meth Colony (2006)
Living's Just Defying the Ocean (2006)
Plate Breaker (2007)
Neurasthenia (2007) (S)
Honey And Salt (2007) (S)
Dark Address (2007) (S)
Docked Orbs (2007) (S)
I Will Hold the Bag (2007) (S)
Live Mask (2007) (S)
Three Weeks In the Outer Burrows (2007) (S)
Versailles Is Not Too Large...Or Infinity Too Long (2008)
How Softly Sings the Kettle, How Sweetly Chimes the Clock (2008) (S)
Elusive Lunar Bow (2008) (S)
Solo Renegades (2008) (S)
Frozen Versioning (2009)
Hyperborean Trenchtown (2009)
Shimmering Braid (2009) (S)
Folie a plusieurs (2009) (S)
Prelude And First Enormous Peacock (2009) (S)
No Mutant Enemy (2009) (S)
Colony Collapse 2 (2009) (S)
Canzoni dal laboratorio del silenzio cosmico (2010)
From A Will-Less Gigolo of A Divinity To the Gore-Spattered Lion On His Own Health, Osysseus Becomes "Odysseus" (2010) (S)
In the Balm Yard: The Nth Dream of the Thermo-Hygrometer (2010) (S)
Vaporwave / Scanops (2012)
When We Were Eating Unripe Pears (2012)

Drone Ambient artist Chris Madak. Sometimes reminds on vintage Italian EM (as on Canzoni...).

 


Beek, Arnaud van (Netherlands)

Flying - Electronic Dream Music (2007)
Different Sounds (2008)
Earth - Dream Music (2008)
Ultimate Electronic Music (2012)
Zen Bar - Dream Music (2013)
Retro Perspective - Electronic Music (2014)
Electronic Improvisations 1 (2014)
EclipsE - Electronic Music (2014) (with Digital Immigrant)
EclipsE 2 - Electronic Music (2014) (with Digital Immigrant)
First Steps - Electronic Music (2018) (recorded in 2000 - 2003)
Ultimate Electronic Music - 2 (2019)

Dutch synthesist aiming at a classic, melodic Jarre sound. He often ends up sounding like a mixture of synthwave and generic 1990's trance, though. Zen Bar has more of an ambient touch in comparison with the rest of his output.

 


Beequeen (Netherlands)

Mappa Mundi (1989)
Scala Destillans (1990)
Fond (1991)
Der Holzweg (1993)
Time Waits For No One (1994)
Sugarbush (1995)
Music For the Head Ballet (1996)
Split (1996)
Steson (1997)
The Surrough Gate (1997)
Long Stones And Circles (1997) (S)
Do Be Do (1999)
Treatise (2000)
Natursymfonie (2002)
Ownliness (2002)
A Touch of Brimstone (2002)
Gund (2003)
Aughton - The Patient Books (2004)
The Bodyshop (2004)
Seltenturm Beesides (2007) (recorded in 1989 - 2000)
Sandancing (2008)
Sandancing Demos (2008) (S)
Atem (2009) (S)
Port Out Starboard Home (2011)
Winter (2020)

Analogue synth soundscapes by Freek Kinkelaar and Frans de Waard. Very ambient. Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar formed Beequeen in the winter of 1988. Joseph Beuys, a German conceptual artist who often used the image of the 'queen bee', originally inspired the name. The music of Beequeen, like most music, is hard to describe. Music-wise Beequeen has grown out of the ambient-industrial scene to a sound of their own, combining rhythms, environmental recordings, post-rock and electronics using melancholical keyboards and guitars, sounds and samples, all mixed into dense layered organic music. However, best remains to listen to their music as a single tone says more than a thousand words. The music of Beequeen is available worldwide from various labels and distributors. Seek and ye shall find. In 2000 Frans and Freek formed their private label Plinkity Plonk. In 2001 the Beequeen side-project Wander was formed. Wander concentrates on drone recordings often using treated organ sounds as sound source. In 2003 Beequeen toured the United States and performed the last set of the tour in Reykjavik, Iceland. Frans and Freek are friendly people, ready to communicate and share their thoughts with others. They also have a nice sense of humour. Most of the time.(biography used with permission)

See also: Waard, Frans de

 


Beesmunt Soundsystem (Netherlands)

Suikerplein (2022) (EP)

Dutch duo with a tight, mechanical style obviously indebted to Kraftwerk on Suikerplein. I don't know anything about their other releases at the moment.

 


Begg, Michael (UK)

Fragile Pitches (2010) (with Colin Potter)
Dirt On Earth: A Pocket of Resistance (2012) (with Human Greed)
OMEGA: ost (2013) (with Human Greed)
Hivernant (2015) (with Human Greed)
A Moon That Lights Itself (2016)
Let the Cold Stove Sing (2016) (with Human Greed)
New Town Nocturnes (2016) (with Chris Connelly)
Titan: A Crane Is A Bridge (2017)
Vanitas (2019)
Sonambulo (2019)
Two Gather In the Waiting Room (2020) (with Hans-Joachim Roedelius)
Moonlight And Sentiment (2022)

Experimental musician who likes to use sound sculptures in his works. On Titan, a giant industrial installation in the form of an old crane was used to produce haunting sounds that were then processed with strings and electronics to produce a gloomy, hypnotic ambient sound.

 


Begg, Si (UK)

Blueprints (2017)

A stalwart of techno / club music (real name - Simon Begg). Blueprints is a change of style for him, with most tracks being beat-free and atmospheric, based on the sound of analog synthesizers and multiple sequences (very Prog EM-friendly sound here and at times really impressive, especially when he throws in several sequences at the same time, creating a real electronic wall-of-sound). The music was inspired by a recently discovered notebook that belonged to Begg's grandfather and contains detailed diagrams of compressors and air ducts.

 


Begin, Jerome (USA)

9 Experiments (??)

Composer of dance theater scores and electronic / ambient musician from Ohio.

 


Begotten, The (Belgium)

Temidden laaghangende Wolken (2021)

Brecht Ameel and Jürgen De Blonde plus drummer Dirk Wachtelaer. Same style as Kohier.

See also: Kohier, Köhn.

 


Beheat Gorum de Mentheurd (Italy)

The Frostbitten Path (2013)
Villissä pohjolassa (2014)
Abendstimmung über einer Dorfstraße (2015)
Sommerabend (2015) (S)
The Voyage of Life (2016)
Portraits (2017)
Beheat Gorum de Mentheurd (2017)
Endzeit (2018)

Imagine if Tangerine Dream decided to play back metal... Nah, they still wouldn't sound like that. This project (Riccardo Zanella) takes black metal as the basis. However, the sound is so drenched in electronics that it actually becomes another type of music completely. The overdriven guitars are nowhere to be heard, or are buried deep in the mix, the folky elements are in, the mellotrons and flutes are in and the synths galore are in as well. Even the typical black metal hoarse vocals are processed to the point where they become just another (electronic) instrument. I would describe the sound as a hybrid of black metal, progressive rock and EM which is probably the best I can do. Sometimes it ventures into pure EM / Ambient as well. Unique stuff and one to look out for.

See also: Thee Void

 


Beherit (Finland)

H418ov21.C (1994)
Electric Doom Synthesis (1996)
Bardo Exist (2020)

Black metal band whose first experiments with electronics date back to the 1990's. On albums like H418ov21.C and Electric Doom Synthesis, they've created a mixture of doomy atmospheres, some black metal "hoarse" or "growling" vocals and electronic rhythms. Not completely EM, but has the vibe and will interest those EM fans with an open mind. Bardo Exist is their comeback release and it is pleasantly electronic again.

See also: Suuri Shamaani

 


Behind the Trees (Finland)

Behind the Trees EP (2021) (EP)

A mixture of flowing and rhythmic tracks, with touches of Ambient, World Music, acid, psychedelia and Ashra.

 


Behold... The Arctopus (USA)

Interstellar Overtrove (2023)

New York-based drums / warr guitar / guitar trio with extremely complex music. Technically speaking, this is electric / electroacoustic, not electronic, but the extensive use of the Simmons electronic drums, as well as guitar synths make his one a worthy inclusion. Musically, this is something for fans of math rock, the most complex Zappa, King Crimson, with a strong electronic touch. File under EM-related.

 


Beholdus (???)

The Castle of Terror (2023)

The 2023 release by Beholdus is a soundtrack to a 1990's Japanese boardgame with the same name. Obscure, moody and dark synth themes.

 


Behrens, Tom (USA)

Artificial Horizons (1974)

Obscure electronics. It has atmospheric sections, Tangerine Dream-like sequences, funny beeps and bleeps etc.

 


Beifer (Germany)

Constant Transition (2023)

Munich-based artist. A mishmash of styles - from bass music / garage / dubstep to flashy electronic jazz with solos galore to breakbeat / drum'n'bass and piano interludes. Well, I guess the title of the album should serve as a clue. Not everything here is progressive, but the prog EM element is really strong on some tracks.

 


Being (UK)

Tides (1995)
Monthly Transmission August (1995) (EP)
Monthly Transmission September (1995) (EP)
Monthly Transmission October (1995) (EP)
Selected Transmissions / Point Two (1995)
Two Lone Swordsmen And A Being (1996) (S) (with Two Lone Swordsmen)
Memory of Haste (2008)
Deteriorate (2010)
Broxburn Funk (2021)
There (2022) (recorded in 1992 - 1995)

Scottish artist Dave Paton started recording in the early 1990's, combining the sound of the nascent ambient techno with classic EM sounds.

 


Beingthere (UK)

Postcards (1993)

Beingthere is the pseudonym of British musician and artist M.A Livsey. The cassette collection of tracks called Postcards was re-released on CD as A Sense of Beingthere.

 


Beiruth (Spain)

Horizonte de Sucesos (2009)

Spanish band that plays improvised space rock jams that are heavy on the electronics. Reminds on Agitation Free, Ashra, Can, Tangerine Dream and more, with a unique touch. Beiruth consists of Juan Angel Gomez (guitar, synths), Jesus Arnaiz (bass, synths) and Charlie Segura (drums).

 


Beispiel (Germany)

Muster (2022)

Modular synth duo of Frank Bretschneider and Jan Jelinek. Good for fans of Experimental EM.

See also: Jelinek, Jan

 


Beka, The (Turkey)

Mixed Metaphor (2022)

Turkish artist with a varied style - mostly atmospheric and cinematic, a bit influenced by early electronic and sci-fi sounds.

 


Bekkering, Michel (Netherlands)

DemoTEC (2005)
Minstrel electronique (2008)
Cosmopolitan Dances (2010)

Member of ModularWhite. The second album is very Berlin School. The first one is more diverse with even a techno influence.

See also: White, ModularWhite.

 


Bela (South Korea)

Why Are You So Lost Sweetie (2019)
2020 (2020)
Guidelines (2021) (S)

Korean artist who likes to use repetition to hypnotizing effect, relying on sequences or arpeggios.

 


Belacqua (Ireland)

Sand & Coppers (2022) (S)

Rhythmic, repetitive, somewhat lo-fi music between The Art of Noise and Moebius.

 


Belarisk (USA)

Belarisk (2011)
Belarisk (2011)
On Amorphous Dawn (2013)
Moments in Shapeshifting (2016)
Greys, Escaped (2016)

Providence, Rhode Island-based project of Edward Tindall. Sort of accessible and melodic but with traits of Experimental EM. The two untitled albums from 2011 contain different music.

 


Belbury Poly (UK)

From An Ancient Star (2009)
The Belbury Tales (2012)
Other Voices 09 (2017) (S) (with Moon Wiring Club)
Other Voices 10 (2018) (S) (with Sharron Kraus)
Chanctonbury Rings (2019) (with Justin Hopper & Sharron Kraus)
The Gone Away (2020)
The Path (2023)

Belbury Poly is Jim Jupp aka Eric Zann. He is influenced by vintage library music and 60's electronic avant-garde. At least the above albums should be of interest to EM fans.

See also: Zann, Eric

 


Belda, Juan (Spain)

Juan Belda (1986)

Keyboardist and composer of theater and TV scores from Tenerife, Spain. This is his debut solo album that is split between sample-heavy and rhythmic industrial-influenced songs and some softer, more melodic and cosmic material that might be interesting for EM fans. He then went on to release La Pasión which took a different direction altogether and was split between vocal songs and neo-classical tracks. There is also a third solo album and a collaboration with Hugo Westerdahl. I don't know much about these at the moment.

 


Belfi, Andrea (Italy)

Alveare (2017) (recorded in 2007 - 2016)
Ore (2017)
Strata (2019)
Eternally Frozen (2023)

Italian drummer who combines his drum / percussion playing with electronics. The above works may interest fans of the more experimental forms of EM. Further investigation is needed.

 


Belial's Demon (Finland)

Cosmic Hammer (2014)

Electronic / occult soundscape project of Mikko Gronholm, member of black / death metal band Belial.

 


Belief (USA / Australia)

Belief (2022)

A duo of Bryan Hollon and Stella Mozgawa. On the one hand, they are clearly influenced by acid / house music. On the other hand, they are definitely Prog-sounding on slower / non-rhythmic tracks. A fringe / crossover project. Best track on the debut: "Charch".

 


Belka's Moving Soundscapes (Germany)

Wasser & Luft (2021)
Mensch & Erde (2022)

Stephan Belka is a German musician and guitar player. As Belka's Moving Soundscapes, he composes dynamic instrumental tracks that mix his guitar playing with electronics in a way similar to other EM artists with a large guitar presence, like Frank Dorittke or Maxxess.

 


Bell (USA)

Secrets From A Distant Star (2017)
Enigma Calling (2021)

Relentless, energetic synth-sequencer / Berlin School music with elements of power electronics and industrial.

 


Bell, Jake (USA)

Synjase (1998)
Awake In My Flying Dream (2014)
Transonic Angels (2017)

Mix of electronic guitar and ambient electronics from ex-member of Silver Apples.

See also: Silver Apples

 


Bell Mountain (USA)

Bell Mountain (2016)
Tertiary Colors (2018) (S)

Sort of ethereal, melodic synth compositions, imbued in echo and a bit lo-fi. Bell Mountain is a New Orleans-based duo of Geoff Dumont and Scott Campbell.

 


Bellanti, Cosmo (???)

Aurachrome (2014) (EP)

Ethereal / hypnotic Ambient and Space Music.

 


Bellatrix (Poland)

Transmission (2013)
Dream (2017)
Cosmic Dust (2019)

Spacesynth project of Waldemar Żywica.

 


Bellatrix? (Italy)

Anime solitaire cassette 001 (2016) (S)
Anime solitaire cassette 002 (2018) (S)

Synthesizer project from Verona. Between ambient sound and minimal synth. Sometimes based on dramatic chords.

 


Bellayoh (France)

Rings of Saturn (2017)

 


Bellerophone (Greece)

10 Songs For Polaroids And Playmobils (2006)
Sonic Sculptures (2010)
Do You Feel Lucky? (2015)
Illusion of Safety (2015)
Straw Dog (2016)

Bellerophone is Dimitris Santziliotis from Athens who uses primarily analog instruments. Do You Feel Lucky? contains music inspired by Cluster.

 


Bellino, Thomas J. (USA)

Star Gods of the Ancient Americas (1983)

This is Thomas J. Bellino's soundtrack piece to an exhibition at the Museum of the American Indian. It is a combination of soft, flowing EM and traditional Indian flute music. Sort of new-agey, World Music sound. For fans of Emerald Web perhaps.

 


Bello, Joakin (Chile)

Detras del Alcoiris (1987)

A sedate work, blending synths, nature samples and acoustic instruments. This album was released privately in Chile in 1987 and re-released a year later in the USA as Beyond the Rainbow.

 


Bells of Kyoto (Switzerland)

Bells of Kyoto (1984)

Swiss quartet playing highly synthesized jazz fusion. Some sections and tracks may be considered as EM-related.

 


Belote, William (USA)

Mind Sailing (1989)

 


Beltrán, Carlos (Mexico)

Jericho (1987)

Sequential electronics ala 80's Tangerine Dream mixed with classical piano playing and ambient atmospheres. Carlos Beltrán (1956 - 2017) was a musician and multi-instrumentalist based in Mexico City.

 


Beltran, John (USA)

Espais (2015)
Everything At Once (2016)
Moth (2017)
Hallo Androiden (2019)
The Season Series (2020)
La Mañana EP (2020) (EP)
Ten Days of Blue (Live At Dekmantel) (2023)
Pyramiden (2023) (with zakè and Markus Guentner)
Serendipia (2023)

Varied electronic artist, mostly within IDM and various forms of techno. Espais is an ambient work, though, with a hazy, somewhat classically-inspired sound but also lo-fi / industrial touches. Interestingly enough, the album ends with a Vangelis-like, symphonic, cinematic synth drift ("The Warning Storm"). Both Everything At Once and Moth are mostly varied forms of IDM / techno, but include some ambient tracks as well. John Beltran has been releasing music at least since the 1990's.

 


Belvedere (France??)

Les eaux froides (2017) (S)

Hyperactive synth-sequencer. Long tracks.

 


Belzébuth Zéro (Canada)

Dans la chevelure de Bérénice (2018) (S)

Guillaume P. Trépanier is a Quebecois musician and synthesist. Dans la Chevelure de Bérénice features nice, spacey, if somewhat sparse, EM. Would sound good in a dark sci-fi movie about cosmos.

See also: Ithildin, Pantagruel.

 


BeM (France / Brazil)

Electronic duo from France that included Jean Bonnefoy (of Los Gonococcos fame) and young Brazilian designer / keyboardist Sergio Macedo.

See also: Dicotyledon

 


Bemus Point, The (USA)

Infra Dig (2005)
Pand Andia Mor (2021)

Diverse electronic compositions from this duo, from the melodic to the experimental. Overall sounds like a mixture of prog EM and contemporary glitch / laptop techno.

See also: Electric Golem, The

 


Benally, Kino (USA)

Nihimá Nahasdza​́​a​́​n (2022)

Diné (Navajo) musician from New Mexico. He seems to have a club / techno background, but Nihimá Nahasdza​́​a​́​n is his "introversion" album, featuring mostly soft acoustic / electronic arrangements and a few vocal injections, plus soft 4/4 rhythms on some tracks. Pretty diverse stuff overall and some of the the more atmospheric numbers could pass as "ambient" I guess, although the only track with a pronounced EM feel is the criminally short "K'aalógii", with it's cosmic, arpeggiated analog synths reminding on Michael Stearns in his prime years (circa The Planetary Unfolding).

 


Benckhuijsen, Jaco (Netherlands)

Man in het Wild (2021)

Dutch traveler, adventurer and musician who travels to the remotest shores of the Earth's oceans in his solo kayak. Man In Het Wild is sort of a soundtrack to those adventures. It is mostly piano-based music, but there are also elements of ambient EM.

 


Bender, Peter Dominik (Germany)

Caladan (1991)
Arrakis - Der Wustenplanet (1993)

This synthesist's works are inspired by the "Dune" universe. All titles of his releases took their names from Frank Herbert's novel.

 


Benderr, Jon (USA)

Observer (2020)

Ohio-based synthesist between synthwave, cyberpunk atmospheres and Progressive EM. Steady rhythms, rich synths and lots of processed / autotuned vocals. If you like sequencing, there is quite a bit of it on Observer as well.

 


Benders, Colin (Netherlands)

Kytecrash (2011) (with Eric Vloeimans)
In the Nick of Time (2017)
Floaty Things (2020)
Rigmarole (2021)

Dutch synthesist who prefers to work with large modular systems and other analog machines. Nice EM with sort of a big symphonic sound, nice melodies and sequences galore.

 


Bendu (USA)

Light Leak (2015) (EP)
Silent Mind (2020)
Sagittarius (2021)
Super Hit (2022) (S)
Portaling (2023)

Bendu performs live using modular systems, with music ranging from vaguely melodic to abstract.

 


Bene, An & Lambow, Pierre (USA)

Sustained Space (1983)

An Bene was A Produce's girlfriend at the beginning of the 1980's. And Pierre Lambow was his collaborator (both A Produce and Pierre Lambow played in the rock group "The Blank Ensemble" in the 1970's). By this connection you can guess that the style of this release is pretty ambient. Pierre Lambow left this world in 1992.

 


Beneath the Lake (USA)

Inside Passage (2002)
Silent Uprising (2005)

Dark Ambient by Wisconsin duo of Nicolas Lampert and Dave Canterbury.

 


Benedictis, Dean De (USA)

A Lone Reply (2000)
Salvaging the Past (2005)
A Cambient Variations (2008)
Salvaging the Present (2016)

Californian synthesist. Ambient music reminiscent of Steve Roach and Robert Rich.

See also: Surface 10, Cathexis, Desensitized.

 


Beneficiaries, The (USA)

The Crystal City If Alive (2020)

Concept work marrying poetry and music by the trio of Jessica Care More, Jeff Mills and Eddie Fowlkes. The music is progressive and electronic.

See also: Mills, Jeff

 


Benét, Donny (Australia)

Le piano (2022) (S)

Funky synth instrumentals from this Australian bassist. The most relevant track on Le Piano is the upbeat closer "Passanger", with its syncopated multi-tracked sequences and rich pads.

 


Bengalfuel (USA)

Feldspar (2010) (S)
Toth (2011) (S)
Lowe (2011) (S)
Edgemere (2011) (S)
Sprague (2011) (S)
Kokolias (2011)
Roeblin (2012)
Forshee (2013)
Stehr (2014)
Rapalyea (2015)
Auriemma (2021)

Prolific ambient soundscape duo of Lou DiBenedetto and Joe LiTrenta. Most of their releases to date have been download-only.

 


Benge (UK)

Beautiful Electronic Music (1996)
Silicon Valleys (2000)
Twenty Systems (2008)
Loop Series (2012)
Abstraxa (2012)
The Dreamer (2022)
The View From Vega (2023)

Ben Edwards uses vintage synthesizers to experiment with sounds.

See also: Ghost Harmonic, Oblong.

 


Benisch, Peter (Sweden)

Lindego (1998)
Waiting For Snow (1999)
Phases (2000) (S) (with Adam Beyer)
Soundtrack Saga (2001)

Modern Ambient music on Fax label. Somehow comparable to Pete Namlook.

 


Benjamin, Bastian (Netherlands)

Two Truths (2021)

This artist mixes grime / bass music with Progressive Electronic. Nice TD moods on the closer ("Migration").

 


Benkho, Frank (Chile)

The Revelation According To Frank Benkho (2014) (S)
A Trip To the Space [Between] (2016)

Chilean musician and experimentator also known as Mika Martini. He is into live improvisations with analog instruments.

 


Benko, Laszlo (Hungary)

Lexicon (1982)
Lexicon 2 (1984)
Ikarosz (1989)
Omegamix (1991)
Impressio (1994)
Masik Vilag (2012)

Omega keyboardist (1943 - 2020). He made a few albums with melodic, almost pop EM.

 


Bennett, Brian (UK)

Voyage (1978)
Fantasia (1980)
Nature Watch (1982)
Themes (??) (with Alan Hawkshaw)

Drummer from The Shadows with his solo electronic works. The first one is a rare electronic album with prominent rhythm while Nature Watch is a library LP with ambient, floating EM. Fantasia is a library album as well. He has other albums that are of no interest to EM fans.

 


Bennett, John Also (USA)

Thoughts of A Dot As It Travels A Surface (2018) (with Christina Vantzou)
Erg Hebre (2019)
Landscape Architecture (2020) (with Christina Vantzou)
Extratool: Half (2022) (S) (with Christina Vantzou)
Out There In the Middle of Nowhere (2022)
Κ​λ​ί​μ​α (2023) (with Christina Vantzou)

Ambient synthesizer compositions from member of Seabat. Also some nice flute playing here.

See also: Seabat, Forma.

 


Benner, Marc (USA)

Mezuzah (2009) (S)
Obstructing Self-Reflection (2017)

Although known mainly as a noise artist, Marc Benner released some droning works under his real name that could be enjoyed by fans of Ambient.

 


Benoît And the Mandelbrots (Germany)

Benoît And the Mandelbrots (2016)

Unusual trio from Cologne. They use live computer coding on laptops to create improvised compositions that range from rhythmic to abstract and noisy. Different, but definitely Prog-influenced stuff.

 


Benoit B (Germany??)

Japonaiserie (2017)
Vague à l'âme (2018) (EP)
Notes of Love (2020)
Kismet (2022)

Atmospheric and rhythmic electronics influenced by 1980's Japanese EM.

 


Bensette Aux Bois, Mark (USA)

Tiera (2007)
Roses (2007)

Arizona-based Space Music artist.

 


Bent, William (USA)

Sirius Lullabye (1983)

Little-known synthesist from San-Francisco area. This is his rare cassette release.

 


Bent, Win (USA)

Wet Weather Creek (2011)
Stormy, Wetter (2015)
This Time (2019)
Gli altri (2023)

Ambient artist, with a wet, nature-inspired sound, enriched by some field recordings and classical / acoustic instrumentation from time to time. Music for rainy weather, fog, humid mornings and creeks.

 


Bentley, Michael (USA)

This World (2006)
Archai (2018)

Dark soundscapes. Pretty deep and minimal sound.

See also: Rhomb, eM, Mollusk, Apiary, The.

 


Beokraft (Serbia)

The Time Machine (2022)

Electronic band put together by three members of different 1980's synth-pop bands: Dejan Stanisavljević (Beograd), Zoran Jevtić (Data and others) and Nikolaj Bežek (Consequential). Expect stiff rhythms, repeating melodies and lots of robotic voices.

 


Berar, Angad (India)

Elephants On the Beach (2019)

Multi-instrumentalist from New Delhi who plays everything on Elephants On the Beach, except for the drums. His focus is the spacey, bluesy guitar playing, and he also plays bass and keyboards. He has a definite krautrock attitude, with a touch of Indian musical traditions. He does use effects and electronics a lot, although I would say that his music seems to stick more to the "kraut" end of the spectrum as opposed to "EM". If you like the music of Agitation Free, though, do check him out. Also recommended for fans of krautrock in general, including the motorik-based forms.

 


Berbel Nobodius (UK)

Wanton But Windblown (1988)

Supposedly, melodic Ambient by one Melvyn Z. Pad from Ipswich.

 


Berceau des Volontés Sauvages (France)

Seuil (2019)

Lyon-based duo of Alban Jamin and Joost van der Weerd. Darkish electronics and guitar dirges (plus some percussion) with a krautrock attitude. Often with an Heldon feel.

 


Berces, Adam (Hungary)

A Classical Collection: 2006 - 2011 (2012)

Minimal synth / industrial artist from Hungary. The above is a Wendy Carlos-styled collection of classical pieces arranged for analog synthesizers.

 


Berg, Christian (Norway)

Skogsro (2020)

Per Christian Berg is a member (bassist) of Wind. Here, it's just him in an ambient mould.

 


Berg, Hans (Sweden)

Dream Maker (2017)
Sounds of the Forest Forgotten (2019)

Techno-related artist who has a tendency to use EM / Ambient sounds in his work. Of interest are large stretches of Dream Maker and "Butterfly" / "Glow Worm" from Sounds of the Forest Forgotten.

 


Bergelt, Styrbjorn (Sweden)

Randalin (1986) (with Roland Håkansson)

Private LP that combines medieval instruments with synthesizers.

 


Bergen, Hagen von (Germany)

Ei Allemol (2014)

Diverse synthesist from Germany, ranges from darkish Ambient to experimental and rhythmic / melodic.

 


Berger, Bodo (Germany)

Wasserklänge (1992)

Long-form Ambient combining water sounds and electronics.

 


Berger, Flavien (France)

Glitter Glaze (2013) (EP)
Mars balnéaire (2014) (EP)
Leviathan (2015)
Contre-temps (2018)
Radio contre-temps (2020)
De la friche (2021)

Typically French mixture of street sounds, dialogues, synth pop and varied EM, from rhythmic / sequencer to ambient.

 


Bergie Seltzer (Albania)

Marooned (2009)

Synth duo with an ambient, droney sound.

 


Berglund, Anna-Karin (Sweden)

Ambient Morning (2019) (with Slim Vic)
Marianengraven (2020)
Ambient Night (2023) (with Slim Vic)

Nice ambient synth compositions, relaxing and deep.

 


Bergman, Steven (USA)

Slumberland (1982)

Steven Bergman is a new age musician, mostly flute player, but also focusing on guitar, keyboards and other instruments. His main output is new age in the classic sense - music for relaxation, meditation, lullabies, Celtic motives, etc. On Slumberland, subtitled "Naptime Music for Children and Adults", he focuses on synthesizers, together with a guy named William Bolthouse, who provides more synths. There are also guitar and flute in supporting roles. I don't know how much of the album will be relevant for EM aficionados, I've heard only one track which struck me as a kind of Ashra's "Ocean of Tenderness" type of thing. In fact, most of the sounds, the structure, the melodic progression - everything here is very similar to that classic track by Manuel Goettschning, so I thought it was worthy of inclusion.

 


Bergonzi, Luigi (Italy)

For Astronauts N.1 (??)

See also: Plin

 


Bergrizen (Ukraine)

Winter Suicide / Verzweiflung (2023) (recorded in 2007 and 2008)

Black metal act from Ukraine. The Winter Suicide / Verzweiflung release contains only ambient material - a a demo from 2007 and a "winter synth" work from 2008. As expected, rather simplistic sound here, albeit atmospheric.

 


Bergström, Alfia V. (Russia??)

Drevle (2023) (soundtrack)

Electronic / ambient soundtrack.

 


Bergström, Matti (Finland)

The Forgotten Horizon (1980)

A theater piece by this Finnish composer (1938 - 1994). For fans of the more avant / experimental end of the EM spectrum.

 


Bergtatt (USA)

Traversing Celestial Realms (2018)
Lunar Mysteries (2018) (S)
Labyrinthine Subterranean Passages (2019) (S)

Colorado-based artist. Although clearly influenced by the dungeon synth genre, this is much closer to Ambient and related sounds.

See also: Black Cavern

 


Beriau, Robert (Canada)

Falling Back To Where I Began (2005)

Instrumental progrock with a strong electronic element (the music is synth-dominated most of the time) by keyboardist of Qwaarn. He would go on to release another album that has vocals and is a full-blown progrock effort. File under EM-related.

 


Beridze, Natalie (Georgia)

Of Which One Knows (2022) (recorded in 2007 - 2012)

Music between neo-classical, ambient soundscapes and avant-pop.

 


Berikoni (Georgia)

გზა = The Way (1991) (recorded in 1990)

Gerogian art rock / pop ensemble. Of interest is side A of their The Way LP, occupied by the long suite "მუმლი მუხასა = Мумли Мухаса", which is sort of a rock / electronic instrumental focusing on synths / keyboards and electric guitar, with some background choirs, etc. Pretty bombastic, but also nice to listen to. Side B contains pop songs and is rather forgettable, although not necessarily bad.

 


Berk, Ernest (UK)

Ernest Berk (??)
Electronic Music For Two Ballets (2019) (recorded in 1970)

British electronic pioneer.

 


Berkeley, Ryan (Australia??)

HIM005 (2018)

The first side of HIM005 is strinctly analog, warm EM with just a touch of dance. Side two is dedicated to techno / house, though.

 


Berkley, Michael Thomas (USA)

No Boundaries (1996)
Dramatic World Ambient Music (1996)
Images From Earth (1998)
Arctic (2000)

Electronic Music in the style of Steve Roach’s Ambient works with a good dose of Tangerine Dream tossed in.

 


Berkow, Peter & Friends (USA)

Thesis (1975)

University rock / jazz / psych / folk / whatever band formed by Peter Berkow that released a few albums during the 1970's. This is their debut that, apart from the varied rock or acoustic-based material, reportedly features a long experimental electronic track. Further investigation is needed.

 


Berkowitz, Steven (USA)

EC (s) TASIS (1991)
Dis / Recon (1992)

Space Music / Ambient.

 


Berlin Express (Germany)

The Russians Are Coming (1982) (S)

An EP-length record by Conrad Schnitzler and his son Gregor. Motorik-like krautrock rhythms mixed with some prog influences and even a bit of "vocal". Peter Baumann helps with the production and some sources state that he also plays on this release.

See also: Schnitzler, Conrad

 


Berlin Heritage (Germany)

Land of the Rising Sun (2012)

Berlin School project by Hannover-based musician Robert Sigmuntowski.

 


Berlin Wedding Electronics (Belgium)

Berlin Wedding Electronics (??)

Music by Han Swolfs.

 


Berman, Mark (Netherlands)

Vlam Variations (2017) (S)

Amsterdam-based sound explorer and modular synth artist. Percussive, minimal, repetitive, hypnotic...

 


Berman, Nathan (Canada)

Loop (1984)

Privately released cassette with varied EM, from ambient to TD-like pulsations.

 


Bermann, Günter (Germany)

Heilende Träume (2019) (recorded in 1991)

Relaxing, new-agey music.

 


Bermond, Pascal (France)

Anthropocène (2018)
Ego a gogo (2019)

Self-taught artist from France. Anthropocène is his third album. Mostly upbeat (and pretty forgettable if you ask me) trance music here. However, there's also the long, epic title track that is dark, ambient and atmospheric and brings up images of Blade Runner even. Now, that is pure class. Even its rhythmic final part in New Berlin School style works, big time. Further investigation is needed.

 


Bermuda Link (USA)

Observe (2009)
Exit (2009)
Depth Quench (2009)
Wet Ruby Channels (2009)
Present Clearance (2009)
Sapphire Coast (2009) (S)
Trapped In Fantasy (2009) (S)
Night Pearls (2009)
Scarlet Hitch (2009)
Mind Swipe (2009) (S)
Chase (2009) (S)
Passed Lives (2013)

Droning ambient soundscapes by Jeffry Astin and Josh Burke. Did I already mention that the latter was kind of prolific?

See also: Burke, Josh

 


Bermuda Triangle, The (Italy)

Sketches From Space (2018)

Alternative project of the group known as The True Underground Sounds of Rome. While that latter one made a name as one of Italy's pioneering techno collectives in the early 1990's underground, on Sketches From Space, a more atmospheric, ambient and EM-oriented approach is heard. Some tracks still have that techno influence via rhythms / beats etc., but overall this is moving in the ambient / EM direction for sure.

 


Bernard, James (USA)

Atmospherics (1994)
Atwater (2019)
Fragments (2019)
Unreleased Works (2021)
Departing In Descent (2022) (with bvdub)
Hearkeneth (2022) (with zakè and Marc Ertel)
Live At the Gothic Chapel (2023) (with
zakè, Marc Ertel and From Overseas)
Soft Octaves (2023) (with Anthène)

Known in the techno circles, James Bernard released this unique atmospheric electronic album in 1994. The music has even some similarities to 1970's Tangerine Dream.

See also: Awakened Souls

 


Bernard, Marie (Canada)

Ondes à l'âme (2012)

Marie Bernard Pagé is a composer, writer and actress. She is also a keyboardist and former member of synth-pop trio Soupir. The above album is an ambient affair, focusing on the haunting and romantic sounds of the Ondes Martenot.

 


Bernheim, Jay (USA)

View From An Escape Pod (2019)

Texan artist with a mixture of rhythmic (often influenced by house music) and ambient styles.

 


Bernier, Nicolas (Canada)

Transfert/Futur (2017)

Montreal-based experimental artist. The above is an album with two long slabs of cerebral, highly explorative electronics that fans of the general Experimental genre will enjoy.

 


Bernocchi, Eraldo (Italy)

Music For 'Fragments From the Inside' (2005) (with Harold Budd)
Winter Garden (2012) (with Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd)
Omnipresence (2015)
Blackwood - As the World Rots Away (2016)
In Praise of Shadows (2016) (with Shinkiro)
Invisible Strings (2016) (with Prakash Sontakke)
Himuro (2017) (with Netherworld)
Solitary Universe (2018) (with Chihei Hatakeyama)
Along the Corridors (2018) (with Blackfilm)
Like A Fire That Consumes All Before It (2018)
Mujo (2020) (with Hoshiko Yamane)
VÍK (2023) (with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Stereo Hypnosis)
Sabi (2023) (with Hoshiko Yamane)

Italian ambient soundscape artist. I omitted his early works that are supposed to be much more IDM / drum and bass influenced.

See also: Helix

 


Bernstein, Charles (USA)

Dance Scapes (1990)

Well-known film music composer.

 


Bernstein, Michael R. (USA)

Slower Learn (2020)
Blind In Sight (2021)

Aka Mike Bernstein and Workbench. Washington, D.C.-based experimental composer. Slower Learn is his exploration of repetitive electronics and minimalism.

 


Berregaard, Emily (USA)

A Poem (2018)
Come Inside (2018) (S)
Waiting + Remixes (2021) (S)

Diverse experimental artist from Ann Arbor. She uses both her voice and electronics. A Poem will be enjoyed by fans of moody ambient soundscapes.

 


Berry, Keith (UK)

The Golden Boat (2003)
Buddha's Mile (2004)
A Strange Feather (2005)
Turn Left A Thousand Feet From Here (2005)
The Ear That Was Sold To A Fish (2005)
The Cartesian Plane (2010)
Towards the Blue Peninsula (2013)
Elixir (2017)
Simulacra (2017)
Viable Systems 1 (2017)
Viable Systems 2 (2019)
Viable Systems 3 (2020)
Viable Systems 4 (2021)
Viable Systems 5 (2022)
Viable Systems 6 (2023)

Droning music from this sound creator / manipulator.

 


Berry, Matt (UK)

Music For Insomniacs (2014)
The Small Hours (2016)
Night Terrors (2017)

Unexpected electronic album from this actor and musician, this one sees Matt playing analogue synthesizers in a floating Ambient / Space Music style. The Small Hours is a return to song-based format but there's also a long instrumental "Night Terrors", which in a way harkens back to the style of Music For Insomniacs.

 


Berry, Ron (UK)

Where Dark Forces Meet (1980)
A Voice In the Wilderness (1981)
Osiris (1983)
Wastelands (1984)
The Reaper (1986)
Profile '82 - '92 (1992)
Heavens & Highlands (1992)
Nightscape (2001)
The Mists of Time (2002)
Temples (2006)
Sun Dance (2007)
Void (2007)
Entropy (2010)

Ron Berry became interested in EM in 1972 and by 1974 he built his first synth. After playing with rock bands he switched to permorming synth music both in a two-man band format and as a soloist. His Electronic Music is very warm-sounding and is made with homebuilt analogue equipment. On latter albums he started adding a few digital instruments and the most interesting album in this regard is Nightscape, which was made using (mainly) digital sample-based sounds. This album is perfect for late night listening. As for Osiris, it's terrific stuff. At times melodic, at times moody and atmospheric. Several sections of this album will lead any fan of classic Electronic Music to an orgasm. With just the right amount of elements from all the greats, Ron Berry creates floating and atmospheric analogue music which is totally individual and unique. Ron is one of the few who realize the power of analogue synthesis and wisely explore its infinite possibilities. How on Earth did this music avoid the exposure it deserves, is beyond me, because it certainly ranks up there with the best EM masterpieces.

See also: Out of Control

 


Bersarin Quartett (Germany)

Methoden und Maschinen (2019)
Systeme (2023)

Varied project of Thomas Bücker (mostly post-rock / neo-classical). Methoden und Maschinen has a definite EM vibe to it. Further investigation is needed.

 


Bertanie (France??)

Across the Red Line (1998)

 


Bertelmann, Volker (Germany)

The Dive (2024) (soundtrack) (with Raffael Seyfried)

Electronic soundtrack with an immersive atmosphere. Some sequencing as well.

See also: Hauschka

 


Berthelon, Valentina (Chile)

Perfect Immortal Machine (2022)

Totally unique style from this Chilean artist based in Berlin. Loaded with voice samples and strange rhythms, it's like taking Kraftwerk's Electric Cafe and expanding on these ideas, going deeper and deeper into the 21st Century world of cybernetic creatures, metaverses, vocaloids, robotics and AI.

See also: Recent Arts

 


Berti, Diana (Italy)

Tragedy of the Uncommons (2015)
The Hand That Seeds Death - Part I (2020)

Actually a pseudonym of Francesco Baudazzi, with music influenced by vintage Giallo scores and EM / Ambient from the 1980's.

 


Bertoli, Stefano (Italy)

Eleven Faces And Forty Two Arms (2020)
Kawaakari (2020) (with Daniela Biasoletto)

 


Bertoni, Martina (Germany??)

All the Ghosts Are Gone (2020)
Music For Empty Flats (2020)
Hypnagogia (2023)

Berlin-based cellist and composer. A moody and at times edgy mixture of processd cello and electronics.

 


Bertozzi, Armando (Italy)

Fantastic World (1985)

Italian drummer. Fantastic World is a fusion-y drum showcase type of record. However, on this particular release synths are also used extensively, and some sections are pure electronics, mixed with the drumming mayhem, of course. As a result, we are dealing an EM-related record here.

 


Bertram, Matthew (USA)

SPACE (2017)

Dark Space. Long tracks. First there was Zeit. And now there's Space.

 


Bertrand, Ben (Belgium)

NGC 1999 (2018)
Manes (2020)

Music for bass clarinet and electronics. Between modern classical, minimalism and EM.

 


Bertrom, Cabot Jr. (USA)

When Children Sleep (2000)

Daniel Byerly. Dark.

See also: Cacophony, Synthuser, DiBane, Lee.

 


Berts, Sara (Italy)

Ayni (2021)
Braiding Fragments (2022)

Wonderful ambient EM created by this Turin-based artist using processed field recordings and Buchla Music Easel. Dedicated to and inspired by the world of plants.

 


Berz, Simon (Switzerland)

What We Talk About: Simon Berz (2022)

Drummer with a knack for combining drums and electronics. Rough, noisy, experimental, but also dynamic and wild.

 


Besombes, Philippe (France)

Libra (1973) (soundtrack)
Besombes-Rizet (1975) (with Jean-Louis Rizet)
Ceci est cela (1979)
La guerre des animaux (1982)
City & Industry (1982) (with others)

Philippe Besombes appeared on the scene in the early 1970's doing concrete collages inspired by Stockhausen and Xeankis and synthesizer soundscapes. Some sources also say he jammed with Jean-Michel Jarre.

See also: Hydravion.

 


Bessell, Dave (UK)

Analogue (2010)
Morphogenic (2012) (with Parallel Worlds)
Black Horses of the Sun (2015)
Reality Engine (2020)
Inbetween (2020) (with Ishq)
Phosphenes (2021) (with Parallel Worlds)
Imaginator (2021) (with Liam Boyle)
Chromatic Lightning Cage (2024)

Solo music from member of Node Dave Bessell. Ethereal, dark, shadowy synthesizer soundscapes, some with Berlin School sequences.

See also: Node

 


Bessonov, Konstantin (Russia)

Sun Sets Low On Smear Hill (2021)

Free-form EM with drums, processed trumpet and synths. Abstract, sort of jazzy, but also with a feeling of puprose. Konstantin Bessonov is an artist based in Hamburg.

See also: uon duh

 


Bessuand, Pierre-Yves (France)

Odyssee (1998)
Tu vois ce qu'on veut dire? (1999)
Messe nuptiale en sol majeur (2002)

French synthesist. The style is not known. Pierre Bessuand discovered synthesizers in 1979. He then studied at the conservatory and started releasing his works in the 1990's. He also composed music for several films. Tu vois... seems to be some kind of musical comedy. Messe nuptiale... contains live music.

 


Best Before (UK)

The End of the World (1995)

Danceable energetic music. Can be described as a mixture of Asana and Orbital. Probably not very interesting.

See also: Mazmoneth, Mullaney, Nigel.

 


Best, Ben & Jørgensen, Karl (???)

Ben Best & Karl Jorgensen (2012)
Ben Best & Karl Jorgensen 2 (2012)

This lo-fi improvisational duo states to be influenced by the Berlin School and minimalism. However, they end up sounding like a hybrid of Neu! and Cluster most of the time.

See also: Jørgensen, Karl

 


Best, The (Germany)

I Am the Best (1984)

This was released on Klaus Schulze's Inteam label but the style is not known.

 


Bestia (USA)

Cracked Vessel (2020)
Variations On A Gem (2021) (S)

Texan artist making minimal, melodic, repetitive, cinematic EM with an ethnic flair.

 


Bestia Centauri (USA)

Ubbo-Sathla (2002) (EP)
The Antediluvian Earth (2003)
The Self Immolation Rite (2004)
Teratogenesis (2007)

Intense Ambient / Dark Space with elements of electroacoustic music.

 


Bestion, Philippe (France)

L’ete (1997)
La foret tropicale (1997)
Le lever du jour (1997)
Le rivage (1997)
Respirer (1999)
Aurores infinies - musique de lumière (2000)
La paix do soir - musique de tendresse (2000)
Ruisseaux de cristal - musique de douceur (2000)
Aurore boréale (2001)

French musician. Most of the above mentioned works are part of the huge ‘La Collection Oxygene’ set which also included music by other musicians.

 


Beta Cloud (USA)

An Open Letter To Franz Kafka (2007) (with Aidan Baker)
Nephology (2007)
Circadian Rhythm Disturbance (2008) (S)
Coptic Lament (??)
Lunar Monograph (2010)

Beta Cloud is Ambient artist Carl Pace from Buffalo, NY. He uses mostly analog electronic sources, guitars and processed acoustic instruments / sounds.

 


Beta Consciousness (Germany)

Synesthesia (2021)

A project of Frank Rumpelt in rhythmic style influenced by downtempo / chill out and melodic EM.

See also: 2xirtam

 


Betamaxx (USA)

Sarajevo (2021)

Betamaxx is a project of synthwave artist Nick Morey. On Sarajevo, dedicated to (and inspired by) 1984 Winter Olympics, he steps out of his comfort zone created by the limitations of the synthwave genre and into melodic / rhythmic EM territory very much informed by 1980's Tangerine Dream. Nice stuff.

 


Bettens, Eric (Belgium)

Entre ciel et mer (2009)
Empreinte (2012)
Antarctic Odyssey (2014)
Horizon (2020)

Melodic EM artist from Belgium, influenced by Jarre, Vangelis, etc.

 


Bettoni, Guy (France)

Synthetiseurs (1988)

Rare electronic LP by this synthesist, subtitled "Quand l'Electronique Devient Musique".

 


Betts, Adam (UK)

Colossal Squid (2016)

British drummer who uses a lot of samples and electronics for a rich and unique sound.

 


Between (Germany)

Einsteig (1971)
And the Waters Opened (1973)
Dharana (1974)
Hesse Between Music (1975)
Contemplation (1977)
Silence Beyond Time (1980)
Free Music (2022)

Led by Peter Michael Hamel, this band can be cosidered the pioneers of World Music. There are cosmic, quiet and majestic atmospheres, plenty of ethnic influences etc. Somewhat in the Popol Vuh vein, maybe, but with an individual character.

See also: Hamel, Peter Michael, Detree, Roberto.

 


Between Identity (USA)

Nocturnes (2016)
Redlands (2017)
The Wolves (2018)
Transmissions - Blue (2019)

Between Identity is Scott Rouse from Tusla, known for several other projects. Nocturnes is an album of ambient music recorded with a JX-3P synth.

 


Between Interval (Sweden)

Radio Silence (2004)
Secret Observatory (2005)
Autumn Continent (2006)
The Edge of A Fairytale (2009)
Legacy (2017)

Deep spacey atmospheres, floating electronics and subtle tonalities from Swedish artist Stefan Jönsson.

 


Beudeker/Knetsch (Netherlands)

Dark (2001)
Journey (2001)
Homeland (2001)
Art (2001)
Pure (2001)
More Or Less (2001)
Retrophonic (2001)
Photo-Realistic Can of Juice (2001)
Such Trouble (2002)
X (2002)
Sculp (2002)
Colonial (2002)
Canvas (2003)
Move (2003)
Yonder (2004)
As Room (2004)

Jaco Beudeker and Rob Knetsch of Novo Sibirsk. Electronic Music with experimental and jazzy touches.

See also: Novo Sibirsk, Electrance, Yaffin, Rok, Knetsch.

 


Bewater (Belgium)

Inside Sea (2021)

Varied ambient compositions from Belgium.

 


Bewider (Italy)

Full Panorama (2019)

Rich modular synth work, ranging from gently rhythmic and slightly danceable to atmospheric and experimental. Great and inventive EM by Piernicola Di Muro.

 


Beyer, Jens-Uwe (Germany)

Drums Off Chaos & Jens-Uwe Beyer (2011) (with Drums Off Chaos)
The Emissary (2015)
Yellow Book (2019) (with Albert Oehlen)

The Emissary is an unusual ambient album with a warm sound from this techno musician. Drums Off Chaos & Jens-Uwe Beyer combines his ambient atmospheres with live tribal drumming. Yellow Book continues his ambient experimentation, this time in collaboration with visual artist Albert Oehlen. It is a massive, 8-LP set.

See also: Cologne Tape

 


Beylis, Natalia (Ukraine)

Mermaids (2023)

Ukrainian electroacoustic / field-recordings / experimental / folk musician based in Ireland. The material on Mermaids is based on processed field recordings and the sounds of a CRB Diamond 708 E electronic keyboard. It is something between "environmental music", contemporary drone / ambient sounds and the earliest (circa Irrlicht), organ-based Klaus Schulze.

 


Beyond (Germany)

Shadeworld (2005)
Houkai (2005)

Dark Ambient.

 


Beyond (USA)

Head House Hold (2011)
Shroud (2011) (S)
No Man Moves (2011)
Native Desire (2012)

 


Beyond, The (UK)

Episcence (1987)
Electronic Awakening (2000) (S)
Psi-Fi (2001)
Pan-Tele-Tron (2001)
Shadow Music (2002)

This group was formed in 1986 as an ambient electronic side-project by members of indie rock band Sudden Afternoon. The lineup included Rob Warner, Matt Russell and Nick Ralph.The group is now reduced down to a solo project of Warner.

 


Beyond Berlin (Netherlands)

Music For Cosmic Nights 2013 (2013)
Fine Tunes (2017)
Totem (2019)
Epiphany (2021)
Live At Awakenings (2022)
World Gone Mad (2023)

Berlin School duo of Rene de Bakker and Martin Peters.

See also: Peters, Martin, De Bakker, Rene.

 


Beyond Imagination (UK)

Ride the Stars (??)

Beyond Imagination is Andrew Ford and the music featured on this album is supposedly boring stuff made with thin digital presets that will make you scream "bring on the moooog!!!"

 


Beyond Infinity (Belgium)

Lost Between Dreams And Memories (2004)

Minimalistic Dark Ambient.

See also: Insomnia, Simulacra.

 


Beyond O Matic (USA)

The Flight of Luis Garcia (1994)
Sonic Reclaimator (1996)
Your Body (1998)
Time To Get Up (2004)
Relations At the Borders Between (2013)

San-Francisco experimental electronic outfit. They use moogs, some unusual homemade instruments, found objects and ...ahem... casios. Supposed to be on the spacey echoey side.

See also: Stenzel, Kurt

 


Beyond Our Galaxy (USA)

Surface Analysis (2022)

A project of Tennessee-based synthesist Roger Taylor. Fast, melodic, sequencer-based...

 


Beyond Sensory Experience (Sweden)

Tortuna (2003)
Urmula (2003)
Ratan (2003)
Korrelations (2004)
Pursuit of Pleasure (2005)
The Dull Routine of Existence (2006)
No Light In Our Eyes (2008)
Zielona Gora (2009) (with Moljebka Pulse)
Modern Day Diabolists (2012)
Faint (2013)
The End of It All (2016)

Dark Ambient from Nordvargr (aka MZ.412) and K. Meizter.

See also: Nordvargr, MZ.412.

 


Beyond the Ghost (???)

You Disappeared (2019)
Eternal Drift (2020)
Crier's Bane (2020) (with Dead Melodies)
The Last Resort (2020)
The Desolation Age (2021)
Sundown (2022)

Darkish and melodic ambience from this project of Pierre Laplace.

 


Beys, Ian & Delaney, Philippe (France)

Introspection / The Lost Wave (1978) (S)

Very rare single with classic synthesizer music from France.

 


Beyschau, Grant (USA)

Untitled (2017)
Munds Spring (2021)

Long tracks with droning synths, cosmic pads, etc., from this Tucson, Arizona-based artist who also makes music in other styles under different pseudonyms or as part of several groups. This one has sort of a lo-fi, DIY production and feel.

 


Bezia, Sylvain (France)

Téléportation (2008)

Rhythmic / melodic music with a symphonic touch. Sometimes ala Jean-Michel Jarre.

 


Bézier (USA)

Mina (2009) (S)
Paths (2012) (S)
Ensconced (2013)
Telomeres (2015)
Cosmologist (2016) (EP)
Primes (2017) (S)
Parler musique (2018)

San Francisco-based Robert Yang creates unique music which, although mostly having a steady, even danceable rhythm, is also definitely progressive in its execution, combining influences as wide ranging as chiptune, techno, classic Kraftwerk, Prog EM in general and maybe also touches of italo and trance. The music is strictly analogue and seems to be influenced by science.

 


Bfx_@ (France)

After the Future (2021)

Complex melodic compositions with IDM and maybe also chiptune influences.

 


bhaavitaaH bhuutasthaH (Netherlands)

Remembering In the Cosmic Manifestation (2015)
Remembering In the Cosmic Manifestation Vol. II (2016)
Rückkopplung (2017)

A project of experimental musician Raymond Dijkstra. If you like Popol Vuh circa Affenstunde, you will most likely find this combination of percussion and demented electronics enjoyable. This is noisier, though.

 


Bhajan Bhoy (Netherlands)

Bless Bless (2020)
That Summer Oh Creator! (2020) (S)
Shanti Shanti Shanti (2022)
To Love Is To Love (Vol. 1) (2023)
To Love Is To Love (Vol. 2) (2023)

Solo project of Ajay Saggar, who is very much into spacey guitar sound. Traces of Popol Vuh, Terry Riley and more. Some tracks feature prominent electronics, although overall I would place his output to date in the EM-related category at best.

See also: University Challenged

 


Bhaobhan Sidhe (Netherlands)

Corpse Crater (1994)

Started as a black metal band, Bhaobhan Sidhe suddenly released this demo cassette of Ambient music in 1994. Two years later it was re-released on CD with some extra tracks.

 


Bhatia, Amin (Canada)

The Interstellar Suite (1987)
Virtuality (2008)

Amin Bhatia developed a very individual style that incorporated multi-layered analog synths resulting in some sort of electronic symphony. In the early 1980's, he won a synthesizer competition organized by Roland where Bob Moog and Isao Tomita were part of the jury. In 1987 the long-defunct Cinema label released Amin's Interstellar Suite - a very good example of (mostly) analog synthesis of the orchestral / symphonic variety. Virtuality is dedicated to Bob Moog. It contains "Bolero Electronica" - a long suite, based on Ravel's "Bolero" that portrays the development of electronic instruments, from early experiments with theremins and Ondes Martenot to the latest in digital technology. He uses many rare and classic instruments along with the most up-to-date software. I just wonder, why nobody ever thought of this before.

 


Bi Nostalgia (Italy)

Philokalia (1985)
The Total Spleen (1986)
The Seeping Mouth (1986)
Cathedrals (1986)
It's Cloudy Today (2006)
Habitudis eremos (2017) (recorded in 1989)
Exemplum rhythmicus (2017) (recorded in 1989 - 1990)
Architetture in paesaggi sonori (2018) (recorded in 1989 - 1990)
UNO In Four Parts (2018) (recorded in 2004 - 2006)
Lumos (2018)
The King In Yellow (2019)

A project of one Luca Rigato, who also released music under his own name, and as part of the duo Endless Nostalgia and a group called The Three Rings. The output of these needs to be investigated. As Bi Nostalgia he seems to compose both minimal synth music (sometimes with vocals) and ambient electronic stuff. The latter I will try to list here. There were also several appearances on a few compilations.

 


Bianchi, Maurizio (Italy)

Technology / Technology 2 (1981)
The Plain Truth (1983)
Armaghedon (1984)
Colori (1998)
First Day Last Day (1999)
Dates (2001)
Frammenti (2002)
Antarctic Mosaic (2003)
Cycles (2004)
A.M.B. Lehn Tale (2005)
Secluded Truths (2005) (with Nimh)
Together's Symphony (2005) (with Nimh)
Junkyo (2005) (with Aube)
Mectpyo Saisei (2005) (with Aube)
The Testamentary Corridor (2006)
Das Platinzeitalter (2007)
Micromal Sonorities (2007) (with Saverio Evangelista)
M. Plus T. (2008) (with Atrax Morgue)
The Valley of Deep Shadow (2008)
Electrules (2009) (S) (with Emanuela De Angelis)
Inexistence (2009)
Neurotransmitters (2009) (with Maor Appelbaum)
Azazel (2009) (with Cria Cuervos)
Aeternum aevum (2012)
Pharmelodies (2012)
Hic omnia Ur-Aizib (2013)
Icnea occasum solis (2013) (with Icydawn)
Concredrones (2013) (with Sostrah Tinnitus)
Elektro Tones (2014) (with Dedali)
Metaplasie (2014) (with Pharmakustik)
Massolitarius (2014)
Segmenti C1 + C2 (2015) (with Les Champs Magnetique)
Arkeomene (2016)
Cryogenic Dispersal (2016) (with Paolino Canzoneri)
Absurdum (2016)
The Second Death (2017)
Difetti di Pianificazione (2017) (with Guido Cadreghin)
Erasedbrain (2018)
Submerged Sequencycles (2018) (with Christian di Vito)
Karbona Monooksido (2018)
B.O. Droni / Praisakustik (2018) (recorded in 1997 - 2001 and 2012)
Peripherycal Minimaltronics
(2018) (with Sostrah Tinnitus)
Sidereal Decomposition Activity (2018) (with Barnacles)
Tavola anatomica X (2019)
T.P.T.M.B.T.D. (2019)
Gene-X (2020)
The Sacral Inhabitat (2020)
White Landscape (2020) (with Deison)
Lastfirst (2021)
Kosmische Erkundung (2021)
Genophony For A Symcide (2021)
Deletarges (2022)
Never Existed Before Consequently It Will Never Exist After (2022)
Involucri policromatici (2023) (with Mulo Muto and Icydawn)
Computers S.P.A. (2023)
Genus Venses (2023)
GENI-Z (2023)
Reflected Alienation (2023) (with Kristian Day)
Foggy Bleeding (2023)
Antimateria 2023 (2023)
Tse-K 2023 (2023)
Sound Disturbances (2023) (with Dissecting Table)
Bacillusmetrial Entopathogen (2024)
Ircool (2024)

Maurizio Bianchi is a legendary Italian noise / industrial artist. A veteran of the experimental scene, he started composing with sounds in the 1970's, doing concrete collages and noisy workouts that harkened back to the days of old academic electronics and musique concrete. Maurizio's early pseudonyms included Sacher-Pelz and Leibstandarte SS MB. Since about 1980 or so, Maurizio also released music on cassettes and vinyl under his own name. During the late 1980's a revaluation time came for Maurizio, after which he resurfaced in the late 1990's with a new style that still retained some traits of his early noise works. Albeit known mostly in industrial / post-industrial / noise circles, Maurizio also released some odd works that diverged substantially from his main style of noisy collage. I tried to include at least some of these works in the above list. Of note is The Plain Truth which is more synth-based than his usual fare and is almost German in style, with layered synths ala Conrad Schnitzler. The "revival"-period works from the above list can be described as Ambient.

See also: Vértice

 


Biasthon (Italy)

Litam (2001)

Ritual / Tribal Ambient from Giuseppe Verticchio (Nimh), Marco Ramassotto and Adriano Scerna.

See also: Verticchio, Giuseppe, Nimh.

  


Bibergan, Vadim (Russia)

Pianist, academic composer, author of music for films and theater. Some of his themes have an unashamedly Jarre-like quality to them. Sadly, none of his music is available commercially as of 2023.

 


Biberkorp, J.G. (Lithuania)

Ecologies (2015)
Ecologies II: Ecosystems of Excess (2016)
Fountain of Meaning (2017) (S)

Jacques Gaspard Biberkorp (real name - Gediminas Žygus) is an artist mixing elements of dubstep and other club-related styles with complex collages and progressive electronics. Curious stuff. Not bad.

 


Bibio (UK)

Vidiconia (2021) (S)

Bibio is Stephen James Wilkinson, a downtempo /folk artist active since the 2000's. Vidiconia is "one-take" music recorded on a Moog One synthesizer (without the use of a sequencer). Melodic stuff.

 


Biblioteq Mdulair (Poland / Switzerland)

Primitive Electronics Brain Dance (2018)

Primeval electronic project of Emma Souharce and Daniel Maszkowicz. They use only function generators and other basic analog devices and try to achieve unusual results with them. I would describe it as follows: side A is an attempt to make "ambient" on function generators; side B is an attempt to make "berlin school" on function generators, ending up sounding like (or rather, reminding on) early Klaus Schulze ("Voices of Syn"-type rhythms) and the first couple of Cluster albums, with an extra noisy / glitch touch.

 


Bie, Henrik (Sweden)

Misna (1993)
The Twelveth Hour (1994)

Melodic / rhythmic compositions typical of the era (early 1990's). If you like Tangerine Dream from the same period, you might enjoy this. The second album is pretty new-agey. The first one has more of an edge to it overall, relatively speaking.

 


Bielkauskas, Donatis (Lithuania)

Iki žvaigždžių (1995)
Mirštantis. Miestas. Gyvenimui (2022)
Indigo (2024)

Varied electronics from this artist. Indigo is music for a dance performance.

See also: Donis, Wejdas.

 


Bielmeier, Doug (USA)

Betty And the Sensory World: Experimental Electronic Music (2017)
Ambient Works (2021)

Quiet, classically-inspired pieces with synths and electroacoustics.

 


Biesenbach, Christoph (Germany)

Unreleased Tracks (1995)
Inner Events (1997)
Flight Over Wide Land (1998)

German synthesist on Ardema label. Somehow similar to Rainbow Serpent (also on the same label), at other times sounding like Ron Boots. Mainly sequential electronics. Unreleased Tracks is a promo cassette containing 2 unique compositions and 2 compositions that would later appear on Flight Over Wide Land.

 


Big Mouse (USA)

Ambience One (1998)
The Seed Does Stir (??)

A collection of Ambient material, as the title suggests.

 


Big River Dream (Canada)

Isolationist (2015)

Hazy, dreamy, sometimes intense ambience.

 


Big Robot (Norway)

Horror odyssee (2009) (with Conrad Schnitzler)
Aquafit (2009)
Heute Schnee (2010) (S)
Electric Hymn To Pan (2011)

Norwegian band that collaborated with Conrad Schnitzler. Not surprisingly, their music is a bit similar to Con, albeit slightly more accessible. Fans of Experimental EM take note.

See also: Sonisk Blodbad

 


Big Window (USA)

Big Window (2021)

An amalgamation of hyperactive, Ray Lynch-like sequenced electronics, brass instruments and weird voices / samples.

 


Big Yawn (Australia)

Future Traffic (2014)
No! (2020)
South Preston Garage (2020)
Pressure Acts (2021)

Melbourne-based band with a kraut / dub attitude.

 


Big Zen (Canada)

Big Zen (2017)

Varied, mostly ambient compositions from this project. There are also a few noisier, intense moments, with samples and all.

 


Bigeneric (Switzerland)

Helva (2021)

A project of Bern-based Marco Repetto. He makes techno / IDM music under the Bigeneric moniker since the 1990's. Helva is a complete turn towards the EM side, though. Fans of Klaus Schulze circa 2000 - 2015, Spyra, Keller, Schönwälder & Broekhuis or Sequentia Legenda should check this album out. Long sequencer runs, relaxed rhythms, melancholic pads... A great listen.

See also: Repetto, Marco, Alphageneric#Taurus.

 


Bilayer (Norway)

Bilayer (2019)

Nice experimental electronic duo of Magnus Bugge and Hilde Marie Holsen. Grating or atmospheric electronics with some processed trumpet sounds.

 


Bilín Wake (USA)

Wake Country (2015)

Ambient soundscapes, mostly of the darker variety but also serene and a bit cosmic. A duo of Mark Trecka and Evan Hydzik.

 


Biliński, Marek (Poland)

Ogród króla świtu (1982)
E≠mc² (1984)
Wolne loty (1986)
Ucieczka do tropiku (1987)
Plays World Hits (1994)
Dziecko słońca (1994)
Refleksje I-IV (1996) (with Barbara Duczmal)
Fire (2008)
Mały książę (2010)
Life Is Music (2017)
Po drugiej stronie światła (2021) (recorded in 2015)

Marek Biliński is a respected and well-established artist in Poland who has composed many scores for TV, radio and special events. He was one of the few artists from that country who took Jarre's flashy, melodic style of Electronic Music and provided it with his own unique twist and signature sound. Since the early 1980's, Marek Biliński released a lot of LP's, cassettes and CD's. His style is like a cross between Jarre, Vangelis and 80’s TD. From what I've heard, his early works are the most interesting ones.

 


Bill Board, Jean (Germany)

Galaxy Flash (1980)

Completely performed on a huge Yamaha Electone EX 1, Jean Bill Board's Galaxy Flash threatens to become one of those dreadfully cheesy loungy organ demonstration records. But, thankfully, and surprisingly, this is not the case. While parts of the album certainly cross into that "cheesy lounge" territory, the prog EM influence is also felt throughout this strange artifact filled to the brim with fat, cosmic tones of the EX 1. Amazingly, Jean Bill Board is actually Edgar Schlepper (1949 - 2015) who would later go on to form Warning.

See also: Warning

 


Billingham, Jimmy (UK)

Wordling (2019)

Solo electronics released by this prolific artist under his real name. Multiple sparkling synths and drones, ranging from Space Music-like to looping ambience.

See also: Tidal, Sandpiper, HOLOVR, Venn Rain.

 


Billow Observatory (USA / Denmark)

Billow Observatory (2012)
II: Plains/Patterns (2017)
III: Chroma/Contour (2019)
Stareside (2022)
Calque / Soliton (2024)

A duo of Jason Kolb and Jonas Munk with something of a shoegaze / kosmische vibe. A mixture of processed guitar and electronics.

See also: Munk, Jonas

 


Billows Below (Finland)

Fallow (2018)

From noisy assaults to melodic ambient synths. Varied electroacoustic / electronic project of Eppu Kaipainen and Wille Karttunen.

 


Biloba Green (North Macedonia / Italy)

Biloba Green (2021)

Ambient duo of Toni Dimitrov and Michele Andreotti.

See also: Dimitrov, Toni

 


Binar (UK)

The Truth Sets Us Free (2004)
Project Poltergeist (2005)
Spindragons (2006)
Another Day In La La Land (2021)
Tales of the Uninformed Part 1 (2021)
Tales of the Uninformed Part 2 (2021)
The Truth Will Set You Free (2023)
Binary Motion (2023)
Solipsism (2023) (recorded in 2019)

Alternative name for a Pickford / Nagle collaboration.

See also: S t d m, Pickford, Andy, Nagle, Paul, Smokeyfrog.

 


Binary Deconstructed (USA)

冥想嘅時刻 (2021)

Ambient compositions with a slushwave / vaporwave touch.

 


Binary Phaze (Spain)

Velvet & Glass (2022)

Catalan ambient artist with a diverse sound - mostly cosmic, cinematic and reflective.

 


Binary Race (USA)

Fits And Starts (1991)

See also: Ware, Tom

 


Binaural Space (Czech Republic)

Lofi Ambient Xmas (2019)
Boyhood (2020)
Practice Makes the Master (2021)
Practice Makes the Master 2 (2021)
Karel Čapek's RUR (2021) (S)
Velvet Freedom (2021)
InstRURmental (2021)
Deep Sleep Leap (2022)
Unfrozen Piano Day (2022)
Unfrozen Piano Nite (2022)
Midsummer (2022)
Remember the Way So Far (2022)

Varied electronic project with chillwave and lo-fi touches. Deep Sleep Leap is a neat album of instrumental electronic lullabies. My major gripe with this music is the abundance of the irritating tape speed distortion effect, which I hate and which, in my opinion, does not add anything to the music (it never does).

 


Bing & Ruth (USA)

Species (2020)

Minimalist ensemble formed by David Moore. Species is a departure from their partly acoustic sound into the realms of obsessive repetition and exploration of Farfisa electronic organ.

 


Bing Satellites (UK)

Twilight Sessions Volume 5 (2011)
Visions & Memories (2012)
Landscape And Drift (2012)
The Continuing Adventures of Peter Jelp (2012)
Live In Salford & Manchester (2013)
King Midas In Reverse (2013) (with Daniel Land)
Centuries (2013)
Twilight Sessions Volume 12 (2014)
Twilight Sessions Volume 13 (2014)
Of the Seven Seas (2014)
More (2014)
Twilight Sessions Volume 14 (2015)
Rain (2015)
All the Right Notes Volume One (2015)
Twilight Sessions Volume 16 (2015)
Twilight Sessions Volume 17 (2015)
The Village (2015)
The Visitor (2016)
Twilight Sessions Volume 18 (2016)
Twilight Sessions Volume 19 (2016)
Live In Hull (2016) (S)
Perpetual Motion (2016)
Eight Hours (2016)
How To Make A Person Whole Again (2016)
Extensions of Reality (2016)
Twilight Sessions Volume 20 (2017)
Little House By the Ocean (2017)
Castles In the Sky (2017)
Snow Day (2017)
Music From Mission Control Or Something (2017)
Real Life And How To Avoid It (2017)
Blue Skies & Cherry Blossom (2018)
Dreamworld (2019)
Alive In Lincoln (2019)
Alive In Leeds & Sheffield (2019)
Crystalline Light (2020)
Environmental Music Volume Three (2020)
Long Form Ambient Studies (002: Sweetness & Light) (2021)
Under the Sugar Moon - Under Sketches And Improvisations (2021)

Ambient soundscapes with synths and guitar.

 


Binney, David (USA)

Here & Now (2019) (recorded in 2018)
Aerial 2 (2021)
Where Infinity Begins (2022)

Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. On Here & Now, he decided to focus largely on electronics, with help from his sax of course and a few supporting musicians on different instruments and vocals. Nice EM-related work. Tasty vocoder work on "Majesty".

 


Binsy (Italy)

Binsy (1975)

Electronic library music by Miriam Bordoni. Cheesy, melodic, spacey... Re-released in 2018 by Cabiria Records.

 


Biogen (Iceland)

Halogen Continues (2017)

Biogen is a project of breakbeat / techno artist Sigurbjörn Þórgrímsson. The slow tracks on Halogen Continues will appeal to fans of Ambient and Space Music. File under EM-related.

 


BioLogICal-Events (Germany)

Life Morphing (1995)
Bio-Net (1996)
Mutabor (1997)
Noli Me Tangere (1998)

Unusual Ambient music from Ralf Pauli on IC label, which is no more. I haven’t heard this one.

 


Biomas (Italy)

Diazoma (2019)
Audio Library (2019)

The sound on Diazoma ranges from slightly glitchy and IDM-ish to darkish, repetitive, pulsing synth ala Carpenter.

 


Biomass (USA)

Energy (2011)

Mixture of Berlin School and darker industrial influences from Californian synthesist James Walter Douglas.

 


Biome (USA)

The Shores of Temenos (2018)
Essence (2021)

Another project of Gregory Kyryluk. Ambient sound with some rhythms, a bit psychedelic and reminding on some UK artists like Ishq, Nacht Plank, etc.

See also: Kyryluk, Gregory, Alpha Wave Movement, Open Canvas, Thought Guild, Within Reason, Subtle Shift.

 


Biomechanoid (UK)

Atmospheres And Melodies Inspired By the Paintings of H.R. Giger (1986)

Biomechanoid are the Freeman brothers of the Audion magazine fame. Pretty scary music and should be very appealing, but not for the faint-hearted.

See also: Freeman, Alan, Alto Stratus, Endgame, Vrije, Adhara, Electric Junk, Scorpio, Triax.

 


Bionaut (USA)

Au Naturel (1996)
Big Causeway To Gone (1998)
Moog Barbeque (1999)
Lubricate Your Living-Room (2001)
Unreleased Tracks (2003)

I would describe this as classic Electronic Music with some samples and maybe some beats from time to time. Some say it reminds on early Neuronium - well, I can’t really say if it’s true, but what I’ve heard so far was quite exciting. The people behind Bionaut are Chris Green and Paul Eggleston (ex-Architectural Metaphor).

See also: Architectural Metaphor

 


BIOnighT (Italy)

Egoheart (1999)
Afterpost (2001)
Daybreak (2002)
Songswell (2002)
The Art of Friendship (2006)
The Rain Is Over (2006)
Back To Orion (2007)
Resonance of the Spirit (2009)

Density Waves (2010)
Crystal Constellation (2015) (S)

Italian electronic duo formed in the late 1990's. The first three albums are in Berlin School style, while Songswell is a collection of diverse pieces in different genres (Celtic, dance etc.). Egoheart is a very good album for fans of classic Electronic Music. There are sequences, great melodies and occasional rhythms. The highlights are "Thechnoflight", a relatively slow piece with catchy tune, "Timegod" with it's thundering bass line which is something to hear, and "Bionight", a long suite with many varied motifs. The musical structure is mostly Berlin School, but the sounds chosen remind me more of the music made by Virtual Audio Project.

See also: Mac, Sbrizzi, FaBIO.

 


BIOS (Slovakia)

Fluorescent Minerals (2016)
Powers of Ten (2021)

The 2016 album features dark, stark, noisy electronics from this duo of Boris Sirka and Jozef Tušan. Powers of Ten changes to more rhythmic structures, retaining the stark sound and the experimental edge.

 


Bios (Spain)

Interior Sounds (1997)
Mutatis mutandis (??)

Imagine a mixture of Berlin School of Electronic Music and classic 70's symphonic rock and you pretty much have what Bios is all about. Slow, sometimes symphonic electronics, with drums and sequencers. Pretty melodic. Bios are Maxo Novoa and Coche Villanueva.

 


Bioscanner (UK)

Substance Category B (2023)

A project of Tom Sherlock in cinematic / sci-fi, darkish ambient soundscape vein. Pretty nice stuff.

See also: Dungeonsoft, Mosman, Samphire, Mju, Mind Wiper, Cloud Tears, Sundhelm, Tombo No Yu.

 


Biosphere (Norway)

Microgravity (1991)
The Fires of Ork (1993) (with Pete Namlook)
Patashnik (1994)
Polar Sequences (1995) (with Higher Intelligence Agency)
Insomnia (1997) (soundtrack)
Substrata (1997)
Nordheim Transformed (1998) (with Deathprod)
Biosystems - The Biosphere Remixes (1999)
Birmingham Frequencies (2000) (with Higher Intelligence Agency)
Cirque (2000)
The Fires of Ork 2 (2000) (with Pete Namlook)
Substrata 2 (2001)
Shenzhou (2002)
Riding the Storm (??) (recorded in 1980 - 1989)
Autour de la lune (2004)
Dropsonde (2005)
Wireless (2009)
Hammam (2010)
N-Plants (2011)
Stator (2015) (with Deathprod)
Hilvarenbeek (2016) (S)
Departed Glories (2016)
The Petrified Forest (2017) (S)
The Hilvarenbeek Recorrdings (2018)
The Senja Recordings (2019)
Angel's Flight (2021)
Shortwave Memories (2022)
Inland Delta (2023)

Biosphere is Geir Jenssen who lives in Norway beyond the polar circle. A member of Bel Canto during the Eighties, Geir Jenssen is considered to be the pioneer of ambient techno genre, and his first two works show this perfectly - it’s a blend of ambient and rhythmic tracks where the structure and sound are the key, not melody. His music has a freezing, flowing quality, like the slow moving of glaciers. I haven’t heard enough material from him yet. I probably need to hear some more to fully appreciate his music.

See also: E-Man

 


Bioxid (Spain)

Snuff Movie Soundtracks (2000)

A project of Sergi Puertas. Said to resemble the music of Tangerine Dream.

 


Birch (Denmark)

Sketchy Commodity (2017) (S)
Doldreams (2017)
Planetes (2019)
Island Alchemy (2019)
Morgenånder (2020)
Repair Techniques (2021) (with Johan Canøe)
Whisper Fold Brush (2021)
Holotropica (2022)
Languoria (2022) (with Antonina Nowacka)
Our Circadian (2023) (EP) (with Grand River)

Aka Sofie Birch. Unusual ambient sketches in which samples play an important role.

 


Birchall, Steve (USA)

Reality Gates (1973)

Rare electronic album released privately in 1973 and re-released in 1976 with a different cover.

 


Birdlabs (USA)

The View From the Big Window (2018) (S)

Nice Ambient of the American school (Steve Roach, Michael Stearns et al).

 


Bird's Eye Batang (South Korea)

손을 모아 = Flood Format (2022)

Korean name - 새눈바탕. Absolutely unpredictable stuff, with collage, glitches, analog synth sounds, vocalizations that sound almost Magma-ish and God knows what else. Definitely progressive stuff.

 


Birds of Tin (USA)

Antoianca (1996)
The Haunted World (1997)
Birds of Tim / Augur (1998) (with Augur)
Quickening (1998)
Strange Seeds Come From Odd Flowers (1998) (with Augur)
Endless Epiphany (1999)
Scapegrace (2000) (with Mechanism)
Votive (2000) (with Mechanism)
Key Ray (2001) (with Ene)
Wed If By Transitions (2003)
Monomyth (2004) (with Rapoon)
Rinpoche (2008)
Altarwise (2009)

Dark industrial music. Birds of Tin is a one-man project of Brooke Oates.

 


Birdy (Germany)

On the Move (1980)
Second Flight (1982)
Free Fall (1983)
Tapes From the Heart (1984)
Focus (1984)
Floating On High (1986)
Windows On the World (1987)
Symphony On the Rocks (1987) (with Winkler)
Smiles For Miles (1989)
A Great Many Secrets (1992)

A pseudonym of German musician Eddy F. Mueller who became known in the 1990's thanks to his new age project Gingko Garden. These are all library albums where electronics play an important role.

 


Birgé, Jean-Jacques (France)

Défense de (1975) (with Francis Gorgé and Shiroc)
Avant-toute (2016) (recorded in 1974 and 1975) (with Francis Gorgé)
Fictions (2022) (with Lionel Martin)

A Nurse With Wound list item, this obscure avant-garde / experimental / electronic / free jazz album was recorded before Jean-Jacques Birge (ex-Lard Free) and Francis Gorge went on to form an avant / free jazz ensemble "Un Drame Musical Instantane". The music features a lot of instruments and ranges from stark electronics (Heldon, Lard Free, Ilitch school) to collages with distorted violins and chaotic percussion. For fans of the experimental end of EM spectrum. There exists a re-release of the LP as a CD+DVD set (with bonus tracks).

 


Birger Heymann's System of Sound (Germany)

Bretagne (1984) (S)

Soundtrack to TV crime series, supposedly electronic. There is another single titled Held Me, which is supposedly much more pop / disco-oriented.

 


Birkin, Guy (UK)

Symmetry-Breaking (2011)
Tintinnabuli Mathematica Vol. I (2014)

Minimal experimental electronics. Ambient, lulling, repeating patterns of notes. At times sounds like a minimal version of the Berlin School.

 


Birnbaum, Kevin (UK)

British Aerospace - Sounds of the Eighties (1980) (S)

Actually a pseudonym of Tim Souster. The above is an advertising 7" record with background Electronic Music which is quite good and can be compared to Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. I wish there was a version of this without the narration.

See also: Souster, Tim

 


Biro, Daniel (South Africa)

Soho Square (1993)
The Comparative Anatomy of Angels (1996)
Elegant Enigmas (1999)
The Long Journey Home (2004) (with Rob Palmer)
A Still Thin Sound (2009) (with Gareth Davis)
120 Onetwenty (2017)
Still (2020) (with Colin Bass)

Diverse artist who was born in Johannesburg, has lived in Italy, France and the UK. He has worked professionally with synthesizer technology at least since the 1980's.

 


Birth (USA)

First Tapes, Vol. 1: Past Emergent Dawn (2016)
Live In Tucson (2019) (EP)

Arizona-based duo of Grant Beyschau and Nik Rayne. Supposedly, cosmic, krauty sound.

 


Biry, Daniel (France)

The Feathered Snake (1989)
Ys (1994)
Prayer Machine (2001)

Daniel Biry was a synthesist who worked in World Music domain. The Feathered Snake blends Electronic Music with Aztec culture. Ys is a Celtic-inspired album. Prayer Machine is more Indian / Arabic influenced. Daniel passed away in 2005.

 


Bisengalieva, Galya (Kazakhstan)

EP One (2018) (EP)
EP Two (2018) (EP)
Aralkum (2020)
Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive (2022) (soundtrack)

Almaty-born, London-based violinist and multi-instrumentalist. On Aralkum, she presents dramatic ambient music made with processed violin and electronics.

 


Bishop, Julian (UK)

Alchemy (1995)

His music is very melodic. Think Jean-Michel Jarre. There are some very banal flutey synth leads, so it didn't just make it for me. At least I wasn't impressed, because creativity is certainly not the order of the day. Nevertheless, I'm sure many people will like his music.

 


Bishop, Sir Richard (USA)

Elektronika Demonika (2006)

Sir Richard Bishop is the moniker of Rick Bishop - founding member of experimental rock band Sun City Girls. As a solo artist he is known for his guitar playing and as a multi-instrumentalist. This atypical album eschews guitars completely and represents Rick's attempt at creating dark electronic music. The results are close to your standard Dark Ambient fare.

 


Bisk (Japan)

Vacation Package (2021)

A project of Naohiro Fujikawa, active since the 1990's. I don't know about his previous releases, but Vacation Package is definitely an interesting and progressive work - jazzy, complex, inventive and whimsical. EM in an absolutely unique style.

 


Bissières, Stéphane (France)

New Walls of Babylon (2022) (with Raphael Sibertin-Blanc)

Synthesist. New Walls of Babylon combines electronics with viola and violin playing. It has a bit of a Klaus Schulze feel to it.

 


Bissonnette, Christopher (Canada)

Periphery (2005)
In Between Words (2007)
The Banal And the Profound (2010) (EP)
The Meridians of Longitude And Parallels of Latitude (2011) (with David Wenngren)
Essays In Idleness (2014)
Ornate And Numerous (2014) (S)
Pitch, Paper & Foil (2015)
The Wine Dark Sea (2020)
Wayfinding (2021)
In A Second Floor Window (2023)

Canadian artist who works at the intersection of electroacoustic music and Ambient. The early works present a more or less standard droning ambient sound. Later he started to add a weird analog synth touch that made this compositions more proggy but also more experimental.

 


Bistro Boy (Iceland)

Evolve (2020)

Icelandic artist Frosti Jónsson aka Bistro Boy is originally a piano player. On Evolve, he channels a nice mixture of downtempo rhythms, ambient piano compositions and melodic EM. Best track: possibly "Finding Peace". That is really nice, assertive and poignant.

 


Bitchin Bajas (USA)

Tones / Zones (2010)
Water Wrackets (2011)
Faceplant (2011) (S)
Vibraquatic (2012)
Cuts (2012) (S)
Krausened (2013)
Live At the Hideout (2013)
Bitchitronics (2013)
Bitchin Bajas (2014)
Transporteur (2015)
Automaginary (2015) (with Natural Information Society)
Live 2014 - 2015 (2015)
Epic Jammers And Fortunate Little Ditties (2016) (with Bonnie "Prince" Billy)
Live - Cafe Oto Residency 22-24 (2016) (with Bonnie "Prince" Billy)
Sailing A Sinking Sea (2016) (with Olivia Wyatt)
Japan Tour 2016: 10.30 7th Floor Tokyo (2017) (with Bonnie "Prince" Billy)
Bajas Fresh (2017)
The Encyclopedia of Civilizations Vol.2: Atlantis (2018) (with DSRlines)
Rebajas (2018)
Cuts III (2019)
Cuts IV (2021)
Switched On Ra (2021)
Bajascillators (2022)

Deep analog synthesizer soundscapes and cosmic compositions from Cooper Crane, Dan Quinlivan and Rob Frye out of Chicago, Illinois.

See also: Frye, Rob

 


Bitter Moon (Switzerland)

Chrysalis / Timeslip (2018) (S)
Bitter Moon (2019) (S)
The World Above (2020)
Bitter Kinder (2022) (with After 5:08)

A male / female duo that mixes pure analog EM and a sort of an avant-pop / new wave feel. "Still Stiller" is a great sequencer track.

 


Bit-Tuner (Switzerland)

EXO (2020)
I Haven't Been Everywhere But It's Ok (2020) (with Michael Bodenmann)
Pick Up! (2022) (S)

Dramatic, cinematic EM with experimental touches from Marcel Gschwend who usually composes music in club-related styles (techno, bassline, downtempo, etc.)

 


Bizarre Dwarfs, The (Australia)

The Bizarre Dwarfs (2013)
Night Byrds (2020)

A duo of Kristian Kriesel and Stan Menshic. Ambient sound, but sort of experimental.

See also: Kriesel, Kristian

 


Bizarre Ko.Ko.Ko (Austria)

00 Time (1984)

Electronic Music by 2/3 of the band Cultural Noise (Karl Kronfeld and Walter Heinisch).

See also: Cultural Noise, Heinisch, Walter.

 


Bizirik (Chile)

Ceremonia II (2021)

Progressive rock band put together by bassist, chapman stick player and multi-instrumentlist Cristián Larrondo. The latter's extensive use of synths and electronics puts Bizirik in the EM-related territory. Sometimes they sound a bit like Heldon, with their sequencer / wailing guitar combinations. Most of the music is heavy improvised Prog, though.

 


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