Index

 

D.Å.R.F.D.H.S. (Sweden)

Dard å ranj från det hebbershålska samfundet (2013)
Mjöldryga (2014)
Förintelsen & döden (2014)
Det stora oväsendet (2014)
In the Wake of the Dark Earth (2015)
Killing Is No Murder! (2015)
Mörkret, kylan, tystnaden & ensamheten (2015)
Persuasion (2015) (S)
Leave of Absence (2015)
Förensligandet (2016)

Crossover project by Michel Isorinne and Varg. The basis of their sound is Dark Ambient. However, there's a touch of techno in some of the tracks, as well as that of noise. And, finally, there is a prog EM flavor running through their catalogue, culminating with In the Wake of the Dark Earth, apparently inspired by the founder of the Rurik dynasty and a work that will be enjoyed by fans of both Dark Ambient and the moodier and experimental forms of EM.

See also: Isorinne, Michel, Varg.

 


d E (Greece)

d E (2016)
Cognition (2017) (S)
Pine Island Under the Midnight Sun (2018) (S)
Sentimental Punk #22- Marie Menken, Athens-Berlin-Shiraz Sounds (2019) (S)

Ambient drone project of Andreas Kavvadias. Starting in a lysergic / harsh vein on the eponymous release from 2016 and transforming into something more melodic and atmospheric on Pine Island...

 


D E U T E R O S (Germany)

D E U T E R O S (2021)

Droning ambience. Pretty dark.

 


D.K. (South Korea??)

Live At the Edge (2020)
Eighteen Movements (2021) (recorded in 2017 - 2019)
Gate of Enlightenment (2021)
Totem Society (2022) (with Sabla)

Deep house / balearic musician Dang-Khoa Chau, currently residing in Paris. On Live At the Edge, he seems to focus more on the ambient side of electronics. Eighteen Movements is another interesting work, this time focusing on the tribal sounds and textures.

 


D R O I D R O Y (Japan)

水中都市 (2019)
水族館の夜 (2020)
深夜のマーケット (Midnight Market) (2020)
東京午前零時 (2020)
緑の世界 (2020)
ゴールデン街 (2021)
人​工​進​化 「Artificial Evolution」(2022)
泡​沫​都​市 (2023) (with Yoshimi Hishida)

Rainy / neon / futuristic / dystopian electronics.

 


D Sound (Hungary)

Kisember (2002)
Balkan (2005)

Mixture of instrumental guitar and Electronic Music with some vocal progrock songs. Influences include Oldfield, Pink Floyd and others.

 


D. Towärds (Russia)

Spade (2016)
Homesick (2016) (with Nissan Groove)
Recordings (2019)
Crippled Concrete (2021)
Straight Radium (Archives 17-18) (EP) (2022)

Unlikely mix of murky techno numbers and darkish ambient synth floaters.

 


D.W.B. (Germany)

Andalusien Steps (2004)
Don't Stop Dreaming (2013)
Review One - The Last Ten Years (2013) (recorded in 2004)
Clouds (2014)

The project of Rocco Müller. I think the music is a mixture of Berlin influences and ethnic touches. D.W.B. stands for Dancing With Balthazar.

 


D York (???)

An Ecology of Silence (2023)
Airport Meditations (2023)
Liminal Dream (2023)

Varied ambient compositions from this artist.

 


d10xn.zip (Finland)

花の歌 (2020) (S)
Meditations (2021)

Between vaporwave and ambient electronics.

 


Da Cunha, Márcio (Portugal)

Verão Eterno Soundtrack (2013) (S) (soundtrack)

Warm drones and cosmic atmospheres with lots of analog sounds from this Portuguese musician.

 


Da Luz, Guilherme (Portugal)

Para Alem do Ser (2000)
Lugar Verde (2001)
Extase (2001)
O Momento (2001)
O Abismo (2002)
Espace, Morte e Eternidade (2002)
Neptuno em Escorpiao (2003)
Translucent Darkness (2003)
Organum (2004)
2600 (2021)
Jump (2021)

Electronic musician from Portugal. He creates classic cosmic Electronic Music. Recommended.

See also: Everness

 


Daal (Italy)

Disorganiorigami (2009)
Destructive Actions Affect Livings (2011)
Echoes of Falling Stars (2011)
Echoes (2012) (EP)
The Call of the Witches (2012) (EP)
Dodecahedron (2012)
Dances of the Drastic Navels (2014)
Navels Falling Into A Living Origami (2018)
Decalogue of Darkness (2019)

Daal is hybrid progressive rock / electronic duo of Davide Guloni (drums) and Alfio Costa (keyboards) from Lombardia. Alternatively, they can be considered a progressive rock band with a strong electronic influence. Speaking of influences, they seem to be informed by Pink Floyd, Goblin and Tangerine Dream in varied proportions. As their electronic moments are scattered throughout their discography, I included all of their releases, as pretty much every one of them has something for EM fans.

 


Daar (???)

Borders (2019)
Entire (2021)

Varied compositions, from ambient to sequenced / rhythmic.

 


Daar, Chuck (USA)

Dreamtime Live (1996)
Selected Ambient Works '96 (1996)
The Transfiguration Suite (1997)
Selected Ambient Works '97 (1997)
Music For Film 1 (2004)
Music For Film 2 (2006)
I Am the Product v1.0 (2012)
I Am the Product v2.0 (2016)
I Am the Product v2.1 (2016)
Bitchin Dirt Bike (2018)
Redacted (2019)
Retro Electro (2019)
Refragged (2019)
nanotech_1 (2019) (EP)
nanotech_5 (2020) (EP)
Further Redactions (2020)

Prolific and diverse experimental / electronic artist from Texas. I omitted several guitar and / or percussion-based works from the above discography.

See also: Hexagram, Cathedrals of Sound, Vapor State, Architectures, Return To Titan, Sky People, The. A.V.P..

 


Daarlig Stemning (Denmark)

Djævlen inde i os (2019) (with Marie Eline Hansen)

This seems to be a black metal / grindcore band. However, the above work is very much a foray into nocturnal electronics with some narration / singing.

 


DaarZver (Russia)

Aqua (2009)
Endsfri (2009) (with clarn)
Abstraction (2009)
Clouds (2009)

Lysergic electronics. A bit dungeon synth-like, a bit darkwave-like, but sort of sleepy and foggy.

 


Dabelka, Masha (Russia)

Storybook #2 (2017)

Pretty interesting stuff here from this Austria-based artist (real name - Mariya Aleynikova). About half of the tracks are gently rhythmic electro / techno. The other is warm instrumental EM in a unique style.

 


DAC Crowell (USA)

Harmundum (2003)
Red-Shifted Harmonies (2003)
SPCTR (2003)
The Mechanism of Starlight (2003)
DAC Crowell / Kurt Doles (2004) (with Kurt Doles)
A Retrospective of Works By DAC Crowell (2004) (recorded in 1983 - 2004)
Mercury (2005) (with Kurt Doles)
The Sea And the Sky (2005)
Sferica (2006)
Within This Space (2007)

Ambient composer and founder of Suilven Recordings. A lot of his music is on a sampler CD-R released by that label. Read my review of that sampler here.

See also: Lvxus, Ozma.

 


Dachs (Norway)

Dachs (2020)
Volume 2 (2021)

Synth vignettes and short compositions by this duo of Pernille Meidell and Erik Mowinckel.

See also: Mowinckel, Erik

 


Däcker (Netherlands)

Pareidolia (2020)
Anthropomorphic Personification (2023)
Live At BYSS (2024) (with Remy)

Electronic project of Dutch synthesist Peter Dekker.

See also: Dekker, Peter

 


Dada (Japan)

Jyo (1978)
Dada (1978)
Joheki (1979)
Castle Wall (1994) (recorded in 1979 - 1980)
Rapa Nui (2014)

Electronic duo of Mutsuhiko Izumi and Kenji Konishi who play synths and e-guitar, like the Japanese Fripp & Eno (the latter's got a credit in the liner notes to their first album). Also comparable to Heldon, Pinhas and such. After Dada, Mutsuhiko Izumi played in After Dinner and Kennedy.

See also: Kennedy

 


Dada Centauri (Canada)

I (2012) (S)
II (2013)
III (2013)

Experimental synth duo composed of Whitney Ota and Andrew Hume. Sometimes noisy, sometimes cosmic and vaguely melodic, but almost always Prog EM-related sound.

See also: Yankee Yankee

 


Dada Lives (UK)

Footsteps Overhead (2002)

Atmospheric project of Darren Tate (Ora) & Colin Potter.

See also: Ora, Potter, Colin, Monos.

 


Dadacomputer, The (UK)

The Dadacomputer (1981)

A duo of Mark Phillips and Robert Lawrence that released this one album on cassette. In 2013, it was re-released on the Vinyl-On-Demand label as a 2-LP set, adding some previously unreleased material as well as solo tracks from Phillips and Lawrence. The music can be described as "Kraftwerk aesthetics circa Computer World taken to the extreme". Will be enjoyed by fans of minimal synth and, naturally, Kraftwerk.

See also: Lawrence, Robert, Five Times of Dust.

 


Dadaglobal (Switzerland)

Hier ist nicht da (2012) (EP)
Dadaland (2017)
Pudel (2020)

A project of Zurich-based artist. Pudel is a mixture of abstract, often digital-sounding electronics, processed field recordings and other weird / glitchy sounds. Pretty unique EM, even if not for purists for sure. Best track: "Pudelzwei" - sounds like Beethoven going mad in Tomita's updated 21st century studio.

 


Daevine (USA)

Beyond the Cloudline (2003)

Ambient music by Michael Allison aka Darshan Ambient and Jourdan Laik (Paradisaic).

See also: Darshan Ambient, Paradisaic.

 


Daghraven (Belgium)

#1 (2016)

Dramatic, dark soundscapes.

 


Dahlberg, Christoph (Germany)

Blackforms (2022)

Rostock-based musician. Melodic, climatic compositions with a strong neo-classical edge.

 


Dahlen, Erland (Norway)

Rolling Bomber (2012)
Blossom Bells (2015)
Clocks (2017)
Bones (2020)
Racoons (2023)

Norwegian percussionist who, apart from drums as well as varied chromatic and regular percussion instruments, plays also synths and electronics, mostly in an ambient, a bit Cluster-like style.

 


Dahlia's Tear (Sweden)

Harmonious Euphonies For Supernatural Traumas Mesmerising Our Existence In Radient Corpuscle Galaxies (2005)
My Rotten Spirit of Black (2007)
Under Seven Skies (2007)
Dreamsphere (2011)
Through the Nightfall Grandeur (2018)
Across the Shifting Abyss (2020)
Descendants of the Moon (2020)
Adrift On the Edge of Infinity (2021)
Tales From A Feeble Dream (2023)

Mystic Ambient / Dark Space by Anil Emre Dedoglu (a Swedish citizen with Turkish roots).

 


Dahlke, Kurt (Germany)

Telaraña die vier Jahreszeiten (1996) (with Michael Jüllich)
Supra (2023) (with Martin Väterlein)

Electronic Music from member of Der Plan and Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, also known under his Pyrolator moniker. Rhythmic, repetitive, wacky, Dusseldorf School-ish, but with a quirky individual touch.

See also: Pyrolator

 


Daiki F (Japan)

Mountain Sons (2020)

Nice analog EM - pastoral, melodic, rhythmic, spacey - from this artist based in Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu.

 


Daily Misconceptions (Portugal)

True Project (2002) (S)
Our Little Sequence of Dreams (2016)

A mixture of electronics (sometimes with a slight Cluster feel), toy instruments and drums from João Santos.

 


Daily Rituals (USA)

Songs For Other People (2022)
Aftersongs (2023)
How To Measure Absence (2023)

Hazy ambient compositions focusing on synths and sometimes acoustic instruments.

 


Daisanmyaku, Ooyamada (Japan)

大山田大山脈 (2022)
Zolpidem (2023)

Also known under the Japanese name 大山田大山脈. Ambient artist going for o sort of lo-fi, often piano-bassed sound reminding on 1920's salon music. At other times, goes for a full floating synth sound.

 


Dajve (USA)

Dajve (2020)

Peaceful, tranquil synth music from Austin, Texas.

 


Dal Verme, Carlos (Spain)

Sounding the Depths (2021) (recorded in 2019)

Dark Ambient.

 


Dalham (UK)

Waves (2017)
Janus (2018)
Heat Death (2019)
Alderson Loop (2020)
Fünf (2021)

A project of London-based musician called Jon. He takes cues from classic EM sounds of the 1970's and 1980's, as well as "electronica" stylings of artists like Boards of Canada. Sometimes reminds on Parallel Worlds.

 


Dallas Acid (USA)

Odeon (2009)
Original Soundtrack (2016)
Spa Hunter (2017)
Arrive Without Leaving (2018) (with Arji Oceananda and Laraaji)
The Spiral Arm (2019)
The Spiral Ambience (2020)
Mind Cinema (2021) (with Hans-Joachim Roedelius)

Rich, cosmic analog synth compositions with more than a hint of Klaus Schulze from this trio (Christian Havins, Linda Beecroft and Michael Gerner) out of Austin, Texas. Some wordless female vocalizations and even some signing.

 


Dallwitz, Burkhard (Australia)

Archon: Ambient Volume One (??)
Worlds Apart (1996)

German-born soundtrack composer based in Melbourne. He released a few original works on the defunct Archon label, some of them in ambient style.

 


d'Almeida, Jos (Portugal)

Awaken (2014)
Aether (2016)
Aspheres (2019)
Continent 7 (2022)

Rich, melodic, orchestal electronics similar to Vangelis.

 


Dalt, Lucrecia (Colombia)

Commotus (2012)
Syzygy (2013)
Anticlines (2018)
Dragon Loops (2019) (S) (with Aaron Dilloway)
No Era Solida (2020)
Lucy & Aaron (2021) (with Aaron Dilloway)
The Seed (2022) (soundtrack)
¡Ay! (2022)

Abstract electronics (a bit Cluster-like but also with new / unique elements) and some "vocals". An interesting artist. There are some albums released as simply "Lucrecia". I know nothing about them at the moment.

 


Daly, Gary (UK)

Gone From Here (2019)
Luna Landings (2020)

Gary Daly is of course the vocalist and keyboard player of synth-pop / new wave / art pop band China Crisis. As a solo artist he seems to compose more intimate material, part of which is ambient, electronic and instrumental. Here are some examples of ambient pieces from his album Gone From Here: "Transition/Peace", "In the Cloudy Domain". They are rather nice and combine synths with some classical instrumentation like flugelhorns, piano, etc. File under EM-related.

 


Dalyat (Spain)

Trajá (2022)

A mixture between club music, synthwave and ambient EM.

 


Damarge (UK)

Les Box Set (2004) (recorded in 1982 - 1985)
1981 - 1984 (2022)

Electro / post-punk 4-piece band from Southend On Sea. They used Latin percussion, along with the more usual synths, bass and drums, and played upbeat music on the border between electro / post-punk, minimal synth and Progressive Electronic. File under EM-related.

 


Damballah (Ecuador)

L'offrande du Bois Caïman (2015)
Rite of Abduction (2017) (S) (with Gutiers and Vermillion)
Demanbwe (2018)

Blackened ritual drones with a strong tribal element. A project of Angel Salazar.

 


Dam-Funk (USA)

Above the Fray (2021)

Dam-Funk is Californian funk artist Damon G. Riddick. Above the Fray is an instrumental synth-funk album, full of grooves and a few touches of EM, especially on the beatless track "Allies". File under EM-related.

 


Damiano, Cosimo (Italy)

Hypnos (2021)

Rome-based techno artist who on Hypnos ventures into weirder, more experimental and EM realms.

 


Damm (Sweden)

Nautical Dawn (2020)

A project of Joel Mull, a veteran techno musician from Sweden. On Nautical Dawn, he explores a more intimate, pastoral and cosmic territory, with a lot of the material being pure ambient EM in progressive style.

 


Damon, Lorq (USA)

Journey To the Land of Forgotten Dreams (1974)

Recorded in 1972 and released a couple of years later, Lorq Damon's Journey... is a concept work of sorts, a private release out of Milwaukee with long, dreamy / experimental electronic tracks created with just a minimoog and tapes. At times similar to very early Klaus Schulze and other pioneering electronic works.

 


Dampen the Mood (???)

Innsaei (2019)

Rhythmic soundscapes and sequences, perhaps a bit similar to the output of the FAX label, with an emphasis on analog sounds.

 


Damselfly (UK)

Fructidor Fall (2016) (EP)
Vottol (2017)
An Awkward Bow (2018)
Beneath the Rose (2018) (EP)
We Chose the Wilderness (2018)
The Yeoman's Tears (2019) (EP)
In Southern Darkness (2019)
DF/C30-RW (2020)

Damselfly is Darren James Holloway who makes rhythmic / melodic music influenced by krautrock and to a lesser extent post-rock, downtempo and IDM.

 


Dan Electro (UK)

Analogue Dreams (2017)

Solo music from member of Soccer96 Dan Leavers. Short tracks of varying moods.

See also: Soccer96, Danalogue.

 


Danalogue (UK)

Equinox (2020) (recorded in 2018) (S) (with Sarathy Korwar)
I Was Not Sleeping (2020) (with Alabaster dePlume)

One of the pseudonyms of Dan Leavers.

See also: Soccer96, Dan Electro.

 


D'Ancey, Graham Philip (UK)

Alluma (1983)
Freedom / False Prophet (1983) (S)
The Sacred Project (2008) (recorded in 1980) (S)

London-born musician currently residing in France. He is considered a minimal synth artist. However, the bulk of his output is instrumental. Also, I think that the progressive EM influences are as strong (if not stronger) in his music as the minimal synth ones. Case in point is Alluma, his obscure instrumental LP from 1983. There is a re-recorded version available of this work. However, it features completely re-worked music with acoustic and ethnic instruments, as the master tapes of the original are sadly, and apparently, lost.

 


Dang, Ami (USA)

Parted Plains (2019)
The Living World's Demands (2022)

The 2019 effort is an all-instrumental album from this Indian American singer and multi-instrumentalist. Will be enjoyed by fans of World Music. The Living World's Demands has only one instrumental track, so it is much less relevant.

 


Danger In Dream (Austria)

Entrance (2001)
Iconic (2019)

A Tangerine Dream clone, presumably one of the better ones. Danger In Dream are Robert Wittek and Alexander Guelfenburg who is also the man behind Hybrid Machine.

See also: Wittek, Robert, Hybrid Machine.

 


Dangers, Jack (UK)

Music For Planetarium (2008)

Atypical album from the Meat Beat Manifesto matermind, comissioned by the T.I.T. Planetarium of Budapest. While most of his solo endeavours followed a rhythmic, dub-influenced formula, here the agenda is cosmic drones and weird samples. Recommended to fans of Dark Space and other forms of ambient expression.

See also: SŌON

 


Dangles, Maxime (France)

Les délivrés (2023)

Techno artist who experiments with more progressive / ambient forms of electronics on Les Délivrés.

 


Daniel B. (Belgium)

Ambient 2020 (2020)
Six+Six (2020)
Music For Mutated TV 5 (2020) (with Dirk Bergen)
Scene e rituali (2021)
Shades (2021)

Varied solo electronics from member of Front 242.

See also: Nothing But Noise, 99.9, Prothese, Alles Und Nichts.

 


Daniel & Booth (UK)

Pollard/Daniel/Booth (2009) (with Brendan Pollard)
September 2009 Jams (2009) (with Brendan Pollard)
Live 26.09.2009 (2009) (with Brendan Pollard)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth Vol.2 (2010) (with Brendan Pollard)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth 3 (2010) (with Brendan Pollard)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth IV (2010) (with Brendan Pollard)
Mutiny (2010)
Live At Awakenings (2010) (with Brendan Pollard)
Inverse (2019)
Circle of Phenomenon (2020)

Michael Daniel and Phil Booth is a duo that stays firmly in the Berlin School camp.

See also: The Grey Encounter, Booth & Creek, Daniel, Michael, Hashtronaut, Strange Telemetry.

 


Daniel, Michael (UK)

Pollard/Daniel/Booth (2009) (with Brendan Pollard and Phil Booth)
September 2009 Jams (2009) (with Brendan Pollard)

Live 26.09.2009 (2009) (with Brendan Pollard)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth Vol.2 (2010) (with Brendan Pollard
and Phil Booth)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth 3 (2010) (with Brendan Pollard
and Phil Booth)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth IV (2010) (with Brendan Pollard
and Phil Booth)
Live At Awakenings (2010) (with Brendan Pollard)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth V (2013)
(with Brendan Pollard and Phil Booth)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth VI (2013)
(with Brendan Pollard and Phil Booth)
Henglers Circus (2014)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth VII (2016)
(with Brendan Pollard and Phil Booth)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth VIII (2018)
(with Brendan Pollard and Phil Booth)
Pollard/Daniel/Booth IX (2019)
(with Brendan Pollard and Phil Booth)

British synthesist and guitar player. Henglers Circus is a solo album with a mixture of heavy, guitar-oriented progressive rock and some classic electronics.

See also: Hashtronaut, Daniel & Booth, Strange Telemetry.

 


Daniel[i] (Belgium)

Terra amica I (2020)
Tesseract (2021) (with Purl)
Tesseract Reduction (2023) (with Purl)

Belgian-Italian (now based in Aachen, Germany) artist working in the Ambient genre (also with some dubby pulses from time to time).

 


Danish Painist (Denmark)

Elendighed (2019)
The Eternal Suffering (2020)
Uhumsk jord (2020)
Påvelsøn (2020)
Maron (2020)
Merfolk (2020)
Gargling Voices Through the Sink (2021)

Sort of dungeon synth-like, gloomy music, sometimes with slow, steady rhythms.

 


Danna, Mychael (Canada)

Elements (1979)
The Electronic Orchestra (1980)
Planets, Stars and Galaxies (1988)
Mars: the Journey Begins (1988)
Sirens (1991)
Skys (1992)
Exotica (1994) (soundtrack)
A Celtic Tale (1996) (with Jeff Danna)
The Sweet Hereafter (1998) (soundtrack)

One of the relatively well-known Ambient composers. Has collaborated with Tim Clement and those albums are usually easier to get than his solo works. The Electronic Orchestra contains classical pieces played by a synthesizer ensemble. It seems that Mychael has scored a ton of soundtracks since the early 1990's. I am not sure if they have anything to do with electronics, so most of them are out of the list.

See also: Danna & Clement

 


Danna & Clement (Canada)

Danna & Clement (1977)
A Gradual Awakening (1983)
Summerland (1985)
Another Sun (1986)
North of Niagara (1995)
Waterhaven (2001) (with Stephen Bacchus)
Wilderness Mysterium (2002) (with Stephen Bacchus)

Quite good Ambient compositions from well-known masters of the genre. The first album is also known as "The White Album".

See also: Danna, Mychael

 


Danniielle (Australia??)

Outside the Cube (??)
Glimpses of Id (2001)

Ex-Mother Venus. Outside the Cube is an analog synth work.

See also: Mother Venus

 


Dantefever (France)

Through Woods And Stones (2018)
Calvolen (2018)
Old Tales, Old Stones (2018)

Dungeon synth with some variety and a symphonic touch. Curiously enough, some tracks (those that have a rhythmic pulse) remind a bit on Klaus Schulze's sampling and early sampling period (circa Dresden Performance - Beyond Recall).

 


Danz CM (USA)

While Mortals Sleep (2022) (S) (soundtrack)
Berlin Tokyo Shopping Mall Elevator (2023)

The 2022 release is an ambient electronic soundtrack from this synth-pop artist (aka Computer Magic, real name - Danielle Johnson). Berlin Tokyo Shopping Mall Elevator is an album with more of a vaporwave / hauntology vibe, but also with a strong Progressive Electronic element (tracks like "Oscillate" and a few others are pure EM).

 


Danzig, Glenn (USA)

Black Aria (1992)
Black Aria II (2006)

American singer and ex-member of Misfits. The above releases represent horror-infused instrumental work influenced by the dungeon synth genre (or so it sounds to me).

 


DAO (Spain)

Die Fabrik, das Haus und der Sinuswelle & Pluja Al Maig (2018)
Live (2018)
Desolate Landscapes (2020)

Catalan dark soundscape project.

 


Dao De Noize (Ukraine)

Watershed (2022)

Noise artist occasionally making excursions into more ambient realms. His discography is quite intimidating, so it's hard to go through all of it on the question of EM / ambient compatibility. Watershed is possibly one of the few releases that would qualify. If you enjoy Aube's 1990's ambient experiments with water sounds, as well as Noise Ambient in general, this may float your boat.

 


Dao Khan (Germany)

Dao Khan (2012)

Tribal Ambient / World Music duo of Jörg Holik and Marcus Wichmann. Tribal percussion, synths, didgeridoo and vocalizations.

 


Daona (UK)

The Secret Assembly (2019)
Live Machines (2024) (EP)

London-based male / female duo. A mixture of avant-garde string arrangements, cosmic / ambient electronics and a few sporadic vocals. Often a bit Coil-like.

 


Daortia (Belgium)

Particules (2019)

Intense analog synth music from Hugues Daro, sometimes with heavy / steady rhythms. The track "Everlasting" reminds on classic-era Klaus Schulze sound. Particules is subtitled "selected pieces about the abstraction of the mind and uncertainty".

 


Daou (France)

Reverie (2023)

Droning ambience with microsounds from Georges Daou.

 


Dapin, Daniel (Germany)

Long Way To Berlin (2023)

German synthesist with a varied rhythmic / melodic, sequencer-based style.

 


Dapnom (France)

De profundis (2004)
0 (2005)
Black Abstract Expressionism (2005) (S)
Dvoerskreb (2005) (S)
Ert Bvrueazv (2005) (S)
Regwoisvokwos Gwhenmi Welminti (2005) (S)
Actes prealables (2006)
Melenoiserkwos (2006) (S)
Verklart Nacht (2006)
Baalberith, Master of the Alliances (2007) (S)
Makai (2007) (S)
Explosition II (2010)
Paralipomenes a la Divine Comedie (2011)

Black Ambient from someone who calls himself Meldhkwis and who is also known for his other projects Aymrev Erkroz Prevre and Etmenns Derokwis. A very lo-fi sound, with several layers of drones, various obscure sounds, treated loops and noisy bits. The project is defunct.

 


D'Aram, Philippe (France)

Les héroïnes du mal (1979) (S) (soundtrack) (with Olivier Dassault)
Fascination (2012) (recorded in 1979) (S) (soundtrack)
La morte vivante (2018) (recorded in 1982) (S) (soundtrack)

Both of these releases feature some electronic stuff, Les Héroïnes du Mal being rhythmic and melodic, while Fascination features a more mysterious blend of orchestral and electronic music (with some theremin-like leads).

 


Darcey, Glen T. (USA)

Ambiata (2008)

Californian synthesist and sound programmer with his own vision of ambient music.

 


Darcman (Belgium)

Cycle (1980) (S)

Darcman is in fact Marc Moulin, a jazz musician and future member of electro-pop band Telex. On this single, containing music written for a TV series, he is helped by his Telex colleague Dan Lacksman. The music on side A is easy-listening but with a nice synth sound. The flip I know nothing about at the moment.

 


Dari, Luciano (Italy)

Wajd (1989)

Luciano Dari is a composer and the founder of Musica Maxima Magnetica label, known in the industrial / experimental circles. Wajd will be of interest to fans of Ambient.

 


Darius (Canada)

Ergosphere (2011)
Framedrag (2016)

One of the countless projects (and a virtual character) of Renard Queenston from Ontario, a diverse electronic artist. Some of the material released under the Darius moniker will be of interest to EM fans. I will try to list these releases here. Disclaimer: there were different reports of manipulation and sexual abuse cases on part of Queenston. EEM does not support this type of behavior and condemns it.

See also: Halley Labs Associates

 


Dark Ages (Ukraine)

Twilight of Europe (2005)
A Chronicle of the Plague (2006)
The Tractatus de Hereticis et Sortilegiis (2011)
Rabble, Whores, Usurers (2013)

Dark Ambient from member of Hate Forest.

 


Dark Ambient Cult (Italy)

Dark Ambient Cult (2019)

What the title promises.

See also: Grosso, Marco, Permafrost, Snowfade, Ouroboros, Arretium.

 


Dark Ambient Orchestra (???)

The Dark Side of the Room (2019)
Liquid Dream (2020)
Live In Atlantis 15758 BC (2021)

A collective of musicians. In spite of the title, this is not all Dark Ambient, as it includes also more rhythmic styles of EM.

 


Dark Bird (Canada)

Freedom Is Dangerous 1 (2014)
Freedom Is Dangerous 2 (2014)
In A Milky Way (2018) (S)
Out of Line (2021)

Mixture of guitar and electronics in sort of a hybrid folk / kosmische vein. A project of Roan Bateman.

 


Dark Enigma (UK)

Mindmaps (??)
Antithesis (1989)
Claustrophobia (1989)
Revelation (1991)
Surrealism (1991)
Visions of Heaven And Hell (1991)
Fields of Amber (??) (with Mental Anguish)

Dark Enigma is the moniker of Birmigham-based musician Mitch Rushton who uses a variety of synths to create his compositions that range in style from ambient floaters to rhythmic cosmic sequencer pieces.

See also: Rushton, Mitch

 


Dark Fidelity Hi Fi (UK)

Found (2019)
Gentle Static Flow (2019)
Machine Blossoms (2020)
Migration of the Meaning (2021)

Ambient comositions with IDM / downtempo rhythms and a glitchy flair.

 


Dark Glass (Russia)

Elemental (2018)
Cocoon (2019)
Cyrosine (2020) (S)
Evolution (2020)
Crystal (2023) (with Pryazha and Mamoto)
Mechanical Process (2023) (S)

A project of Ivan Budaev. Cocoon represents an amalgamation of IDM textures / glitches and ambient moods. The long track "Cold" is pretty impressive and sounds like an immersion into a strange virtual world. Nice late night listening.

 


Dark Matter (Germany)

Scenes (2012)
How Cold Is the Sun (2013)

Dark soundscapes from Dortmund.

 


Dark Matter (USA)

Seeing Strange Lights (1996)
Dark Matter II (1998)

Ambient music released by Helios Creed (ex-Chrome) on Hypnotic label.

 


Dark Matter Halo (USA)

The Hermetic Drone: Vol. 1 (2012)
The Hermetic Drone: Volumes 1 And 2 (2012)
To All With History (2013)
Caravan To the Stars (2019) (with Bill Laswell)
Secrets of the Black Garden (2023)
Pillars of Creation (2023)

Ambient drone project of Monte Cimino.

See also: Time Spent

 


Dark Morph (Sweden / Iceland)

Dark Morph (2019)
Dark Morph II (2020)

As the title suggests, this is dark, shadowy, moody soundscapes from the trio of CM von Hausswolff, Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza and Jónsi Birgisson.

 


Dark Muse (USA)

Sounds From Beyond the Silver Wheel (2002)

Dark, sometimes melancholic drones and ethereal vocalizations from San Francisco-based Ruby Smith.

 


Dark Portal, The (Ukraine)

Suicide Cult (2017)

Dark, sometimes melancholic drones. Sort of a lo-fi sound here.

 


Dark Revolutionary Collective (Japan)

Ankokukakumei Kyodotai (1978)

Early project of Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple) with him on synthesizers & percussion and two other members Kawagishi Tetsushi and Yasuo Iwaki on percussion also. This project later gave birth to Baroque Bordello. The guys are just dabbling with electronics here but it's still of historic interest.

See also: Kawabata, Makoto, Baroque Bordello.

 


Dark Sines (USA)

The Cenote Expedition (2022)
The Space Time Paradox (2023)

Droning, ambient, psychedelic EM from North Carolina.

 


Dark Sparkler (USA)

Year One (2018)
Are You Working With Me, Or Against Me? (2021)

Nice analog EM from Bothell, Washington, made on Buchla modular synthesizer. Ranges from ambient to cosmic and melodic, as well as intense / slightly noisy.

 


Dark Strands (???)

Unknown Truths (2018)

An amalgamation of Giorgio Moroder and Tangerine Dream with some techno thrown in. A project of Anthony Beardsley.

 


Dark They Were And Golden Eyed (UK)

Design Your Dreams (2017)

Repeating synth patterns and rhythms, as well as atmospheric / experimental tracks. A project of Trevor Jackson.

 


Dark Water Memories (Hungary)

Dark Mirrors From the Moon / Lamm (1998)
Black Coal Self (2000)
The Rejuvenation Ballet (2007)

Dark Ambient from Matolcsy Kalman. The project started as a folk-inspired ensemble and some of the early albums are not included in the discography.

 


Darken Wood (USA)

I & II (2017)
III · IV (2017)
V (2019)
VI (2020)

Dungeon synth-related project from Missouri with a nicer sound than most DS productions and an cosmic / ambient / EM flair in places.

 


Darkened Soul (USA)

Dreamscapes (2002)
Seasons of Dark And Light (2005)
Bathys (2008)

Dark Ambient from Michael Soucy.

 


Darkest (Greece)

Light (2018)

Dramatic, cinematic, melodic Electronic Music with touches of synthwave. Often like Tangerine Dream scoring a retro-futuristic movie.

 


Darkhalf (UK)

51st Room (2004)
Lore (2007)
Moon Through Dark Trees (2014)
Rebel Convoy (2019) (with Nicholas Langley)

Varied soundscapes from David Dilliway, mostly of the bleak and cosmic variety. Aka Dark Half.

See also: Cosmonauttransfer, Pharagonesia.

 


Darklion (France)

Nano Chapter 4 (1999) (with Döktor Strange)
Optical Spheres (1999)
Planetarium (2002)
Concert de lumieres (2004)
The Music Within (2005)

French synthesist.

 


Darkmood (USA)

When Time Ends (2016)

Varied, cinematic electronic project of Illinois-based Steve Montgomery.

 


Darkness And Silence (Poland)

The Traumatization And Torture of the Victim (2009)

Darkness And Silence is the project of Polish artist Mateusz Jedrzejczak who works within the domains of Dark Ambient, industrial, noise and experimental techno. This release is Dark Ambient. Previously there were lots of albums released in the digital format (mp3 files).

 


Darkness Enshroud (USA)

Winter of Sorrow (1993)
Ancient Kingdoms (1994)
Unveiled Ghostly Shadows (1996)
Totentanz (2001)
Antitrinity (2017)

Doom / Black Ambient from member of Black Funeral (Michael Ford).

See also: Valefor

 


DARKPYRAMID (UK)

Cytherea Somniare (2015)
New Humans (2016)

Vaporwave project that occasionally ventures into ambient territory. On this particular album (Cytherea Somniare) the ambient element is especially strong, as about half of the tracks (or more) are completely ambient.

See also: Subaeris, Kamokata, Hong Kong Express.

 


Darkroom (UK)

Carpetworld (1998) (S)
Daylight (1998)
Seethrough (1999)
Fallout One (2000)
Fallout 2 (2001)
Fallout 3 (2002)
The DAC Mixes (2004)
Some of These Numbers Mean Something (2008)
Gravity's Dirty Work (2013)
New River (2017) (EP)
Paradise Yard (2018) (S)
The Noise Is Unrest (A Selection) (2019)
The Last Sense To Fade (2021)
Fallout 4 (2022)

A duo of Andrew Ostler (electronics) and Michael Bearpark (guitars and processing). The music on The Noise Is Unrest can be compared to stuff like Centrozoon - abstract, mysterious guitar / synth soundscapes (here with a bit of clarinet added for flavor). Pretty nice and moody EM overall. "Fallout" is a series of releases with live ambient improvisations.

See also: Ostler, Andrew

 


Darks Pandemonium (USA)

The Black Noize Project (2001)
Detritus Experimentus (2001)

A project of Gunnar N. What I've heard so far sounded like quite good Black Ambient, a little reminscent of Endura at places.

 


Darkside (UK)

Green Cathedral (1987)

Music in the style of Tangerine Dream from this Scottish duo of Joe Donnelly and Maurice Richardson (both members of Altres).

See also: Altres

 


Darkstar (Germany)

Marching Into Oblivion (1995)
Heart of Darkness (1999)

Progressive metal band consisting of Dan Rock (originally from the USA, guitar), Siggi Blasey (keys), Martin Iordanidis (bass) and Oliver Werner (drums). Matching Into Oblivion is their debut which is loaded with synths and other keyboards. This album shows that they might have been interested in electronics at that stage, as tracks like "Gateway" and "A New Beginning" have no guitar to speak of! (are you guys sure you are a metal band?). Anyway this material ranges from spacey melodic style to Dark Ambient even. The sampling was the fad of the time of course. What's even more amazing is that Heart of Darkness continues in the same direction, although it is overall a bit more song-oriented, but listen to "Infinite Distance" - pure EM. Or take "The Scene Part 2" as an example of electronic ambience. File under EM-related.

 


D'Armagnac, Johanna (???)

The Art of Synergy (1983)

Obscure library record on the rare Dutch MML label. This album features atmospheric electronic pieces performed on the early digital Synergy synthesizer.

 


Darmin (Australia)

Osheannia - Legend of the Golden Dolphin (1987)
Guardians of the Legend (1992)

New agey, melodic and relaxing music with lots of flutes and nature sounds from a mysterious musician residing in New South Wales, Australia. Osheannia was released in 1987 and re-released on IC label four years later.

 


Darre, Christian (France)

Daybreak (1981)

Ex-Wooden Ear keyboardist. He released at least one LP of Electronic Music.

 


Darrg (UK)

Wouivre (2022)

Darrg is experimental sound artist Darren Giddings. Wouivre leans towards Ambient.

 


Darshan Ambient (USA)

Safe (1997)
Skyful of Bliss (1998)
The End of Days (1999)
Selfless (1999)
Autumn Light (2000)
The Dream Pool (2001)
Providence (2001)
Darshan Ambient (2001)
Selected Works Vol.1 (2002)
Selected Works Vol.2 (2002)
Selected Works Vol.3 (2002)
Zen Master's Diary (2002)
Autumn's Apple (2004)
Re:Karma (2005)
From Pale Hands To Weary Skies (2008)
A Day Within Days (2010)
Dream In Blue (2011)
Falling Light (2012)
Little Things (2013)
Songs From the Deep Field (2014)
Fire Light (2016)
Lingering Day: Anatomy of A Daydream (2017)
A Day Like Any Other (2020)

Darshan Ambient was an alias of electronic musician Michael Allison (sadly passed away in January, 2020) who worked mainly within the Ambient paradigm. I have Selected Works Vol.3 which is a must for Eno fans. Very good calming and relaxing music. Also comparable to Tim Story with its use of gentle piano notes.

See also: Daevine

 


Darsombra (USA)

Ecdysis (2006)
Deliriums & Death (2007) (S)
Eternal Jewel (2008)
Climax Community (2012)
Polyvision (2016)
Transmission (2019)

Ambient project from Baltimore with a heavy Doom influence.

 


Darway (Poland)

New Dimension (2017)

Polish musician from Gdańsk. Melodic / rhythmic EM that ranges from upbeat to relaxed. Touches of spacesynth, Kitaro (on the second track), the Btitish School (John Kerr, David Wright, etc.) and of course Polish melodic EM masters.

 


Darwinsbitch (USA)

Ore (2009)
Steel Hum (2009) (S)

Marielle Jakobsons under a pseudonym.

See also: Jakobsons, Marielle V, Date Palms.

 


DAS (UK)

Earthdeath (1980)

This is the early incarnation of Radio Massacre International (Steve Dinsdale, Duncan Goddard and Gary Houghton) under a different name. The Earthdeath cassette is also known as "Das 1".

See also: Radio Massacre International, Dinsdale, Steve, Goddard, Duncan.

 


DAS (USA)

Feinted Haunts (2017)

Synthesist / drummer from Missouri who works somewhere on the verge of horror synth / cinematic EM style.

 


Das Blaue Palais (Germany)

Welt am Draht (2016)
D-UF 73 (Dufte) (2019)

Dusseldorf School project of Jochen Oberlack, mostly along the lines of Neu! / La Dusseldorf / Michael Rother.

 


Das Ende der Liebe (Germany)

Bright Euro Teen Gets Educated About Life By Trip Music Band (2021)

Berlin-based krautrock band using guitar, drums, bass and keys / electronics (Gameboy and CP70 piano). They push their setup to the limits, creating some really weird and inventive sounds and textures. Style-wise, it's krautrock / EM, bringing to mind Cluster, Günter Schickert, Neu!, Popol Vuh, La Dusseldorf and Vangelis ("Memories of Green" references on "Ballade Eines Spielengen Jungen"). Nice stuff.

 


Das König Kameha Experiment (France??)

Über den Fetischcharakter in der Muzik (2007)

Analog music with sequences, lots of solos and occasional bursts of trumpet. Rather weird overall. Long tracks.

 


Das Mysterium In Grau (Switzerland)

Reise durch den inneren Raum (2000)
Zora's Träume (2003)

Ambient synthesizer proejct of a guy who would later go on to compose techno / electro music as Elektrobopacek.

 


Das Nichts der Leere (Switzerland)

Kosmische Phantasmagorie (2024) (recorded in 2020)
Vergiftete (2024)

Mostly Dark Space here, with drones and low, murky melodies.

 


Das Organisierte Chaos (Germany)

D.O.C. (1983)
Chaos Pop & Cosmic Boogie (1984)

Dierk Leitert's parallel project to his main band Circles. It is said to be more rock-oriented but I suppose (my guess, don't quote me on that) that there is also some interesting EM-related material here.

See also: Circles

 


Das Original Hageland Orchester (Germany)

Musik für selbstfahrende Autos (2022)

Music inspired by disco (including a strong Moroder influence) and German krautrock. Most of the material is jolly disco with autotuned vocals, though, with only a slight EM / krautrock influence, as on the closer for example.

 


Das, Ramana (USA??)

Helios (1985) (with Uma Das)
Wakan-Tanka (1985) (with Uma Das)
Flying... Free (1986) (with Uma Das)

Floating voices and synths. Could be too new-agey, so I'm not sure.

 


Das Wettbüro (Germany)

Gewinnt immer (2022)

Dusseldorf-based project or group playing motorik-infused electronics with disco influences and that quirky / experimental touch that likens it a bit to Dieter Moebius' solo output.

 


Das Zeichen (Germany)

Aufgewacht (1999)
Church o.e.o. (1999)
The Apsara Tapes (2003)
Loss (2004)

Dirk Schlomer's band that is said to resemble a mixture of 70's German style and tribal / ethnic musics. With the participation of Mathias Grassow.

 


Dasein (Mexico)

1 - Soundtrack (2005)

Varied electronics from this Mexican synthesist - from melodic to wacky and experimental.

 


Dashow, James (USA)

Oedipus Orca (1977) (soundtrack)

Although US-born, James Dashow gained fame while working in Italy as one of the pioneers of computer music in the 1970's. The bulk of his output will be enjoyed by fans of academic electronics, but the above soundtrack is a different beast altogether. Here, he created a more accessible sound and, interspersed between some jazzy pieces (not related to EM) are some melodic electronic ballads in a very European style (some French EM composers come to mind) and one piece in the aforementioned academic electronic mould (the closer). The best stuff from the film, though, is "Titoli" a piece of cerebral, proggy electronics reminding on Heldon (could be an outtake from Electronic Guerilla). Sadly, and quite regrettably, it does not seem to be included in the original soundtrack album.

 


DASK (UK)

Electron Utopia (2017)
Messages (2017)
Sol (2018)
Elemental (2018) (with Thaneco)
Oneira (2019) (with Thaneco)
Insecta (2019)
Electron Hell (2021)
Stages (2022) (with Thaneco)
Born From the Stars (2023)
Ships In the Sky (2023) (with Thaneco)

A mixture of classic Berlin School and more atmospheric / ambient tracks.

 


Data Out (UK)

Float To Live (2023)

Varied electronics, from stiff electro rhythms and crisp synth arpeggios to melodic ambient compositions. Can be considered to be marginally EM.

 


Datapop (Sweden)

Pop (2017)
Sterne (2021)

Swedish project heavily influenced by Kraftwerk. They cover all basic Kraftwerk styles, from 1974's Autobahn to Computerwelt.

 


Datassette (UK)

Zetex (2021)
Sentinel (2022) (EP)

Pretty varied ambient material here, from noisy and foggy to lilting melodic sequences.

 


Date Palms (USA)

Of Psalms (2010)
Honey Devash (2011)
The Dusted Sessions (2013)

Experimental duo of Gregg Kowalsky and Marielle Jakobsons from Oakland, California. They sit somewhere between psychedelic rock, drone, Ambient and World Music. A lot of it is guitar-based but then again, there's a lot of electronics, too and a raga rock / Popol Vuh feel. Especially Honey Devash will be interesting for EM fans.

See also: Jakobsons, Marielle V, Darwinsbitch, Kowalsky, Gregg, Saariselka.

 


Datenverarbeiter (Germany)

Givt (2006) (with Jacki Liebezeit)
Fleur noire - Joue les images (2014)

Varied project of Werner Kiera from Bonn. Often with a jazzy and / or neo-classical feel.

 


Dathon (USA)

Wandering Planet (2017)
Process S (2020) (S)

Pretty dark, moody and minimal ambience from Donovan Corey Lyons.

 


Daum, Norbert (Austria)

New Opera Wave (1985)

This album contains electronic interpretations of classical works.

 


Dauner, Wolfgang (Germany)

Changes (1978)
Elektronische Mythen (2016)

Solo album by this avant-garde jazz musician (1935 - 2020). Curiously, apart from track list and credits, there is no online information whatsoever about this work, no reviews, no samples, nada. Considering that Wolfgang is not the most obscure name in German jazz / krautrock, I find this fact quite notable and hard to explain. However, as he had already flirted with electronics on his Output album (1970), and because of the fact that on Changes he plays, apart from piano, EMS Synthi 100 and Oberheim 4-Voice synthesizers, I decided to give it a go and include this work in EEM. More investigation is needed.

See also: Et Cetera

 


Dauwd (UK)

Theory of Colours (2017)

Described as a mixture of Ambient and deep house, the only track on Theory of Colours that sounds to me like it's directly related to any EM / Ambient is the closing title track with its Manuel Goettsching-like sequencer clatter and spacey synth sounds (some of which remind on Edgar Froese's "vocoder singing" patch he used a lot circa Pinnacles). A nice track overall and deserves an inclusion.

 


Davachi, Sarah (Canada)

The Untuning of the Sky (2013)
August Harp (2014)
Neustadt / Altstadt (2015) (S)
Barons Court (2015)
Qualities of Bodies Permanent (2015)
Σ = 4 (2015) (S)
Dominions (2016)
All My Circles Run (2017)
Untitled Work (2017)
Let Night Come On Bells End The Day (2018)
Gave In Rest (2018)
Pale Bloom (2019)
Intemporel (2019) (with Ariel Kalma)
Gathers (2020)
Cantus, Descant (2020)
Laurus (2020)
Figures In Open Air (2020)
Antiphonals (2021)
Mother of Pearl (2021) (with Sean McCann)
In Concert & In Residence (2022)
Selected Works II (2023)
Long Gradus: Arrangements (2023)

Vancouver-based synthesizer artist who mostly works with analog machines. On one hand, Sarah's music is clearly influenced by some hardcore experimental and academic stuff. On the other hand, there is a certain (fairly strong) prog EM influence felt in her droning comositions and the use of mellotron on The Untuning... reinforces that feeling. Some stuff is a bit comparable to Zeit or Atem perhaps.

 


Davey, Alan (UK)

Captured Rotation (1996)
Bedouin (1997)
The Final Call (1999)
Chaos Delight (2000)
Al Chemical's Lysergic Orchestra (2001)
Human On the Outside (2007)
Four-Track Mind, Volume 1 (2007)
Four-Track Mind, Volume 2 (2008)
Four-Track Mind, Volume 3 (2008)
Four-Track Mind, Volume 4 (2008)
Cyber Tooth (2012)
Al Chemical's Lysergic Orchestra Vol. 2 (2013)

Hawkwind member, starting from 1984. On his solo albums there are various tracks, some of them in pure space rock vein, some spacey and electronic.

See also: Hawkwind, Psychedelic Warriors.

 


David, Kelly (USA)

Broken Voyage (2002)
Angkor (2006)
The Long Night (2014) (with Steve Roach)
Meditation In Green (2019)
Illusive (2021)

Tribal Ambient. Mixed by Steve Roach.

 


David, Thierry (France)

Sensitive (1987)
Positive (1987)
Utopia (1988)
Moonbeam (1988) (with Gary Peterson)
In the Hole (1988)
Ajanta (2000)
Stellar Connection (2012)

Library electronics in rhythmic / melodic and cosmic / ambient style.

 


Davidow, Joe (USA)

Continuity (1979)

Joe Davidow is an electracoustic composer who, although born in the USA, is more Finnish than American, beacuse of his studies in Helsinki and the fact that his career really took off after he relocated to Finland. His LP album Continuity was released on Finnish "Love records". It is a strange work that is very listenable for someone with an academic background. Sometimes it sounds like a whole jazz band (some session players lend a hand) but sometimes it becomes more minimal and electronic, with Joe taking care of piano and synthesizers.

 


Davids, Andreas (Germany)

Erinnerungen meines Vaters (2018) (S)
Digitale Asche (2021) (EP)
Schnellennietenregen (2021) (S)
A Psychedelic Trip Into Space (2021) (with Sven Phananx)
Dimensionbrecher (2022) (with Sven Phananx)

Varied electronic artist from Germany, with output in noise, dark soundscapes, industrial, techno and, above all, electro. The above works are mostly "marginally" EM, being essentially mixed electro / EM or techno / EM releases, but always with some nice synth sounds and / or atmospheres.

See also: Natura Est

 


Davidson, Howard J. (UK)

Voyage of the Heroes (1985) (S) (soundtrack)
Discoveries Underwater (1988) (soundtrack)

The 1988 album is a soundtrack music for BBC TV production "Discoveries Underwater". Tends towards the ambient and new-agey side of things. Voyage of the Heroes is another electronic TV theme, very melodic and Tangerine Dream-y.

 


Davidson, Marie (Canada)

Perte d'identité (2014)
Un autre voyage (2015)
Whatever Makes You Feel Safe (2017) (S) (with Invisible Church)
Working Class Woman (2023)

Singer-songwriter, poet and musician from Montreal, operating on the border between synthwave, dark techno / disco and maybe also the industrial sound. There's also a Prog EM influence in some of her material. The latter includes "Vie et Mort d'un Égo" from Perte d'Identité and many of the tracks from Un Autre Voyage (the Carpenter-like "Kidnap You In the Desert" and the slow sequencer melter "Insomnie" - quite fantastic stuff!), which is her most Prog EM-oriented work. In 2016, Marie released the much more tecnho / disco-influenced Adieu To the Dancefloor, on which the EM influences were virtually absent (hence, it is omitted from the discography). However, this extremely talented lady is certainly an artist to look out for.

 


Davidson, Peter (Sweden)

Even Darker Still (2010)
Green Moss Trail (2011)
Antenna (2016)
Aerial Ship of Flowers (2022) (with Karl Gasleben)

A mixture of ambient soundscapes (some in the style of Steve Roach) and sequencer-based electronic tracks.

 


Davies, Daniel (USA)

Events Score (2018) (soundtrack)
Halloween (2018) (soundtrack) (with John Carpenter and Cody Carpenter)
Soeurs de glisse (2019) (soundtrack)
Signals (2020)
Spies (2021) (EP)
Halloween Kills (2021) (soundtrack) (with John Carpenter and Cody Carpenter)
Firestarter (2022) (soundtrack) (with John Carpenter and Cody Carpenter)
Halloween Ends (2023) (soundtrack) (with J
ohn Carpenter and Cody Carpenter)

Guitarist and vocalist of rock band Year Long Disaster (and son of Dave Davies of The Kinks). As a solo artist, though, he composes synth scores influenced by John Carpenter's style.

 


Davies, Phil (France??)

Lagoon (??)

Electronic library record released on a French label. However, the guy's name does not sound French to me. Could be a pseudonym, though. The music is a mix of atmospheric / experimental electronics and melodic ala Jarre.

 


Davies, Robert (USA)

Sub Rosa (2006)
Garden of Twilight (2006)
Primordial (2007)
Shadow Dreams (2007)
Dawn (2008)
Geography of Memory (2008)
Gallery of Spirits (2009)
Terrestre (2009)
Pond (2010)
Whispering
Grove (2011)
The
Alchemy of Nature (2012)
Forgotten Harbors (2013)
Woodland Alcoves (2013)
What the Moon Reveals (2014)
Nightshade (2014)
Quiraing (2015) (with Blake Gibson)
Dwelling Place (2015)
River's Edge (2016)
Afterlight (2016)
Estuary (2017)
Resonant Fields (2017)
Elemental Shimmer (2018)
Mercurial (2018)
Sylvan Glen (2019)
Incandescence (2020)

Droning, ambient soundscapes by this artist out of Pennsylvania, USA.

See also: Winterhouse, The

 


Davignon, Matt (USA)

Pink Earth (2016)

Oakland-based experimental musician who has been composing since 1993. The above album is an imaginary sonic journey that might interest fans of the more experimental forms of EM. A unique style.

 


Davis, John (USA)

Visiting the Sky (2019)

John Davis is an experimental composer and filmmaker. The above release may appeal to fans of Ambient.

 


Davis, Ken (Australia)

The Moog Symphony (1974) (S)
As the Dream Unfolds (1988)
Live! (1988)

Now, not many people know it, but this Australian new age composer was actually an Electronic Music pioneer back in the 1970's, recording his first single as early as 1974. He did more synthesizer tracks afterwards that were sadly never released but might see the light of day in the future. In the 1980's, after spending time in an innovative synth-pop duo I.Q. (not to be confused with the British prog rock collective) together with young Mars Lazar, Ken delved into the world of relaxation music. He has a huge discography that needs to be explored on the question of "EM-compatibility". Aparently, the live album has a lot of nice EM sounds.

See also: I.Q.

 


Davis, Richard (USA)

Methane Sea (1978) (S)

Pre-Cybotron solo electronics by Rick Davis. Nothing danceable here, just abstract synths and Rick's voice.

 


Davis, Ryan (Germany)

From Within (2016) (EP)
Through the Mirror Glass (2023)

Yet another techno producer steps into the realms of Ambient with the spacey, shimmering closer "Beyar" off From Within EP. With Through the Mirror Glass, it's a plunge with both feet into ambient EM.

 


Davison, Josh (USA)

Return To the Origin of the Cosmos (2014)

Modular synth enthusiast makes warm and abstract compositions that will appeal to fans of Experimental EM.

 


Davison, Peter (USA)

Music On the Way (1980)
Glide (1981)
Forest (1982)
Star Gazer (1982)
Mountain (1983)
Traces (1985)
Winds of Space (1986)

His newer stuff is just ordinary new age, but the old records (listed) have a nice fat synth sound and are probably Electronic New Age. Music On the Way was released in several editions, one of them titled Selamat Siang.

 


DaviT (Netherlands)

Transister (2018) (S)

Varied music from this artist, mostly based on the sound of analog synths. Cinematic, pulsing, mysterious...

 


Davy (Belgium)

The Long Now (218) (EP)

Techno music by Davy Vandegaer. The closing title track is an ambient synth piece, though.

 


Davy, Roger (France)

Cosmic Sounds / China Moods (1972)
New Sound Illustration (1975)
Regeneration (1979)

One of the pseudonyms of Roger Roger. These are library LPs.

See also: Roger, Roger, Leuter, Cecil, Moon Birds.

 


DavZ (Australia)

Exotic Spaces (2021)
Endless Paracosm (2022)
Radio Continental (2023)

Synthwave-related project with a very rich synth sound that I found really enjoyable. It does not sound samey as a lot of the music in this genre does. There are also influences from other genres, including hip-hop / rap (one track, in particular, is a surprisingly sucessful combination of synthwave-y synths and rapping). Completely ambient EM tracks like "Nimbus", "Evergreen" or "Welcome Home" are the album's true gems, though. A real talent.

 


Daw Nusk (USA??)

Dim Blue Light (2008)
Hunter Gatherer (2012)

Droning ambient compositions. Mysterious, but not dark. Sometimes relaxing and major-key.

 


Dawei, Sun (China)

Hou (2022)

Pretty genre-defying EM from this Chinese artist who has been composing under various pseudonyms for at least 20 years. Mostly pretty dense and dubby, though. Best track: "Shen Ye".

 


Dawes, Zachary (USA)

Deep Murder (2019) (soundtrack) (with Nick Sena)

American bassist and sound engineer. The above is a synth soundtrack to a horror comedy movie.

 


Dawidowicz, Nathan (Italy)

Sanctuary of Ideas (2023)

Italian-born artist of Cameroonian and Polish / Lithuanian (Ashkenazi) descent, currently based in Berlin. Long, slowly-evolving EM tracks in an individual style - psychedelic, rhythmic and inventive. Sometimes with good sequencer content. Nathan Dawidowicz is also part of a "balearic" duo JU/NA.

 


Dawn Approach (USA)

Glimpse (2013) (EP)
Cosmic Interference (2013)

Dawn Approach is T. S. Hines from Virginia. He is influenced by classic EM and uses a lot of organ in both floating and repetitive (ala Terry Riley) style, coupled with synthesizers. Some of the tracks use hypnotic percussive rhythms. A very minimal sound, overall.

 


Dawn Chorus And the Infallible Sea (USA)

Dawn Chorus And the Infallible Sea (2018)
Alpha (2020)
Liberamente (2020)
Cadere (2023) (S)

Ambient project of Marc Ertel and Zach Frizzell, two members of post-rock band Pillars. Floating, droning sound with influences from post-rock and classical.

 


Dawn & Dusk Entwined (France)

Myth, Faith, Belief (1995)
A Leftover of Gaia (1998)
Forever War (1999)
Remergence (2003)
Untitled (2004) (recorded in 1995 - 2001)
Vanitas vanitatum (2007)
Serpentrion (2007)
Sang Graal (2008) (with :Golgatha:)
Cathedrales de brume (2009)
Fin de siecle - Paris (2010) (S)
Fin de siecle - London (2011) (S)
A l'aube des jours anciennes (2011)
Fin de siecle - Wien (2012) (S)
Archive I (2013)
Archive II (2013)
Crossed Paths (2020)
Godwin Point (2021)
Promises To Keep (2021) (EP) (with Patrick Leagas)
La flamme rouge (2022)
When I Die Burn Me In the Clothes of My Youth (2023)

Martial Ambient by David Sabre. 

 


Dawn DX (USA)

Dawn Adventure DX (2023)

Adventurous music between glitch and Progressive Electronic from this Texan artist.

 


Dawn Projekt (Germany)

Grey September (2003)

Dark Ambient based on the events of September, 11th.

 


Dawn, The (Spain)

Dawn In the Sunset (1992)
Hope (1994)

Music by Fernando Arbex and Alfonso Fúster. The style is unknown at the moment.

See also: Arbex, Fernando

 


Dawno Temu (Poland)

Automatic Reply (2021)

Polish female artist with an ambient style, mixing rich pads and sporadic voices.

 


Dawson, Michael P. (USA)

The Brandnewbug Concertos (1994)
The Insect Garden (2015)
Paleosoic (2017)
The Hipcrime Vocab (2020)
Rats' Alley (2021)
Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven (2022)

California-based Dawson is inspired by both Ambient / EM and progrock. His music is a strange and unique mixture of atmospheric / abstract electronic and upbeat rock-ish tracks with flashy synth solos etc.

 


Day, Aaron (Germany)

Interiors Vol. 1 (2017)
Interiors Vol. 2 (2019)
Interiors Vol. 3 (2019)

Quiet, reflective ambient compositions.

 


Day Before Us (France)

Under Mournful Horizons (2012) (with Nimh)
Autumnal Wandering (2013)
Misty Shroud of Regrets (2013)
Upon This World of Dreams (2013) (EP)
Crystal Sighs of A Broken Universe (2014)
Child of A New Light (2014) (EP)
Prélude à l'âme d'élégie (2015)
Enlightening Secrecy (2016) (EP)
Nihil interit (2016)
Adorned Path of Stillness (2018)
Ode à la nuit d'ombre (2019)
Complaintes au bord d'un autre monde (2020) (with Antikatechon)
Embalming My Melodious Tears (2020) (EP)
As My Spirit Wanders Free (2021)

Melancholic, neo-classical-tinged ambient project formed by Philippe Blache in 2011.

See also: Blache, Philippe

 


Day of the Triangle (Estonia)

Salvia Sundays / Chair Conspiracy (2015)
Sparse Atmosphere (2017)
Bizarre World of Non (2018)

Weird electronics from this artist, mostly rather progressive sounding, but full of voice samples and with sort of a lo-fi, but spacey, psychedelic feel.

 


Daycan, Simon (Belgium)

Aka Simon Deken.

 


Daye, Ray Carl (Canada)

Spectral Navigator (2008)
Echoes From the Aether (2010)
Rapid Ear Movement (2012)

Ambient synthesist from Ottawa, with a sound close to that of early Brian Eno.

 


Dayflight (Germany)

In Between (2005)

Rhythmic and melodic music with some techno influences from Dieter Haerten. I hope more purely Berlin School releases will follow.

See also: DJ Paps

 


Dayin (Bulgaria)

Letting Go of People (2015)
Light Is Polluting the City (2019)
When Did You Stop Looking At the Sky (2023)
Warm Like Crystal Throats (2023)

Melancholic / urban / post-industrial / post-apocalyptic ambient drone project of Angel Simitchiev.

See also: Mytrip, Vague Voices, Born Erased.

 


Daylight (Netherlands)

Man Machine (1992)
New Challenge (1992)
Revolution (1993)
Dance Zone 2002 (1993)
Dance (1997)
Cosmos (2000)
Lightyears Away (2003)

A project of Humphrey Robertson that should please all fans of Laserdance and Koto.

See also: Ciber People, Futurespace.

 


Daylight Inferno (Canada)

Crimson Path (2020) (S)
Connected To Lonliness (2021) (S)
Turning Point / Tipping Point (2021) (S)
Time Compression (2021)
Synthesis of Hate Fueled Algorithms (2022) (recorded in 2018 - 2019) (S)

Electronic-oriented project of London, Ontario-based guitarist Preston Lobzun, who is known as member of many (mostly metal-oriented and hardcore punk) bands. The Daylight Inferno material ranges from vaguely rhythmic, echoey / distant, a bit lo-fi, to ambient.

See also: Shock Doctrine

 


Days of Blue (USA)

Days of Blue (2023) (recorded in 2021)

Melancholic ambience with a "dreampunk" feel.

 


Dbkaos (UK)

Art of Sacrifice (2003)

Dbkaos is the project of Dave Hickman, combining analogue sounds with cutting-edge digital techniques. On DiN label.

 


dDamage (France)

Shinbô (Tu Seras Sumo) (2013) (soundtrack)

Indie rock / glitch hop duo of Frederik Hanak and Jean-Baptiste Hanak. The above is a diverse soundtrack with some genuine EM pieces, among other styles.

See also: Hanak, Jean-Baptiste.

 


dDarkwater (Australia)

Levers & Cogs (2012)
Time Flies (2019) (recorded in 2011 - 2018)

A project of Ross Douglas, ex-member of post-punkers The Strawmen. Ambient and collage-like pieces.

 


De Almeida, Tiago (Portugal)

Inner Space Travels (2019) (S)

Portuguese ambient musician based in Berlin. Droning / minimal sound.

 


De Angelis, Guido and Maurizio (Italy)

Alien 2 sulla Terra (2019) (recorded in 1980) (soundtrack)

A duo of arrangers, two brothers born in 1944 and 1947, respectively. They have been rather prolific, mostly as soundtack composers. Some of the material on the above score leans towards EM, other parts sound more influenced by progrock or disco.

 


De Bakker, Rene (Netherlands)

Rene De Bakker (2012)
Revelation of Mystery (2013)
Returning Winds (2014)
Almost Human (2016)
Day Dream (2016)
Our Gift (2019)
The Uncertain Path (2020)
Dive In - Dive Out (2021)
Passing By (2022)

Solo music from member of Beyond Berlin.

See also: Beyond Berlin

 


De Bemels, Antonin (Belgium)

En travers du chemin (2004)
La fin des pseudonymes (2020)

Experimental electronics with a touch of Heldon.

 


De Bie-Vernet, Vania (Belgium??)

The Conspiracy Tape (2013)
The Hexagonal Murder (2013)
Les citadins du futur (2013)
Death Road (2013) (with Peter Woodwind)
On Being the Right Side (2014)
BrainScape (2014) (with Peter Woodwind)
Vinheta (2015)
Fresh Start (2016)
Offworld Outlaw (2015) (with Peter Woodwind)
Gelderlaand (2017)
Unfinished Business (2019)
Flashbulb Memory (2020)

Pretty unique mixture of real drums, fusion-y approach, soundtrack vibes and electronics.

 


De Bruyne, Koen (Belgium)

In Kluis (1978) (soundtrack)

Jazz fusion keyboardist Koen De Bruyne released this soundtrack to a Flemmish experimental film in EM style.

 


De Cos (Spain)

Tides / Grass Lore (2022) (S)

Nestor De Cos is a Basque artist composing unique World Music combining traditional / folk and electronic instruments.

 


De Deyster, Edmond (Belgium)

Selectie 01 (2006) (recorded in 1975)
Selectie 02 (2008) (recorded in 1975)

Uncovered home recordings by a Belgian recluse. In fact, Edmond De Deyster was so secretive about it that even his family was not aware that he was recording music. Nothing was released during his lifetime (De Deyster died in 1999) due to his extreme shyness. However, he left a lot of reel-to-reel tapes with no information (or track titles) other than the year of recording. Musically it's abstract solo analog synth, a bit in the vein of Conrad Schniztler, Yuri Morozov's solo synth experiments, Seesselberg and such. Only for fans of Experimental EM.

 


De Doux, Lawrence (Belgium)

Music For Documentaries (2017)
Host (2018)
eemail (2022) (S)

 


De Fabriek (Netherlands)

Labish Intermediaries (1989)

This album by a well-known Dutch post-industrial outfit is not typical of the band's oeuvre. Featuring Conrad Schnitzler and Mark Lane on synthesizers, it's much closer to prog EM of the "kosmische" variety, with undulating synths and lots of bleepiness.

See also: Narwal

 


De Felipe, Adrian (Spain)

Kraut Experience (??)

 


De Ferron, Romain (France)

Couvent de la tourette (2013)
Notre dame des neiges (2017)
Flores (2020)
Ravi (2022)

Wacky, a bit library-like electronics with exotica and cosmic vibes.

 


De Filippi, Rino (Italy)

Specchio di una psiche (??)
Giuochi computerizzati (??)
Strumentali: Cosmo... Uomo (1989)

Library composer (real name: Oronzo De Filippi). A (supposedly) small portion of his output features electronic compositions. The above discography also includes albums released under the Tranotis pseudonym.

 


De Fries D'Albert, Beverly (USA)

Mental Sailing (1981)

Subtitled "Electronic Music Album Number 1", Mental Sailing is a rare LP issued with the help of Electronic Music Studio at the Art Institute of Chicago. It contains longs tracks made with ARP 2500 and E-MU modular synthesizers and Francois D'Albert's violin work.

 


De Gallo, Francesco (Canada)

Tones To Disappear In (2014) (S) (with Justin Wiggan)
A Certain Vastness (2014)
Dust / Outlines (2016)

See also: Hobo Cubes

 


De Jong Jr., Joost M (Netherlands)

Studies / Studies / Etudes (2017)

Synthesizer pieces influenced by the first wave of electronic musicians, including Wendy Carlos' baroque stylings.

 


De Jong, Lyckle (Netherlands)

Can't Do Nothing (2016) (soundtrack) (with Kim David Bots and Bernice Nauta)
Bij Annie op bezoek (2020)
Os (2021)
Mexicommercie (2022)

Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Bij Annie op bezoek features abstract electronic pieces, very 1970's / 1980's private press in feel, with touches of Cluster, local underground EM musicians and more.

 


De Koning, Andre (Netherlands)

Nightmares (1982)
Common Mode (1983)
Shade Pattern (??)

Minimal synthesizer music, very typical of its time.

 


De La Calle, Eduardo (Spain)

The Intellinet Prophecy (2015)
Collected (2016)
Mindfulness Hipernormalisation (2020)
Orthogonal Eigenstates (2022)

Spanish techno artist also known as Quantum Collapse. Sometimes he steps away from dancey beats into the realms of ambient electronics and cinematic textures. These tracks include "The Intellinet Prophecy", "Faith Necessary" (The Intellinet Prophecy), "Blade Runner", "Repetance" (Collected), "The End of the Techno Era", "The Vaccine's Progression", "End of A Generation", "The Getaway" (Mindfulness Hipernormalisation) and "Algebraic Formalism" (Orthogonal Eigenstates).

 


De la Montagne, Gaspard (Switzerland)

Thot (2016) (S)
Spectres (2018) (S)
Auras (2019) (with Nathan Baumann)
St Esprit (2021)

Swiss electronic artist with a diverse style - from rhythmic, sequence-full to ambient and / or club-influenced.

 


De Larny, Sandy (Austria)

Sapphire (1989)

Melodic music released on Gandalf's own Seagull Music label. Guests on this album include: Robert Julian Horky - flute on one track and Gandalf - guitar on one track.

 


De Lucchi, Alessandro (Italy)

Alessandro De Lucchi (1978)

Typical Italian Electronic Music, rather minimal and repetitive. Private release.

 


De Maupeou, Godefroy (France)

La haut les murailles (1990)

Varied music from this keyboardist. Often new-agey or jazzy, there is also a strong ambient flair, but mostly it's grand, cinematic "orchestral" music a bit in the style of symphonic Vangelis. Mostly synths, with guests on sax, trumpet and percussion. One track recorded in 1980.

 


De Nóbrega Pupo, João (Portugal)

The Death of Truth (2021)

Ambient musician with sort of a lysergic sound on The Death of Truth, mixing classical instrumentation, electro-acoustic sources and electronics in a way a bit reminiscent of the earliest (pre-Blackdance) Klaus Schulze.

 


De Pascalis, Marta (Germany)

Quitratue (2014)
Anzar (2016)
Sonus ruinae (2020)
Sky Flesh (2023)

Synthesizer artist with a floating, whimsical style based on the sound of analog instruments. Sort of influenced by classic EM works but also unique and different.

 


De Roo, Victor (Belgium)

Live From Woodblocks 2021 (2023)

Synth artist with a varied rhythmic / melodic style.

 


De Roover, Adriaan (Beglium)

Leaves (2019)
Voor Anderen (2020)
Vacuum (2021) (with David Poltrock)
To Become Liquid Again (2021) (with Lotte Dodion)
Other Rooms (2024)

Ambient composer with a varied, sometimes dramatic and emotionally charged sound.

 


De Sie, Marcel (Switzerland)

Uma (2021) (S)

Rhythmic, Kraftwerk-like music with an experimental edge. A pseudonym of Luc Bersier from Fribourg.

 


De Tuinen (Netherlands)

II (2010)
Minor Function (2014)
Ten Meditations (2016)

Varied electronics, mostly of experimental variety.

 


De Umbra Ordo Infernalis (UK)

De umbra ordo infernalis (2020) (S)

A bit lo-fi, blackened ambient electronics from Glasgow.

 


De Vann, Marek (Italy)

Interstellar Radio (2023)

Varied rhythmic / melodic EM with stiff rhythms and crisp synth sounds. The real name of the musician is Marco Sarracino.

 


De Varge, Monita (Australia)

The Element of Sound (2007)

Mostly danceable tracks but also sort of melodic EM / Kraftwerk-influenced.

 


De Vreng, Rene (Netherlands)

Mure sauvage (1990)
The Sorceress (2000)
Pandora (2002)
Opus I (??)
Cardhu (??)
Tamdhu (??)

An admirer of Mike Oldfield, Rene De Vreng started in the early 1980's, combining guitar and synthesizers for a multilayered, symphonic sound, influenced by Oldfield's classic period (from Tubular Bells to Incantations), with maybe a touch of Vangelis. However, whereas Oldfield's music was largely acoustic / electric, De Vreng seems to use a combination of real guitar and electronic (MIDI) imitations of acoustic and folk instruments. EM-related, I think.

 


De Witte, Charlotte (Belgium)

Selected (2019) (EP)

Belgian techno musician and deejay who closes the above EM with an ambient / EM track "Amar". Pitty it's too short, as the music is quite good and flowing. Hopefully she releases a completely ambient / Prog EM album some day soon.

 


Deacon, Dan (USA)

America (2012)
Gliss Riffer (2015)
Rat Film (2017) (soundtrack)
Time Trial (2018) (soundtrack)
Mystic Familiar (2020)
Well Groomed (2020) (soundtrack)
Spiderman of the Rings (2023)

Soundtrack composer and synth-pop musician. His soundtracks are generally electronic or predominantly electronic, with varied ratios between interesting / forgettable tracks (as is often the case with this genre). Mystic Familiar is an album of mostly synth-pop songs with many over-the-top (i.e. loud) moments that are not really to my liking. However, some of the instrumental material is interesting and the (sadly) short track "Hypnagogic" is an extremely well-crafted and captivating EM piece. Gliss Riffer is a more even effort, with some EM-friendly material as well.

 


Dead Beat Project (France)

Breaking the Shell (2007)
R'Evolution (2011)
Samsara (2013)

Darkish ambient textures and slow echoing rhythms. For fans of post-2000 Klaus Schulze or stuff like Solar Moon System. Dead Beat Porject is Olivier Goyet who had previously played with UK doom metallers Esoteric and is part of the German dream pop band Dark Orange.

 


Dead_Disk_Drive (USA)

Digital Dimensions (2018)
Declassified Space Exploration (2018)

Varied electronic compositions, but mostly spacey sketches and pads. A project from Denver, Colorado.

 


Dead Goldfish Ensemble, The (UK)

Structures & Strictures (1985)
Music For Bowls (1987)
20 000 Dead Goldfish Under the Sea (1987)
Fame And Misfortune (1987)
Reality - A Surreal Nightmare (1988)
Eye To Eye (1989)
Goldfish Fingers (1989)
Cast In Stone (1990)
Music For Pandas (1991)
Fish & Micro Chips (1991)
Listen 'Ear! (1992)
After the Goldfish (1992)
Fishy Tales (2021)
Podule - A Collection of Very Rare And Unreleased Tracks From 1985 - 1994 (2021)

The Dead Goldfish Ensemble was a solo project of Cambridge-based Steve Hartwell who, starting from the mid-1980's and up until 1992 released several wacky tapes of electronic experimentation. In these, he would explore automatic processes in music creation by means of MIDI technology. As a result, his music is funny, minimal and repetitive.

 


Dead Man's Hill (Belgium)

Inner Journeys Through the Living Temples of Water (2021)
The Sacrifice (2022)

Hypnotic ambient compositions inspired by water.

 


Dead Melodies (UK)

Parallel Existence (2016)
Legends of the Wood (2017)
The Foundations of Ruin
(2018)
Primal Destination (2019)
The Masterplan (2020)
Anthropocene (2020) (with Zenjungle)
Crier's Bane (2020) (with Beyond the Ghost)
Fabled Machines of Old (2021)
Memento (2022)
Murken Hollow (2022)
The Aberration of Time And Space (2023)

Darkish soundscapes and field recordings.

 


Deadly Avenger (UK)

Deep Red (2002)
Everyday Is Kill (2017)
I Am Godzilla, You Are Japan (2018)
Your God Is Too Small (2019)

A project of Damon Baxter. At a certain moment in the past, he got influenced by the synthwave genre and soundtrack music.

 


Deardorff, Glenn (USA)

Primordial Mariner (1998)

Space Music. Don’t know how it sounds, but Steve Roach was involved in the production.

 


Dearmun, Martin (UK)

Afterlight (1990) (with Jon Palmer)
Annual Rings (??)

Jon Palmer's collaborator with his solo music. The style is not known.

See also: Drumbeg

 


Deart, Boris (Russia)

Galaxy "Pink Elephant" (1995)
665 (1996)

This artist (real name - Boris Monastyrev) mixed the melodic style of Jarre with some unique influences. On Galaxy... some tracks have a techno beat, while others have slight Laserdance vibes. There are also numbers that are awfully cheesy, so beware. Overall, it's nice music for traveling. Completely another matter is 665, though. This suite, apparently dedicated to a small plane, is nothing short of brilliant. It consists of several sections encompassing different styles, from the weird sampling / electroacoustic stuff to the spacey / melodic synth. In fact, it's hard to believe that these two albums were created by the same person - they are so different. The second album is very recommendable. Unfortunately, Boris Deart died somewhere in 2006.

 


Death Cube K (Canada)

Dreamatorium (1994)
Desembodied (1997)
Tunnel (1999)
DCK (2007)
Monolith (2007)
Torn From Black Space (2009)

Death Cube K is a Dark Ambient alter ego of avant-garde composer Brian Patrick Carroll aka Buckethead (the name Death Cube K is actually an anagram of Buckethead). Although his main instrument here is still the guitar (with tons of processing of course), he also uses a lot of effects and electronics. Most releases have Bill Laswell as second (shadow) member. These releases should be considered classics of the genre. There is even a moment of Ash Ra Tempel-like cosmic bliss on "Hanging Gallows" (Desembodied). There are also more wacky / experimental explorations throughout.

 


Death Hags (USA)

Death Hags (2019)
Big Grey Sun #2 (2020)
Big Grey Sun #3 (2021)

Lola G. aka Death Hags is a psych rock / pop singer-songwriter. Some shorter, completely instrumental synthesizer interludes on her albums put her in the EM-related category. I hope she makes a purely EM record one day.

 


Death In Vegas (UK)

Satan's Circus (2004)
Transmission (2016)

Death In Vegas was formed in the 1990's by Richard (Maguire) Fearless. He is mostly classed as an "electronica" artist (you know I hate that term, don't you?) He is also obviously influenced by krautrock and early German EM, his album Satan's Circus being the greatest testament to that. Here, he seems to be so much informed by Kraftwerk, Neu! and their ilk, that at times almost sounds like ripping them off (compare "Kontroll" to "Kometenmelodie" for example). If you like classic, "nostalgic" synth sounds, that is a good disc, though. Featuring Sasha Grey, Transmission is another disc that hints at Prog EM, although that one is probably a bit more diverse but somewhat lacking in direction at the same time.

See also: Fearless, Richard, Studio Kosmische.

 


Death Is the Dream (UK??)

Betwixt Veil & Void (2020)
Frog And Toad Return the Favor (2022)

Pretty unique style from John Mckusick, mixing gamelan sounds and electronics in a spooky, ghostly manner.

 


Deathcount In Silicone Valley (UK)

Acheron (2015)
Consec (2016)
Hex Void (2017)
Vampyroteuthis infernalis (2022)

Inspired by several generations of electronic musicians, London-based Andrew Nixon uses analog synthesizers to craft darkish, monolithic and cosmic, sometimes sequencer-based electronic soundscapes that will be enjoyed by fans of early TD, Schulze, as well as those into Dark Space and even brighter forms of EM.

See also: Fragments of Space Hex, Nixon, Andrew.

 


Deathprod (Norway)

Deep Throat Puke Orgasms (1991)
The Symbastic Structure For the Concrete / Challenge Trilogy Pt. 3: Latt Att Grinda (1994) (with Origami Arktika)
Treetop Drive 1-3, Towboat (1994)
Imaginary Songs From Tristan Da Cunha (1996)
Nordheim Transformed (1998) (with Biosphere)
Morals And Dogma (2004)
Stator (2015) (with Biosphere)
Dark Transit (2019) (EP)
Occulting Disk (2019)
Sow Your Gold In the White Foliated Earth (A Composition For Ensemble Musikfabrik's Harry Parch Instruments) (2022)
Compositions (2023)

One of the better known names in Norwegian Dark Ambient, Helge Sten aka Deathprod has been crafting his own droning compositions since the early 1990's. He makes extensive use of processed samples.

See also: Supersilent

 


Deathwalk (Norway)

Djevelens urkraft (2022)

Dark, ritualistic ambience.

 


Debit (Mexico)

Love Discipline (2018) (S)

Intense, slightly atonal, but also melodic soundscapes. A unique and very interesting style. Debit is a project of Delia Beatriz (Mexican-born, residing in New York).

 


DeBruyn Jr., Bob (USA)

Echoes In Blue (2005)

Music played on synthesizers and electric bass by this painter / musician.

 


Deca (Italy)

Gatejox (1985)
Alkaid (1986)
Synthetic Lips (1987)
Dull Colors (1988) (S)
Oniric Warp (1988)
Claustrophobia (1989)
Estinzione (1989)
Instinct (1989)
Evoluzione notturna (1990)
Nyx macra (1991)
Premonizione humana (1992)
Coma Flowers (1992)
Mater frequentia (1993)
Sodoma Vol.1 (1994)
Digital Fury (1994)
Deceit of Time (1995)
Instinct (1995) (recorded in 1989)
Ectoplasm Transmitter (1995) (with Valmat)
Sodoma Vol.2 (1996)
Phantom (1998)
Electronauta (2000)
Simbionte (2002)
Aracnis radiarum (2007)
Automa Ashes (2010)
Modulectron (2014) (recorded in 1984 - 1986)
Onirodrome Apocalypse (2014)
Mass (2017) (recorded in 1987 - 1988)
Dark Demo (2019) (recorded in 1988)
Lucifero alchemico (2021)
Antimateria psichica (2023)

Deca is the musical "alchemist" (as he is known in Italy) Federico De Caroli. He has gradually moved from the spacey and melodic style reminiscent of Jarre and Tangerine Dream that dominated his early works to a more experimental sound, involving elements of industrial, noise, "musique concrete" and Dark Ambient.

See also: Argiope

 


Decamps, Christian (France)

Psychédelice (2008)

Mostly instrumental album dominated by keyboards and synths from this member of Ange and elder brother of Francis Decamps. Melodic, symphonic, thematic, with lots of digital sounds. Sometimes similar to The Enid.

 


Decamps, Francis (France)

Histoire de fou (1979)
Folie synthetique (1984) (S)
Vie en positif (1990)
Epicier marchand d’rock (1993)
To You My Travellers (1995)
Hommage a Roger Comte (1997)
The Gift (2018)
De retour au cimetière des arlequins (2020)
Relax (2022)
Bien au-delà du délire (2022) (Pascal Gutman)
Chut ! (2023)

Mellotron-based symphonic music by ex-Ange keyboardist.

 


Decapolis (USA)

The River (1997)
2nd Flight (1999)

Decapolis is Riley Roden from Texas, USA, who makes very diverse EM, which is often quite new agey.

 


Decay Delivery (Russia)

Never Ending Bus (2018)

Long-form droning ambience with lots of street / transport noises.

 


Decayed Realms, The (USA)

The Decayed Realms (2016)

Minneapolis-based synth / drums duo consisting of Victoria Malawey and Brandon Sullivan. Nice, if a bit sparse sound here, with influences from melodic EM and progressive rock.

 


Decayes, The (USA)

Ich bin eine Spigelei (1978)
Not Yet (1979)
Accidental Musik (1979)
horNetZ (1981)
Ten Guitars (1983)
Aquarium (2014)

Obscure avant-garde electronic band that consisted of Ron Kane, Paul Sakrison, John Payne, Cameron Reid, Mike Van Winkle, Craig Smith, Rex Payne and Bill Jeffery. Quite a collective, as you can see. They use strange sounds, radio samples, voice samples, bizarre melodies in an experimental mould.

 


Decerf, Jean-Pierre (France)

Keys of Future (1978)
Action (1979) (with Gerard Zadj)
Reincarnation (1979)
Publipot (??) (with M. Baroty)
Mas alla del Terror (1980) (soundtrack)
Pulsations (1980)
Sound Space (??) (with Marc Saclays)

Library music artist who's done some cheesy stuff but also some nice sounding, easy and melodic Electronic Music in French style.

See also: Synthetic Music, Magical Ring.

 


Dechirico (USA)

Kumamoto / Kumaso (2015) (S)
Tokyo School of Electronics (2017)
Please Don't Let the Universe End Just Yet (2019)

EM project of Adam Douglas, originally from San Francisco, currently residing in Tokyo, Japan. He has recorded acid house, techno and indie pop. He is known as Kemek and Deeper Than Space. As Dechirico, he expresses his 1970's EM / kraut influences in both sequencer-based and more ambient variations.

See also: Deeper Than Space

 


Dechmond Woods (USA)

November '79 (2021)

Sort of hauntology-related electronics from this duo.

See also: Morlock, Klaus

 


Decibel (Mexico)

El Poeta del Ruido (1978)
Méliès (2012)
En Vivo (2014)
Insecto Mecánico (2015)
Sequencias Genéticas (2016)
Tomando el té con Alicia y el Sombrerero Loco (2017)

Decibel are: Carlos Alvarado, Javier Baviera, Miguel Angel Nava, Carlos Robledo, Alejandro Sanchez and Walter Schmidt. They were basically a RIO band, but their first album El Poeta Del Ruido features varied instrumental tracks, some of them upbeat and quirky and some spacey and atmospheric synth-dominated workouts. The music has traces of everything from Eno and Moebius to Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd.

See also: Alvarado, Carlos, Schmidt, Walter.

 


Decima (Portugal)

Ensaio Quantico (2021)
Flores de Abril (2021)
Fata Morgana (2021)

Monolithic, pulsing electronics with voice samples.

 


Decimus (USA)

Decimus 6 (2019)
The King of Thuringia (2021)
Morning And Evening Ragas Vol. 3 (2023)

Solo electronics / guitar exploration project of Pat Murano, guitarist of The No-Neck Blues Band. He is rather diverse and often quite noisy. However, on Decimus 6, there is a gritty Heldon / Fripp & Eno Prog EM feel. Further investigation is needed.

See also: Adam Egypt Mortimer

 


Decker, Sally (USA)

An Opening (2020) (with Brendan Glasson)
In the Tender Dream (2021)

Ex-New Yorker relocated to Oakland. Mixture of glitchy / noisy textures based on feedback techniques and nice proggy synthiness ("Abode"). File under EM-related.

See also: Multa Nox

 


Decko (France)

Mythe Xero (1982)

Rather diverse album with Electronic Music. Some numbers are primarily synthetic, while others are semi-acoustic. Decko is a French visual artist and musician whose real name is Andre Baldeck.

 


Decommissioned Forests (UK)

Industry (2022)

A somewhat Coil-ish industrial band with an extra analog synth touch and some Dark Ambient / Prog EM vibes.

 


Dedekind Cut (USA)

American Zen (2016)
$uccessor (2016)
The Expanding Domain (2017) (S)
Tahoe (2018)

American Zen is an unexpected ambient excursion from UK Bass / jungle / post-industrial producer Fred Warmsley. The ambient wave continues on Tahoe.

 


Dedelaylay (Switzerland)

Dedelaylay (2020)

Synth / drums duo that is pretty heavy and sounds like Heldon and Suicide playing krautrock on Arrakis.

 


Dedola, Gianni (Italy)

Ichnusa (1983)

 


Dee, Michael (Sweden)

Portraits (1986)

Michael Dee was a Swedish journalist who lived and worked in London. In 1983 he released his debut album, the synth-pop infused Snälltåg till himlen. His second LP, the more avant-garde and conceptual Portraits, went unnoticed by the public. However, I have some reasons to believe that it's the more interesting one, musically.

 


Deeb (Italy)

Hai presente il futuro (2019)
Oceano mare (2022) (S)
Ricordi oggetti (2023) (S)
Pre avanti tempo (2023)
Ovunque andiamo (2023)
Pre avanti tempo II (2023)

Varied techno / ambient project of Gennaro di Bartolomeo. The ambient works will be listed.

 


Deep Catalogue (France)

In-Vis-O (2014)
Behind the Seen (2014)

A duo of Guillaume Eymenier (guitars, fx) and Mika Perez (synths) with a moody, ambient sound.

See also: Monnier, Sylvia

 


Deep Chill Network (USA)

Experiments In Chill (1994)
Cyber Sleep 1 (1995)
Cyber Sleep 2 (1996)
Cyber Sleep 3 (1997)
Cyber Sleep 4 (1997)
Dreams 1 (1998)
Heart of the Tundra (1999)
Dreams 2 (1999)
Deep Freeze (2000)
Chilled-Out Funk (2000) (with SEND)
Dreams 3 (2000)
Yukon (2000)
Dreams 4 (2001)
Live At the Ambient Ping 2000 (2002)
Cyber Sleep 5 (2004)
Cyber Sleep 6 (2006)
Drones For Deep Sleep Vol. 1 (2007)
Dreams 5 (2007)
Cyber Sleep 7 (2010)
Antarctica (2010)
Drones For Deep Sleep Vol. 2 (2010)
Drones For Deep Sleep Vol. 3 (2010)
Drones For Deep Sleep Vol. 4 (2011)
Antarctica 2 (2012)
Cyber Sleep 8 (2012)
Antarctica 3 (2013)
Drones For Deep Sleep Vol. 5 (2013)
Drones For Deep Sleep Vol. 6 (2013)
Dreams 6 (2013)
Heart of the Tundra 2 (2014)

Droning Dark Ambient with arctic atmospheres. It’s either beautiful or boring, depending on what you listen to.

See also: Philips, Stephen

 


Deep Dark (Russia)

Mystical Path (2016) (with Arctica)
Lost (2016)
Human Corrosion (2016)
The Ruins of Immortality (2017)
The Themes (2018)
Shapes Moving In the Murk (2019) (with Noctilucant and Scott Lawlor)

Aka DeepDark. Cinematic Dark Ambient project of Dmitry Vologdin.

See also: Grande Abisso

 


Deep Dive Sound (Portugal)

Off the Beaten Path (2023)

Ambient soundscape artist (Rafael Diogo).

 


Deep Earth (USA)

Soundsystem Consciousness 2009 (2009)
Soundsystem 2010 (2010)
Nachtmusik (2010)
House of Mighty (2011)

Electronic duo heavily inspired by krautrock and Dusseldorf School (lots of motorik here).

See also: Janas, Anthony

 


Deep Imagination (Germany)

Scapes (2005)
Gemstones (2008)
Awareness (2010)
Live At Electronic Circus Festival (2011) (S)
Carefully Kept Secrets (2017)
Dancing With Ghosts (2017) (S)
My Silent Celebration (2020)

Deep Imagination is Thorsten Sudler-Mainz. Electronic soundscapes.

See also: Art of Infinity

 


Deep Learning (UK)

Soft Confidence (2018)
Dataverse (2018)
Evergreen (2022)

Ambient, somewhat vaporwave-related sound from Richard Pike.

 


Deep Nalström (France)

Naive Melodies (2019)
Esoteric Fantasy (2021)
Naissance aux mondes invisibles (2022)

Music by Guillaume de Ubéda, a French artist residing in Bristol. Exotic percussions, nature sounds, analog melodies and a touch of dub... EM in a unique style.

 


Deep Ocean (Russia)

Gulfstream (1996)

Deep Ocean are Alexey Obraztsoff and Vadim Shagov. Traditional EM.

 


Deep Sky Divers (UK)

Natural Power (2000) (recorded in 1991 - 1994)
Momentum (2001)
Highlands And Skylands (2002)
The New Fast Lane (2003)
Incandescent (2004)

Ambient from Jon Short and David Jones.

 


Deep Space Duo (USA)

Spacetones (2020)

Relaxing ambient synth tunes from this duo of Matt Jencik and Whitney Johnson.

See also: Matchess

 


Deep Tremolo Strain (Germany)

Seaside Stories (2020) (with Kraut Sounds)
Low Gravity (2020)
Drone Harmonics (2021)

Munich-based droning ambient project.

 


Deeper Than Space (USA)

Earth Rise (1993)
Drift (1995) (with Arthur Dent)

Concept album released by Adam Douglas on Flask records (a division of Silent). Mostly drones and environmental sounds, with some subtle rhythms and arpeggios.

See also: Dechirico

 


Deep-Pression (Poland)

Atlantis' Emerge (2011)
Northern Pomerania's Wasteland (2011) (EP)

Hybrid sludge / black metal / Ambient project. I will list their ambient works here. I mean, it's all pretty gloomy and ambient, but the above are not dominated by guitars and / or vocals.

 


Deepriver (South Africa / Sweden)

Volume One (2023)

Warm ambient compositions from this duo of Jason van Wyk and Joni Ljungqvist.

See also: Wyk, Jason van, Ljungqvist, Joni.

 


Deepspace (Australia)

The Barometric Sea (2007)
Slow Moving Lifeforms Vol. 1 (2007)
The Barometric Sun (2007)
Subantarctic Sessions (2008)
Another Empty Galaxy (2008)
The Glittering Domain (2008)

Ambient music by Mirko Ruckels who was born in 1972 in Germany but now resides in Queensland, Australia.

 


Deepspace (Canada??)

The Alexia Beach Explorer (1995)

Not to be confused with Australian Mirko Ruckel's ambient project from the 00's, this is a more obscure formation that released one album on Hypnotic Records in 1995 with a mellow, ambient and laid-back music. Apparently it was preceded by Unearthed but I think this album was much more techno-oriented, although you never know...

 


Defekte Elektrik (UK)

Telephone Winter (2022)

Relaxed EM with a slight vaporwave twist. A minidisc release.

 


Defend the Rhino (???)

A+ (2021)

 


Defever, Warren Michael (USA)

Sunship (2015)

Warm modular synth compositions akin to some Michael Stearns works (Planetary Unfolding comes to mind). Nice. Other albums of this artist supposedly are not EM-related.

 


Definitely Miami (USA)

Definitely Miami (2019)

Varied, warm electronics from Patrick McCarthy out of California.

 


Defled (Spain)

Hacking the Sun (2017)

A project of Mallorca-based musician whose style is rhythmic and full of sequences, between "New Berlin School" and the so-called "Balearic beat", with shades of Cluster in there as well.

 


Defraktor (Norway)

Themes For the Lunatic (2004)
Through the Archway of the Fallen (2005)
A Hole In the Void of Time Part 1 & Part 2 (2007) (S)

One of several dark atmospheric projects of Karsten Hamre.

See also: Hamre, Karsten, Veiled Allusion, Dense Vision Shrine, Museum of Transient Lights.

 


Defunct (USA??)

Aquatic Sketchbook (2016)

Aquatic Ambient.

 


Degiorgio, Kirk (UK)

As One - Planetary Folklore 2 (2006)
Robe of Dreams (2023)
Origins (2023)

Techno, IDM and jazz musician active since the 1990's. Robe of Dreams is a nice and smooth record with jazzy, fusuon-y EM rich in tasty and warm analog synth sounds. The same applies to Planetary Folklore 2. Origins is another nice EM-related work, this time in a more classic cosmic synth mould. It is very recommendable.

See also: As One

 


Degorski, Jarosław (Poland)

Opowiesci z krainy fantazji (1990)
Slady zwierzat (1992)
Ujarzmic czas (1992)
Romantic Shock (1993)
Hologram (1994)
Wykradając sny (1996)
Pulsacje (2000)
Global (2002)
Dreams (2003) (with Karol Tejchman)
Fale (2004)
Live Concert Jelenia Gora 2004 (2004)
Live Electronic Conecrt (2005)
Organix (2005)
Noc na zamku (2008)
Tranceylvania (2009)
Other Life (2009)
Spirits of the Dust (2010) (with friends)
Last Train To Berlin (2013)
Berlin Ratusz (2014)
Chilli Zone (2016)

Polish synthesist whose music runs a gamut of styles from classic EM / Berlin School to more ambient material. Some stuff leans towards techno, so beware. Recently Jaroslaw Degorski has been known as simply "Yarek".

 


Dehaen, Wim (Czech Republic)

Pipe Scenario XI (2019)

Varied ambience. The other works of this artist I know nothing about at the moment.

 


DeHove, Richard (Australia)

Worlds Beyond Number (2006)
The Way To the Stars (2017)

Electronic artist from Tasmania. Space Music and lush, symphonic, cinematic EM with lots of choirs.

 


Deimy Lith (Lithuania)

New Oxygen (2013)
Moonstone (2014)
Landscape (2015)

A pseudonym of Deimintas Zakauskas. Rhythmic / melodic music that somehow reminded me on early 1990's EM - all those general midi sounds, piano emulations, drum machine rhythms, allusions to techno, etc.

 


Deinse, Rob van (Netherlands)

Robland (??)

Synth music album from this late concert pianist. This one has a Roland JX8P on the cover.

 


Deionarra (Argentina)

Freedom Is A Lonely Hill (2021)
The Fading Family (2021) (S)
Underground (2021) (S)
Woodland Gatherings (2022) (S)

Melodic, repetitive music, maybe a bit influenced by the "dungeon synth" genre, but also by EM and progrock.

 


Dejean, Daniel (Belgium)

La Belgique vue du ciel (1979) (soundtrack)

Soundtrack in melodic EM style typical of some French artists. This is from Belgium, though. Another comparison would be Vangelis, with an extra classical touch.

 


Dejection (USA)

Return To New York (2016)

Noise artist (Cory Strand) who released this 3-cassette series inspired by the TMNT series. Each tape features a noisy piece on side A and an ambient synth floater on side B.

 


DeJohnette, Jack (USA)

Zebra (1986)

So, you consider yourself a Klaus Schulze fan? No, not that classic 1970's Klaus Schulze, I am talking more his 1988 - 1990 period (circa En=Trance - Miditerranean Pads). Because if you like that (in general, not very popular) period of KS, you sure is a true fan. Well, maybe this period of Klaus' career is even your favorite or one of your favorites? Then, look no further. Just don't expect to hear the bombastic side of your En-Trance, Dresden Performance, Miditerranean Pads whatever. Just the subtle side. I was hesitant to include this work here, because Jack DeJohnette is of course a well-known jazz drummer. And you can hear that influence here. In fact a bit more than half of the tracks feature Lester Bowie on trumpet. Yeah, so there you have it, jazz drummer playing synthesizer (a Siel DK600 apparently) and programmed drums. At least they sound programmed to me. And that trumpet. Not to everyone's taste I guess. But I found it really good, somewhat subtle and ambient. And since there is a notorious lack of music in that style (music that reminds on Schulze circa 1987 - 1990, before the sampling completely took over), I gave it a go and I think it's fair. The music on Zebra was composed for a documentary by Japanese photographer Tadayuki Naito.

 


Dek (UK)

Earthmass (2002)

Dek is a project of Darren Elliot King. The music is a sort of a bombastic mixture of EM, choral and classical music.

 


Dekatron II (Spain)

Dekatron II (2014)
Dekatron III (2016)
Dekatron IV (2022)

A duo of Miguel A. Ruiz and Sentionaut (We Are the Hunters).

See also: We Are the Hunters, Ruiz, Miguel Angel, Sentionaut.

 


Dekker, Peter (Netherlands)

Chemistry (1990)
Time (1992)
Considerations (1993)
Close My Eyes (1995)
Sailing '94 + ONCS '97 (1997)
Loneliness (1997)
From Scratch..........To Nothing (1998)

Comatosis (2000)

One of the lesser-known Berlin School musicians.

See also: Däcker

 


Del Bosco, Isabel (Argentina)

La clairière (2022)
L'heure bleue (2022)
Undine dans l'eau (2022) (S)
Motifs des prés (2023)

Relaxing, ambient, a bit new-agey compositions mixing soft synth and some guitars / pianos.

 


Del Corpo, Massimo (Italy)

Anima di gomma (2019)

Minimal, percussive, repetitive synth / guitar pieces from this Paris-based Italian artist.

 


Del Lumanta (Australia)

Preparations (2019)

From experimental to cinematic ambience.

See also: Skyline

 


Del Moro, Franco (Italy)

Incommerciabile (1981) (S)
Oronaye (Sinfonia d'acqua) (2007)

Early italo-disco / synth-pop artist from Italy who released a few self-produced singles. Incommerciabile is supposedly his more experimental and EM-related work. Oronaye, on the other hand, is a "fake symphony" type of album, with all instruments (mostly keyboard imitations of classical instruments) played by Del Moro, with a bit Oldfield-like, but less organic results.

 


Delay Tactics (USA)

Out-Pop Options (1982)
Any Questions? (1984)
Elements of Surprise (2022)

A trio of Carl Weingarten, David Udell and Walter Whitney. Funky rhythmic electronics with guitar.

See also: Weingarten, Carl, Whitney, Walter.

 


Delayscape (Denmark)

More Disco (2010)
Dull Parties Vol. I (2014)
Dull Parties Vol. II (2014)

Although electro for the most part, Delayscape's sound includes influences of Kraftwerk and other Prog EM acts, as well as a lively feel with lots of analog synth playing. Besides, some of the tracks are rhythmless and ambient. File under EM-related. Delayscape is Flemming Kaspersen.

See also: Swimwear Catalogue, Heinz Beauvaix.

 


Delerium (Canada)

Faces, Forms And Illusions (1987)
Morpheus (1988)
Syrophenikan (1989)
Euphoric (1990) (S)
Stone Tower (1990)
Spiritual Archives (1991)
Spheres (1994)
Semantic Spaces (1994)
Spheres II (1994)
Karma (1995)
Poem (2000)
Chimera (2003)
Nuages du monde (2006)
Music Box Opera (2012)
Rarities & B Sides (2015)
Mythologie (2016)
Signs (2023)

Delerium are mainly Bill Leeb & Rhys Fulber of Frontline Assembly. The music reminds very much of Enigma, maybe a bit more subtle. In fact, I don’t understand all the fuss about Delerium at all. What I’ve heard by them so far hasn’t impressed me at all. It was simply boring new agey music. Cool Gothic themes are not enough to make my jaw drop in awe. And just because their albums lie in every CD store, it doesn’t mean that the music is great. Nevertheless, the fact remains that many people like this music and listen to it. Maybe because of lack of other material, and the information is not there to let them know there are far better projects. Ok, tastes differ. If you really like it - go for it, but I can't recommend their latest works. The early ones are supposedly more interesting and lean more towards Dark Ambient / industrial atmospheres.

See also: Synaesthesia, Fulber, Rhys.

 


Delerue, George (France)

Thebes aux cent portes - Son et lumiere - Temples de Karnak (1972)

I think this is some kind of a soundtrack to a documentary about (Ancient) Egypt, because Delerue (1925 - 1992) is known mainly as a soundtrack composer. Abstract, ambient sound.

 


Delevingne, Olivier (France)

Waves of An Exhibition (2022)

French synthesist. The 2022 album is expo music created on modular synths for SynthFest in Nantes. Varied, spatial, rhythmic, cosmic, playful... Sometimes rhythmic / sequencer.

 


Delfino, Franco (Italy)

Astrattismo (1979)
Araldica (1980)
Astrattismo 2 (1980)
Astrattismo 3 (1980)

Interesting and quite rare electronic library albums from this musician.

 


Delgado, José María (Spain)

I - X (2016)
Paisaje (2021)

Previously known as Boliden. Bleak, minimal drones on the debut. Paisaje is quiet and relaxing Ambient (ala Steve Roach in the 1980's).

 


Delgado, Luis (Spain)

Planetario de Madrid - Volumen I (1994)
Planetario de Madrid - Volumen II (2001)
Planetario de Madrid - Volumen III (2001)

Liquid Space Music from this ex-member of industrial / minimal synth band Mecánica Popular. He released a lot of albums but is mostly known for his processed acoustic / ethnic music works.

 


Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society (UK)

Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society (2017)
Wow And Flutter (2018)

A duo of Garry Hughes and Harvey Jones in a relaxed sequencer-based mould, with nice solos and mellotron choirs. Some tracks lean more towards Ambient.

See also: Hughes, Garry

 


Delible (USA)

Delible (2016)

Delible is a solo project of founding member (and bass player) of Jane's Addiction - Eric Avery. The style is not known at the moment but it's supposedly EM-related.

 


Delicate Features (Russia)

More Than Roses (2017)

Saint-Petersburg-based duo of Pavel Diakov and Radmila Nikogosian. They started out in sort of a ethereal wave / ambient pop mould, but soon developed a more ambient / electronic sound influenced by ethereal wave and world music / new age of artists like Enigma and Deep Forest.

 


Delicate Monster (USA)

Two Heads (2009)

Alternative name for the Art Cohen / Steve Bowman collaboration. Their first collaborative work (Available Space) was released in 1992, supposedly under their real names and then came New Listening (2007), which adopted the "Available Space" phrase as project name.

See also: Cohen, Art, Available Space.

 


Deliquescent Crystals (UK)

Time Turns Into Space (2022)

Relaxed synth-sequencer / Berlin School from Benjamin Powell.

See also: Llyn Y Cwn, Mank.

 


Delire, Ilya (Russia)

Plankton (2019)

Abstract soundscapes made with the use of granular synthesis from this artist based in the Republic of Udmurtia.

 


Delired Cameleon Family (France)

Delired Chameleon Family (1974)

A ‘supergroup’ featuring Cyrille Verdeaux, Christian Boule, Joel Dugrenot, Gilbert Artmann, Tim Blake and others. The music sounds very much like Clearlight.

See also: Clearlight, Blake, Tim, Lard Free.

 


Delirio, Freddy (Italy)

Journey (1992)

Keyboard-based symphonic rock with flashy solos and some atmospheric EM moments. Journey was released on cassette as a demo and re-released officially on CD in 2012.

 


Delirium (Mexico)

Delirium (1985)

Mexican instrumental symphonic progressive band with very heavy use of synths. Some purely electronic moments here, too, as on "Nocturno en Caminata", for example, which is driven by a sequencer / arpeggio pulse, a drum rhythm and synth / guitar soloing. Sounds like more electronic moments off Eloy's Silent Cries... or a more symphonic rock-oriented Tangerine Dream. There is also an earlier album called El Teatro del Delirio. I don't know anything about it at the moment.

 


Deliver (Poland)

Bracia Syriusza (1994)
Horror vacui (1998) (recorded in 1995)

Electronic Music from the duo of Agim Dzeljilji and Piotr Makiewicz. Produced by Tomasz Kubiak.

 


Delkhii (Mongolia)

Universe (2023) (recorded in 2013)
Nature (2023) (recorded in 2016)

Mongolian duo Delkhii (Äýëõèé) fuses rock instrumentation and sort of new age / World Music aesthetic (including traditional Mongolian instruments, etc.). Most of the music is not EM, but tracks like "Universe" or "Falcon", with their crisp sequencing and melodic synths could definitely be put into the melodic EM category. I think fans of Electronic New Age and instrumental rock may check this band out.

 


Dellarge (Mexico)

INRI (2023)

Alex Dellarge is a Mexican artist whose debut album from 2013 was aimed at the dance crowd. However, on INRI (Industria Nacional del Ruido Infinito), informed by legendary sci-fi books and inspired by the natural surroundings of his studio located in Michoacan, he lets himself be influenced by a broader gamma of musicians, most of them from the progressive / EM world, such as Michael Bundt, Can, Faust, Kraftwerk, Coil, Popol Vuh and more. Nice and varied stuff, from sequencer / cosmic EM to noisier assaults and experimental bleepy mayhem.

 


Delmak-O (USA)

Simulacra (2018)
Cerulean Tomb (2020)

Interesting synthesist from Colorado. His music is cosmic and is based on analog synths, but is also informed by such trends as dungeon synth (not much) and winter synth (more pronounced). Some nice, smooth sequencing here. Really enjoyable stuff.

 


Delorean Gray (USA)

Winter Magic (A Seasonal Synth Symphony) (2020)
The Hellscape Trilogy (2020)
Stories & Fables From Times Long Past (2020)
1332 (2021)
Chronicles of A Lonely Traveler (2021)
The Happy Ghost (2021) (S)
Pond Memories (2021) (S)
Halloween Night Pt. III (2021) (S)

Pretty varied dungeon synth / comfy synth / melodic repetitive EM project from Michigan.

 


Delozanne, Alexis (France)

​Presqu'​î​le (2023)

Melodic, pastoral ambient compositions mixing acoustic guitar strumming and synthesizers.

 


Delpanque, Mathias (France)

Ô seuil (2022)
L'ombre de la b​ê​te (2022) (with François Robin)

Experimental electronic artist from Nantes, active at least since the late 1990's. He has been moderately prolific over the years. Ô Seuil features rhythmic, slightly noisy, hymnal and intense compositions in pretty individual style, but rather progressive overall. L'ombre de la b​ê​te is a mixture of bagpipes and electronics and is pretty interesting as well.

 


Delph (UK)

Delph (1998)

British duo. Not sure if their music can be considered EM.

 


Delrieu, Jean-Philippe (France)

Organigrammes (1981)

Melodic EM in French style, often easy-listening.

 


Delta, Mikaël (Greece)

Elation (2019)

Ex-member of Stereo Nova and electronic artist within the techno / club idiom. On Elation, some material hints at Prog EM and / or Ambient. The title track sounds like a Klaus Schulze outtake circa 2005 - 2010. Then there are also two ambient tracks - "Art In Heaven" and the short closer "The Sky Inside Me".

 


Deltacut (Italy??)

Bad Living Conditions (2018)

Complex electronics with IDM and post-rock touches.

 


Deluca, Jax (USA)

Organs In the Wind (2018)

Ethereal drones and subtle, angelic vocalizations.

 


Delysid (Germany)

Holo Movement (1995)

Ambient duo of Paul Hostia and Thorn Hoedh. This album was released on IC label.

See also: Hostia, Hoedh.

 


DeMars, Michel (Canada)

L'envolée (1998)

New instrumental album with EM elements (the sequences on the upbeat tracks are rather nice) that was released in 1998, but sounds more 1989-1991-ish. Michel DeMars is formerly of new wave band Demars.

 


Dematraz, Michel (France)

Synthé (1984)

Rare vinyl record from this obscure composer. Melodic and easy-listening music, nothing fancy here, but fairly nice overall.

 


Demby, Constance (USA)

Skies Above Skies (1978)
Sunborne (1980)
Sacred Space Music (1982)
Constance Demby At Alaron: Live Concert Recording (1984)
Novus magnificat (1986)
Light of This World (1987)
Set Free (1989)
Live In Tokyo (1992)
Aeterna (1995)
Attunement (2000)
Sanctum sanctuorum (2002)
Spirit Trance (2004)
Sonic Immersion (2006)
Ambrosial Waves - Healing Waters (2011)
Ambrosial Waves - Tidal Pools (2013)

Constance Demby (1939 - 2021) was an American musician with a classical backround. It is no wonder, therefore, that a lot of her works represent symphonic electronic style with a bit of new age thrown in. She is also considered one of the pioneers of Space Music. Sacred Space Music and Novus Magnificat are the most interesting ones in this regard, featuring a mix of floating synthesizers, acoustic touches and lots of choir. Sanctum Sanctuorum is simply new age-like symphonic music that even contains Gregorian chants (yuck!).

 


Demirayak (Turkey)

Mesaj (2000)
To Be Or Not To Be (2013)
Freeze (2020)
Signal (2021)

Şükrü Demirayak is a Turkish electronic composer with a melodic / rhythmic style, somewhat informed by the downtempo genre, but also with an influence of the EM classics.

 


Demiurgent (USA??)

Outlands (2021)

Long, murky ambient compositions.

 


Demiurgo (Italy)

Digitalkemia (2001)
Cromelech (2002)

A project of Paolo di Pierdomenico and Luca "Bafometto" Galli.

 


Demo Art (Germany)

Who's In A China Shop? (1986 - 1988)
Hits And Evergreens (1986 - 1989)
Icewalk (1989)
Completion Works (1986 - 1992)
A True Nightmare (1992)
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1994)
Schloss Burg (1995) (with Ron Boots and friends)
Die Gesichter der Stadt Wuppertal (1996)
Life (1997)
Atlantropa (1998)
ToSoFi August 11th 1999 (1999)
Albedo 2000 (2000)
Breakfast With Tiffany (2000)
Norbert Tischelmayer - Themen der ASS (2001)

Demo Art is basically Volker Rapp. I haven’t heard this project, so I cannot say anything to describe the music.

See also: Rapp, Volker

 


Demon & Wizard (France)

Evil Possessor (1982)

A mixture of acoustic guitar and synthesizers in a strange Heldon meets "horror synth" mould.

 


Demonic Downshift (Greece)

Shawn: Bhawbs (2019)

Varied electronics from member of 2 By Bukowski, George Malamidis. ranges from noisy and abstract to cosmic, dramatic and ambient.

 


Demonstration Synthesis (Canada)

DS1 (2014) (S)
DS2 (2014)
DS3 (2014) (S)
DS4 (2014)
DS6 (2014) (S)
DS7 (2014) (S)
DS8 (2014) (S)
DS9 (2014)
DS10 (2014)
DS11 (2014)
DS12 (2014) (S)
DS13 (2014)
DS15 (2014)
DS16 (2015) (with M. Salaciak)
DS19 (2015)
DS20 (2015)
DS21 (2015) (S)
DS22 (2015)
DS23 (2015) (S)
DS24 (2015) (with James Benjamin)
DS25 (2015)
DS26 (2017)

Montreal-based sound artist Daniel James Leznoff who released a bunch of tapes with varied synth tracks, from experimental and collage-like, to ambient, floating and melodic.

 


Demoulin, Julien (Belgium)

Everything Forgotten, Everything Remembered (2021)
Entre chien et loup (2022) (with Frédéric Dufourd)
Sea Sparkle (2022)
Inner Lives (2022)

Post-rock / ambient musician. Everything Forgotten, Everything Remembered falls into the latter category.

 


Den Avgrund (Sweden)

Onwards... Towards the Abyss (2003)
Mardröm (2004)

The first album has one long Dark Ambient track, the second is more noisy and industrial, but still Dark Ambient.

 


Den Osynliga Manteln (Sweden)

Insektsfolk (2021)
Under gron himmel (2023)

Cosmic, pastoral music mixing live instrumentation such as drums and guitars with electronics. Den Osynliga Manteln is a duo of Ola Sandberg and Fredrik Grönvall from the south of Sweden. Nice stuff in a Swedish way (touches of Anna Själv Tredje, Änglagård, Bo Hansson and more).

 


Den Sorte Død (Denmark)

Bundløse søer (2018)
Undergangen (2019)
Den sorte død (2021)
Depressiv magi (2022)

Cosmic, hymnal, melodic EM from this duo. There is an influence of dungeon synth but the sound and instrumentation are typical of Prog EM. Overall sounds like Tangerine Dream playing in a boreal forest.

 


Dendermonde (Belgium)

Into the Open (2023)

Varied krautrock / psychedelic / EM band. Strong Dusseldorf vibes here.

 


Denev, Lubomir (Bulgaria)

The Father of the Egg (1991) (soundtrack)

Denev is primarily a jazz musician, but he did some experiments with electronics back in the days.

 


Dengler, Carlos (USA)

Aqueduct (2022)
Private Earth (2023)

New York-based bassist, multi-instrumentalist and keyboardist, ex-member of the group Interpol. His solo music is ambient and relaxing, focusing on gentle synth sounds, pads and echoing guitars.

 


Denisov, Andrei (Russia)

Easy To Fly (1996)

Solo Electronic Music from member (keyboardist) of Arsenal. Melodic, easy-on-the-ear music with a new instrumental feel and a late 1980's - early 1990's vibe (lots of "general MIDI-ness"). I guess fans of Tangerine Dream from that period will enjoy it. Lovers of the 2010's "balearic" trend might also check it out. Overall, the music is not demanding but does create a nice chilled mood. "Forgotten Dreams" and "Hidden Power" are especially neat.

See also: Arsenal

 


Denker, Desmond (Germany)

MDF03 (2017)

Cologne-based Denker is a grime-related artist who on MDF03 decided to eschew rhythms and vocals to concentrate on pure synthesizer sound. The results are playful, apreggio-laden and minimal.

 


Denning, F. E. (Denmark)

Echoes of Sumeria (2011) (S)
Descent Into Darkness (2012) (S)
Rites of Passage (2012)
Light And Dust (2013)
Cities of Light (2014)
Under the Linden Tree (2016)

Ambient synth drone artist Frederik Denning who is a member of space rock band Mythic Sunship.

 


DennyZ (Italy)

Iridium (2016)
Nimbus (2017)
The Horror Show (2018)
Music For Mistery Sounds (2019)

Diverse artist, but mostly stays in the Dark Ambient-related realms.

 


Denqq (Germany)

We Could Be Dead Soon (2023)

Matthias Dengg from Munich makes music which is a mixture of ambient and techno influences.

 


Dense Vision Shrine (Norway)

Magic & Mystery (2002)
Litanies of Desire (2003)
Die My Illusion (2005)
In the Abode of Gloom (2005)
A Voyage of Imagination (2006)
Unwinding the Inside (2007)
Time Lost In Oblivion (2009)

Dark / Medieval Ambient with lots of cathedral atmospheres from Karsten Hamre.

See also: Hamre, Karsten, Veiled Allusions, Defraktor, Museum of Transient Lights.

 


Densen, Allen (Canada)

Sentient Killer Metronomes From Outer Space (1990)

This album contains improvised Electronic Music by this Canadian artist. In some ways it is similar to Tangerine Dream and Cluster.

 


Dent, Arthur & Deeper Than Space (USA)

Drift (1995)

Deep, dark, droning electronics.

 


Dent, Loren (USA)

Empires And Milk (2007)
Anthropology Vol. 1 (2009)
Anthropology Vols. 2 & 3 (2014)

Loren Dent is a Texan artist who mixes ambient soundscapes with subtle acoustic textures and some processed guitar sounds.

 


Dentes, Claudio (Italy)

Pantarei (1978)

Born in 1955 in London, Claudio Dentes is an Italian guitar player and multi-instrumentalist. In 1978 he released a solo album that was largely instrumental with only a few sparse vocal parts. The music is rather sedate prog. Not completely electronic but the interesting part is that David Vorhaus (White Noise) seems to have had a hand in this one with his synthesizer playing.

 


Deorc Weg (UK)

Hollow Catacombs (2017) (S)
A Spectral Haze of Sorrow (2017) (S)
The Dejected Howls of the Spectre (2017) (S)
Desolate Cold Plains (2017)
Hymns of the Frostgrave (2018) (S)
Shallow Graves (2018) (S)
Ninth Circle of Despondency (2018) (S)
An Astral Tomb (2018) (S)
The Moons of Perpetual Dusk (2018) (S)
The Forlorn Cold of Ages (2018) (S)
Crawling Through Eternal Darkness (2018) (S)
Decrepit Rituals of the Mind (2019)
The Halls of Eternal Anguish (2019) (S)
The Sleepwalk Sessions (2019) (S)

Gloomy mixture of dungeon synth, ambience and lots of pounding drums. Pretty repetitive.

 


Depression Embrace (Serbia)

Mournful (2020)
Shadowland & Nostalgia (2020)
No Hope (2022)

Doom Ambient from Serbia. Mournful drones, gently tolling bells, wind, rain and the atmosphere of inevitability of death and autumn gloominess.

See also: Glog, Nothingness, Three Moons, Åãçîðöèçàì.

 


Depressive Silence (Germany)

The Darkened Empires (1995)
Depressive Silence II (1996)
Depressive Silence (1997) (S)
V: Medieval Demons MMXIX (2019)

Dungeon synth / fantasy music in the vein of early Mortiis.

See also: Gothmog, Solanum.

 


Depther (Finland)

Altar State (2001)

Dark Ambient.

See also: Zoat Aon, I.corax

 


Der Blaue Reiter (Spain)

Le paradis funebre (2006)
Silencis (2008)
Nuclear Sun (2009)
Le paradis funebre II (2014)
Dies de cendra (2015) (S)
Fragments of Life, Love & War (2016)
United, Yet Divided (2019)

Melancholic Neo-Classical Ambient with Martial overtones. Very beautiful music, mostly quite melodic. Behind this project is Sathorys Elenorth who is also known from his work in Narsilion, Ordo Funebris and Lugburz.

 


Der Einsiedler (France)

Retour à la préhistorie (2012)
Souvenirs de la maison des dinosaures (2013)

Repetitive synth music with an obvious dungeon synth influence, but also a wacky cosmic / UFO vibe.

 


Der Elektrische Traum (Germany)

Continuum Flow (2017)

Kassel-based Electronic Music project influenced by embryonic sounds of early 1970's Berlin School and related artists. Sort of a cosmic, dark, minimal sound here, made on analog instruments.

 


Der König (Germany)

Memories of Trees (2004)
The Light (??)
Reformation (??)

Ex-Hoelderlin musician Bernd Konig.

 


Der Petunienmann Von Metaluna Vier (Germany)

Weisser Alarm (2012)
Magnetbandaufzeichnung (2014)

Jochen Oberlack's diverse krautrock / EM-inspired project. Has everything from early kosmische music (of Cosmic Jokers type) to Dusseldorf School motorik, heavy rock vibes and strange vocals.

See also: Helicon Wave

 


Der Waldläufer (Germany)

Completely Near & Faraway (2010)
Wanderlust (2013)
Nateace (2015)
Fluidum (2017)

Rich, melodic EM, Ambient and sporadic downtempo rhythms from this Kassel-based musician.

 


Der Zyklus (USA)

Der Tonimpulstest (1998) (S)
Der Zyklus II (2001) (S)
Biometry (2004)
Cherenkov Radiation (2008) (S)
Krypton 84 (2012) (S)
Axonometric (2015) (S)
Renormalon (2016)

Dopplereffekt duo in a more experimental mould. The early EP's contain analog electro with a strong Kraftwerk influence. Biometry features cold, detached, abstract sound, still with some kraftwerkian shades.

See also: Dopplereffekt, XOR Gate, Arpanet.

 


Derbyshire, Delia (UK)

Standard Music Library (1969)
EMS LP 1 (1971)
BBC Radiophonic Music (1971)
Electrosonic (1972)
Moogies Bloogies (2014) (S) (with Anthony Newley) (recorded in 1966)
The Delian Mode (2014) (S) (recorded in 1967 - 1968)
Circle of Light (2016) (recorded in 1972) (with Elsa Stansfield) (soundtrack)
Inventions For Radio: The Dreams (2016) (recorded in 196?) (with Barry Bermange)
The Synths & Electronic Recordings (2019) (recorded in ??) (with Martin Hannett)
Inventions For Radio (2023) (recorded in ??) (with Barry Bermange)

This late pioneer of the use of electronics in music certainly deserves an entry, so here it is. Apart from working for BBC Radiophonic Workshop and her collaborations with White Noise on Electric Storm, Delia also composed for libraries and made promo music for EMS Synthi A synthesizers.

 


Derelict Thoughts (Netherlands)

Autumn Moon (2014)

Derelict Thoughts is the ambient side of Ron Boots.

See also: Boots, Ron

 


Dergar (Greece)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2011)
12.11.2012 (2012)

Melodic, repetitive, cinematic music from Christos Garbidakis.

 


DerHarms (Germany)

Neun sch​ö​ne Lieder (2019)
Kosmische Kiffermusik Vol. 1 (2022)

A project of Hauke Harms, member of a few new wave and gothic rock bands (including Girls Under Glass). This is mostly sequencer-based Electronic Music, though, improvisation-based and Berlin School-like.

See also: Ermes / Harms

 


Dermanis, Dimitris (Greece)

Crentarius (2011)

Theater sountrack in a lush, melodic, classically-influenced style from this synthesist.

 


Dermaptera (USA)

Beltaine (2001)
Samhain (2002)
Imbolc (2004)
Lammas (2005)
Blue And Wide (2007)

Varied electronic compositions - mostly of ambient nature, often with a slow rhythm or pulse. A bit repetitive.

 


Dernière Volonté (France)

Obeir et mourir (1998)

Early release by this post-industrial formation which is famous for its martial / military pop music. Obeir et Mourir is dark and somber Martial Ambient.

 


Deru (USA)

1979 (2014)
Torn In Two (2018)
We Will Live On (2022)

Deru is Los Angeles-based IDM artist Benjamin Wynn who on 1979 switched to Ambient with a slightly 1970's tinged, vintage sound.

 


Dervish (USA)

Dervish (1985)

Electronic trio from Boston area, consisting of Jeff Block, Rob Davis and Jon Coe, the last two being also members of new wave / art pop band Someone And the Somebodies.

 


Des Airlines, Michel (Spain)

We Are the Hunters & Michel Des Airlines (2013) (with We Are the Hunters)
Le voyage cranien (2016)
Orbiteur (2018)
Dossiers de cabine (2011 - 2014) (2019)
Orbiteur 2.0 (2020)
Vestiges neuronaux (2023)

Actually a pseudonym of Miguel A. Ruiz under which he composes pure analog Berlin School music.

See also: Ruiz, Miguel Angel, Orfeon Gagarin, Funeral Souvenir, Ventral Metaphor, Exhaustor, Ambulatorio Segreto, Tecnica Material, Dekatron II, Codachrom.

 


Des Meegan (Germany??)

Courage of the Hero (2020) (EP)

Smooth disco / house from Alexander Holland. The closer "Atmosphere Burning" is a relaxed sequencer trip in Prog style. File under EM-related.

 


Désaccord Majeur (France)

La théorie du chaos (1989)
Le point immobile vibrant (1992)
Thétys (1994)
Samana (1998)
La coleur odorante (1998)
La neuvième heure (2002) (S)
Salmo Salaar (2003) (with Rapoon)
Sunquake (2020) (EP)
La lumi​è​re des jours (2023)
Les primordiaux cr
épusculaires (2024)

A project of Jérôme Mauduit. Sort of industrial-tinged, heavily looped sound here, also influenced by Tribal Ambient and World Music (lots of percussion). Good if you're into Rapoon and maybe also Muslimgauze.

 


Desbouis, Jean-Michel (France)

Prince (1982)

Rare release of floating cosmic electronics. Stella Vander guests on vocals.

 


Descent Into the Void (Germany)

Descent Into the Void (2007)

Drone / Doom Ambient.

See also: No-Tone Project, The

 


Deschamps, Brad (Canada)

Cascade (2018)

Toronto-based ambient artist.

See also: Bradley Sean Alexander, Anthéne, North Atlantic Drift, Rosales.

 


D'Escrivan, Julio (Venezuela)

Inventos Barbaros (1999)

Electronic musician who uses guitars and samplers to search for unusual and experimental timbres. There were at least two more (collaborative) albums by Julio, both in more acoustic vein. One was made with a female vocalist and the other with an acoustic backing band.

 


Desensitized (USA)

Hemispherica Portalis (2020)

A duo of Dean De Benedictis and Deborah Martin. Hypnotic Ambient with ethnic / World Music touches.

See also: Benedictis, Dean De, Martin, Deborah.

 


Desert Dream (Russia)

Mars (2020)

Electronic project of Alexey Popov from Nizhny Novgorod, who makes music in minimal Berlin School style, with lots of sequences, slow rhythms and cosmic pads. Mars was released on a limited reel-to-reel tape.

 


Desert Sand Feels Warm At Night (UK)

Tomorrow, 2096 (2019)
ユートピアへの旅 (2020)
FLOOR—122 (2021)
新世界の弟子たち (2022)

Futuristic / nostalgic / utopian / dystopian / neon ambience from this vaporwave-related project.

See also: 沙漠鱿鱼

 


Deseyn, Carl (Belgium)

Cornucopia (1998)
Torens (2002)
To the Ancient Tree (2016)
To the Ancient Tree Chapter I: Voyage To the Ancestor (2017)

As guest musician, Carl Deseyn played on Patrick Kosmos' Virtual Reality and Symbian's No Man's Land. From these collaborations you may already guess the musical style he excels in. In fact, to say that Carl's music reminds on Vangelis is a huge understatement. I mean, it is VERY similar to Vangelis. And not in a bad sense. His grand, huge, catchy and memorable tunes are in fact superbly mixed and produced.

 


Desiderii Marginis (Sweden)

Cosecrare (1992)
Via peregrinus (1992)
Hortus conclusus / Triptych (1993)
Songs Over Ruins (1997)
Deadbeat (2001)
Strife (2004)
The Ever Green Tree (2005)
That Which Is Tragic And Timeless (2005)
Seven Sorrows (2007)
Procession (2012)
Hypnosis (2014)
Thaw (2014) (recorded in 1997 - 2012)
Vita arkivet (2018)
Departed (2020)
Serenity / Rage (2023)
Bathe In Black Light (2024)

Soundtrack-like Dark Ambient in the style of Raison d'Etre from the man behind Archon Satani (Johan Levin).

See also: Archon Satani, Inanna, Lost in the Woods.

 


Designation (USA)

Designation (2022)

Intense ambient compositions. Sometimes nicely melodic (as on "Nothing"). Some vaporwave touches here and there.

 


Desolate Moon Phases (USA)

As the Dark Empire Burns Around Them (2018)
Heathenstones (2019)

Antiquity / historical / imperial / mythological ambience from this duo. Ranges from noisier moments to spacey and melancholic.

See also: Warning Light

 


Desolation Plains (USA)

Sword of Hailstone (2021)
Sword of Prophecies (2021)
Kingdomfall (2022)

Melodic, desolate compositions inspired by dungeon synth and Ambient. Made on an Elektron Digitone. A project out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

See also: Farcaster

 


Destillat (France)

Parametric Sensation (2014)

Thumping, danceable, energetic music influenced by EBM and Kraftwerk. Good for depicting chase scenes in movies / games. Not extremely progressive, though.

 


Destinazione (Italy)

La citta di utopia (2003)

Difficult to classify, this music is mostly influenced by the early 1970's German "kosmische musik" and White Noise.

See also: Miraggioluce

 


Destrifan (New Zealand)

Fantasies (2021)

Varied droning electronic compositions with arpeggios. Destrifan is Donald Smith, ex-member of 1990's droning rock outfit Surface of the Earth.

 


Detente (France)

Life is Life (2020)

Varied electronics from this Paris-based artist. Ranges from glitchy, digital-laden, sample-based to sequencer, melodic and ecstatic. There's a bit of a neo-classical / cabaret vibe as well.

 


Detree, Roberto (Argentina)

Architectura celestis (1982)

Not exactly, or not completely EM, this music by Between member Detree was played by him on guitar and some self-built instruments I think. However, the sound is so astonishingly close to current post-rockers / droners / shoegazers / whatever that I thought that it would be fair to include the guy here for presaging a whole generation of sound explorers (a lot of whom, meanwhile, have largely immersed themselves into infinite self-repetition and tedious guitar wankery). Regardless of that association, Arcitectura Celestis is a great ambient listening for those rainy days.

See also: Between

 


Detrusion (USA)

Yield One's Breath (2002)

Synth atmospheres from members of Ceremonial Castings.

 


Dettmar, Del (UK)

Synthesis (1980)

Del Dettmar, who was the synthesist of Hawkwind on their early albums released at least one tape of solo and collaborative (with Gerald Toon) electronic works. A classic.

See also: Hawkwind

 


Detto, Mariano (Italy)

Exterminators of the Year 3000 (2015) (recorded in 1983) (soundtrack)

Italian soundtrack composer (1937 - 2020). He was mostly known for his disco or classical scores. The above, though, will be of interest to fans of Goblin and other synth-based scores.

 


Deuce Avenue (USA)

The Blasting Years (2020)

One of several projects of Philadelphia-based Noah Anthony. This one sees him using dark, clanging rhythms, with synth drones and mysterious melodies as backing. The closing track "Down To Zero" makes it for me.

 


Deupree, Taylor (USA)

Somi (2017)
Lowlands (2017) (with Marcus Fischer)
Fallen (2018)
Mur (2021)
Proem (2021) (S) (with Marcus Fischer)
Harbor (2022)
Small Winters (2022)
Skal_Ghost (2022) (with Arovane)

Glitch / microsound artist with ambient tendencies. He has been around at least since the 1990's and is rather prolific, so it's difficult to check all of his oeuvre on the question of "EM compatibility". Fallen is a sure winner, though, featuring pure, beautiful, calm Ambient with a huge piano presence. Further investigation is needed.

See also: Ohio

 


Deuter (Germany)

D (1971)
Aum (1972)
Soundtrack (1973)
Ecstasy (1979)
Silence Is the Answer / Buddham Sharnam Gachchami (1981)
San (1985)

Although most of this musician's latter output stands firmly in the new age camp, there are at least two albums that will be interesting for Electronic Music fans. These early works by Georg Deuter are listed above and can only be described as "homemade electronic krautrock". Great for those who like their music a bit on the rough side. Soundtrack is overall more serene. This library release gathers some pieces from Aum, plus original material that ranges from quiet synth soundscapes to acoustic guitar / flute pieces. Releases containing EM or EM-related material will be listed.

 


Deuteronomy (Canada)

Pure Staircase (2020)

A project of Ontario-based Emma Essex, who is also known under countless other pseudonyms. Interesting stuff here - seemingly chaotic, but sort of coherent at the same time. It is cold, at times noisy or jarring, at other times warm and nostalgic, like a long-forgotten dream of neon-lit streets.

 


Deutsch Nepal (Sweden)

Comprendido! Time Stop! (1996) (recorded in 1992 - 1996)

Industrial outfit (Peter Andersson). This album is supposed to contain Dark Ambient. There may be some others as well.

See also: Bocksholm

 


Deutsche Bank (Sweden)

Autopop (2016)
Grand Transmission (2019)

Swedish electropop act very much influenced by Kraftwerk.

 


Devadder, Serge (Belgium)

Maeuhay (1990) (with Patrick Goethals)
Periodes (1998)
The Shape of Solitude (1999) (with Vidna Obmana)
Cambrian (2000)
Lattice Fracture (2002)
Recursive Charm (2003)
Ganda (2016)
Taxon (2018)

Belgian electronic musician. Periodes contains various archive materials mostly in sequencer / spacey vein a lot of which was inspired by Heldon and Richard Pinhas' solo work. Cambrian features guitar-based electronic soundscapes and Lattice Fracture is highly experimental. Recursive Charm is a live recording from a concert with Vidna Obmana.

See also: Amber

 


Deva-Loka (Germany)

Kampfstationen (2000) (S)
The Chants of Naas (2001) (S)
Aural Structures For Rituals (2001)

Bleak soundscapes. Kampfstationen is Martial Ambient.

See also: Pax Corda

 


Devane, James (USA)

Beauty Is Useless (2022)

Hypnotic deep / minimal techno tracks and slower, more atmospheric and EM-influenced compositions.

 


Devas (Germany)

A Vision of Hydrogenium (2010)

Ambient / vocal duo from Northern Germany. The vocals are often used as an instrument, reminding on Klaus Schulze's collaborations with Lisa Gerrard. I am not a fan of the vocal delivery but the spacey synth textures are rather nice. The vocal-free number is good, too.

 


Dev-I-Ant (Canada)

The Baring Teeth (2022)
Progression of the Wolf (2023) (recorded in 2020)

Dark, sometimes noisy ambient compositions from Devin Sabatini and Anthony Prugo.

 


Devil's Picnic (France)

Pomme ou pas pomme (1983) (S)

A side-project of experimental / minimal synth / minimal wave musician Anne Gillis. Pomme ou pas pomme is largely instrumental and mixes some minimal synth and industrial influences with Prog EM sounds. Track 3 has even a bit of a Klaus Schulze feel to it. File under EM-related.

 


DeVincentis, Patrice (USA)

Dichotomy (1986)

Released on Bill Rhodes' Jazzical Records label, Dichotomy is a rare electronic album with a diverse style, from horrible 1980's cheese, to nice atmospheric or sequencer-based material. Sometimes her name is spelled as Patrice De Vincentis.

 


DeVita (Lithuania)

Astralia (2006)
Space Duty (2008)
By the Stained Glass (2020) (with avidja)

Lukas Devita is a singer-songwriter from Vilnius who was one of the initiators of the local acoustic psychedelic rock tradition. In 2005, he started a solo experimental project dedicated to exploration of acoustic and electronic sounds. Space Duty is half minimal synth dirges and noises and half acoustic guitar vignettes. By the Stained Glass is mostly processed guitar.

 


Dewachtere, Didier (Belgium)

In 90 Minutes Around Klaus (1988)

Synthesist currently known as BySenses.

See also: BySenses, Tower Tree, The.

 


DeWalta (Germany)

Lyra π (2019)

A project of minimal techno artist David Koch from Berlin. The above album is a companion piece to his Lyra double LP. It contains material created during his holidays in Portugal. It features soft, ambient, spacey and warm analog electronic compositions, with just a touch of dub in places.

 


Dewanatron (USA)

Irregular Hours Vol. 1 (2006)
Semi Automatic (2008)

A project put together by Brian Dewan and Leon Dewan to showcase their Dewanatron family of experimental instruments. Irregular Hours is rather abstract and very minimal, without much going on, but Semi Automatic is a nice gem, filled with wacky, rhythmic, a bit Cluster-like excursions. Unique artists, unique instruments, unique sound.

 


Dewit, Jimmy (Belgium)

Callboys (2016) (soundtrack)

Electronic soundtrack to a series. Has a nice, warm, analog sound to it.

 


Dexter, Matthew (Switzerland)

Future Radionica (2023) (EP)

Techno artist. Future Radionica contains an ambient / EM track - the aptly titled "Quantum Tangerine". A one-track inclusion so far, but we can definitely expect more.

 


Dexter Ward (Spain)

Dexter Ward (2000)
Reward (2001)

Unique EM mixing soundscapes with more rhythmic material and an aggressive "industrial" edge. Dexter Ward is the project of Aitor Berraondo.

 


Dextro (UK)

Consequence Music (2006)
Winded (2009)
In the Crossing (2016)
An Hour Is A Sea (2020)

A project of Scottish synthesist, multi-instrumentalist and drummer Ewan Mackenzie. I don't know about his previous releases, but An Hour Is A Sea features long multi-part compositions with live drums. Nice, lively EM with sequences.

 


Deyssenroth, Hans (Germany)

A member of Brainticket, synthesist Hans Deyssenroth appeared on the "Music From Utopia" sampler with a solo electronic track. There may be more.

See also: Brainticket

 


Dfender (Mexico)

Esta en el Aire (2018)
Donde (2020) (EP)

Mexican artist mostly working in drum and bass and other club-related styles. The Donde EP includes a beautiful ambient EM track, the closer "Morning Path".

 


DG (Germany)

ABCDG (2000)
The Bliss You Miss (2001)
Ex-Stream Centre Drifter (2003)
Gomini Suite (2004)
Lucid Music (2022)
Today Musicians Are Machines (2022) (recorded in 2000 - 2008)

Digital / midi piano / orchestra music on Today Musicians Are Machines. The others I know nothing about at the moment.

 


Dharana (Germany)

Mirador (1984)
Synthetic Dreams (1985)
Life-Tapes (1985)
Circles (1986)
Incuanoq (1987)
Chrome (1989)
Metro-Pole (1989)
Pnakotic Sounds (1993)
Inorganic Waves (1993)
Gallery of Flavours (1995)
Das Erbe (2000)
Magsie (2001) (S)

Dharana was founded in 1982 in Schweinfurt (Germany) by Klaus-Ulrich Merkle and Ulrich Woessner. In 1984, Merkle left the band, replaced by Andreas Hedler. After some time Jurgen Geiger joined Dharana. Andreas Hedler soon stopped making music to concentrate of the light shows and stage effects that accompanied Dharana's gigs. In 1985, after attending a Dharana concert (released as Life-Tapes) Frank Kober joined the band and Geiger/Woessner/Kober was to become the 'classic' line-up of the group. As of now, Dharana have ceased their musical activities, although several of their old titles are being re-released on CD-R now. On Inorganic Waves you will find very versatile music with great sequences and cool 'inorganic' drive.

 


D'Hooghe, Jan (Belgium)

Orka / Waterlily (2016)

Stark, but rather listenable electronics made on a Doepher A-100 modular system.

See also: Fort Bedmar

 


Dhyanam (USA)

Deep Embrace (2008)

Melodic music in typical British style (David Wright, Code Indigo etc). Originally from the USA, Dhyanam nowadays lives and works in the Netherlands.

 


Di Benedetto, Julio (USA)

Living At A Higher Frequency (2008)
Original Light (2015)
A Tide Pool of Memories (2015) (recorded in 2012)
Falling Into Place (2016) (with Anthony Paul Kerby)

Varied ambient material from this Florida-based artist.

 


Di Domenico, Giovanni (Italy)

Zuppa di pazienza (2019)
Reflection Is Circular (2020) (with Aufheben)
Downtown Ethnic Music (2021)
Dust Bunnies (2021)
Polvere di rabbia (2022)
Mokusatsu (2022) (with Tatsuhisa Yamamoto)
Rinka 燐火 (2023) (with Atsuko Hatano)
Succo di formiche (2023)
Autothysis (2023)
Branes (2023) (recorded in 2021) (with New Mo(ve)ments Ensemble)
Bordin / Di Domenico / Marogna (2023) (with Matteo Bordin and Riccardo Marogna)

Long, evolving multi-instrumental tracks, with piano, synths, etc.

See also: Going

 


Di Giorgio, Gaetano (Italy)

Fiabe Mediterranee (2000)
Ombre a Motya (2000)
Minotaurus e Medusa (2005) (S)
Knight Grand Cross (2005) (S)

Italian synthesist.

 


Di Grazia, Umberto (Italy)

Dimensione sogno (1976)

Private LP release with spacey Electronic Music played on the Moog synthesizer. It appears that Umberto Di Grazia is also a psychologist and has written a book with the same name, among others.

 


Di Leo, Davide (Italy)

Facile (2020)

Italian pianist and electronic composer also known as Boosta.

 


Di Luna, Marco (Netherlands)

Shimmering Stars (2017)

A pseudonym of spacesynth artist Mark Lobensteijn.

 


Di Stefano, John (USA)

Cosmologue (1980)
Synchronisms (1981)
We Must All Be Explorers (1986) (with Ellen Zweig)
Equity - Music For the Performance (1987) (with Kalonica McQuesten)
Music For Anatomy of A Springroll (1992) (with Kalonica McQuesten)
For the Moment (2019) (recorded in 1982 - 1996)
Mother Tongue (??)
The Blue Rider (??)

John Di Stefano is a trained percussionist from the Bay Area. He has been involved in the creation of experimental and electronic music since the early 1970's. He is known for his theater scores, as well as his collaboration with The Residents.

See also: Compos Mentis, Klang.

 


Di Vito, Christian (Italy)

Live By the Sea (2012)
Battimuro (2014)
Christian di Vito & Daniele Santini (2016) (with Daniele Santini)
Christian di Vito (2020)

Ambient soundscapes.

See also: gensiulia

 


Dia Archa (Czech Republic)

Ještěrka (2018) (recorded in 1989)
Daseineneuearcha (2018) (recorded in 1990)
Koncert pro Davida (2018) (recorded in 1988)
Selected Ambient (2018) (recorded in 1988 - 1989)
Das eine neue Remixes (2018)

Rock band who seems to have indulged a lot in post-rock / ambient experimentation.

See also: Kořán, Michal

 


Diab, C. (Canada)

Imerro (2024)

Caton Diab is a Vancouver-based multi-instrumentalist working within the folk and post-rock idioms. On Imerro, he adds a noticeable ambient EM touch.

 


Dialect (USA)

Gowanus Drifts (2015)
Loose Blooms (2017)
under~between (2021)
Advanced Myth (2022)

Varied compositions, from sample-heavy atmospheric to sequenced, with a jazzy flavor by means of brass instruments (mostly sax). Dialect is Andrew Hunt.

 


Dialectric (France)

Austerity (2016) (S)
Phase (2018)
Tascam Files No 1 (2020) (S)

A project of Gilles Maté. Pleasant EM here, with tinkling sequences and melodies. Analog.

 


Dialog (Netherlands / Finland)

Dialog (2022)

Long and psychedelic ambient electronic tracks by Samuel van Dijk and Rasmus Hedlund.

See also: Multicast Dynamics, Hedlund, Rasmus.

 


Diamond, Michael (UK)

Third Culture (2022)

Oxford-based artist with a complex style mixing modern "electronica" and club-related rhythms with melodic content typical of jazz and progressive EM.

 


Diamond, Michael (USA)

Atlantis Rising (2004)
Indigo Moon (2008)
Chroma Zone (2008)
Ambient Alchemy (2014) (with Steven Halpern)

Sadly diseased, Michael Diamond was a keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist and synth player who mixed influences from new age, Space Music and "downtempo" in a very tasty way. Sparkling synths, arpeggios, floating pads, some relaxed rhythms, some guitar and a slight ethnic touch characterize much of his output. Steven Halpern appears as guest on some of his tracks. Really nice EM that deserves to be better known for sure.

 


Diamondstein (USA)

The Ridges (2016)
Dead City 1.1 (2017)
The Ocean Between Us (2018) (with Sangam)
Reflecting On A Dying Man (2019)

Dark soundscapes with a post-apocalyptic concept. Sometimes noisy, sometimes synthy and vaguely melodic. Reflecting On A Dying Man is a concept album with melodic synth and kraut-influenced sound.

 


Diamont Dancer (Spain)

Shapes (2018)
Concepts (2021)

A duo of Nacho Marco and Pau Roca with a looping, guitar / synth sound, somewhat indebted to Fripp & Eno.

 


Diana Alma (France)

Hauntological Status Tapes Vol. 1 (2017)
Erratum(s) (2018) (S)

Somewhat related to hauntology, this is mysterious music, often with slow rhythms and lots of cold, distant synth melodies.

 


Diana, Filippo (Italy)

Nemesi (2016)
Musica per commenti sonori (2020)
Formula abstracta (2021)

Music based on analog synthesizers, from pulsing, Carpenter-inspired horror synth to Detroit techno / electro pastiche.

 


Diatonis (USA)

Landscape of A Dream (1984)
Solecism (1985)
Borderland (1986)
Between the Earth And the Sky (1987)
Edge of the Dreamworld (1989) (recorded in 1982 - 1989)
Imminent Dissipation (1991)
The Endless Knot (2000)
Dark Universe (2001)
Invisible Order (2001)
The Convolving Universe (2001)
Ambient Life Vol. 1 (2002)
Trajectories (2004)
Highway 1 (2005)
Perception (2006)
Dark Edges (2007)
Pond (2008)
An Abstract View (2008)

Diatonis is the pseudonym of Stuart White. The early stuff is pretty traditional Ambient, while latter works venture into Dark Ambient territories and even Medieval Ambient on Convolving Universe.

 


Diaz de León, Mario (USA)

Hypnos (2012)
The Soul Is the Arena (2015)
Sanctuary (2017)
Cycle And Reveal (2019)
Spark And Earth (2023)

The 2023 release features intriguing, complex mixture of electronics and some guitars from this New York-based musician also known as Oneirogen. Whereas Oneirogen is often dark and somewhat aggressive, this music released under his real name is more focused on complex, even a bit progressive metal-like themes, riffs, tempo changes, ostinatos, etc. The other albums are more like an amalgamation of modern classical and electronics.

See also: Oneirogen

 


DiBane, Lee (USA)

Falling Upwards Into Sky (2001)

Actually one of Daniel Byerly's countless pseudonyms.

See also: Bertrom, Cabot Jr., Cacophony, Synthuser.

 


Dibblee, Lance (USA)

Shock (2014)

Stark modular synth mayhem comparable to early Cluster, Seesselberg, Schnitzler, etc. Lance Dibblee also composes music as Red Math. However, the Red Match material I've heard was too far removed from Prog EM aesthetics for me.

 


Dibello, Mike (???)

Space Scientifics (1988)

 


Diceased Estates (Australia)

Movement (2023) (S)

Varied project from Brisbane. Movement features relaxed Ambient ala Steve Roach circa Strata and noisy, darkish electronics.

 


Dices (Russia)

Обратный кадр / Эхо мысли (2015) (S) (with AEM Rhythm Cascade)
Thoughtstream (2016) (with AEM Rhythm Cascade)
Internal Ambience (2017) (EP)

Drawing from several decades of electronic music tradition, these works represent a mixture of wacky and atmospheric analog synth pieces and gentle house chuggers.

 


Dick, Calvin (Canada)

I Live With the Ghost of Claudine Melgrave (2016)

In 2010, Canadian musician Calvin Dick released an album under the Crown Land moniker. That work was a mishmash of styles, mostly within the downtempo / pop / exotica idiom. I Live With the Ghost... continues in that direction, but also shows a strong EM bias by means of extensive use of the Moog Satellite (I think) synthesizer. Tracks like "Lunar VXN" will be of certain interest, although taken as a whole, the album is EM-related at best. Hopefully he moves further in the EM direction for his future efforts.

 


Dicker, Mark (UK)

Carrier Waves (2020)
Metropolith (2020)
Flyalarm (2021)

Heavy modular electronics from this London-based sound alchemist.

 


Dickinson, Mike (UK)

The Eleven Day Empire (2022) (recorded in 2020)

Pretty neat concept album from this artist, inspired by the transition of England from Julian to Gregorian calendar in 1752, due to which eleven days (from the 2nd of September to the 14th of the same month) were "lost". Musically, we have nice EM here, from krautrock-ish to atmospheric, but always moody and elegant.

 


Dickson, Mike (UK)

Six Consequences (2007)
Domus (2007)
Honfleur - The Music of Eric Satie (2008)
In Excelsis (2008)
Mellotronworks (2008)
Breviary (2009)

Solo music from member of Systems Theory that is strongly influenced by impressionist classical composers, minimalism and Ambient.

See also: Systems Theory

 


DiCola, Vince (USA)

In-Vince-ible (2000)

Solo album (with some guests) from the author of music for Transformers movie. Half of the disc is supposed to contain vocals, half is instrumental. The style is not known.

 


Dicotyledon (France)

Discoliose (1979) (S)
Ne pas croquer, ne pas sucer! (??)

A duo of Jean Louis Le Breton and Jean Bonnefoy, both of whom had been quite active during the 1970's, releasing synth-pop / novelty singles as "Los Gonococcos" and being involved is several other projects in various fields such as writing science-fiction stories. The sound on their EP-length record Discoliose is quite spacey, warm and analogue. Dicotyledon was formed circa 1977 and from that time up until 1982 gave several live performances in France and Belgium.

See also: BeM

 


Dictaphone, The (France)

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun (2018)
How To Improve Your Relaxing (2019)

Varied project of Jeremie Morin. He also experimented in EM or EM-related genres. Time Flies... features slowly evolving, lysergic electronic pieces. Rather monolithic overall. How To Improve... is more diverse, with Faust-like experiments and minimal synth vocals.

 


DID (Poland)

End of Xibalba (2022)

Droning ambient synth compositions from Hania Piosik, member of synth-pop duo Joy Pop and Warsaw Improvisers Ensemble.

 


Didoni, Michele (France)

Remiss of Late (2019)

Droning ambient work with extremely subtle melodic content and variations.

 


Didur, Carl (Canada)

Nothing Is the Secret To Anything (2014)

Warm, organic compositions made mostly with a Farfisa combo organ and a drum machine. Sometimes Cluster-like or similar to Terry Riley.

See also: Zacht Automaat

 


Didymos (Finland)

Road (1988) (S)
Connected (2004)
Grief Distance (2006)

Tommi Haavisto (Didymos) started making EM in 1986. His music is melodic in style.

 


Die! Goldstein (Spain)

Dystopia / Utopia (2017)

Varied cinematic music, from dark to brighter, from noisy to melodic.

 


Die Dominas (Germany)

Die Dominas (1981) (S)

Here's the story of this rare artifact. Claudia Skoda is a Berlin-based fashion designer. One day she teamed up with Manuel Goettsching's ex-girlfriend Rosi Müller. And they entered Manuel's studio to record some stuff. And they recorded the stuff they wanted to record. And they used Manuel's array of electronic instruments for this. The rest is history as they say. The results sound more or less like a mixture of minimal synth / NDW and krautrock / EM. This funny dominatrix-themed record would not probably even make it here, but the direct (although uncredited) involvement of Manuel Goettsching (programming, mixing, recording) and, as a result, that special EM flair make this one a worthy inclusion. The cover was designed by Ralf Hutter and Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk fame and one of the songs was apparently dedicated to them.

See also: Goettsching, Manuel

 


Die Dood (South Africa)

Sielenherder (2014)
Offerwaters (2015)
Kultus (2015)
Verdrag (2016) (S)
Dreunsang (2016) (S)
Bloed en Are van die Aarde (2016) (S)
Die Winde van Verlatenheid (2019)

Black Ambient with some flute and a lot of voices. Intense, but not very dark most of the time.

 


Die Klopferbande (Germany)

Die Fliegen - Ein Soundtrack (1981) (S)

Die Klopferbande was a post-punk / NDW project by Peter Ortmann. This cassette was re-released on CDR in 2004 and in contrast to Peter's main output, this piece (believed to be a soundtrack to a theater production) features dark and pulsing Electronic Music, akin to early Asmus Tietchens or perhaps Conrad Schnitzler.

 


Die Orangen (Australia)

Oodnadatta Rain (2016) (S)
Zest (2017)

Australian duo of Angelo Cruzman and Kris Baha with a sound that marries disco beats, tribal drums / percussion, samples and kraut / EM influence.

 


Die Rumpelwichte (Austria / Germany)

Sirens of Aurachmoor (2022)

Music influenced by the Medieval times - between dungeon synth, ethnic music and EM.

See also: Arcane Earth Reboot

 


Die Sonne Satan (Italy)

Fac-Totum (1993)
White Secrets / Metaphora (1993)
Omega (1995)
Archive Compendium (1995)
Sigillo (1996)

Runes Order offshoot (Paolo Beltrame) in a really deep and obscure Dark Ambient / Ritual / Blackness mould. Deep rumblings, drones, scary atmospheres and, yes, the occasional chant.

See also: Runes Order, Atom Infant Incubator, Order 1968.

 


Die Stadt (Spain)

Jaromírova. The Prague Session (2018)

Electronic trio from Seville, supposedly between Ambient and downtempo.

 


Die Syntetische Republik (Germany)

Faktor D (1984)

Minimal synth / EM group informed by Kraftwerk and synth-pop.

 


Die Verboten (Belgium)

Live In Eivissa (2009) (S)
2007 (2015)

Krautrock-influenced band from Belgium, consisting of David Dewaele, Stephen Dewaele and Henry Smithson. They seem to be mostly influenced by Kraftwerk, as well as other bands of the Dusseldorf School, such as Neu! and La Düsseldorf. Nice synth sound with real drums and some guitars.

 


Die Welttraumforscher (Switzerland)

Folklore des Weltalls 2 (2021)

"Dada pop" project of Christian Pfluger, existing since the early 1980's. The above is an instrumental work consisting mostly of shorter tracks inspired by celestial bodies. Melodic, repetitive, wacky, lo-fi.

 


Die Wilde Jagd (Germany)

Die Wilde Jagd (2015)
Geisterfahren (2017) (EP)
Uhrwald Orange (2018)
Haut (2020)
Atem (2022)
Ophio (2023)

Krautrock-influenced duo from Dusseldorf. Electronics, rhythms and some guitars. Beware the vocals.

 


Diercx, Frank (Netherlands)

Dual Electronic Fantasy (??)

 


Dierick, Jean-Paul (France)

Deltapane (1985)
2 Fa 7 (1989)
Constellations (1996)

Jean-Paul Dierick started playing synthesizers in the 1970's, first for other artists and then started a solo career. He is one of the representatives of French melodic school of Electronic Music (Jean-Michel Jarre, Didier Marouani, Joel Fajerman, etc.). In the 1980's he mixed in some popular influences such as disco, pop, etc, so his albums from that time contain some cheese but also some nice melodic and atmospheric tracks. Deltaplane is completely instrumental, the following album mixed instrumental tracks with songs, while Constellations is a return to instrumental compositions, this time in a more cosmic setting. There are also some albums that I omitted from the discography, as they are stylistically too far removed from EM.

 


Dierick, Xavier (Belgium)

Affliction (??)
Les gardiens (??)
Rotation (??)
Stardust (1997)
Tableaux d'une exposition (??)

Diverse Belgian composer, mostly within classical vein. In the 1990's he released a few CD's with electronically created music. Rather naive, with sampled emulations of classical instrumentation. Nothing too complex or progressive here.

 


Diesel, Kevin (???)

G H S T (2021) (S)

From rhythmic noise excursions to hyperactive arpeggio / sequencer flights.

 


Díez-Ena, Javier And His Theremins (Spain)

Theremonial: Dark & Exotic Theremin Music (2017)
Theremonial 2: More Dark & Exotic And Danceable Theremin Music (2019)

What the title promises.

See also: Therematic

 


Difference Clouds (USA)

Shiro (2012)
Difference Clouds (2012)

A project of Asheville-based synth artist Zach Smith. Experimental, analog, melodic and quite listenable.

 


Diffuse Arc (Spain)

Messiah (2014) (EP)
Teoria de las Ideas (2015) (EP)
Olivia (2015) (EP)

Spanish hybrid of electro and progressive EM.

 


Dig It Al(l) (Germany)

Volt Age (1981)

The project of Christian-Ch. Kneisel from West Berlin. Rhythmic, sequence-full music with vocoder voices. A bit like Kraftwerk on steroids.

 


Dig Up Dirt (Italy)

Prelude To A New Nonlife (2022)

Dig Up Dirt is Matteo Mosolo who is a bassist and acoustic guitar player. Here, he resorts to electronics, though, for a varied album that is a moody and somber reflection of a post-covid reality. Nice use of vocoder here.

 


Digan (???)

Synthesizer Music (1991)

 


Digit (Netherlands)

Digit 1: Storing Program. Ready (1982) (S)
Digit 2: New Acoustic Order (1982) (S)
Digit 3: Dig It (1982) (S)
Digit 4: Kontakt ! (1982) (S)

This is a series of 15 and 20-minute cassettes released by musicians from the Kubus Kassettes label roster (Rob Smit, Ron Konings and friends). I am not sure how they would fare next to other EM releases. Apparently the music is experimental. But Kubus Kassettes have already released some pure EM material (Enno Velthuys comes to mind), so I decided to give it a go and include this project in EEM. The music from all of the above cassettes was re-released on a single 60-minute cassette in 1984 as simply Digit, adding an unreleased solo track by Rob Smit as bonus.

See also: Transcendent 2000

 


digital ART (Germany)

Synthetic Sound of Life (1994)
Bridges (1995)
Inspired (1999)

Digital Art is Martin Rothhaar. His music represents a combination of classic and modern elements. The first two albums were never officially released.

 


Digital Art (Romania)

Translatie temporala (1994)
RoAd-Ventura (2001)

Melodic, rhythmic, sequence-full EM from the duo of Christian Nanu and Florian Nanu. Nice stuff.

 


Digital Dream (Germany)

Space (1988)
The Second (1988)
Digital Mind (1989)
Fractals (1990)
Sternenmusik (1990)
Explorer (1991)
Eclipse (1992)
Himalaya (1993)

Early incarnation of the band currently known as Pyramid Peak (Axel Stupplich and Andreas Morsch). They released several cassettes before Andreas left the band in 1991. Subsequent works Eclipse and Himalaya are solo efforts by Axel Stupplich, released under the same moniker. In 1995, Axel met Uwe Denzer with whom he formed a duo called Pyramid Peak. Andreas Morsch returned to the (now renamed) band in 1998.

See also: Pyramid Peak, Axess.

 


Digital Dreaming (Australia)

Digital Dreaming (1995)

Mojo, John Matthews, Ras and David Ride.

See also: Rainbow Generator, Mojo, Generator, The.

 


Digital Horizons (UK)

DH Archives Vol 4 - Lost In The Landscape (2011)
Endless Scenery (2016)
Automatic / DH Archives 11 (2019)
20/20 Vision (2020)
Logical Step (2020)
Ghost Station (2020)
The Movement of Mercury (2021)
Subscribe To the View (2021)
Retronome (2021) (recorded in 2019)
Generations (2022)
Songs From the East (2022) (recorded in 2018)
Diversion (2022) (recorded in 2017)
1973 (Part Three) (2023)
Proximity (2023) (recorded in 2017)
Messages In Code (2023)

This artist has been creating Electronic Music since 1988. Varied, rhythmic, melodic, sequencer-based.

 


DigitalSimplyWorld (Poland)

Essence of the Sequences (2014)

Polish synthesist. The above album is based almost exclusively on sequencing.

 


Diimpa (Australia)

Bunya (2021) (EP)

A project of William Cooper. Climatic, emotional, melodic ambient compositions mixing synths and a few acoustic elements.

 


Dijcks, Armand (???)

PSI (1988)
XI (1988)

 


Diklić, Aleksandar (Serbia)

Moja Aleksandrija (1997)

Will be enjoyed by fans of bombastic orchestral Vangelis perhaps.

 


Diko, Aaron (USA)

DDCT (2017)

San Francisco-based synthesist who previously played with garage rock / synth punk band POW! Shorter tracks built of analog sounds, some melodic, some more intense and noisier.

See also: Gravité

 


Dilate (Canada)

Cyclos (1996)
Octagon (1997)

Ambient. Dilate is former Vampire Rodents keyboard player Victor Wulf. 

 


Dilulio, Ron (USA)

The Death of the World of Now (1978) (with James E. Kerr)
Comet Tracks (1985)

The collaborative release with James E. Kerr is an occult electronic LP with spoken narrative layered on top of Dilulio's score. Comet Tracks LP is subtitled "Music to Remember Halley's Comet". So, a cool concept for this cosmic synth album. Dilulio is also known thanks to producing special effects and music for various TV shows and planetariums.

 


DIM (Canada)

The Holy Crag (2021)
Parachrism (2024)

Parachrism is a more experimental / EM-oriented release from this Nova Scotia-based dungeon synth project. The Holy Crag is closer to traditional dungeon synth, but also with elements of ambient music.

See also: Satchel Bearer

 


Dim DJ (Greece)

A Selection of Forgotten Worlds (2021)

Dim DJ is Dimitris Evangelopoulos from Thessaloniki. A mixture of techno and EM tracks.

See also: Skynet 75

 


Dim Garden (Netherlands)

Reviens tendre (2019)
Les visions du chevalier Tondal (2021)
Elle tombe la lune (2022)
Soleil tartare (2023) (EP)

This project from The Hague is oriented towards noise / industrial music. However, tracks like "The Long House" and "Toevlucht" show that there is much more to her music than that. These are made in a repetitive, minimal synth style. I hope she continues in that direction. Notes 1.03.2021: it looks that my hopes have not been in vain, as the tracks I've heard from Les Visions du Chevalier Tondal are very synthy and very Prog!

 


Dim Lights (Finland)

Starspire (2022)

Dim Lights is Ville Pallonen, who is mostly known in the extreme metal circles. Under this name, though, he composes moody Electronic Music inspired by dystopian urban visions.

 


Dimitrov, Toni (North Macedonia)

Dimitrov - Ristevski - Georgievski (2017) (with Boban Ristevski and Martin Georgievski)
Sabelline (2018) (S) (with Jared Sagar)
Rainy Sessions (2019) (with DR)
Sound Diary (2019) (with Rhucle)
The Story of Utopias (2022)
Dystopia (2022)
Walden Two (2022) (with Tony McClure and Boban Ristevski)
The Myth of the Machine (2023)
The Road To Revolution (2024)

Skopje-based ambient composer. Field recordings, drones, obscure sounds...

See also: Post Global Trio, Hunter/Gatherer, Private Mountain, Fayerabend, Biloba Green.

 


Dimpflmeier, Johannes (Italy)

Augenstrahl (2004)
Cespuglio misterioso (2004)
Cardos Slow Dance (2005)
Tomkins Space Dance (2005)
Rauschbilder (2009)
La dinastia del sole (2009)
La voce del vento (2011)
Untitled (2014)

Experimental artist born in Italy to German parents. He builds all his instruments himself. These include both acoustic (including some aeolian harps) and electronic inventions.

 


Dimuševski, Nikola (North Macedonia)

Music For... (1993)
Live (1995)

Keyboard player born in 1958 in Skopje and a founding member of progressive rock / fusion band Leb i Sol. Not everything he's done is electronic but when in the EM mode he mostly sounds like organic Vangelis mixed with Edward Artemiev, with a very unique touch.

 


Din A Testbild (Germany)

Programm 1 (1980)
Programm 2 (1981)
Triptychon (1982)
Programm 3 (1983)
Leipzig & Coca-Cola (1991)
Sex 'n Chaos (1993)
Sample Shit (2006)
Programm 5 (2007)
Programm 6 (2010)
Programm 4 (2017) (recorded in 1983)
Programm 0 (2018)
In die Zukunft, 29.06.1979 (2021)
Trash Painting (??)
P7 (2023)

Din A Testbild is a project of Mark Eins, initially with fellow musicians Nutty Norman and Genee Romee. The early music was released on IC label. The style is apparently fairly rhythmic and rock-influenced, with punk / NDW moves. Therefore, it will be a hard one for most EM fans, I guess.

 


Dinah Shore Jr. (USA)

Dinah Shore Jr. (1997)

A duo of Rob Mitchell and Todd Gerber. Pretty busy ambient compositions, with dramatic choirs, live drums and samples galore. Tony Gerber guests on Moog synth on one of the tracks.

See also: Umlaut

 


Dinger, Thomas (Germany)

Für mich (1982)
2000 (2015) (recorded in 2000)

Late krautrock musician, member of legendary Neu! and La Düsseldorf (together with his older brother Klaus Dinger, also sadly diseased now). If you love Dusseldorf School, this rarely mentioned album (Für Mich) is indispensable. It features true motorik rhythms and lots of lush synthesizers. At times it even sounds like "krautrock meets Jarre's catchy melodic hooks". Excellent music with a certain new wave flair.

See also: La Düsseldorf, 1-A Düsseldorf.

 


Dining Rooms, The (Italy)

Turn To See Me (2022)

Trip-hop / "electronica" / post-rock duo formed in the 1990's. On Turn To See Me, which is largely instrumental, bar a few vocal samples and some songs, there is a slight, but perceptible EM flair on some of the tracks, the best of which is "I Am Here".

 


Dinis, Federico (Portugal)

Perhaps Only As A Memory (2018)
Slowe Pace of Existence (2019)
An Unexplained Emptiness (2023)

Ambient with elements of electro-acoustic and glitch.

 


Diniz, Marcelo (Brazil)

Elemental (2008) (with Amyr Cantusio Jr.)
Analog Dream (2008)

Hailing from Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, Marcelo Diniz is a keyboardist who was born in 1979. Up until the late 1990's he acted as a keyboard player for various rock and pop bands. By the New Millennium he started concentrating more and more on his solo career, collaborating with Amyr Cantusio Jr. aka Alpha III and doing own compositions. His style is characterized by his love for vintage timbres and warm, analogue atmospheres. The album Analog Dream begins with a countdown, before warm melodies and a relaxed electronic rhythm appear. Sounds a bit like modern Kraftwerk jamming with vintage Tangerine Dream. The sound is lush and nice. This is all fairly easy-listening. On the other hand, the second track titled "Voices oà the Night" is greeted with a darker soundscape, before sparkling arpeggios begin circling around. The track is rather static. Heavy breathing and a siren herald the coming of "Escape". A fast rhythm is then introduced and a melody plays in a very soundtrack-like manner. This would work very well as background music to some criminal thriller. Some of the sounds and solos are cheesier than the others but overall Marcelo manages to escape the pits of overt corniness on this one. The next track is all but drowned in the sea of analog arpeggios, bass notes and warm pads. It has a marching rhythm to it that reflects its title ("Way of A Lonely Man"). The mood is that of mystery and anticipation. "Black Hole" opens with darkish arpeggios and rich symphonic synths. This is some wonderful stuff that could come straight from one of those "Tangram"-era concerts by Tangerine Dream. This is the best track so far, and also the most experimental one. "Aquarius" starts with aquatic synths (surprise, surprise!) before mysterious pads envelop the drop-like pulsations. A bit tribal drums appear in the second part, accompanied by anthemic and moody symphonic textures. Quite cosmic and epic-sounding stuff here. Absolutely wonderful cosmic atmospheres follow. This is Space Music of the darker, mysterious variety. In a surprise move, a laid-back, almost danceable rhythm starts and a distorted synth solo completes the picture. I am not sure that this transition was needed or that it worked at all, but at least this track shows a great deal of variety which is a good thing. "Icarus III", with its bubbling synths, a chirpy rhythm and a moody pad melody is unashamedly Jarre-like. Not that Marcelo is trying to copy here, but the style and inspiration is unmistakable. The second part is more modern sounding, though, once the drum rhythm kicks in. "Pale Blue" is extremely positive, with its major key harmonies, and approaches the territory of new age. Too saccharine for my taste, sorry. "Coming Back" is laced with heavy rhythms and very 1980's synthesizer sounds. It's a very nice track, melodic and synth-heavy. Fans of Tangerine Dream's soundtracks from that era should check it out. The closing title track starts with rather heavy upbeat sequencing. So it goes for the rest of the track - various pulsations come and go. Some are of the experimental bleepy or clanky, industrial variety, others more classic bell-like textures. A nice track to load your brain with a healthy dose of sequencer goodness. However, there's also *that* melody which gives the track a flowing property and works really well with the pulsations. Again, one for fans of 1979 - 1985 Tangerine Dream perhaps. Overall, Analog Dream is a bit of a mixed bag stylistically. Some tracks work better than the others, but most of them are certainly well worth your time. Not bad for a debut. Marcelo is an artist to look out for.

 


Dinosaur On Fire (USA)

Sleep Moon Voyage (2018) (recorded in 2012)
Populous Romantique (2018)

Intense synth compositions from this Philadelphia-based project, influenced by video game music and Prog EM.

 


Dinsdale, Steve (UK)

New Church (2009)
On the Other Side (2010)
The Vast Key (2012)
Tomorrow (2014)
Light & Dark (2018)
Forgotten Not Gone (2023)
A Cosmos of Sand (2023)

Mellotron-drenched works from member of Radio Massacre International. Very TD / Froese.

See also: Radio Massacre International

 


Dion And the Magic Chords (Netherlands)

Curiosa (2012)
Gestalt (2017)

Rotterdam-based duo with an unusual approach. Using a variety of vintage home and toy keyboards, as well as Nintendo chips, they create a lush sound, augmented by real drums. Melodic, progressive, at times jazzy, at times closer to a wacky version of chiptune.

 


Dionisaf (Russia)

Lost Rarities (2021)
From the Silence (2022)
Twelve Months (2022)
Cluster (2022)
New York Environments (2022)
Dreamland (2022)
Ulysses (2023)

A project of ambient artist Dionis Afonichev who is currently based in the USA.

 


Dionne & Bregent (Canada)

Et le troisieme jour (1976)
Deux (1977)

Canadian duo of Vincent Dionne and Michel-Georges Bregent. Instrumental synth with percussion.

See also: Dionne, Vincent.

 


Dionne, Vincent (Canada)

Destinations (1988)
Parade (1991)
Nil Bleu Nil Blanc (2007)

Solo releases by ex-member of Dionne & Bregent. Jazzy EM, sometimes comparable to 1980's Tangerine Dream.

See also: Dionne & Bregent

 


Dioxide (Italy)

Dioxide (1995)

One of the artists from the Cybertracks Records roster. Melodic music by Aldo Polverari.

 


Diraque, Adrian (Germany)

Explorations (2021)

Pretty moody music from this Leipzig / Weimar-based composer. It relies very much on sampling and loops, but also on nice synth sounds. Ranges from completely ambient to sequencer-based, but always moody and subtle, never in-yer-face. A few rhythmic moments as well.

 


Direct 2 Brain (Italy)

Spaces (??)
Images (??)

Direct 2 Brain aka Riccardo Ricci signed for Cybertracks Records of Italy to record a couple of albums as well as participate in the Virtual Audio Project samplers.

See also: Explora

 


Direct To Dreams (France)

Le miroir bleu (1996)
Le monde parallele (1999)
Millenium's Dreams (2000)
Behind the Mirror (2002)
Alone (2007)

Varied Electronic Music, from prog to new age like to symphonic and ambient forms. Direct To Dreams is Bruno Meunier.

 


Dirty & Harry (Spain)

Humana (2019) (EP)

Fast, hyperactive sequencer, rhythms, melodies... A project of Xevi Bruguera and Ramon Maspons.

 


Disasterpeace (USA)

Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar (2011)
Deorbit (2011) (EP)
It Follows (2015) (soundtrack)
Hyper Light Drifter (2016)
Under the Silver Lake (2018) (soundtrack)
Gunhouse (2018) (soundtrack)

Rich Vreeland is Disasterpeace. He is a chiptune artist. Yeah, right. Before you start wondering, I'll tell you that Rise of the Obsidian... is the most complex and sonically rich music I've heard in the genre (not that I've heard much of course). In fact, a lot of this concept work approaches the EM territory, especially reminding on early 1980's Tangerine Dream (circa White Eagle) or their soundtracks from this period. A perfect marriage between EM and chiptune, then? Exactly. If you fancy such combination, give this one a listen. You might be surprised how good it is. It Follows is a soundtracks with a nice synth sound.

 


Disc Image (USA)

EP (2018)

A project of Jonathan Sheer. Although containing mostly noisy collages and glitchy sounds, the opener (a somewhat blissful synth excursion) and the closer (an arpeggio-based chugger) somehow point in the EM direction.

 


Discoverer (USA)

Build A Base (2010)
Tunnels (2012)
Mind Deco (2013)
In Collection (2015)

Interesting. Although there are some downtempo beats, the musical language (textures, melodies, moods) are 100% EM. Nice crossover project.

See also: Fly Kin Mountain.

 


Discovery Zone (USA)

Remote Control (2020)

A project of New York-born JJ Weihl. Remote Control is a concept album about the times we live in, with its mass communications, AI talk, automation and increasingly ubiquitous social networking. In termes of genres, it is mostly instrumental, but Weihl also sings on some of the tracks, which is ok, as her voice is very nice. If Kraftwerk were the sound of the imagined (and somewhat idealized) future and (sometimes) industrialized 1970's and 1980's, then this one here is the bittersweet reflection of where we have arrived after all these years. Nice.

 


DisFatum (Russia)

Death Instinct (2019)
ReStart (2019)

Dark Ambient project from Novokuznetsk.

 


Disfigure Mare (USA)

Delta Maidenhair (2008)

Warm, droning, analogue Ambient. Some nice Planetary Unfolding-like moments here. Disfigure Mare is Jeff Witscher.

See also: Hell, Rene, Marble Sky.

 


Diskrepant (Sweden)

33-12 (2004)
Into Sleep (2007)
Ex machina libertas (2009)
Through the Odious Framework (2012) (S)
A Captive of Oxygen (2013) (S)
Palinopsia (2015)

Dark soundscapes from Per Åhlund. Lots of processed sounds. Often in the vein of Noise Ambient.

 


Diskret (Switzerland)

Diskret (2019) (S)

Swiss duo from Zurich, mixing ambient EM and some downtempo rhythms.

 


Dismal Light (USA)

Mindswap (2014)
Dunes of Gypsum (2015)
The Hammer of God (2016)
Trench Tones (2016)
Chubasco (2018)

Varied project of Ryan Rousseau. It seems to retain a sort of a lo-fi aesthetic and ranges in sound from gritty techno and noisy works (not listed) to Ambient, both of darker and lighter varieties and synth music (listed).

 


Disparition (USA)

Satellite State (2004)
1989 (2008)

Ambient project of Jon Bernstein. 1989 features moody music inspired by the Romanian events of 1989.

 


Dispuhtamo (Finland)

Notkahdus (2015)
Suklaakosmos (2018)

Deliberately primitivist EM from this artist (real name - Jussa Pennanen). Lots of beepy, chiptune-ish stuff, but not without certain progressiveness. Sometimes reminds on early electronic music (something like the stuff made in the 1950's on the RCA synth or Electronic Sound by George Harrison).

 


Disque Noir (France)

Lock Down (2022)

Disque Noir is Cédric Béron.

 


Disquieting (USA)

The Ruins of Conscience (2021)
Empty Throne Amongst the Stars (2023)

Hymnal, repetitive, prog rock-like Electronic Music influenced by the "dungeon synth" genre. A project of Avery Bradshaw.

See also: Ephemerus

 


Disrute (Australia)

Reflexivity (2016) (EP)

Techno project. Surprisingly, the title track on the above EP sounds like an outtake from a 1985 soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.

 


Dissemblance (France)

Over the Sand (2019)
Centauresse (2023)

A project of Paris-based singer and multi-instrumentalist Mathilde Mallen. She uses her voice and electronics and on Centauresse sounds like Agneta Nilsson-era Heldon backing a minimal synth band. Stark, moody, neurotic music which is about 50% instrumental. When there is a voice, it is often used as another instrument.

 


Dissevelt, Tom (Netherlands)

Song of the Second Moon (1957) (with Kid Baltan)
Electronic Movements (1962) (S)
Fantasy In Orbit (1963)

A relic of melodic and spacey music. The first LP was also released as "The Electrosoniks - Electronic Music". Kid Baltan who collaborates with Tom Dissevelt on Song of the Second Moon is actually experimental composer Dick Raaijmakers. 

 


Distance, The (USA)

The Mirror Shattered (1996)

Synth music by Mark Ashby with a spoken narrative layered on top. Joel Burly and Christie Hotchkiss lend a hand on this one.

See also: Ashby, Mark, Double Vision.

 


Distant Animals (UK)

Lines (2018)
Weaves / Threads (2019)
The Frequency of the Heart At Rest (2021)
I Too Had Hope (2022)

Complex modular synthesis coupled with classical instrmentation and glitchiness.

See also: Hignell, Daniel Alexander

 


Distant Hymns (USA)

Dreaming Left Free (2016)
Yama (2018)

Droning ambient tracks on top of nature recordings.

 


Distant Mirror (USA)

Distant Mirror (RED) (2017)
Distant Mirror (GREEN) (2020)
Distant Mirror (WHITE) (2023)

Los Angeles-based synthesist (Matthew Riley) creating nice, lush analog pastiche with sequencing and motorik galore.

See also: Gravité

 


Distant Tongues (USA)

Ongue Ditas (2021)

Electronic duo of Richard Vergez and Raphael Alvarez. Floating synths and slow rhythms with lots of voice samples ala Savant.

See also: Vergez, Richard

 


Distelweg (Netherlands??)

Pulsing Fields (2018)

Modular synth compositions, mostly of ambient nature. Not bad, just somewhat lacking in the variety department.

 


Distortion Disorder (Lithuania)

Secret / Radiacija (2019) (S)
Distortion Disorder (2020) (S)
Parasite / Secret Weapon (2022) (S)

Modular synth artist Zygimantas Laurutis. Raw, gnarling, neurotic synth sounds and stiff drum machine rhythms.

 


Dithmar (Denmark)

Zodiac Zeit (2009)
Eternity (2011)

Danish artist who on his first album developed an analogue, Berlin School-influenced sound. One track was co-composed by Harald Grosskopf.

 


Ditmas, Bruce (USA)

Yellow (1977)
Aeray Dust (1977)
Visioni sconvolgenti (2017) (S)

Free jazz drummer goes electronic. These albums are still heavy on the rhythm though.

 


Ditto, Charles (USA)

In Human Terms (1987)
Texas Electric (1989)
The Way of All Peach (1992)
The Fantoccini Chronicles (1994)
Public Triangle (2002)
Basso continuo (2018) (recorded in 1987 - 1994)
Boojum (2019)

Texan synthesist a bit on the Experimental side of things. Dramatic and pulsing electronics that can be compared to Cluster. Charles Ditto has also released a couple of solo piano works.

 


Diürn (Spain)

Una Història Hologràfica (2020)

IDM/techno-related project from Barcelona. The ambient tracks on the above LP definitely have an EM flair. The closer ("Al Goig") is particularly impressive and intense.

 


Divided By Two (Italy / Belgium)

The Legend (2018)
Dissolution (2019)
Electromagnetism (2020)

A duo of Gabriele Quirici and Danny Budts. Ambient electronic sound.

See also: Percetual Defence, Budts, Danny, Syndromeda.

 


Divided State (???)

Spurious Emissions (2019)

Experimental synth duo of Leroy Clark and André Custodio.

 


Dividenthal And Aumgn (UK)

3-Methylmorphine Melt (2018)
Strawberry Ergotamine (2018)
Primordial Innocence (2018)
Sildenafil PubChem Mass (2019)
The In Sound From Way Out! (2019)

A project of Lee Norris and Matt Hillier, oriented towards analog synth explorations.

See also: Nacht Plank, Ishq, Elve, Ishvara, Futurology, Omni Vu Deity, Yunomi.

 


Divinafollia (France)

La Caduta (2021) (S)
Carta Divina (2021) (S)

Synth music on supernatural themes. Lots of choirs here.

See also: 6th Apartment

 


Divination (USA)

Ambient Dub Vol. 2 - Dead Slow (1993)
Akasha (1995)
Sacrifice (1998)

A project formed in 1990's by Bill Laswell as a vehicle of collaboration with other artists. The style is diverse and may depend on the collaborators, with the first volume of Ambient Dub being just that - a dub album with an ambient flair. The second volume is much more ambient with some floating material. Akasha has two sides - an ambient first part and a rhythmic, dubby second part. Then there's Distill (1996), which is basically a sampler (naturally, not included above) and, finally, we have Sacrifice - the most ambient work. Free of any beats or rhythms, it features Laswell's collaboration with Laraaji (electric zither) on two of the four tracks.

See also: Laswell, Bill, Rasa.

 


Divination Matrix (USA)

Volume 3 (2023)

Varied modular-based compositions.

See also: Ancient Oscillator

 


Divine Matrix (UK)

Invisible Landscapes (2011)
Atmospheric Variations (2012)
Hydrosphere (2013)
Cloudsurfing (2015)
Helios (2020)
Beachcombing (2020)
Heart of the Shaman (2021)
Celestial Phenomena (2021)
Journeys (2022)
Sequencer Drift (2022)
Bioluminescence (2023)

Melodic music from Steve Barnes.

 


Divinorum (Norway)

Isms (1999)
Talisman (2000)
Power Liquids (2003) (with Aural Planet)

Divinorum is a project of Bjorn Lynne. The music differs from his usual works, as it's very rhythmic trance stuff with ethnic touches. Good for those who like this particular style.

See also: Lynne

 


Division Plastique (France)

Division Plastique (2018)

Steady motorik rhythms, melodic synths... One for the Dusseldorf School aficionados.

 


Divisione Sehnsucht (Italy)

Divisione Sehnsucht (2017)

Rather indescribable band. They mix vocal industrial / noisy songs (with vocals) with some influences from electro / Kraftwerk (just very slight influences really) and ambient electronics. An example of their ambient work is the closer "Polar Auroras". I guess the band can be considered as EM-related overall.

 


Divus (Italy)

Divus (2017)
Divus 2 (2020)

Noctural electronic duo of Luciano Lamanna (synths) and Luca Tommaso Mai (sax).

 


Dixen, Anders (Denmark)

Death Tapes Vol. 1 (2019)
Death Tapes Vol. 2 (2019)

Varied modular synth compositions, mostly of ambient and experimental nature. The second volume is less interesting, with breaks and drum machine rhythms added to the soundscapes. Anders Dixen is a member of electro group Av Av Av.

 


Dixon, John (USA)

Attack of the Demons (2020) (soundtrack)

Member of Texan band Many Birthdays. The above is a soundtrack that mixes heavy guitar tracks and electronic tracks.

 


Dixon, Kyle (USA)

Hangovers (2013)
Stranger Things - Volume One (2016) (with Michael Stein) (soundtrack)
Stranger Things, Vol. 2 (2016) (with Michael Stein) (soundtrack)
Stranger Things: Halloween Sounds From the Upside Down (2018) (with Michael Stein) (soundtrack)
Valley of the Boom (2019) (with Michael Stein) (soundtrack)
Spheres (2019) (with Michael Stein)
Native Son (2019) (with Michael Stein) (soundtrack)

Synthesist with a preference for analog instruments.

See also: S U R V I V E

 


Dixon, Terrence (USA)

Other Dimensions (2022)

A techno artist from Detroit, Terrence Dixon creates a different sound on his Other Dimensions LP. An album of two distinct sides, it offers experimental rhythmic tracks on side A, all with a techno influence of course. Although this side is mildly interesting and nice, the real shit is the abstract and cosmic side B which has everything from deep drones to processed choirs and shadowy, melodic synthesizer pieces.

 


Dizparity (Taiwan)

Iridescent (2018)

Electronic artist who can be usually found composing EDM / "electronica" music with touches of synthwave and drum'n'bass. Iridescent is an album of songs made with different invited vocalists. It is more or less just normal mainstream electronic-oriented music for the dancefloor. However, the shorter instrumental solo tracks on this release lean towards more progressive / ambient forms of expression. An artist with some "EM potential", so to speak.

 


Dj Balduin (Germany)

Vvigmara (2018)
Concrete Mimosa (2023)

Unlikely mixture of house and ambient tracks.

 


DJ Blasy (Italy)

Quantasoma (2021)

Soft house tracks in which I can sense a ghost of Cluster and other EM influences. It is only slightly EM-related overall but the potential is there. The closer is pure EM.

 


Dj I~~~~~~ (France)

Ah si mérpendre (2022)

Dreamy, melodic ambient compositions.

 


DJ In A Dream (USA)

Sacrificial Bliss (2022)

Ambient compositions with lots of tape loops and samples.

 


DJ Metatron (Germany)

U'll Be the King of the Stars (2014) (EP)

Including someone whose artistic name starts with "DJ" in the encyclopedia of prog EM is something unheard of. However, this guy (also known under several other pseudonyms) really has that EM thing going throughout his oeuvre, putting an EM track every now and then on his deep house / techno releases. U'll Be the King of the Stars is no exception to the rule, as you will find here "Spiral Worlds" - a nice, cosmic EM number, which is at odds with the rest of the material. A one-track inclusion.

See also: Traumprinz, Prince of Denmark.

 


DJ Olive (USA)

Sleep (2001)
Buoy (2004)
Triage (2008)
Listening To Fir (2018)

A psedonym of Gregor Asch who in the early 1990's coined the term "Illbient". Only his ambient works will be listed.

 


DJ Paps (Germany)

Come And See! (2004)

Melodic music from Dieter Herten.

See also: Dayflight

 


DJ Plead (Australia)

Relentless Trills (2020)

DJ Plead is Jarred Beeler from Melbourne. On Relentless Trills, recorded during the pandemic on basically just one Yamaha "oriental" keyboard (PSR-A300),  he drops the hard techno beats and weaves complex melodic structures and more exquisite percussive rhythms straight out of Arabia. Of course, due to the nature of sounds used and the Arabic scale, some Klaus Schulze parallels circa his sampling period are inevitable, although overall it's much more ethnic-sounding.

 


DJ Richard (USA)

Dies Irae Xerox (2018)

Another artist whose artistic name starts with "DJ" in Prog EM encyclopedia... Sign of the times I guess, as more and more techno musicians (as well as those of other genres) prefer to step outside of their comfort club zone and experiment with other genres and sounds. The album Dies Irae Xerox is almost evenly split between darkish electro and ambient analog synth, leaning more towards the latter. .

 


dj Silver (Germany)

LCR003 (2020) (S)

Although I wouldn't normally see someone who uses "dj" as part of his/her name as an obvious candidate for inclusion in the EEM, my attention was drawn by the first track from the above 12-incher - the 8-minute "P World". Totally beatless and composed of a number of nice, warm synth sounds, its comes off as a nice EM experiment (or maybe an intentional diversion?). The other two tracks are in broken beats / techno style. A one-track inclusion so far.

 


Djam Karet (USA)

McMusic For the McMasses (1982)
Kafka's Breakfast (1982)
No Commercial Potential (1985)
The Ritual Continues (1987)
Reflections From the Firepool (1989)
Suspension And Displacement (1991)
Burning the Hard City (1991)
Collaborator (1994)
The Devouring (1997)
Still No Commercial Potential (1998)
Live At Orion (1999)
New Dark Age (2001)
Ascension (2001)
#1 (2001)
#2 (2001)
Afghan: Live At the Knitting Factory (2001)
A Night For Baku (2003)

Recollection Harvest (2005)
The Heavy Soul Sessions (2010)
The Trip (2013)
Regenerator 3017 (2014)
Sonic Celluloid (2017)
A Sky Full of Stars For A Roof (2019)
Island In the Red Night Sky (2022)

American progressive / electronic outfit. Djam Karet (pronounced 'zhahm ka-rette') are: Chuck Oken, Henry J. Osborne, Mike Henderson and Gayle Ellett. There are a lot of albums that all sound quite different from each other. The ones to recommend are Suspension And Displacement, an album of Ambient EM and Collaborator which is essentially a collaborative effort of Djam Karet with other electronic musicians who send their tapes to the group for finishing off the ideas into complete musical pieces. Participating musicians are Kit Watkins, Walter Holland, Marc Anderson, Carl Weingarten, Loren Nerell, Jeff Greinke and Steve Roach. The line-up of Djam Karet for this album includes only Gayle Ellett and Henry J. Osborne. The music is supposed to be very good. There are other works, that you may like as well. Beware that some of their works are quite guitar-heavy, as for instance, Burning the Hard City.

See also: Maskit Chamber, The, Ukab Maerd, Henderson / Oken.

 


Djambazov, Vladimir (Bulgaria)

The Creation of the World (2000) (with Gonimira Popova)

Aka Vladimir Djambasov. Electronic and electroacoustic composer from Bulgaria (b. 1954).

 


Djenjer (Morocco)

Vortex (2006)

Dark Ambient / Dark Space / soundscapes from Morocco (the artists' name is Yassine Maaroufi).

 


Djokanov, Sergey (Bulgaria)

The Green Desert (1985)
Bulgarian Icons (1990)
Екология (1993)
Истории... (1996) (recorded in 1985 - 1991)

Electronic musician from Bulgaria.

 


D'Lear, Shaun (UK)

D'Lear (1989)

Not mainstream EM by any stretch, Shaun D'Lear's eponymous album can be easily ignored by the general audience. However, it's certainly a must for fans of John Dyson, as all music on this CD (except Shaun's singing) is by John, done in his typical melodic style.

See also: Dyson, John

 


Dlght (France)

Dans l'eau (2022)

Parisian artist Thomas David aka Dlght can be usually found composing club music in various styles. Dans l'eau has elements of club styles (mostly drum and bass) mixed with a complex Progressive EM sound.

 


D'Marc Cantu (USA)

True Nature (2017)

Nicholas D'Marc Cantu is a techno artist from the US. True Nature has a couple of techno-influenced tracks and the rest is ambient / Prog EM. The latter category is pretty diverse and includes "The Pines", "Death Scene", "Grim Man's Theme" and "Cosmic Doorways". One track ("Kinetics of Trauma") is an unexpected noise assault.

 


DMX Krew (UK)

The March To the Stars (2010)
Standing Stones (2014)
There Is No Enduring Self (2015)
The New Age Travellers (2016)
Synthe Sound (2017) (recorded in 1993 - 1994) (EP)
Unidentified Flying Objects (2018)

Scottish electro project (Edward Upton) that has been around since the 1990's. The large portion of his work is pure electro. However, he has released some (slightly) EM-related works over the years that tend either towards the Kraftwerk side, the cosmic synth side or, rarely, Ambient. I will try to list his EM-related releases or those containing EM-related or EM material to make surfing through his extensive discography easier for EM fans.

See also: Cross, David Michael

 


Dntel (USA)

Hate In My Heart (2018)
Futurangelics (2021) (with Brin and More Eaze)
Until (2021) (S)

A project of James Scott Tamporello who started working as Dntel already in 1994. I don't know about his other releases, by Hate In My Heart, recorded live with a Buchla Music Easel, will be of interest to fans of the more playful end of Experimental EM.

See also: Sana Shenai

 


D/O (Italy)

Oneiric Traces (2001)

Electronic / ethnic soundscapes and Tribal Ambient by Giorgio Degli Esposti and Andrea Ottolenghi. Alio Die participates on one track.

 


Do It Yourself Orchestra (France)

Jogging (1980)

Claude Perraudin under a pseudonym.

See also: Perraudin, Claude

 


Dobos, Julius (Hungary)

Connecting Images (1998)
Mountain Flying (1999)
Applied Moods (2000)
Transitions (2010) (recorded in 2004 - 2010)

A mixture of sorts between classical Music and EM. The electronic parts sound very much like Vangelis which means grand, sweeping and orchestral atmospheres. There are also influences of Oldfield and folk music. Mountain Flying features (apart from electronics) members of Solaris and After Crying, with the addition of real choir and orchestra. Applied Moods is a collection of pieces from both albums plus some unique material.

See also: Forgotten Futute

 


Dobra, Marco (Germany)

Nervendealer (1987)
In the World of Other Realities (1987)
Different Lanes For Different Brains (1987)
Seelenrecycling (1987)
Listen (1987) (with Zardoz Zodiacus)
Lust (1987) (with Lustwig Van Biesthoven)
Zustandsbeschreibung II. WASSER (1987)
Zustandsbeschreibung IV. ERDE (1988)
Sample Silence (1988)
Zustandsbeschreibung III. LUFT (1989)
The Lips of the Ultimate (1989)
The Early Tapes (1986 - 1989)
Back & Now (1987 - 1989)
Crossings (1987 - 1991)
Pathfinder (1989 - 1991)
The Arts Collection (1988 - 1992)
Silent Memories (1989 - 1992)
Live Fragments (1989 - 1993)
After (2002)
Rooms (2005)
Someone Tells Us Something (2014)
One Day (2018)
Studio Fragments (2019)
Sekishu (2019)
Mandarine (2020)
Hansa Haus Collaborations (2020) (recorded in 2005 - 2007)
Relictum (2020) (recorded in 2006 - 2013)
Nervendealer (2020)
Dustrient (2020)
People (2021)
XXVI (2021)
Faces (2022)
Communication (2022)
Zustandsbeschreibung (2022)
Artificial Intelligence (2022)
Floating Borders (2022)
My Little Story (2022)
Musick (2023)
T-Day (2023)
Deva Samvado (2023)
Late Brainstorm Recordings (2023) (recorded in 1988 - 1993)
Spurensuche (2023)
Last Brainstorm Tracks (2024) (recorded in 1988 - 1993)
Obscure Realities (2024)

Marco Dobra is primarily a percussionist, but during the 80's he assembled an electronic studio, where apart from drums and percussion he made use of various synths, samplers, sequencers, etc. Some of these works are documented on the above albums. There are melodic, delicate, flowing pieces, some rhythmic workouts and pure ambient floaters. Several guests appear on some tracks.

See also: Overflow, Edition Holos, Online, Minimax Maximalminimum, Shadan.

 


Dobrev, Tsvetan (Bulgaria)

Oeuvres Diverses (1992) (recorded in 1981 - ??)

Classical composer and a pioneer of electro-acoustic and electronic music in Bulgaria. The above collection features a 20-minute electronic piece "Métamorphoses", apparently recorded in Simo Lazarov's studio. The music is inspired by the paintings of Christo Simeonov.

 


Dobrovolski, Vlad (Russia)

Breathers EP (2013) (EP)
The Drums of the Fore And Aft (2017)
Non-Deterministic Polynomial Poems (2019)
Natursymphony No. 1 - Spring Music (2020)
Natursymphony No. 3 - Vibrant Matters (2020)
Naming (2020) (S)
Playbacks For Dreaming (2022)

Unique ambient artist with a knack for analog sounds and a special atmosphere, seemingly influenced by classic 1970's EM.

See also: Kurvenschreiber

 


Dobson, Chase (USA)

The Mechanics of Time Travel (2023)

Solo Electronic Music from this Denver, Colorado-based artist who worked as touring technician and synthesizer programmer with the likes of Rihanna, Tycho and M83. The focus here is on fat analog textures, melodies and relaxed rhythms.

 


Doc Sleep (USA)

Birds (In My Mind Anyway) (2023)

Varied music from this Berlin-based US artist. Not all of it is Prog EM, but the rich, sequencer web kind of tracks like "Strange Sun", "Secret Spells" and "Under High Branches" are spot on and very EM in spirit.

 


Doc Wör Mirran (USA)

Doc Wör Mirran (1984)
Jelly From Above (1985)
Plays the Music of Raisin Bran Trust (1986)
Cadillacs & Sunshine (1986)
Kamophlagged Dead (1987)
Slow (1990)
Slower (1996)
Phire (1996) (with Tesendalo)
The Sound of Silver (1998) (with Jorg Thomasius)
Lasher (1999)
No Recorded Remixed (1999) (with Tesendalo)
Momentum 2 (2009) (with Tesendalo)
Themes For Walden (2014) (with Tesendalo)
Rojo (2015)
Symphony In A (2015)
Industrial (2017)
24.3.16 (2017) (with Re-Drum and Sascha Stadlmeier)
Limerence (2017) (with Paul Lemos)
Covfefe Live (2018)
Edges 8 & 9 (2018)
Alternative Facts (2018)
Orgastic Jams (2019)
Pencil (2019) (with Telepherique)
Ambiless (2019)
Germany's Next Top Roadkill (2020)
Kraut Mask Replica (2020)
Covfefe (2020)
Hominine Parts 1 To 3 (2020)
Hominine Parts 4 To 6 (2021)
Diaspar Parts 1 To 12 (2021) (recorded in ?? - 2013)
Diaspar Parts 12 To 22 (2021) (recorded in ??)
Progressive Punk 1 (2021)
Progressive Punk 2 (2021)
Progressive Punk 3 (2021)
Progressive Punk 4 (2021)
Oval Eclipse Live (2022) (with The Oval Language)
Dada Depression (2022) (with Acidether)
Progressive Punk 5 (2022)
Progressive Punk 6 (2022)
Progressive Punk 7 (2022)
Progressive Punk 8 (2022)
Progressive Punk 10 (2022)
La Pastorella (2022)
The Iron Snowflake (2022)
World of Trailers (2023) (recorded in 2021)
Schnulz (2023) (with Adrian Gormley)

Ambient soundscapes with some early German EM influences from Bernard H. Worrick and Joseph B. Raimond (both originally from the United States, now residing in Germany). I am not sure which of their early works should be included here, as sometimes their music goes out of scope of EEM, so for now only a handful of their many releases are included in the above discography.

See also: Kopfschmerztablette

 


Docile Dawn (USA)

Pulsar Music (2009) (S)
Overgrown Forest II (2009) (S)
From Meadow To the Megaplex (2011) (S)

Cosmic, analog electronics from the trio of Jeff Host, Sam Goldberg and Zach Troxell (one half of Fragments).

See also: Host, Jeff, Goldberg, Sam, Radio People.

 


Dockstader, Tod (USA)

Recorded Music For Film, Radio & Television: Electronic Vol. 1 (1979)
Recorded Music For Film, Radio & Television: Electronic Vol. 2 (1981)

Although known as a pioneer in academic electronic music during the 1960's, Tod Dockstader (1932 - 2015) recorded these two library albums for UK-based company Boosey & Hawkes and the style here is surprisingly warm, melodic, playful and synth-based. Everything from Cluster to Conrad Schnitzler and Jean-Jacques Perrey comes to mind.

 


Doctor Electro (France)

Electromelody (1978) (S)

Melodic, easy-listening synth music with a disco flair. Doctor Electro is a pseudonym of Claude Perraudin.

See also: Perraudin, Claude

 


Doctor Fluorescent (USA)

Doctor Fluorescent (2020)

Vocoder-laden songs with heavy Kraftwerk / YMO vibes from this Los Angeles-based project.

See also: Ruscha V, E, Gilmore, Scott.

 


Doctor Wize (USA)

Towards the One (1995)

Dense electronics with sequences from Dennis Weisse (aka Denis Wize) - Oregon-based musician and synthesist.

See also: Wize, Denis

 


Död (Sweden)

Vacation 4-ever (2017)
Arbetets ära (2019)
We Put the Fun in Funeral (2020)

Diverse duo from Sweden. Vacation 4-ever  features a mix of subtle acid tracks and moody synth drones.

See also: Haltuu, Jurko

 


Dodd, Nicholas (UK)

Starlands (1987)
Starlands 2 (1988)
Starlands 3 (1988)
Timeless Heart (1989)

British orchestrator, producer, conductor and keyboard player. Dodd is also known as a film music composer. His early works (listed) will be enjoyed by fans of Electronic New Age and Space Music. Often a bit Vangelis-like in spirit, they consist mostly of majestic synth chords (i.e. nary a sequence in sight). The music is fairly nice, although a lot of it is too sweet and sugary for me. My favorite moments are perhaps when he goes for the more dramatic sound, with Jarre-like chord progressions, as on the closer from the first volume of Starlands or when he gets slightly more complex, as on the closer from Timeless Heart. He got progressively more new-agey over time, until focusing on film scoring and pretty much abandoning solo album releases somewhere in the 1990's. Overall, I would rate even his earlier output as EM-related.

 


Dödens Dal (Sweden)

Gå ensam förbi horisonten (2013)
Korsa, jord, luft is (2014)
På natten, ovan molnen (2015)

Swedish duo with a unique style, influenced by downtempo, post-rock and EM / krautrock.

See also: Små Vågor

 


Dodovski, Dimitar (North Macedonia)

Rivers (2013)
Potential Worlds (2015)
Dérive (2016)
Paleopop (2018)
Predeli (2019) (S)
TUN008 (2022) (S)
Dérive (2023)

Varied, a bit glitchy Ambient.

See also: Niskogradba, Moss Garden, Post Global Trio, Private Mountain.

 


Doe Eye (USA)

B-room (2017)

Ambient compositions from San Francisco-based artist Maryan Qudus. This is her first EM-related release after her indie pop LP Television from 2015. Nice, delicate, ethereal synth sound.

 


Doeon, Kim (South Korea)

Damage (2023)

From playful synth interludes to avant-pop songs and traditional Korean sounds.

 


Doering, Bernhard (Germany)

This Way (1996)
Second Edition (2001)

Analogue synthesizer enthusiast and musician.

 


Dogon (Venezuela / USA)

Dogon (1989)
Notdunjusta (1996)
The Sirius Expeditions (1997)
Reddonjusta (1998)

Electronic duo of Miguel Noya and Paul Godwin.

See also: Noya, Miguel

 


Dogs In Reverse (USA)

Cassette Tape Series: Tape No. 1 (2015) (S)
Cassette Tape Series: Tape No. 2 (2015) (S)
Cassette Tape Series: Tape No. 3 (2015) (S)
Cassette Tape Series: Tape No. 4 (2015) (S)
1917 (2016)
Synthesizer Improv (2016)
Drella (2018)
Cassette Tape Series: Tape No. 8 (2021) (S)
Cassette Tape Series: Tape No. 9 (2021) (S)
Cassette Tape Series: Tape No. 10 (2021) (S)

Solo project of Dan Mattioli, a member of noise rock / post-rock / indie band Derridada. Ranges from noisy to atmospheric but always staying on the abstract side.

 


Dogs See Ghosts (USA)

optical (2021) (S)

Birmingham, Alabama-based noise artist. optical features ambient compositions.

 


Dogs Versus Shadows (UK)

This Crow Wears A Wire (2020)
Sandskimma (2020)
Micrographia (2020) (with Qualchan.)
Bombing Middle England (2020)
Some Dust Will Fall (2020)
Last Witnesses (2020)
The Eavesdrop (2021)
Shame & Portent (2021)
Oscilloghost (2021)
Boketto (2021)
You Are Here / You Are Not A Ghost (2021)
The Importance of Elsewhere (2021)
Entropy Sketches (2021)
Memory Vague (2021)
Pit And Tina (2021) (S)
Volte-Face (2021)
MCRODSC/Obscura (2021)
Near Qaanaaq (2021)
Cementality (2021) (with Cinecenta)
Of Apex And Arcs (2021)
brush/off/the/dust (2021) (S)
The Arcane Hour (2021)
Nagasaki Collapse Team (2021)
Yahyanag (2021)
I Do Not Understand Why (2022) (EP)
The Lull of the Ley (2022)
Amongst the Sour (2022)
Smog And An Ambush (2022)
Oracle Mama Dot (2022)
The AZ5 Movement (2023) (with Daniel Alexander Hignell-Tully)
Standing Looking North (2023) (S)

A project of Nottingham-based Lee Pylon. EM which is sort of related to the hauntology genre and based on analog synthesizers. Pretty nice stuff.

 


Dohnavùr (UK)

You Can And You Shall (2020)
Pristine Environments (2020) (EP)
Concrete Animals (2020) (S)
The Flow Across Borders (2021)

A duo from Edinburgh with a varied style influenced by Ambient, dance music and rhythmic / melodic EM of the British kind (a nice example is "The Kindness of Others" from The Flow Across Borders).

 


Dokomo (USA)

The Illusion of Control (2022) (S)

Music by Ryan Wick and M. Willet very much in the style of The Dark Side of the Moog series by Schulze & Namlook.

See also: Wick, Ryan, Easy Rider, User, Willet, M.

 


Doktor Gnomegang (Dominican Republic)

Gang of Gnomes (2003)
Plucking the Gnomegang (2005)
Barlynez, A Psychedelic Rooster (2006)
Anacaona: A Musical Fantasy (2006)
The Gathering of the Magical Roosters (2009)

Doktor Gnomegang (aka Ogam Gnomegang) is a one-man band of Santo-Domingo-based Ernest Scott-Rodriguez, or at least that's the name given on the back of his Gang of Gnomes CDR. All of his albums are homemade, where he plays everything by himself. The music is crazy psychedelic electronics, with fat rhythms and all kinds of effects, sometimes in a World Music vein with lots of ethnic motives.

 


Dok-S Project (Japan)

Daily Sound Collection (2017)
Tideline (2018)
Under A Cloudy Sky (2021)

A project of Syusaku Deguchi who prefers composing shorter tracks that are extremely complex. He uses a multitude of digital and analog sounds and draws inspiration from just about every major style in existence, trying to describe the different parts of imaginary cities born and existing inside his head. Nice post-everything EM with a clearly progressive approach, although it will not be for everyone for sure.

 


Dokuro (USA)

The Black Room (2008) (EP)
Avalon (2015)

An electronics / processed cello duo from California. Abstract, ambient, a bit noisy sound.

 


Dolby, Thomas (UK)

Gothic (1987) (soundtrack)
The Gate To the Mind's Eye (1994) (soundtrack)

Thomas Morgan Robertson aka Thomas Dolby is a London-born, US-based English new wave, synth-pop, sophisti-pop artist. He is one of the most widely recognized names in these genres and has also worked extensively in the movie industry as a soundtrack composer. Gothic is a largely electronic soundtrack relying on the sounds of the Fairlight II computer synth / sampler. However, the possibilities of the Fairlight are used mostly to imitate the sounds of a traditional classical orchestra, so it's not really interesting from an EM standpoint and can be considered as EM-related at best. There are a few interesting moments, though, such as "Skullpulse", for example. The Gate To the Mind's Eye is more diverse, with vocal songs, piano interludes, rhythmic techno-ish numbers and moments that actually do approximate Progressive EM.

 


Dolch (Germany)

Tiefes Firmament (1996)
Yggdrasil...Nature...Anthems (1997)

Dungeon synth from Germany. Contrary to most "fantasy music" releases, this incorporates (at least on the first demo) EM influences and often sounds like a marriage between Mortiis' crypt symphonies and Klaus Schulze's cosmic drift. Another comparison could be Neptune Towers.

 


Dold (Sweden)

46 (2016) (EP)
Gryning (2016)
Inner Voice (2017)
Mother (2018) (EP)

Techno producer. With one track off 46 being a moody ambient piece, though, you can expect more of that style in the future. Notes 04.12.2016: Indeed, Gryning is a completely ambient release and a rather nice one, too, with influences of more rhythmic EM styles in places.

 


Doldinger, Klaus (Germany)

Constellation (1983)

Famous German producer, arranger, composer, jazz musician and God knows what else. Although he may be known mostly to jazz enthusiasts, this man has recorded at least one Electronic Music work, namely Constellation. The style of this record can be compared to that of Peru or Nova. Recommended.

See also: Passport

 


Dolin, Zack (USA)

Dawn of Claymation (2021)

Complex themes played on Roland SC-88 Pro general midi synth / module. Sounds like a mixture of a 1990's game soundtrack and super fast and virtuoso jazz fusion record.

 


Dolmen (USA)

Ritual Awakening (2002)
Terra Firma (2005)
Ritual Incantations Verse One (2009)
Ritual Incantations Verse Two (2009)

A duo of Steven Smith and Jason Sloan. Ambient.

See also: Sloan, Jason, Smith, Steven K.

 


Dolore (Italy)

L´orrendo spettacolo della morte (2019)

Synth music by Giorgio Trombino (member of a number of death metal bands), inspired by vintage horror soundtracks, from Carpenter to Goblin.

 


Dolphin, Vince (France)

Ocean Songs (2015)
Liquid (2018)
Blue (2021) (recorded in 2014)
Forever Blue (2021)

A pseudonym of Vincent Dauphin who tries to create a feeling of being underwater with his music which is highly accessible. Taking elements of pop music (lots of hushed autotuned vocals), melodic EM and maybe vapowave and mixing them all together, he gets a result that may be too new-agey for some.

 


Dolphins Into the Future (Belgium)

Dolphins Into the Future (2007) (S)
Mountains Saturnus (2007)
Voyage Shopibo Coast, Pacific City (2008)
Plays Themes From Voyage (2008)
...On Sea-Faring Isolation (2009)
The Golden Flowers of Channel Islands (2009) (with Monopoly Child Star Searchers)
Swimming With the Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins (2009) (EP)
Ke Mirnung Pu'uwai (2010)
The Music of Belief (2010)
Ke Ala Ke Kua (2010)
The Voice of the Silence (2011) (S)
Two Romantic Landcsapes (2011)
A Star Marker, Strange Dreams & Cairvoyance (2012)
Canto Arquipelago (2012)
Writings - Suspires (2013)
Pā'ua (2014) (S)

Beautiful new agey lo-fi ambience inspired by the sea. A project of Dutch musician Lieven Martens who is also known under countless other pseudonyms.

See also: Martens, Lieven

 


Doltz (Japan)

Yūgen (2020)
Asa (2022)

Ambient compositions with glitchy elements.

 


Dolulus (Switzerland)

Sécu foyer maison (1999)
Havre de paix pour la gent lessive (1999)

A project of Jean-Marie Tschanz who works under limitations of one-instrument environment, in this particular example opting for a Roland JV-1080 synthesizer controlled by Cubase software. Abstract compositions that remind on a completely synthesized version of Art Zoyd.

 


Domatrice (Portugal)

Dommage (2023)

Varied, often collage-like electronic compositions from Rudi Brito.

 


Dome Valley (USA)

Dome Valley (2014)

It is not known who is behind Dome Valley, but the music here is pure analog synth influenced by the Berlin School.

 


Domenica Diavoleria (USA)

Forever Your Salesgirl (2022)

A pseudonym of Seattle-based Domenica Clark. Foggy, dark, melancholic electronics obviously influenced by synthesizer horror scores.

 


Dominic Republic (USA)

Black Blizzard (2014) (EP)
Hello Island (2017)

Minimal, repetitive, sample-laden, complex, with mallet-like percussion and sort of an avant / tropical vibe.

 


Dominion (Canada)

Where Muses Dwell (1985)

Minimal synth / industrial / coldwave / darkwave / electro project of Andrew Szava-Kovatz. The above debut has a strong Prog EM / ambient flair.

 


Dominique, Nicolas (Poland)

Path To the Magnificent Land (2015)
Legends (2015)
Expedition (2016)
Storm (2016)
All These Happy Places (2017)
Guiding Light (2017)

Polish artist who composes mainly chill-out / downtempo / trance music. There are a couple of vocal songs on Legends, as well as the expectable beat-filled numbers. However, the nice, slow tracks will definitely appeal to fans of melodic EM. File under EM-related. Amazingly enough, Expedition is in even purer EM style. Very nice stuff. Then there's Storm. This one is a mixture of ambient EM and more rhythmic, danceable material. Overall, it is more trance than EM, so not very recommendable, although the EM tracks on it are good. Thankfully, All These Happy Places is a return to full-on EM mode. Guiding Light is also recommended.

 


DomJord (Sweden)

Sporer (2020)
Gravrost (2020)

Ambient and darkish rhythmic electronic compositions. Some ritual overtones. Music by Daniel Rosten.

 


Domo, Aki (Japan)

Twilight Walk Along A Creek (1983)
Vista (1984)
Sunrise Walk Along A Tahitian Seashore (1985)

Released on cassette on a new age label Invincible Records, Vista features synthesizer-based music done in collaboration with German musician Hans-Wolfgang Von Heldenleben and will be of interest to fans of relaxing forms of EM, especially Space Music.

 


Domotic (France)

Before And After Silence (2013)
Le démon des hautes plaines (2015) (sooundtrack)
Smallville Tapes (2017)
Nacre (2018) (S)
Friendship Without Love (2020) (soundtrack)
Descriptions of An Unfolding Event (2022)
Morton (Sibling Songs) And Other Descriptions (2022)
Palazzo (2023)

Domotic is French soundtrack composer Stéphane Laporte with a love for vintage synths. He mixes Carpenter-like pulses with typically French melodies (Roland Bocquet, Francis Lai, etc.)

See also: Laporte, Stéphane

 


Domus (Sweden)

EP (2018) (EP)
Lucid Dreaming (2020)
Transit / Sunrise (2021) (S) (with Dag Rosenqvist)

"Post-kraut" duo from Sweden. They use synths, electronics and sequencers, mixing them with bass guitar for a nice sound that is clearly influenced by the classics but is also pretty original and inventive.

See also: Oplen

 


Don Peyote (Australia)

Eternal Now (2011)
Blue Lotus (2015)
Neptunian Melodies (2017)

Eternal Now is a completely ambient album from this dub / trance / chillout producer (real name - Yvon Mounier).

 


Donati, Roberto (Italy)

Die Rache der Kannibalen (1989) (recorded in 1981) (soundtrack)
Cannibal ferox (2014) (recorded in 1981) (soundtrack)
Mangiati vivi! (2014) (recorded in 1980) (soundtrack)

Italian composer of horror scores and member of beat band I Bat Bat (and many others) in the 1960's. As is often the case with these obscure vintage soundtracks, there is some horrible (in this case, disco / orchestral) cheese in there but also some fine, intense electronic moments. These include both TD / Carpenter style incessant pulses and evil theremin wails. Die Rache der Kannibalen is a limited Swiss cassette release from 1989, but I guess it was the first ever release of music from 1981's "Cannibal Ferox" movie. A re-release under original title followed in 2014 on both LP and cassette and included a few bonus tracks.

 


Doncourt, Tom (USA)

Fauve (2002)
The Mortal Coil (2014)
The Moon Will Rise (2015)
House In the Woods (2017)
Ratsimandresy & Doncourt (2018) (with Nadia Ratsimandresy)
Lantern (2020)
Tom Doncourt & Mattias Olsson's Cathedral (2020) (with Mattias Olsson)

Tom Doncourt (1955 - 2019) was an American keyboardist focusing on the Mellotron. He was a member of Cathedral and composed his own solo music. Using as much as two different Mellotron models (actually a Mellotron and a Chamberlin), as well as Hammond organ, some vintage synths and other gizmos, like the uber rare Jennings Univox, he created mostly progressive rock songs, but also instrumental compositions, which are nothing short of brilliant, focusing on the hazy, shadowy sound of the Mellotron of course. Most of his albums represent a mixture of the two (songs and instrumentals), so any of his releases is a safe bet for anyone into Mellotron, vintage keyboards in general, progressive rock and Electronic Music. I love it and it is so sad that he is diseased. The world needs more artists like him - artists with a unique vision and artists that explore unlikely instruments instead of going for the more obvious choices.

See also: FauveMuseum

 


Donis (Lithuania)

Vacuum (1997)
Svilpiai (2002)
Baltos juodos klajos (2002)
Sotvaras (2003) (with Kūlgrinda)
Vacuum (2004)
Dunes (2005)
Mechanistic (2006)
Conspiracy of Silence (2006) (with GyS)
Alexandreia (2007)
Ein saulelė aplink dangų (2011)
Без гражданства (2016)
Без гражданства Part II (2016)

Slowly moving Dark Ambient. Real name of the artist is Donatas Bielkauskas. Some of his works are more in the neo-folk vein.

See also: Wejdas, Bielkauskas, Donatis.

 


Donne, Marcel (Netherlands)

Sidologie (2003)
Project Sidologie Revolutions (2019)

The cover of Sidologie is a humoristic rip-off from Jarre's Equinoxe. The music itself is based on old Commodore-64 game themes, but played with sounds typical of early Jarre and Vangelis.

 


Donner (international)

Hesitant Light (2022)

Electronic band with prog rock leanings put together by Norwegians Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow, The Opium Cartel), Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen and Marte Maaland Eberson, with two Steely Dan members Keith Carlock on drums and Georg Wadenius on guitar. Mostly instrumental, with vocals on some tracks.

 


Donnini, Roberto (Italy)

Tunedless (1980)
Tunedless 2 (1987)
Fluxmar (1992)

Roberto Donnini is a minimalist composer from Italy. He released several LP's that all untilized a similar concept - a group of musicians (including Stefano Fiuzzi, Jaqueline Darby, Roberto Buoni, Albert Mayr, Andrea Centazzo, Lino Capra Vaccina and others) would play a repeating sequence of strictly set notes, always returning to the ground 'A' at various intervals. The instrumentation included piano, some acoustic instruments and electronics. Something for fans of Terry Riley or Philip Glass maybe.

 


Donoso, Ricardo (Brazil)

Zerovinteum (2009) (S)
Linear Transformation Matrices (2010) (S)
Deterrence (2010)
Progress Chance (2011)
Assimilating the Shadow (2012)
As Iron Sharpens Iron (2013) (EP)
A Song For Echo (2014)
Saravá Exu (2015)
Machine To Machine (2015)
Quintesence (2016)
Calibrate (2018)
Re_Calibrate (2019)
Content (2020)
Progress Trap (2021)

Jazz drummer from Brazil who moved to Boston to become part of the local thriving experimental cassette scene. Especially of interest will be his full-length release Progress Chance, full of thick analogue textures, quirky sequences and so on. Yes, even a fan of the Berlin School (especially Klaus Schulze) will find a lot to enjoy here.

See also: Scuba Death

 


Doob, Bill (USA)

Panaman Reps (2007) (S)
Ethnic Ghetto E.T. Wet Sex Source (2010)
World Bigfoot & Bees (2010)
Golden Dome (2010)
Meaning of Ground (2010)
Aqua Abduct (2011)
Virtually Underwater (2011)
Stalker Recall (2011)
Music For Sensory Isolation (2011)
Underworld Dwellers Series Vol. 1 (2011)
10:10 Opening the Digital Door (2012)
Another Way (2012)
Celestial Stairway (2013)
Seekers (2017)

Aka Inspired School of Astral Music. Varied synth soundscapes, from emotional and ambient to experimental.

See also: Blue Communion: ISAM

 


Doom Catacomb (Italy)

The Empire of the Necromancers (2018)
The Weaver In the Vault (2019)
Necromancy In Naat (2020)
Polar (2021)
Arid (2022)

Polar features chilling, suspenseful electronics inspired by expeditions to the colder regions of Earth. Pretty cinematic stuff and rather nice, too.

 


Doomlode (UK)

Nuclear Laundry (2022)

Like a chiptune-ish projection of Kraftwerk's Computerwelt and Radio-Activity.

See also: Scrivin, Neil, Night Monitor, The.

 


Doon Kanda (UK)

Heart (2017) (S)
Luna (2018) (EP)
Labyrinth (2019)

Weird stuff from this surrealist artist and musician (real name - Jesse Kanda), often sounding like Klaus Schulze circa 1990 - 1993 playing cabaret music / tango. Different, but definitely progressive.

 


dOP (France)

Nephel's Dream (2023) (with Alexis Olin)

French duo. Nephel's Dream is basically a storytelling record. Thankfully, there is also plenty of uninterrupted music, which is very Prog EM in spirit and sound.

 


Doppelate (UK)

Transatlantic Rocket Machine (2017)

Releasing a couple of techno EP's, this London-based artist came up with this pensive ambient journey, where drones and lulling synths combine to form a warm but poignant web of sound. There are also tracks that make use of sequences / arpeggios.

 


Doppelwirkung (Germany)

F (1991)
E (1992)

Experimental electronic duo of Siegmar Fricke and Michael Wurzer (Doc Wör Mirran). They mostly dealt with industrial music and released a few tapes during the 1990's. The above two releases (F and E) are apparently less industrial and more informed by classic EM works of the 1970's (more like early 1970's actually). Freeform, cosmic...

See also: Fricke, Siegmar, DSIP.

 


Doppler Shift (USA)

Live At the Guggenheim (1986)

A duo of two synthesists Sam Rosenthal and Walter Holland.

See also: Rosenthal, Sam, Holland, Walter

 


Dopplereffekt (USA)

Gesamtkunstwerk (1999)
Linear Accelerator (2003)
Calabi Yau Space (2007)
Cellular Automata (2017)
Athanatos (2018)
Neurotelepathy (2022)

I wonder, why are Dopplereffekt considered a techno outfit? Perhaps it is the fact that they are from Detroit? I mean, there are no typical beats (Kraftwerk-like electronic white-noise rhythms do not count). The duo states to be influenced by Kraftwerk, BBC Radiophonic music, Tangerine Dream... Where does techno enter here? Oh, well... Anyway, good music, very analogue and different.

See also: Der Zyklus, XOR Gate, Arpanet.

 


d'Or, Laren (Hungary)

War of Angels (2000)
Real Nord (2000)

Laren d'Or is the moniker used by Attila Héger, a musician from Hungary. Symphonic electronics, like Vangelis meets Synergy. This album may also appeal to fans of symphonic rock, as it doesn't sound particularly synthetic most of the time.

 


Doray, Philippe (France)

Ramasse miettes nucleaire (1977)
Nouveaux modes industriels (1980)
Pile uu face (1984) (S) (with Thierry Muller)
Le composant compositeur (2023)

Also known as "Philippe Doray Associaux Associés", this artist belongs to the stark and harsh end of French electronic spectrum. Lots of strange electronic rhythms, experimental collages, aggressive Heldon-like sequences and sometimes even anguished vocals.

 


Dorittke, Frank (Germany)

Derby! (2009) (with Ron Boots and Harold van der Heijden)
Niko (2019)

Electronic Music by this musician known as F.D. Project.

See also: F.D.Project

 


Dormantgod (Argentina)

Animated Bas-Reliefs (2005)

Dormantgod is the solo project of Joseph C (founder of funeral doom band Fungoid Stream). With Dormantgod he explores a more cosmic and esoteric ambient sound.

 


Dorobantu, Daniel (Romania)

Cartea de piatra (2019) (with Petre Ionutescu)

Ambient soundscapes that sound like endless dream from electronic musician Daniel Dorobantu and trumpeter Petre Ionutescu. Often with a Space Music feel. Overall, this is a very nice listening for those into the deepest Vangelis, Jonn Serrie, Jon Hassell, Michael Stearns, Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Edward Artemiev and Sven Grünberg.

 


Dorosoto (USA)

Hypnotic Gyre (2008) (EP)
Sounds Look Similar (2009) (S)
Rarefied Audio (2009) (S)
Odd Matters (2014)
Maxtoon Physics (2014)
Adernolneen (2015)

Dorosoto is one of several projects of experimental / electronic musician Warren Kroll. He also makes guitar-based drone music under the Forrest moniker and as part of the Vizion Centaur duo with Chris Dutrieux. Some of the Dorosoto material is supposedly EM / Ambient-related. These releases will be listed.

See also: Forrest, Lemro, High Tides.

 


Doroszenko, Jacek (Poland)

Wide Grey (2017)
Soundreaming (2017)
Infinite Values (2020)

Ambient with a huge piano presence and an electroacoustic / glitch twist.

 


Dorricott, Mark (UK)

Midnight (2016) (with Stan Dart)
Events (2016) (with Stan Dart)
Seaside (2019) (with Stan Dart)

Melodic music with a sort of a "Blade Runner" atmosphere.

 


Dorval, Jean-Marie (Belgium)

L'errant eternel (1986) (S)

Keyboard player. This early single by him is possibly interesting from an EM standpoint. Later he released a few CDs with classical / new age music.

 


Doseone (USA)

Taken By Glaciers (2021)

Aka Dose One. Taken By Glaciers features ambient music by Adam Drucker, usually working in other styles (cloud rap, hip hop, spoken word, glitch, etc.)

 


Doss, Lauren (UK)

Voices (2020)

Lauren Doss uses both synths / electronics and her own processed voice for some rich, melodic, haunting ambient compositions. Rather unique and pretty nice stuff.

 


Dossena (???)

Codex sangallensis 63 (2023)

Music by Isaac Dossena Cook. The style is ambient electronics, mostly of the darker variety.

 


Dot (USA)

One And the Same (2015)
Strange Glance (2018)

Moody ambient electronics from Keith Hanlon.

See also: Hanlon, Keith

 


Double Fantasy (Germany)

Universal Ave (1986)
Food For Fantasy (1994)

Initially a duo of Robert Schroeder and Charly McLion. Very easy-listening music, with guitar, often bordering on new age. I’ve heard Universal Ave and wasn’t impressed, as it’s too sweet and melodic for my taste. Some nice vocoder voices on ‘Lost Control’, but that’s all about it. However, I can see why it was popular back when it was released.

See also: Schroeder, Robert, McLion, Charly.

 


Double Geography (UK??)

The Indoor Gardener (2020)
Flights (2021) (S)

Music by Duncan Thornley inspired by the flora and plant species. Rhythmic, with sort of a relaxing vibe, but a bit weird selection of sounds and maybe a "Cluster playing balearic" feel.

 


Double Herzig (Hungary)

Tropical Schwarz (2022)

Darkish / experimental electronics from this Budapest-based project. A pretty minimal sound here.

 


Double Vision (USA)

Thirty Miles From Home (1990)
Second Sighting (1991)

Double Vision was basically a duo of Mark Ashby and Joel Ainsworth. On the second album, the line-up was expanded to include guitar player Joel Burley and percussionist Christie Hotchkiss (both later collaborated with Mark as "The Distance"). After the second cassette release the group was disbanded.

See also: Ashby, Mark, Distance, The.

 


Doubler (USA)

Alter-Vu (2017) (EP)
Lines of Force (2019)

Experimental synth duo of Jason Letkiewicz and Mike Petillo. Rhythmic, hypnotic...

See also: Letkiewicz, Jason, Creative Technology Consortium, The.

 


Doubling Riders, The (Italy)

Doublings & Silences Volume I (1985)
Doublings & Silences Vol. II (1988)
World! (1989)
Garama (1991)
The World of the Doubling Riders (2019) (recorded in 1984 - 1991)

Formed after the dissolution of A.T.R.O.X., The Doubling Riders was a project put together by Francesco Paladino, inviting lots of guests for each album, resulting in an extremely diverse and unclassifiable sound. Most of the guests were part of the Italian rock, experimental and new wave scenes, with a few musicians from other countries. There are elements of World Music, Tribal Ambient, ethnic music with voices, etc. Some of the guest musicians are Alberto Andreoni, Pier Luigi Andreoni (both ex. A.T.R.O.X.), Riccardo Sinigaglia, Alain Neffe, Vox Populi!, Pascal Comelade, Piero Milesi, Christina Kubisch, Tomasso Leddi, etc.

See also: Paladino, Francesco, A.T.R.O.X., Nosesoul.

 


Doubtful Guest, The (USA)

Voyage To Blacklantis (2018) (S)

Ex-opera singer (Elizabeth Lloyd) currently residing in the UK. She released some music in extreme electronics vein (gabber, techno, hardcore, electro), but on Voyage To Blacklantis makes an unexpected foray into experimental electronic sound. Somehow it reminds me on the abstract parts of Klaus Schulze's Dune (you know, those ring-modulated CS-80 sounds, although I don't know if Elizabeth uses any Yamaha gear).

 


Doucet, Suzanne (Germany)

Transformation (1982) (with Christian Buhner)
Transmission (1983)
Reflecting Light Vol. 1 (1983)
Brilliance (1984) (with William Wichman)
Reflecting Light II (1987)
Resonance (2002) (with Gary Miraz)

Ex-folk singer who moved to New York to become a well-known new age artist. Some of her music can be described as a mixture of Space Music and Electronic New Age.

See also: Zweistein

 


Dougherty, Steve (USA)

The Journey (1992)

Electronics with live drums and bass.

 


Douglas, Andrew (USA)

Peace Be Here (2012)
The Voyage of Cassini (2017)
Planet Y (2019)
Deadly Steps (2019)
Particle Tunnel (2020)
Cosmic AirShip (2021)
Binary Circles (2021)
Emitter (2022)
Green Comets (2023)

Solo melodic Electronic Music by member of Dreamwind.

See also: Dreamwind

 


Douglas, Steve (USA)

Rainbow Suite (1981)

Jazz multi-instrumentalist (mostly sax and flute) with an unusual album. On Rainbow Suite he relies on synthesizer talents of Alan Pasqua (Yamaha CS80) and Dan Morehouse (EML-400) who lay down melodic and relaxing electronic backing for Steve to improvise on his sax and flute. If you absolutely don't like the sax, it is better to skip this one. Otherwise, this work can be considered EM-related due to the abundance of synthesizers.

 


Douw, Serge (Australia)

In Touch With Light (1987)
PeacePlanet (2005)

Serge Douw is an expert in laser technology and this album was written to accompany a laser light show depicting the formation of life on Earth. The cover of the CD re-issue of In Touch With Light gives it a rather shitty new age look. The music is rhythmic and melodic with more than a hint of Jarre.

 


Douze (France)

Rise & Fall (2019)

Melodic and rhythmic music at the intersection of synthwave and more ambient sounds.

 


Dower, Jeremy (Australia)

Sentimental Music For Couples (2000)
Music For Retirement Villages. Circa 2050 (2002)
Music For the Young & the Restless (2004)

Melbourne-based artist who has an individual style, which is kept throughout his output. It's whimsical, cartooney and hardly comparable to other artists, although the Cluster comparisons are inevitable (not that he sounds like them but has maybe a similar, postcard-like mindset).

 


Downes, Geoffrey (UK)

The Light Program (1987)
The World Service (2000)
Shadows And Reflections (2003)
Electronica (2013)

Former keyboardist for The Buggles and Yes who now has his own group Asia. As a solo artist he has released some albums of Electronic Music in quasi-symphonic style. The albums are released as Geoffrey Downes / the New Dance Orchestra. Comparable to Vangelis, 80's Tangerine Dream and some Rick Wakeman. A good keyboard player he is, but his talents as a synthesist are highly debatable. Shadows And Reflections contains two long electronic tracks played 'live' in the studio.

See also: Asia

 


Downscope (USA)

The Darkest Place (2015)
Sleeping Ions I (2015)
Sleeping Ions II (2015)
Sleeping Ions III (2015)
Sleeping Ions IV (2015)
Sleeping Ions V (2015)
Utopian Dreams (2016)
Visage (2016)
Moazagotl / Chergui (2016) (S)
Field Sonatas (2016)
Cannibalpak (2017)
Black Ice (2017)
大阪の音 (2017)
Shoreline (2017)
Paths To Eternity (2017)
Modulation Station (2017)
Lost Transmissions (2018)
Channeling Buddha (2018)
It Burns. (2018)
Nature's Tears (2018) (S)
Hellbound (2018)
Vacancy Above (2018)
Tundra 2 (2018)
/ˈdwindl/ in time (2018)
Tempest (2018)
The Ides of Marsh (2018)
Haunted Spirits of the Recluse (2018)
Incessant Computations (2019)
Elfen Suites (2019)
Primordial (2019)
Wintergarden (2020)
Coalescing Clouds (2020)
White Lake (2023)
Echospaced Parameters: Volume Three (2023)

Downscope is Rimas Campe from Washington, D.C. He seems to be influenced by techno and dub music, but the listed releases (especially the Sleeping Ions series) show a dark and stark, gritty Electronic Music based on the sound of analog synthesizers and a repetitive, sometimes sequencer-based structure. It is perhaps a bit like Heldon completely stripped of any guitar and drums.

See also: Modular Remedy, The

 


Doyle, Roger (Ireland)

Budawanny (1987) (soundtrack)

Roger Doyle (born in Dublin in 1949) is an Irish electroacoustic pioneer and experimental composer (very diverse really, he even made excursions into pop music). He is mostly known for his numerous theater scores. This is his soundtrack to a silent film that features light piano melodies and electronics. It has a very ambient feel overall and therefore will be enjoyed by fans of the genre. Also strongly recommended is his 2013 album The Thousand Year Old Boy, which, although electroacoustic, is very imaginative and beautiful music.

 


Doyle, Thomas Andrew (USA)

Incineration Ceremony (2017)
Forgotten Sciences (2023)

Thomas Andrew Doyle aka Tad Doyle is a guitarist, musician, singer-songwriter, vocalist and a founding member of grunge band Tad. On Forgotten Sciences, he presents electronic compositions with a bit of poetry. The material here is rich in synths and sequences / arpeggios. Nice stuff.

 


Doyle, William (UK)

Lightnesses (2017)
Lightnesses I & II (2022) (recorded in 2017 - 2022)
Near Future Residence (2022)

The 2017 album is long-form Ambient from this Brighton-based musician. Near Future Residence is generative and ambient work made as a soundtrack to future housing projects in the UK.

 


Dozzy, Donato (Italy)

The Loud Silence (2015)
12H (2019)
One Instrument Sessions 05 (2019)
Buchla & Marimba (2021) (with Daniele di Gregorio)
Crono (2023) (S) (with Sabla)
Magda (2024)

The 2019 release features installation music by this versatile musician (mainly ambient techno, minimal techno and related styles). His real name is Donato Scaramuzzi. 12H features ambient synth compositions that remind on Robert Rich circa Gaudi, Steve Roach, etc.

See also: Mantenna

 


DPC (USA)

Peaks & Valleys (2018)

Varied shorter, mostly ambient tracks.

 


DPRK (Australia)

Shitville Tourist (2023)

A modular synth-focused band with Richard Fielding (of Severed Heads fame), Juke Wyat, Nick Dan and Christian Durham. Stark, experimental electronics. Not for everyone for sure, but much more listenable and Prog than one might expect.

 


Dr. Atmo (Germany)

Silence I (1992) (with Pete Namlook)
Silence II (1993) (with Pete Namlook)
Music To Films (1994) (with Oliver Lieb)
Escape (1994) (with Pete Namlook)
A Day In the Park (1995) (with Pino & Wildjamin)
Man Made Motion (1999)
Hush! (2013) (with Miss Silencio)
Quiet Life (2014)
To You, Humanity (2021)
Ruhleben (2021) (with Mick Chillage)
Wish For the Sun (2022) (with DF Tram)
Seefeld (2022)

One of the early FAX label artists, Dr. Atmo aka Amir Abadi continued to make ambient music in the same style, albeit on a smaller scale, well into the new century. He is also known as a techno DJ.

 


Dr. Barkov (Germany)

Failed Experiments (2020)

Clinical Ambient from Dortmund. Murky, lo-fi, slightly noisy sound.

 


Dr. C. Stein (Netherlands)

Plays For You (2000) (recorded in 1983 - 1985)
Echo Trip (2006) (recorded in 1983 - 1988)
Liege In the Spring (2007) (recorded in 1983 - 1988)
The Collection (2012) (recorded in ??)
The Remainder (2012) (recorded in 1985 - 2012)
Selected Works 1983 - 1988 (2017)

Dutch synth artist (Hanjo Erkamp) who was active during the 1980's but apparently didn't release anything at that time. Since then, a few CD-R and vinyl LP releases appeared with archived 80's recordings. Minimal, melodic music with crisp, bright arrangements.

See also: King Ende Shneafliet

 


Dr. Flanger (Spain)

Feria Internacional (1989)

Often descibed as synth-pop, this album actually features a varied set of highly rhythmic, mostly instrumental, tracks. Includes a cover of Kraftwerk's "The Model". Dr. Flanger is Eugenio Muñoz.

See also: Randomize

 


Dr. Go (Germany)

Odyssey (2017)
New Future (2021)

A pseudonym of Gunther Olesch.

See also: Olesch, Gunther

 


Dr Guilty (Italy)

Caged Panoramas (2013)

Beautiful and emotional ambient soundscapes from Gabriele Quartero.

 


Dr. Jekyll And Mr.Hyde (Japan)

Dr.Jekyll And Mr.Hyde 1 (1981)
Dr.Jekyll And Mr.Hyde 2 (1982)
Dr.Jekyll And Mr.Hyde 3 (1982)
Dr.Jekyll And Mr.Hyde 4 (1982)

The project of Hiro Kawahara (Heretic) and Yozox Yamamoto (Ain Soph).

See also: Heretic, Osiris, Astral Temple.

 


Dr. Organic (France)

Early Days (2021) (S)

Dr. Organic came from the woods to get you. Dressed as coniferous something, he is "neither a human nor a tree", but makes fine Kraftwerk-like music with robotic vocals. Bio / ecological electro? Why not?

 


Dr. Philter Banx (Canada)

Insertion In Middle C (1975)

Obscure project / studio collective from London, Ontario, led by one Phillip Ross, a synthesist and modular Moog specialist. The cover is a mixture of "Deutsche Grammophon" ornamentation and strange Freudian imagery, but the music is electronic, from playful to aggressive and sequencer-based (with echoes of early TD, Klaus Schulze & more). A nice gem.

 


Dr. S (UK)

Arc Lag (2018)
Heavy Meditation (2021)

Drum machines synced to primitive drone synths / generators. As these instruments are mostly used for chaotic and noisy, structure-less types of music, I found the approach on this one interesting.

 


Dr. Space (USA)

Nykawana (2020)
Scorpoodledoo (2020)
Lost In the Time Space Continuum (2021)
Muzyk To Lose Yr Mynd Inn (2022)
Suite For Orchestra of Marine Mammals (2023)

Solo Electronic Music from member of Øresund Space Collective Scott Heller.

See also: Dr. Space's Alien Planet Trip, Øresund Space Collective, Aural Hallucinations, Cosmic Cassiopeia, Grace And Space.

 


dr.SpaceKir (Russia)

Celestial Fields (2022)

Space Music / Ambient. Droning, melodic, reflective, otherworldly...

 


Dr. Space's Alien Planet Trip (USA)

Vol. 1 (2017)
Vol. 2 - Gloomy Horizon (2018)
Vol. 3 (2019)
Vol. 4 - Space With Bass (2020)
Vol. 5 - Search In Of... (2021)
Vol. 6 - Space With Bass II (2022)
Vol. 7 - Space With Bass III (2023)

Spacey synth / guitar compositions by this Øresund Space Collective offshoot (Dr. Space and invited guitar players, in this case Nicklas Sørensen and Richard Orlando).

See also: Dr. Space, Øresund Space Collective, Aural Hallucinations, Cosmic Cassiopeia.

 


Dr. Strange (France)

Tzi Cosmik Unity - Namu Nano Vision (2000)
Animorph (2001)
Animorph #2 (2002)
Animorph #3 (2014)
Cosmik Bouillabaisse (??)

Ambient music by Erick Moncollin. The first tome of the Animorph series is subtitled "Musique pour reptiles", the second - "Variations electroniques pour amphibiens" and the third - "Biomusique pour fleurs".

See also: ADN' Ckrystall

 


DR_1 (UK)

How Angels Fly On Burning Wings (2003)

Dark soundscapes and drones.

 


DR:WR (UK)

Sci-Fi Morality Play (2017)

Varied soundscapes and electronic compositions from Karl M V Waugh, who is related to the noise / improv scene.

 


Drachenfeuer (UK / Austria)

Realm of Light (2016)

Tolkien inspired duo of Alex Wieser and Jim Kirkwood. Rich, bombastic, symphonic, atmospheric, ambient...

See also: Kirkwood, Jim, Uruk-Hai.

 


Draconis Star (France)

Celestial (2022)
Celestial II (2023)

Electronic project of John Lordswood who is based in France, although his name does not sound French to me, so I'm not sure. He uses multiple synth sounds and likes to record his music in one take. Melodic, spacey, hymnal.

See also: LOCUS.29

 


Dracos, Panos (Greece)

2-82 (1978)
2000 BC Or AD (1983)

Aka Panos Drakos. Greek keyboardist who has been compared with Rick Wakeman. Apart from a couple of short reviews, there's not much information, though, and the artist is quite obscure, like most artists from the so-called "EM periphery" (all countries apart from the likes of Germany, Netherlands, France, Great Britain and the USA). Anyway, the first abum seems to be a children's record or something like that, with some interesting electronic stuff, though. The second is a concept work inspired by Homer's "The Odyssey".

 


Dracula Spacecraft (USA)

Foto Fantasma (2011)
Gygaxian (2011)
Apparitions (2011)
A Dire Cacophony (2011) (EP)
A Bed of Posies (2013)

Varied, mostly shorter tracks from this Los Angeles-based project. Dominated by analog synths.

 


Dracula's Necrophobic Actions (USA)

Oceania (2018)

Diverse, mostly collage-based project of Sebastian Paquette out of Vermont. Oceania is his foray into ambient sounds and melodies.

 


Draeil (Serbia)

Draeil (2017)

Dark electronics recorded by a trio of Attila Ábrahám, Denis Glavčić and Krisztian Vasas. Elements of early academic electronics, pioneering industrial and noise works as well as krautrock, Progressive EM and Dark Ambient.

 


Draemgate (USA)

Twilight (2000)

Dark experiments in sound from two brothers Matthew Everet Kieren and Robert Shawn Kieren.

 


Draganov, Danail (Bulgaria)

 


Drago, Roberto (Italy)

Target Moves (1986)
Normal Ensemble (1987)
Everglade (1988)
Piramide (1988)
The Last Wave (1989)
Treni lirici (2015)
Underthescreenofnight (2017) (with Stefano Pischiutta)
Bodies Inspected (2020)

One half of industrial / noise duo The Tapes (together with his brother Giancarlo), Roberto Drago released a string of cassettes in the 1980's, calling it a day circa 1989. He then returned in the new millennium with a few releases that stylistically followed his original explorations from the 1980's, which, in turn, were as much informed by the post-insdustrial sounds as by the progressive sounds.

 


Dragon's Blood (Russia)

Драконья кровь (2021)
В поисках сияния вечной славы (2021)

Originally a metal-related (atmospheric black metal) project, transforming into a "dungeon synth" vehicle, with some live elements like drumming and post-punky guitars on В поисках сияния вечной славы.

 


Dragon's Realm (Poland??)

Windy Witches (2000)

Mysterious soundscapes.

 


Dragon Tomes (USA)

A Soaring Wyvern (2023)
The Dragoness And the Tower (2023)
Event At the Fireproof Tavern (2023) (S)
Roar From the Underground Temple (2023) (S)
A Wandering Drake (2024) (S)

Ambient, melodic, dungeon synth-like music from this Nevada-based project.

 


Drama (Canada)

Loneliness (1979)

Obscure LP from ex-members of The 7th Temple Eric Simpson and Don Stagg. A mixture of progressive rock and Electronic Music. The album was recorded in Mississauga, Ontario.

 


Drame (France)

Drame (2015)
Drame 2 (2018)

Drame consists of Rubin Steiner, Jérémie Morin, Fred Vidalot, Sandrine Guillot and Olivier Claveau. They use synths, real drums, bass and percussion. The music is very much influenced by the Dusseldorf School (analog synths galore and incessant motorik rhythms), the strongest influences being Harmonia, Neu! and La Dusseldorf, it appears.

See also: Steiner, Rubin

 


Drapizdat (Russia)

МИФ (2023)

Playful, repetitive, Cluster-like material with dubby moods. "Reather Weport - Pattern #4" is a very nice track.

 


Draugurinn (Iceland??)

Dauðadá (2010)
Myrkraverk (2011)
Móðuharðindin (2012)
Ísavetur (2015)
Sra (2018)
Minningar úr undirheimum (2022)

Female Dark Ambient artist based in Sweden, but whose origins are, I think, Icelandic. Nice and hypnotic stuff, with lots of Tribal / Ritual elements.

 


Dravier (USA)

Limitations (2016) (S)
香港 trajectory (2016)
Tourist (2016)
Monarch (2016) (S)
St Kilda, Archipelago (2016)
Shelter From Environment (2016) (with V. Kristoff)
Prehistoria (2017) (S) (with V. Kristoff)
Saigon 1975 (2017)
Agile Reef Vol. I & II (2017)
Flooding of the Inner Chambers (2017)
Dreamworld Exotica (2017)
Ancient Fountains (2017)
Unmarked CDr (2017)
L'évasion d'Estelle (2017) (S)
Dravier Live At KUPS (2017)
Cath
édrale (2017)
Untitled Tour CD-R (2017)
Mannequin Night Vision Gallery (2018)
Grounding Loops Vol. 2 & 3 (2018)
Field Composition #1 (2018) (S)
Yuzu Kodo (2018)
Mannequin Night Vision Gallery (2018)
Deep Thought Glacial River (2018)
The Void (2018) (EP)
Height b/w Depth (2018) (S)
Sounds For An Ocean Fossil (2018)
Adderall Loops (2018)
Off Shore Predator (2018) (S)
New World Tragedy (2018) (with Tile Plazas)
Thermo Currents (2018) (with Del Monte Heron)
Lagoon (2018) (EP)
Spirit Channels (2018)
Urbana Tide (2019) (with V. Kristoff and Cafe Lounge)
Sun Drifts (2019) (with Wellness)
Sulpha-Terra (2019) (S)
Live In Outer Space (2019)
Urban Hypnosis (2019) (with Ryan Wick)
Temperament & Sequestration (2019)
Ambatovy (2019) (S)
SES 2000 (2019)
Light Recalls Our Landmark For This Barren Mind (2019)
Presence (2019)
The Palms Artificial (2019)
The Shell (2020) (with Alex E.T.)
Aruna (2020) (EP)
Spring 2020 European Tour (2020)
The Falls (2020)
Four Tiles (2020)
Vertex (2020)
Todo Modo (2020)
Fractals (2020)
Sequence Micros (2020)
Dravier (2020)
Watershed (2020) (S)
Aquarius (2020) (S)
Tödi (2020) (S)
"7 (2020) (S)
Mu (2020)
Submersible UFOs Observed off the Pacific Coast (2020)
The Vancouver Sessions (2020) (with Precipitation)
Earth Mirage (2021)
Songs From the River (2023) (with Maya Lydia)

Warm ambient soundscapes and gentle sequencer rides.

 


Dream Carpets (Canada)

Interior Fountains (2013)

Mostly Ambient from this Vancouver-based project.

 


Dream Connection (Germany)

Websequenz (2004)
Triade (2006)
Streamfire (2006)

A duo of Harald Nies and Karl-Heinz Reiers.

See also: Nies, Harald

 


Dream Control (Germany)

Zeitgeber (2017)

Collaborative project between Zeus B. Held (Birth Control) and Steve Schroyder (Tangerine Dream, Star Sounds Orchestra, etc.). The vocoders on this album are nice throughout and they are probably the only interesting element, as the music itself is high in bpms, more along the lines of Star Sounds Orchestra's ...Ooz period (1997 - 1999), athough adopting a poppier approach, which, IMO, is pretty generic and even sounds somewhat dated as of 2017, with only "Go Forward" introducing a more ambient / EM sound and the laid-back closer "Doors of Perception" creating a nice hypnotic downtempo flow. For those into techno / trance, though, it might me a treat.

See also: Held, Zeus B., Schroyder, Steve, Star Sounds Orchestra.

 


Dream Crease (USA)

Nocturne Chalice (2022)

A project of Marina Aguerre from Los Angeles. Floating, dreamy music with synths and background ethereal vocalizations. New-agey, reminiscent of Iasos' style maybe.

 


Dream Division (UK)

Dream Division EP (2017) (EP)
Mosura (2017)
Live From Camp Arawak (2018)
48°55'14.2"N (2018)
Vulture (2018) (EP)
Transcend (2019)
Alla vigilia di Halloween (2019) (S)
Escape From Planet Sauvage (2020 (S)
The Devil Rides Out (2020)
Beyond the Mirror's Image (2020)
Death Walks On Nitrate (2020)
Legend of Lizard Lake (2021)
WOLF (2022)
Lumarian (An Electronic Odyssey) (2023)

Varied, mostly shorter melodic synth tracks.

 


Dream Dophin (Japan)

Atmospheric Healing (1996)
Cosmic Blue (1996)
Love Eating Alien (1996)
2001 D.D. Since 1969 (1997)
The Seventh Dream (1997)
Crystal Moon (1997)
Visions / Rebirth / Underwater (1997)
Angelic Conversation II (1998)
The Sun Always Shines (1998)
Aeon Dream (1999)
Cloudy Sky, Rain And the Rainbow (1999)
12 Dolphins Leave the Planet (1999)
Forest Songs (2000)
Force Sounds And Psychedelic Beats (2000)
Earth Music Cafe (2002) (with Yoshiaki Ochi)
Modern Blue Ambient (2003)
Gaia: Selected Ambient And Downtempo Works 1996 - 2003 (2023)

Japanese project created in the 1990's to explore the then popular and new ambient techno, downtempo and techno / trance styles. All of the above listed works (the discography is incomplete) should contain at least some ambient material that ranges from new-agey to psychedelic / trancey. If you don't want to browse through a lot of techno / trance to discover the ambient gems, though, your best starting point may be Gaia: Selected Ambient And Downtempo Works - a nice selection of works relevant for EM listeners.

 


Dream_E (UK)

Dreams of 22 (2020)

Glasgow-based project mixing ethereal ambient soundscapes and some dubby or downtempo rhythms (on some of the tracks).

 


Dream Ending (UK)

Dream Ending (2018)
Dream Ending II (2020)

Ambient synth compositions. Sometimes with sequences and spacey guitar ala Ashra ("Icaria", "Sky Swim").

 


Dream Invasion (Belgium)

Inspiration For A Daydreaming Nation (2005)
7.7.49 (2020)
6.6.36 (2021)
8.8.64 (2023)

Varied EM project of Erwin Jadot. Ambient, hypnotic, experimental, sequencer-based...

 


Dream Machine (Germany)

Stay (2010)
Dream Machine (2016)
II (2017)
Star Servants (2017)

The eponymous album is experimental synth, but rather noisy and grating, the second one introduces a softer vibe but closes with a noisier assault again. Not a very pleasant listen overall.

 


Dream Quest (USA)

Of the Gods (2021)
Elements of Nature (2021)
Middle Earth (2022)
The Process of Becoming (2023)

Melodic, symphonic, sequencer-based EM from Sayer Seely.

See also: Sayer

 


Dream Radiation (USA)

Dream Radiation (2003)

Ethereal Ambient from Kelly Thistle.

See also: Thistle, Konkrete Kantikle.

 


Dream Skills (USA)

Signals And Decay (2020)
IV (2021) (S)

Queens-based Donald Grant McLean focuses on modular and analog synthesis to create ambient, repetitive, rhythmic / sequencer compositions.

 


Dream Waves (USA)

Radiance (1985)
Fantasy In the Forest (1985) (recorded in 1977)
Nocturnal Voyage (1985) (recorded in 1978 - 1979)
Celestial Wanderer (1985) (recorded in 1978 - 1979)
Radiance II (1986)
Astral Currents (1986)
Electronce (1986) (recorded in 1983)
Universe (1986)
Heaven World (1987)
Trystaline Skyway (1987)
Panacea (1988)
Other Realms (1990)
Portal (2007)

Uplifting and sometimes meditative music from this California-based visionary artist. Often quite new-agey but sometimes sequencer-based, too. Errol G. Specter has also released some albums with sounds of nature and acoustic music (like Harpsichord And Piano Meditations (1983), for instance).

 


Dream World (South Africa)

Drift (2004)

Long tracks with drones, choirs, samples and arpeggios. Music by Byron Moriarty.

 


Dreamaiden (USA)

Blue Light (2007)

Dreamaiden is US-based synthesist Susan Baird who makes melodic Electronic Music inspired by 1980's  Tangerine Dream but in a very individual style. She uses sequences, rhythms, atmospheric pads and wonderful synthesizer solos. You can read my review of her debut album Blue Light here.

 


Dreamcraft (Serbia)

Dreamcraft (2014)

A project of Igor Dević in varied style, mostly flowing and a bit low-fi.

 


Dreamerproject (Norway)

Voyage (2012)
The Road To Your Heart (2012)
Beyond Dreams (2019)
Fading Light (2022)

Melodic music influenced by Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and David Wright by Kjetil Ingebrigtsen.

 


Dreamers Cloth (Denmark)

Plays Ecstasy Waterfall (2008)
A Bamboo Dream (2008)
Total Descent To Mind Beach (2008)
The Coconut Pearl (2008)
Positive Theme Music (2008)
Pearl Divers (2008)
Marble Halls / Endlos Reichenberger Schorle Pool (2009)
Vitrospection: 2008-2009 (2019)

More dreamy, hazy, sometimes tropical drones from this synth player.

See also: Frederiksen, Jonas

 


Dreamfire (UK)

Atlantean Symphony (2018) (recorded in 2012)

Grand, intense, orchestral, cinematic, neo-classical electronics a bit similar to an over-the-top Vangelis. Some tracks focus on piano.

 


Dreaming the Seed (UK)

Liquid Vision (2004)

Ambient soundscpaes from Mick Deakin.

 


Dreaming Together (France)

4 Edens And A World of Shells (1988)

Ambient and experimental music by Olivier Abitbol who collaborated with Vox Populi! band under the name "Dreaming With Vox Populi". Lately he's gained a fame of psychedelic trance producer.

 


DreamLand (USA)

Underwater (2001)

This San-Antonio-based duo of Johnny A. Rodriguez and James Sidlo describes their music as "ambient-trance". Of course, there's no relation to trance music (techno sub-genre). But rather we get liquid and floating ambient soundscapes where synths, processed voices and guitars dominate.

 


Dreampeter (USA)

Snakes Eating Snakes (2015)

A duo of Peter Wiley and Matt Gilles doing a mixture of ambient tracks and some gently sequenced numbers.

 


Dreams of Dying Stars (Belgium)

Stardance (2003)
Interludium II: Aeon E (2004)
Funeral In the Void (2004)
Buried In the Void (2007)

Dark Space by the man behind Until Death Overtakes Me (Stijn Van Cauter).

See also: Until Death Overtakes Me, Fall of the Grey-Winged One, I Dream No More, In the Mist, Forbidden Fields.

 


Dreams We've Had (USA)

Everything And You (2019)
I Will Make My Own Bed (2022)

A mixture of ethereal vocal pop songs and instrumental ambient electronic material from Bennett Blumberg.

 


Dreams Without End (USA)

Breathing Water (2019)
Pedestrian Parking (2019)
The Quiet Room (2019)

Varied ambient material from Washington, D.C.-based artist Rimas Campe. Ranges from low-fi drones to reflective synth pads and field recordings.

 


dreamSTATE (Canada)

Between Realities (1998)
Om (2000)

Passage (2005)
A Decade Dreaming (2009)
The North Shore (2012) (with Heiki)
DRoNE DAY (2017)
EPHEMERAL DRoNE (2018)

Classic Ambient music from Scott McGregor and Jamie Todd.

See also: Urm, Radio Silence.

 


Dreamstate Logic (USA)

Secrets of the Stars (2020)
A Place Outside of Time (2020)
Space Born (2020)
Origins (2021)
The Other Earth (2021)
Distant Points of Light (2022)
Starbound (2023)
Latent Images And Distant Dreams (2023)

Phoenix, Arizona-based synthesist (real name - Colby Sixx). Cosmic sound, mostly in Space Music vein, with some "downtempo" and Berlin School influences. Pretty nice stuff if you ask me.

 


Dreamweaver (Austria)

Paradreams (1991)
Miles Away (1996)
Best of Dreamweaver (2013) (recorded in 1997 - 2013)
Lifepoints (2015)
Ganimea Zone (2018)

Melodic, easy-listening music by Markus Pitzer. Elements of new age and mostly general MIDI sounds on earlier releases, getting more analog on later productions.

 


Dreamwind (USA)

Nightlight (2003)
Warp Date (2004)
Ambient Trails (2005)
Seventh Phase (2009)

Dreamwind is an electronic trio of Rick Bales, Andy Douglas and Ray Gantt. They are based in Alabama and their style is mostly sequencer-based and sometimes atmospheric EM.

See also: Douglas, Andrew

 


Dreamworld (Germany)

On Flight To the Light (1979)
Gates To Eternity (1983)

The band formerly known as Yatha Sidhra (Klaus and Rolf Fichter) in pure floating cosmic synth mould.

See also: Yatha Sidhra

 


Dreamy Knight (France)

Reveries In the Forests (2023)

Pure repeating melodic synths in dungeon synth / ambient vein. Not bad.

 


Dreems (Australia)

In Dreems (2015)
Diamond Bay (2019)

Varied electronic compositions from Angus Gruzman. Ranges from pastoral, Cluster-like ("Pambula") to mellotron-drenched ("On the Rocks") and rhythmic, slightly danceable.

 


Dreger (Poland)

Striving For the Whole (1995)

Irek Dreger is a synthesist who also worked as part of Medusa project.

 


Dreier, Chris (Germany)

MK / CT (2023) (with Tim Löhde)

Electroacoustic ambience, with field recordings, processed piano, synths...

 


Dreihasenbild (USA)

Visitation (2020) (S)
Verikuu sulkavan yli (2020) (S)

Haunting EM made with synths and violin.

 


Dreijer, Olof (Sweden)

Coral (2024) (EP)

Ambient-oriented music from this member of The Knife.

 


Dreone (USA)

Prelude (2020)

Droning Ambient and Space Music from this artist based in Maine. Pretty nice stuff. Best track: "Thermopause".

 


Dresher, Paul (USA)

Liquid And Stellar Music / This Same Temple (1983)
Dark Blue Circumstance (1993) (recorded in 1982 - 1993)
This Same Temple (1996) (recorded in 1981 - 1985)

Although not for EM purists, I decided to include this minimalist / post-minimalist composer. Liquid And Stellar Music contains two tracks - the eponymous piece from 1981, which is based on repetitive, multi-layered electric guitar sounds, not unlike those of Manuel Goettsching; and "This Same Temple" which is the least interesting of the two and is based on piano improvisation. The album named after that second track, released in 1996, is basically a re-issue of the debut, as it contains both tracks from the LP in their entirety, but adding two unreleased tracks. "Destiny" from 1983 tries to repeat the formula of "Liquid And Stellar Music", although with drums and some typical 1980's sounds added, it lacks the hypnotic quality of the latter. But the real gem is 1985's "Water Dreams". Described as "electro-acoustic tape composition", it's a wonderful pioneering piece of Ambient, having much more to do with Brian Eno, Cluster and the current wave of ambient droners than with any of the high-browed "serious" academic sound researchers. Dark Blue Circumstance is interesting for its title track, recorded in 1982 - 1987, done in the style of "Liquid And Stellar Music" (multi-layered processed electric guitars).

 


Dressel Amorosi (Italy)

Deathmetha (2018)
Spectrum (2023)

Italian electronic duo of Valerio Lombardozzi and Federico Amorosi, influenced by synth funk, vintage library music and giallo scores.

See also: Dressel, Heinrich

 


Dressel, Heinrich (Italy)

Mons testaceum (2007)
Escape From Hell (2008)
Completion of the Amphoras Table (2009)
Vicolo cieco (2010)
Sighing Melodies Thru the Graves (2012)
The House of the Rising Synth (2014) (S)
Ward XVII (2018)
Lost In the Woodland (2018)
Shapeshifting (2020)
Drowned At 77th Floor (2022)
Polarlys (2024)
The Obscure Cities (2024)

Dynamic, analogue, sequence-full music with blistering solos from Valerio Lombardozzi. Shapeshifting is a nice, moody work inspired by "The Thing" and other movies with a similar theme.

See also: Dressel Amorosi

 


Dreun (Belgium)

10111 (2018)
Dreuhnigkeit - Rheutels (2022) (with Onsturicheit)

Jovica Storer's ambient pseudonym. Pretty hypnotic and dark sound here. 10111 is a massive, 4-CD set.

See also: Storer, Jovica, Lounasan, Cycles of Moebius.

 


Drew, Benedict (UK)

Crawling Through Tory Slime (2017)

Improviser and electro-acoustic musician. Crawling Through Tory Slime features long, collage-like tracks that have a definite Progressive EM vibe to them. Further investigation is needed.

 


Dreyt Nien (France)

Neurodrones Vol. 1 (2016)
Les rivières de la nuit (2016)
Fields of Uncertainty (2016)
Neuroleaks (Neurodrones Vol. 2) (2017)
Hyperspace Collapse (2017)
Yoru No Kawa (2017)
Neuroleaks - Neurodrones Vol. 2 (2017)
The Prismatic Pyramids (2018)
Black Holism - A Storm of Uncertainty (2020)
The Prismatic Pyramids (2021)
Nanotech Nocturne (2024) (S)

Experimental modular synth artist. Of special interest will be the dark sequencer ride occupying side B of the Fields of Uncertainty cassette. However, this piece is taken from the artist's bandcamp page, as each cassette is actually unique and contains different music.

 


Driade (Brazil)

The Grim Pits (2020)

Dungeon synth project from Cascavel, with some Carpenter-isms also ("Red Dwarf Star").

 


Drieghe, Guy (Belgium)

Het is Theater zoals te Verwachten en Voorzien was... (1982)
Cochlea (1985)
Bismuth (2014)

Belgian synthesist and member of Pillion duo with Walter Christian Rothe. Guy's own solo music is somewhat on the experimental side of things. He was born in 1958. After being a photographer and pursuing a career in Fine Arts, he acquired his first synthesizer in 1975. Fooling around with it for a while as part of a short-lived group Exxess, he got himself more synths. Setting up a nice studio, Guy became involved in various film productions and theatre performances. Quickly becoming a modular synth fanatic, he got in touch with people like Morton Subotnick, John Cage and Andre Stordeur. He then quicky became a well-respected music producer and synthesizer demonstrator (he worked for Roland). The above albums were never officially released, as far as I know. The first one is a soundtrack to a theatre performance. Bismuth contains ambient compositions.

See also: Pillion

 


Drift (Italy)

A Path To Your Dreams (1995)
Earthquake (1995)
Exile (1995)
The Beyond (1995)
Black Line (1996)
Diazepam (1996)
Sector 9 (1996)
My Apocalypse (1997) (S)
Scum of the Earth / Thrice Is the Divinity of Dark Gods (1998)
Surface Extra (2000)

A project of Gabriele Giuliani in Dark / Drone Ambient vein. The music bears a very sad atmosphere at times, with traces of Doom Ambient.

 


DRIFT. (UK)

Symbiosis (2020)
11 Points In Time (2023)

A project of London-based Nathalia Bruno. EM in an individual style - brooding, repetitive, with samples and analog synths. Very nice. Shades of Cluster, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, early post-punk and more. Beware the vocals.

 


Driftin’ Thoughts (Germany)

Isolation (1987)
Secret Dimensions (1997)
Nightshifts (1998) (recorded in 1992 - 1996)
Bird’s Eye View 1987-2000 (2000)

A project of Marcus Hildebrandt in New Berlin School vein. A little like Spyra or Asana. Sometimes with prominent rhythms.

 


Drifting (USA)

For Some Time Now... (2020)
Dream Autopsy (2023)

Varied project of ambient electronics from Washington D.C., a bit lo-fi.

 


Drifting In Silence (USA)

Artificial (2016)
Dawn (2017)
Away (2019)
False Awakening (2021)
Pathways (2022) (EP) (with EJRM)

Drifting Silence is a hybrid Ambient / IDM / industrial project of Derrick Stembridge. Artificial is a purely ambient work.

See also: Long the Night

 


Drifting Into Bright Light And Bliss (UK)

Drifting Into Bright Light And Bliss (2019) (S)

Restrained ambient compositions mixing electronic and orchestral sounds.

 


Driftloss (USA)

Derealization (2022)

Melancholic synth drift with sort of a muddy, lo-fi sound. Ok, but I missed the clearness of the synth sounds.

 


Driftmachine (Germany)

Nocturnes (2014)
Eis Heauton (2015) (S)
Colliding Contours (2016)
Radiations (2017)
Shunter (2018)
Driftmachine Plays Marien van Oers (2019)
Spume & Recollection (2021)
The Encyclopedia of Civilizations Vol. 5: Babylon (2023) (with Komodo Kolektif)

A duo of Andreas Gerth and Florian Zimmer, whose style combines elements of the deepest forms of dub techno, Progressive EM and a bit of avant-garde. Really deep and unique sound here.

 


Driphouse (USA)

1 (2008) (S)
2 (2008) (S)
Sewer Mist (2009)
3 (2009) (S)
Romati & Gains (2009) (S)
Axe (2009) (S)
Airlocks And Pallet Jacks (2010) (S)
Moog Workshop (2010) (S)
50/50 (2010) (S)
FM Radio '10 (2010) (S)
Root 91 (2011)

Iowa-based sound artist Daren Ho who prefers to release his music on cassettes and vinyl LP's. This is his ambient / experimental electronic project that runs a gamut of styles from pure floaters to warm analog synth bliss to strange rhythmic excursions and sequencer trips.

 


Driscoll, James (UK)

Journeys By Moonlight (1994)

British synthesist.

 


Drml, Akim (France)

Analog Resolution (2019)

Fat analog compositions based largely on the sequencing.

 


DRNTTCKS (Germany)

White Gaze (2020)
Mama Was A White Birch, Daddy Was A German Oak (2022) (recorded in 2019)
Erst die Arbeit, dann das Vergn​ü​gen (2023)

Improv noise rock duo built around the sound of two guitarists and processing. On White Gaze, there is a strong Prog EM influence.

 


Drochtuarach (UK)

Along A Velvet Night (2016)
Vespers of Prideful Scorn (2017)

Dungeon synth / Medieval / Martial Ambient.

 


Droid Bishop (USA)

Electric Love (2013) (S)
Beyond the Blue (2014)
Lost In Symmetry (2016)
Rebirth of the Machine (2019)
Music (2020)
Into the Abstract (2021)

Los Angeles-based artist (James Bowen) with a general 1980's pastiche: from synthwave and eighties' fusion to pop songs and instrumental electronic material. It is always difficult to rate or describe such artists but let's say the following: when he is good, he can be very good indeed. When he is not so good (there is quite a lot of cheese really, especially among the vocal songs), well, you can always skip that, can't you? Overall, tracks like "Flight of Nostromo" from Rebirth of the Machine make this project a worthy inclusion to EEM, in spite of the latter's "un-progressive" nature most of the time. File under EM-related.

 


Droids (France)

Star Peace (1978)

Synth music from Yves Hayat. Most of the pieces on Star Piece are upbeat and rhythmic - sort of EM with a "disco" flair. I think if Laserdance made music in the 70's, this is how they'd sound, although Star Peace has none of the repetitiveness so typical of the Dutch project's music, and is more complex overall. Another point of reference would be the group Space, but Droids have more interesting arrangements and all songs are completely instrumental. There is also a short experimental interlude, called "Interspace" and a couple of floating cosmic pieces. These include "Tchoung Fou" and the epic "Renaissance De L'Amour", with it's long, dramatic spacey introduction, upbeat middle section and tabla rhythms near the end. The album has got a great analogue sound and should be considered a classic of French Electronic Music.

See also: Hayat, Yves

 


Droin (Poland)

Time To Reconsider (2007)
Source of Vectors (2013) (with Marchoff)

Martial Ambient from this Polish project by Tomasz Kretowski.

 


Drom66 (Poland??)

Graviter (2022)

Moody Electronic Music with a sci-fi flair.

 


Drømmer (USA)

Channeling Natural Forces (2006)
The Saddest of Days (2006)
Black Moon Float (2007)
Oceans (2007)
Uten en Drommen (2008)
Winds (2009)

Melancholic / bleak soundscapes. Very basic and somehwat lo-fi sound here.

 


Drøn (Germany)

HD188753 (2013)

After several albums on the Electrolux label, German IDM / downtempo project Drøn (Christoph Abert, Frederik Dahlke and Ingo Zobel) released privately this completely beatless, totally ambient album. The music is nice and reminds both on IDM atmospheres sans rhythm and on EM pioneers (including the earlier experimental electronics from the 1960's). Extremely cosmic and spaced out.

 


Dronal (Germany)

Internal Motion (2019)
Whilst We Fall (2023)

Subtle drones and lots of field recordings. A project of Alex Leonard.

 


Dronaement (Germany)

Elements (1999)
Allein... unter Menschen (1999)
Wassermond (2000) (S)
Crop Circle (2000)
Deep-Dive-Drone (2001)
Between Two Yearthousands (2001) (with Rabbit's Sorrow)
Estoe (2002)
Yr (2002)
Ezoterick Soundzcapes (2003)
Fuer Mur (2004) (S)
Fields 1 (2004)
Ezoterick Muzick (2006)
A Collection of Songs About Norway (2008)
Fieldbox (2009)
Dead Organ Music - The Cosmic Tapes (2010)
Hermit Haven (2010) (with Aalfang Mit Pferdekopf)

Esoteric Drone Ambient from Marcus Obst.

 


Dronament (Germany)

Dronament (2006)

Mathias Grassow's alter ego. Ambient.

See also: Grassow, Mathias, Nord.

 


Dronny Darko (Ukraine)

Outer Tehom (2014)
Earth Songs (2015) (with ProtoU)
Neuroplasticity (2016)
Spira igneus (2016)
Abduction (2017)
Forsaken (2017) (with Alphaxone)
Black Hive (2018)
The Sea of Potentials (2018) (with Apollonius)
Arctic Gates (2019) (with Ugasanie)
Sector Hydra (2019) (with RNGMNN)
Origin (2020)
Metta (2020) (with ProtoU)
Radioactive Immersion (2021) (with Ajna)
Quasi (2021) (with Phaedrus)
Dissolving Into Solitary Landscapes (2022) (with G M Slater)
Dark Source of the North (2022) (with Ugasanie)
Beyond the Event Horizon (2023) (with Alphaxone)
Acoustics of Shadows (2024) (with ProtoU)

Dark soundscape artist Oleg Puzan.

See also: Cryogenic Weekend, Line Spectrum.

 


Drop In (Germany)

Induced Reactions (1993)

A project of Ingo Kunzi.

 


Drottning Omma (Sweden)

Iris av is (2016)
En värld av is (2016)
För alltid, is (2017)
Is (2017) (recorded in 2015 - 2016)
Nya katedraler (2018) (with Cloistral)

Sort of a low-fi, techno-influenced sound. Some tracks are Ambient, though.

 


Droune (USA)

(Album One) (2003)

Long-form droning ambient compositions. A project of Massachusetts-based D. Strong.

 


Drowning Breathing, The (USA)

The Moon (1990)
Piceous (??)

Cosmic Ambient and Dark Space by this enigmatic Californian project.

 


Drozd, Magda (Switzerland)

Songs For Plants (2019)
18 Floors (2021)

Experimental, but listenable compositions from this musician. Sometimes abstract, sometimes vaguely melodic and / or cosmic.

 


dru (USA)

In A Dark Time (1983)
E-Scape (1983)
Out of the Darkness (1984)
Tableau philosophique #2 (1990)
Improvisations (1992)
24 Medications (1995)
Shiva-9 (1995) (recorded in 1986 and 1987)
From the Hall of the Digital King (1995)

 


Druadan Forest (Finland)

Dismal Spells From The Dragonrealm Part I (2019)

Black metal-related project. The above is an epic,darkish, melodic ambient work.

 


Drudenstein (Germany)

Fragmente: Oyggjaland (2018)
Fragmente: Hirnaeth (2023)

Black metal-related project. The above are darkish, ritual ambient works.

 


Druhá Smrt (Czech Republic)

Ukhulth (2013)

Czech Dark Ambient duo of Lucie Spilková and Jindřich Spilka.

 


Druid Cloak (USA)

Bastion of the Sterling Thrones (2013) (EP)
Lore: Book One (2014)
Lore: Book Two (2015)
Lore: Book Three (2016)
O.R.C.S. (2017)

Druid Cloak is a project of Joseph Morris. The Lore trilogy of albums is inspired by fantasy worlds (mostly by Tolkien) and combines influences from UK bass, dungeon synth and Ambient. Strangely enough, there are also shades of Klaus Schulze's sampling phase, of all things, the track "Elderheart Pass" from Lore: Book Three being a good example of that. Interesting and individual style overall, not exactly "EM as we know it", but definitely progressive.

See also: Cryptosystem I

 


Drum & Lace (Italy)

Natura (2022)

Sofia degli Alessandri-Hultquist is a Los Angeles-based Italian artist who is known mainly for her fashion and television scores. Natura is her first "regular" release, which is based on a combination of delicate neo-classical timbres, synthesizers and IDM rhythms.

 


Drum 'N' Nibor (Germany)

Balance (2010)
Timeless (2015)
Mixed Emotions (2016)

German artist (and drummer) born in Cologne in 1955. His style is diverse, but the music generally falls into the rhythmic / melodic category. Mastered by Eroc.

 


Drumbeg (UK)

Circles In Stone (1990)
External Forces (1993)

A duo of Jon Palmer and Martin Dearmun. More or less along the lines of Palmer's ambient works, with extra experimental and ritual touches (lots of percussion).

See also: Palmer, Jon, Dearmun, Martin.

 


Drumcell (USA)

Sleep Complex (2013)
Hypoxia - A Constant Preparation For Loss (2015)
Ansence of Appropriate Effect (2016) (EP)
Hypoxia II - Unwilling Suspension of Disbelief (2016) (S)

Diverse (mostly techno-related) project of Los Angeles-based Moe Espinosa. I will try to list his EM-related releases here. These have a nice, fat synth sound and are influenced by electronic pioneers of the 1970's.

See also: Hypox1a

 


Drumm Chimp (UK)

Retro Nebulizer (2006)
Now Stop Listening Forever (2014)
Obscured By (2022)

The 2022 album features slow and mid-tempo compositions with steady rhythms and lots of fat analog synths. Drumm Chimp is a project of Jon Hamilton.

 


Drumm, Kevin (USA)

120121 (2022)

Prolific avant-garde tabletop guitarist from Chicago, active at least since the 1990's. 120221 features long Drone Ambient compositions based on electronics or organ drones.

 


Drums Allowed (Netherlands)

And Beyond / Stuck In Time (2023) (S)

Two techno / synthwave remixes and two short originals in EM style.

 


Drunk Dealers, The (Greece)

The DD Private Tapes Vol. 1 (2011)

Deep spacey music in the vein of early kosmische and Berlin School.

 


Druss, Garek (USA)

Music For the Celestial Din (2014)
Soft Fascination (2022)
OHR EYN SOF - Youth Eternal (2023)

Varied electronic artist. Mostly soundscapes of different moods.

See also: A Story of Rats, Ascensions Crest.

 


Druuna Jaguar (Portugal)

Memória Aumentada (2020)
Musa Utópica (2020)
Eterno Retorno (2022)

Ambient soundscapes with an avant-garde edge and a spooky, eerie feel from Jorge Mantas. Other releases of this project are supposedly noise-related.

 


Dry Eyes (USA)

Resonance (2017)

Noise project from Chicago. Resonance includes some tracks that are influenced by Prog EM.

 


Dry Valleys (USA)

Illuminating Gaze (2010)
Vernal Equinox (2010) (S)
Movile Cave Sojourns (2011)
Aqua Aura (2011)
Mayall's Object (2013)
Music For Cosmic Nights (2017)

Fort Wayne, Indiana based project. Psychedelic synth, mostly of ambient kind.

See also: Confused Kundalini

 


Drygianakis, Costis (Greece)

Ώρες Και Εποχές (1993)
The Pentheus Myth (2019) (recorded in 1989) (with Kostas Pandopoulos)

Electroacoustic composer. This early album released on cassette may be of interest to fans of drone / Ambient.

See also: Optical Music

 


DSA Working, The (USA)

Twilight Mind (2000)
Negation / Horned & Golden (2003)

Ambient atmospheres by the bass player of prog band Yeti.

 


DSIP (Germany)

Delta-Sleep-Inducing Peptide (1989)
Abduction of Mind (1990)
Heavy Barrage (1990)
The Current Status (1990)
Cataleptic Episodes (1991)
Out Now (1991)
Somnosections (1991)
Sound Research (1991)
The Grim Scenario (1991)
L-Tryptophan (1991)
A Echo From the Future (1992)
Apartment 8 (1992)
Comarousal (1992)
Evil (1992)
Dalstraat (1992)
Mindworld (1992)
Weissmuster (1992)
Incidence / Aftermath (1992)
The Campus Gig (1992)
Time Zone Eyes (1992)
Subliminal Sculptures (1992)
Stimulus-Related Influences (1992)
Falling Lighthouse (1993)
Rebound (1993)
Praxis Langendreer (1993)
Pre-Natal (1995)
Oscillopsia (2014)
Clouding (2017)

Ambient by Siegmar Fricke (with Peter Mauson helping out). DSIP is short for "Delta Sleep Inducing Peptide".

See also: Fricke, Siegmar, Occupied Head, Doppelwirkung.

 


DSRlines (Belgium)

DSRlines (1999) (S)
a-dsr EP (2001) (EP)
Live At S.Lohaus Gallery (2010) (S)
Kustvaart in die Ruimtezee (2013) (S)
Venndiagram (2013)
Spoel (2014)
III-II (2015)
Analogie van de Dageraad (2015)
Teller (2015)
Delta Wave / Broken Gong (2016) (S)
The Encyclopedia of Civilizations Vol.2: Atlantis (2018) (with Bitchin Bajas)

DSRlines is David Edren from Antwerp who uses computers, analogue synthesizers and theremin. The music is experimental but also sequencer-based and quite listenable, with a strong prog EM vibe, especially on later works.

See also: Edren, David, Hare Akedod, Spirit & Form.

 


dsrtdbch (USA)

jade: scoprio (2018)

Warm synth compositions created with the help of vector synthesis by Raphael Alvarez from North Carolina.

 


D*Time (Netherlands)

Dream Walker (2021)
Traces of Time (2021)
The Dormant Dragon (2021)
The Sailing Ghost (2021)
Inverse Universe (2021)
Inner Dome (2021)
Flux In the Time Zone (2021)
Displaced Reality (2021)
Shadow Legends (2021)
Travel At Night (2021)
Exploring the Icy Abyss (2021)
Behind the Mirror (2021)
The Secret Life of A Cat (2021)
Echo of Distant Time (2021)
Intertwined (2021)
Interconnected Areas (2021)
It Comes In Waves (2021)
Ataraxia (2021)
The Machines Are Among Us (2021)
Lost Among the Trees (2021)
Automagic (2021)
Aftersound (2021)
Ripples In Space Time (2021)
Crystalline (2021)
A Sunny Day Off the Grid (2021)
Just Outside (2021)
Communication Breakdown (2021)
Burning From Within (2021)
The Tree (2021)
Phenomena (2021)
Enclosed (2021)
Clouds (2021)
Glass Brains (2021)
Walking With Shadows (2021)
The Passenger (2021)
Lighthouse Effect (2021)
Trappist (2021)
A Stranger In the Dark (2021)
A Kaleidoscope of Sound (2022)
Unpredictability (2022)
Reflections (2022)
Interzone (2022)
Down Dark Streets (2022)
Dissolved Memories (2022)
Under Dark Skies (2022)
Vibrations (2022)
Just Before Dawn (2022)
Light Waves (2022)
Remembrance (2022)
The Shadows (2022)
Dark Pulses (2022)
Footsteps In the Dark (2022)
Fatal Attraction (2022)
Magnetized (2022)
The Wish To Know (2022)
Into the Horizon (2022)
Unchosen Path (2022)
Signals (2022)
Electric Pulses (2022)
Secrets (2022)
In Past Times (2022)
All Our Yesterdays (2022)
Dark Times Ahead (2022)
Into the Machine (2022)
Plasmatix (2022)
Spider Matrix (2022)
Shine On (2022)
A Dark Place (2022)
Enter In Silence (2022)
Lost (2022)
Voyager (2022)
Communal Music (2022)
Ice Crystals (2022)
The Surface (2022)
Crossroads (2022)
Vortex (2022)
Moon Base (2022)
Fading Times (2022)
Silent Figures (2022)
Travelers (2022)
The Arrival (2022)
On the Edge (2022)
A Timeless Sea (2022)
QL (2022)
Time (2022)
Illumine (2022)
Evolving (2022)
The Longest Night (2022)
Hypnosis (2023)
Timeless (2023)
Wandering (2023)
Echoes From the Past (2023)
Wish You Were Still Here (2023)
Stories Never Told (2023)
Enigma (2023)
In Silence (2023)
A Windless Night (2023)
Dark Rituals (2023)
The Last Bird (2023)
Intertwined Vol. 2 (2023)
Liquid Dreams (2023)
Without A Word (2023)
Monolith (2023)
The Druid Stone (2023)
Contemplation In Nature (2023)
Moving Spheres (2023)
Damsel Fly (2023) (EP)
The Dark Swamp (2023)
Deserted Desert (2023)
Transient Ocean (2023)
Before Dawn (2023)
Mystified Shadows (2023)
A Dying Planet (2023)
A Silver World (2023)
Fusion (2023)
Icy Times Vol. 1 (2023)
Icy Times Vol. 2 (2023)
Sunspots (2023)
Atmospheres (2023)
Ancient Tracks (2023) (recorded in 2018)
Well of Urd (2023)
Blain - Ancient Tracks Vol. 2 (2023) (recorded in 2018)
Transdimensional Interference (2023)
The Silence of the Moon (2023)
Metamorphosis (2023)
Into the Realms of the Midnight Sky (2023)
Weaving Timeless Dreams (2023)
Darkness Across the Deep (2023)
Silent Tears In Shades (2023)
Memory of A Face (2023)
Dreaming Ghosts (2023)
To the Edge of the Galaxy - Ancient Tracks Vol. 3 (2023) (recorded in ??)
Labyrinth (2023)
Twilight (2023)
Hidden Structures (2023)
A Changing Glow (2023)
The Garden Sessions Part 1 (2023)
The Garden Sessions Part 2 (2023)
An Emerald Ghost (2023)
Rearrange (2023)
Times Long Past (2023)
Circles of Light (2023)
Moonlight Creeps Slowly Through the Forest (2023)
In the Obscure Void On the Edge of the Horizon (2023)
A World Yet To Be Told (2023)
An Ocean Filled With Stars (2023)
Poltergeist Particles (2024)
Open Spaces (2024)
Oceanic Feelings Casting Shadows (2024)
Silence of the Snow (2024)
Lost Music From the Spheres (2024)
Paths (2024)
Twines of Light (2024)
Mysteries (2024)
Building Dreams (2024)
The Watchman of the Night (2024)

D*Time (aka DTime) is a Dutch synthesist (real name - Mark Scheper) with an atmospheric, sequencer-based, Berlin School-influenced style.

 


Du Mosch, Mark (Netherlands)

Midnight Run (2013)
Overview I (2014)

Mark Du Mosch is a deep house producer and DJ from the Netherlands. However, he also composes more atmospheric, EM-related material. Releases containing the latter I will try to list here.

 


Dual Frequency (Germany)

Neue Deutsche Welle (1983) (S)

A minimal synth / NDW duo of Udo Sandmann and Sahin Oktay. Their drums / synth setup produces pretty standard NDW with vocals on side A and melodic / rhythmic instrumental EM on flip. File under EM-related.

 


Duallein (Austria)

Noch kein Regen fur Alle (1982)

Repetitive music from the project of Peter A. Egger who participated in the first Ars Electronica festivals. A rare cassette release.

 


Dualsite (USA)

The Horizon (2020)
Emotionalism (2021)
Morse Signal North (2021)

The Horizon is very nice droning ambience with something of a rainy / neon / dystopian / nostalgic theme going. Have you ever imagined yourself staring through a shopwindow in Bladerunner's Los Angeles as rain falls down? Excellent for those moments of reflection. Long tracks.

 


Dub Atomica (UK)

Autonomic (1999)

Dub Atomica are Ian Boddy and Nigel Mullaney. Rhythmic, thickly textured synthetic pulses.

See also: Boddy, Ian, Mullaney, Nigel.

 


Dub Gabriel (USA)

ADSR DUB (2017)

Music producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ from San Francisco. ADSR DUB marries dub & reggae with analog electronics. The opening and the last tracks are especially good for lovers of EM / kraut-inspired sounds. Otherwise file under EM-related.

 


Dub Tassles (Canada)

Dub Tassles #1 (2011)
Dub Tassles #2 (2011)

One of the pseudonyms used by Canadian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Chad VanGaalen. Under the Dub Tassles name he creates bubbling analog synth music.

 


Dub Tractor (Denmark)

Wait (2023)

Ambient techno project of Anders Remmer active since the early 1990's. Wait has a decidedly ambient feel.

 


Dubmood (Sweden)

Force de frappe (2015) (soundtrack)
Overshoot Days (2018) (soundtrack)

Swedish chiptune musician and game soundtrack composer Kalle Johnson, who currently resides in France. Overshoot Days includes many EM influences. Some tracks are pure EM. Beware the vocals.

 


Dubois, Claude (Canada)

Fable d'espace (1978)

Atypical album from this Quebecois singer-songwriter, this one was recorded in Todd Rundgren's studio. It is still dominated by vocal songs but features also instrumental guitar / synth progressive jams ("Une Guitare des Ondes...") that could even interest fans of Heldon. File under EM-related.

 


Duca, Curd (Austria)

Switched-On Wagner (1996)

Austrian electronic composer related to the glitch genre, releasing music on Mille Plateaux during the 1990's. Switched-On Wagner is transformed classical music performed on the Moog.

 


Duch (Poland)

Y (2022) (recorded in 2018 - 2019)

Repetitive, meditative, monolithic synth tracks from Łukasz Jastrubczak.

 


Duchône Logic (Belgium)

Music For Abberance (1991)

Ambient drone from Filip Maes.

 


Duck Dive (Indonesia)

Inner Projections (2010)
Interpolarity (2012)

Varied synth soundscapes, from ambient to sequenced / rhythmic.

 


Duda, Krzysztof (Poland)

Tama (1984)
Voices (1995)
Ameno domine (2012)
Altus (2013) (recorded in 1980 - 1985)
Four Incarnations (2012) (with Przemyslaw Rudz)
Hołd (2014) (with Robert Kanaan and Przemyslaw Rudz)
Deep Sea (2014)
3C (2017) (with Robert Kanaan and Przemyslaw Rudz)
Live (2018)
Chillout City Lights Zone (2019)
Chillout Energenic Avenue (2019)
Dudaskalia (2019)
For Better Sound (2021) (recorded in 1985 - 1996)
Audiofonica (2022)
Ostinato (2023) (recorded in 1980 - 1983)

Polish synthesist. Varied music: rhythmic, melodic, cosmic...

 


Duda, Mariusz (Poland)

Lockdown Spaces (2020)
Claustrophobic Universe (2021)
Interior Drawings (2021)
AFR AI D (2023)

Varied, playful, mysterious, sci-fi-ish Electronic Music from this member of Riverside.

See also: Riverside

 


Dudal, Pieter (Belgium)

Untitled (2015) (EP)
Can You Say It Again (2021)
Santeboutique (2023)

Ambient artist who makes sonic postcards with guitar, piano, synth, tape loops and field recordings.

 


Dudek-Dürer, Andrzej (Poland)

Protect Your Psych (1984)
Metaphysical-Telepathic Electronic Music (1984)
Metaphysical - Telepathic - Activity (1986)
Drop Outs (1986)
Blois 11-11-86 (1986)
Sterling 17-11-87 (1987)
The Circle Travel I / The Physical Difference (1988)
Fun... Run... (1989)
Your Destiny S.F. (1990)
More... More... (1990)
Your Destiny (1992)
Equivalent (1992)
Transmutation (1997)
Trans Trip (1998)
Infiltration of the Timespaces (1999)
Transmutation II (2003)

Andrzej Dudek-Dürer is a musician, painter, photographer, sculptor, philosopher, metaphysicist, instrument creator and God knows what else. Andrzej had been living in total (or almost total) isolation up until 1978, when he started the project "The Travel Art". As a musician, he is known for a unique, spiritual style, sort of new agey, but not new age really. Andrzej is the mastermind behind countless projects, both studio and live. He worked within many diffirent idioms (as an example, one can name his sitar or piano playing) and the above discography includes his synthesizer works only.

 


Dudon, Jacques (France)

Lumieres audibles (1995)
Erosion distillée (2016)

Strictly speaking, Jacques Dudon's Lumieres Audibles is not electronic. It's light-tronic! Or, rather, it's light-controlled music obtained through a completely analog process. Jacques Dudon rotates semi-transparent discs that modify the light that passes through them. The resulting waveforms are picked up by solar cells that are connected to analog amplifiers. The results are ambient and fascinating. Ever wondered of what EM would sound like if light replaced electricity? This is it.

 


Du-Du-A (Serbia / USA)

Du Du Archive 1984 - 1989 (2019)

Pop / new wave band from the 1980's, formed in New York by Dejan Kostić and Wayne Adam, with lots of new members coming and going during their recording career. One of those member was keyboardist Zoran Zagorčić, who was with the band from 1981 to 1989 and who provides a solo ambient electronic piece "Transylvania" for the above collection of unreleased material. A one-track inclusion.

 


Due (Spain)

Due - 3 (1987)
Due - 3 (1987)
Impromptu en Cinco Partes (1987)
El Duo Dinamico (1988)
An Impromptu In Zig-Zag (1988)
Esplendor y Muerte del Apelmazado (1988)
Le cinema et le roi de Siam (1988)

Ironically, Due is not a duo as one might think, but an experimental synthesizer trio based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, consisting of Angel Sánchez, Elio Quiroga and Miguel Hernández. They have something of a minimal synth vibe to them, which was pretty common for independent productions of the 1980's. However, their music seems to be mostly instrumental. On longer tracks, they develop a wild, abstract electronic style, seemingly influenced by all those sci-fi soundtracks of the 1960's and 1970's. And, in spite of the fact that we're talking 1987 here, all the instruments seem to be analog, or at least that's what it sounds like. Sometimes they cross into hard-core experimental / noise territory, so it's not 100% "our" EM, but the overall influence is there, so they are definitely EM-related. Note that there are two cassettes from 1987 called Due - 3, each with a different cover (one is black and the other white) and each containing different music. The group disbanded circa 1992.

 


Duel (Hungary)

Caprice (2020)

A project of Attila Szabó from Budapest. He is mostly involved in the creation of various forms of house music. However, Caprice has few club rhythms to speak of. What we have here is a predominantly ambient and relaxing affair, with multiple synth pads, subtle arpeggios and a few micro sounds here and there. That said, some tracks do harken back to his club past, like the rhythmic "Ski Mode" or the downtempo-sounding "Rockpool", but even these retain a pronouncedly ambient and spaced out vibe. Overall, the first half of the album is completely ambient, while the second one ventures into the smoothly rhythmic realms.

 


Duenn (Japan)

Duenn Feat Nyantora (2012) (with Nyantora)
Minamiku (2015) (S)
Mujo (2016) (with Okada Takuro)
YCAM Live (2016) (with Nyantora and Hair Stylistics)
A Message (2016)
Hz 2.0 (2017)
Nakaniwa (2017) (with Hoshiko Yamane)
Koan (2018)
Endlesstape (2018)
Pattern (2019)
Symphonia (2019) (with Nyantora)
Fragment (2019)
Psalm (2019)
On Layer (2019)
Urban Planning (2020) (with Takuro Okada)
Absence (2020) (with Brian Grainger)
新しい環境 New Environment (2021) (with Sleepland)
Distance As Power (2021) (EP) (with 36)
No Exist Tone (2021)
Infinite Iteration (2022) (with Music For Sleep)

Varied, mostly ambient artist from Fukuoka.

 


Duet For Theremin And Lap Steel (USA)

Duet For Theremin And Lap Steel (2007)
Live (2009)
Collaborations (2013)
10 (2016)
Halocline (2020)
'Oumuamua (2021)

What the name says. A duo of Scott Burland and Frank Schultz with a rather ambient sound.

 


Dufort, Louis (Canada)

Into the Forest (2021)

Quebecois electroacoustic composer. Technically speaking, Into the Forest is about 70% electroacoustic. However, it also makes extensive use of synthesizers and has a musical drama, texture and structure typical of Progressive EM. Ghosts of Klaus Schulze and early Robert Schroeder lurk around in these long pieces.

 


Duga-1 (Netherlands)

Abyss (2023)

Nice, immersive Dark Ambient / Black Space from Dutch artist Tijnn Verbruggen.

 


Dughpa (Sweden)

Tidsrymd (2016)
Dughpa (2016)
Dughpa II (2018)
Dughpa III (2020)
Suttungr (2020) (maxi)
4 (2023)

Minimal analog experimentalism. Repetitive, but rather listenable, sometimes like 1970's Klaus Schulze stripped of all the non-rhythmic / atmospheric elements.

 


Duguay, Raôul (Canada)

Douceur (1985)
Nova (1989) (with Michel Robidoux)

Former member of L'Infonie who released a few solo works ranging in style from prog-influenced to pop songs to new age and Space Music.

 


Duka (Italy)

Electropop (2016)
10 Minutes (2017)
Alias mundi (2018)
Machines (2019)
Time Is Nobody's Friend (2020)
40rty (2021)
I Can See Around Corners (2022)
Idrologia tribale (2023)
Modulator (2023)
Still Music (2023)

Maurizio Duka Moroni is an ambient / soundscape artist with a varied style, both abstract and melodic, synthy and concrete / field recordings-dominated. Often ventures in the realms of Space Music. All of the above is true for 10 Minutes, which contains six 10-minute tracks. Electropop is a different beast altogether, though - all-instrumental, moody, Kraftwerk-influenced "pop" music. Very different but also nice. Read my review of Duka's 2021 album "40rty" here.

 


Duke, George (USA)

The 1976 Solo Keyboard Album (1982) (recorded in 1976)

Jazz-funk keyboardist (1946 - 2013) who played with Frank Zappa, Billy Cobham, Jean-Luc Ponty and many others and had a stellar solo career as well. The above is an archival release from 1982 featuring what the title promises. The album is largely pased on the piano but features synths prominently. Among the tracks are "Excerpts from the Opera Tzina" - a fine, flowing electronic piece with a strong classical influence that will be enjoyed by fans of Synergy and similar artists. File under EM-related.

 


Dukkha (UK)

Culture Is Not Your Friend (2009)

Dukkha is a British sludge / doom project. Culture Is Not Your Friend consists of three long tracks of which the last one is completely stripped of guitars and concentrates on organ / synth drone and atmospheres that bring to mind early Klaus Schulze.

 


DulceMuse (USA)

Musette (2019)

A project of "folktronica" / World Music artist Katje Janisch. Ethereal, mysterious, with voice, acoustic / folk instruments and synths.

 


Dullaart, Frank (Netherlands)

Trans Harmonic Dream (1983)

Obscure cassette release with Eno-like ambient synth music. This album was re-released in 2013, also on cassette.

 


Duluoz (USA)

Duluoz (2017)
Dark Mystic Marker (2019)

Lo-fi soundscapes and compositions from this Denver-based project, with some neat sequencer runs on some tracks.

 


Dump (Italy)

Ossessionato dagli spettri di quella foresta (2005)
Iside (2006)
Catacombe dimenticate (2006) (S)
150°F (2007)

Doom Ambient from this atmospheric project out of Milano, mostly consisting of simple melancholic synth chords.

 


Duncan, Alex (UK)

Subcubensis (2022)

Varied ambient soundcapes from this UK artist.

 


Duncan, Scott (USA)

Contemporary Salon (1989)

Guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and keyboard player. On Contemporary Salon, he uses both keyboards / synths (Roland S-50, Roland D-50), as well as several guitars (both electric and acoustic ones) and programmed percussion. Overall the music is dominated by synths, though, falling into the category of general rhythmic / melodic EM with typical digital sounds of the epoch it was released in. Some touches of new instrumental, new age, smooth jazz... The darker / more reflective moments are the best (i.e. "Clockdreams").

 


Duncan, Trevor (UK)

Other Worlds (1981)
Eklektikos (1981)

Nice, classically-influenced electronic library music from this British composer. Think a mixture of early (analogue) Vangelis and "Star Wars" soundtrack. Also comparable to Tomita.

 


Duncan Trio, The (USA??)

Baron Ochs (1985)

Musical play in classically-inspired avant-synth style.

 


Dunckel, Jean-Benoît (France)

Summer (2015) (soundtrack)
Mirages (2019) (with Jonathan Fitoussi)
Capital In the Twenty-First Century (2020) (soundtrack)
Carbon (2022)
Live At Inasound (Paris) (2023)

JB Dunckel is of course one half of ambient pop / downtempo duo AIR, a synthesist and lover of vintage analog gear. After releasing a few soundtracks (some of them with nice electronic arrangements) and a pop record H+, one can say that he is finally (partly) in EM mode on Carbon. It features everything from crisp sequencing to motorik and, yes, some AIR-like ambient pop flashbacks ("Space" and others). Looking back at his evolution, it seems logical that he is doing Progressive EM, after collaborations with Jonathan Fitoussi and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, as well as some more experimental explorations with his buddy from AIR Nicolas Godin (Music For Museum). I liked it, although I would definitely do without the vocals.

See also: AIR

 


Dundov, Petar (Croatia)

Sculptures 1-3 (2001)
Escapements (2008)
Ideas From the Pond (2012)
Sailing off the Grid (2013)
At the Turn of Equilibrium (2016)

Sequencer-based music with a touch of techno. File under "New Berlin School". Sculptures is completely ambient.

 


Dune, Lorna (USA)

Sidereal (2012) (EP)
Vespers For A New Dark Age (2015) (with Missy Mazzoli, Victoire and Glenn Kotche)
Anattā (2022)

Warm synths and motorik rhythms between krautrock and synthwave. Some spacier moments as well. Good stuff. Lorna Dune is a pseudonym of Brooklyn-based artist Lorna Krier.

See also: Love Like Deloreans

 


Dungeon Grunge (USA)

The Beginning (2016)

Droning ambient soundscapes, somethimes with a kind of fantasy atmosphere. At times with subtle sequences or arpeggios and / or nice analog synth leads. A project from Reading, Pennsylvania.

 


Dungeon Guerrilla (Serbia)

Hunt On the Nazi-Necromancer (2022)

A mixture of strange voices and sounds, dungeon synth melodies, EM solos and marching drum / military elements. Pretty weird stuff.

 


Dungeon of Torture (???)

Dungeon of Torture (2023)

 


Dungeonsoft (UK)

Xenophon (2023)

Cinematic, sci-fi-infused ambient synth compositions. A very Blade Runner-esque atmosphere here. One of the projects of the rather prolific Tom Sherlock.

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

 


Dungeontroll (Canada??)

Labyrinth of the Golden Princess (2019) (S)
Tales From the Northern Chamber (2019) (S)
From the Shining Kingdom of Uzohr (2019)
Journey Through the Forest of Uzohr (2020) (S)
Ubins Quest (2020)
Beneath the Forest Sing the Roots of Planeth (2020) (S)
Into the Castle of the Forbidden Twilight (2020)
Olestrea's Tome (2020)
Mournful Melodies of Ophior's Grotto (2021)

Melodic, repetitive, dungeon synth-like music.

 


Dunjon Magik (???)

Dunjon Majik (2019)
The Land Where Nothing Is As It Seems (2020)
Beyond the Silvered Pane (2021)
The Syndicate At Sovad (2022)
Sky of Crimson Flame (2023)

Soundtracky music between dungeon synth and EM.

 


Dunkelpoet (Germany)

Endzeit (2016)

Varied music from Tobias Bachmann.

 


Dunker, Amy (USA)

Certain Images (2005)

Electroacoustic music and electronic soundscapes from this acclaimed academic composer.

 


Dunlap, Richard (USA)

Tales From the Vinyetvin Nagret (1992)

Richard Dunlap is an experimental / electronic musician who has been recording on and off since about 1985.

 


Dunn, Josh (USA)

It Dont Exist (2022)

Vertigo-inducing, dense, hazy, vaporwave-y soundscapes.

 


Dunn, Randall (USA)

Zahir (2001) (with Lesli Dalaba and Bill Horist)
Shade Themes From Kairos (2014) (with Oren Ambarchi and Stephen O'Malley)
Beloved (2018)

New York-based artist known for his work with Sunn0))), Tim Hecker and a few others. Dramatic ambience performed on synthesizers, with guests on acoustic instruments. Sometimes rich and symphonic (as on the closer).

 


Dunn, Richard (France)

Sequences / Modulations (1978) (S)

Richard Pinhas under a pseudonym.

See also: Pinhas, Richard, Heldon.

 


Dunn, Shane Allen (USA)

Beneath the Darkness (2019)
The Red Devil (2019)
Bad Dream #13 (2019) (EP)

Tennessee-based artist who makes dark, cinematic soundscapes.

 


Dunsmore, Mark (UK)

Crop Circles (2021)

Scottish artist from Aberdeen. His music is mostly rhythmic and relaxed, with lots of nice synth sounds and smooth sequences. Some ambient piano / synth combinations as well.

 


Dunya (Georgia / Tunisia)

Pay It Forward (2021)

Nice, melodic, emotionally charged ambient synth compositions from this duo. I wish they would use less "tape distortion", though.

See also: FH HF, Anasisana.

 


Duolant (USA)

Corrivate (2023)
Above Inlets (2023)

Playful and experimental synth compositions from this Portland, Oregon-based artist (Jeff Mettlewsky).

 


Dupelius, Konstantin (Germany)

Knowledge (2023)

German pianist, who recorded his album Knowledge in a rural retreat near the forest. He chose to focus on synthesizers which provide the backbone for his classically-inspired piano melodies, drum rhythms and (sometimes) vocals. Sort of a progrock / indie pop / neo-classical / electronic hybrid type of work, with a bend towards the latter.

 


Duplan (France)

Chlorophyllia (2016) (EP)

Modular synth compositions ranging from vaguely dancey to completely beatless / experimental.

 


Duplant, Bruno (France)

Feu danse (2019)
Paysages sans âge III (2021)
La nuit inquiète (2021)
(eco)systems (2021) (with Seth Nehil)
Synchronicité (2021) (with Rutger Zuydervelt)
Nocturne incertain (2022) (with Julien Héraud)
Le jour d'après (2022) (recorded in 2021)
États intermédiaires (
2022)
Nox (2022)
The Memory of Things (2022) (with Seth Nehil)
Zone habitable (2022)
Feu danse encore (2022)
Des illusions (2023) (with David Vélez)
De mémoire d'anges (2023)
Ad vitam aeternam (2023)
Un été sans fin (2023) (with Primož Bončina)
Eyes That See (2023) (with Massimo Magee)
(else)where (2024) (with Seth Nehil)
Du silence des anges (2024)

Gloomy ambient compositions.

 


DupSys (Japan)

Forest of Suien (2022)
Madoromi (2023)

Electronic duo of Koki Mitani and Taisuke Hoshii. Ambient sound with elements of electracoustics, sequencers, etc.

 


Durán, Luca (Switzerland)

Libertas (2021)

Swiss artist of Colombian descent. Although known mostly in the club circles, he ventures into more progressive territories on his album Libertas. There are still some beats, but there are also a lot of moody beatless and atmospheric synth tracks.

 


Durand, Federico (Argentina)

La Siesta del Cipres (2010)
El Extasis de las Flores Pequeñas (2011)
Adormidera (2012)
El Libro de los Arboles Magicos (2012)
El Idioma de las Luciernagas (2013)
Música para Manuel (2014) (S)
El Estanque Esmeralda (2014)
La Estrella Dormida (2014)
Música para Manuel (2015)
Magical Imaginary Child (2015) (with Chinei Hatakeyama)
Circle (2015) (S) (with Chinei Hatakeyama)
A Través del Espejo (2016)
Jardín de Invierno (2016)
Sora (2017) (with Chinei Hatakeyama)
Pavel (2017)
Niebla y Jardines Tomados por las Plantas (2017) (with Hofli)
Pequeñas Melodías (2018)
La Estrella Dormida (2019)
In the Open (2020) (with Asuna and Tomoyoshi Date)
Alba (2020)
Flor Imaginaria (2021)
Herbario (2021)
D
ía de Nieve (2023) (S)
Tour Tapes (2023)

Ambient artist with some electroacoustic and glitch / microsound tendencies.

 


Durant, Jon (USA)

Alternate Landscapes (2019)
Crossings (2021) (with Stephan Thelen)

Boston-based guitarist. Alternate Landscapes is an album that focuses heavily on the possibilities of guitar synthesizer. It is a fine and moody release with references to pioneers of EM and Ambient.

 


Durbet, Thierry (France)

Moving (1985)
Albatros (1985)

Library records with some chilled and dynamic electronic cuts.

 


Düren, Wolfgang (Germany)

Eyeless Dreams (1980)

Wolfgang Düren is the man who helped to develop early PPG synthesizers. This album contains rhythmic, sequenced electronic pieces.

 


Durette, Liz (USA)

Delight (2020)
Primordial Soup (2023)

Playful keyboard / synth compositions and waltzes from this Baltimore-based pianist.

 


Durkee, Norman (USA)

Audio Illusions (??)

In 1978 Norman Durkee released a spoken word / radioplay record called Plastic Radio. It included also some music in different styles. This is his later record which is a mixture of Dark Side of the Moon-like vocalizations, new age, Ambient and Space Music.

 


Durst, Marc (France)

La galaxie (1997)
La maîtrise du stress (1997)

French musician who contributed at least one album to the ‘Collection Oxygene’ sampler. Ambient.

 


Dusk of Hope (France)

Catharsis (1996)
Fin de millenaire (1997)
Flexible Response (2005)

Dark Ambient.

 


Duskgreeter (Germany)

Hasten the Sundown (2023)
Boneyard of the Gods (2024)

A bit "dungeon synth"-like, melodic EM with more dynamic, video gamey sections of flashy solos and stuff.

 


Dusklight (USA)

Meditation Magic & Dusklit Dreams (2022)
Enchantment & Serenity (2023)
The Magic of Helios (2023)
Key XVI: The Book of Wonder (2023)

Minimal, droning ambience with subtle melodies.

 


Düsseldorf (Poland)

Amok (2022)

Pioneering Polish EBM band. Amok is a sort of a "reunion" album with a different lineup consisting of Tom Axer (synths and voices) and Jacek Sokołowski (drums). This fact (and probably some other factors) pushed their sound towards the Progressive Electronic idiom, often with prominent Berlin School sequecning, although their EBM roots are still obvious on many of the tracks. Manic, sequential, repetitive...

 


Dust Belt (Norway??)

Melting Atlantis Resurrection (2021)

Ambient-oriented album from this noise / industrial-related project (Max Gudmunson). Slow sheets of sound, subtle noises, drones and resonances.

 


Dust Witch (USA)

Tetragrammaton (2013) (S)
Mirage (2017) (S)

Massachusetts-based five-piece band influenced by Italian horror and zeuhl. On Tetragrammaton, a very progrock sound is heard, with lots of mellotron and other keyboards. Mirage ventures in more electronic realms, still retaining the rocky edge.

 


Dustbug (Belgium)

Unfield & Wake (2012)
Rooow & Siiigh (2014)
For While & Unseen (2017)
Unfield & Stray (2019)
Uncare & Float (2022)

A project of Karel Thant. Somewhat lo-fi, with rhythms. Often sounds influenced by Klaus Schulze's 1970's synth drift. A bit samey, though. Also known as Dustbugg.

 


Dustcraft (USA)

Exoterra (2016)

A project of Michael Cottone, mixing dub techno and Ambient / EM tracks. File under EM-related

 


Dusty Baron (Ukraine??)

A Little Comedy A Little Drama (2017)

The album opens with "Turbine Fabric", which sounds like a hybrid of "End Credits" from Blade Runner and "On the Run" by Pink Floyd. The album proceeds through more styles and influences from the cartoonish to the relaxed, always based on the sounds of analog synthesizers and often having that "vintage Soviet EM" feeling.

 


Dusty Patches (USA)

Newtok (2023)

Varied, mostly rhythmic / melodic music with a focus on modular synth sounds from Chicago-based Patrick Mitchell, who previously played in a few post-punk bands. There is also a nice experimental dimension to his work. Pretty interesting and good stuff if you ask me.

 


Dutch Space Mission (Netherlands)

Masters of Space And Time (2007)
E-Live 2008 (2008)

A duo of Eppie Hulshof and Bert Hulshoff aka Phrozenlight. Spacey / Berlinesque music.

See also: Hulshof, Eppie, Phrozenlight.

 


Dutour, Pierre (France)

Top Fiction (1979)
Top Fiction Vol. 2 (1979)
Aquarius (1982)

Aka Ted Atking. Aquarius is nice electronic library music, gentle and melodic, sometimes new agey. Inspired by water and the seas. Often reminds on L'Apocalypse des Animaux by Vangelis, with the same pastoral, relaxed vibe to it.

 


Duval, John (USA)

Hell's Canyon (2003)

Solo work of Dweller At the Threshold member. Deep, resonating synthesizer soundscapes.

See also: Dweller At the Threshold, MindSpiral.

 


Duval, Manuel (France)

Manuel Duval & le docteur Samary (2015) (S)
Tapetum lucidum (2022)
Pollen & Plancton (2023)

Like a waaay out there Art Zoyd mixed with evil circus music, a bit of Cluster and elements of stochastic music perhaps.

See also: France Sauvage, Rien Virgule.

 


Duval, Noël (France)

Cascad'heure / Amalgame (1983) (S)

 


Duvet du Diable (Canada)

Cristallisation du sanctuaire glacial par le linceul du réel (2013)

Nice dungeon synth from this Quebeqois artist who calls himself Monseigneur Villancour.

 


Duviella, Serge (Haiti)

Synthese (1984)
Synthèse N°2 (1992) (recorded in 1987 - 1988)

Electronic project by one Serge Duviella released on a NY-based label. Duviella plays a variety of synthesizers on this release (the one from 1984) that includes a couple of instrumental covers of popular Haitian singers.

 


Duwe, Christoph (Germany)

Inselmusik (1996)

On Ardema label. Music is supposedly soft and meditative.

 


DVA (UK)

NOTU_URONLINEU (2016)

Aka Scratcha DVA. London-based Leon Smart who mixes UK bass / Grime with IDM and Progressive Electronic on NOTU_URONLINEU. Complex, cold, digital, atmospheric tracks, with occasional analog warmth.

 


Dvale, Vera (Norway)

Udu (2017) (with Psykovarius)
Avav (2019) (with Psykovarius)
Music Is Kinship (2020) (recorded in 2016 - 2019)
Garden of Feelings (2021)

Ambient synth artist with a varied sound: bright, dark, droning...

 


Dvar (Russia)

Oramah Maalhur (2005)
Jraah Mraah (2007)

Russian avant-garde band. They are pretty diverse, starting circa 1997 with sort of a neo-classical darkwave sound, mostly keyboard based. By Oramah Maalhur, they seem to have switched to cartoonish electronic pop with a clear The Residents vibe. The music is rather progressive, though, with all those synth sequences, melodies and funny voices. After that, they went for a more hip-hop-influenced sound, releasing Zii in 2008. For El Marlil (2010), they more or less returned to neo-classical structures. The above works may interest EM fans. They are also nice for lovers of the so-called "comfy synth" genre.

 


DVEM (Italy??)

Musica elettronica N.1 (2023)

Varied, rich, lush, analog-infused electronic tracks. DVEM stands for "Diego Ventura Electronic Music".

 


Dvořák, Tomáš (Czech Republic)

Samorost2 (2006) (soundtrack)
Machinarium Soundtrack (2009)
Machinarium Bonus EP (2009) (EP)
Samorost3 Soundtrack (2016) (soundtrack)

Czech nu-jazz / trip-hop musician and video game soundtrack composer. From the Machinarium Soundtrack you can tell he listened to a lot of Cluster. At least the vibe of Roedelius & co. is there - all those strange, funky noises, cute melodies and rhythms that sound like they could come from a lost Forst session, updated with contemporary elements and augmented by influences from Ambient and jazz.

 


d'Voxx (UK)

Télégraphe (2019)
George Orwell - 1984 (2022)

Analog synth duo of Nino Auricchio and Paul Borg, focusing on modular synthesis. Sequences, rhythms, subtle melodies, etc. Télégraphe is a DiN release.

 


Dwane, Mark (USA)

The Myth (1984)
The Monuments of Mars (1988)
Angels, Aliens & Archetypes (1991)
The Atlantis Factor (1993)
Paradigm Shift (1995)
The Nefilim (1998)
Archives (2000) (recorded in 1984 - 1995)
Planetary Mysteries (2001)
The Sirius Link (2004)
2012 (2007)
Variants (2007)
Memory Alpha (2007)
Other Worlds (2009)
Archives 2 (2012)
The Manhattan Collection: Alpha Waves (2013)
Elegant Design (2013)
Rituals (2014)
Anomalies (2014)
Ufology (2016)
Cerebral Hemispheres (2017)
Songs 3 (2018)
Astrology (2018)
Martian Apparitions (2019)
Future Tense (2020)
Atlantean Apparitions (2021)
Earthlings (2021)
Parallel Universe (2022)
The Utopian Paradigm (2023)

Mark Dwane got his first synth in the early 70's and in 1975 he founded the group Orb that published two albums before calling it a day in 1981. His solo music is very diverse musically, but mainly stays in the Space Music realm. The second album is more melodic and rhythmic. Mark is an acknowledged master of the MIDI guitar.

See also: Orb

 


Dwarfstar (Hungary)

Perplexing Reality (2016)

Strange mixture of ritual music, melodic synth and hints of metal.

 


Dweller At the Threshold (USA)

No Boundary Condition (1996)
Generation - Transmission - Illumination (1998)
Dweller In the Tape Vaults (2000)
Ouroboros (2001)
Passenger 4 (2004) (with Free System Projekt)
Full Boundary Condition (2004)
Live At the Gathering (2018) (with Synthetic Block)

This band used to consist of David Fulton and Paul Ellis who created classic Electronic Music in the traditions of the Berlin School. Paul Ellis is now replaced with John Duval.

See also: Fulton, David, Ellis, Paul, Tribal Machine, Duval, John.

 


Dweomer (USA)

Sleeping Thorn (2015)

Strictly limited cassette release from this Portland, Oregon-based synth artist. Varied soundscapes, from melodic to experimental.

 


Dwinell, Mark (USA)

Golden Ratio (2014)
Fake Time (2018) (with Nathan Cearley)

Golden Ratio is a varied synth exploration from this guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Ranges from the abstract to lulling, arpeggio-laden analog goodness. For fans of Terry Riley, Cluster and more. Fake Time is another interesting electronic work, a collaboration with Nathan Cearly of Long Distance Poison.

See also: Forma

 


Dwole (USA)

A Requiem of Euphoric Nihilism (1998)

Dark Ambient from Minneapolis-based artist Brian J. Huebner.

 


Dyachenko, Igor (Russia)

Tracked (2024)

Gloomy ambient compositions - noisy and with slight dubbiness.

 


Dyad (USA)

Cyberia (2012)
Channel 3 (2015)

Interestingly enough, this Denver-based trio of Daniel Moran, Jeremy Averitt and Charles Ballas makes music, which seems to be inspired by Kraftwerk circa The Mix (the 1990 - 1993 era). Not among the most popular of periods, I must add.

 


Dyamur (Austria)

Biosphere ZeroOne: The Musuem of Preapocalyptic Nature (2022)

"Dreampunk" project. The above album has ambient and progressive EM influences.

 


Dyaz, Antonio (Spain)

The Gallery (2000)

The man behind El Sueno De Hyparco.

See also: El Sueno De Hyparco

 


Dyb (Argentina)

Coral (2016)
August 19 (2017)
Ambient Sketches (2020)
Sueños Imperfectos (2020)
Hábitat (2021)

Ambient artist Diego Masarotti. A bit grating sound in places.

 


Dynamo Snackbar (UK)

The Paradox of Plankton (2017)

Mixture of rhythmic / melodic synth sequences and guitar. Music in the style of Ashra and other pioneers. Dynamo Snackbar is Joe Lythgoe (aka Anthony Joseph Lythgoe).

 


Dynastor (Netherlands)

Tales of A Story (2020)
Midnight Fairytales (2020) (with Valotihkuu)
A Memory Away (2022)
Meander (2023) (with Innesti)

Ambient project of Maurits Nieuwenhuis.

 


Dynatron (Denmark)

Escape Velocity (2012)
Aeternus (2015)
The Rigel Axiom (2016) (EP)
Origins (2021)

Dynatron is Copenhagen-based synthwave producer Jeppe Hasseriis. He likes to throw in ambient / EM tracks as well, some examples being "Vox Magnetismi" and "Andromeda Bleeding" from Escape Velocity.

 


Dynkur (Iceland)

AMB (2021)
Skandha Mara (2022)

Dynkur is Thordur Anrarson. He makes ambient compositions, sometimes with dubby and / or musique concrete moods / elements.

 


Dyno (Italy)

Picnic nello spazio (2011)
Synthònia (2018)

Picnic Nello Spazio is a varied electronic album from Matteo Dini. Sometimes sequencer-based, sometimes more experimental and often reminding on the output of FAX label.

 


Dys, Gregor (Germany)

Riss (2022)

Varied electronics from this Berlin-based artist, inspired by a long stay in hospital in 2019 after a tragic accident that almost took his life. Mostly done on modular synth and guitar, the tracks are abstract, but also vibrant, complex and with jagged rhythms / snippets of melodies. I often get a kind of Parallel Worlds feel when I listen to these tracks.

 


Dyson, John (UK)

Evolution (1989)
Aquarelle (1991)
Different Values (1994)
Beyond the Gates (1995)
Silverbird (1998)
Darklight (2009)

One of the leading British synthesists, John Dyson is known for his Wavestar project that mixed Tangerine Dream’s melodic side with Floydian spaciness. Their album Moonwind was very successful among EM fans. John's solo work is in similar style. It is very melodic but, in comparison with, say, Ron Boots’ music, is focusing even more on the melody. As a result, it sounds way too sweet and uninteresting for my ears, even more so, because often the timbral variety and experimentalism are sacrificed for the sake of good melodic arrangements. But I can still recommend his music for those who like melodic Electronic Music.

See also: Wavestar, D'Lear, Shaun.

 


Dystopia (Finland)

Second Dawn (1998)

Finnish duo of Pertti Grönholm and Ismo Virta from Turku. Dystopia was founded in 1995. Dark Ambient with new elements.

See also: Grönholm, Pertti

 


Dystopiska Visioner (Sweden)

Dystopiska Visioner (2014) (S)

Is it just me or when someone mentions dystopia in a project's or album's title, it immediately conjures up images from Blade Runner in one's mind? Anyway, the movie was indeed hugely influential and rightly so. So, no surprises here, folks, this music by Swedish synthesist Michel Isorinne sounds completely influenced by Blade Runner and its atmosphere.

See also: Isorinne, Michel

 


Dystreskumring (Norway)

Natteskumringen (2019)

Whimsical, darkish, mystical synth compositions, between dungeon synths and darker forms of Ambient.

 


DZ Lectric (France)

Tentatives (1981) (S)

Minimal wave / experimental / industrial musician who is also known as D.Z. Lectric and under his real name Christian Dezert. On the above cassette, which only has four short pieces, there is a nice EM track called "Révolution Culturelle" which has an analog sequence running through it and background wordless falsetto signing. All of this reminds on the early, embryonic Klaus Schulze experiments (post Irrlicht / Cyborg but pre-Timewind). "China" is another track that seems to be interesting. However, for now this is largely a one-track inclusion, as I haven't heard anything similar from him yet. Further and deeper investigation would not harm, though.

 


Dziadosz, Bartosz (Poland)

The Black Lake (2017) (with Tomasz Mreńca)
Mirage (2017) (S) (with Tomasz Mreńca)
Peace (2023)

Polish artist also known as Pleq (glitch / IDM music). As a solo artist working under his real name, he releases melodic, climatic, hymnal music between neo-classical and ambient EM.

 


Džiugas Meižis, Pijus (Lithuania)

Geografinės būsenos (2020)
Delsa (2021) (S)
Gegužės gūsiai (2021) (S)

Ambient with a weird experimental / vaporwave / hypnagogic vibe.

 


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