Index

 

S (Finland)

S (1998)

A project of Perttu Lipsanen, supposedly with an ambient sound. There are also guest musicians (electric guitar player and oboist).

 


S A D (Russia)

Super Sounds II (2017)
Okom Onu Uwa (2019)
Children of the Sun (2021)

Collage-based project of Vasily Stepanov and Vlad Dobrovolski. Has elements of new age and a weird, a bit Cluster-like Prog EM touch.

 


S.A.M. (Denmark)

Dream State of A Bellmaker (2016)

Techno / Ambient / EM / Balearic mixture.

 


S.D.E. Wasadi (Sweden??)

Kosmische Tanzmaschine (2021)
Test Tones For the Criminally Insane (2022)

 


S.E.N.S. (Japan)

Kaishin (1988)
Masara Tea Waltz (1988)
Kyara (1989)
City of Sadness (1990)

Japanese duo of Yukari Katsuki and Akihiko Fukaura (their name translates to Sound, Earth, Nature, Spirit). They made a lot of soundtracks and are basically a keyboard-based new instrumental / new age duo. This means that you won't find hard-core sound experiments in their works. However, if you like some aspects (including the ethnic and most bombastic ones) of Kitaro's music for example, this should float your boat. The music is melodic and uses nice synth leads from time to time. However, I think the bulk of their discography is too far removed from the EM aesthetic to be included in EEM, so the above discography is only a small fraction that includes their early albums. Further investigation would not harm, though.

 


S.E.T.I. (UK)

Corona (2009)
Baikal (2011)
Final Trajectory (2013)
The Data Logs of Astro Myrmex (2015)
The Guide Lockstars of Astro Myrmex (2016)
Interim Report From Worm Boundary Five (2017)
Sleep Environments For Interplanetary Travel (2018)
Beyond Black Project 'Preserve Destiny' (2019) (recorded in 2017)
The Sphere of Density (2020)
Mysterious Universe AKA Letter From GN-z11 (2022) (recorded in 2021)

It was quite clear that, from the very beginning in the early 1990's, Andrew Lagowski's S.E.T.I. project has always been gradually moving in the ambient direction, until it was not the abstract techno / industrial mix typical of the early albums but yes, Dark Space and Noise Ambient project. The ambient albums I'll try to list here.

See also: Legion

 


S O A R E R (Peru)

現実の崩壊 (2019)
Without End (2020)
Silent Whispers (2021)
私に返す (2021)
What I Feel (2021)
A New Era (2021)
The Essence of Our Existence (2022)

Vaporwave / slushwave artist from Lima. Without End is a melancholic work that will be enjoyed by both fans of vaporwave-related musics and those into ambient EM.

 


S.O.C. 7 (USA)

Mission: Critical (1999)

Progressive / symphonic electronics from Chuck Pedersen out of Jacksonville, Florida. Comparable to Amin Bhatia.

 


S.O.N.S. (France)

The Escape (2022)

A project of Timothée Victorri who is currently based in Seoul.

 


S t d m (UK)

Ramayana (2002)
Ambient Space Monkeys (2003)
Solipsism (2004)
Binary Motion (2004)

Joint venture by Paul Nagle and Andy Pickford.

See also: Binar, Nagle, Paul, Pickford, Andy, Smokeyfrog.

 


S U R V I V E (USA)

LLR002 (2010)
s000 (2011)
LT019 (2011)
W115 / Part Tiger (2012) (S)
HD009 (2012)
S U R V I V E (2012)
MF064 (2014) (S)
S U R V I V E 2 (2014) (S)
RR7349 (2016)
RR7400 (2018)

Four-piece analog synthesizer band (Adam Jones, Kyle Dixon, Mark Donica, Michael Stein). The sound is, as expected, quite spacey, with lots of Tangerine Dream stylisms on their eponymous album from 2012 (which is also known as HDXV).

See also: Dixon, Kyle

 


s u t u r a (Spain)

supura Ep (2020) (EP)

Experimental, rhythmic, repetitive electronics from Miguel Angel Gascón.

 


S.U.V. (Germany)

Anghu (2016)
New Dark Age (2016)
Sterben / Shifting (2018)
Our Complex Pleasures (2019)
Neoliberal Folk Songs II (2020)
Blank Vault / White Stains (2023) (recorded in 2021 - 2022)

Varied experimental EM with elements of noise, folk, techno etc. S.U.V. stands for Sex Und Violence. Our Complex Pleasures is quite a varied and captivating album.

 


S0003 (Slovakia)

Extinction (2001)

Dark melancholic Ambient mixed with a bit of industrial from M. Priscak.

 


S8JFOU (France)

Op​•​Echo (2022)

From completely ambient compositions to mechanical-sounding IDM / experimental techno rhythms.

 


Sa Bruxa (Italy)

Rituals of Morbid Upheaval (2016)
Mediterranean Darkness (2017)
Mediterranean Darkness Live (2017)
Dark Puja (2017) (EP)
La Chiesa del Silenzio (2018) (S)
From the Depths (2019)
Gnosis (2020)
Mahākāla (2020) (S)
Ritual (2023) (recorded in 2020 - 2021)

Sardinian project dedicated to various forms of dark ambience.

 


Sa Pa (Germany)

Atmospheric Fragments (2023)

Dub techno / ambient techno project. Atmospheric Fragments is an excursion into deep drones, obscure sounds and subtle pulses.

 


Saåad (France)

It Was (2010)
Delayed Summer (2011) (S)
Confluences (2012)
Sustained Layers (2012) (with Eus and Postdrome)
Στερεά Σύννεφα (2012)
Orbs & Channels (2013)
Deep/Float (2014)
Different Streams (2015) (with Eus and Postdrome)
Verdaillon (2016)
Présence Absente (2018)
ìðåòü (2019) (with Sádon)
All Lanes of Lilac Evening (2020) (with Siavash Amini)
Elijah (2021) (soundtrack)
ìðåòü (íàóòðî íî÷ü) (2022) (with Sádon)

Droning ambient works by Romain Barbot from Toulouse.

See also: Foudre!

 


Saaamaaa (Finland)

B'Kai (2005)
Massa Di Requiem Per Shuggay (2006)

Obscure Medieval Ambient with Black undertones.

 


Saapato (USA)

Fragile Comforts Vol. 1 (2019) (S)
Somewhere Else (2023)

A project of ambient musician Brandon Principato. Relaxing, hypnotic, nature-inspired...

 


Saariselka (USA)

The Ground Our Sky (2019)

Ambient duo of Marielle Jakobsons (keys, synths) and Chuck Johnson (pedal steel guitar and treatments). Relaxing, melodic sound with touches of Americana by means of pedal steel guitar.

See also: Jakobsons, Marielle V, Date Palms.

 


SAB (Japan)

Crystallization (1978)

Fat cosmic electronics by this obscure project.

 


Saba Dipole, Shaahin (Iran)

Shaahin Saba Dipole (2011)
Reverence (2018)

A mixture of ambient soundscapes and some subtle minimalistic beats.

 


Saban, Haim & Levy, Shuki (USA / Israel)

Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or (1983) (soundtrack)
Bomber X (1983) (soundtrack)

French animation series soundtrack by these two gents - a Egyptian born American Haim Saban and an Israeli Shuki Levy. The disc offers a nice selection of electronic tracks and some songs. The pair released more stuff, mostly soundtracks. Further investigation is needed.

 


Sabaturin (Canada / UK)

Kenemglev (2020)

Mail collaboration between Charles-Émile Beullac and Simon Crab of Bourbonese Qualk. Experimental, but listenable and at times melodic / playful electronics.

See also: Galerie Stratique

 


Sabbar, Tarek (USA)

Outside Frame (2020)

Varied synthesist from Wisconsin, from slightly noisy, experimental compositions to ambient and cosmic modular drift and sequencer-based rhythmic excursions.

 


Sabin, Joshua (UK)

Terminus Drift (2017)
Sutarti (2019)

Although recorded with just processed field recordings made inside Kyoto, Tokyo and Berlin subway systems (along with a few electromagnetic field recordings made by Joshua in his native Scotland), I don't think I have ever heard a musique concrete or electroacoustic album that sounded like Terminus Drift. First of all, oftentimes you'd swear you are hearing ambient music recorded with synths. The aesthetic of this work is also unique - a look into the essence of our digital age and maybe also a glance into the cyber future that may be awaiting us. In a way it is similar to that special form of cyber-ambient music ("Dystopian Ambient"? "Neon Ambient"?) that has been appearing during the last several years, mainly done by vaporwave-related artists, although this one creates its own subgenre perhaps, being more cerebral and less sci-fi-oriented. Fans of Noise Ambient in general might check it out as well. Sutarti is a different kind of album - a tense and anguished melodic / ambient work based on Lithuanian folk music.

 


Sabled Sun (Sweden)

2145 (2012)
2146 (2012)
Signals I - III (2014)
Signals IV (2014)
2147 (2015)
2148 (2016)
2149 (2021)

Dark, spacey and dystopian Ambient from the man behind Atrium Carceri.

See also: Atrium Carceri

 


Sabotage In de Speeltuin (Netherlands)

Kabelkoorts Kasette (2018)

Supposedly, minimal synth-related project but with an experimental EM slant.

 


Saboten, The (Japan)

Beyond the Blue Heaven (2003)

The Saboten was formed in the 1990's by Hoppy Kamiyama as an experimental indie rock collective. Beyond the Blue Heaven is their third album with two contrasting sides. The first side is occupied by a dark electronic piece that some reviewers have compared to Phaedra and the second side is more of a free jazz exploration.

 


Sabriel's Orb (USA)

Skin To Skin (2020)

Reflective, emotional synth music from Willow Skye-Biggs.

 


Saccomani, Jean-Pierre (France)

The Four Seasons (1999)
Music For Time (2002)
Equilibre Thermique de l'Igloo (2003) (with Jean-Luc Berthelot)
Voyage Intersideral En Nimbus (2004)

French synthesist who mainly creates serene electronic soundscapes. Comparable to Tales at places.

 


Sacra Fern (Russia)

Elementals (2015)
Bloodstone (2018)
Histeryos (2022)

Menacing Ritual Ambient.

 


Sacred Aviary (USA??)

Coconut Dot Matrix (2017)
Zone Canopies (2018)

Tropical ambience, tribal drums, new-agey flutes and collages.

 


Sacred Seeds (India)

Mirror Lake (2022) (with Atmøsphäre)
Emerald Landscape (2022)
Electric Fabric (2024)

A project of Wasim Kozhikode from Chennai, India. Nice ambient soundscapes - relaxing, hyptonic and atmospheric. Some subtle sequencer material, too, in the tradition of Roach, Rich, etc.

 


Sacred Tapestry (USA)

Shader (2012)
Shader Complete (2016)

One of the countless pseudonyms of Ramona Andra Xavier, known mainly as one of the pioneers and central figures of the "vaporwave" movement. This one, although still very much informed by the vaporwave genre, has many spacey synth sections that have a definite progressive twist to them. If you get over the cheesy sample-based stuff, you are rewarded with wonderful, relaxing EM tracks like "Transmigration" and "Cosmorama". File under EM-related, though.

See also: Tanning Salon

 


Sacromonte (Spain??)

Rime (2017)
Cudol (2021) (with AFK)

Sacromonte is Berlin-based ambient artist Alberto Lucendo.

 


Sad City (UK)

Shapes In Formation (2016)
Forma (2017) (S)

Gary Caruth aka Sad City was born in Northern Ireland and is currently based in Glasgow. I don't even know how to describe what's happening on Shapes In Formation. It has sort of a jazzy feel, with also nods to club-related styles, mainly House music. There is also a lot of looped voice samples similar to those used in some hip-hop tracks. Some of the synth arrangements are very progressive, though, and are clearly EM in feel or style. Overall it's only related to "our" style of EM, thanks to tracks like "Pace, Movements I-IV".

 


Sad Man (UK)

Stories From An Island (2020) (with Francis Lowe)
Music of Dreams And Panic (2021)
Sad Stories (2022)

Music by Andrew Spackman. Complex, and at the same time repetitive themes with lots of vocoders. A bit Daft Punk-ish, a bit YMO-ish., with a jazzy edge.

 


Sad Prophet (Portugal)

Dark Over Dark (2016)

Deep Ambient.

 


Sadassa Silvia (USA)

A Voice In the Wilderness (2021)
Heat Stroke (2023) (S)

A trio of musicians (Scott F. Hamrick, Mike Larmoyeux and Tim Kays) playing spacey mixture of space rock / kraut and EM. Strong Fripp / Eno and Richard Pinhas vibes here.

See also: Kays, Tim

 


SADU (Canada)

LiVE (2006)

A collaboration between Sylken, Anomalous Disturbances and URM. Ambient atmospheres with some hints of the Berlin School.

See also: Sylken, Anomalous Disturbances.

 


Saegusa, Shigeaki (Japan)

Trace of the Stars (1978)
21 Century Vivaldi (1978)
Radiation Missa (1981)
The Fantasia of Falls (1985)
Z Gundam (1985) (soundtrack)
New Sound From Our Season (1988) (with Hiroyuki Namba)

The 1981 album is a weird electronic opera with vocoded vocals.

 


Saeko Killy (Japan)

Morphing Polaroids (2023)

Berlin-based Japanese vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. A mixture of art-pop songs and instrumental electronic material.

 


Saenz de Sicilia, Andrés (Spain??)

21-9-18 (2019)

Long tracks of experimental ambience.

See also: Pataphysical

 


Sævarsson, Dagur (Iceland)

Hulin Hálka (2022)

Icelandic synthesist with a varied style. Sometimes abstract, but mostly melodic, focusing on repeating themes and soft sequencing.

 


SaffronKeira (Italy)

Automatism (2019)
Mare Tranquilitatis (2020) (S) (with Claudio Prc)
In Origine: The Field of Repentance (2020) (with Paolo Fresu)
The Faded Orbit (2021) (with Siavash Amini)

A project of Sardinian musician Eugenio Caria, formed in 2008. I don't know about previous releases, but Automatism certainly has an EM vibe to it, mixing ambience, dramatic neo-classical electronics and some sequences / rhythms.

 


Safred, Gianni (Italy)

Electronic Designs (1977)
Futuribile - The Life To Come (1978)
Gianni Safred Alle Tastiere (1979) (S)

This electronic / jazz / disco record (Futuribile) was released on Italian "Music Scene" library label and later re-released by Folkways. Easy-listening, but with cool synth sounds and a warm "space age" atmosphere. Imagine a totally synthesized version of a jazz fusion record and you'd be pretty close.

 


Saga (France)

Orphée (??)

Not to be confused with the well-known Canadian progressive rock band (in fact, there are numerous projects and groups with this name), this is a rare electronic album, released somewhere in the early 1980's I think.

 


Sagan (USA)

Unseen Forces (2004)
Resting Pleasures (2006) (S)
Anti-Ark (2021)

San Francisco-based quartet consisting of Blevin Blectum, Jason Doerck, Jon Leidecker (he worked with Dieter Moebius) and Ryan Junell. I don't know about Unseen Forces, but on Anti-Ark they create a rich sound that is quite obviously indebted to the IDM artists but has a definite progressive influence as well, especially on quieter, more symphonic / cosmic tracks. File under EM-related.

 


Sagan Youth (USA)

Annotated Universe (2013)
Heliosheath (2013)
Cela (2015)

Rhythmic, analog, sequence-full music from this North Carolina-based project. Cosmic.

 


Sage, M. (USA)

Música Azul (2022) (with Lieven Martens)
Paradise Crick (2023)
Parayellowgram (2023) (with Zander Raymond)

Matthew Sage is a prolific experimental musician who doesn't have a single distinguishable style. He often uses guitar and tape experiments and released works in drone, ambient-related, noisy genres, as well as those of jazz, rock, musique concrete etc. Rateyourmusic, for example, lists his main styles as "Ambient, Glitch, Electronic, Drone, American Primitivism, ECM Style Jazz", just to give you an idea of how diverse he is. On Paradise Crick, there is a mixture of synthesizers, guitars and some classical / folk instruments in a decidedly ambient mould, but also with sort of a Cluster-like quirkiness.

 


Sagenhaft (Italy)

The Legend of the Forgotten Reign (1996) (S)
Lapideus Liber (2001) (S)
A Long Forgotten Legend (2012)
Aere Perennius (2021)
Hypnerotomachia (2022) (S)

A duo of Sergio Mazza and Gianluca Martucci. They mix medieval "dungeon synth" sound with Ambient.

See also: Victorian Witch, Urna.

 


Sagntid (Denmark)

Crows Awaiting Murder (2003)
The Slipstream World of Sagntid (2009)
Sagntid Rehearsals 2008/2009 (2009) (S)
Where the Dark Dogs Cease To Bark (2009) (S)

Gloomy, dark ambience.

 


Sagor & Swing (Sweden)

S&S (1996)
Untitled (1999) (S)
Orgelfärger (2001)
Melodier Och Fåglar (2002)
Allt Hänger Samman (2003)
Sagor & Swing (2004) (S)
Orgelplaneten (2004)
Botvid Grenlunds Park (2013) (recorded in 2006 - 2012)
Modular (2020) (EP)
En musikalisk tolkning av Bröderna Lejonhjärta (2020)

If you like Bo Hansson's output, the music of this duo of Eric Malmberg (organ, synth) and Ulf Möller will be to your liking.

See also: Malmberg, Eric

 


Sahab (Iran)

Sahab (2020)

Melodic, mostly shorter synth tracks from this Iranian composer based in Fresno, California. Some particular features of his music is sparingly used hip-hop beats and processed vocals. Sort of lo-fi sound.

 


Sahara (Germany)

Sunrise (1974)

Progressive rock band from Germany. The second side of this debut album is occupied by a long "Sunrise" suite, parts of which are dominated by synthesizer and are pure EM. However, these are short, so it's EM-related at best.

 


Sahyoun, Anthony (Lebanon)

Proof By Infinite Descent (2021)

Varied compositions from this Lebanese artist and co-founder of instrumental rock band Kinematik. Ranges from intense to the point of being noisy to ambient and subtle, although always unquiet, with an underlying feel of menace.

 


SAIEM (UK / Ireland)

Strange Places (2006)
To the Undying Lands (2006)
Hello, Mr Edison (2007)
SAIEM To the 4 (2007)
SAIEM To the 5 (2007)
Six o' the Best (2010)

SAIEM is the "Anglo-Irish School of Electronic Music". A loose-knit community of electronic musicians, founded by Richard Barton (Event Horizon) and Eugene Nugent (Clockwork Accordian). Also joined by Jeff Barton (Health Hazard) on the album "To the Undying Lands". The two albums so far produced were created by transmission of various files by Email, to and from the musicians involved, and were then mixed onto a master 8 track digital recorder, then mixed down into a 2 track stereo mix. None of the musicians performed together at any point. (text used with permission)

See also: Barton, Richard, Event Horizon.

 


Saïet, Laurent (France)

Rêve / Dream / Traum / Sogno (1995)
Cinéphilie (1999)
Cinéphilie 2 Le Retour (2001)
For Your Ears Only: Imaginary & Original Soundtracks 2006 - 2012 (2013)
The Call of Lovecraft (2018)
After the Wave (2021)

The Call of Lovecraft is a darkish work, mixing dissonant sax outbursts, some doomy electric guitars and atmospheric electronics. The album was inspired by Lovecraft's short stories.

 


Saif Mode (UK)

Troubled Heart (2015) (S)

Lo-fi analogue synth music from Ben Hunter. Some of the pieces sound classically-inspired.

 


Sailing Stones (Belgium)

Risen From Within (2016)

Berlin School project from Belgium.

 


Saint Abdullah (Iran)

To Live A La West II (2021)
Evicted In the Morning (2023) (with Jason Nazary)
Chasing Stateless (2023) (with Eomac)

Experimental duo consisting of Mohammad and Mehdi Mehrabani-Yeganeh. On To Live A La West II, they mix free jazz with electronics in sort of a minimal, chamber "Jon Hassell meets Zygoat" vein. Sometimes noisier textures and harsher rhythms make appearance as well. Further investigation would not harm.

 


Saint Bris, Gonzague (France)

Les Musiques du Nouvelle Romantisme (1979)

Only side B of this LP will be interesting for EM fans. It is somewhat cheesy but has a nice, fat, cosmic, analog synth sound. Side A is supposedly classical music.

 


Saint de l'Abime (Greece)

Snow From the Moon (2020)

Varied darkwave-related project from Athens. The above album is an electronic work with some bubbling computer sounds, mellotron-like classical strings, bass throbs and a doomy atmosphere.

 


Saint Malo (Spain)

Saint Malo (2023)

A project of Javier Jiménez Rolo, a classically-trained multi-instrumentalist from Cáceres, Spain. His music mixes acoustic guitar strumming, a string quartet, piano and synthesizers. Something between neo-classical, folk and electronic touches. Good for those who like soundtrack-y stuff. The music is nice but the only track from his eponymous debut that has a clearly EM vibe is "Le Havre", so it's like EM-related at best at this point.

 


Saint-Preux (France)

Expression (1978)
Atlantis (1979)
To Be Or Not (1980)
Le Piano d'Abigail (1983)
Phytandros (1991)

Atlantis contains fusion-y / funky prog compositions with enough electronic elements to keep fans of EM happy. It's one of the least accessible works by Saint-Preux. The 1980 album is electronic / rock interpretations of classical compositions. Saint-Preux plays synthesizers backed by a rock group, including Bernard Paganotti (Magma) on bass. I think it will appeal to fans of Space and Jean-Michel Jarre. The title track is a real sequencer feast. I'd just take those all-too prominent drums out of the mix to be able to enjoy the pulsations in their full glory. Phytandros is quite avant-garde symphonic / electronics. There are plenty of other albums by this artist that represent light airy piano works mixed with some electronics. I try to list his EM-related works here.

See also: Quartz

 


Saint-Samuel (Canada)

Carrousel (2015)
Télérama (2018)

Crossover synthwave / prog EM project of Stéphane Richard. Good for those who like those 1980's TD soundtrack vibes. Télérama is more of a pop album with vocals and a couple of instrumental tracks.

 


Saito, Hidemi (Japan)

Marriage Songs In Praise (1977)

Hidemi Saito is a Japanese "electone" artist or, in other words, electronic organist doing covers of well-known pop, folk or classical tunes. During the 1960's, 1970's and into the 1980's, there were tons of these artists from all corners of the world, with Japan in particular being a hotbed - maybe because many of novelty instruments of the time originated and were mass produced in that country by the likes of Yamaha and Korg. Anyway, I do not list "bachelor pad music" or "space age pop" releases, ditto for pop covers or classical interpretations (except when the latter include an obvious electronic / Prog component as is the case with Tomita for example). However, like in any other genre, an artist would sometimes venture into "our" EM land and, quite unexpectedly, some of the above album, supposed to contain music for weddings, is pure EM (cheesy but unique) or comes close. Further investigation is needed.

 


Saiz, Suso (Spain)

Prefiero El Naranja (1984)
Musica Esporadica (1985) (with Glen Velez and others)
En La Piel del Cruce (1986)
Confidencias (1987)
Cronica De Castas (1990) (with Jorge Reyes)
Simbolos (1991)
Al Filo de lo Imposible (1992)
Hypnotics (1992)
Mirror of Pollution (1993)
El Detective y la Muerte (1995) (soundtrack)
Un Hombre Oscuro (1995)
Africa (1996) (soundtrack)
Katuwira (1998) (soundtrack)
Al Filo de lo Imposible Vol. 2 (1998)
Quartet (1998)
El Milagro de P.Tinto (1998) (soundtrack)
Novios (1999) (soundtrack)
El Juego de Luna (2001) (soundtrack)
El Cuaderno de Petalos de Elefante (2002) (with Diego Vasallo)
The Box of the Insomniac Songs (2006) (recorded in 1992 - 2006)
Odisea (2016)
Rainworks (2017)
En La Piel del Cruce - Live In Valladolid 1986 (2018)
Nothing Is Objective (2019)
Inducing the Pleasure Dreams V2 (2019) (recorded in 2016) (with Justo Bagüeste)
Between No Things (2020) (with Suzanne Kraft)
Static Journeys (2021) (with Michael Turtle)
Resonant Bodies (2022)

Electronic guitar with a very spacey sound.

See also: Suspended Memories, Orquesta de las Nubes.

 


Sakaguchi, Mitsuhisa (Japan)

Architecnica (2012)
Aerophotonic (2012)
Wormhole (2012) (with Oshima Teruyuki)

Interesting artist here. Glitchy and IDM-like from one side, he also has another side, taking inspiration from the free spirit and spontaneous nature of jazz and improvisation. Combining these two worlds, he gets a unique result, which is definitely progressive.

See also: Teneleven

 


Sakamoto, Makoto (Japan)

Fahrenheit (2019) (with Hoshiko Yamane)
Reflection (2019) (recorded in 2017)

Electronic musician, member of dance music unit Sub Human Bros. His album Fahrenheit, done in collaboration with Tangerine Dream violin player Hoshiko Yamane, is that of ambient and gently sequenced electronic styles.

 


Sakamoto, Masayuki (Japan)

Psyche (1987)

If you like melodic, anthemic Electronic Music or Electronic New Age by the likes of Kitaro, do check out Masayuki Sakamoto's Psyche, an album of accessible electronic themes and pop rhythms with ethnic and symphonic touches.

 


Sakamoto, Ryuichi (Japan)

Thousand Knives (1978)
Summer Nerves (1979)
B-2 Unit (1980)
Left Handed Dream (1981)
End of Asia (1982)
Tokyo Joe (1982) (with Kazumi Watanabe)
Coda (1983)
Furyo (1983) (soundtrack)
Favorite Visions (1983) (recorded in 1978 - 1979)
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) (soundtrack)
Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia (1984)
Esperanto (1985)
Piano One (1985)
Futurista (1986)
Future Boy (1986)
The Adventures of Chatran (1986) (soundtrack)
Media Bahn Live (1986)
The Last Emperor (1987) (soundtrack)
Aile de Honneamise (1987) (soundtrack)
Neo Geo (1987)
Asian Games (1988) (with Yosuke Yamashita and Bill Laswell)
Playing the Orchestra (1988)
Grouppo Musicale (1989)
A Handmaid's Tale (1989) (soundtrack)
Beauty (1990)
The Arrangement (1990) (with Robin Scott)
The Sheltering Sky (1990) (soundtrack)
The Fantasy of Light & Life (1990)
Heartbeat (1991)
High Heels (1991) (soundtrack)
Wuthering Heights (1992) (soundtrack)
Little Buddha (1993) (soundtrack)
Wild Palms (1993) (soundtrack)
Sweet Revenge (1994)
Sweet Revenge Tour (1994)
Love And Hate (1994)
Smoochy (1995)
1996 (1996)
Discord (1997)
Snake Eyes (1998) (soundtrack)
Love Is the Devil (1998) (soundtrack)
BTTB (1998)
Sampled Life (1999)
Cinemage (2000) (recorded in 1997)
Gohatto (2000) (soundtrack)
L.O.L. (2000)
Zero Landmine (2001)
CM/TV (2002) (recorded in 1977 - 1998)
Comica (2002)
Minha Vida Como Un Filme (2002) (soundtrack)
Elephantism (2002)
Femme Fatale (2002) (soundtrack)
Vrioon (2002) (with Alva Noto)
Sakura No Koro (2002)
Derrida (2003) (soundtrack)
A Day In New York (2003)
Mototronic (2003)
Chasm (2004)
04 (2004)
Insen (2005) (with Alva Noto)
Shining Boy & Little Randy (2005) (soundtrack)
05 (2005)
Bricolages (2006)
Cendre (2007) (with Fennesz)
Tony Takitani (2007)
Ocean Fire (2008) (with Willits)
Out of Noise (2009)
Flumina (2011) (with Fennesz)
Ancient Future (2012) (with Willits)
Disappearance (2013) (with Taylor Deupree)
Perpetual (2015) (with Illuha and Taylor Deupree)
Plankton (2017)
Async (2017)
Glass (2018) (with Alta Novo)
Year Book 1985 - 1989 (2018)
Ff2 (2018) (maxi)
TWO (2019) (recorded in 2018) (with Alva Noto)
Proxima (2019) (soundtrack)
Garden of Shadows And Light (2021) (with David Toop)
Love After Love Soundtrack (2022) (soundtrack)
Exception (Soundtrack From The Netflix Anime Series) (2022) (soundtrack)
Beckett (Music From the Netflix Film) (2022) (soundtrack)
12 (2023)
Monster (2023) (soundtrack)

One of the most important electronic musicians to come out of Japan (born in 1952, died March 28, 2023) and certainly one of the most prolific film composers from that country. Ryuichi Sakamoto was a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra during the late Seventies and early Eighties, but he has also composed numerous solo works as well as participated in many collaborations. His works vary in style considerably, so try anything at your own risk. For YMO fan I can recommend his early stuff, while some of his soundtracks are obviously of the orchestral variety and do not relate to EM per se, although if you're a fan, surely you'd want all of them. For those interested in the Japanese electronic scene Ryuichi Sakamoto is a must. Hardcore synth fans will want to skip the following: Summer Nerves (an album of disco / tropical style music), End of Asia (made as a collaboration with an acoustic ensemble), Coda (this one contains piano versions of his soundtrack to "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence") and a few of his newer ones (one should be careful with RS' recent work as he often strays into styles that all have very little to do with EM). Of course, one should also be careful with his soundtracks (for the said reason). By the way, some of the soundtracks were not fully composed by RS but feature other artists as well. Note that there was also a Japanese (and a more complete) version of Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia which was called Ongakuzukan.

See also: Yellow Magic Orchestra

 


Sakan, Iku (Japan)

Live @ U-Man 10.04.11 (2011)
Iku Sakan (2012)
Human Wave Music (2017) (S)
Cepheidian (2017) (S)
Prism In Us All (2017)
Bloom Strings (2018) (S)

Studies in repetition from this Osaka-based experimental electronic artist.

 


Saksa (Finland)

Apparat (2020)

Weird motorik-based noisy electronics / psychedelic kraut from Lauri Väinölä who plays all the instruments.

 


Sakuma, Masahide (Japan)

Lisa (1984)
Replay (1991)

Ex-Plastics synth player.

 


Sal Grosso (Portugal)

Lets All Just Go Wild And Put Our Hands In the Air A Bit (2018)
Love Is Fine (2020)
Istmo (2023)

Varied EM from Antonio M. Silva. From ambient drones to synth-sequencer.

 


Sala, Oskar (Germany)

Anwendung Elektronischer Musik für den Film von Oskar Sala (1962) (S)
Trautonium (1963) (S)
Electronic Virtuosity (1969)
Electronique et Stereophonie (1969) (with Harald Genzmer)
Resonanzen (1970)
Elektronische Impressionen (1979)
Electronic Kaleidoscope (1983)
Trautonium Konzerte (1986) (with Harald Genzmer)
My Fascinating Instrument (1990)
Subharmonische Mixturen (1994)
Der Trautonium-Spieler Oskar Sala : Historische Rundfunkproduktionen (1997)

Music played on Trautonium. Not only a historical curiosity, but also very interesting musically. Oskar Sala (1910 - 2002) was one of the EM pioneers who used this wonderful instrument invented in the 1930's for many theatre scores and film soundtracks, as well as for original compositions. He is also known as the man who created sound effects for Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" (1963). Oskar Sala died in February, 2002, aged 91.

 


Salamanda (South Korea)

Allez (2020)
Sphere (2021)
Ashbalkum (2022)
In Parallel (2023)

Seoul-based duo with an ambient sound, using lots of synths, field recordings, voices, samples, etc.

 


Salbert, Dieter (Germany)

Musica Phantastica (1976)
Klangszenen (1982)
Electronic Pictures (2004)

Dieter Salbert is a classical composer who has scored a host of works for chamber orchestra, as well as choir, sax, clarinet and other instruments. These are two Electronic Music albums released by this artist in 1976 and 1982, respectively. The lineup for the first one is: Dieter Salbert - composer, synthesizer; Alrun Zahoransky - voice. Klangszenen was recorded with the following people: Dieter Salbert - composer, synthesizer; Alrun Zahoransky - voice, vocoder, harmonizer; Mathias Sorof - guitars; Wolfgang Grotjan - drum-synthi, percussion; Hans-Peter Schier - keyboards, synthesizer; Hans Neumann - bass, engineer.

 


Salchow, Boris (Germany)

Stars (2020)

Ambient music, often with a large piano presence.

 


Salek, Brice (USA)

Avant-Garde Meditations (2013)

Relaxing, meditative synth music. Good for fans of Ambient.

 


Salesas, Florenci (Spain)

Músiques Fredes (2002)
Tanoca (2013)
La Teoria dels Forats Blancs (2015)
Rèquiem Tinitus (2018)

Catalan musician with a quirky, varied experimental style.

 


Salkinitzor (Sweden)

Rymdkapsel Soundtrack (2013)

A project of Niklas Ström. Nice ambient synth compositions - hypnotic and cosmic.

 


Salminen, Karoliina (Finland)

True Dreams (2003)
Collection (2003) (recorded in 1993 - 2003)

Karoliina Salminen (born in 1974) composes music which is strongly influenced by early Jean-Michel Jarre (circa Oxygene / Equinoxe).

 


Salogni, Marta (UK??)

Music For Open Spaces (2023) (with Tom Relleen)

London-based studio owner, tape musician and synthesist. Music For Open Spaces features ambient, hypnotic, at times cosmic music.

 


Saloli (USA)

The Deep End (2018)
Canyon (2023)

Minimal synth improvisations by this talented female artist (real name - Mary Sutton) out of Portland. Reflective, pastoral, melodic, repetitive, often with a dungeon synth flavor.

 


Salsano, Pier Luigi (Italy)

Narcosi (2017)

Varied ambient synthesist from Italy. Cosmic, flowing, mysterious sound.

See also: Van Sax, Pier

 


Saltings (Ireland)

Earth Fosters What Heaven Lets Fall (2019)
Sold For Scrap (2020)
The May Queen (2020)
Sugar Skull (2020) (with Matthew Grigg)
Uzumaki (2020) (with Matthew Grigg and Tim Hill)

Long, moody tracks of soundscapes with some noisier bits. A project of Irish-born, Bristol-based Andrew Cooke.

 


Salvaggio, Eryk (???)

Worlding: Sympoietic Mycology (2022)

Wacky electronic compositions influenced by the world of the fungi.

 


Salty Mountain (China)

Borderless Island (2021)
Retrograde Growth (2023)

A project of electronic musician Yan Shuai, who is based in France. Varied, mostly ambient compositions, with warm pads, some electroacoustic textures and tinkling melodies.

 


Salubrious Invertebrae (USA)

Salubrious Invertebrae (2004)

An all-analog synth project of Ralph Karsten, influenced by the electronic classics and (to a lesser extent) Native American music. Ralph played as supporting act for many well-known bands, including Porcupine Tree, Ulrich Schnauss and Therion.

 


Salvans, David (Spain)

Biologia Electronica (??)
Nebula (??)
Montseny (1994)

Born in 1957 in Arbucies, Girona, David Salvans is Catalan composer with a wide range of influences. He worked in a broad variety of styles including EM. I am not sure how much of his discography actually contains music which will be of interest to readers of EEM, but these three supposedly do. There may be others as well.

 


Salvaticus Selvatico (Italy)

Activations : Contemplations (2018)
Science of Breathing (2020)

Acoustic / electronic World Music / Ambient from Simone Salvatici (currently residing in the UK).

 


Sam Gas Can (USA)

Worm Food (2021) (S)

Sam Gaskin is an experimental artist from the USA. In 2019 he travelled to Rotterdam and while there, he got to patch some legendary synthesizers in the WORM Klangendum Studio Regency. He then combined the sounds of these synths with a few VST instruments and the results can be heard on Worm Food. Abstract, playful, melodic...

 


Sam KDC (UK)

Decayed Society (2012) (with ASC)
Late Night Innominate, Volume One (2015)
KVLTVR (2016)
Cycles of Perspective (2016)
Omen Rising (2019)
A Restless Mind (2020) (with ASC)
In the Empty Chamber It Grows Light (2020)
Shedding Skin (2022) (S)

Techno / drum'n'bass producer and DJ interested in ambient soundscaping. These releases are completely or almost completely ambient, with music mostly of the darker variety.

 


Samarkande (Canada)

4 Cadavres Exquis (2002)
Rude Awakening (2004)
Douglas Basement (2006)
3 Synapses (2008)
Performance X (2013)
Ordo Ab Chao (2015)

Synth duo. Pretty dark, improvised EM. From the press-kit (used with permission): "The 4 cadavres exquis started with two musicians, Eric Fillion and Sylvain Lamirande, and their idea to merge their musical divergences, progressive-rock on one side and improvisation on the other to compose a musical dialog. Countless re-improvisations, collages and sound montages were superposed to an improvised musical canvas. They wanted this exchange to be without pre-established structural constraints, at levels such as harmonies, rhythms or melodies for example. Even though the sound of this project is influenced by contemporary electronic music and "space music" from the 1970s, the two musicians' styles, both quite different from each other, blend to create a whole that is coherent, has its own life, and defenitely belongs to this century." You can read reviews here and here.

 


Samayōerā (Russia)

Ñîí (2022)

Nocturnal compositions full of bell-like FM sounds. Sounds like wandering through a snowy labyrinth under a full moon.

 


Same, The (UK)

Sync Or Swim (1981)

Rather minimal electronics from Robert Cox (of Rimarimba fame), helped by his sister Roberta Cox and a few others.

See also: Cox, Robert

 


Samizdat, The (USA)

Complete Recordings Vol. 1 (??)

The Samizdat is an improvised acoustic guitar / synth duo of Jeff Loomis and Vincent Presley (who replaced Jeremy Hollister). They are influenced by Fripp & Eno, as well as the early krautrock / electronic bands. I suggest that you also check out Jeff Loomis' solo stuff which, although not EM, is some interesting textural stuff done on acoustic guitar.

 


Sammartano, Ray (USA)

Brainwave Cathedral (2013)
Dark Matter Sunshine (2014)
Through the Chronos Lens (2015)

Rich, cosmic music based on analog synthesizers. Mostly ambient, but sometimes with sequences / arpeggios and at times processed vocals and a "Vangelis in space" feel. Ray Sammartano is a Eugene, Oregon-based artist.

 


Sammohana (Ukraine)

Chakra of Black Hole (2010)

Nice Dark Space music from this Munruthel side-project.

See also: Munruthel, Silentium.

 


Samoilov, Sergei (Russia)

Antigravitation (1986)
Extraterrestrials (1989)

Antigravitation is mostly piano playing with a few synth injections, as well as vocal improvisations by Samoilov. Extraterrestrials starts as a piano solo and then transforms into pure synth weirdness. A totally unique style. Sadly, Samoilov died at the time of his second LP release.

 


Samora (Italy)

The Unspeakable (2012)
Lontano (2014)
Kaleidos (2018)

Electronic soundscapes from Enrico Marani. Steve Kilbey appears on Lontano.

See also: Spectral Unit

 


Samoylenko, Dmitriy (Russia)

The Elements of Knowledge (2010)
This Is Mine (2010)
Exciting Meetings With Mom Nature (2011)
Apple Juice In My Mixer (2011)
Explorer's Tales (2011)
The Miracle of Practice (2013)

Ambient musician with a peaceful, bit new-agey sound.

 


Samphire (UK)

Loving Kindness (2021)

World Music from Tom Sherlock. Has an Indian flair to it.

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

 


Sample Edit (Poland)

Contact (1996)

Sample Edit is Tomasz Rozek.

 


Sampson, Jeff (USA)

Outside Inner Space (2005)
Metaphor (2006)

Droning ambient synth compositions from this diverse musician based in Colorado.

See also: Kepheus, SanRenSei.

 


Sampson, Warren (USA)

Traveller (1987)
The River Today (2020)

The 1987 album is an ambient work composed on DX7 synth and guitar. Re-issued in 2018.

 


Samsa (USA)

The Laurentian Divide (2002)
Sounds Good On Paper (2003)
Mechanically Separated (2003)

Dark Ambient by Nathan Larson. Mechanically Separated is a sampler that contains various alternative versions, b-sides and rare tracks.

See also: Circle of Pines, Subseason.

 


Samshuijzen, Sam (Netherlands)

Onder Ede (1980)
Samshuijzen & Davies (1981) (with R. Davies)
Eplee (1999)
Analogic 3 (1999)
Kaal (1999)
Buit (2000)
Bin (2000)
Zongs For the Platypus (2000)
Wavlov (2001)
Boven Water (2002)
Foresee (2002)
Vacuum Energy (2002)
Mental Models (2002)
Nano Jazz (2002)
De Gek Zei Ik (2002)
Regel Maat (2002)
Rimpel (2003)
Imps (2003)
Pollen (2003) (EP)
Mutated Reincarnations (2003)
Lake Shock (2004)
Stracks (2004)
Global Warning (2004)
Achterland (2004)
Self-MUXilation (2004)
Achterland (2004)
Reap (2007)

In 1978, this electronic musician played keys and electronics in progrock band "Kracq". The band had one LP issued named "Circumvision". The style was very diverse with strong zappaesque flair. After that, Sam Samshuijzen went solo within more experimental realms. Self-MUXilation is one his numerous collections of varied songs. It starts with an improvisation done on a Synthi A with sequencer. It's called "Simple" and boy does it live up to its title! Laid-back rhythmic bleeps and a rather basic lead line is all we hear throughout its 3-minute length. Not that I didn't enjoy it, though, just the contrary. I thought it was great - so raw and organic. "Walk True" was made using natural resonance. It's basically just abstract noise and textures. "AltShift" has an upbeat melodic theme supported by steady hi-hats and weird sequences. "Nova Nova Zembla" consists of metallic sounds and interesting vocal transformation experiments. Curious stuff. Towards the end, the track becomes more intense, chaotic and noisy. This one might appeal to fans of electroacoustic music. "Piano Winti" is absolutely crazy fast piece made with a computer tracker program. If piano played super-fast by a machine sounds like an attractive idea to you, chances are high that you will like this. "Record Nothing" - this is what silence sounds like, amplified with a computer. What a disgusting sound! Thank God our ears don't hear THIS! And I am happy that this track is soon over. "The Sleeping Fox" is a computer-based piece of an ambient nature, with lots of funny samples, voice cut-ups and a sustained background synth tone / pad. "nr485144" is pure joke - 11 seconds of silence. What! Only 11 seconds? John Cage wins, I'm afraid. :-) "Fear Facts 5" is next. Hmmm... Sam surprises once again. This one sounds like an overdriven heavy metal song (a sample of Fear Factory was used). Heck, I am starting to like this guy! "Nervous Wreck" is filled with super-cheesy but heavy sequences and other crazy and funky interjections. Sounds like a 80's cop theme played by a guy with a few cheesy samples and a computer at his disposal. "Klass" consists of manipulated orchestral samples only. Pretty bombastic stuff. Great for digital fetishists I guess. "Final NZ" is mostly atmospheric choir recordings with changing tape speed. The results are pretty eerie I must admit. "Number Televen" is sample-based fusion with odd orchestral / voice interjections. "Oude Tijd" is so strange, I'm still thinking how to describe it. A soundtrack to a clumsy walk of a 1-year old would probably be the best description of it. Honestly, it's nothing but very very funny and cheesy sounds and melodies. How to describe Self-MUXilation? Take Frank Zappa's sense of humour and apply it to computer / experimental music and you pretty much have what this collection of tracks is all about. I enjoyed it. If you like Experimental EM, get this.

 


Samson, Will (UK)

Harp Swells (2023)

British folk, post-rock, indie rock and electronic / ambient musician. Harp Swells is an album that tends towards the latter. It is a nice and calming mixture of acoustic and electronic instrumentation.

 


Samsuo (UK)

The Other Gold Side (2019)
Lines of Metal (2019)
You Probably Think It's the Ocean (2023) (S)

Cambridge-based ambient artist.

 


Samuel's Band, The (Italy)

Meteors (197?)

Supposedly from the early 1970's (circa 1974), this LP is is a very rare instrumental progressive rock / electronics hybrid. Reportedly, has a spacey sound somewhat comparable to Sensation's Fix. The Samuel's Band was a actually a solo project of Riccardo Zara who would later get famous as a cartoon music writer, both solo and as part of I Cavalieri del Re.

 


Samuelsson, Per (Sweden)

Invito (2008)

Swedish sound engineer and composer.

See also: Moneeo

 


Samways, Nigel (UK)

Silver Rain, Green Trees (2009) (EP)
Poor Henrietta Marie (2010) (S)
Illumine (2010) (S)
Streetcleaner (2010) (S)
The Singing Gloom (2011) (S)
Nine Barrow Down (2011) (EP)
E Loops / Trade Variations (2011)
Havenots Havenever (2012)
Satin Doll Jazz Club (2013) (EP)
Forest of Robots (2013)
Temple of the Swine (2015)
Temani (2020)
Junky Sunset (2023)

Ambient composer with a strong electroacoustic influence.

 


Sana Obruent (USA)

Prince of the Air (2016)
August (2017)
Dyatlov (2017)

Darkish ambient project of Paul Lopez.

 


Sana Shenai (USA)

Warm Former (2022)

This duo works within the playful EM idiom, creating jolly sequences, unlikely rhythms and warm melodies.

See also: Dntel

 


Sanati, Puyain (Iran??)

Parallel Process (2022)
Nafas Morte (2023)

Iranian-Danish experimental / electroacoustic artist. On Nafas Morte, he uses processed santour, voice and electronics. The music is dramatic and sometimes reminiscent of Klaus Schulze (circa Dreams / Babel). Best track: "Nafas Morte".

 


Sánchez, Francisco (Spain)

Mystery And Imagination Stories (2023)

Cinematic, horror-infused synth themes. Sort of a Carpenter vibe prevails here.

 


Sanctuaire (Canada)

Vestiges Oniriques - Compendium (2020)
Songe-Creux (2021) (S)

Hybrid black metal / ambient project from Quebec. Very typical of that "black metal guy doing solo synth music" sound. You know, sort of dungeon synth-like. However, the sound is not that simplistic and goes deeper in the ambient realms, especially on the epic closer "Royombres", which is quite a nice listen.

 


Sand (Germany)

Golem (1974)
Ultrasonic Seraphim (1996) (recorded in 1974)
Desert Navigation (2011) (recorded in 1973 - 1982)
Sylph Ballet (2013)
North Atlantic Raven (2014) (recorded in ??)
His First Steps (2015) (recorded in 1972 - 1973)
Vibrating Cloud (2020)

Golem was produced by Klaus Schulze and is a very strange electronic work with folky elements. Ultrasonic Seraphim was released by David Tibet (Current 93) and Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound) and contains the whole Golem album, plus some alternative versions of Sand tracks. Warning: some tracks on this release actually have nothing to do with Sand. Nevertheless, I recommend that you buy it, that is, if you can find it, of course.

 


Sand Circles (Sweden)

Sand Circles (2011) (S)
Midnite Crimes (2011) (S)
Daylight Arrival (2012) (S)
Motor City (2012)

Music by Martin Herterich with a nostalgic 1980's feeling and heavy Tangerine Dream soundtrack vibes.

See also: Cosmic Letters, Continuity.

 


Sand Rays, The (Canada)

Señor Trainwhistle (2016) (EP)
A Mysterious Disc (2016) (EP)
Remembered Vol. 1 (2017)
A Mysterious Disk (2018) (EP)
The Infant Cycle (2019) (EP)
Remembered Vol. 2 (2020)

Ambient project of Jim DeJong. Deep, droning sound. Not so dark.

 


Sandakov, Ivan (Russia)

Malopeschanka (2016)
Blossoming of A Dream (2016)
A Time To Remember (2016)
Òÿæêèé ðîâ (2017)
Slaughterhouses (2018) (S)

Experimental / noise / drone musician from Kemerovo. The above works will be interesting for fans of Dark Ambient.

 


Sandarach (Netherlands)

Tibet Passage (1993)

Sandarach was none other than Gert van Santen (of Wave World fame) doing ethnically spiced relaxed EM (World Music) and Tribal Ambient. It's a nice mixture of throat singing and (predominantly) electronic music. The music was composed for a slide show about buddhism.

See also: Wave World

 


Sandberg, Ola (Sweden)

Invisible Room Volume One (2023)

Pretty static Minimal Ambient / Drone Ambient.

 


Sanders, Daniel (USA)

Electrical Music For Guitar (2022)
Electrical Music Two (2022)
Electrical Music Three (2022)
Electrical Music Four (2022)
Music For Measured Spaces (2023)

Los Angeles-based composer, guitarist and synthesist. The first volume of his Electrical Music series featured guitar-based music, with only a few synth injections. On the second volume, though, he gives also some space to the synthesizer, mostly with ambient results.

 


Sanders, Dijf (Belgium)

Lichen (2021)
Supra (2023)

I don't know much about Dijf Sanders except that he is an artist who likes to blend acoustic instrumentation with electronics (in his own words) and that he is usually classed as an "indietronica" artist (whatever that stupid, nondescript term may suggest). Anyway, on Lichen, we have a wonderfully rich and melodic synth sound blended with rhythms and some classical / ethnic instruments, creating an exotic World Music pastiche perhaps. He had other albums released prior to Lichen, but I have yet to explore these.

 


Sanders, Rick (Netherlands)

Traverse (2021)
Four Pieces (2021)
Drones (2022)
Extempore (2022)

Droning ambient compositions. Mostly longer, meditative tracks.

 


Sanderson, Philip (UK)

Reprint (1980)
0° North (1982) (with David Jackman)
Telephone Music (1986) (with Michael Denton)
Day-by Lullaby (2000) (S)
Sea Pool Sounds (2005)
Hollow Gravity (2012)
On One of These Bends (2018)
Rumble of the Ruins (2020)
Passionate Particles (2021)
Dilly Dreamers (2023)
Underneath the Underneath - A Vienna Souvenir (2023)

Electronic musician with something of a Conrad Schnitzler mindset. He is the founder of Snatch Tapes and is known under a few guises, such as "Claire Thomas & Susan Vezey" - a name that was used for his Reprint cassette. He is also part of the pioneering industrial outfit Storm Bugs. Hollow Gravity features varied compositions, from slightly noisy to playful, a bit Cluster-like.

See also: Ice Yacht

 


Sandlådan (Finland)

Alppikatu (2018) (recorded in 2016)

Hailing from Helsinki, Sandlådan is a synth duo consisting of Joel Kupiainen and Otto Männistö. They are influenced by several generations of experimental electronic artists, and their own music is, although experimental, playful and listenable and very bleepy / reedy. Alppikatu was culled from a single recording session that took place in 2016.

 


Sandpiper (UK)

Dust Magnet (2014) (S)

Ambient music based on analogue sounds from Ollie Tutty and Jimmy Billingham.

See also: Komodo Haunts, Mt. Tjhris, Tidal, Venn Rain, HOLOVR, Billingham, Jimmy.

 


SandStars (USA)

Medicine (2014)

Varied Ambient from Honolulu, Hawaii.

 


Sanfilippo, Bruno (Argentina)

Sons of the Light (1991)
The New Kingdom (1995)
Solemnis (1997)
Suite Patagonia (2000)
Visualia (2003)
Indalo (2003) (with Max Corbacho)
Ad Libitum (2004)
Intro (2006)
Piano Textures (2007)
Ambessence Piano & Drones (2008) (with Mathias Grassow)
Auralspace (2009)
Piano Textures 2 (2009)
Cromo (2010) (with Mathias Grassow)
Subliminal Pulse (2011)
Bioma (2011) (with Max Corbacho)
Urbs (2012)
Piano Textures 3 (2012)
Claroscuro (2014)
Inside Life (2015)
Upon Contact Reworked (2015)
The Poet (2016)
Piano Textures 4 (2016)
Lost & Found (2017)
Unity (2018)
Pianette (2019)
Piano Textures 5 (2020)
Redes (2022)

Bruno Sanfilippo was born in Buenos Aires in 1965. He now resides in Barcelona, Spain. His style ranges from orchestral electronics, similar to Vangelis (although with ethnic touches) to ambient and piano-based works.

 


Sangam (UK)

Sour Face And Broken Nights (2013)
Bridges (2015) (with Spurv)
All Was Left... (2016)
Until (2016)
You Forget This (2016)
在上升 (2016)
Distance Amongst Us (2017)
Waiting At the Gates (2017) (with No Death)
Wanderers Lane (2017) (with VVV)
We Had Our Moments (2017)
Until (2017)
Lost Connection (2017) (with Lillith Twin)
The Part We Left Out (2017)
Desconsolate (2017)
Tomorrow Comes (2018) (with VVV)
Finder (2018)
Goner (2018)
You Forget This (2018)
Among the Depths of Our (2018)
Soulless Other (2018)
Suppose To Be... (2018)
Departure (2018)
Empty Inside (2018) (with Origami Girl)
See the Sadness Around My Eyes (2018) (with Origami Girl)
Gaze (2018) (S) (with w u s o 命)
Departure (2018)
Mount To Nothing (2018)
Vitality (2018)
Shadow Knight (2018) (with Kid Smpl)
You Make Me (2019)
Messiah (2019) (recorded in 2012 - 2018)
Lost Omen (2019)
Dwelling Descender (2019) (with Kid Smpl)
Division (2019) (with Bruised Skies)
Aspect (2019)
For Life (2019) (with CMD094)
The Night After (2019)
Void-003 (2019)
Remembrance Phase (2019) (with Kid Smpl)
Taken (2019)
Mystical Dawn (2019)
Soulless Other (2019)
Entrance Way (2019)
Behind the Picture (2020)
City High Fantasy (2020) (with Pixelord)
Soul Generator (2020)
Departure (2020)
You Make Me (2020)
Dissolve In the Shadow (2020) (S)
This Evening (2020)
Timeless Energy (2020)
Sacrifice (2020) (with Renjā)
Relight, Reignite (2020) (with Kid Smpl)
Future On Hold (2021)
Rain (2021) (with Yoshimi)
Lost Cause (2021)
Alienated Mind (2021)
The Turn (2021)
Imagine You (2021)
Dystopian Memory (2021)
Map To Sanctuary (2021) (with Kid Smpl)
Hope You Don't Leave (2022)
You Forget This (2022)
The One With Dark Eyes (2022) (S)
Suffering In the Quest To Find You (2022)
Best Unknown (2022) (with The Microgram)
Disconsolate (2022)
Caring World? (2022)
You Say Time Is A Waste (2022) (with Text Chunk)
Found Wings (2022) (with Kid Smpl)
Rendered Thought (2023)
Drown In Grey (2023) (with Irrelevant)
Rest Assured (2023)
More Than Existence (2023)
Take Me Away (2023)

Melancholic Ambient from Manchester.

 


Sanger, Luke (UK)

Traversing Timelines (2018)
Deleting Your Presence (2019) (S)
Natsukashii (2019)
Onyx Pyramid (2019)
World of Inherent Noise (2020)
Languid Gongue (2021)
Fool's Fayre (2023)
Salt Water Motifs (2023)

Lulling, warm and melodic modular synth compositions.

See also: Natsukashii

 


Sanguiliano (Italy)

Take Off (1978)

Antonio Sanguiliano's music can be described as Tangerine Dream-like electronics, but also classically inspired.

 


Sani Abdullaye, Mamman (Niger)

Mamman Sani Abdullaye (1979)
Mamman Sani And the Workstation (2013) (recorded in 2003 - 2010)
Taaritt (2014) (recorded in 1985 - 1988)
Unreleased Tapes 1981 - 1984 (2015)

Obscure keyboard (organ / synth) player from Niger, Mamman Sani Abdullaye released his first music on cassette in the late 1970's. In 2013, the music was re-released on LP as La Musique Electronique du Niger. Yes, we're talking an electronic pioneer from Niger here, of all places. The music is rather minimal and simplistic and could be described as Terry Riley meets traditional West African melodies and sometimes sounds close to minimal synth that would emerge in the following decade. Unique.

 


Sanjiva (Canada)

The Journey (1995)
Origin (1996)
Essence (1996)
Initiation (1997)
Radiance (1998)
Tales From the Land of Osho (1998)
Transparent (2001)

Ambient and trance, psychedelic electronics. Sanjiva is Charles Roux.

 


Sänkt (Sweden)

Swag (2020)
Hökarängen Rehearsal Tapes (2023)

A drone-oriented ambient duo of Linus Hillborg and Theodor Kentros.

See also: Hillborg, Linus, Atonet.

 


Sankt Otten (Germany)

Gottes Synthesizer (2011)
Sequencer Liebe (2012)
Messias Maschine (2013)
Engtanz Depression (2015)
Männerfreundschaften und Metaphysik (2016) (with N)
Zwischen Demut und Disco
(2018)
Lieder für geometrische Stunden (2020)
Symmetrie und Wahnsinn (2022)

Gottes Synthesizer is an atypical album from this post-rock / trip-hop outfit (Stephan Otten & Oliver Klemm). Especially of interest is the long title track with its Tangerine Dream-y sequencer pulse which could be an outtake from one of their soundtracks. After that they developed an overall more EM / kraut-oriented sound.

See also: Midi Bitch

 


Sano, Akhira (Japan)

Kalo (2019)
Penetrating, For Filtration (2020)
Particle Dialogue - Observation And Recording (2022)
Shadow's Praise (2023)
Far More Decentralized (2023)

Lulling ambient synths with lots of bleeps and sort of a Cluster feel.

 


SanRenSei (USA)

Ceremony (2003)

Ambient trio (Sean Carroll, Brian Goodhue and Jeff Sampson) from Massachusetts. Drifting, sublime and dark.

See also: Kepheus, Sampson, Jeff.

 


Sans Serif (USA)

Tones For LaMonte (2008)

Drone Ambient released by Forrest Fang under a pseudonym.

See also: Fang, Forrest

 


Sansaria (Australia)

Blue Dreaming (2015)

Floating, somewhat new-agey Ambient from Melbourne.

 


Sansone, Patrick (USA)

Mellotron Variations (2019) (with Robby Grant, Jonathan Kirkscey and John Medeski)
Infinity Mirrors (2024)

Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist who started experimenting with synthesizers already in the 1980's. On Infinity Mirrors, he uses mostly (although not exclusively) classic / vintage synths (such as the Roland Jupiter 8, Minimoog Model D, Sequential Prophet 10) to achieve a reflective, ambient, cosmic and pastoral EM sound.

 


Santana, Rui & Pilar, Filipe (Portugal)

XX Anos de Música Eletrónica (2015)
Via Crucis (2017)

A duo of synthesists creating cosmic, sequencer based, often Berlin School music. They also give concerts, often in places like churches etc.

 


Sante (USA)

Voyager (1984)
Into Light (1999)
Paramythos (2000)
Immaculate Conceptions (2001)
Inner Beauty (2001)
Coffee Culture (2005)
Luminescence (2016)
In Your Eyes (2017)

Space Music by Stephanie Sante. On Coffee Culture she started incorporating modern club / chill-out elements into her music. 

 


Santiago Analytica (Chile)

Live en Departamento (2019) (S)

A project of Thorsten Broda.

 


Santilli (Australia)

Surface (2019)
In Circles (2020)
Tidal (2021)
Motions (2023)

Guitar-drenched instrumentals in a relaxed / slightly balearic style. Some tracks focus on synths, though, and will be enjoyed by fans of relaxing / melodic EM. Full name of the musician: Max Santilli.

See also: Angophora

 


Santilli, Fabio (Italy)

Empathy (2012)

Sort of a new-agey mix of acoustic (mostly piano but also other instruments) and electronic sounds.

 


Santini, Daniele (Italy)

Nikola Tesla At the Wardenclyffe Tower (2011) (with Mademoiselle Bistouri)
Norge - Italia (2012) (with Mark O'Leary)
Looping the Loops (2012)
The Seven Astral Levels Vol. 1 (2013)
Drumbient Vol. 1 (2015) (with Dark Ambient Orchestra)
The Seven Astral Levels Vol. 2 (2015)
Crossroads (2016)
Christian di Vito & Daniele Santini (2016) (with Christian di Vito)
The Seven Astral Levels Vol. 3 (2017)
Electronic Voice Phenomena (2017)
Drumbient Vol. 2 (2018) (with Dark Ambient Orchestra)
The Seven Astral Levels Vol. 4 (2018)
Music From the Past (2019)
The Seven Astral Levels Vol. 5 (2020)

Diverse electronic artist whose output ranges from Dark / Deep Ambient to krautrock-influenced, to melodic and pulsing Ambient / EM.

 


Santo, Jon (Germany)

Synthesized Electrons (1976)

This album was recorded in Germany using ARP 2600, Roland SH-2000, Farfisa Syntorchestra, Armon piano and sequencer. It contains electronic interpretations of Bach's compositions. Jon Santo (real name - Andreas E. Beurmann, 1928 - 2016) was a physician and musicologist who studied at the universities of Cologne and Copenhagen.

 


Sapena, Jordi (Spain)

Salve Monstera (2022)

Music for plants that is a mixture of soft piano notes and ambient electronics.

 


Saphileaum (Georgia)

Echoes of the Physical World (2018)
Majestic Sapphire Island (2019)
Samosi (2020)
Transpersonal Experience (2021) (EP)
Ornaments (2022)
Kaftan (2022) (EP)
Exploring Together (2024)
Banana Leaf Paradise (2024)

Tranquil Ambient from Andro Gogibedashvili.

See also: Marquess Evergreen

 


Sapientia (Luxemburg)

Dicit Cellulanus... (1999)

Melodic, medieval, dungeon synth-like, with some folk and cosmic touches. For fans of Mortiis, Burzum and the like.

 


Sapphire Slows (Japan)

True Breath (2011) (EP)
Melt (2011) (S)
Break Control (2012) (S)
Allegoria (2013)
The Role of Purity (2017) (S)

This project (Kinuko Hiramatsu) started in a unique style, mixing indie pop and house (sort of ambient pop, actually, with upbeat rhythms). Later works feature sequence-full electronics in a unique style.

 


Sapphirine Phlant (Russia)

Odds And Ends (2014)
Until the Light Takes Us (2016)

Sapphirine Phlant is Valentin Chernov from Novecherkassk, who debuted in 2014 with Odds And Ends, released by Psychonavigation Records. That work was very IDM-influenced but had some interesting ambient material as well. However, the album is only remotely related to EM. With Until the Light Takes Us, reportedly inspired by Norwegian black metal, its a complete turn towards the ambient side.

 


Sarah Louise (USA)

Earth And Its Contents (2020)

Sarah Louise Henson is a singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar players from Asheville, North Carolina. Earth And Its Contents , recorded in the middle of covid19 pandemic, was originally intended as a soundtrack and is "a speculative fantasy which re-imagines and reinterprets the history of coal mining in the eastern United States". It is rather ambient, containing Sarah's acoustic / Appalachian instrumentation with electronics, or rather, it alternates acoustic and electronic tracks. Interesting stuff. Best track: "Meganeura".

 


Sarasin, Betha (Switzerland)

ax+by+cz+d=0 (1983) (with Bruno Spoerri)
The Trip To the Lakes (1988) (with Markus Ganz)

Beth ("Betha") Sarasin is a Swiss electronic musician and computer music pioneer. The Trip To the Lakes is a wacky and diverse effort, reminding a bit on the experiments of Lars Stroschen aka Propeller Island.

 


Saratoga Space Messengers (UK)

Surf (1976) (S)

A single released by Tim Blake under another moniker. The second track, titled "Saratoga Space Sound" consists of bird songs only. Blake's voice appears in the intro to the first side.

See also: Blake, Tim

 


Sarcasm Ensemble, The (Italy)

Through All Windows I See Only Infinity (2018)
Comfort In Misery (2021)

Ambient EM-oriented project of Thomas Feriero from Milan. Diverse, sometimes with a touch of "decontructed club", sometimes intense and noisy, still at other times minimal and sequencer-based (as on "Deep Ruby" from Comfort In Misery).

 


Sardh (Germany)

Mysük (1991)
Stuur (1997)
Sa[e]nds (1997)
Sailend G.A.S.D. (1998)
Wueste Scheuer (1999)
Distend Rooms (2002)
Intar (2002)
Idyll (2004)
SARDHinFERNO (2008)
Aeon (2010)
Bruth (2012)
Urgan (2015)
Sonus (2020)
QUOHREN (2021)
35yea (2023)
SCYLP (2023) (recorded in 2022)

Dark Ambient / Isolationism from this East German ensemble formed in Dresden in 1987.

 


Sarid, Loris S. (???)

Music For Tomato Plants (2020)
Seabed-Sunbath (20220
Where the Round Things Live (2022) (with Innis Chonnel)
A Tiny Reminder (2023)

Minimal ambient electronic compositions with lots of chromatic percussion-like sounds. Very nice and pretty unique.

 


Sarnadas (Portugal)

The Hum (2021)
The Humm (2021)

Droning Ambient from this composer, made on a homemade synth.

 


Sarnal Key (Russia)

Minor Planet Weak Spell (2021) (S)

Sarnal key is George Ananchev, a Russian artist residing in the US. A mixture of field recordings and ambient electronic compositions. Moody, shadowy, experimental.

 


Sarno, Mark (USA)

Passages Through And Beyond (1996)
Dark Matter (1999)

Melodic, easy-listening music from this California-based artist. Between 1987 - 1992 Tangerine Dream style, David Arkenstone, Yanni and maybe a bit of Synergy, with sporadic electric guitar solos.

 


Saros-FM (USA)

A Collection of Intimacy (2018)

Slightly new-agey ambience from this artist out of Louisiana.

 


Sarrk (USA)

0th (2016)

Mostly rhythmic music from this Los Angeles-based project, between synthwave and harder electro beats. There is also some more ambient material in "horror synth" vein, as well as a bit of vocoder in "From Behind". File under EM-related.

 


SARS (Sweden)

Ïèñüìî (2014) (S)
For Those Who Strive (2015) (with Abdulla Rashim)

This artist likes to combine reflective analog synths with some voice samples.

See also: Född Död, Orphan Ann.

 


Sasaji, Masanori (Japan)

Crystal Dragon (1984) (soundtrack)
Crystal Dragon II (1985) (soundtrack)
Crystal Dragon III (1986) (soundtrack)

Japanese keyboardist who was a member of Mariah and a few other groups, mostly in jazz fusion, prog or new wave. He released a couple of jazzy solo albums before going electronic on a series of manga / anime soundtracks Crystal Dragon. The music is something for fans of Japanese melodic electronics, such as Kitaro or Joe Hisaishi.

See also: Mountain Tune

 


Sasaki, Ken (Japan)

Dream (2004)

This album mixes relaxing exotica moods (some bossa nova influence can be felt here) with atmospheric electronics.

 


Sasaki, Yoshio (Japan)

Yoshio Sasaki Mind Jazz Orchestra (1987)

Relaxing, somewhat new-agey music with ethnic touches.

 


Sasankah (Austria)

Insight (??)

Long, flowing ambient tracks from Andreas Kovar. Sometimes with a cinematic feel.

 


Sascha (Russia)

Seeds On Talk (2021)

New-agey ambience with flutes, keyboards and guitars.

 


Saskia (Japan)

Es (2024)

Murky, experimental ambient soundworlds. Abstract, mysterious, shadowy, sometimes slightly glitchy and / or dubby. Saskia is Saki Yamada, who resides in Bristol today.

 


Saso (Ireland)

Thresholds (2019)

Ambient album from this indie rock duo. The music combines string arrangements, piano and electronics.

 


Sassoon, Gadi (Italy)

Multiverse (2020)
Chaos & Order (2022)

Gargantuan sound constructions created by this Milan-based artist using computer-assisted physical modeling of imaginary instruments & sounds, as well as electronic synthesis.

 


Satanath (Russia)

Satanath (2013)
Deep Universe Vacuum (2014)
Your Personal Copy (2017)
Urban Apocalypse (2021)
Posthumous Album (2023)

Electronic project of Alexey Korolyov from Saint-Petersburg, who is known as a member of a few black metal bands. Despite this, and the fact the guy runs a label that releases music in metal-related genres, this one here is hardly dark or depressive. At least if you listen to Your Personal Copy from 2017, you'll hear a collection of varied short tracks, that often come off as a mixture of Anatoly Pereslegin's neo-classical sequenced runs and vintage analog occult music of Ruth White or even Wendy Carlos. Some tracks are built on drum machine rhythms. Anyway, it can be rather entertaining as a whole but don't expect anything cohesive here. Previous releases may be darker, though, as I'm not familiar with these.

 


Satanic Panic '81 (USA)

demo(N)tape (2017) (S)
The Sacrifice Hunter (2018)
Promo '18 (2018) (S)
Composite (2019) (S)
Mondo Creepy Theme (2020) (S)
Mara (2020)

Horror synth / synthwave / EM project.

 


Satchel Bearer (Canada)

The Dead Leaves Strew the Forest Walk (2022)

Dungeon synth-like with sort of a Nordic atmosphere imbued in distant, ancient myths. More ambient than dungeon synth, really. A project from Nova Scotia.

See also: DIM

 


Satellite Clouds (Sweden)

Ascension of the Golden Torus (2008)
Degenerate Sons (2009)
SML Queen (2010)

Ambient synthesizers from Swedish artist Nicodemus Mattisson.

 


Satelliti (Italy)

Im Magen des Kosmos (2011)

A drums / keyboards duo from Bolzano. They mix equal doses of improvised jazz and electronics, sometimes ala early German EM pioneers.

 


Satin 2000 (France)

Topologie des rêves (2022)

Relaxed EM with analog synths and field recordings.

 


Sato, Hiroshi (Japan)

Orient (1979)
七都市物語 オリジナル・サウンドトラック (1994) (soundtrack)

Jazz funk keyboardist (1947 - 2012) who collaborated with Haruomi Hosono (on Cochin Moon), among others. He had a sizable collection of analog keyboards, which he put to good use on Orient, a breezy funk / city pop album (one of the many he did). There is an EM flair in places, especially that special brand of typically Japanese, easy-listening, oriental-sounding, jazz-influenced sound (heard on some YMO, for example). Interesting tracks include the slow "Jo Do" with vocoded vocals and "Doncama", which sounds like a crazy electronic version of samba. File under EM-related.

 


Sato, Masahiko (Japan)

Switched On East (1971)
Y. Takahashi + M. Sato (1974) (with Yuji Takahashi)
Alexander Scriabin (1979)
Meteor (1979) (S)
Lunar Cruise (1990) (with Midori Takada)

Jazz pianist and keyboard player. Switched On East features Electronic Music (electronic versions of traditional Japanese music?). Variants of spelling: Masahiko Sato, Masahiko Satoh. Only the EM-related releases will be listed.

 


Sato, Osamu (Japan)

Objectless (2017)
Collected Ambient Grooves 1993 - 2001 (2020)
Root(s) (2022)
Osamu Sato Bootleg: LSD Transformed New Fancy Tracks (2023)

Japanese experimental musician and game developer / designer. In 1983, he released Objectless on cassette. I don't know anything about that original work. In 2017, though, a newly recorded / remixed version appeared that added also some new material. The music will appeal to fans of both ambient EM forms and techno-influenced stuff.

 


Satoi (Finland)

Looped Unconscious Thought Patterns In Audible Format (2018)

Warm ambient synth compositions from Tuukka Jääskeläinen.

 


Sator Absentia (France / Sweden)

Mercurian Orgasms (2000)
Fluid Artefacts (2001)
The True Meaning of Golgotha (2003)
ExisTime (2006)

Cinematic Dark Ambient with electric violin from Cedric Codognet and Fredrik Bergstrom. The third album called The True Meaning of Golgotha is more diverse musically and incorporates industrial and folk influences plus vocals.

See also: Asmorod

 


Satori (Australia)

Beyond (1997)

Henry Kubik.

See also: Kubik, Henry

 


Satori (UK)

Contemptus Mundi (2008)
Kanashibari (2008)
Megaloschemos (2018) (with Abattoir)
CodexGiga (2021) (with Abattoir)

Satori was formed in the early 1980's. The band consists of Neil Chaney of Pessary and Justin Mitchell - the owner of Cold Spring Records. At some point, Dave Kirby was also a member. Early works were noisy and industrial. It was on their later efforts (listed) that they developed a dark, opressive ambient style.

See also: Pessary, Kirby Dave.

 


Satori (USA)

Invisible Rhythm (1995)

A short-lived Tribal Ambient collective of Crystal Michelle Rayburn and Barry Stramp with Joel Young on percussion. Bill Laswell collaborates on one track.

 


Satori, Anjey (Ukraine)

Àñòðàëüíîå ïóòåøåñòâèå (2003)

New age artist from Ukraine. His 2003 album (seems to be his debut) will be enjoyed by fans of Space Music and even darker / more mysterious forms of Ambient.

 


Satori, Steve (Denmark)

Past (2017)
Improvisatori (2022)

A pseudonym of Steven Pedersen. Between IDM, minimal synth and Prog EM.

 


Satoshi & Makoto (Japan)

CZ-5000 Sounds And Sequences (2017)
CZ-5000 Sounds And Sequences Vol. II (2020)

What the title says. Varied bunch of electronic tracks.

See also: Tomino, Satoshi

 


Satowhite (Finland)

Dekadi (2019) (recorded in 2009 - 2019)

Bright, droning Ambient.

 


Satsuma Nightmare (UK)

Universal Fruit (1994)
Another Fine Mess (1994)
Lifesigns (1995) (S)
Non-Specular Reflections (2002)
Plugged (2003)

Satsuma Nightmare is a Leicester-based collective of musicians formed circa 1983 by Alan Stocker (synths) and Bill Henderson (guitar and synths). Right from the beginning they sought to recreate the classic sound of German analogue Electronic Music known today as the Berlin School. Their biggest inspiration was and remains to this day the music of Tangerine Dream, as is quite obvious from their name. They played some live gigs in the early 1980's, which were definitely recorded but supposedly not released in any form. Jon Humphries arrived with his guitar playing but left as soon as 1984. However, the duo continued until 1987 when they decided to call it quits and devote themselves to other commitments. In the 1990's, the group returned, having sold all of their analogue gear and, switching to the then modern digital equipment, released a few tapes. This time, however, the line up included only Stocker and a new guitarist Jon Angell. Satsuma Nightmare still exists as of 2010, recording music, some of which is available for downloading.

See also: Stocker, Alan

 


Saturn Form Essence (Ukraine)

Temple of Black Star (2009) (S)
Under A Sphere of Poisoned Uranium (2009)
Pure Saturn Emptiness (2009)
SFE000451208 (2009)
Plutonium Shadows (2009) (S)
Philosophy of Chaos Structure (2009) (S)
Cold (2009) (S)
Abyss (2009) (S)
Dead Cosmic Isolation (2009) (S)
Plutonium Path Throughout Endless Coldness (2009) (S)
Pure Crystalline Emptiness of Saturn (2009) (S)
Collaboration (2010) (with Mists of Poveglia)
Chaos Nebula (2010) (S)
Sirius (2010) (S)
...Far Away From Saturn (2010) (S)
Galactic Nebulae (2010) (S)
Deep Space Journey (2011)
Remembrances of Space (2011)
Radioactive Cosmic Rays (2011) (S)
NGC666: Galaxy In Triangulum (2011)
Infra-Red Space Meditations (2011)
Forgotten Space of Chaos (2011) (S)
Orbital Structure of Venus (2012)
Philosophy of Chaos Structure (2012) (S)
Aura 81 (2012) (S)
SPT-CL JO546-5345 (2013)
6EQUJ5 (2013) (S)
MS 0302+17 (2013)
EEMQ - 8041 (2013)
STTI - 300 - 028 (2014) (S)
Duophonic Space (2015)
Structure 1-178-24 (2015)
Signals-19-LPPT-992 (2015) (S)
Signals-20-LPPT-103 (2015) (S)
Alpha & Proxima (2015)
Planetary Mine 34825D-19 (2016)
Event Horizon (2017)
Beta Serpentis (2017)
Extrasolar Planet 43ti -8 -Sd - 78 (2017) (S)
Structure AM 0644-741 (2017)
AΩ (2018) (S)
Kepler Structures (2018)

Dark Space. Most of the time fairly simplistic, with interesting bits here and there. Apart from the listed solo releases, there's plenty of splits with other artists as well.

 


Saturnales (France)

Ja a dis (2016)
Darenier Hyver (2017)
Foresgue (2019)
Beg (2019)
Hidors Malveis (2020)
Splendor Solis (2021)

Hypnotic, folky, semi-acoustic Ritual Ambient.

 


Saturnin Sektor (Italy)

Saturnin Sektor (2020)
Night Encounters (2021)
Birth of Liquid Pleasures (2021)

Analog synth tracks with a gritty, cosmic and raw sound. Sometimes cinematic and mysterious.

 


Saturn's Daughter (USA)

Eternal Resonance (2018)
Fibonacci Forever (2018)
MT4M (2019)
Fingerpaint (2019)

Long tracks with soft, warm drones and pads. Music by Jordan Christoff (PJS) and Michelle Mostacci.

See also: Christoff, Jordan.

 


Saty (Russia)

Monument (2011)
Orbstatic (2011)
Simulacra (2011)
Introlence (2012)
Stist (2012)
Undercurrent (2012)
Melting Points (2013)

Sergey Saty is a Dark Ambient artist from Russia.

 


Sauer, Rainer (Germany)

Elektromusik I (1977)
Last Chance To Survive (1978)
Elektromusik II (1979)
Android (1980)
Solitaire (1985)
Music Inspired By... (1987)

Rainer Sauer was born in 1958 and has been working in EM continuously since the late 1970's.

See also: Velvet Universe, Gavand Art.

 


Saugy, Michel (Switzerland)

Echo Digital (1981)
Alize (1984)
Oceanique (1991)
Radio City / Star Voice (??) (S)

 


Sauvageau, Jean (Canada)

Laissez-Nous Vous Embrasser ou Vous Avez Mal (1972) (with Claude Peloquin)

Electronic Music pioneer from Quebec who invented an instrument called La Machine a Sauvageau, which got some interest from Robert Moog and Pink Floyd. Unfortunately, it seems that the only recorded output of Sauvageau was this avant-garde album done in collaboration with poet and lyricist Claude Peloquin. As a consequence, Peloquin's voice is everywhere. However, if you don't pay attention to the lyrics, there's some nice stuff going on, mostly avant-garde and experimental, but also very prog and kraut-like (as on the mesmerizing "Monseur l'Indien" with its Picture Music-like spacey synth soloing). Truly ahead of its time.

 


Sauvanet, Paul (France)

La Detente Par La Musique (1988)
Serenite (1989)
La Ceremonie De L'Oiseau (1989)
La Respiration Consciente (1990)
Migrations (1990)
Le Songe Du Temps (1991)
Eleusis (1992)
Tristesse (1995)
Nomad (1997)

Paul Sauvanet was born in 1950. He received formal music education at the conservatories of Bordeaux and Paris. During the 1970's, he became interested in the European Electronic Music of artists like Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream and later he was able to combine those influences with his classical / jazz roots. I suppose his main output can be classified as (more or less) Ambient music with sometimes an Eno / Roach feel.

 


Sava.Geo (Greece)

Zeitgeist (2016)
Ad Omnia Finem (2018)
Dark Figures (2020)

Moody rhythmic / melodic EM from Savvas Georgiadis, between Tangerine Dream's soundtracks, horror synth and synthwave.

 


Savant (USA)

Stationary Dance / Sensible Music (1981) (S)
The Neorealist (1982)

A group led by Kerry Leimer. Mostly Eno-like ambience with some weird touches like various sampled noises, looped rhythms and so on.

See also: Leimer, Kerry, Rea, Dennis.

 


Saved, Dave (Italy)

Prisoners of Gravity (2013)
Power And Silence: Deindustrialization (2014)
Energydream (2016) (EP)
Abisso (2021)

Varied electronic artist (real name - Davide Salvati). On Abisso, he goes the experimental way, blending a lot of strange, often, sampled rhythms with some really weird, lof-fi and noisy textures and repeating melodies. Best track: "Soffio del Cielo" - really nice EM, this one.

 


Saverio (USA)

Music On the Moon (2007)
Sweet Dreamy Space (2008)

Dreamy, sci-fi-like Electronic Music, mostly beatless and flowing.

 


Savers, The (France)

Help Me / Space Police (1977) (S)

Music composed by P. Senneville and O. Touissant, arranged and performed by Roland Romanelli. In the style of Space.

See also: Romanellli, Roland, Space.

 


Saville, Robin (UK)

Peasgood Nonsuch (2008)
Public Flowers (2013)
Sizewell (2019) (with Oliver Cherer)
Build A Diorama (2020)
Lore (2023)

Sizewell features nice and varied EM, mostly of ambient nature, inspired by and based on the artists' visits to a few power stations.

See also: ISAN

 


Savin, Igor (Croatia)

Childhood (1982)

Igor Savin is mostly known for his YU Disco Express album from 1979 that mixed funky disco sound with Balkan motifs, as well as from his work for television, radio and theatre plays. However, he also released this little-known obscure ambient work played on analogue synthesizers.

 


Savvaidis, Ioannis (Greece)

NSA Trusted Networks (2016) (S)
Diataxis (2019)
DEC/PDC (2019) (S)
Telepresence (2021) (with Skynet 75)

Rich analog sounds, some techno-influenced, some strictly cosmic.

 


Savy, Pascal (France)

Fragments (2011) (S)
Liminal (2011) (S)
Receding (2012) (S)
Adrift (2014)
Dislocations (2018)
Colour Fields (2018)
Simulacra (2023)

Intense soundscapes, from Drone Ambient to Black Space and Noise Ambient. Some tracks make use of heavy feedback. Pascal Savy is a French artist currently residing in London.

 


Sawako (Japan)

Stella Epoca (2022)

Female electroacoustic / glitch / microsound artist who started moving towards classic ambient synth sounds and drones on her album Stella Epoca.

 


Sawasaki, Yoshihiro (Japan)

Perfumed Garden (1994)
Ginjo Onsen (2010)

Yoshihiro Sawasaki is a former member of improvisational techno trio Transonic Jokers, together with Kazunao Nagata and Naka Tomizawa. He later worked as an ambient producer and musician. The first album has some techno influences. The 2010 cassette is supposed to be completely ambient.

 


Sawazki, Kirill (Russia)

Ten Signals From Outer Space (2016)
A Source of Delight (2018)
Landschaften und Prozesse (2018)
Korpus 1 (Live) (2018) (with m.Dullu)
Discomorpher (2018)
Zum Ewigen Licht (2018)

Kirill Sawazki (Zavadskiy) is a Russian musician born in 1988 in Omsk. He is mostly known for his spacesynth music but works also in other genres. Landschaften und Prozesse reflects his admiration for Kraftwerk's music.

 


Saxl, Elori (USA)

The Blue of Distance (2021)

Ambient music combining string section, clarinet, oboe, processed field recordings and synthesizers. Elori Saxl is a Brooklyn-based artist.

 


Saxsyndrums (Canada)

Future Circus (2013)
Second Nature (2019)

As the name implies, this is a trio playing sax, synths and drums. From pop / art rock aesthetics to cosmic EM.

See also: Schofield, Nick

 


Sayer (USA)

Origins (1998)
Corinthaus (1998)
Blaze (1998)
Waves (1999)
Synthetic Dreams (2000)
Past-Present-Future (2001) (with Dream Quest)
1st Encounter (2003)
Random Access Melodies (2013)
Sounds of Atoms (2014)
Time Travelers (2015)
Time Travelers Too (2015)
Cosmic Voyagers (2015)
Interplanetary (2017)
A Different Side of Normal (2018)
In Search of Alfheim (2019)
Future City (2019)
Oceans (2020)
Terra (2020)
Neuro (2021)
Artificial Intelligence (2022)
Age of Androids (2022)

This artist (real name - Sayer Seely) mixes traditional Electronic Music with more modern trends.

See also: Dream Quest

 


Sblendorio, Andrew (USA)

Alive At the Macartovin (2015)
SF.04 April (2016) (S)
Hydrangea Style (2016)

Diverse experimental artist. Only his ambient or EM-related works will be listed.

 


SBB (Poland)

Follow My Dream (1977)

Legendary Polish progressive rock band (also a backing band for Czeslaw Niemen during the 1970's). Josef Skrzek is responsible for some of their finest electronic moments that are scattered throughout their discography and are especially prominent on this album. Further investigation is needed.

See also: Skrzek, Josef, Niemen, Czeslaw.

 


Sbrizzi, FaBIO (Italy)

Naif Music (1998)
Comunicare (2006)
Evangelum Secundum (2011)

Quiet Electronic Music from BIOnighT member. Performed with almost no use of sequencers. The first album is currently available only for those who order directly from the author. Comunicare is much more sequencer-based, although not in typical Berlin School mode, but in a very personal way. This album is much more active and not so "quiet".

See also: BIOnighT

 


Scab, Dom F. (Spain)

Innerseed (1998)
Silent Mars (2000) (with John Lakveet)
Binary Secrets (2001)
Ancient Tracks (2001)
Analogical Confessions (2002)
Facta (2002)
About A Tree (2003)
Twelve Stories (2004)
Crosswords (2005)
Necessary Fears (2006)

Spanish synthesist (born in 1965) and member of AT-Mooss. Berlin School sequential electronics. Very good, indeed. Scab doesn't simply copy the classic Tangerine Dream sound, but adds his own sounds and leaves enough space for experimentation.

See also: AT-Mooss, Cosmic Ni.

 


Scacco, Lori (USA)

Circles (2004)
Desire Loop (2018)

New York-based composer. On Desire Loop, she created a set of varied electronic tracks combining analog synths and some acoustic instruments. Most of these are quite moody and of ambient nature.

 


SCAL (Germany)

Magneditation (2016)
Nuovi Suoni (2019)

A project of Berlin-based modular synth artist Stephan Blachnik. Lulling, sequencer-based, melodic, hypnotic...

 


Scala, Stefano (Italy)

Bagliori dell'Anima (2001)
Unsui il Sentiero dei Bambu (2004)
Il Tempo del Sogno (2006)
Impermanence (2008)
Nel Cuore dell'Amazzonia (2009)
Metamorfosi (2019)

Stefano Scala is a Tribal Ambient artist from Milano. Some of his works are supposed to be completely or almost completely acoustic (utilizing instruments such as bells, percussion, field recordings, didgeridoo and so on), but he also uses electronics extensively.

 


Scalas, Christian (Italy)

Winter (2014)

His style includes elements of glitch, IDM and Ambient. Of special interest is "Antartika" from Winter, clearly inspired by Vangelis.

 


Scamall (Poland)

A World Behind the Silence (2009)

Scamall is Polish musician Jakub Kmiec (Polaris), doing more experimental, ambient stuff.

See also: Polaris

 


Scand, Randolf (Russia)

Willing To Awaken (2014)
Renaissance XXI (2017) (recorded in 2002 - 2017)
Up There Into the Shining Mountscapes (2017) (with Derek Nigell)
Phantom of Nothing (2020) (recorded in 2000)

Electronic project of Alexander Girin with an ambient, cosmic sound based on floating synthesizers, analog pulsations and even a bit of Floydian guitar. Randolf Scand changed his cosmic address on 08.07.2021. Thank you for you excellent music and your support, my friend! You will be missed.

See also: Astrovia

 


Scandinavian Star (Denmark)

Scandinavian Star (2015) (S)
Scandinavian Star (2015)
Solas (2018)
Two Autumns (2020) (S) (with Croatian Amor)
Spring Now (2021) (S) (with Croatian Amor)

A project of Copenhagen-based Malthe Fischer who is also one half of Lust For Youth. His solo album Solas combines cut-up collages and the louder, harsher side of grime with melodic ambient EM.

 


Scanner (UK)

The Great Crater (2017)
Fibolae (2017)
Footfalls (2019) (with Gareth Davis)
Alphaville (2019)
An Ascent (2020)
SN / Scanner (2020) (with Geins't Naït)
The Signal of A Signal of A Signal (2020) (recorded in 2019)
Trawl (2020)
Earthbound Transmissions (2021)
Struktura Revisited (2022) (with Stri¸)
La Fenêtre Magique (2022)
Homeland of Electricity (2022)
Loess (2022) (with Modelbau)
OLA (2023) (with Geins't Naït and Laurent Petitgand)
Alchemeia (2024)
The Phenol Tapes (2024)

Long-standing project of Robin Rimbaud. Works since early 1990's, mostly in IDM / ambient techno / electro-acoustic. The Great Crater is a nice entry into the Ambient genre. There are even the ever so subtle shades of Vangelis, Klaus Schulze and other Prog EM greats. Footfalls is another interesting work. Alchemiea is inspired by and utilizes techniques typical of early 1960's electronics and library music. Further investigation is needed.

 


Scarecrew (Germany)

Magical Mind (2006) (recorded in 1975)

Steve Schroyder's (ex-Tangerine Dream) project formed in 1973 and disbanded in 1975. Magical Mind features never-before-heard recordings from 1975. The line-up features Gene Gross (who would later form part of the duo Augenstern) and a few other, more obscure names. Trippy electronic krautrock.

See also: Schroyder, Steve, Augenstern

 


Scarfe, Lyndon (UK)

Shoreline (2020)

Ambient music from this ex-member of post-punk group The Danse Society.

 


Scarlatti, Dante Augustus (USA)

Dimensional Synthesis (2018)

Bloomington, Indiana-based experimental musician who often opts for more extreme, harsher and noisier forms of artistic expression. Dimensional Synthesis, however, will certainly be of interest to fans of Prog EM. Listening to all the slow arpeggios, especially on "Dimension 496", you sometimes even get a sort of an "early Software" feeling. Further investigation is needed.

 


Scarless Arms (Germany)

Whispering Winds (2019)

Somber ambience.

 


Scarterfield, Keith (USA)

Vista (1989)
Flesh Tones (1991)
The Jart Mentality (1993)
Sound of Mind (??)

Synthesist on Electronical Dreams.

 


Scattered Order (Australia)

Everything Happened In the Beginning (2020)

Pioneering Australian post-punk band formed in 1979. On Everything Happened In the Beginning, they explore experimental territory, obviously influenced by the industrial sounds and rhythms, but also I would say that some of it sounds very EM-influenced in a strange, Cluster / Eno-ish way.

 


Scattered Purgatory (Taiwan)

山險峻​/​Sua​-​Hiam​-​Zun (2017)

Folky drone band from Taiwan. On their 2017 release, they decided to go the synth way and it was a fantastic decision. Very tasty meditative EM here, you can spot influences of Popol Vuh, Cluster, Klaus Schulze etc., but it's rather unique overall.

See also: Jiachi, Lu

 


Scav (Bulgaria)

Morphing Clouds (2019)

Ambient project of Krasi Yonchev from Sofia.

 


Scenic Railway (UK)

Scenic Railway (2020) (S)

"Comfy synth" project with some melodic EM touches.

 


Sceptre (Italy)

Sceptre (2023)

Catania-based electronic project merging Berlin School sequencing with dungeon synth melodies.

 


Sceptre of the Fading Dawn (Australia)

Ritual Echoes In the Distant Forest (2019)
Dark Secrets of the Ancient (2019)
Wandering In Lands Unseen (2020)
Recollections of A World That Never Was (2023) (recorded in 2019 - 2023)

Doomy, melancholic ambient compositions with a touch of dungeon synth.

 


Schaaf, Jörg (Germany)

Sonar Experience (1999)

Supposedly, the same style as his work with Schulze on Trance Appeal.

 


Schabtach, Adam (USA)

Elephant Island (2002)

Chilly, droning Ambient in Deep Chill Network / Stephen Philips vein by former Team Metlay contributor.

 


Schacke (Denmark)

Underworlds (2021)
Moments Forever Fading (2021) (S)
Night Worlds (2021) (S)
Alien Worlds (2022) (S)
Synchronized Breathing (2023) (S)

Copenhagen-based artist (full name - Martin Schacke), releasing music under multiple artistic names. He is often noisy or club-related, but there is also some Ambient-related material that I will try to list here.

 


Schade, Adda (Germany)

First Recordings (1989)
Rote Boje (2010)
Sverige Resa (2014)
Frontignan Funk (2018)
Partikel I (2019)
Partikelfluss (2023)

German electronic artist active since 1986. Mostly club related or "leftfield" sounds, as they call it. Partikel I features subtle Noise Ambient tracks, though. "Grüner Pfeffer" reminds on the ambient sounds you would hear while flying through some of the nebulae in the Freelancer game. Frontignan Funk focuses on easy-listening sounds and melodies inspired by a holiday spent in France.

 


Schaefer, Janek (UK)

Unfolding Luxury Beyond the City of Dreams (2014)
Inner Space Memorial In Wonderland (2014)
Glitter In My Tears (2017)
... On Reflection (2022) (with William Basinski)

UK-born artist of Polish-Canadian origin. He is sort of a disciple of Brian Eno, having worked with the ambient master in the 1990's. As a soloist, he is a multi-disciplinary artist working in such genres as turntablism, drone, field recordings, musique concrete, sound collage and more. There are also some ambient works that I will try to list here. His discography is huge, so further investigation is needed.

 


Schaefer, Peter (Germany)

Nunatak (1980)
Memberflight (1981)
Desertifikation - Q (1982)
Panta Rei (1982)
Schaf Im Wolfspelz (1982)
Zeitsuche (1982)
The-Matik (1982)
Frühlingsregen (1983)
Wavescapes (1983)
Elaboration (1983)
Peter Schaefer's Farn-Werke (1984)
Musik für Cello und Elektronik (1985) (with Sefhet Muhatcheem)
Hevron (1985)
Farn IV (1986)
Extension (1986)
We Are Black Noise (1987)
Sundaes (1988)
Foreign Worlds (1990)
The World Fol (1991)
Trans Lucency (1992)
In Splendour of the Truth (1993)
The Mynah (1996)
Liquid Spaces (1997)
Galactic Zoo (1999)
Painted Music (2001)
Isch! (2003)

German synthesist. Very diverse works in Experimental / dark / rhythmic Space fields.

See also: Farn, Pete, F.A.R.N., Opera's Space.

 


Schafer, Theodore (USA)

Tunnel Vision (2012)
So Young (2014) (S)
Writing Music (2015)
Presence (2016) (with John Daniel)
Delicate (2016) (S)
Portrait (2016) (S)
Topiary (2016)
Spending (2017) (S)
Debt / Duet (2017)
You Really Knew Me (2017) (with Death Knell)
Patience (2019)
All's Well That Ends Well (2019)
Trust (2023)

Ambient artist from Ann Arbor who is also part of the Cestine duo. Relaxing sound with just a touch of neo-classical.

 


Schäfer, Thomas (Germany)

Rest of the Hole (1992)

Synthesist with a melodic / rhythmic, sequencer-based style.

 


Schall, Wladimir (France)

42'37" (2021)

Impressionistic music mixing piano and electronics.

 


Schaltkreis Wassermann (Switzerland)

Sex Is Out, Ich Bin Beklont (1981) (S)
Space Shuttle (1981) (S)
Psychotron (1982)
Why Don't We Live In Space (1983) (S)
Mobilhome Girls (1984) (S) (soundtrack)
Early 80's (2021) (recorded in ??)

A pioneering electronic duo of Stella and PJ Wassermann founded in 1979. The music was all analogue and made with an ARP 2600, an ARP Avatar guitar synth, a Roland 100M modular synth and a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 polyphonic synth. For the sequencing they used a Roland MC-4 Micro Composer. Their album Psychotron had considerable success among synth fans. Nowadays both artists release solo albums (Stella went for the lounge / oriental / chill-out music, while PJ Wassermann combines goa trance with rock / guitar music), but for certain projects they still like to get together from time to time. Notes 19.08.2020: Stella Wassermann (real name: Daniela Wassermann) passed away in 2011.

See also: Wassermann, Peter J.

 


Schappert, Roland (Germany)

Route 1 (2022)
Route 2 (2022)

Based in Cologne, Roland Schappert is an electronic musician with a broad range of influences. His album Route 1 is a foray into experimental electronics that are cerebral but never lose their melodic or structural appeal, always focusing on unique sounds and textures.

 


Schat, Arjen (Netherlands)

Sequentem (2014)
CrO2 (2015) (S)
Mens (2015)
Spectrum (2017)
LXXIII (2018)
LP2 (2020)

Arjen Schat is a diverse Dutch composer who is especially fond of complex sequencer patterns (ala Berlin School) and ambient synth soundscapes.

 


Schauer, Jakob (Austria)

Antlitz (2018)
Gaia's Birth (2019)
In Death I Am Caressing You (2021)

Ambient synth music with an electroacoustic touch. I like how the music on Gaia's Birth is dramatic, as well as how it is physical, especially on "Gaia's Theme", with its climax and release. Seriously talented guy. Highly recommended.

 


Schauff, Ralf (Germany)

Ralf Schauff (2023)

Lysergic guitar / synth / drums compositions. Mostly relaxed and motorik-laden, along the lines of Neu!, Klaus Dinger, Thomas Dinger, Cluster et al.

 


Schaufler Vs Schaufler (Germany)

Schaufler Vs Schaufler Part 1 & 2 (2023) (recorded in 2021)

Bittersweet Electronic Music created for an exhibition by two brothers Aksel and Matthias Schaufler. Nice synth sounds on this one.

 


Schedel, Gerhard (Germany)

Attenti al Treno! (1992) (with Peter Frohmader and Andreas Merz)

Munich-born artist (b. in 1955) who, starting from the early 1970's, began building his own custom devices for Electronic Music production. He played synthesizers with a rock group as early as 1971 and began recording solo electronic compositions around that time. At the end of the 1970's, he got interested in multimedia techniques, animation and computer graphics. He worked with Weltklang and Peter Frohmader's Nekropolis, among others, and was a member of many groups and projects, including Kurgmuller, France Douce, Ampzilla's Delight, The Ankles, Dissidents, Kwalitat 100% and Real Sharks.

See also: Ampzilla's Delight

 


Schedelvreter (Netherlands)

Hunker (1986) (S)

Side project of Danny Bosten, the mastermind behind minimal synth "band" Das Ding. This one here is more experimental and has a weird horror synth vibe to it. Still rather minimal, though. File under EM-related.

 


Scheich in China (Germany)

Scheich in China (2014)
Scheich in China (2015)
Schecih in China (2016)
014 (2016)
Scheich In China (2016) (S)
IV (2016)
Tape (2017)

Hamburg-based project in Experimental vein. Mostly rather minimal, noisy and dark sound here.

See also: Rau, Alsen, Esmark.

 


Scherani, Luca (Italy)

Everyday's Life (2007)
Everybody's Waiting (2012)
Everything's Changing (2023)

Luca Scherani is an Italian keyboardist who on Everyday's Life mixes Electronic Music with a bit of jazz fusion and progressive rock. A cast of guest musicians and a female vocalist support Luca in this quest.

 


Scherer, Paul (USA)

Nitemusik (1991)
Between the Lines (1992)

 


Scherer, Peter (Switzerland)

That Land (2009) (with Don Li)

Nice long-form Ambient from this experimental rock / no wave musician, made in collaboration with clarinetist Don Li. Sort of meditative, hypnotic sound with an ethnic touch.

 


Scherpenzeel, Ton (Netherlands)

Heart of the Universe (1984)
Virgin Grounds - Orion  (1988)
Synspiration (1991)

Kayak member. These albums contain Electronic Music and are of interest. The second one was released under the project name "Orion". There was an earlier album, released way back in 1978, called Le Carnaval des Animaux. It had only interpretations of classical compositions done in the style of prog masters like Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

 


Scherzinger, Dieter (Switzerland)

Da-Na Klänge Einweihung (??)

Floating new agey synths. Sometimes with a Vangelis feel.

 


Schiano di Lombo, Joseph (France)

Musique de niche (2021)
Ce que la sylve révèle (2021) (S)

Paris-based keyboardist and multi-disciplinary artist. Melodic compositions with electric pianos and synths.

 


Schiavi, Alex (Italy)

Musica Futurista (1982) (with Massimo Peloso)
Dietro le Quinte (1988)
Eclipse of Reason (1990)
The Budapest Concerts (1990)
Inferno (1991)
Guitar Solos (1999)

Italian guitar player and composer who started his career as a member of several jazz bands. Nowadays he runs two music schools in Milan. He has composed some purely electronic works, as EM is one of his main spheres of interest. Alex Schiavi also likes to combine his electric guitar playing with electronic sequences and rhythms.

 


Schicke, Fuhrs & Frohling (Germany)

Live In Papenburg (1975)
Symphonic Pictures (1976)
Sunburst (1977)
Ticket To Everywhere (1978)
The Collected Works of SFF (1976-1979) (1993)

Symphonic progressive electronics with occasional guitar licks. Here, synthesists and keyboard players Fuhrs and Frohling are aided by the great drumming from Schicke. Their albums were released on the German Brain label. The Collected Works of SFF combines all three albums into one 2-CD set, adding a couple of live bonus tracks. After the 1978 album, Schicke left, and the duo continued to release albums in similar vein.

See also: Fuhrs & Frohling

 


Schickert, Günter (Germany)

Samtvogel (1974)
Uberfallig (1979)
In den Zeichen Von Sabine Franek-Koch (1981) (S) (soundtrack)
Kinder In der Wildnis (1983)
Somnambul (1994) (recorded in 1980 - 1994)
Mauerharfe 1989 - 2009 (2009)
HaHeHiHo (2012) (recorded in 1996)
Echodrive 2000 (2000)
Schulze-Schickert Session (2013) (recorded in 1975) (with Klaus Schulze)
OXTLR (2014) (with Pharoah Chromium)
ASS (2016) (with Jochen Arbeit and Schneider TM)
Labyrinth (2018) (recorded in 1996 - 2017)
Nachtfalter (2019)
Schickreich (2024) (recorded in 1988 and 2008) (with Udo Erdenreich)

His musical approach is similar to Inventions For Electric Guitar by Manuel Goettsching which means trippy, echoey guitarscapes with tons of electronic processing, sometimes creating sequencer-like looping structures. Samtvogel is a rare debut released privately as a limited edition, Uberfallig is his most commonly encountered work. Kinder... is an obscure cassette release, while Somnambul, released on the now defunct Musique Intemporelle label, gathered unreleased pieces from 1980 - 1994.

See also: GAM

 


Schiefnetter, Roland (Germany)

Seasonics (1986)

Flowing melodic EM with classical influences.

 


Schiller (Germany)

Live ErLeben - Die Einlassmusik (2004)
Live ErLeben - Die Einlassmusik 2 (2004)
Prologue (2005)
Tag und Nacht Tour - Die Einlassmusik 3 (2006)
Die Einlassmusik 4 (2008)
Die Einlassmusik 5 (2008)
Die Einlassmusik 6 (2010)
Die Einlassmusik 7 - Klangwelten (2011)
Die Einlassmusik 8 (2012)
Die Einlassmusik 9 (2012)
Die Einlassmusik 10 - Klangwelten (2013)
Die Einlassmusik 11 (2016)
Die Einlassmusik 12 (2016)
Die Einlassmusik 13 (2017)
Die Einlassmusik 14 (2017)
Die Einlassmusik 15 (2019)
Die Einlassmusik 16 (2019)
Die Einlassmusik 17 (2019)
Epic (2021)
Illuminate (2023)
Die Einlassmusik 18 (2023)
Die Einlassmusik 19 (2023)
Die Einlassmusik 20 (2023)

Schiller is Christopher Von Deylen - an "electronica" artist who made a name for himself playing live shows and doing deejay sets in his native Germany, becoming quite popular in chill-out / downtempo club circles. In the EM world, he is marked by his collaboration with Klaus Schulze at the beginning of the 21st Century. Die Einlassmusik is a series of ambient CD's sold during his tours. Nice, melodic, accessible sound with no beats to speak of for the most part.

 


Schirm, Olaf (Germany)

Symboter Music (1981)

Early cassette by Olaf Schirm aka Symboter.

See also: Symboter

 


Schirò, Riccardo (Italy)

Aqua (2016)
Mediterranea (2017)
Dunas (2018)

Weird mixture of disco and Cluster-like Prog EM wackyness.

 


Schizo (France)

And the Little Girl / Paraphrenia Praecox (1970) (S)
Le Voyageur / Torcol (1972) (S)

Sort of an early incarnation of Heldon with Richard Pinhas as main man.

See also: Pinhas, Richard, Heldon.

 


Schl@g! (Germany)

Werk (2013)
Loch (2014)

Krautrock-influenced duo of Carsten Agthe and Dirk Schlömer. With the covers of their CD's following the pattern established by Neu!, you can easily imagine the route it is going to take and indeed, we are talking Dusseldorf School sound here, with guitars, motorik rhythms and synths galore.

 


Schlammpeitziger (Germany)

Erdrauchharnschleck (1993)
Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut (1996)
Spacerokkmountainrutschquartier (1997)
Augenwischwaldmoppgeflöte (2000)
Everything Without All Inclusive (2003)
Schwingstelle Für Rauschabzug (2008)
Vorausschauende Bebauung (2011)
What's Fruit? (2014)
Damenbartblick Auf Pregnant Hill (2018)
Ein Weltleck In Der Echokammer (2020)

Schlammpeitziger is a project of Jo Zimmermann, Cologne-based artist who uses casios, digital and analog electronics to craft his melodic compositions that sometimes sound like an updated version of Cluster (with a dose of IDM tossed in). For fans of the Dusseldorf School (Cluster / Moebius branch) and modern indietronica.

 


Schlappi, Eric (USA)

Moon's Spawn (2015) (S)
Poseidonis (2016)
Kurald Emerlahn (2017)
Peeling Deck Plates (2022)

Eric Schlappi is an experimental synthesizer artist from Tucson. On Moon's Spawn he is very noisy and rough but for Poseidonis he chose a more structured, melodic / rhythmic approach. The music is still very sharp, mainly because of the sounds used, but is definitely moving in the progressive direction.

 


Schlesinger, Drew (USA)

Summer Synthesis 1978 (2020) (with David Torn)

One of the lesser known synthesists, Drew Schlesinger has been experimenting with electronic since the 1970's. The above archive release gathers pieces recorded in 1978 with guitarist David Torn (of ECM label fame). Nice electronic etudes, mostly melodic and moody / nostalgic, but also cosmic, ambient and jazzy.

 


Schlienz, Guenter (Germany)

The Dalmatian Tapes (2010)
The Sardinian Tapes (2010)
Through Music To the Self (2012)
Tape Studies (2012)
Furniture Sounds (2012)
Urban Tapes (2012)
The Catalanian Tapes (2013) (S)
Organ Studies (2013)
The Norman Tapes (2013)
Treehut Visions (2014)
Contemplation (2014)
Blaue Stunde (2015) (with Paul Skomsvold)
Live Tape (2015)
Transitions (2015)
Ship / Horn (2016) (S)
Book of Dreams (2016)
Augenblicke (2016)
Evocations (2016)
Autumn (2016)
Sterne über der Stadt (2017)
Peace (2017)
Selbstportrait (2017)
Collage Tristes (2017)
Liederbuch (2018)
Tristan Magnetique (2018)
Icelandic Tapes (2019) (recorded in 2017)
Farbton (2019)
Know Your New Age (2019)
Lissajous (2019)
Island (2019)
Iglu (2020)
Tristan Magnetique 2 (2020)
Tristan Magnetique 3 (2020)
Mutterkuchen (2020)
Orphée aux Enfers (2020)
Smolnik & Schlienz (2021) (with Teresa Smolnik)
Unstet (2021)
Music That Glows In the Dark (2022)
Ausflüge (2022)
Current (2022)
Inside / Outside (2022) (recorded in 2020) (S)
Ausfl​ü​ge II (2023)
Hundstage (2024)
Gilded Eternity (2024)

Ambient artist who prefers to work in analogue environment, with modular synths and transistor organs.

See also: Navel, Snowflake Orchestra.

 


Schlochtermeier, Robin (UK)

Spectral (2020)

London-based composer of German descent. He uses classical instrumentation (piano and strings) and electronics to create haunting, reflective ambient compositions.

 


Schloss Tegal (USA)

Oranur III - The Third Report (1995)
Black Static Transmission (1999)
Psychometry (2019)

Dark Ambient from Richard Schneider and Mark Burch. The other albums of this project are in industrial style.

 


Schmaidl (USA)

Hangouts (2017) (S)

Schmaidl is North Carolina's Harald S., whose music ranges from Ambient to rhythmic, downtempo-influenced stuff with melodic synth lines and all.

 


Schmerzwelten (Netherlands)

C20 EP (2020) (EP)
Collected Works Vol.1 (2021)
Gathering of the Tribes (2021) (S)
Schmerzwelten (2021)
Het Is De Wind Mijn Kind (2021) (S)
Testament (2022) (S)
Desolaat (2022)

Hypnotic, droning ambient compositions.

 


Schmidl, Burkard (Germany)

Klanggarten (1990)
Enter & Return (1991)
Zodiac Symphony (1992)
Klanggarten Vol.2 (1993)
Klangallee (1994)
Klangallee Vol. 2 (1998)
Klanggarten Vol. 3 (1999)
The Secret Element (2004) (S)

Burkard Schmidl was born in 1955 and received classical education in music. Like many other musicians, he started in a band (that was playing jazz and jazz-related music). His diverse influences (such as jazz, new age, ethnic music et al) and a profound experience (he played in many groups over the years) have distilled into a solo career that started with 1990's Klanggarten.

 


Schmidt, Irmin (Germany)

Filmmusik Vol. 1 (1980)
Filmmusik Vol. 2 (1981)
Toy Planet (1981) (with Bruno Spoerri)
Rote Erde (1983)
Filmmusik Vol. 3 (1984)
Filmmusik Vol. 4 (1984)
Herr Schmidt (1985)
Musk At Dawn (1987)
Filmmusik Vol. 5 (1989)
Impossible Holidays (1991)
Filmmusik Anthology Vol. 6 (2015)
5 Klavierstücke (2018)
Villa Wunderbar / A Selection (2019)
Nocturne - Live At The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (2020)

Legendary keyboard player of the group Can. Irmin Schmidt was born in 1937.

 


Schmidt, Katarina (Germany)

Particles (2022)

Classic-sounding Ambient. Rather minimal sound here.

 


Schmidt, Martin (USA)

Batu Mulablab (2015)
Aqua Sauvage / Stuffed Concrete (2019)
From Fountains To Sewers (2022)
John of Dust (2023) (with Obie Feldi)

Solo music from member of Matmos who on Batu Mulablab combines Balinese gamelan, field recordings, processed piano, voices, electro-acoustics and suble synthesizer injections.

See also: Matmos

 


Schmidt, Walter (Mexico)

Bosque de Niebla (2003)
Ríos de Sangre (2005)
Clásicos (2018) (recorded in ??)

Solo works by bassist of RIO band Decibel. On these, he finds himself in the electronic mode, playing mostly synths, with some contributions from his bass guitar and a few other instruments. Darkish, mysterious, experimental... Not comparable to other artists and rather nice overall.

See also: Decibel

 


Schmidtchen, Detlev (Germany)

The Last Planet (2007)
The Last Planet Chapter II (2008)
The Last Planet Chapter III: Reversion (2009)
...Blaze the Trail (2011)
Vanthasia (2013)
Another World (2014)

Keyboard player of Eloy with his own solo concept albums. The music is a mixture of styles, from progressive rock with rich keyboard passages to Electronic Music. Comparisons are, naturally, Eloy, Ego On the Rocks and Tangerine Dream.

See also: Eloy, Ego On the Rocks, Choco.

 


Schmitt, Doug (Canada)

Computer Music (2000)

 


Schmoelling, Johannes (Germany)

Wuivend Riet (1986)
The Zoo of Tranquility (1988)
White Out (1990)
Lieder Ohne Worte (1995)
Die Zaubergeiger Settembrini (1995) (with Martin Burckhardt)
Laufen (2002)
Recycle Or Die (2003)
Weltmaerchen - Weltmusik (2004)
Instant City (2006)
Early Beginnings - Anthology 1979 - 1985 (2008)
A Thousand Times (2009)
Time And Tide (2011)
A Thousand Times Part 2 (2016)
Diary of A Common Thread (2017)
Immoirtal Tourist (2018) (with Robert Waters)
Zeit Concert (2019) (with Robert Waters)
S-A-W (2020) (with Kurt Ader and Robert Waters)
20 (2020)
21 (2021) (with friends)
Iter Meum (2022)
Hydragate (2023) (with Kurt Ader and Robert Waters)

German synthesist and member of Tangerine Dream from 1980 to 1985. During his years with the group, Tangerine Dream produced some of their best works. The music from this era is slightly more accessible than that of the Baumann-era TD, but still retaining the experimental edge, therefore it has stood the test of time perfectly and still sounds totally fresh today. After Schmoelling went solo, he produced several albums of great Electronic Music, which are real gems of the genre. Some of his music reminds us of the years spent with TD, but some of it is quite unique. The most noticeable feature of Schmoelling's music is the use of piano on some tracks. Overall, highly recommended for any serious EM fan.

See also: Tangerine Dream, Loom.

 


Schmutz, Barbara (France)

Recontre d'Espaces (1983)
Crystal (1986)

Crystal is a rare release with Electronic Music composed for a crystal show. Recontre shows a more classical side, with lots of harpsichord mixed with synths.

 


Schnauss, Ulrich (Germany)

Epic (2010) (with Jonas Munk)
Emotion Meets Expression (2013) (with Jonas Munk)
A Long Way To Fall (2013)

No Further Ahead Than Today (2016)
Passage (2017) (with Jonas Munk)
Among Mannatees / Off-Theater Final (2017) (S) (with Thorsten Quaeschning)
Synthwaves (2017) (with Thorsten Quaeschning)
Eight Fragments of An Illusion (2021) (with Jonas Munk)
Destiny Waiving (2021) (with Mark Peters)

Electronic musician, synthesist and member of the reformed Tangerine Dream. As a solo artist, Schnauss is mostly known among the shoegaze / downtempo crowd. However, on No Further Ahead Than Today, dedicated to the memory of Edgar Froese, there is enough melodic EM flavors to warrant an inclusion. In fact, tracks like "New Day Starts At Dawn", "Negative Sunrise" or "Illusory Sun" could be recorded by contemporary Tangerine Dream, which is no wonder (see above). Nice.

See also: Tangerine Dream

 


Schnee (Italy)

Chrism (2012)

Dark Ambient from Riccardo Z. who also plays black metal and experimental folk under the pseudonym Maðr Er Moldar Auki.

 


Schneider, Bret (USA)

Model of A Garden Scene With Watering Can (2011)
Melancholia I & II (2016)
Chronolalia (2016)
Xilinx (2016)
Zero Xings (2016)
Constellations (2019)
Watchfire (2019)

Interesting chiming, sequenced synth music (on Constellations).

 


Schneider, Henry (USA)

Lux Aeterna (1988)
Coal Aberrations (1989)
The Bodley Codex (1991)

Very interesting synthesist with many trends covered in his work: cosmic, rhythmic, experimental etc. Fred Becker guests on the first album (together with Scott Gross).

 


Schneider Jr., Richard (Germany)

Dreamlike Land (1977)
Fata Morgana (1980)

This one puzzles me. Often filed under "electronic", there's nothing that will shake your ears here. In fact, this album is filled with cheesy keyboard funk, orchestral pop and even more cheesy vocal songs about beach girls and stuff. I would not even file this as progressive. He does use synths, but we're in 1977 here, and at that time a lot of groups and performers were using them. There are a couple of tracks that would qualify as "EM" if you're generous, such as the floating and Pink Floyd-like opener "High". Jacki Liebezeit from Can plays drums on this album. Tread with caution. Richard Schneider has one more release from 1980, called Fata Morgana. Apparently, it's more jazzy and funky. However, the long title track is certainly interesting, with tons of synths.

 


Schneider, Robert (South Africa)

Songs For Other Worlds (2022)

Electronic musician based in the US. His 2022 album is a darkish, meditative work whose reliance on sine waves and alternative / Pythagorean tunings likens it to 1950's / 1960's electronic releases.

 


Schneider, Stefan (Germany)

Automne Six (2003) (with Philippe Poirier)
Pick Up Sticks (2004) (S) (with Bill Wells, Annie Whitehead and Barbara Morgenstern)
Paper of Pins (2009) (S) (with Bill Wells, Annie Whitehead and Barbara Morgenstern)
Pianotapes (2010) (with Bill Wells)
Stunden (2011) (with Hans-Joachim Roedelius)
NNNNeonLLLLights / Well Sustained / Schlummer (2013) (S) (with Lloyd Cole and Hans-Joachim Roedelius)
Tiden (2013) (with Hans-Joachim Roedelius)
Shadow Documents (2014) (with Sven Kacirek)
Deshalb, Stäubschen, Offen / Chambers, Tired Resistance, Element Objects (2015) (S) (with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Sven Kacirek)
Westwerk 1 - 3 / Tse-Tse (2016) (S) (with
Sven Kacirek, Jochen Arbeit, Michael Schickert and Schneider TM)
Tiergarten (2017) (with Katharina Grosse)
Radius Walk (2017) (with Sven Kacirek)
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (2017) (S) (with Moebius)

Ex-member of Kreidler, member of To Rococo Rot and numerous other projects and bands. He usually collaborates with other artists, including such names and Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Sven Kacirek. The latter recorded an album with Schneider called Shadow Documents that marries quirky electronics of the Dusseldorf School (a bit similar to solo Moebius) with African percussive rhythms and was inspired by the duo's trip to Kenya.

See also: Kreidler, Mapstation, Automne Six.

 


Schneider TM (Germany)

Westwerk 1 - 3 / Tse-Tse (2016) (S) (with Sven Kacirek, Jochen Arbeit, Michael Schickert and Stefan Schneider)
ASS (2016) (with Jochen Arbeit and Günter Schickert)
Con-Struct (2016) (with Conrad Schnitzler)
Ereignishorizont (2023)

Schneider TM is an alias of Dirk Dresselhaus, a guitar innovator and experimental musician active since the 1990's. Ereignishorizont is a massive work revolving around processed guitar sounds and electronics that takes you to places unknown. A really progressive sound here.

 


Schnell, Carsten (Germany)

Adjust! (1992)
Acoustic Delusion (1994)
U! (1995)
Moments In the Past (1997)

Melodic music that possibly comes close to new age. Carsten Schnell was born in 1964.

 


Schnitzler, Conrad (Germany)

Rot (1972)
Blau (1973)
Red Cassette (1973)
The Black Cassette (1974)
Con Aus Berlin (1976)
Con (1978)
Auf dem Schwarzen Kanal (1979) (EP)
Consequenz (1980) (with Wolfgang Seidel)
Con 3 (1980)
Ars Electronica - Die Wandelnde Klangwolke Aus Berlin (1980)
Grun (1981) (recorded in 1976 - 1980)
Conal (1981)
Contempora (1981)
Context (1981)
Control (1981)
Conrad & Sohn (1981) (with Gregor Schnitzler)
Conrad & Sequenza (1981) (with Wolfgang Seidel)
Container (1982)
Convex (1982)
Face On Radio (1982) (with Wolfgang Hertz)
Con 3.3.83 (1983)
Con'83 (1983)
Con'84 (1984)
Con 1.7.84 (1984)
Live 10.10.84 (1984)
Con'85 (1985)
Concert (1986)
Consequenz II (1986) (with Wolfgang Seidel)
Con'86 (1986)
Black Box 1987 (1987)
Conditions of the Gas Giant (1987)
Congratulacion (1987)
Contra-Terrene (1987)
Micon In Italia (1987) (with Michael Otto)
Contrasts (1987) (with Wolfgang Hertz)
ConGen: New Dramatic Electronic Music (1988) (with Gen Ken Montgomery)
Gencon Dramatic (1988) (with Gen Ken Montgomery)
Concho (1988) (with Michael Chocolak)
February (1988)
June (1988)
July (1988)
August (1988)
September (1988)
October (1988)
November (1988)
December (1988)
CS 89 (1989)
Constellations (1989)
Kynak (1990) (with Giancarlo Toniutti)
Tolling Toggle (1991) (with Jorg Thomasius)
Clock Face (1992) (with Jorg Thomasius)
Tonart Eins (1992) (with Lars Stroschen and Jorg Thomasius)
Tonart Zwei (1993) (with Lars Stroschen and Jorg Thomasius)
Con Brio (1993)
00/44 (1993)
Blue Glow (1994) (recorded in 1972 - 1980)
Con Repetizione (1994)
Charred Machinery (1995) (recorded in 1971 - 1980)
Electronegativity (1995) (recorded in 1977 - 1979)
00/106 (1997)
The Piano Works Vol.1 (1997)
Piano Solo Acoustic Pieces 00/070 (1998)
1-33 ElectroCosmicMetalIndus 00/102 (1998)
Solo Rhythmics Pieces 1-17 00/119 (1998)
ElectroInstruAbstractExpressivo 1-15 00/136 (1998)
Construction (1999)
Piano 00/071 (1999)
Piano 00/063 (1999)
Con/Solo/1 (1999)
Piano 00/121 (1999)
Concert 00/139 (1999)
Con/Solo/2 (1999)
Computer Jazz (1999)
Fordersturm (1999)
5.5.85 (2000) (recorded in 1985)
The 88 Game (2000)
Solo Sy.A+Eff.Live 17.10.2000 00/164 (2001)
F-Cont (2001)
Electric Solo Sy.A. Samp 00/166 (2001)
CC5.5.85 (2001)
Solo Electrics Perc. 00/147 (2001)
Solo Violin Slow Action 00/121 (2001)
Conal 2001 (2001)
Acon (2001) (with Hans-Joachim Roedelius)
Live Action 1977 (2002) (recorded in 1977)
00024 (2003) (recorded in 1991)
00117 (2003) (recorded in 1997)
00/153 (2003) (recorded in 2000)
00159 (2003) (recorded in 2000)
00/172 (2003) (recorded in 2001)
00/205 (2003) (recorded in 2002)
Con '72 (2003)
Contakt (2003) (recorded in 197?)
Gold (2003) (recorded in 1974 - 1978)
Con '72 Part 2 (2004) (recorded in 1972)
Mi. T . - Con 04 (2004) (with Michael Thomas Roe)
Moon Mummy (2005) (with Matt Howarth)
Skizzo (2005)
Conviction (2006)
Energie (2006)
Aquatic Vine Music (2006) (with Michael Thomas Roe)
Con 2 (2006) (recorded in 1980 - 1981)
Klavierhelm (2006)
Electrocon (2006) (recorded in 1980 - 1981)
00/378 Mix Solos For Jose Luis Lopez Miguel (2006)
Concert 1-12 00/336 (2006)
Concert 1-15 00/338 (2006)
Concert 1-16 00/345 (2006)
Solo Dron ID 1 00/339 (2006)
Solo Electrics 1-16 00/337 (2006)
Solo Electrics 1-17 00/340 (2006)
Solo Electrics 1-17 00/342 (2006)
Solo Electrics 1-17 00/343 (2006)
Solo Electrics 1-17 00/344 (2006)
Solo Sq. Rhythmics 1-18 00/346 (2006)
Mix Solos 1-18 00/341 (2006)
Mix Solos 1-19 00/347 (2006)
Man 00/285 (2007)
Mic & Con (2007) (with Michael Thomas Roe)
Morses Schreibapparat Mix Solos 00/423 (2007)
Pieces Electrics 1-13 00/377 (2007)
Rektifikation (2008)
Windvogel (2008)
00/504 Solo Electrics Insideout (2008)
00/500 Mix Solos Lichtpunkte (2008)
Happen Again Wild Mix 00/485 (2008)
Sunset Wild Mix 00/486 (2008)
Rohre - Concert 00/274 (2008)
Rare Tracks 1979 - 1982 Re-Edited (2008) (with Dompteur Mooner)
Early Self-Product Series (2008) (recorded in 1983)
Silver (2009) (recorded in 1974 - 1975)
Horror Odyssee (2009) (with Big Robot)
The Russians Are Coming / Roofmusic (2009) (recorded in 1981) (with Gregor Schnitzler)
Slow Motion (2010) (recorded in 1972)
DictaCon (2010)
10 kW/h (2010) (recorded in 1973 - 1977) (with Wolfgang Seidel)
GENCON Duets (2010) (with Gen Ken Montgomery)
Minced Valves (2010) (recorded in 1977) (with Steve Schroyder and Patrick Gresbek)
Hirschgebruell (2010) (with Bjorn Hatterud)
Paragon Outtakes (2010) (recorded in 1979 - 1982)
24/06/11 (2011)
Con-Struct (2011) (with Borngraber & Struver)
Live '72 (2011)
Consequenz 010B (2011) (with Wolfgang Seidel)
00-767 (2011)
Mariental Tapes (2011) (with Norbert Eisbrenner and Sven-Åke Johansson)
Con-Struct (2012) (with Andreas Reihse)
00/830 Endtime (2012)
Zug - Reshaped And Remodelled (2012)
Container T1 - T12 (2012) (recorded in 1971 - 1982)
Con-Struct (2015) (with Pyrolator)
Kontraktion (2016) (recorded in 1986 - 1987) (with Pharmakustik)
Filmmusik 1 (2016) (recorded in 1975 and 1980)
Filmmusik 2 (2017) (recorded in 1975 and 1978)
Con-Struct (2017) (with Pole)
Extruder (2018) (with Pharmakustik)
Con-Struct (2020) (with Frank Bretschneider)
Paracon (The Paragon Session Outtakes 1978-1979) (2021)
Schatten (2021) (recorded in ??)
FlipFlapFlupFlop (2021) (recorded in ??)
Saturn Con-Cert (2021) (recorded in ??)
Cable (2021) (recorded in ??)
Electric Kribbel (2021) (recorded in ??)
Bambule (2021) (recorded in ??)
Schubkraft (2021) (recorded in 1986 - 1987) (with Pharmakustik)
Music Is Not Language. Neither Is It Painting. Just Music. (2021) (recorded in 1972 - ??) (with Wolfgang Seidel)
Emily's Dream (2022) (recorded in ??)
Einblick (2022) (recorded in ??)
Red Area (2022) (recorded in ??)
Andromeda (2022) (recorded in ??)
MoonWork (2022) (recorded in ??)
TTT Concert (2022) (recorded in ??)
Intermedia (2022) (recorded in ??)
Tool Time (2022) (recorded in ??)
Congenial (2022) (recorded in ??)
Rooftones (2022) (recorded in ??)
EffiSpace (2022) (recorded in ??)
Steel Vehicle (2023) (recorded in ??)
Greenface (2023) (recorded in ??)
Activis (2024) (recorded in ??)
Aufzug (2024) (recorded in ??)

Conrad Schnitzler (1937 - 2011) was one of the most enigmatic figures on the EM scene. He was a member of Tangerine Dream in 1969 and helped to create their first official album release, Electronic Meditation. After that he left the group and formed Kluster together with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius. When he left to pursue a solo career, the name of the group was changed to Cluster, which is essentially an English spelling of the word. Schnitzler has a huge discography and overall he was one of the most prolific EM composers. Conrad was notable for giving some of the most unusual live performances: for instance, he would often wear several cassette recorders attached to his waist, a small Vox amplifier and a megaphone planted on his head. With this rig, he would play tracks from one recorder or mix the output of several cassettes. These "tape concerts" fluorished during the 1970's and beyond, as Con (as he liked to be called) walked down the streets of Berlin or performed in art galleries, museums, elevators and other unlikely places. His recorded work usually can be characterized by using one word: experimental. It's really uncompromising, rough music, often abstract and harsh, in other words, very interesting. Not your usual EM affair. As for new age fans, I think they might have a heart attack if they ever happen to hear some of his works. But the elite status he had in certain (rather narrow) circles is certainly justified. He was the kind of man that never looked at or followed any fashions or trends. Ok, he did flirt with new wave in the early 1980's, but does that matter? ;-) Conrad (the German spelling of his name is Konrad) Schnitzler passed away on the 4th of August, 2011, after losing a battle with stomach cancer. However, his legacy lives on in his recorded works, videos and memories of some of the most unusual live performances ever commited by any musician in any genre. Please note that there was an LP released in 1981 titled Gelb. However, it contains music from The Black Cassette from 1974. The Red Cassette from 1973 was re-released in 2010 as Zug. However, two years later a different version appeared (included in the discography) with re-worked versions of the pieces. Con was re-released as Ballet Statique.

See also: Tangerine Dream, Kluster, Berlin Express.

 


Schntzl (Belgium)

Schntzl (2016)
Paper, Wind (2018) (EP)
Catwalk (2020)
Holiday (2023)

Belgian jazz-related duo focusing on drums. On Holiday, they give more space for synthesizer sounds, but the choice of textures and the nature of their melodic arrangements reveal an unlikely early 1990's "general MIDI" influence, rather than an analog one from previous decades. Good if you like jazzy game soundtrack hybrids perhaps. The whole album was inspired by a holiday spent in Ravenna, Italy, in October, 2021.

 


Schoener, Eberhard (Germany)

Destruction of Harmony (1971)
A Day's Lullaby (1971)
Meditation (1973)
Windows (1974)
Bali Agung (1975)
Musik Aus Bali (1976)
Trance-Formation (1977)
The Book (1977)
Flashback (1978)
Video Magic (1978)
Video Flashback (1979)
Events (1980)
Video Magic (1981) (different)
Time Square (1981)
Spurensicherung (1983)
Sky Music / Mountain Music (1984)
Eberhard Schoener System (1985)
Bon Voyage (1986)
Bali Symphony - Trance Mission (1991)
Harmonia Mundi (1993)
Time Cycle (1994)
Namaste-Puja (1999)

Schoener And Friends (2006) 

German synthesist and classical composer. Eberhard Schoener was the first to bring a Moog Modular synthesizer to Germany. His works often incorporate ethnic influences and he is sort of a pioneer of World Music. Schoener has an extensive discography (see above) and some of his works are purely or almost purely orchestral (for instance, Die Schachtel (1967), Bastien Und Bastienne (1976), Die Schauspieldirector (1976) ). Destruction of Harmony seems to contain Electronic Music based on Bach's pieces. Windows is a collaboration with a cast of rock musicians, including John Lord of Deep Purple. Video Magic sees Eberhard collaborating with Sting (of The Police fame).

See also: Marlboro Project

 


Schofield, Nick (Canada)

Water Sine (2018)
Glass Gallery (2021)
Crépuscule (2021) (with Rêves Sonores)
Ambient Ensemble (2024)

Relaxing Ambient from this Montreal-based musician. Just synths and water sounds on Water Sine. Prophet 600 synthesizer on Glass Gallery.

See also: Saxsyndrums

 


Scholarly Source (USA)

Index of Woody Landscape Plants (2022) (S)

Nature / tree-inspired synth music. Repetitive melodic themes and field recordings.

 


Scholl, Bernd (Germany)

Tales of Fantasy (1982)
Silent Nature (1986)
Echoes (1988)
Harmony (1989)
Heaven On Earth (1990)
Magic of the Water (1992)
Cosmic Symphony (1993)
Secret Garden (1995)
Light of the Moon (1997)
Mystic Voyage (2000)
Circle of Trees (2004)
Dreamspheres (2004) (with Nik Tyndall)
Road To the Stars (2008)
The Sacred Path (2009) (with Rüdiger Gleisberg)
Dawn To Dusk (2012)
Island Peak (2013) (with Rudiger Gleisberg)
Early Tracks + The First Concert '86 (??)
One Earth - One Sky (2019)
Switzerland Live (2020) (EP)
Culture & Spirit (2021) (with Rüdiger Gleisberg)
The Winds of Autumn (2023)

Bernd Scholl was born on 28th of November, 1956. He played keyboards in different bands before going solo in 1980. His music is very relaxing. However, early releases contain more active and very Berlin School-like stuff.

 


Scholz, Thomas (Germany)

Art-Serie No.1 (1983)

Obscure solo release by member of industrial duo TASS II. The music is repetitive and has that "minimal synth" feel typical of a lot of independent releases of the time.

 


Schönauer, Manfred (Germany)

Sound Sculptures (1983)
Opus 2 (1984)
Sound Sculptures 3 (1985)
Opus I (??)

Rare tapes with Electronic Music by this Germany-born musician (moved to USA in 1972).

 


Schönfield (UK)

The Longest Night, the Saddest Twilight (2014)

Dim, melancholic music mixing guitars and electronics.

 


Schønning, Klaus (Denmark)

Lydglimt (1979)
Cyclus (1980)
Nasavu (1982)
Locrian Arabesque (1985)
Arctic Light (1987)
Symphodysse I (1989)
Symphodysse II (1990)
Scandinavia (1990) (with Kim Skovbye)
Heartland (1991) (with Kim Skovbye)
Symphodysse III (1991)
Symphodysse IV (1993)
Magic Cafe (1993)
Aftermath (1993) (with Kim Skovbye)
Endless Corridor (1995)
Copenhagen (1996)
Rune Quest (1997)
There And Back Again (1997) (with Kim Skovbye)
Mysteries of the Past (1998)
Stars In the Night (2000)
Invisible Worlds (2002)
The Ring Vol. 1 (2002) (with Kim Skovbye)
Fairytales (2005)
Flow (2010)
Fresh Global Tunes (2011)
City (2012)

Danish synthesist born in 1954 in Copenhagen. Starting with music as a child, Klaus quickly embraced the growing rock scene and began playing keyboards (mainly piano). However, it was synthesizer that captured his imagination and in 1979 Klaus released his first album Lydglimt that was enthusiastically received by the public. A bit later Klaus started adding traditional / acoustic instruments to his sound pallette and explored various styles, from the melodic to the ambient. For the most part, his music consists of quite symphonic electronics, sometimes close to new age, but most of the time it's just your "normal" EM.

 


Schönwälder, Mario (Germany)

From the Pyramids (1985)
Zeit (1985)
Grossstadtgedanken (1986)
Human Nature (1986)
Aus Einer Anderen Zeit (1988)
Eye of the Chameleon (1989)
Hypnotic Beats (1990)
Close By My Distance (1992)
Memories In Space (1994)
Spherical Bodies (1994)
Solotrip (1996) (recorded in 1987 - 1996)
Filter-Kaffee 101 (2011) (with Rothe) (recorded in 2007)
Filter-Kaffee 102 (2015) (with Rothe)
Traum & Trauma (2015)
Filter-Kaffee 100 (2016) (with Rothe)
Filter-Kaffee 103 (2017) (with Rothe)
Filter-Kaffee 104 (2019) (with Rothe)
Filter-Kaffee 105 (2021) (with Rothe)
Filter-Kaffee 106 (2024) (with Rothe)

German synthesist (born in 1960 in Berlin), the president of the Manikin label. His music is melodic and rhythmic with good arrangements. But his collaborative efforts with Detlef Keller somehow impressed me more.

See also: Keller & Schönwälder, Fanger & Schönwälder, Nightworkers, Kontroll-Raum.

 


Schoof, Manfred (Germany)

Power Station (1984)
Meditation (1987)
Timebreaker (1990)
Crossroad (1992)

Library albums by this composer born in 1936. Manfred Schoof is mostly known as a jazz musician but during the 1980's he expanded his musical style into areas that would interest most EM fans.

 


School of Silent Illumination (Germany)

Sea of Monochrome (2021)

Bass-heavy drones, noises and dramatic melodies. Interesting EM from Berlin.

See also: Shortwave Research Group

 


Schouten, Patrick (Netherlands)

Collection (1999)
Dreams (2002)
Rain (2004)
Above the Sky (2005)
The Road Home (2006)
Cosmos 1 (2006)
Soul of the Mountain (2007)

Melodic music by this keyboardist (born in 1968 in the Hague), influenced by Vangelis.

 


Schrab, Linus (Sweden)

It Must Have Been Love (2020)
Airborne (2021) (with Angel Simitchiev)

Varied ambient compositions. Sometimes floating, sometimes quite intense and populated with sounds. The closing track from It Must Have Been Love is loaded with emotion and spacey analog synths. Pretty nice stuff.

See also: Thet Liturgiske Owäsendet

 


Schrader, Stefan (Germany)

Trancemission (1983)
Synbild (1984) (S)

Electronic Music by the guy who played synthesizers in a minimal / darkwave band Projekt 3. Trancemission is a cassette that has one side of live material and another side of studio material.

 


Schreiber, Max (Israel)

Variations On Memory (2017) (S)
Short Stays (2020)
Music For Dance And Theatre (2024)

Variations On Memory contains weird electronic versions of Memorial Day songs. Short Stays is long tracks of droning synths, etc.

 


Schrock, Jake (USA)

Frame of Mind (2017) (recorded in 2015)
Tropical Depression (2018)
Omnibus (2020)

This artist tries to mix easy-listening and Prog EM trends in a unique way - using vintage synths and drum machines only, he composes playful, cheerful, melodic compositions. I mean, this is what Cluster would sound like if they would be invited to play as background band in a seaside bar on a tropical island.

 


Schrödingers Katze (Switzerland)

Superposition (2020)

Bern-based duo of keyboardist Simon Althaus and drummer Manuel Pasquinelli. They play rhodes / moog and drums. The music is like improvised instrumental jazzy prog with touches of EM also.

 


Schroeder, Robert (Germany)

Harmonic Ascendant (1979)
Floating Music (1980)
Mosaique (1981)
Galaxie Cygnus A (1982)
Paradise (1983)
Computer Voice (1984)
Die Story der Final Legacy (1984)
Brain Voyager (1985)
Time Waves (1987)
Driftin' (1988)
Pegasus (1990) (recorded in 1982-83)
Hamaja (1991)
Mindwalk (1993)
Everdreams (1994)
D.MO Vol.1 (1998) (recorded in 1978)
Don't You Feel (1998) (EP)
Brainchips (2005)
Sphereware (2007)
D.MO Vol.2 (2008) (recorded in 1980 - 1983)
Taste It (2009)
30 Years After (2009)
New Frequencies Vol.1 (2010)
Cream (2010)
Club Chill Vol. 1 (2011)
Bochum Live 2011 (2011)
Esthetique (2011)
D.MO Vol.3 (2012) (recorded in 1981 - 1991)
New Frequences Vol.2 (2012)
Ferro Oxid (2012)
Slow Motion (2013)
Club Chill Vol. 2 (2014)
Backspace (2014)
Flavour of the Past (2015) (recorded in 1984 - 1986)
Dream Access (2015)
Ambient Occlusion (2016)
Velocity (2017)
D.MO Vol.4 (2017) (recorded in 1978)
Aachener-Jam-Session-Night (2017) (with Ron Boots and others)
New Frequences Vol.3 (2018)
Spaceland (2018)
Fata Morgana (2019)
C'est Magique (2020)
Pyroclast (2021)
Spaces of A Dream (2022)
Into the Light (2023)
D.MO Vol.5 (2024) (recorded in ??)

German synthesist (b. 1955), one of Klaus Schulze alumnis. Robert started with guitar at the age of 13. After getting what he could get from it, he gave up his music studies and immersed himself in the world of electronics and soldering. His talent at assembling electronic circuits led him to building his own electronic instruments. These were bulky modular synthesizers with significant capabilities. He had been playing his own brand of EM for several years without getting any publicity until in 1978 he was noticed by Schulze and offered a contract with Klaus' newly established IC label. This spurred a stellar recording career with Robert being recognized as one of the premier synthesists in Germany. The style of Robert Schroeder could be described as Berlin School music, generally rather soft and beautiful. Some albums (like Brain Voyager) are actually too sweet for my tastes (there is a track which features sweet female vocals and sounds like a child's lullaby - yuck! If it ain't new age, then what the heck is?), although even these contain some excellent tracks. The least impressive one I heard is Driftin', a rather average melodic work that you can easily do without. The early stuff is very good. Time Waves is 50% rather boring slow melodic songs, and 50% quite exciting upbeat stuff with smooth sequencing. 'Skywalker', released in 1983 as a single and also included on the Paradise album sounds like an early version of Laserdance. Any fan of this group should like this track.

See also: Double Fantasy

 


Schroth, Günter (Germany)

Schroth (1988)
Neuro - Net (1994) (with Uwe Zahn)
Barcode Music (2000)

Munich-born Schroth has been composing Electronic Music at least since the early 1980's. He is an acknowledged experimentator in the field and member of several bands / projects.

See also: Neglige - Electronic Underwear

 


Schroyder, Steve (Germany)

Klänge Bilder Welten (1990)
Sun - Spirit of Cheops (1992)
Klänge des Lebens (2007)
Trilogy (2008) (with Paul Lawler and Jozef Skrzek)
Schody do Nieba (2008) (with Daniel Bloom, Josef Skrzek, paul Lawler and Michael Ogorodov)
S5 (2009)
Minced Valves (2010) (recorded in 1977) (with Conrad Schnitzler and Patrick Gresbek)
Qigong Dancing (2012) (with Alienvoices)
Halny (2014) (with Józef Skrzek, Mirosław Muzykant and Steve Kindler)
Carpathian Wind (2016) (with Józef Skrzek, Mirosław Muzykant and Steve Kindler)
Music For Breathing (2017)

Former member of Tangerine Dream, Steve Schroyder is one of the pioneers of Electronic Music and is known for his projects Augenstern and Star Sounds Orchestra. On these solo albums he finds himself in the Ambient mode, with Sun... featuring several fellow musicians, including Jens Zygar (Star Sounds Orchestra) on tuned gongs. The others are Schroyder alone.

See also: Tangerine Dream, Augenstern, Star Sounds Orchestra, Scarecrew, Cosmic Octave Orchestra, Acid Test, Dream Control.

 


Schulenburg, Richard von der (Germany)

Acid Lullabies (2018)
Moods And Dances (2020)
Cosmic Diversity (2022)
Melodies For XYZ (2023)

Techno-related artist born in 1974 in Bielefeld. Acid Lullabies seems to be his attempt to create a "relaxing" album. Here, he uses TB-303 and a few other tools for an ambient-type sound that will certainly interest fans of Prog EM. Thankfully, he delved deeper into EM sound with Moods And Dances, recorded with a small collection of vintage keyboards and synths. Definitely an artist to look out for.

 


Schuler, Luzius (Switzerland)

Moon Is the Oldest TV (2020)

Swiss pianist who on Moon Is the Oldest TV combines his piano playing and electronics for a unique sound - a bit ambient, but not wallpaper, a bit rhythmic, but nothing frenetic, a bit experimental and whimsical, but nothing too weird. There's a vaguely Debussy-like mood to it.

 


Schulner, Jowie (Netherlands)

Emotronic Diary (2014)

Synthwave with a touch of Progressive Electronic.

 


Schulte, Dan J (USA)

TransFuture (2002)
The Iron Realm (2002)
Halloween Returns To Haddonfield (2003)
War of the Dead (2003)
Slavedriver (2007)
Nominal Gain (2009)
Ground Rising (2009)

This California-based synthesist is inspired by the Berlin School and especially by John Carpenter's horror film scores.

 


Schulte, Elmar (Germany)

Beyond (1989)

Emar Schulte has been recording and performing EM since the 1980's, inspired by the ambient works of Steve Roach and other EM pioneers. Most of his music is released under the Solitaire pseudonym.

See also: Solitaire

 


Schultze, Kristian (Germany)

Expedition Extra (1983)
Metronomics (1987)
Born To Breathe (1993)
Colours of Inner Peace (1996)

Ex-Passport keyboard player, Kristian Schultze was also known as a member of new age duo Cusco (with Michael Holm). He was born in 1945 in Frankfurt and received his musical education in Stern' sches Konservatorium in Berlin. After that he studied in Austria and upon returning to Germany started composing for movies and theatre productions (that was in the late 1960's). He formed his first jazz-rock group in 1970. His first experiments with electronic instruments date to 1975. In the early 1980's he used a lot of the then new sampling technology on a Fairlight sampler / synthesizer. Kristian Schultze died in November, 2011.

See also: Passport

 


Schulz, Jeannine (Germany)

Ground . The Gentle (2020)
Luminous (2021)
Humble (2022)

Varied ambient soundscapes from this Hamburg-based artist. Sometimes with prominent piano.

 


Schulz, Rolf (Germany)

Saxamania (1984)
Tambora (1984)
Largo (1986)

Hardcore experimental improvised EM by Rolf Schulz and his ensemble. The first album is heavily based on drones while the second features neurotic, aggressive and sometimes rhythmic music with electronics, collage and wailing distorted guitar (ala Heldon).

 


Schulze, Klaus (Germany)

Irrlicht (1972)
Cyborg (1973)
Picture Music (1973)
Blackdance (1974)
Timewind (1975)
Moondawn (1976)
Body Love (1977)
Mirage (1977)
Body Love Vol.2 (1977)
X (1978)
Dune (1979)
...Live... (1980)
Dig It (1980)
Trancefer (1981)
Audentity (1983)
Dziekuje Poland (1983) (with Rainer Bloss)
Transfer Station Blue (1984) (with Michael and Kevin Shrieve)
Drive Inn (1984) (with Rainer Bloss)
Angst (1984) (soundtrack)
Aphrica (1984) (with Rainer Bloss and Ernst Fuchs)
Inter*Face (1985)
Dreams (1986)
Babel (1987) (with Andreas Grosser)
En=Trance (1988)
The Dresden Performance (1989)
Miditerranean Pads (1990)
Beyond Recall (1991)
Royal Festival Hall Vol.1 (1992)
Royal Festival Hall Vol.2 (1992)
The Dome Event (1993)
Goes Classic (1994)
Totentag (1994)
Le Moulin de Daudet (1994) (soundtrack)
Das Wagner Desaster (1994)
Conquest of Paradise (1994) (S)
In Blue (1995)
Are You Sequenced? (1996)
Dosburg Online (1997)
Live KlangArt Vol.1 (2001)
Live KlangArt Vol.2 (2001)
Andromeda (2003) (S)
Ion (2004) (S)
Moonlake (2005)
Kontinuum (2007)
Farscape (2008) (with Lisa Gerrard)
Rheingold (2008) (with Lisa Gerrard)
Dziekuje Bardzo (2009) (with Lisa Gerrard)
Come Quietly (2009) (with Lisa Gerrard)
Big In Japan (2010)
Shadowlands (2013)
Schulze-Schickert Session (2013) (recorded in 1975) (with Günter Schickert)
Big In Europe Vol. 1 (2013) (with Lisa Gerrard)
Big In Europe Vol. 2 (2014) (with Lisa Gerrard)
The Stars Are Burning (2014) (recorded in 1977 - 1979)
Eternal - The 70th Birthday Edition (2017)
Silhouettes (2018)
Deus Arrakis (2022)

Also participates in:

Go (1976) (with Stomu Yamash'ta, Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola and others)
Go Live From Paris (1976) (with Stomu Yamash'ta, Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola and others)
Go Too (1977) (with Stomu Yamash'ta, Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola and others)

The Dark Side of the Moog series:

The Dark Side of the Moog (1994) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog II (1995) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog III (1996) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog IV (1996) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog V (1997) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog VI (1997) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog VII (1998) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog VIII (1999) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog IX (2002) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog X (2005) (with Pete Namlook)
The Dark Side of the Moog XI (2008) (with Pete Namlook)

Boxed sets:

Silver Edition (1993) (recorded in 1972 - 1993)
Historic Edition (1995) (recorded in 1975 - 1985)
Jubilee Edition (1997) (recorded in 1967 - 1997)
The Ultimate Edition (2000) (recorded in 1967 - 1999)
Contemporary Works (2000)
Contemporary Works 2 (2002)

It is very difficult to speak of someone who literally started it all, especially when I know that whatever good thing I say about this genius of Electronic Music just won't do justice, and won't be enough for a person who has had such an immense influence on the musical scene as a whole, not only so-called 'EM' scene. This man was always way ahead of his time, both musically and technically and to say that Klaus Schulze is a pioneer of Electronic Music is to say nothing. And if I tell you that I'm a biggest fan of Klaus I can already hear you saying: "Now, he can't be objective about that one". And yes you're right, I'm probably biased here because I'm really one of those people who think that everything Klaus has ever created is absolute genius. You see, I always try to be as non-chalant as possible but when it comes to someone whom you rank as highly as I rank Klaus, this is just beyond me, I probably won't be able to say anything bad about him even if I wanted to. Especially when there is absolutely nothing bad to say, from my p.o.v. Well, I too have personal taste in music, and a very good one, methinks. :-) So all that said, I'll start praising the greatest electronic musician in history. Have you ever heard the music of Klaus Schulze? No? Ok, then you haven't heard Electronic Music, that's for sure. And you probably don't know what REAL music is, either. You should rethink all your preconceptions about music and try some of his works as soon as possible. Klaus Schulze is one of those people who always search for something new: new sounds, new forms of musical expression. The results of this quest are known today as Electronic Music. Or, better, modern music. I doubt that we'd have all these countless bands (even outside the EM camp) that use electronic instrumentation now, if there was no Klaus Schulze. But, to my greatest delight, there IS Klaus Schulze and I'm sure that he is still walking the new, never-heard-before and unfound musical streets as I write this. I won't say anything detailed about his music simply because it's very personal and impossible to describe by using mere words. Try anything by him. For instance, you can start with classics like Timewind, an absolutely mesmerizing floating electronic work, a real masterpiece that still sounds totally fresh today, and probably it will always sound fresh, or Mirage, also a masterpiece with an atmosphere that I cannot describe here, I'm starting to run out of words. It's simply a masterful work. I don't want to repeat myself but ALL of his works are top-notch! In spite of the countless copycats who generally don't even remotely sound like Klaus, the Maestro is still making great, totally uncompromising music, with his eternal classics becoming real archetypes with the passage of time. My only advice is: don't judge his music after the first superficial listening. Listen at least a couple of times and listen closely! You won't regret it, trust me. I know that Tokyo wax museum holds a figure of Klaus. Well, maybe it's time for a real monument, for instance, in his native city of Berlin? Because Klaus is one of those few who deserve seeing their own monument while still being well & alive and active in music making. Now that my rant is over, here's some brief biographical data: Klaus Schulze was born in 1947 in Berlin. His first serious encounter with music was drumming for a free rock band Psy Free in the 1960's. A bit later he became the drummer of Tangerine Dream, recording the seminal Electronic Meditation in 1969. Later still, he founded Ash Ra Tempel with Manuel Goettsching and Hartmut Enke. The guys then released their highly-acclaimed debut in 1971. Klaus' first experiments with electronics date back to the 1960's. In the early 1970's he launched a successful solo career with nothing more than an old Teisco organ, a guitar, tapes, and a broken amplifier. With this crude setup he managed to create some amazing sounds. A bit later first synthesizer followed (an EMS VCS3, preceded by a Solina string ensemble). By 1973, murky processed organ and tape effects gave way for a flashier, synthesizer based sound. The 1973 - 1979 period is considered by many to be the golden age of Klaus' music, with every album being a masterpiece. Throughout his career, Klaus Schulze has collaborated with many notable EM and non-EM musicians, including, but not limited to Harald Grosskopf, Andreas Grosser, Rainer Bloss, Michael Shrieve, Pete Namlook, Jörg Schaaf.

Note 27.04.2022: Klaus Schulze left this world on the 29th of April, 2022, after a long illness.

See also: Wahnfried, Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, Cosmic Jokers.

 


Schütte, Ulf (Germany)

Summer Ist Äther (2007) (S)
U. Schütte, G. Steenkiste (2022) (with G. Steenkiste)
Unkugel (2022) (S)

Solo experimental modular synth compositions from member of krautrockers Datashock and a few other groups / projects.

See also: Phantom Horse, Alien Radio, Cloud Management.

 


Schutz, Dieter (Germany)

Trans Vision (1981)
Inventions (1983) (with Adelbert Von Deyen)
Voyage (1985)
The Comet (1986)
Dawn (1987)
Secret Waves (1988)
Other Worlds (1990)
Inner Light (1991)
Old Fashioned (2009) (with Adelbert Von Deyen)

Synthesist (1955 - 1991) from Flensburg who worked within the melodic EM idiom.

 


Schütze, Carl (Germany)

Computermusik Für Leute Die Computer Hassen (1985)

Cheesy perhaps, but charming electronic ditties with robotic voices on top. Not terribly progressive but certainly influenced by the first wave of prog EM musicians (especially Kraftwerk). In fact this album is pure bitpop / chiptune music before it even existed. Privately-pressed LP.

 


Schütze, Paul (Australia)

Deus Ex Machina (1989)
The Annihilating Angel (1990)
Regard: Music By Film (1991)
New Maps of Hell (1992)
The Rapture of Metals (1993)
More Beautiful Human Life! (1993)
Isabelle Eberhardt (1994)
The Surgery of Touch (1994)
Apart (1995)
Site Anubis (1996) (with Phantom City)
Fell (1996) (with Andrew Hulme)
Abysmal Evenings (1996)
Shiva Recoil (1997)
The Ulm Concert (1997) (with Simon Hopkins)
The Nine Songs From the Garden of Welcome Lies (1997)
Second Site (1997)
Green Evil (1998) (recorded in 1982 - 1996)
Third Site (1999)
The Gazing Engine (1999)
Writing On Water (2002)
The Sky Torn Apart (2018)
Without Thought (2020)

Ex-Laughing Hands musician and Ambient composer born in 1958 in Melbourne. His style can be compared to that of Robert Rich or Steve Roach, but Paul Schutze stands pretty much on his own. By the way, some of his works heavily feature mutant trumpet and other jazz structures, approximating his style to certain works by Jon Hassell. Generally, his music is quite minimal and often dark and depressing. Don't know if his music can be considered Dark Ambient, though. I am still to discover his works someday.

See also: Seed

 


Schwalm, J. Peter (Germany)

Drawn From Life (2001) (with Brian Eno)
Wagner Transformed (2013)
The Beauty of Disaster (2016)
How We Fall (2018)
Neuzeit (2020) (with Arve Henriksen)
Aufbruch (2021) (with Markus Reuter)
Transneptunian Planets (2022) (with Stephan Thelen)

Frankfurt-based experimental composer and former collaborator of Brian Eno. The music on The Beauty of Disaster can be described as orchestral Ambient.

 


Schwarz (Spain)

Alquimística (2012)
Nación Subterránea (2016)

Krautrock band from Murcia. Nación Subterránea has some sort of EM appeal.

 


Schwarz, Jean (France)

Maison Rouge (1980)
Gamma Plus / Suite N (1983) (recorded in 1978 and 1981 - 82)
Musiques de Film (1983) (with Benoit Charvet)

French academic composer, musicologist and member of GRM from 1969 to 1999. Some of the stuff he did is slightly more accessible than the usual academic electronic fair, approaching Prog EM in places. Of interest are triple synthesizer works occupying the first side of Gamma Plus. Some of it is amazingly close to a lot of current indie synth droners, some noisier and closer to typical academic electronics. Maison Rouge is a theater score that has some curious moments as well. File under EM-related. Musiques de Film also contains some EM-friendly material.

 


Schwarz, Robert (Austria)

Winter IIVIIXXIVXVXVI (2020)

Ambient with lots of field recordings.

 


Schweben (Germany)

Sketches of Plains (2018)
Trees (2021)

Minimal, repeating synth patterns from Philipp Hager.

See also: Zement

 


Schweizer, Maximillian (Germany)

E-Fuels (2023)

Abstract, but very listenable and playful synth compositions. For fans of Schnitzler, Moebius, Roedelius, Tietchens, Schulze circa Cyborg, etc.

 


Sciama (UK)

Broken Circle (2019)
Illusion of Separation (2020)
Decay To Nothing (2021)
Layers of Appearance (2021)
Myriad (2022)
Decipher (2024)

Darkish ambience. I feel something of a dystopian theme going here.

 


Scibetta, Benny (Italy)

Waiting For the Comet (1996) (with Giorgia Barosso)

This music is almost identical in style to 1989 - 1996 period Tangerine Dream (the Melrose and especially the Seattle Years), complete with sax solos, guitar solos and yes, even the occasional harpsichord. Not that this sound is very difficult to achieve using typical presets on that era's synths, but here the similarity is really striking in places. It's a good album if you like that style.

 


Science Friction (USA)

Freudian Slips (1998)

A band with George Martindell (electronic drums and percussion), Steve Siers aka Quad (synthesizers and bass guitar) and Frank Sonsini (guitars and guitar synth) who create a 'progressive space rock' sound. George, Quad and Frank are together again creating another progressive space rock project called Aliens, Ghosts and Demons (2008). Frank and George as a duo have a side project creating 'dark electronica' called Exploding Monsters (2004). Frank Sonsini and George Martindell as a duo have also been composing unique film soundtracks for eight years under the name Science Friction Scoring / Sound Design.

See also: Cosmic Testicles, Fluorescent Eclipse, Exploding Monsters.

 


Science O.C.N. (Germany)

Linear (2000)
Artifacts (2005)

Science O.C.N. is a melodic / rhythmic EM project of a guy who is known as Conscience (synth-pop / EBM) and Chaos Network (dance / techno). Between classic sounds and some 1990's (ala early FAX) tendencies. Most of the releases to date have been download-only, but there are at least the above two CD's.

 


Scintillation! (USA)

Abstraction (2013)

Warm soundscapes from Ohio, some beatless, some with downtempo beats.

 


Scogna, Flavio (Italy)

Labirinti (1983)

 


Scopece, Alessandro (Italy)

Any Time (1991)
Fox Hunting (1993)
While It's Raining (1994)
Breath of the Universe (1998)
Into Your Dreams (2007)

This musician started out in early Jarre vein, veering towards new age on later works.

 


Scorpio (UK)

Conduct Unbecoming (1983)
Cataclysm (1984)

Alias of Steve Freeman of Auricle fame. His music is mostly based on loops, turntables and processed concrete sounds. However, these two cassettes seem to be dominated by synthesized structures. One should tread with caution because of all artists of the Ultima Thule / Auricle roster, Steve Freeman seems to be one of the farthest removed from the prog EM aesthetic and more indebted to the industrial scene for example. Cataclysm is still fairly rough, stark and dark. And, apart from Throbbing Gristle, it sometimes reminds on darker EM styles like those of Peter Frohmader or early Conrad Schnitzler for example. Further investigation is needed.

See also: Alto Stratus, Vrije, Biomechanoid, Endgame, Adhara, Electric Junk.

 


Scosse Elettriche (Italy)

Scosse Elettriche (2020)
Rock Cut (2022)

A project of Riccardo Sinigaglia together with drummer Davide Zolli. A combination of cosmic electronic moods and improvised jazz structures.

See also: Sinigaglia, Riccardo

 


Scott Dawson, Michael (Canada)

Nowhere, Middle of (2020)
Music For Listening (2022)
Find Yourself Lost (2023)
I Yield My Time (2023) (with Jon Neher)

Saskatchewan-based ambient composer who uses floating tones, soft acoustic sounds, synths and guitars.

 


Scott, Derek (UK)

Sounds Unusual (1975)

A very mature electronic library release (for 1975, that is). There's some usual library cheese but some moments are very proggy.

 


Scott, John (UK)

Inseminoid (1981) (soundtrack)

Electronic soundtrack for this British science-fiction / horror film.

 


Scott Lane, Danny (USA)

How To Empty A Cup (2019)
Memory Record (2019)
Caput (2021)
Wave To Mikey (2022)
Crawl (2022) (with Dennis Young)
Holy Goodnight (2022)
Home Decor (2022)
Shower (2023)

Ambient in the classic sense, reminding on Brian Eno's pioneering works, some Japanese ambient masters, etc. Minimal and emotionally neutral.

 


Scott, Raymond (USA)

Soothing Sounds For Baby Vol.1 (1963)
Soothing Sounds For Baby Vol.2 (1963)
Soothing Sounds For Baby Vol.3 (1963)
Manhattan Research Inc. (2000) (recorded in 1953 - 1969)
Three Willow Park: Electronic Music From Inner Space, 1961 - 1971 (2017)

Raymond Scott (born as Harry Warnow) was an inventor, Electronic Music pioneer and jazz musician. He wrote numerous works in both jazz and electronic fields and some of his tunes were used in cartoon series about Bugs Bunny. Soothing Sounds For Baby is a trilogy of albums written specifically for calming down infants, but it will be also interesting for adult infants who are usually called 'EM fans'. :-) These are truly groundbreaking works made with instruments designed by Scott himself. This rather underrated genius passed away in 1994. Let us hope that he has finally found the 'perfect' performance he demanded from his musicians during his life.

 


Scott, Simon (UK)

Navigare (2009)
Traba (2010)
Nivalis (2010) (S)
Conformists (2010) (with Dag Rosenqvist)
Silenne (2010)
Depart, Repeat (2011) (S)
Bunny (2011)
Aki (2012) (EP)
Below Sea Level (2012)
Insomni (2015)
FloodLines (2016)
STUK (2017)
Shape Memory (2018) (with Marcus Fischer)
Thesis (2019) (S) (with Mike Weis)
Soundings (2019)
Migrations (2020)
Apart (2020)
Long Drove (2023)

Ambient composer (b. 1971) who uses a lot of microsounds and acoustic sources / field recordings. Apart is a poignant work written after Scott lost his father to Covid-19 in April, 2020.

 


Scott, Tom James (UK)

Crystal (2012)
Wild Flowers (2013) (with Andrew Chalk)
Teal (2014)
The Landing (2014) (S)
Calluna (2015) (with Andrew Chalk)
Mine Is the Heron (2020)
Eye of the Sea (2023) (with Svitlana Nianio)
Nightshade (2023)

Classically trained guitarist and minimalist composer who also ventures into electronic Ambient in a sort of droney, reflective and minimal style. I will try to list his electronic or electronic-related works here.

 


Scott, Tony (USA)

Astral Meditation - Voyage Into A Black Hole Part 1 (1988)
Astral Meditation - Voyage Into A Black Hole Part 2 (1988)
Astral Meditation - Voyage Into A Black Hole Part 3 (1988)

Tony Scott (1921 - 2007) was a jazz musician and clarinetist. He was a pioneer of meditative / new age branch of jazz with his 1965 album Music For Zen Meditation. This unusual trilogy of albums (two of the volumes were later re-released as double CD) features solo music by Scott with him playing synthesizers and clarinet. I think it may generate a certain interest from fans of Space Music and Ambient.

 


Scrilla, Danny (Germany)

Ancient Musical Box (2017)

Although known in techno / club circles, Munich-based Danny Scrilla (real name - Daniel Pirkl) admits to have always been influenced by ambient electronic music and EM classics, and on this album he dispenses with beats and focuses on creating varied ambient / experimental tracks mostly based on analog sounds and going for shorter, sketch-like compositions instead on longer epics.

 


Script (France)

Electronic Music (??)

Released in the early 1980's, Script's Electronic Music is a weird LP of synth cover versions ("Oxygene", "Temps X" etc). Apparently, three of the tracks are originals. Not sure that it belongs here.

 


Scrivin, Neil (UK)

Twenty Years On Ben Nevis (2017) (recorded in 2008)
Stars And Rumours of Stars (2019)
This Has No Longer Been the Future (2019)

Sort of chiptune / EM mixture. Short melodic tracks. Pretty one-dimensional, overall.

See also: Doomlode, Night Monitor, The.

 


Scrying Glass (USA)

Beyond Sight (2021)
Wyrmhole (2022)

Chicago-based Zack Dolin aka Scrying Glass makes melodic, repetitive music between "dungeon synth" and general EM / Berlin School.

 


Scuba Death (Brazil)

Demon Seed (2010) (S)
Nitrogen Narcosis (2014)
The Worm At the Core (2016)

Ricardo Donoso's alter ego. Pulsing electronic sounds and sequences.

See alsp: Donoso, Ricardo

 


Sculpture (UK)

Crystal Brochure (2021) (S)

Audiovisual project of Reuben Sutherland and Daniel Hayhurst. Abstract, noisy, complex, synthetic.

 


Sculptures (Spain)

Máscara (2023)

From dark collages to moody synth drones.

 


Scumearth (Spain)

Atomic Physics (2013)

Scumearth is a noise project of Alonso Urbanos. Atomic Physics is less extreme than his usual output, with sort of an ambient vibe even, but still noisy. The subject matter and the vocoded voices on "Atomic Bomb" somehow gave me the Kraftwerk's Radio-Activity feel, although there's nothing here that sounds like Kraftwerk really. A pleasant Noise Ambient work overall.

See also: We Are the Hunters

 


Scythe (USA)

Dun Werk (2019)
Machines Werk (2020)

Slowly unfolding synth modulations, cosmic melodies... A project of Robert Andrew Jones.

 


Scythe (USA) (different)

Candlelit Descent Down the Initiation Well (2021) (S)

A bit similar to dungeon synth, but with sort of an esoteric, ambient quality.

 


Sea of Wires (UK)

At Home And Abroad (1980)
Seasickness (1980)
Beyond the Edge of Tomorrow (1982)

Obscure duo (Chris Jones and Tony Murphy) from Coventry that played ambient synth music during the 1980's. They have released several cassettes, some of them were essentially a solo work of Chris. A bit experimental, with influences from "cosmic" music and electropop. Seasickness is also known as Individually Screened.

See also: Jones, Chris

 


Sea Priest (USA)

The Tower (2012)

Sea Priest is Matthew A. Fields. Complex, soundtracky, synthwave-y, with sequencing and steady rhythms.

 


Sea Vine (Poland)

Sea Vine (2013)
Król i Królowa (2015)

Sea Vine continues traditions of artists like SBB or Czeslaw Niemen, at least, that's how I tend to see it, although Sea Vine do have a sound of their own. Often instrumental, always heavy on the keyboards (piano, electric piano, lots of synths), jazzy touches, electronic moments, improvisation etc. The second album has no guitars and is based completely on the sounds of keyboards and drums. File under EM-related.

 


Seagram Synth Ensemble (Canada)

No Moving Air (2019)

Ontario-based synth trio that uses hardware instruments only to create varied EM tracks, from Vangelis-like cinematic grandeur to ambient soundscapes and rhythmic / melodic. The closer leans towards Edward Artemiev or Sven Grünberg. Pretty nice stuff.

 


Seatman, Keith (UK)

Boxes Windows & Secret Hidey - Holes (2013)
A Rest Before the Walk (2015)
All Hold Hands And Off We Go (2017)
Broken Folk (2018) (S) (with Douglas E. Powell)
Disjointed Oddities And Other Such Things (2018) (EP)
Time To Dream But Never Seen (2020)
Sad Old Tatty Bunting (2022)

Hampshire artist somewhat related to the hauntology genre. He uses cheesy melodies on analog synths, collages, noises etc. Playful and diverse.

 


Sebastopol (Belgium)

Sebastopolis - The Journey (2016)
The Landing 11 (2018)
Moondust And Black Stars (2019)
Little Musics (2022)

Melodic, easy-listening EM with a synth-pop sensibility and a few unique / ambient touches.

 


Seabat (USA)

Understanding Holography (2010)
No Wake (2011)
Rift Store (2011)
Mountains of Palawan (2012)
Crescent ParC (2012)
Scattered Disc (2013)
Synthus (2015)
Outside the Disc (2018)

Diverse Electronic Music with that pleasant warm, analog vibe from this Brooklyn-based duo of John Also Bennett and Forest Christenson.

See also: Walker Christenson, Forest, Bennett, John Also.

 


Seabrook, Michael (UK)

The River Journey (1993)
The Language of Flowers (1997)

 


Seahawks (UK)

Ocean Trippin' (2010)
Invisible Sunrise (2011)
Another Summer With Seahawks (2011)
Vision Quest One: Spaceships Over Topanga Canyon (2011)
Aquadisco (2012)
Desert High Sunset Mind (2012)
Tender Abyss (2012)
Paradise Freaks (2014)
Escape Hatch (2016)
Starways (2017)
Eternal Beams (2018)
Tears of the Deep (2018)
Eyes of the Moon (2019)
Island Visions (2020)
Infinite Echo (2022)

Unclassifiable / crossover project by two British producers Jon Tye and Pete Fowler. Jumping on the bandwagon of the current revival of all things cosmic, new agey and ambient, they released several albums (most of them on vinyl) with music that is a mixture of smooth downtempo beats, new age, Ambient, neo-psychedelia, chillwave (whatever that is) and, yes, that special spark of warm Cluster-like German style EM-ness.

See also: Captain Sunshine, Pink Fluid, Ocean Moon.

 


Sealed In Blood (Poland)

Streams of the Boundless Elements (2007)
Jestes na Zawsze Pomnikiem dla Wszystkich Dusz Wykletych przez Zycie (2009)
Coemeterium (2013)
Death Is the Part of Life (2014)
Accused Sphere (2015)

Classic Dark Ambient from Lower Silesia.

 


Seaman, Bill (USA)

f (noir) (Eilean 33) (2015)
Erasures And Displacements (Eilean 78) (2017)
The Epiphanies (2017)
The Topologies of Blue (2019)
Movements of Dust (2019) (with Rutger Zuydervelt)
Layers of Memory In the Quiet Voice of Motion (2019) (with offthesky)
120 5x5 (2021) (with The Humble Bee)
smlsnd (2021) (with Xu)
Architectures of Light (2022) (with Stephen Spera)
The Cleat Distance (2023) (with Stephen Vitiello)
The World Was Turning (2023) (with Stephen Spera and Tim Diagram)

If you like piano-based Ambient, do treat yourself to Bill Seaman's f (noir), featuring reflective piano abstractions, classical instrumentation and subtle electronics for a hazy, dreamy sound.

 


Seaming To (UK)

Dust Gatherers (2023)

Avant-pop singer from the UK. On Dust Gatherers, there is a heavy use of analog synths that gives it a decidedly EM flair, with some of the tracks being nice synth instrumentals. File under EM-related.

 


Seamus (Iran)

Forever (2005)

A pseudonym of Amir Baghiri.

See also: Baghiri, Amir

 


시어스 (sears) (South Korea)

Entropic Bliss (2018)

Shimmering ambience.

 


Seaweed (UK)

Patchworks (2003)

Rare privately released CDR with solo compositions from the Ozrics synth man.

See also: Moksha, Ozric Tentacles, Nodens Ictus.

 


Sebastian El Toro (Cuba)

Heldon-styled band from Cuba.

 


Sebra Cruz (Italy)

Don't Worry Psy Happy (2023)

Italian house artist with some ambient / prog / krautrock influences and sounds.

 


Séché, Tom (Germany)

Step By Step (2001)

Intended as a 'mental rehabilitation' music for hospital use, this actually sounds inspired by Vangelis' more symphonic and romantic works.

 


Señond Culture (USA)

It... The Other One (1993)
Flying Potion (2013)
Thunder Conjuring Mind (2015)

Mixture of fat downtempo beats, some spoken word passages, post-rock and progressive electronic.

 


Second Hand (UK)

Death May Be Your Santa Claus (1971)

Second Hand was a British psychedelic rock / progressive band led by Ken Elliott that later gave birth to the moog exploito prog ensemble Seventh Wave. Their first album was Reality from 1968 and featured pretty standard psych of the time. However, it's amazing what they achieve on the follow-up. While the first side is still pretty typical psych / early prog songs, the second side features only experimental instrumental compositions. And here's the deal: the album being released in the pre-synthesizer era (at least for the band, as no synth is listed in the credits), the guys manage to come up with some amazing sounds, using just mellotron and organ! There's even a proto-Berlin School track (Revelations...), with repeating pulses, weird effects, etc, all done on just electromechanical keyboards! You can easily compare it to Pink Floyd's "On the Run" but this is at least two years earlier. Some parallels with the early mellotron experiments of King Crimson can also be drawn. Recommended to those who are interested in the early, embryonic manifestations of EM in popular music.

See also: Seventh Wave, Fungus.

 


Señondface (Denmark)

Vega Colony (2013)
Transitions (2017)

Vega Colony is Space Music from Danish musician Frank Vilbæk Jensen dedicated to late British sci-fi writer and illustrator Peter Elson.

 


Secoya (UK)

Ghosts (2015)
The World Is Yours (2016)

Emotional Ambient between classic Eno / Budd, post-rock and a touch of neo-classical.

 


Secret Circuit (USA)

Tropical Psychedelics (2012)
Nebula Sphynx (2012) (S)
Afterlife (2013) (S)
Tactile Galactics (2013)
Dublab Proton Drive Theme (2014) (S)
Cosmic Vibrations (2014)
High Planes Drifter (2016) (S)
Moon Steppin' (2016) (S)
Green Mirror (2023)

A project of Eddie Ruscha that sounds like Cluster meets space disco in the tropics.

See also: Parels, The, Ruscha V, E.

 


Secret Colors (USA)

Lunar (2009)
Days Off (2013)
Space Man (2016)
Passing Through Again (2017)

Diverse project of San Antonio-based Matt Lawson. In fact, it is so diverse that I don't even know where to put him, although he generally stays in the repetitive lo-fi / psych rock territory. Some works (listed) will be interesting for EM fans, such as the repetitive, a but Cluster-like, electronic Days Off or the more diverse and rather lo-fi Space Man.

 


Secret Druid Society (Australia)

Building the Hell (2009) (EP)
Premonition (2009) (S)
Restless (2010)
Deep White Silence (2017)

Dark Ambient project from Australia.

 


Secret of Elements (Germany)

Minds (2011)
Chronos (2021)
Rebuilding Notre-Dame (2023)

A project of Johann Pätzold from Rostock. Cinematic music mixing piano / strings with electronics.

 


Secret of the Forest (Norway)

The Amorphous Concept of Nature's Essence (2018)

Dungeon synth / winter synth / Ambient.

 


Secret Pyramid (Canada)

Distant Works I (2013) (S)
Into the Black (2014)
Distant Works II (2016) (S)
A Pulse In Your Shadow (2017) (S)
Two Shadows Collide (2017)
Embers (2020)
In Ceremony (2020)
A Vanishing Touch (2023)

Secret Pyramid is a Vancouver-based drone / shoegaze project. I will try to list his synth-based ambient works and omit his guitar works here.

 


Secret Saucer (USA)

Element 115 (2005)
2nd Sighting (2007)
Tri-Angle Waves (2009)
Four On the Floor (2011)
Phase Five (2015)
The Reset (2017)

Jamming space rock band from Ohio. 2nd Sighting has at least one electronic track and on Tri-Angle Waves there are six tracks, two of which are completely electronic. Overall they seem to maintain the "at least 1 electronic track per album" ratio throughout their discography so the band is not EM but is definitely EM-related.

 


Secret Science (USA / Netherlands)

First Discoveries (2020)

A collaboration between Jacob DeRaadt and Max Kuiper. Cerebral, monolithic drones and sounds with a scientific atmosphere. Between Noise Ambient and "regular" Ambient / EM.

 


Secret Stairways (USA)

Enchantment of the Ring (1997)
Turning Point (1999)
Drifting Across the River (2021) (recorded in 1995)

Ambient project of Matthew Davis who was born in 1973 and commited suicide in January, 2011. Apart from Secret Stairways, Matthew also played in a couple of metal bands.

 


Secret Universe (Germany)

The Cosmic Lens (2016)

Sort of a mixture of Ambient and dubby / balearic / downtempo music.

 


Secretflowers (USA)

Secretflowers (2019)
Meridian (2020)
Remote Viewing (2020) (EP)
Rivers And Tides (2021)
Omni (2021)
Subliminal EP (2022)
Vast Expanse (2022) (EP)
Zero Point Redux (2022)
Surrender (2023)

Droning ambience with not much variety, but rather hypnotic.

 


Secta Erah (USA)

Niebla Calina (2011) (S)

Floating / abstract / melodic analog synthesizer work. Somewhat static and often rather rudimentary.

 


Section 37 (UK)

Critical Mass (1999)
Critical Mass Vol.2 (2001)

A very strange hellish electronic project by Stuart J. Harris and Jim Kirkwood. The second album is a solo work of Harris. Very experimental in a way with strange rhythms and otherwordly sounds. This is indeed music from hell, but it could easily be the music of some alien club as well.

See also: Kirkwood, Jim, Lucifaere, Ancient Technology Cult, Violence In Eden, Emerald Eye.

 


Sed Blava (Spain)

Nit Sublim (2021)

A project of Barcelona-based Daniel Boix. Energetic, EBM-like, with some classic melodic / rhythmic EM moments. The title track from Nit Sublim is quite enjoyable.

 


Sedibus (UK)

The Heavens (2021)
Seti (2024)

A project of original members of The Orb - Alex Patterson and Andy Falconer. The music combines that group's ambient techno sound with purely ambient compositions.

See also: Orb, The

 


Seeami (New Zealand)

Incase (2012)
The Age of Empire (2014) (S)
Health & Safety (2014) (S)
Seeami X Albino Deers (2015) (S) (with Albino Deers)

Seeami is Henry Thompson from Wellington. Incase is rhythmic music with melodic soloing and some sequences. The Age of Empire is more ambient but also more lo-fi.

 


Seed (Australia)

Vertical Memory (1995)

A project of Paul Schutze. Ambient.

See also: Schutze, Paul

 


Seedspore (USA)

Woodmoke (2019)
Leaflitter (2023) (recorded in 2020)

Nature-inspired ambient project. Mostly synths & pads, but also acoustic sources (acoustic guitar & field recordings).

 


Seeing the Sights (USA)

Lament Configuration Part One (2016) (S)
Between Avalon & Harbour (2016)
Dreaming Left Free (2016)
Mojave Sunsets (2017)

Georgia-based group who define themselves as "deconstructionist space synthesizer collective". Ranges from tribal ambience to spacey drones and more.

 


Seeker (Lebanon)

Rise of the Seekers (2005) (S)
Presence of the Seekers (2006) (S)
Invocation of the Sleeper (2007) (S)

Dark Ambient from Osman Arabi.

See also: Arabi, Osman

 


Seeland, Remo (Switzerland)

Hollow Body (2019)

Moody Ambient that mixes acoustic and electronic sources. Nice and pretty unique.

 


Seelenblut (Greece)

Angel's Suicide (2000)
Phosphorus (2001)
Chastity & Dementia (2010)

Dark Ambient by Andreas Barekas.

 


Seemann (Germany)

Aphasie (2017)
Klamm (2018)
Mechanische Organisation (2018) (with TBC)
Fluss (2019) (S)
TBC & Seemann (2020) (with TBC)
Schleuse (2020)
Passhöhe (2022) (with TBC)
Glashaus (2023) (with TBC)

Kai Seemann is an ambient artist from Hamburg.

 


Seeno, Ken (USA)

Open Window (2011)
Invisible Surfer On An Invisible Wave (2011)

Warm synth music from member of psychedelic / math rock group Ponytail.

 


Seesranta, Sami (Finland)

Kevätyön Kaari (2006)
Kaikkeuden Kaiut (2010)

Space Music from this Finnish synthesist and keyboard player.

 


Seesselberg (Germany)

Synthetik 1 (1973)

Abstract Electronic Music from Eckhart Seesselberg and Wolf-J. Seesselberg, comparable to Conrad Schnitzler circa the same period.

 


Seetton (France)

Terrestreïtes, Rings Of Saturn (2011)
Onirocriticon (2021)

A project of Raphaël Panis. Mostly Noise Ambient, but also Deep Ambient.

 


Seetyca (Germany)

Seetyca_1 (2002)
Seetyca_2 (2002)
Seetyca_3 (2002)
Seetyca_4 (2002)
Stone (2002) (with Johann E. Mildenberg)
Expander (2002)
Remnants of Silurian Beauty (2002)
Sulphur (2002) (with Etheocles Stevens)
The Dark Design (2003) (with Nerthus)
Arctic Isolationism (2004) (with Mystified)
Der Weisse Raum (2004)
Seetyca_5_6_7 (2004)
Sulphur II (2004) (with Etheocles Stevens)
Seetyca_9 (2004)
Remnants of Carbon Beauty (2005)
Dühringa Aorta (2005)
Dühringa Aorta 2 (2007)
Klangschafft 1: Weite (2007)
Klangschafft 2: The Quiet Observer (2007)
Þrymr (2007)
Die Zween Thüren (2007) (with Christian Berhalter)
Seetyca_x - Neumark (2009)
The Advent of Hypnos - Sleep States I (2010)
Tingent Orbs - Sleep States II (2010)
The Forest People (2011)
Bleakscapes (2011)
Pavor Nocturnus - Sleep States III (2011)
Suns (2012) (with Mystified)
The Luminous Deep (2012)
Demiourgos (2012)
Dühringa Aorta 3 (2012)
Parasomnia - Sleep States IV (2013)
Lieder zum Summen (2014)
Mbira (2015)
Deus Ex Machina (2015)
Nemeton (2015)
Eis (2015)
Nebelwald (2016)
Zwischenwelten (2016)
Die Stille Platte (2017) (with Mandeen)
Sulphur IX (2017) (with Etheocles Stevens)
Winterlicht (2017)
Trances (2019)

German ambient soundscape artist.

See also: Parikrama, Circle of Pines.

 


Seeuws, Patrick (Netherlands)

Impressions (1984)
Criminals... And Strange Places (1985)

Electronic Music in melodic / rhythmic / sequencer style.

 


Sega, Andrew (USA)

Freelancer (2003) (soundtrack)

Andrew Sega appeared on the demo scene in the 1990's, thanks to his tracker modules. Since then, he has mainly composed music for video games. This soundtrack to a space simulation game from 2003 is no exception. It features Space Music and Dark Space compositions from Sega (the "space suites") and a few orchestral interludes from James Hannigan. I've played the game and apart from the great visuals it was this wonderful, cosmic Electronic Music that captured my attention. Great stuff.

 


Segal, Max (Belgium??)

Earth Scope (2019)

 


Segue (Canada)

Gene Machines (2020)

A project of Vancouver-based Jordan Sauer. He is mostly known for his dub techno music. On Gene Machines, he processed recordings of machinery installed at the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre into rhythmic and / or melodic sounds, combining them with a few synth injections. An interesting Noise Ambient release.

 


Segura, Javier (Spain)

Nostalgia de lo Humano (1986)
Lamento Bereber (1989)
El Sol Desde Oriente (Selected & Unreleased Recordings 1980-1990) (2017)

Javier Segura started his career already in the 1970's. At the beginning of the next decade he formed a minimal synth / new wave duo Arte Moderno with Juan Belda. A solo minimal synth record followed in 1983 and then a highly experimental album in 1986. Lamento Bereber takes a turn towards the ambient side, at times sounding like a darker, industrial (and non-melodic) version of Jarre's Revolutions, if you can imagine such a thing. I am not sure how much of his overall output could be considered EM or EM-related, so further investigation is needed.

 


Seht (New Zealand)

Dronemusic (2001)
Goodbye America, And Have A Nice Day (2002)
Syddo Paragone (2005)
Communion Longplayer (2005)
Application Antartica Download Form (2005)
Nova Bonalbo (2005)
The Voice of the Taniwha (2005)
Federacy Boot (2006)
The Green Morning (2006)
Gyurz Nz You Are Thus Alienated (2006)
Christian Jesus, I Will Determine A Suicide (2006)
Exactly What You Lost (2007) (with Howard Stelzer)
Roadkill Echidna, Possibly Kiwi (2007)
Dead Bees (2008)
HRRY (2009)
I Follow the Moon (2017)
Another (Looped) Sunday (2023)

Looping Drone Ambient project with a pretty minimal, but often rather hypnotic sound. Seht is Stephen Clover.

 


Sei Still (Mexico)

Sei Still (2020)
El Refugio (2021)
Fuzz Club Sessions (2022)

Mexican five-piece krautrock band currently based in Berlin. They channel that Dusseldorf School mood pretty expertly, at times sounding more Neu! / La Dusseldorf than Neu! / La Dusseldorf themselves. Motorik, bass, guitars and synths galore. File under EM-related.

 


Seibt, Christian (Germany)

Gesichter der Depression (1986) (S) (soundtrack)

Soundtrack to a Swiss documentary about depressions. Melodic style a bit reminiscent of Tangerine Dream.

 


Seifert, Erik (Germany)

Thrust Avis (2004)
A Trip To Nebula Cluster (2004) (recorded in 1992 - 2003)
Aotearoa (2006)
Astronomical Unit (2008)
Core (2009)
Softlock (2014) (with Josef Steinbüchel)
Reverse Engineering (2017) (with Josef Steinbüchel)
Abandoned Places (2018) (with Josef Steinbüchel)

This artist makes cosmic, melodic and rhythmic music with influences from Vangelis, Jarre, Tangerine Dream & more.

See also: Triple S

 


Seiichi, Osaki (Slovakia)

The Tale of A Long Forgotten Sunken City (2022)

Long tracks of melodic ambient synths with a mysterious / fantasy atmosphere. This seems to be a pseudonym used by a Slovak duo of musicians.

 


Seikai (USA)

10 September 1770 (2019)
To Sanzuwu (2019)
III: Sunrise & Sunset (2019)
IV (2020)

Pulsing, darkish synth music from Austin, Texas (a duo of Anthony Pandolfino and Samuel Groat).

 


Seiler, Peter (Germany)

Keyboards And Friends (1973)
Klangbilder (1984) (with Klaus Nagel)
Flying Frames (1986)
Sensitive Touch (1987)
The Passage (1990) (with Michael Lorenz)
Open Borders (1991)
Christmas Songs & Traditionals (1993)
Cosmic Strings Vol.1 (1994)
Cosmic Strings Vol.2 (1995)
Sound Oasis 1 (1996)
Sound Oasis 2 (1998)
Sound Oasis 3 (2001)
Sternenmusik (2001)
Peaceful (2002) (with Lisa Franco)
Dreamdancer (2016) (recorded in 1976) (soundtrack) (with Michael Bundt)
Ride To Matlacha (2017)

Peter Seiler was born in 1953 in Mannheim. In the Seventies, he was part of the progressive rock trio called "Tritonus". The band's music was similar to Emerson, Lake and Palmer with some Pink Floyd stylings as well. They released two LP's: Tritonus (1975) and Between the Universes (1976). In the 80's, Peter resurfaced again as a solo electronic musician.

See also: Sirius, Tritonus.

 


Seiliog, R. (UK)

Shuffles (2012) (S)
Doppler (2013)
In HZ (2014)
Ash Dome (2021)

Varied artist from Wales (real name of the artist - Robin Edwards). From krautrocky motorik to spacey synths and techno.

 


Seismic Wave Factory (Czech Republic)

Morbid Symphony Pt. 1 (1998)
Morbid Symphony Pt. 2 (1998)
Soptones (1999)
Thanasis (2000)
Finis Gloriae Mundi (2000)
Excommunicated (2002)
Insight (2003)
Secondary Reaction (2003)
D/H/C (2004)
Postcollapse (2004)
Dysphoria (2005)

Noise Ambient / Dark.

 


Sejersdahl, Tobias (Denmark)

Melile (2018)

Pretty experimental, but also ambient analog / modular synths and field recordings.

 


Sekelslyper (South Africa)

Perverse Nexus (2018)
Sombre Dedication To the Grave (2018)
Black Vault (2019)
Deathbed Confession of A Newborn (2019)
Subconscious of the Sinister Solitarian (2019)
Black Alley Experiments (2019)

Horror ambience with some noisy bits.

 


Sekimori, Rei (Japan)

Pyramid Power (1978)

Rare electronic album. Hideki Matsutake lends a hand as synthesizer programmer.

 


Selaroda (USA)

New Eternity (2010)
Synaptic Portals (2011)
Polytexturalism (2014)
Viaje a Través de Sonidos Transportative (2015)
Ashes From Another Lifetime (2015) (S)

Selaroda is sound artist Michael Henning from Oakland, California. He is a founding member of experimental improv ensemble The Why Because and as Selaroda he creates rich psychedelic soundscapes, often based on the sound of analog synthesizers.

 


Selfish Limbs (Greece)

Beats To Beat Isolation (2020)
Isolated Cityscapes (2020)
Sonic Blankets (2023) (S)

Hailing from Thessaloniki, Selfish Limbs is an ambient project with a gloomy, often dystopian sound.

 


Sellekaers, John (Belgium)

Black Baccara / Daemonigraphia / Derelict / Tourist Trap (2001) (S)
Machines Inutiles (2019) (S)
Residual Broadcast (2019)
Unnatural (2020) (with Patrick Graham)
Observer Effect (2021)
Folium (2021)

Ambient composer working under numerous aliases.

 


Selman, William (USA)

Urbanism And Ecology (2014)
Equatorial Night (2014) (S)
Chaîne Opératoire (2014)
Picture of the Climates (2015)
Musica Enterrada (2018)
The Life of Lines (2020)
Saccades (2021)
The Weather Indoors (2023)

Portland, Oregon-based sound artist whose style will be enjoyed by fans of Experimental EM and modular synth enthusiasts.

 


Seltene Erden (Germany)

Scorched Erden (2020)

Varied electronics from Gunnar Wendel. Mostly intense and dense, sometimes noisy.

 


Selvedge (USA)

Warm Enough (2020)

Lawrence, Kansas-based artist (Chance Dibben). Warm Enough is an album of varied electronic soundscapes inspired by weather and the cold season. It is actually quite nice and evocative of its theme. The rest of his discography I know nothing about at the moment.

 


Semans, Josh (UK)

...And the Birds Will Sing At Sunrise (2020)
To Will A Space Into Being (2023)

British Ondes Martenot player. ...And the Birds... has him on said instrument and electronics, accompanied by piano. Truly fascinating stuff.

 


Semi-Modulars, The (USA)

Switched On Larry (2020)

Synth project organized by students of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Wacky, cartoonish, analog...

 


Semiotic Ghosts (USA)

Majestic Bastards (2021)
Acid Canyon (2022)
32 Minutes Into the Future (2022)

Los Angeles-based modular synth duo. Abstract, experimental...

 


Sempervirens (Estonia)

An Ordinary Day (2007) (with Kenji Siratori)
Dirge of the Dying Year (2008)

Ambient soundscapes by Estonian sound artist Margus Mets.

 


Sena, Michael (USA)

Bali High (2015) (recorded in 1984) (soundtrack)

Original soundtrack to a 1984 remake of 1981 surf movie. Styles here range from hard rock / Springsteen-like heartland rock ("Agatha Trim") to reggae, funk, disco, ethnic music, acoustic guitar music and, yes, EM. Examples of the latter include "Boeing Boeing Bong" and the nice sequencer rollercoaster "Under-Ripples".

 


Senara (Spain)

Banda sonora para una película que no existe (2022)

As the title suggests, this is reflective and cinematic music, mostly of ambient nature. Senara is Victor G. Sánchez.

 


Senchur, Becket G. (USA)

Music For Electronic Synthesizers (??)

Quite an unusual item. This tape was released somewhere in the 1980's by Becket G. Senchur, a member of the Order of Saint Benedict, i.e. a monk. Quite an unusual monk, too, as this tape perfectly proves by mixing standard Christian themes with original material that gets quite intense in places. The music was recorded live at the Basilica of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania.

 


Sendecky, Vladislav (Poland)

Jamin' (1988)

Vladislave Sendecki is also known as Wladyslaw Sendecki. Although he is a jazz pianist, this album is electronic.

 


Senestra (UK)

Stanford (2023)

Cinematic music between "horror synth" and harsher, rhythmic noise or power electronics-related sounds. Senestra is a duo of Puppy38 aka Hiroshimabend and Alan Rider.

 


Seneviratne, Suren (Sri Lanka)

Magnetism (2020) (with Lars Rynning)
Vector Music (2022)

Experimental / electronic artist also known as My Panda Shall Fly. Seneviratne is based in London. He recorded Vector Music during the Covid pandemic and used only a Yamaha TG33 synth, which was sold shortly after recording the album.

 


Senger, Steven (USA)

Cassette Tape For Your Car / LUNOTA (2015)
Window (2016)
Quote Questions (2017)
Gentle (2018) (EP)
Jellyfish (2018)

Synthwave-related music that's a bit too beat-oriented for my taste, but has some neat experimental touches and some tasty melodic synth sounds. For Jellysfish, he has moved to more ambient realms. Steven Senger is an artist from Springfield, Missouri.

 


Senn, Michaela (Austria)

Sujet Incertain (2017)

A weird one, this. Featuring both ambient soundscapes and weird, rhythmic, Moebius-like excursions, the music is loaded with samples, TV voices and other sounds.

 


Senni, Lorenzo (Italy)

Quantum Jelly (2012)
Superimpositions (2014)
Scacco Matto (2020)

Milan-based experimental musician. Of interest are his minimal, beat-less deconstructions of 1990's trance music. Progressive in concept, but not so much in sound.

 


Señor Tonto (Italy)

Switched On T.A.R.M. (2003)

A project of Erik Ursich dedicated to instrumental analog synth versions of songs by Italian rock band Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti. Mostly electronic cheese really, but there are some interesting more experimental / progressive bits too and the warm synth sound is nice throughout.

See also: Ursich, Erik

 


Señora (Spain)

El Barrio La Plata (2017) (S)
Fósil (2020)

Started as a duo, Señora has now been reduced to a single member who resides in Berlin, I believe. Unique rhythmic electronics, with traces of synthwave, "downtempo", techno and progressive EM.

 


Senotaphium (Russia)

Anima (2009)

Melancholic Ambient. Includes a Burzum cover.

 


Sensation's Fix (Italy)

Fragments of Light (1974)
Sensation's Fix (1974)
Portable Madness (1974)
Finest Finger (1976)
Boxes Paradise (1977)
Vision's Fugitives (1977)
Flying Tapes (1978)
Antidote (1989) (recorded in 1978 - 1980)

Florence-based band with Franco Falsini, Richard Ursillo and Keith Edwards (the original line-up). Electronics with some vocals and more upfront guitar on later albums.

See also: Falsini, Franco, Head, Stephen.

 


Sense (Australia)

Selected Moments Volume 1 (2011)
The Dream (2013)
Still Life (2014)

Beautiful analog soundscapes from Adam Raisbeck. His earlier albums are supposedly more in IDM vein.

 


Sense Project (UK)

The Sublime (2008)

Varied soundscapes from Robert Logan. Released by Hypnos Secret Sounds.

See also: Logan, Robert

 


Sensible Soccers (Portugal)

Sensible Soccers (2011) (S)
8 (2014)
Villa Soledade (2016)
Aurora (2019)
2011 - 2013 (2021)
Manoel (2021)
Fornelo Tapes Vol. 2 (2022) (S)

EM / post-rock trio from Portugal with their version of improvised electronics, performed primarily on analog synthesizers, guitars and drums. The moods range from cosmic / reflective to sequencer-based and rhythmic / wacky, with occasional forays into loungy Ashra-like kraut goodness.

 


Sensitive Chaos (USA)

Leak (2006)
Emerging Transparency (2009)
Seeker After Patterns (2011)
Amerisynthecana (2013)
March of the Timeshifters (2015)
Closer To Home (2021)

Atlanta-based artist Jim Combs is influenced by both modern club music such as IDM / Drum'n'Bass and the classic electronic sound. The 2009 album is more traditional EM with spacey parts and more rhythmic, a bit Kraftwerk-like excursions.

 


Sensory++ (Belgium)

Planet (2014)
Art of Sadness (2017)
Exoversum (2020)
Sessions In the Quantum Field (2021) (with Syndromeda)
Journey To the Outness Beyond (2023) (with Syndromeda)

Very nice Electronic Music, mostly of floating variety, by Belgian synthesist Joost Egelie who also releases music under his real name.

See also: Egelie, Joost

 


Sensum & Clunch (USA)

Sensum & Clunch (2014)

Experimental and minimal, but very listenable modular synth constructions. Sounds like decomposed Berlin School music.

 


Sentence Me To Heaven (Australia)

Forever Longing You (2020) (recorded in 2018)

Melancholic ambience from Melbourne-based Jameson Clarke.

 


S'entendre (Ireland)

Gliese 667 Cc (2022)

Monolithic, slightly noisy drones from Nicolas Mahoney and Jonathan Deasy.

 


Sentiessence (UK)

The Living Temple (2020) (S)
From the Shadows of Rural Albion (2020) (S)
From An Abstruse Villatic Path (2021)
Gilded Wings Athwart the Black Sun (2021)

English Dark Ambient project. Drawn-out organ tones and melodies, samples, sad atmospheres...

 


Sentionaut (Spain)

Split Cassette (2015) (with Polígono Híndu Astral)
Enciclopedia Series 3 (2015)
Planet Noa (2015)
Conversations (2018)
Time Traveller (2019)

Analog synth artist from Spain.

See also: Dekatron II, We Are the Hunters, Muerte Solar, Red Blood Divine.

 


Sentuhlà (Spain)

La Curva Paralela (2020)
El Pasaje del Aumento (2023)

A project of José Guerrero based in Valencia. Quirky, rhythmic, experimental... Automated rhythms and sounds, repeating melodies... Pretty interesting and unique stuff.

See also: Jupiter Lion

 


Senza Testa (Sweden)

Intro/Tom/64 Waves (2013) (S)
Reverberations of Mahakali (2022)
Bunker Archeology (2022)

Monolithic, hypnotic, droning synth compositions. Some moments of sparkling arpeggio / sequencer bliss as well. Nice stuff. A project of Jonas Rosén.

See also: Råd Kjetil Senza Testa

 


Seohm (Spain)

Vega (2018)
Finding Nile (2020)

Electronic artist from Bilbao. Spacey music with sequences, pads and stuff. Often sounds like 1970's Klaus Schulze (especially the stuff played at concerts during that decade).

 


Sephiroth (Sweden)

Nattljus (1995)
Tidvatten (1997)
Cathedron (1999)
Windarnas Hus (2003)
Draconian Poetry (2005)

Sephoroth is Ulf Söderberg. Note that some of the above works were released under his own name. The music is Dark / Ritual Ambient with cold northern atmosphere, like music from some ancient temple. There's percussion that makes it comparable to a more tribal version of Raison D'Etre.

 


Sepia Parlour (Sweden)

How Eagerly We Bade the Sun Adieu (2017)

Mysterious and moody ambient soundscapes with some tracks leaning towards glitchy dub techno.

 


Seppsilvestri (Romania)

The Searching (2021)

Hypnotic electronic compositions with some pleasant sequencing.

 


September Equation, The (USA)

Frail Formations (2017) (S)

A project of Nathan Schroeder. I think it started as a glitch project (not sure, though). Frail Formations is chirpy, melodic analog electronics.

 


Sepulchral Moon (Colombia)

Toward the Eternal Realm (2010) (S)
Journey To the Endless (2010) (EP)
Khazad-Dûm (2011)

Supposedly, Dark Ambient.

 


Sepvlcre (Spain)

Omnes Morimur (2020)

Catalan Death Ambient artist. Minimal sounds, often on the edge of hearing, similar to Deep Ambient or the more minimal forms of Noise Ambient.

 


Seqoia-M (Belgium)

ConUndRum (2016)

Melodic EM with rhythms and sequences from Belgian artist Vincent Pierins.

 


Sequencer People (USA)

1 (1982)

A duo of James Husted and Roland Barker (also known as "Young Scientist"). Apparently they mixed analog experiments with vocal stuff.

See also: Young Scientist, Barker, Roland.

 


Sequences (Belgium)

Vespertine: A Tragedy In Several Tones of Grey (2009)
Transient Form (2013)
Magnesium / Sulfur (2015) (S)
Liquids of Essence / Prisms of Dissolution (2015)
As the Dust Reveals All (2015)
An Event For Oceans (2016) (S)
Carapace (2016) (S)
Shelter (2017)
Beneath the Earth (2018)
Concave Mirror (2018)
Séance (2019) (S)
Gathering Colours (2019) (S)
Lost In Dimness (2020)
Woven Empty (2020)
The Seismograph (2023)
Água Viva (2024)

Contrary to what one might expect just looking at the name of the project, this is Dark Ambient. Sequences is Niels Geybels.

 


Sequentia Legenda (France)

Blue Dream (2015)
Amira (2015) (S)
Extended (2016)
Ethereal (2017)
Renaissance (2018)
Over There (2019)
The Lunar Trilogy (2019)
Five (2019)
Beyond the Stars (2020)
Celestial (2021)
Resonances (2022)
Alcyone (2023)

Laurent Schieber is a Berlin School artist from France.

 


Sequential Dreams (Canada)

Legends (2016) (with Kuutana)
The Exodus Wave (2017)
The Infinite Divide (2017)
High Voltage (2017) (with Bernhard Beibl)
Metamorphic Waves (2017)

Berlin School-influenced artist from Quebec, also known as Kuutana as well as under several other pseudonyms.

 


Sequenza, Wolf (Germany)

Consequenz (1980) (with Conrad Schnitzler)
Sequenza (1980)
Conrad & Sequenza (1981) (with Conrad Schnitzler)
Consequenz II (1986) (with Conrad Schnitzler)
10kW/h (2010) (recorded in 1973 - 1977) (with Conrad Schnitzler)
Consequenz 010B (2011) (with Conrad Schnitzler)
Five Eyes (2014) (with Alfred Harth)
ExRotaprint (2015) (with Ken Gen Montgomery)
Malcha (2016) (with Alfred Harth, Fabrizio Spera and Nicole van den Plas)
Optimistic Modernism (2019) (with Lan Cao and Gregor Siedl)
Spectres of A World That Could Be (2020) (with Thomas Schröder)
Music Is Not Language. Neither Is It Painting. Just Music. (2021) (recorded in 1972 - ??) (with Conrad Schnitzler)

Wolf Sequenza is a pseudonym used by German drummer / percussionist and electronic musician Wolfgang Seidel. He has a quirky, experimental style, mixing drums, electronic processing and synthesizers, and has been around since the early embryonic days of EM and krautrock. He collaborated with Conrad Schnitzler, among others. The above discography includes both the "Wolf Sequenza" releases and those released under his real name.

 


Séraphin (France)

Aphorismes (1998)

Synthesist from Metz, full name - Séraphin Palmeri. Aphorismes was his debut released on CD and sees participations of Jean Pascal Boffo on guitar and Laurent Gianez on sax. After that, Palmeri released a few more (digital only) albums. His music is wistful and melodic, at times cosmic.

See also: Sounds In Progress

 


SeraSidereA (Italy)

Aestetica Tenebrarum (2008)

A duo of Carlo Luzi and Paolo de Gregori. Aestetica... is a sort of a cosmic opera.

See also: Terra della Sera, Acheloo.

 


Sereba, Kouame Gerard (Ivory Coast)

Kilimandjaro (1993)
Bako (2010)

With the participation of Erik Wollo. This album represents a mixture of melodic Electronic Music and African rhythms. Bako is a continuation of what was started on Kilimandjaro. Gerard Kouame Sereba has been living in Norway since 1983.

 


Serediak, Jim (Canada)

Image And Reflection (1984)

Jim Serediak is a Canadian classical guitarist and multi-instrumentalist from Edmonton. He also experimeted with electronic and electro-acoustic music, as the above album shows. There's not much in terms of melody but the collection is rather ambient and does create a kind of relaxed, pastoral atmosphere, with some droning pieces, some pieces based on field recordings and some rhythmic / experimental excursions.

 


Seregost (USA)

Halls of A Nameless King (2018)
The Wytchfinder (2019) (S)
Singvla Carmina MMXIX (2019)
The Dark Svn (2020)
The Wytchlover (2021)
Verses of A Silent Bard (2022)
Gathering Before the War (2023) (S)
A New Age of Might (2023) (S)

Dungeon synth-related music with lots of choirs, some bass and pounding drums. Tracks like "Ancient Magicks Stir" have a strong EM flair.

 


Seren Ffordd (UK)

Stellar Nurseries (2005)
Arhythmia (2005)
A Melancholy Light (2005) (S)
Aurora (2005) (S)
Floating (2006)
Ydd Hwnt Y Seren A Llygedin (2006)
The Portal's Dreaming (2006)
Veils, Shadows (2007)
The Quiet Labyrinth (2007)
Visiting Berlin (2010)
The Martian Chronicles (2011) (with Oophoi)
Strands (2011)
Fractured (2015)
The Dreaming Waters (2022) (with Oophoi)

Seren Ffordd (the name of the project translates to "star road") is a soundscape artist Andy Benford based in Wales. A Melancholy Light and Aurora are mini-CD's.

See also: Llunstorcarnay

 


Seretan, Ben (USA)

Sandhills Music (2022)

Ambient music from this diverse, mostly folk musician.

 


Sergeant, Will (UK)

Themes For Grind (1982)
Weird As Fish / La Via Luonge (2003) (recorded in ?? - 1982)

An unusual diversion for member of post-punk / indie / new wave outfit Echo And the Bunnymen, Themes For Grind is a collection of instrumental pieces that utilize guitar and keyboards to sculpt moody ambient and melodic pieces. Unique music with a cold and desolate atmosphere and a slight post-rock vibe. Weird As Fish / La Via Lounge gathers archived pieces recorded somewhere in the late 1970's, which are much more guitar-oriented and quite rudimentary, but adds a 1982 soundtrack to a short film, which is vaguely along the lines of Themes For Grind.

 


Seriatim (UK)

Negative Polarity (2003)

Rhythmic, electro-like music with glitchy beats and sometimes repeating subtle melodies from this Sheffield-based project. Sometimes sounds like a stripped-down version of Kraftwerk.

 


Serifenlose (Germany)

Alienata (2017)

Supposedly, ambient soundscapes.

 


Sermonizer (Italy)

Amniotist (2021)

Sermonizer has been experimenting in industrial and related musics since 1979. He has an extensive discography that looks pretty intimidating.  Amniotist will be enhoyed by fans of dark soundscapes. Further investigation is needed.

 


Seroka, Henri (Belgium)

Son Premier Ete (1976) (soundtrack)
Electronic And Symphonic Dreams (1984)
Pink Dream (1995) (with Benatar)

Belgian singer and composer of Polish descent who started in the 1960's, releasing some pop singles and LP's. After that a period of instrumental research followed, resulting in several electronic works, including the soundtrack to a soft porn movie "Son Premier Ete". Lately, Henri Seroka plunged with both feet into the world of relaxing new age / background music and classical composition.

 


Serotonin Allegiance (Canada)

Late Night Commute (2020) (S)

Moody, nocturnal electronics.

 


Serotti, Enrico (Italy)

Homemade Music (1981)
Homemade Music Vol. II (1983 - 1999) (2017)
Music First (2018) (with Eva Marisaldi)
La Stanza sul Fiume (2023) (recorded in 2021) (with Enzo Minarelli)

Italian guitarist and experimental musician. Member of Confusional Quartet, Stupid Set and a few other projects in new wave, italo disco and experimental genres. Homemade Music features a collection of electronic tracks he recorded just for fun in his studio over a period of time.

 


Serpent, The (Greece)

Ascending Duat (2018)

Dark soundscapes inspired by Ancient Egyptian mythology. Pretty nice, all in all.

 


Serra, Raffaele (Italy)

Window Water Baby Moving (1982)
Twilight Zones (1982)
Goodbye In the Mirror (1985)
Javakade 8485 (1985)
Unglassed Windows Cast A Terrible Reflection (1985)
Sintonie Telepatiche (1986)
First Steps (1986)
Reflections On Black (1986)
Journey Around A Zero (1986)
Green Desire (1986)
Waiting To Be (1987) (with Claire Ann Matz)
Il Giardino del Tempo (1987)
Kodak Ghost Poems (1988)
Image After Image (1988)
Ritual In Transfigured Time (1989)
Music For the Heart And the Memory (1991)
Memories of An Unborn Baby (1992)
Heaven & Earth Magic Feature (1992)
Iron Dream (1992)
Ishtar (1993)
Mood Mondrian (1993)
Our Lady of the Sphere (1998)
Memories of An Unborn Baby (1999)
Disappearing Music (1999)
Theta Experience (1999)
Holographic Soundscapes (2000)
Molecular Memory (2001)
Frontiere (2001) (with Andrea Marutti and Atto)
Hypnagogic Algorithms (2001)
Memory Loops (2001)
Voiceless Song After Silence (2002)
Through the Magicscope (2002)
Digital Avatar (2002)
Europe Endless (2002)
Morning Raga (2003)
Footsteps On Dead Leaves (2003)
Radio Phase One (2004)
Le Spectre De La Rose (2004)
The Third Mind (2004)
Kheimnios (2006)
Light Blast (2006) (S)
Music For Films (2008)
Twilight Zone (2011)
Etudes sur Paris (2012) (soundtrack)
Happy Days Soundtrack (2012) (S)
BERLIN: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (2012) (soundtrack)
Het Einde van de Wereld (2015)
Alphamantra (2015) (recorded in 2005)
In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2015)
Magnetic Mirror (2015)
Das Kabinet des Dr. Caligari (2016)
Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens (2016)
Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens - Live Soundtrack (2016)
Metropolis Soundtrack (2016)
Metropolis Live Soundtrack (2016)
Hotel du Nord (2016)
Man With A Movie Camera - Soundtrack (2016)
Stabat Mater (2016) (S)
Daedalus Mission (2017)
Europe Endless - European Diaries (2017) (recorded in 2009)
Tears of Flowers (2017)
Radio Days (2017)
Sirius Remembered (2017)
Javakade 6891 (2017)
News From the Sun (2018)
La Jetée, en film de Chris Marker (2018) (S)

Raffaele Serra (b. 1948), originally from Venice, moved to Milan at the end of the 1960's where his experiments with Electronic Music started. He then worked in Italy and Amsterdam for theater companies and in sound research. He also composed music for exhibitions and released his own works on cassette, LP and CD. He also collaborated with Alio Die as Five Thousand Spirits. Raffaele's own music has a dark edge and is often based on the sound of analogue synthesizers. 

See also: Five Thousand Spirits, Talharion.

 


Serrie, Jonn (USA)

Starmoods (1984)
And the Stars Go With You (1986)
Flightpath (1987)
Tingri (1989)
Planetary Chronicles Vol.1 (1992) (recorded in 1983 - 1984)
Midsummer Century (1993)
Planetary Chronicles Vol.2 (1994) (recorded in 1977 - 1990)
Ixlandia (1995)
Upon A Midnight Clear (1997)
Spirit Keepers (1998)
Dream Jouneys (1998)
Hidden World (2000) (with Gary Stroutsos)
Century Seasons (2000)
Lumia Nights (2002)
Christmas Dreams (2002)
Yuletides (2003)
The Stargazer's Journey (2003)
Epiphany (2005)
Sunday Morning (2006)
Thousand Star (2009)
Hidden World Beyond (2009) (with Gary Stroutsos)
Day Star (2014)
Celestial Rhythms: NYC Live '85 (2015) (with Geodesium and Barry Hayes)
The Sentinel (2017)
Azurae (2019)

Jonn Serrie is one of the premier Space Music composers who's been around since the 1970's, playing music in various planetariums and designing live shows. I have And the Stars Go With You, which is pretty decent relaxing stuff, perhaps a bit too new agey for my tastes, but still nice.

 


Serruys, Mathieu (Belgium)

On Germaine Dulac (2014)
Live At AB Salon (2019) (S)
Skin/Glove (2019)

Experimental musician with a focus on synth sound sculpting.

 


Servi (Germany)

Vertrauen (1983)
Ruckkehr Aus Ithaka (1986)
Pas de Deux In H (1988)
Meditatio In Variatione (1995)

East German (former GDR) electronic duo of Jan Bilk and Tomas Nawka, vaguely along the lines of Tangerine Dream.

 


Service Model (USA)

The Sound of Falling Apart (2020)

A project of Texan artist Alex Atchley. Rhythmic music based on modular synth sounds. Rather minimal and rough.

 


Ses, Murat (Turkey)

Man With Bean Teeth (1976) (S)
Automaton (1990)
Binfen (1995)
Culduz (2000)
Automaton2 (2005)
Binfen 2005 Remix (2005)
Electric Levantine (2006)
Umami (2007)
Beside the Sun (2010)

Murat Ses was born on the 17th of December, 1946 in Izmir. As a keyboardist, he is fairly well-known among connoisseurs of modern Turkish music. After performing in several groups he formed his own project called Mogollar that was fairly popular in Turkish clubs. I know that he released a solo electronic single with moog sounds in the 70's. His newer trilogy of albums Automaton (1990), Binfen (1995) and Culduz (2000) blends some electronics into a generally cross-cultural East-meets-West brew of music.

 


Setaoc Mass (UK)

Flying Machine (2018) (EP)
53 Degrees North Part II (2019)

Techno artist. Two tracks from Flying Machine EP will be interesting to fans of ambient and progressive electronics. 53 Degrees North Part II continues with the same formula, with both "Northbound" and "The Victim" being really nice Prog EM tracks.

 


ti, Clarence (Italy)

Jungle Quest (2019)

A fake library LP from 1991, actually a hoax made by some anonymous Italian musicians in 2019. The music is full of typical early 1990's digital synth / midi sounds and drum machines, though.

 


Šetka, Michal (Czech Republic)

The Best of Vangelis (1997)
The Best of Jean Michael Jaree (1997)
A Birth of Light (1998)

Synthesist with a melodic style. He made a Vangelis cover album and A Birth of Light contains original music composed for the Prague Planetarium. He is also known as Magic Keys.

 


Setó, Conrad (Spain)

Magic (1983)
Joc de Dames (1986)
Sequencias para la Era de Acuario (1989)
L'Ebre: Somni, Música, Memòria (1995)

Conrad Setó is a Catalan jazz pianist and synthesizer player. He usually alternates between jazzy / piano pieces and electronic compositions, done in a unique, quirky style, informed by his jazz roots. This is especially true for Magic and Joc de Damas. On Sequencias... he took a more electronic route, with almost everything done on synths.

 


Settima Tacca (Russia)

Trip To A Soulless Planet (2023)
Wondrous Feeling of Ages Long Gone (2023)

Sort of cosmic ambient sound here.

 


Seven (Germany)

Seven (1995)

Seven is German DJ and producer Thomas Franzmann. Music supposedly with an ambient style, released on Hypnotic label.

 


Seven Fields of Aphelion, The (USA)

Periphery (2010)
Keep the Ocean Inside (2017)

Solo ambient music from Maureen Boyle, keyboardist of psychedelic pop band Black Moth Super Rainbow. She uses both synthesizers and her voice. Nice, emotional sound here.

 


Seven, Joe (Australia)

Near/Far (2015)

Joe Seven is a pseudonym of Melbourne-based Joseph Smaje. Mixture of techno tracks and prog / ambient EM (the Kraftwerk-like "Vitamin Water", the pulsing Carpenter-meets-synthwave track "Z Tumble" and others).

 


Sevendeaths (UK)

Concreté Misery (2014)
Remote Sympathy (2017)

A mix between ambient and melodic EM styles. Analog, arpeggio-laden goodness. A project of Steven Shade.

 


Sevenism (UK)

Saline Celestial (2016)

Cinematic drones, ambient synthesizers...

 


Seventh Beyond, The (UK)

Metamorphic Essence (2011)
The Creation of Light (2012)
East of the Sunrise (2013)
Dark Matter (2013)
Life Force (2014)
Symphonic Dreams (2015)
Sonic Universe (2015)
Ghost Stories (2016)
Hidden Treasure (2016)
Green (2017)
Eternal Soundwaves (2018)
Imaginary Soundtracks (2019)
Boundless Horizon (2019)
River of Sleep (2020)
Cast In Stone (2020)
Landscapes (2021)
Kaleidoscope of Mirrors (2021)
The Storm (2022)
The Best of, Vol. 3 (2023)

Brighter, new-agey and darkish Ambient from Paul Trent.

 


Seventh Wave (UK)

Things To Come (1974)
Psi-Fi (1975)

Poppish synth music by Ken Elliott and Kieran O'Connor (both ex-Second Hand) with vocals on some cuts. The instrumental cuts on the first album for the most part sound like some cheaply produced ad for a corporate jet. There are some interesting moments but the mixing is not very clean which spoils the experience. The vocal tracks... Well, if Bruce Springsteen in his over-the-top mode decided to make synth music in the 1970's, he would probably sound just like that. Totally hilarious! The second album continues where the debut ended, adding a couple of interesting spacey moments. The main attraction is, however, the long "Star Palace of A Sombre Warrior" - a mildly interesting, if expectedly pretentious prog track with nice spacey synthesizers. They fell into oblivion after Psi-Fi.

See also: Second Hand, Fungus.

 


Seventh World (Finland)

Seventh World (2020)

One of the projects of Finnish artist Juho Hietala, currently residing in Amsterdam. Although Hietala is mostly known for his ambient dub music, this one sees him moving further in the ambient direction, although the opener retains a faint dub pulse. Rather dreamy and hypnotic overall. Long tracks.

 


Severed+Said (USA)

Crying In Dreams (2014) (S)
Occlusions (2015) (S)
Pyrrhic Furtunes (2016) (S)
Incorporeality (2018)
Tragic Seeker (2022)

Florida-based artist who composes imaginary synth soundtracks to 1980's movies.

 


Severence (Spain)

Hidden Ceilings (2013)
Mensch 003 (2016) (S)

Modular synth artist very much into spontaneous composition, improvised drones and self-generating patches. The results range from slightly noisy to beautiful, hypnotic and emotional. There is a mixture of ambient stuff and dub techno leanings on Hidden Ceilings, while Mensch 003 ventures into completely ambient realms.

 


Severin, Steven (UK)

Visions (1998)
Maldoror (1999)
Woman In the Dunes (2000)
Unisexdreamsalon (2001)
Beauty & The Beast (2005) (with Arban) (soundtrack)
Nature Morte (2006) (with Arban) (soundtrack)
London Voodoo (2006) (soundtrack)
Music For Silents (2009)
Eros Plus Massacre (2009)
Blood of A Poet (2010)
Codex Astra One (2010) (EP)
Sleepercell (2010) (EP)
Codex Astra Two (2010) (EP)
Codex Astra Three (2011) (EP)
Codex Astra Four (2011) (EP)
Vampyr (2012)

Ex-Siouxsie And the Banshee member (real name: Steven John Bailey) who made several albums of ambient, synth-based, somewhat Vangelis-ish music.

 


Severnaya (Netherlands)

Polar Skies (2018)

Varied ambient compositions. Mostly frosty and polar synth sounds, with some slight techno edges. A project of Boris Bunnik.

 


Sevgör, Akın (Turkey)

Formation (2019)

Interesting style here. Mixing traditional Turkish music (small doses of it), glitch / microsound, Ambient, piano playing and melodic synth sequences, Akın Sevgör has created a very individual, but definitely progressive kind of EM.

 


Sexton, Cale (Australia)

Melondrama (2018)
Sustain (2021)

Varied, crisp, melodic, rhythmic Electronic Music from this artist who on Sustain uses multiple synths, guitar, bass and Federation Bells (an outdoor instrument installed in Melbourne).

 


Sey, Coby (UK)

Conduit (2022)

Experimental hip-hop artist from London. When I started listening to Conduit, I was surprised by its dark / reflective atmosphere. However, I was even more amazed to find out that the album closes with a 6-minute ambient piece "Eve", that brings to mind Brian Eno and other pioneers of the genre. Then I discovered a whole release by him consisting of this type of electric piano-ladded ambient music composed in Iceland amidst the covid pandemic. The album is called River and is only available as digital download as of 2022. Hopefully, it gets a physical release in the future as well. Another interesting release is his MASS soundtrack from 2020.

 


SF (Germany)

Ordal (1985)

The music on this private release was recorded in 1982 - 1985. Nothing is known about the musical style of this album, but the instrumentation is completely electronic. It could be a typical obscure 1980's "minimal synth" release, not having anything to do with prog EM, if it wasn't for Manuel Goettsching's involvement who plays Hawaiian guitar on this one and is resposible for recording and mix. This fact alone warrants a certain interest towards this release from the EM crowd.

 


Sferi (North Macedonia)

Sound of the Spheres (2010)

Obscure project from The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia dedicated to planets of the Solar System. The music is fittingly spacey and ambient, but sometimes includes guitar, giving it a distinctive space rock edge.

 


S-F-X (Germany)

S-F-X (2019)
2021 (2021)

Frankfurt-based artist (Stefan Haag) who tends to compose shorter tracks. Some of these are rhythmic and lo-fi and sound like (totally forgettable) sketches. Some nice ambient moments do appear on the 2021 tape, though, which culminates with the long title track that more than makes up for it - a fantastic ambient synth 8-minute epic - cinematic and deep.

 


Sghor (Poland)

Depressive Black Ambient (2007)
Hidden Emotions (2008)
Le Grand Mystère (2009)
Reversed And Uneasy Variations Old Variations In Minor Scale (2011)
Maranathata (2011)
Music For Silence (2011)
Never Ending Dysphoria (2012)
Away From Light, Away From Life (2012)

Dark ambience from Krzysztof Mrozek. Some releases may contain depressive black metal.

 


Shaan (Serbia)

Loop Quantum Gravity (2018) (with P.S. Stamps Back)
Notes From A Peculiar Time In Space (2018)
In A Land Far Away A Desecrated Essence Is Putting Itself Together (2021)

I must admit I was pretty impressed by Jovana Ivanac aka Shaan's work with sequencer-based electronics. If you take Conrad Schnitzler's rhythmic explorations, this might be an expansion on those ideas, adding a modern touch, but retaining the genuinely progressibe essence of the music. Minimal, repetitive, experimental, inventive, intuitive. The long closer "Z" from In A Land Far Away... is a massive trip into a cold, mechanical world.

 


Shabason, Joseph (Canada)

Aytche (2017)
Anne (2018)
Muldrew (2019) (with Ben Gunning)
Philadelphia (2020) (with Krgovich & Harris)
Florence (2021) (with Krgovich & Harris)
The Fellowship (2021)
Fly Me To the Moon (2022) (S) (with Vibrant Matter)
At Scaramouche (2022) (with Nick Krgovich)
Welcome To Hell (2023)
Ample Habitat (2024) (with Ben Gunning)

Canadian saxophonist and jazz musician who is also into electronics. Muldrew was recorded in a cottage on the lake with the same name, mostly using electronic instrumentation, with some guitar and sax / flute injections. There is a pastoral Jon Hassell / Cluster feel to a lot of the material.

 


Shabrin, Sam (USA)

Arizona-based artist who has been making Electronic Music since 1975. Recently, Sam has released several download albums and one long, 8-hour continuous ambient piece, called Somnience (released on a CD in MP3 format).

 


Shackle (Denmark)

Moments Forever Fading (2021) (EP)
Underworlds (2021)

Martin Shackle is a hard techno artist who also releases Ambient and droning electronics. These releases will be listed.

 


Shackleton (UK)

Drawbar Organ EP Pt. 1 (2012) (EP)
Drawbar Organ EP Pt. 2 (2012) (EP)
Drawbar Organ EP Pt. 3 (2012) (EP)
Deliverance Series No. 1 (2014) (EP)
Deliverance Series No. 2 (2014) (EP)
Freezing Opening Thawing (2014) (EP)
Deliverance Series No. 3 (2015) (EP)
Devotional Songs (2016) (with Ernesto Tomasini)
Sferic Ghost Transmits (2017) (with Vengeance Tenfold)
Behind the Glass (2017) (with Anika)
Furnace of Guts (2018) (S)
Primal Forms (2020) (with Wacław Zimpel)
Departing Like Rivers (2021)
Death By Tickling (2023) (with Scotch Rolex)
In the Cell of Dreams (2023) (with Wacław Zimpel)
The Scandal of Time (2023)

Sam Shackleton is a dubstep producer from Manchester. He is also a versatile musician, with so much more going for him than just dubstep or any kind of club-related music. Seemingly interested in European avant-garde, he creates complex compositions with repeating structures, tempo changes and hints of his dubstep sound. The transformation began with Drawbar Organ series of EP's, I guess, and culminated (as of 2016) with Devotional Songs - a complex work done in collaboration with singer Ernesto Tomasini. If anything, the music partly reminded me on "Klaustrophony" from Klaus Schulze's Dreams, more in concept than in sound, though, because, let's be honest here folks, the singing on that 1986 work was an acquired taste to say the least. Here, it's all much more organic and there are sung parts, spoken parts, then there are long instrumental parts... The music, although not exactly in the style of KS, is certainly progressive and rather innovative. A unique work for those who prefer exploring things lying somewhat off the beaten path.

See also: Tunes of Negation, Purge of Tomorrow, The.

 


Shadan (Germany / Iran??)

Tirageh (2008)
Between the Times (2010) (recorded in 2007 - 2010)
Between Light And Salt (2012) (recorded in 2012) (recorded 2010 - 2012)
Third (Rough Cuts 2015) (2018) (EP)
Rediscovered Traces (2020) (recorded in 2005 - 2014)
The Fairy Tale of Our Life (2020) (recorded in 2013) (EP)
Work On Life (2021) (recorded in 2018 - 2021)

Basically a duo of Marco Dobra (electronics) and Iben Rahimi (voice). A bit like a Middle Eastern version of Klaus Schulze's collaborations with Arthur Brown (mainly Time Actor by Wahnfried).

See also: Dobra, Marco

 


Shaded Explorer (Italy)

Between the Blue (2014)
Resonance From the Abyss (2015) (S)
Empatia (2016)

Shaded Explorer is Emanuele Pertoldi from Udine, Italy. He releases music in different styles under several guises. The music he composes as Shaded Explorer is ambient and gently rhythmic, with some influences from the techno scene, but always with a lively feeling, as well as melodic and atmospheric, sometimes even bringing to mind stuff released on the British AD Music label,

 


Shadow Biosphere (UK)

Parallel Evolution (2014)

Canterbury-based project of Caroline Jago. Varied electronics, mostly atmospheric, but also with slow and / or intense rhythms.

 


Shadow Dungeon (Bosnia And Herzegovina)

Wandering Endlessly Through the Mountains (2016)
Older Than Time (2017)
Amorphous Dreams of Past And Fire (2017) (S)
The Return of the Leper King (2018)
A Crypt of Mysteriis (2020)
Pathways To... Thy Primordial Blackness (2022)

Long tracks of melancholic melodies and howling wind sounds. In the vein of early Mortiis.

 


Shadow Farm (USA)

Argo Navis (2009)
Sargasso Sea (2009)
Pillar of Cloud (2009)

Virginia-based trio of Kathy McMenamin, Kevin Hassett and Matt McGarraghy. Improvised ambient atmospheres with guitar and synths.

 


Shadowcaster (USA)

My Love Affair With Death And Melancholy (1994)
To Gather My Thoughts Among The Sleeping Summer Spirits (1994)
Abandonment (1996)
Psychelectronic Experience (1999)
Temptation (1999)

Atmospheric project started in 1993 with ambient, surreal and sometimes 70's-influenced sound. Includes some spoken narrative pieces as well as instrumentals. The first two albums are demo records.

 


Shadowdream (Serbia)

Part of the Inifinity (2009)
De Sphaera Volvelle (2011)

Started as a black metal project with Dark Ambient elements, Novi Sad-based Shadowdream (the name of the musician is Rastko Perisic) has now transformed into a purely Ambient outfit, with a dark, cosmic, surreal and classically tinged sound.

 


Shafiee, Arian (USA)

Pastorale (2021)
Engines In Unity (2023)

NYC-based guitarist and composer. Pastorale is his foray into electronic ambience. Some guests appear on some tracks. Engines In Unity continues his electronic exploration.

 


Shaikh, Adham (Canada)

Realignment (1993)
Journey To the Sun (1995)
Drift (1996) (with Tim Floyd)
Resonance - Selected Ambient Works (2010)

Like a more melodic, ethnic-spiced Vidna Obmana with German influences. The later works (not listed) are more in dub / ambient techno vein.

 


Shain, James (USA)

Floating Suns (2012)
Waiting For Something (2015)
Windowless Journey (2017)
Night's Conversations (2022)

Ambient artist (born in 1989) from Lawrence, Kansas. He also makes music as DeepWarmth (dub-influenced stuff) and Lilmanjs (also ambient, but no physical releases to date).

 


Shakali (Finland)

Petojen Tavat (2021)
Aurinkopari (2022)

Sort of ritual electronics but with lots of analog synths sounds. Pretty weird, cosmic and psychedelic feel overall. Pretty nice EM, this.

 


Shalabi, Sam (Libya)

Stefan Christoff & Sam Shalabi (2017)
Oglon Day (2019) (with Mark Fell, Will Guthrie and Oren Ambarchi)

Libyan-born musician who currently resides in Montreal. He is mostly an improvising artist and uses everything from guitar to ethnic instruments (like oud) and electronics. Stefan Christoff & Sam Shalabi is an album of lysergic organ / synth improvisations that will be enjoyed by fans of early Klaus Schulze circa Irrlicht / Cyborg. Further investigation is needed.

 


Shall Remain Nameless (USA)

Shall Remain Nameless (2017)
Untitled (2018)

Mostly ambient soundscapes with lots of field recordings. A brief dubby rhythmic moment as well.

 


Shamall (Germany)

My Dream (1986) (maxi)
Feeling Like A Stranger (1987) (maxi)
Journey To A Nightmare (1989)
Moments of Illusion (1990)
Mirror To Eternity (1993)
Collector's Items 1986 - 1993 (1993)
In Search of Precision (1994)
This Island Earth (1997)
Influences (1998)
The Book of Genesis (2001)
Who Do They Think They Are (2004)
Ambiguous Points of View (2006)
Questions of Life (2008)
Is This Human Behavior (2009)
Feeling Like A Stranger - The Whole Trip (2010)
Turn Off (2013)
Continuation (2016) (recorded in ??)
Schizophrenia (2019)

Electronics with elements of symphonic rock. Shamall is Norbert Krueler.

 


Shamane (???)

Crystal Clear (2023)

Mostly shorter, shimmering electronic tracks.

 


Shambala Networks (Romania)

Deep Spiritual Network Connections (2007)
The Last Winter (2010)
Memories From the Uterus (2011)
The Last Winter (2015)

Ambient music, mostly of the darker variety. The first album has some downtempo and glitch influences. Shambala Networks is Transylvania-based artist Olivér Dombi.

See also: Csillagköd, Morogh.

 


Shameless Barbarians (Ukraine)

Pinkmilk (2011) (recorded in 2008) (S)

Electronic trio.

 


Shamos (Ireland)

I Can Think of Nothing Else But This Machine (2018)
Music For Broken Adverts (2020)

Varied experimental artist indulged in sound collage, sampling and hip-hop electro rhythms. I Can Think of Nothing Else But This Machine closes with a nice dark sequencer pulser "Ä F U" that brings to mind the darker Edgar Froese and Heldon. Music For Broken Adverts is another interesting EM-related work.

 


Shampoo (USA)

Mine, Yours; Defiant + Tessellate (2021) (S)
Sleepcycle (2023)

Ambient compositions. Melodic, dreamy, a bit lo-fi.

 


Shanahan, Joel (USA)

Frozen Clock Hovering (2020)
What You Have Room For (2023)

Experimental and cinematic Electronic Music by this synthesist currently based in Portland. Lots of interesting ideas and sounds here.

See also: Golden Donna, Cosmic Surveillance.

 


Shanghai Restoration Project (USA)

Tactile Sonic Glide (2019)
Brave New World Symphony (2020)

Led by Dave Liang, Shanghai Restoration Project follows an East-meets-West cross-cultural, cross-genre aesthetic, relying mostly on electronic instrumentation like samplers and synths. While their earlier output may be a bit off-topic for EEM, containing vocal songs or children music (have to investigate yet), at lease the above two albums will be of certain interest to EM fans for sure, especially those into YMO and similar technopop sounds, although Shanghai Restoration Project has a clearly up-to-date, early 21st century sound to it. File under EM-related.

 


Shanshukshash (Poland??)

NAW04 (2019) (with Erah)

Long tracks with hypnotic drones, etc.

 


Shanti Celeste (Chile)

Tangerine (2019)

One of those club-related artists with big EM potential, the Chilean-born, London-based Shanti Celeste Cotapos Maass alternates house and ambient tracks on the above LP. Of course, I am only interested in the ambient stuff, which is pretty good actually: breezy and atmospheric. I wish she'd release an album dedicated only to EM / Ambient.

 


Shao (China)

Eight Dreams (2021)

Although mostly known for his minimal / deep techno music, Beijing-based Shao Yanpeng resorts to Ambient for his album Eight Dreams, released in collaboration with guitarist Wang Wen Wei. Hypnotic sound, sometimes bright, sometimes darker, with sort of a Tarkovsky ("Stalker") atmosphere even.

 


Shaolin Afronauts, The (Australia)

The Fundamental Nature of Being, Part Five (2022)

Adelaide-based afrobeat / jazz fusion collective. The Fundamental Nature of Being, Part Five features their restrained, ambient side, with a strong EM influence as well.

 


Shaped Signs (Germany)

Nature's Odyssey (2004)
Exodus (2006)
The Inner Land (2009)
Test Transmission (2013)
The Fall (2015)
ReView (2019)
To New Worlds (2021)

A duo of Volker Kaufmann and Ron Grahnert. Nature's Odyssey is an album of melodic music released on Invisible Shadows.

 


Shapes (Germany)

Shapes (2015)
Beyond Reflection (2020)

Niklas Dommaschk with his solo synthesizer excursions. Varied in style, from ambient to more energetic stuff.

See also: Phantom Horse

 


Sharafi, Rojin (Iran)

Urns Waiting To Be Fed (2019)
Zangaar (2020)
Kariz (2021)

Iranian artist currently residing in Vienna. Her music is extremely complex and mixes ethnic instrumentation with sharp electronics that can be anything from noisy to strangely melodic. You could view this as an extremely complex variety of IDM or as a more experimental / unorthodox form of Progressive Electronic. You choose.

 


Sharema (Italy)

Sottomarino Spaziale (2019)
Allitterazioni (2023)

Ambient tracks apparently based on multiple analog synths from Emanuele Magni, with allusions to classic sequencer EM and Space Music. Pretty nice if you ask me.

See also: Bahasmanuti

 


Sharif, Jairus (Canada)

Water & Tools (2022)

Wild sax and electronics improvisations, like Coltrane backed by Heldon.

 


Sharifi, Jamshied (USA)

A Prayer For the Soul of Layla (1997)
One (2007)

American composer of Iranian descent. He is also a member of ethnic fusion band Mo Boma. His own stuff is not very synthetic most of the time and alternates between Tribal Ambient (hello to Steve Roach!), World Music (some comparisons between this and Geographic by Frank Van Bogaert can be drawn) and melodic Vangelis of the 1990's (circa Conquest of Paradise, having the same hymnal quality in places). Lots of ethnic instruments, percussion and voices alongside synths and keyboards.

 


Sharknado (France)

Met de l'Eau (2015) (S)
Sharknado Family (2016)
Balishark (2023) (wth The West Java Ark​ë​stra)

A group consisting of Fabien Blacher, Guillaume Fournier, Pierre Messin and Jonas Bernath. They create a rich analog sound over a rhythmic structure that overall comes as a mixture of classic EM influences and more recent house / nu-disco trends.

 


Sharman-Dunn, Harvey (UK)

Hands of Drone (2021)

Varied drones, based on both guitar and synth (including modular) sounds.

 


Sharon (USA)

Chronicles (2015)

Somewhat emotional Ambient. A cassette release. Sharon is a duo of Adam Miller and John Elliott.

See also: Miller, Adam, Isle of Sodor, Outer Space.

 


Sharp, Jason (Canada)

A Boat Upon Its Blood (2016)
Stand Above the Streams (2018)
The Turning Centre of A Still World (2021)

Jason Sharp is a Montreal-based baritone and bass saxophone player. He also uses voltage controlled synthesizers (mostly modulars), combining the two sonic worlds and processing his sax for a nice, unique ambient sound.

 


Sharp, Jonathan (UK)

Divided Time (2019)
Niavka (2023)

Pretty nice and emotional music mixing classical instrumentation (piano / guitar, strings etc.) and synthesizers.

See also: Heartwood Institute, The, Greenshank.

 


Sharp, Michael C. (USA)

Never Enough Time (2018)
End Times In Babylon (2018)
Trip Further (2020)
Psychic Fugitive (2020)
Live Not A Low Life (2020)
Synth Vehicles For Guitar (2021)
Private Tape Vol. 2 (??)
Betula Birch Embers (Official Bootleg) (2022) (with Neil Lord)
Late Horizon (2023)

Nice Manuel Goettsching / Klaus Schulze / general vintage analog EM pastiche from this Texan artist.

See also: Sungod, Remember Esctatic Duo.

 


Shasta Cults (Canada)

Shasta Cults (2009) (S)
Arguments For Trivialism (2017)
Configurations (2019)
Untitled (2019) (S)
Shasta Cults (2019)

Analog synth project of Vancouver-based Richard Smith. Fat, droning, experimental sound, hypnotic and very listenable.

See also: Von Bingen

 


Shau (New Zealand)

The Secret Forest (2018) (S)
Voyager (2020)

Dungeon synth-related project (Lewis Peart).

 


Shavit, Ami (Israel)

In Alpha Mood (1977)
Neural Oscillations And Alpha Rhythms (2018) (recorded in ??)
Yom Kippur 1973 (2019)

A surprising diversion for this popular Israeli artist, this is an obscure electronic album made on analogue synthesizers only. Notes 12.08.19: Some sources indicate that this Ami Shavit is a completely different person, though.

 


Shaw, Matthew (UK)

Shottsford Forum (2010) (with Dead Wood)
The Four Zoas (2010)
Matherell (2010)
Lanreath (2011)
In the Morning Sun (2011)
Goetheanum (2011)
Seatown (2012)
(Venus) Libra (The Bridge) (2012) (S)
There Was Never A Time When Your Life Was Not Now, Nor Will There Ever Be (2013)
Lamorna (2013)
Equinox (2013)
Sandbanks (2013)
Alchemical Figure; Summer (2013)
Moon Cycles \ Fowey (2013)
Gorsedd (2014)
Pole Star (Live At Cafe Oto) (2014)
Songs And the Silences of Night (2014) (S)
Valerian (2014) (S)
Lunar (2014)
Inside<>Outside (2017)
Among the Never Setting Stars (2018)
Into the Unknown (2020)
Nachtmusik (2021)

British ambient / drone musician using lots of field recordings, acoustic instruments (piano, guitar) and electronics. Nachtmusik is his tribute to Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk.

 


Shaw, Nigel (UK)

Spirit of the Elements (1985)
Time And Space (1985)
Off-Cuts, Demo's & Jams 1985 - 86 (??)

British new age musician with an extensive catalogue of releases. I have some reasons to believe that he started in a much more EM-influenced mould, so I included his first cassette release here. Further investigation is needed.

 


Shaw, Tim (UK)

Ash And Wine (2020)

Long, minimal pieces based on sequences or ambient atmospheres and drones, all made on a Buchla synth.

 


Shayla (USA)

Vision Seeker (1987)

Shayla is a pseudonym of Sheila Roberts, a new age artist. This privately released album (vinyl only) contains piano-based new age music on side A. However, side B will be interesting for EM fans, especially the long, flowing, dramatic closer "Ancient Myth".

 


Shcaa (France)

Golconde (2017)
No Moon At All, What A Night (2020)

Unlikely mixture of bluesy guitar, a few jazz improvisations, singing and electronic compositions. A project of Sacha Khalifé, based in Paris.

 


Shean, Djen Ajakan (Belgium)

Lucubration (??)
Parallel Flaming (1993) (with Vidna Obmana)
Still Fragments Live (1994) (with Vidna Obmana)
Crows Heading For Point Blanc (1994) (S)

Dark Ambient on Amplexus label.

 


Shean, Mike (Germany)

Dreams of Film-Musik (1991)
Fantasies Unlimited (1994)

Symphonic, bombastic, rhythmic and melodic music with a strong classical influence.

See also: Linus Project

 


Shearer, Alan (France)

Dark Is the Color (1985)
Mines de Son (1986)
Ways (1986) (with Robert Viger)
Action & Mystery (1991) (with Robert Viger)
City of Extasy (??)

Library music in typical French melodic style. Some 1980's cheese here, but some interesting atmospheric moments as well.

See also: Marathon Life

 


Shearer, Cam (Canada)

Shearer Delight (1981)

 


Shearing, Peter G. (Australia??)

A Viking Dream (1993)

A rather cinematic music with piano and multiple synths. Tends to focus on shorter tracks of varying moods.

 


Shedding (USA)

Now I'm Shedding (2003) (EP)
What God Doesn't Bless, You Won't Love; What You Don't Love, The Child Won't Know (2006)
Tear In the Sun (2010)
Plod & Play Vol. 1 (2015)
Wave To the Wind (2018)
Plod & Play Vol. 2 (2018)
Working Memory 1: Above/Below (2020)
Everything Becomes A Habit (Accumulated Blur) (2022)

Shedding is Louisville, Kentucky-based artist Connor Bell. The music you hear on Everything Becomes A Habit is organic EM in which Bell would start to play a melodic theme on a synthesizer and add more synth lines and sounds around it, or he would improvise the whole piece from scratch.

 


Shedir (Italy)

Falling Time (2017)
Finite Infinity (2020)
Before the Last Light Is Blown (2023)

A project of Martina Betti. Melancholic ambience. A tad dark.

 


Sheeba Exp (Italy)

Urals (2021) (S)

Ambient project of Matteo Trevisan, relying very much on the possibilities of granular synthesis.

 


Sheeky, Mark (UK)

Synaesthesia (2001)
The Spiral Staircase (2002)

The Spiral Staircase is Electronic Music heavily inspired by the Baroque period of European classical tradition. Synaesthesia is a diverse work, ranging from ambient electronics to sound collages to rhythmic / tracey and piano-based. Mark Sheeky (born in 1972) is a software developer and game music composer.

 


Sheer Veil (USA)

Validity of Innocence (2017) (S)
Distant Companions (2018)

A bit lo-fi synth ambience and more active rhythmic / melodic pieces.

 


Shek, Krystian (Germany)

al-Qāhirah (2017)
What Was Before? (2019)
Despite Our Silence (2021)
Love (2022)
Suddenly (2022)
MOA138 (2024) (S)

Ambient dub / techno artist from Frankfurt who appeared in the early 2000's on FAX label. al-Qāhirah is a completely ambient offering, with slight touches of dub and strong ethnic elements.

 


Sheldon, Simon (UK)

Four of Swords (2020)

Nice and hypnotic ambient EM from the guy who had previously worked in other genres (downtempo, drum'n'bass, reggae, house, jazz, etc.)

 


Shell Fantasy (Denmark)

Rows (2018)
Abraxas (2018)

A bit lo-fi ambience.

See also: Internazionale, Gersemi, Lace & Collar.

 


Shelley, Pete (UK)

Sky Yen (1974)
Cinema Music & Wallpaper Sounds (2016) (recorded in 1976)

Electronic Music by a guy who later became member of Buzzcocks (a punk band!). He was somewhat influenced by the German EM of the time and released this LP on his own label. Pete Shelley was born in 1955 in Leigh and died in 2018 in Tallinn, Estonia.

 


Shelter (France)

Sad Beach (2016) (EP)
Zon Zon Zon (2017)
Profondeur 4000 (2018)
Eight Colliding Dancers (2023)

Shelter is Paris-based project of varied downtempo / world / balearic / tropical styles. The real name of the musician is Alan Briand. On Sad Beach, though, you get "Sailing On A Black Sea" - a track with a surprisingly strong EM flair. Other tracks have their moments, too. Zon Zon Zon continues with the balearic / EM mixture. File under EM-related.

 


Shemale (UK)

Supreme Beings (2009) (S)
Opening the Astral Doors (2010) (S)
Hell Transformation Screens (2012)
Way To Hyperborea (2018) (S)

Dark electro music and moody ambient compositions.

 


Shemie, Ben (Canada)

A Skeleton (2019)
A Single Point of Light (2020)
Desiderata (2022)

Member of indie rock / kraut band Suuns. As a solo artist, he prefers the organic nature of hardware analog instruments and records in real time. He uses the "one vocal song per one instrumental" formula.

 


Shenfeld, Maya (Germany)

In Free Fall (2022)
Under the Sun (2024)

Nice mixture of classical and electronic influences from this Berlin-based composer.

 


Shenton, Adrian (UK)

The Measuring of Moments (2008)
Houseworks (2009)
Slowtime (2011)
Wrapped In Clover (2012) (with Banks Bailey)
Unseen Landscapes (2014) (with Banks Bailey)
Electric Breath (2014)
The House That Jack Built (2018)

Varied artist whose output ranges from ambient soundscapes to drone and noisy experimental / musique concrete textures.

 


Shepherd, John Scott (USA)

Legends of Mars (2022)
Steps To the Stars (2023) (recorded in 2021 - 2022)

Michigan-based synthesist with a floating, cosmic style, between Space Music and Electronic New Age (the flowing variety ala Iasos, not the melodic one ala Kitaro), tending more towards the former.

 


Sherab (Belgium)

Trital Tunnel (1984)

An early project of Patrick "Wille" Kosmos where he combines electronics with traditional Indian (raga) music. Sitar, surbahar, tabla and acoustic percussion is played by Ian Matthews.

See also: Kosmos, Patrick

 


Sheriff, Noam (Israel)

Psalms of Jerusalem (1983)

Subtitled "Synthesized and Vocal Music". This is a rare LP by this Israeli composer. There seems to exists a later version that has nothing to do with electronics. On this obscure record, though, Sheriff plays synthesizers only and there is a Samaritan vocal choir. I don't know how it sounds and it could be just a curiosity, but judging by the instrumentation I decided to include it.

 


Sherman, Colin (USA)

Static (2012)
Forms (2013)
Indeterminate (2014)
Accompaniments For Sparse Rhythms (2015)

New York saxophonist who is also into electronics. I will list his EM-related works here.

 


Sherman, Jeff (USA)

Above And Beyond (2002)
Home (2003)

Jeff Sherman was a member of the 70's band Glass and on this solo album from 2002 he explores various styles of Electronic Music. You will hear different approaches here from the intense to the relaxed ones. His brother, Greg Sherman (also a member of Glass) released an album as well. It's called Zutique and contains solo piano compositions.

See also: Glass

 


Sherman Space (Germany)

Count Down (1969) (S)

Uwe Reuss aka Johnny Tame under another pseudonym. The B side of this single is "Omicron 3", apparently a pioneering electronic track.

 


Sherpa the Tiger (Ukraine)

Great Vowel Shift (2018)
Ithkuil (2023)

Krautrock-influenced band that uses a lot of electronics for a sort of a Neu! / Cluster sound.

 


Sherwell, Andrew (UK)

Orthodox Tales (2018)
Ektenia (2018)
Approaching (2019)
Without (2019)
Above Below (2020)
The Book of Trinkets (2021)
Invocation of Deities By Working of Ritual Instruments (2022)
Antiphon (2022)
Of Ash & Attar: Songs From the Lost Kingdom of Coeur (2023)

Dark drones from this London-based artist.

 


Sherwood, John (UK)

Darklight (2011)
Clouds (2011)
Mystical Time Machine (2011)
Steelphony (2011)
The Ritual (2011)
Time (2011)
Darklight Vol. 2 (2011)
Darklight Vol. 3 (2011)
Time Vol. 2 (2011)
Alien Fly-By (2011)
Darkness Is Falling (2011)
The Ritual Vol. 2 (2011)
Mystical Time Machine Vol. 2 (2012)
Report On Probability A (2012)
Mark Rothko (2012)
Steel Suite (2012)
Atmosphere (2012)
Lutton Skyline (2012)
The Saturn Suite (2012)
Beyond Andromeda (2012)
The Ritual Vol. 3 (2012)
Steel Suite Part 1 (2012)
Blade Runner (2012)
Beyond Andromeda Vol. 2 (2012)
Alan Turing (2012)
Aldebaran (2013)
The Ritual Vol. 4 (2013)
Aldebaran Vol. 2 (2013)
The Saturn Suite Vol. 3 (2013)
Music For Plants Volume 1 (2013)
A Floating Field of Perpetual Transformation (2019)
Experimental Music (2020)
E-Symphony Number One - Pastoral (2020)
E-Symphony Number Two - Arcadian (2020)
Experimental Music II (2020)
Experimental Music III (2020)
Experimental Music IV (2020)
Exoerimental Music V (2020)
Space-Time (2021)

Longform Ambient works by this British musician. For some reason, since around 2012 he has tended to use his real name for his solo releases instead of the 4m33s moniker.

See also: 4m33s, Yorky, Noise Kommandoh, Ambient Ashand, Cult of Ashand, Entity, Quadra, Ethereal Electric Elixir.

 


Sherylee, Joachim (France)

Sequencer (??)

A psedonym used by Jacky Giordano for some of his productions. Some nice electronic tunes can be found on the library disc Sequencer. The year of release is not known, but I think it's sort of 1981-ish.

 


Shettler, David (USA)

Exegesis (2015)
Entropic Structures (2018)
Oblivian (2019)

Modular synth artist from the Detroit area. Mostly abstract, but occasionally sequencer-based and / or vaguely melodic.

 


Shibalba (Greece)

Memphitic Invocations (2010) (S)
Samsara (2015)
Psychostasis - Death of Khat (2017)
Stars Al-Med Hum (2018)
Deep Water Groan (2019) (with Darja Kazimira and Dagmar Gertot)
Nekrologie Sinistrae (2020)
Dreams Are Our World of Experience (2023)

Ritual Ambient project from Greece. Intense, with lots of vocalizations (mostly choirs) and some pounding percussion / drums.

 


Shibuya, Keiichiro (Japan)

xxxHOLiC (2022) (soundtrack)

Varied electronic soundtrack.

 


Shields, Rob (UK)

Green (2017)
Boketto (2017)

Glasgow-based house deejay and artist who started showing ambient tendencies on Green, whose title track is a nice flowing, relaxing piece. Boketto is supposedly an extension of those ideas.

See also: Sunplus

 


Shifting Harbor (USA)

Window (2019) (S)
The Nearest Exit May Be Inside You (2020)

Eugene, Oregon-based ambient artist. Long tracks.

 


Shiftyman's Day (Germany)

Mangold Masarati (2023)

Weird, weird stuff from this German band. Jazzy and chiptune-ish, it absorbs elements and influences from 1960's, 1970's and 1980's music in a strange way, forming playful, warped and pretty humoristic electronic compositions. Sometimes sounds like YMO on acid, sometimes more like experimental electronic kraut.

 


Shildebaev, Kuat (Kazakhstan)

Ôàíòîìû ÄÍÊ (2008)

Mysterious ambient music. Melodic and with great classical influence. Lots of flute playing on this one.

 


Shima33 (UK)

Release (2016)
Ocean (2017)
Fading (2019)
Museum (2020)
Strings, For Catherine (2021)
Be In This Space (2021)
Marriage, To Catherine (2023)

Ambient music from this vapowave project.

 


Shimamoto, Nariyuki (Japan)

Prelude To... (??)

 


Shimizu, Nobuyuki (Japan)

Anything Goes (1982)

Multi-instrumentalist who on the above album is joined by a few luminaries of Japanese progressive / electronic scene, like Ponta Murakami and Hideki Matsutake. The music often sounds like instrumental YMO. There is an earlier album from 1980, which is supposedly just normal jazz fussion / pop.

 


Shimizu, Yasuaki (Japan)

Berlin (1980)

Japanese saxophone player. He is basically a fusion / smooth jazz artist. However, he is rather diverse, as most of his albums are very different in style. The above album features, at least partly, floating, classically-influenced Electronic Music in a unique style.

 


Shinda, Teto (???)

Waiting For the Sun (2018)

Pretty nice, hypnotic Space Music / Ambient.

 


Shine Grooves (Russia)

Hanagasumi 01 (2020) (EP)
Space Garden (2022) (S)
Watching the Breeze (2023)

Melodic synth tracks from Andrey Kurokhtin.

See also: Ryabina

 


Shingetsu (Japan)

Shingetsu (1979)

Japanese symphonic rock band. This is the only album that was released during the band's first incarnation (looks like they briefly reformed during the 1990's and perhaps later). Anyway, the music is classic Japanese Sympho but "Freeze" is a nice (albeit short) purely electronic track that reminds on both Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd's electronic pulses on "Welcome To the Machine".

See also: Kitayama, Makoto

 


Shingles (USA)

White Out (2011) (S)
Swarm of Pigs (2012) (S)
First God Planted A Garden (2014)
Guantanamo Patchbay Vol. 1: Growhouse Music (2015) (S)
Guantanamo Patchbay Vol. 2: Return To Warlock Pond (2015) (S)
Guantanamo Patchbay Vol. 3: Horn of Deafening (2015) (S)
Generosity of the Suns (2015)
In A Doom Mood (2015)
Guantanamo Patchbay Vol. 4: Drift Studies (2016) (S)
How To Housebreak Your Dog (2016) (S)
Untitled Jazz Tape (2016)
Guantanamo Patchbay Vol. 5: At Home With Machines (2017) (S)
Empty (2017) (S)

Experimental electronic project of Jesse DeRosa. Mostly based on analog synthesis exploration and ranges from rich, freeform cosmic textures to arpeggiated and sequencer-based. Swarm of Pigs was released on a wax cylinder.

See also: Night Travelers, Spiritual Switchboard, The.

 


Shinigami San (Tunisia)

Sustained Tension (2015) (EP)
(2016) (S) تسلسلات

Dubstep artist from Tunisia. There is some material that can be interesting for fans of EM. It includes the droning ambient title track from Sustained Tension and the sequencer / arpeggio overload of the 2016's 7-incher.

 


Shinkiro (Japan)

Deep Blue (2005)
Way of the Gods (2008)
Organic.Aural.Ornaments (2011) (with Empusae)
Cycle of Rebirth (2015)
In Praise of Shadows (2016) (with Eraldo Bernocchi)
Archive: Volumes I - II (2018) (recorded in 2003 - 2005)
Archive IV (2018) (recorded in 2004 - 2010)
Archive Volume IV Bonus Disc (2018) (S)
No Man's Land (2019) (S)
Beyond the Edge of the Universe (2019) (with Bardoseneticcube)

No Man's Land (2019) (S)
Organic.Aural.Ornaments II (2022) (with Empusae)
Stalaktos (2023)
The Birth of the Gods (2023)

Ritualistic Ambient from one Manaru Hiramoto. Mysterious, percussive, ethereal, not so dark. Soundscapes, voices and taiko drums.

 


Shinn, Ted (USA)

Peace At Last (1996)
Speechless (1998)

Melodic music between New Instrumental and EM. Accessible, with lots of sampled classical instruments and rather pleasant overall.

 


Shinozaki, Masatsugu (Japan)

Nasa (1980)
蛍川 (1986)
Glass Violin (1988)

Japanese violin player. He likes to combine his violin with electronics and on the 1986 album, where Yas-Kaz also participates as guest, there are some interesting moments, as on "Udon-Ge", for example, which sounds like melodic Berlin School with synth solos replaced by violin ones. Further investigation is needed.

 


Shinpal (Japan)

Seven Lives (2019)
Momentary Disappeared Memory (2020)
Blue Stories (2021)

Varied EM from Osaka, Japan.

 


Shipway, Michael (UK)

Into Battle (1990)
Beneath Folly (1992)
Spirit of Adventure (1995)
Voyage To Venus (2011)

UK synthesist. Melodic but energetic music.

See also: Volt, Lamp.

 


Shipwreck Detective (USA)

Midnight Lace (2018)
11 Terrestrial Movements (2019)

Midnight Lace features ambient and melodic synth pieces with lo-fi rhythms. A project of Dev Addison Bhat.

 


Shiraishi, Takayuki (Japan)

Missing Link (2019) (recorded in ??)
Photon (2022)
Fixed Point Films (2022)

Varied electronics from this veteran musician and deejay. Missing Link contains tracks recorded somehwere in the late 1980's. Photon is a mixture of danceable and beatless EM tracks.

 


Shire, David (USA)

2010 (1984) (soundtrack)

Mostly electronic soundtrack by this well-known soundtrack composer (who is mainly known for his orchestral soundtracks) created with the help of Craig Huxley. The electronic tracks were made with Synclavier II digital system, Yamaha DX7 and a Roland Jupiter 8.

 


Shizo van de Sunflower (Germany)

Drone 1 (2022)

From pretty stark, dark and monolithic drones to cosmic ambient EM. A project of Daniel Blum.

 


Shlømo (France)

In Absentia: Tome 2 (2017) (S)
Mercurial Skin (2018)

A pseudonym of techno artist Shaun Baron-Carvais. He included an ambient / EM track on In Absentia: Tome 2 EP, called "Lali". Mercurial Skin also contains ambient and / or EM material: "Hadal Zone", "Maara", "Maintain the Lie", "Anastasia", "Minotia" and "Wish You Were Here".

 


Shō (Germany)

Sleep Rhythms (2016)
Speculations (2018)
Infinity Plus One (2020)
Nocturnes (2021) (S)
Elsewheres (2023)

Ambient artist from Germany. Abstract, mysterious...

 


Shobaleader One (UK)

d'Demonstrator (2010)
Elektrac (2017)

A live band put together by Squarepusher to explore a more organic aspect of his creativity. Amazingly, some of this sounds like rocky Prog EM, with real drums, guitars and synths.

See also: Colossal Squid

 


Shoc Corridor (UK)

A Blind Sign (1982) (S)
Experiments In Incest (1983)

Although a minimal synth band, Shoc Corridor had enough prog EM influence to warrant an inclusion here. Possibly one of the best bands in the genre, they mixed typical Dave Gahan-style vocals (that every band seemed to strive for at the time) with experimental and at times dark rhythmic electronic compisitions. There is enough curious instrumental material on the above listed releases. There are also other albums and singles but these are supposedly more vocal-oriented.

 


Shock Doctrine (Canada)

City of God (2022)

Moody EM from this Toronto-based artist (Preston Lobzun). Futuristic, neon-lit compositions with a vaporwave flair.

See also: Daylight Inferno

 


Shoda (Belgium)

The Fifth Dimension (2011) (recorded in 1991 - 2011)

Belgian musician Peter Brutin who has been playing synthesizers since around 1990.

 


Shoeg (Spain)

Panorama (2014)
Container (2018)
Hard Fork (2022)
Milk (2022) (recorded in 2017)

This Catalan artist (real name - Carlos Martorell) likes to use motion sensors as controllers for his sound sculptures. As a result, his compositions, although abstract, have a very physical feel of presence and volume, like unknown structures or smoke filling cubic spaces. A bit Art Forland-like perhaps, but with a more up-to-date sound.

 


Shogun Kunitoki (Finland)

Tasankokaiku (2005)
Vinonaamakasio (2009)

Finnish quartet with real drums that will be enjoyed by fans of the Dusseldorf School. They have it all - the motorik drive, repetitive organ patterns, crazy synth effects and yes, even the occasional Neu!-like distorted guitar.

 


Shoji, Osamu (Japan)

Star Wars (1978)
Synthesizer Sounds '78 - Bee Gees Genso No Sekai (1978)
Welcome To the SF World (1978)
Jataka (1978)
Night Flight (1979)
Shambala (1980)
Suite Suspense (1980) (S)
Adieu - Galaxy Express 999 (1981) (soundtrack)
Our Planet Earth (1981) (S)
Gundam (1982) (soundtrack)
Kaleidoscreen (1982)
S.D.F. Macross (1983) (soundtrack)
Orguss (1983)
Toriton (1983) (soundtrack)
Xabungle (1983) (soundtrack)
Cat's Eye (1983)
Lupin the 3rd (1984) (soundtrack)
Chimera's Cry (1984)
Vifam - Synthesizer Fantasy (1984) (soundtrack)
Vifan - Synthesizer Fantasy Vol. 2 (1985) (soundtrack)
New Cat's Eye (1985)
Touch (1985)
Luna Sea (1986)
Roots Search (1986) (soundtrack)
Wicked City (1987)
The Greatest T.V. Theme Collection (1987)
Horror Music Show (1987)
君がいるだけで (1993)
Tekno Houze (1996)
God Mars (??)
Family (??)
Milk House (??)

Japanese soundtrack composer and synthesizer programmer (1932 - 2018) who appeared on numerous electronic scores starting from the late 1970's.

 


Shook (Netherlands)

The Glow (2010) (EP)
Red Tapes (2010) (S)
The Rise And Fall (2011) (EP)
Shook (2013)
Spectrum (2014)
Continuum (2016)
Bicycle Ride (2018)
Music For City And Nature (2019)
System (2021)

A project of Jasper Wijnands who seems to be of Asian descent. Melodic, easy-listening, gently rhythmic, laid-back. If you like Yellow Magic Orchestra, jazz fusion, and you like analog synths, this is for you.

 


Shorelights (USA)

Summer Cottage Soundscapes (2017)
Ancient Lights (2018)
Bioluminescence (2019)

Long-form Ambient.

See also: Modell, Roderick Julian

 


Short, Christopher (USA)

Aqua Culture 1 (2001) (with James Johnson and Vir Unis)
The Yellow House (2002) (with Vir Unis)
Duende (2002)
The Unnamed Constellation (2003)

Atmospheric guitarscapes and electronics. Christopher Short is also known as Ma Ja Le.

See also: Ma Ja Le

 


Short-Term Memory (USA)

Lost In Gundam (1985) (S)

Minimal synth band consisting of Kevin Dooley, Jim Skeel and Jon Paul. The above release contains more experimental pieces that will perhaps appeal to fans of Cluster. The long closer "A Tone Poem" is quite unique and entertaining.

See also: ZerO One, cyberCHUMP.

 


Shortwave (USA)

Phased (2019)

Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist with long tracks of psychedelic guitars, floating synths and drum machine rhythms.

 


Shortwave Research Group (Germany)

Fabryka (2020)

Darkish, brutalist, somewhat industrial electronic compositions between dark ambience and Parallel Worlds style.

See also: School of Silent Illumination

 


Show of Exaggeration (Germany)

Show of Exaggeration (2002)

Bernhard Wöstheinrich and Philipp Münch. Dark!

See also: Wöstheinrich, Bernhard, Centrozoon, Subsonic Experience, The Redundant Rocker.

 


Shreeve, Mark (UK)

Ursa Major (1980)
Embryo (1980)
Phantom (1980)
Firemusic (1981)
Thoughts of War (1981)
Care (1983)
Assassin (1983)
Legion (1985)
No Holes Barred (1986)
Crash Head (1988)
Collide (1994)
Nocturne (1995)

Library music:

Oracle (1984)
Energy Fountain (1986)
Riding the Edge (1989)
Powerhouse (1990)
Pulsar (1991)

Legendary British synthesist. Highly energetic music with sequencing, strong melodic hooks and powerful solos. Mark Shreeve formed Redshift in 1995. He explains: "I think one of the many reasons was as a reaction to the tedium I felt with all the “normal” E.M. that had started to show up around the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. There were bands and artists (particularly in the UK and Europe) who were creating shockingly bland music…you know… cheesy little ditties over badly programmed drum machines using horrid thin digital preset sounds. People were releasing 5rd rate soundtracks, to 4rd rate films, that already had 3rd rate soundtracks written for them. In short… The Sci-Fi Anorak had hijacked European E.M. The “frontiers” style of E.M. had been suffocated by all this “easy-listening-for-midi-nerds-elevator-music”. I was yearning to hear some darker, more unstable synthesizer music again, but no one seemed to be doing it" - reprinted without permission.

I recommend Mark Shreeve for those who like energetic, powerful, no-nonsense electronics. Sadly, Mark Shreeve passed away on the 31st of August, 2022.

See also: Redshift, ARC.

 


Shrieve, Michael (USA)

Transfer Station Blue (1984) (with Kevin Shrieve and Klaus Schulze)
In Suspect Terrain (1984)
The Bedroom Window (1986) (soundtrack) (with Patrick Gleeson)
The Leaving Time (1988) (with Steve Roach)
The Big Picture (1988) (with David Beal)
Fascination (1995)
Two Doors (1995)

Michael Shrieve is the percussionist for Santana and Klaus Schulze collaborator, while also being a jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in 1949 in San-Francisco, USA. Some of his acoustic / jazz albums are not included in the above discography.

 


Shrine (Bulgaria)

The Final Asylum (2006)
Distorted Legends Pt. 1 (2008) (S)
Somnia (2012)
Nihil (2014)
Ordeal 26.04.86 (2016)
Harmony, Bliss, Rust (2018) (recorded in 2006)
Celestial Fire (2018)
Quintessence (2019)
Descent (2022) (S) (with Mytrip)
Nausicaä (2022)

Moody ethereal Ambient built from samples and synthesizer pads. Shrine is Bulgarian musician Hristo Gospodinov.

 


Shrine Fuchsia (France)

Pristine Forms (2019) (S)
Translucent (2019)
Garden Basement (2021)

Electronic duo (Mika Perez and Sebastian Solomon) with varied music ranging from experimental to sequencer-based.

See also: Monnier, Sylvia

 


Shrouded Gate (USA)

Old Paths To the Sleeping Throne (2020)
Ravenlore (2021)
The Shadow Clone (2022)

Epic dungeon synth / ambience.

See also: Polar Keep

 


Shumov, Vasily (Russia)

Зашиваюсь (2022)

Moscow-born musician, lyricist, member (and founder) of Soviet experimental new wave pioneers Center (Центр). Зашиваюсь, composed largely as an installation accompanying Vasily's own personal exhibition, has a decidedly Kraftwerk-ian flair, built largely on repeating synth riffs, machine rhythms (often in the style of electronic reggaeton / Latin music) and recited, a tad dadaistic and often ironic / bittersweet lyrics harkening back to Russian futurism, constructivism and modernism. Also reminds on that weird Директор Всего project from a few years ago. Nice stuff and good for those Dusseldorf School fans looking for something different.

 


Shun (Japan)

Ooparts (1994)
Landscapes (1994)
Air On the Wiring (1994) (recorded in 1978)
Kun Mae (1996)

This one will appeal to fans of dark European synth music, i.e. Peter Frohmader, and the like, with experimental "Cluster" touches. Shun was an "ambient" side-project of Susumu Hirasawa, a well-known Japanese avant-garde / synth-pop musician (of P-Model fame). During the 1980's, Shun released a series of LP's with experimental music, where many of the tracks represented raw outtakes and alternative versions of P-Model tracks. Some of them were later collected on Ooparts. I am not sure if this music fits in stylistically, but Landscapes and Kun Mae do. Air On the Wiring contains adaptations of Bach pieces. There is also a long track dedicated to Tangerine Dream on Susumu's solo album Aurora from 1994. The track is called "Island Door". Although it contains vocals and is not very TD-like for the most part, there is also a nice sequencer outtro (layered with vocals again) and it can be considered as slightly EM-related.

 


Shunt Trip (USA)

My Black Hoodie (2019)
Coleman Street (2020)

Sort of chiptune-ish music made on hardware instruments - crisp, melodic and rhythmic. A project of Charlie Savage.

 


Shunto Nie (Japan)

Shunto Nie (2006)

More or less classic-formula Dark Ambient stuff.

 


Shuttle Service (Germany)

Solar System (??)

Supposedly, melodic music. Shuttle Service is Klaus Baumgartner.

 


Shyh-Shing, Chen (Taiwan)

Images of Emptiness (1988)
Images of Rain (1988)
Images of Mountain (1988)
Images of Spirit (1988)
Drifting Clouds (1993)
發現後山的藝術 (1994)

Aka Jimi Chen. A bit obscure artist from Taiwan who was going a parallel route to Japan's Kitaro, although apparently his music was even more new-agey.

 


Siamois Synthesis (Canada)

Feu aimant (2020)

Strange mixture of ghostly electronics, wordless vocalizations and some guitar. A project put together by Maxime Corbeil-Perron. Will be enjoyed by fans of the more experimental forms of EM.

 


Sian (Japan)

Double Mind String (1994) (with Deisel Guitars)
Synapse / Atmos (1996)
Still / Act (1996) (S)
Sink / Assign (1997)
Setting / Another (2016)

Dark Ambient from Akifumi Nakajima (Aube) and Shonei Iwasaki.

See also: Aube

 


Sibelius, Orval Carlos (Netherlands)

Recovery Tapes (2011)
Ascension (2016)
Smulkios Detalés (2019)

Orval Carlos Sibelius is a pseudonym of Axel Monneau. He is a folk rock / indie pop artist. Some of his works focus on electronics, though. These will be listed. Spacey, quirky, repetitive...

 


Sica, Marco (Italy)

Channel E3 (2021) (with Francesco Gallo)

Synthesist who prefers working with analog systems and sounds. He also plays Chapman Stick and NS/Stick. Darkish, shadowy, cosmic, ambient...

 


Siddartha Barnhoorn (Netherlands)

Structures of Light (2017)

Influenced by both Ambient (Steve Roach) and melodic EM (especially Vangelis), this multi-instrumentalist / film composer creates flowing, cinematic compositions.

 


Sidereal Fortress (Italy)

Ruins (2018) (S)
The Forgotten Tomb of Yshnak (2018)
Escape (2018) (S)
Vette Inquiete (2018)
Racconti del Focolare (2018)
Odissea (2019)
The Lost Woodsongs (2019) (EP)
Among the Ruins (2017-2020) (2020)
The Hermit's Hole (2020)

Dungeon synth-related project with quite a bit of variation. A very EM-friendly sound here.

 


Sideri, Matteo (Italy)

Bare (2014)

Matteo Sideri aka Tegu is an ambient composer with a unique style, using lots of field recordings, acoustic instruments and synth atmospheres.

 


Siebensee, Oad (Austria)

Prophet / Heysel Massacre (1986) (S)
Sacred Sounds (1988)
Seelentanz (??)
Carrara (??)
Indigo (??)
Eletronica (??)

Classically influenced electronic musician (b. 1960 in Judenburg), with some albums representing just sampled organ and symphony work. Apart from music Oad is also into painting, visual arts and philosophy.

 


SiebZehN (Germany)

Time Equals Eternity (2012)
Starship Signals (2016)

SiebZehN is a psychill / psybient project of Christian Müller from Hanover. A strong Ambient / EM influence is heard in his works. An example of a completely ambient track by him is "Venus" from Time Equals Eternity. File under EM-related.

 


Siedler (UK??)

Maximer Compiler (2020) (S)

Experimental modular soundscaping from Jeffrey Siedler. Echoing, metallic, ambient...

 


Siege Golem (Russia)

Emergence (2022) (recorded in 2021)
Rises Above the Walls (2022)
Enter the Golem (2022)
Stone Walker (2023)

Officially a "dungeon synth" project, Russian Siege Golem seems to focus on more cosmic sounds or driving sequenced rhythms that are all more typical of the EM genre.

 


Siegel, Dan (USA)

Another Time Another Place (1984)
Short Stories (1986)

Jazz / fusion musician. The above albums are still jazzy, of course, but mostly electronic. Another Time... was done in collaboration with Patrick O'Hearn

 


Sieghetnar (Germany)

Astralwinter (2013)
Zen (2015)
Epica (2015)

This project is dedicated to both black metal and more ambient forms of musical expression. Zen is an ambient / EM album that will appeal to those who like melodic and relaxing EM. Some floating guitar solos add to the atmosphere of this one. Epica is very similar. Some other releases also contain elements of Ambient.

 


Sienkiewicz, Jacek (Poland)

Krasz (2021) (soundtrack)
Pristine (2022)

Polish techno musician active since the 1990's. Krasz is a soundtrack to experimental performance done in a pulsing, progressive, mainly beatless EM style. Pristine is another interesting Progressive EM work.

 


Sieren (Germany)

Transients of Light (2016)
Timelapse (2020)

Sieren is Berlin-based artist Matthias Frick. He uses rich sequences in combination with strong rhythms (a legacy of his past as a producer of downtempo / bass music / dubstep). Timelapse is a nice EM work that definitely sounds 2020, but harkens back to the pioneers of the classic era.

 


Sierra, Charlie Mike (France)

On the Moon (1977)

Rare synthesizer album released on the same label as Space. Written by Charlie Mike Sierra (real name - Raymond Jeannot) with assistance from Malcolm Albee and Frederic Mercier. Sierra plays Korg, ARP Odyssey and Minimoog synthesizers.

 


Siesta! (Spain)

Terroruterino (2013)
Fuerza de Gravedad Absoluta (2015)

Krautrock-influenced duo with a La Dusseldorf adoration type sound.

 


Siganakis, Thanos (Greece)

Isolated Isolation / Cursed Desires (1983) (S)

Music in the style of Jean-Michel Jarre from the duo of Thanos Siganakis and Petros Hadjijeorgiou. There is much confusion regarding this obscure single in that it is mostly referred to using a vague Greek title Ηλεκτρονική Disco (Electronic Disco) which might be an attempt to describe the musical style but the fact is that these words are nowhere to be seen on the sleeve or the disc itself which only states: produced by Thanos Siganakis for Music Kiosk productions.

 


Sigh Company, The (Australia)

Songs In Silence (2011)

Melbourne-based art rock project (also known as The Sigh Co.) of Chris McKenna. Songs In Silence features instrumental compositions that range from pastoral rock to pure Ambient.

 


Sigillum Dei (UK)

Dominus Maleficarum (2005)
I'll Keep You In An Oaken Box, With Velvet For Your Bed (2008) (S)
There Is A Father In the Sky, There Is A Mother In the Ground (2013)

Dark soundscapes.

See also: Leviathan

 


Sigma (Finland)

Music With Analog Improvised Soundscapes (2006) (recorded in 2002 - 2006)
Binaural Beats (2007)

A duo Mauno Tuominen and Petri Frestadius doing a bit experimental analogue soundscapes and rhythmic pieces.

 


Sign Libra (Latvia)

Closer To the Equator (2018) (recorded in 2016)
Sea To Sea (2019)
Hidden Beauty (2023)

Melodic, new-agey music with touches of deep house from Agata Melnikova. Pretty nice and unique overall.

 


Signal Mountain (USA)

Familiar Trails (2019)

Varied EM, from ambient floaters to nice sequencer / symphonic synth.

 


Signal~Bruit (France)

Planisphère(s) (2016)
Hyperborée (2020)

Analog synth music describing an imagined two-dimentional world (on Planisphère(s)). Influences of Kraftwerk, Berlin School and more.

 


Signer (New Zealand)

Selected Dreams 2020 - 2022 (2024)

Ambient techno and indie rock musician (Bevan Smith). Selected Dreams captured some of his solo improvised pieces recorded during the covid lockdown with a minimal setup (4 synths and a drum machine). Mostly rather abstract and mysterious, but also strangely melodic and often with rhythms / pulses.

 


Significant Other (USA??)

Oblivion (2021) (EP)
Residuum (2021)

The long ambient title track on the Oblivion EP is really good. The rest is techno. Residumm is more diverse and closer to ambient EM.

 


Sigurbjörnsson, Þorkell (Iceland)

La Jolla Good Friday (1981) (recorded in 1975)

Þorkell (Thorkell) Sigurbjörnsson (1938 - 2013) was an Icelandic pianist and composer. This album contains music recorded at the Center for Musical Experiment of the University of California. You can tell the guy has an academic background and the music was recorded in a fitting environment. However, it is one of the most listenable academic electronic albums out there and the music is quite engaging, with lots of squiggles, pulses, beeps and bleeps. It has a strange sense of structure to it and you can sort of compare it to some works of Conrad Schnitzler and other German EM / kraut experimentalists. Although on the very brink of EM (and subsequently, EEM) relevance (it narrowly escaped a non-inclusion), it's nice stuff to hear you are a fan of experimental electronics.

 


Sigurtà, Luca (Italy)

Goddess (2018)
Propoli Kiss (??)
Aloe Kiss (2023)

Experimental musician. He is often rather noisy. On Goddess, however, which was created out of processed recordings with the addition of analog synths, he tends towards the ambient side of things. "Hangover Square" is a beautiful piece.

 


Sigvegr (Brazil)

Songs of Nature And Heathen Resistance (2006)
Against the Modern World - In the Name of Old Traditions (2006)

Pagan Ambient with lots of samples.

 


Siinai (Finland)

Olympic Games (2011)
Heartbraking Bravery (2012) (with Moonface)
Supermarket (2014)
Sykli (2017)

Krautrock-inspired band from Finland. Like Ashra jamming with Neu! and Tangerine Dream in a shopping mall.

See also: Aho

 


SiJ (Ukraine)

Deep In Space (2011)
B.J.D IV (2011)
Influence of Darkness (2012)
Fragments of Memories (2013)
Nightwave (2013) (with WMRI)
Vale of Forgotten Sounds (2013)
The Water Shrine (2014)
The End (2014)
The Brink of Time (2014)
Way To Dream (2014)
The Krustallos Shrine (2014)
The Earth Shrine (2015)
Zhang Zhung (2015) (with Sergey Gabbasov)
Kapalika (2015) (with Ptarkh)
Kömapàrabola (2015) (with Astral & Shit)
Message (2015) (with Paul Minesweeper)
Reflections Under the Sky (2016) (with Textere Oris)
Perseides (2016) (with Sergey Gabbasov)
The Time Machine (2017)
Queer Reminescence (2017) (with Item Caligo)
Reflections At the Sea (2021) (with Textere Oris)

Ambient from Vladislav Sikach.

 


Sijbenga, Peter (Netherlands)

Romte en Stream (2001)

Experimental short tracks with minimal electronics and all kinds of humoristic or dadaistic voice performances. However, I have some reasons to believe that some of the stuff from this double CD release might be of interest to EM fans, with longer tracks in particular raising suspicions.

 


Sikora, Slawomir (Poland)

Wracam (1994)

 


Sil Muir (Italy)

Horchata vs. Sil Muir (2008) (S) (with Horchata)
Sil Muir (2009)

Dark Ambient collaboration between Andrea Marutti and Andrea Ferraris.

See also: Marutti, Andrea, Amon, Never Known.

 


Silas (UK)

3.33 (2018)

Ambient electronic tracks, all with a 3:33 duration, from this Manchester-based project.

 


Silberman, Peter (USA)

Transcendless Summer (2016)

Ambient music from founder of New York-based indie rock band The Antlers.

 


Sileas, Akira (UK)

triangle1 (2019) (S)
triangle2 (2020) (S)
Ito (2021)

Varied ambient synth music. A pseudonym of Aimée-Sofia Brown.

 


Silence & Strength (Israel)

Le Divin Cagliostro (2005)
Opus Paracelsum (2006)
Das Haus Zur Letzten Latern (2009)
Saturn Return (2015)

Dark Ambient and esoteric experimental music from Stephan V. Friedman.

 


Silence & The Unwinking Minds (New Zealand)

Ephemeral (2020)
Antipodes (2023) (with T 1 D 3 S)

A project of New Zealander Derek Pearson. Varied electronic compositions. Mostly flowing, rhythmic, moody, with a focus on modular (Eurorack) synthesis and sampling.

 


Silences (UK)

Silences (2019) (EP)

Ambient duo of James Green and Nick Dawson.

 


Silencio Permanente (Argentina)

Sombre Macabrum (2018)
The Short And Foolish Quest of Sylovar And Hrud (2018)
The Miserable Hall of Oblivion (2020)

Shorter tracks between dungeon synth, Dark Ambient and early German EM.

 


SÍLENÍ (Portugal)

All Heavens Rejoice (2020)

Nighmarish ambience and intense cinematic compositions.

 


Silent Cabin (Finland)

Lonely Mountains (2016)
Gates of Autumn (2016) (S)
Forgotten In A Cold Forest (2016) (S)
We Left (2017) (S)
Fragile Voices (2019) (S)
Gently Veiled (2019)
Echoes (2020)

Self-described as dungeon synth, this project of Finland's O. Inkinen has a moody sound more in common with some Ambient / drone artists.

 


Silent Chaos (Italy)

Micro (2017)
Pure Chaos (2012)

Mostly dark and a bit noisy ambient compositions from this duo of Marta Noone and Ugo Vantini.

 


Silent City., The (Finland)

Through the Mind of A Silent City (2019) (S)

Melancholic, urban synth soundscapes.

 


Silent Cosmic Travel (USA)

No End (2017)
Destination Unknown (2017)
Deep Space (2023)

Austere, noisy synthscapes done on analog hardware. Silent Cosmic Travel is a project inspired by vintage sci-fi scores and related paraphernalia.

See also: Pupin, Michael, Antineutron2.

 


Silent Excerpts (USA)

Silent Excerpts I (2023)

Droning ambient project.

See also: Kunisaki

 


Silent Group, The (UK)

Accelerated Evolution Music (2020)

Droning ambient compositions. There is some variety, but it is rather one-dimensional overall.

 


Silent Invisible Radiation (New Zealand)

Merge With the Infinite (2014)
Plane Symmetry Groups (2017)

Krautrock / electronic duo from Auckland. Repetitive music with guitars, synths and drums galore.

 


Silent Orchestra (USA)

Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror (2009)
Poe - A Dream Within A Dream (2021)

Cinematic project of Carlos Garza (who seems to have participated in the recording of Industrial Sabotage album by Mars Everywhere) on keys / virtual orchestra and Rich O'Meara on percussion and keys. They mix orchestral sounds with ambient electronics, making scores to classic silent films of the days of yore.

 


Silent Senders, The (Italy)

The Silent Senders (2002)
Haven't You Heard? (2005)
My Life As Minimalist (2010)
A More Perfect You (2012)
Boxing (2013)
Alle Gegen Alle (2016)
The Goose Little Anthology (2022)

Rocking, rhythmic EM with synths and guitars by this duo of Maurizio Duka Moroni and Paolo Caucci.

See also: Duka

 


Silent Sun, The (Austria)

Early 1980's Electronic Music band influenced by Brian Eno. Formed by the (then) students Richard Gaisbauer, Josef Bruckl and Christian Dobler. No releases?

See also: Phaeicon, Blauklang, Agent Error.

 


Silent Universe (Russia)

The Infinity Coordinates (2017)
Immensity (2023)

Hypnotic soundscapes from Pavel Malyshkin. Good stuff for lovers of Dark Space.

 


Silent Vigils (UK / Belgium)

Fieldem (2018)
Lost Rites (2019)
Wake (2020)

Ambient duo (James Murray and Stijn Hüwels) using both electronics and acoustic instruments / guitars.

See also: Murray, James

 


Silent Wagon (Greece??)

Hidden Pole (2019)

Described as "sci fi ambient". Pretty dark stuff.

 


Silent Watcher of Dark Matter (Sweden)

Installation (2000)
Quiet Garden (2000)
Deep Space (2001)
Deep Space II (2001)
Haemotoxylon (??)

Aka silentwatcher. Dark Space from a guy who calls himself Myt (don't know if it's a name or not). The project was started in 1999 and the author cites some academic electronic composers as his influences.

 


Silent Wave (???)

Night Stories (2022)
Green Waterfall (2023)

Droning ambience. Pretty moody and melancholic.

 


Silentblock, Pol (Belgium)

Mix'Houp (1989)
El Pacha (1989)
Limited Association (1989)
Por L Sourire d'Alexia (??)
Soirees d'Hiver (??)
Aphrodites-Moi Tout (1991)
Musiques Agressives (1992)
Les Airs y Sont de Nuit (??)

See also: BBR/NJR

 


Silentium (Russia)

Portals of Death (2018)

Silentium was started in Vologda in 1997 as a hybrid black metal / ambient project. The above album consists of creepy ambient compositions.

 


Silentium (Ukraine)

The Ancient's Wisdom (1995) (recorded in 1988 - 1993)

Pre-Munruthel homemade ambient music.

See also: Munruthel, Sammohana.

 


Silent-One (Germany)

Lost Souls (2018) (S)

Melancholic ambient tracks from Benedikt Merkl.

 


Silentwave (Japan)

Lotus Flower (2015)
Night Life (2016) (with Rhucle)
Daiyuzan (2016)
Kilauea (2017)
The Endless Sea (2018)
The River (2018)
Contact (2018)
Love Drawing (2022)
Ruined Opera (2022)
MOA107 (2022) (S)
Inner Voice (2022) (S)
Falling Asleep (2022)
Dub Melancolia (2023)
Dance With You (2023) (S)
Mysterious Disappearance (2023)
Marbling Night (2023)
Mysterious Forest (2023)
Arabian Nights (2023) (S)
Reincarnation (2024)
The Moon Is Beautiful (2024)

Silentwave is Yoshinori Noguchi who seems to be influenced by 1980's new age and Ambient.

 


Silfen (Germany)

The Dungeons of Herculaneum (2019)

Moody electronics between cosmic (with some Berlin School elements) and dungeon synth

 


Silhouette Sect (UK)

Metahope (2018)
The Static Context (2019)
Embers (2021)

Ambient artist from Bristol (real name - Alastair Tanner).

 


Silhouettes (USA)

Hysterics (2020)

Mostly ambient project from Illinois.

 


Silicon (New Zealand)

Personal Computer (2015)

Sort of nostalgic but at the same time futuristic, YMO-like concept from Kody Nielson. There is also an extra funky / soul touch.

See also: Nielson, Kody

 


Silicon Brain (???)

Cocoon (1999)
Horizon (1999)
Digital Dream (2000)
Venus And Mars (2000)
Silent Mountain (2000)

New age project with some albums (listed) of interest to fans of Ambient and Space Music.

 


Silicon Dioxide (Germany)

Empty Stages (2006)

This album was recorded in the Electric Junk studio (owned by Albin Meskes of You) by Slem Beniak, Lens Kimbase, Nike E. M. Bass and Ibek Manless. These all sound like pseudonyms and the music is most likely a solo venture of Meskes.

See also: Robot City, You.

 


Silicon Scientist, The (Germany)

Poly (2009)
Inselwinter (2012)
Outside the Night (2015)

Nice melodic and relaxed Electronic Music from Stefan Bornhorst out of Hamburg. There are other albums that are supposedly more synth-pop.

 


Silk Moth (USA)

Silk Moth (2019)

A project from North Carolina. This record offers an opportunity to enter the world of (and imagine yourself as) a small insect called silk moth. The music has roots in dungeon synth and Ambient and is very nice and evocative. Recommended.

 


Silkies, The (???)

Arctic Dreams (??)

Ambient soundscapes, between Steve Roach and Brian Eno, but heavier.

 


Sillaste, Heiki (Canada)

Paper+Sound (2009)
Sauna Porch Recordings Co. (2011)
The North Shore (2012) (with dreamSTATE)
Dub Town (2021)

Heiki Sillaste is a Toronto-based electronic composer who has been recording since the 1980's. He mixes dub and downtempo elements with some warm ambient soundscapes. A large chunk of his work is completely rhythmless and ambient (and also rather warm and nice). Only his EM-related releases will be listed. Of these, Sauna Porch Recordings and The North Shore contain enough ambient material. Paper+Sound is mostly rhythmic / techno-ish, so it's not a good one for EM fans. Dub Town is mostly dub or dub techno, but with a couple of ambient-oriented tracks.

 


Sills, Paul (UK)

Astral Doorways (2007)
Meridian (2013)
White Light (2013)
A Sketchbook of Summer (2013)
Eternal Now (2014)
Within Parallels (2018)
Pulse (2023)

Gentle Space Music from this UK-based musician.

 


Silva, Alex (Spain)

Mind Pattern Explorer (2017)
Now Is A Wave (2023)

Galician musician from A Coruña. He likes to use fast, virtuoso passages with chirping synths accompanied by live drumming. Definitely progressive but hardly comparable to other artists.

 


Silva, José (Venezuela)

Modulated Tones No.1: Music For Framed Works (2017)

Ambient artist currently residing in Quito, Ecuador, with a droning, shimmering sound and a large piano presence which gives it a vague Eno / Budd feel.

 


Silva, Luís F. (Portugal)

Wandering Mind (2023)

Varied EM from this Portuguese synthesist. Mostly melodic / rhythmic and sequencer-based.

 


Silva, Matteo (Italy)

Ad Infinitum (1991) (recorded in 1989 - 1991)

Vast sonic landscapes from this synthesist. Although Italian, Matteo was born in Ulm in 1960. He grew up in Italy and that's where his career started, so he is listed as an Italian artist. Matteo Silva is a music archeologist, has travelled to Asia and is part of the Synaulia music archeology project.

 


Silva, Rita (Portugal)

The Inflationary Epoch (2023)

Nice pulsing EM with a focus on modular synths and generative techniques. Rita Silva studied at the Sonology institute in Holland.

 


Silver Apples (USA)

Silver Apples (1968)
Contact (1969)
Beacon (1997)
A Lake of Teadrops (1998) (with Spectrum)
The Garden (1998)
Decatur (1998)
Clinging To A Dream (2016)
Mirage (2023) (with Makoto Kawabata)

Experimental New York-based duo with vocals. One of the members (known as Simeon) played the "Simeon" - sort of a homemade synth that consisted of nine audio oscillators stacked together. The other member was Dan Taylor on drums. One of the the first 'synth-pop' groups, then? A reunion took place in the 1990's, but after a van crash accident that left Simeon with a broken neck and spine injuries the future of the project seems pretty hazy.

See also: Bell, Jake

 


Silver, George (Portugal)

Lagoa (2019) (S)
Santo André (2020)
Universou (2020) (S)
Inocente Indecente (2022)

A pseudonym of André Neves, who uses grand piano, synthesizers and self-built electroacoustic devices to craft varied compositions, from classically-inspired piano elegies to throbbing, rhythmic, almost danceable excursions and everything in-between.

See also: Barata Cósmica, Goza.

 


Silvercord (USA)

Swan On A Black Sea (2000)
Chasing Broken Shadows (2004)

Michigan-based electronic trio formed in 1999 and consisting of Geoff Nostrant, Ken Ball and Joe Klowski, now seems to have been reduced to a solo project of Nostrant. They have a varied, spacey, atmospheric sound, often symphonic or ambient, but also sequencer-based in places. Some of their music is available in download-only format.

 


Silverman, The (UK)

Dream Cell (1995)
Silvermandalas (1998)
State of Union (2001)
Requiem Settings (2002)
Live In Basel 2005 (2005) (with Edward Ka-Spel)
Nature of Illusion (2005)
Woodland Calling (2005)
Spectral Artifact (2007) (S) (recorded in ??)
Sun With A Beating Heart (2007)
Blank For Your Own Message (2008)
The Whispering Wail (2009) (with Edward Ka-Spel)
The Thirty Year Itch (2010) (with Edward Ka-Spel)
Time On Thin Ice (2010)
Elemental (2010)
Finisterre (2013)
Terremoto (2015) (recorded in 2008) (with Edward Ka-Spel)
Echo Piece (2015)
Assembling Witness (2016)
The 40 Year Scratch (2020) (with Edward Ka-Spel)

This is solo music from The Legendary Pink Dots keyboard player Philip Knight. Electronic Music mostly consisting of Ambient soundscapes and cosmic analog sounds.

See also: Mimir, Legendary Pink Dots, The.

 


S-I-M (Netherlands)

Apotheosis (2016)

Flashy, melodic EM with rhythmic (dance) influences. S-I-M is Jacco In't Veld.

 


Simeonov, Bogdan (Bulgaria)

Equivalence (2022)

Dramatic music mixing ambient soundcapes and recent UK bass / dubstep trends.

 


Simi Fyda (Poland)

Yuri (2023)

Varied, intense, collage-like electronic pieces.

 


Simian Mobile Disco (UK)

Whorl (2014)

English "electronica" duo. Whorl may be their most experimental album, with some tracks veering towards Prog EM.

 


Similar Shapes (USA)

Sites (2023)

Ambient project. Droning sound, a bit new-agey and lo-fi.

 


Simjanović, Zoran (Serbia)

Miris Poljskog Cveća (1978) (S) (soundtrack)
Jedna Tema - Jedan Film (1982)

Serbian composer who has been very prolific in terms of the number of scores he did. He also composed one of the best known TV jingles in former Yugoslavia and was a pioneer of Electronic Music in his country. These releases contain material that will be interesting for EM fans. During the 1980's he seems to have gradually abandoned electronic media in favor of regular orchestral sound.

 


Simmons, Mike (UK)

The View From Anelog (1992)
From Anelog To Bardsey (1994)
Green Lane To Ledbury (1994)
Portmeirion (1996)
Dreams of Avalon (1997)
Compositions of Stone (1998)

Ambient musician, whose music represents a mixture of Steve Roach and some unique mysterious synth style.

 


Simon, Fred (USA)

Short Story (1984)
Time And the River (1985) (with Liz Cifani)

Pianist working in new instrumental / jazz genre. These early works contain some interesting electronic arrangements that can be compared to mid-to-late 1980's Tangerine Dream. Some examples are the title track from Time And the River and "Meshes" from the same release. However, I haven't heard a single Fred Simon release in its entirety yet, so for now I'll just include (and recommend) him as an EM-related artist. All the stuff I've heard from him that was released after Time And the River sounded like regular new instrumental / smooth jazz.

 


Simon, Jason (USA)

To the Dream Center (2023)

Imaginary synth soundtrack with lots of nice analog sounds.

 


Simonetti, Claudio (Italy)

Claudio Simonetti (1981)
Claudio Simonetti (1986) (recorded in 1983 - 1986)
1990: I Guerrieri del Bronx / I Nuovi Barbari (2000) (soundtrack) (with Walter Rizzati)
Il Cartaio (2004) (soundtrack)
Demoni (2015) (soundtrack)

Goblin keyboardist. The first album features original compitions and one reworked Goblin tune. The soundtrack album Il Cartaio was created with digital and analogue synths. The music will appeal to fans of Goblin and some of Tangerine Dream's 80's soundtrack work.

See also: Goblin

 


Simonetti, Mike (USA)

Solipsism (Collected Works 2006 - 2013) (2018)
Mike Plays Ann O'Dam ​/ ​Sonnen Schein (2019) (S)

Music by ex-owner of the Italians Do It Better label. Most tracks on Solipsism are rhythmic and have a techno or synthwave feel to them. The bonus 12" record is interesting for the long suite "Acceptance", though, which has a lot of typically EM moods.

 


Simović, Tomislav (Croatia)

Visitors From the Galaxy (2017) (recorded in 1981) (soundtrack)
The Zagreb School of Animated Film (Original Soundtracks 1961-1982) (2023)

The 2017 release is a rare electronic soundtrack from this jazz musician and film composer. The Zagreb School... is more of a mixed bag of orchestral and electronic or partly electronic tracks (about 90% orchestral I would say) from various animated films.

 


Simple.Normal (Brazil)

Art.ificial.Art (2006) (S)

A project of São Paulo-based Cleber Gazana. A lot of his output will be too noisy and experimental. Art.ificial.Art has its moments of synthy bliss, though.

 


Simply Sausage II (Canada)

Cylindrical Meats (2021)

Krauty trippertronics with synths and guitar from Mark Alexander McIntyre and Bill Guerrero.

 


Simulacra (Belgium)

Eidolon (2007)
Somewhere... Inside A Void (2008) (S)
The Heaven's Open (2010) (with Wereju)
There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood (2010)
The Empty Vessel Makes the Loudest Sound (2011)
The Evil That Beckons Me (2012)
Birka (2016) (with N) (2016)
Demons From the Past (2018)

Dark Ambient from Miguel Boriau.

See also: Beyond Infinity, Insomnia.

 


Simulacrum (Slovakia)

Zeugma (1999)
Anti Matter Society (2002)
Upuaut (2004)

Dark Ambient by a guy who calls himself Patryc Cyber.

 


Simulakrum Lab (Italy)

Simulakrum Lab (2013)
Simulakrum Lab II (2019)

Paolo Prevosto's project in 1980's-influenced synthwave / EM realms. The instrumental material is nice. The "songs" often sound cringeworthy to me.

 


Simulation, The (USA)

Starquakes (2020)

Varied electronic compositions. Mostly experimental, somewhat rough around the edges. A project based in Portland, Oregon.

 


Sinclair, Gary John (Australia)

Public Broadcast Vol. 1 (2022)

Australian artist composing music for art spaces, museums and installations. Ambient electronics with a strong role given to field recordings. Often cosmic, Space Music-like.

 


Sinclair, Valentine (???)

Balance (2015)
Vignettes of Intimate Reflection (2015)
Metamorphosis (2016)
For Those Who Stayed (2017)
Marguerite: Impressions And Interludes In Eight Movements (2018)
Tender Truth (2018)
A Name, For Desire (2019)

Supposedly, ambient music from this noise musician.

 


Sincronia (Mexico)

Odisea del Tiempo Eterno (1991)

Melodic Electronic Music.

 


Sindaco (???)

Cannibalism Begins At Home (2021)

Varied tracks, mostly repetitive. Sometimes abstract and noisy, sometimes rhythmic, with underlying sequencing and / or basslines.

 


Sindh (France)

Gupta Tribes (2023)

Lyon-based project focused on the use of modular synths. Dark synth-sequencer, towards Node and Parallel Worlds realms, but with a strong techno influence as well. Ethnic percussions are a nice addition.

 


Sine Amplitude (Germany)

Hypnotized (2016)

German trio with a rocking melodic sound, somewhat in the vein of MorPheusz or Maxxess. A mixture of electronics, guitar and drums.

See also: Hagen Von Bergen, T M A.

 


Sine Wave (USA)

Sine Wave 1 (2008)
Sine Wave 2 (2010)
Zeitmaschine (2012)

Sine Wave is Dave Eveson from West Midlands. On first album he plays acoustic and electric guitars, analogue synthesizers, theremin and mellotron.

 


Sinemis (Turkey)

Dua (2022)

Sinemis is Sine Buyuka from Instanbul. Her music is classed as techno, although I can't see how the material on Dua is even remotely techno. Instead, we get ambient, breathy, melodic compositions with good emotional content. Pretty nice stuff.

 


Sinephro, Nala (Martinique??)

Live at Real World Studios with Edward Wakili​-​Hick & Dwayne Kilvington (2021) (S)
Space 1.8 (2021)

Growing  up between Martinique and Belgium, Nala Sinephro is a London-based jazz artist with a love for electronics. Her extremely smooth and enjoyable album Space 1.8 organically blends spiritual jazz and EM. Restrained, gentle, reflective and elegant, it is clearly a work done with expertise by a talented artist that has a lot of potential for sure. Recommended.

 


Sinepearl (Sweden)

The Dance of Affinity (2011)
Cycles Within Cycles Within (2014)

A project of Swedish artist Björn Ekegren. Ambient music with touches of psybient / psychill.

 


SineRider (USA)

Moon Phase (2016)
Four Years Away (2018)
Moonflowers (2020)
A Familiar Light (2021)

IDM / downtempo musician who developed an ambient style for Moon Phase.

 


Sines of Exquisite Pleasure (USA)

Modular Systems (1982)
Music For Hospitals (1984)
Cinema Zero (1988)
Music From the Palace of Eternal Sleep (1992)
Alaska (1994)

A project of early ambient experimentalist Douglas Em from Nashville, Tennessee. He used guitar and synthesizer (first a minimoog and then also other tools) to create compositions influenced by Fripp & Eno, Terry Riley, John Cage and others.

 


Sinewave440hz (Sweden)

The Cusp (2020) (S)
The Cage (2021) (S)
The Neon Ritual (2022) (S)

Varied electronics, made on the Teenage Engineering OP-1.

 


Singer, Adam (USA)

Lifeforce (2007)

San Francisco-based musician with a diverse, melodic, rhythmic sound.

 


Singh Boncard (Germany)

EXP (2005)
Lines of Time (2014)
Anaconda 4000 (2018)

Sequences and atmospheres by Georg Abts.

 


Singh, Charanjit (India)

Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat (1982)

Considered a (still rather obscure) holy grail of Indian Electronic Music, this album sees Mumbai-based Singh (unfortunately, he died in 2015 at the age of 74) doing rhythmic electronic stuff (ten ragas actually, adapted for electronic instruments) with synthesizers and drum machines. It is amazing how this music sounds nothing like 1982, in part indistinguishable from acid techno of a decade later. Not terribly progressive in its concept, it is surely worthy of inclusion for its sheer innovation. Charanjit Singh was a Bollywood composer and wedding band musician. He got interested in electronics somewhere in the 1970's and his discography may hide other unknown gems. Further investigation is needed.

 


Singū (Japan)

Siki (2018)
Diffraction (2018)

Also known as Singū-IEGUTI. Interesting band from Japan (Yuhei Watanabe, Kiyofumi Sadanaga and Keita Sadanaga), like electronic version of completely improvised jazz. No brass instruments here, just synths, drums, bass and guitar.

 


Sini (Spain)

1 (1990)
Tres (1996)

Melodic, straightforward EM from Madrid-based Jose Maria Garcia. His first (or at least I suppose it was his first) LP was re-released in 1991 with a Spanish title "Uno" and a different cover. Then there's Tres. Never seen any references to "2", but judging from the name of his 1996 album it ought to exist... somewhere...

 


Siniaalto (Finland)

Siniaalto (2002)
Hakala (2003) (S)
Tallentumia (2004)
Kuolema (2007)

Very Tangerine Dream-ish analogue stuff. Fender Rhodes, Juno 6, MS-20, Jupiter 6, theremin etc. Siniaalto consists of Ilai Rämä, Teemu Halmkrona and Tuomas Mettänen. The band was formed in 2002 in Helsinki.

 


Sinigaglia, Riccardo (Italy)

Watertube Ringspiel (1984)
Riflessi (1985)
Scorrevole 3 e Fluttuazioni (1987) (recorded in 1979 - 1981)
Correnti Magnetiche (1989)
Rossana & Rossana (??) (with Rossana Maggia)
Tecrit (2014) (with Sergio Armaroli)
Works 1976 - 1981: Scorrevole (2015)
Correnti Magnetiche - Live (2015) (recorded in 1989)
Dimensions (2016) (recorded in 1993)
Nature Spontanee (2017) (with Maurizio Marsico)
Trio Cavalazzi (2017)
Acustica < > Elettrica (2017) (with Trio Cavalazzi)
Dialoghi nel Vuoto (2018) (with Maurizio Abate)
In Fa (2019) (with Trio Cavalazzi)
Tecrit2Live (2021) (with Sergio Armaroli)
Three Blokes In Ameno (2022) (with Ariel Kalma and Davide Zolli)
Primavera Estate Autunno Inverno (2023) (with Mario De Leo)
Lettera Cosmica (2023) (recorded in 1981) (with Mario De Leo)
Guitambients (2023) (with Ambienti Coassiali)
Ottoman (2023) (with Silvio Linardi, Ruggero Taj
é and Matteo Uggeri)

Innovative Italian composer born in 1953 in Arona, Piemonte. Minimal electronics with surreal atmospheres in complex blend with ethnic structures and sometimes acoustic elements.

See also: Futuro Antico, Scosse Elettriche.

 


Sinister Dexter (UK)

This Kills That (1985)

A weird record. It sounds like a minimal synth effort. However, there's also that strong prog EM vibe to it. It is basically a one-man affair and is instrumental. Lots of short tracks and one epic at the end. Recorded in 1983 in London.

 


Sinke Dûs (Sweden)

Akrasia (2007)
Modus Vivendi (2023)

Nordic Dark Ambient from Marcus Lönebrink.

 


Sinner Frenz (USA)

Separation From Church And State (2022)

Iowa-based modular synth artist with a varied style.

 


Sinoia Caves (Canada)

The Enchanter Persuaded (2002)
Beyond the Black Rainbow (2014) (soundtrack)

Sinoia Caves is a solo project of Jeremy Schmidt, keyboardist of psychedelic rock / stoner rock band Black Mountain, who happens to be an analog synth maniac. This music is influenced by 1970's synthesizer gods and combines long, unfurling synth / mellotron excursions and shorter, folksy ditties with vocoder.

 


Sinultimata (UK)

Origenes (2011)
Suite Española (2012)
Pinturas de las Fobias (2012)
Carnival of the Animals And Other Enigmas (2014)
Letters To Daddy (2014)
Dychwelyd y Ddraig Goch (2015)

Sinultimata is a project of Welsh musician Carl Bratcher. His output is diverse and ranges from cheesy, "wooden" analogue-based synthiness of Wendy Carlos / Synergy school, to full-on classical emulations, experimental sounds and even slight Berlin School influences.

 


SiP (USA)

Live On Planet Catieo ★ ★ Lumpen Radio 105.5 FM ★ (2018)
Leos Naturals (2020)

Nice repeating synthesizer patterns and melodies from Chicago-based artist Jimmy Lacy.

 


Sir O Sir (UK??)

Solar Panels of the Moon (2020)

Moody electronics from Timothy Isherwood. A mixture of processed sources and synthesizers in an ambient and sometimes rhythmic setting. Nice stuff in a unique style. Best track: "Eostre".

 


Siren And the Sea (USA)

Gravity Wave (2023)

Siren And the Sea is a project of Californian musician Cristina Cano. She usually makes synth-pop music, but on Gravity Wave opts for an ambient / symphonic EM sound. Nice stuff with a touch of Vangelis on tracks like "Not To Harp On It".

 


Siri Karlsson (Sweden)

Horror Vacui (2019)
100 DB (2022)
Live In Näsåker (2023)

Swedish Nordic folk duo of Cecilia Österholm and Maria Arnqvist who on Horror Vacui created a nice progressive work, mixing their folk influences with synthesizers. File under EM-related.

 


Sirion (Poland)

Quenta Silmarillion (2001)

Dungeon synth-related project with a bright, ethereal sound.

 


Sirius (Germany)

Electronic duo formed in 1974 by Peter Seiler (ex-Tritonus) and Michael Bundt (ex-Medusa).

See also: Bundt, Michael, Seiler, Peter.

 


Sirius Radiance (Russia)

Keys To Infinity (2013)
Silent Spaces (2013)

Roman Rogov.

See also: Lost Radiance

 


Sirk (Norway)

Sirkum Polaris (2010)

Ambient project of Kristian Wølner. Light, airy sound.

 


Sirotkin, Andrey (Ukraine)

Vyrij (Âèð³é) (2021)

Varied electronic artist. The music on Vyrij (Âèð³é) ranges from ambient / experimental EM to hard-hitting techno and Kraftwerk-influenced electro.

 


Siroul, Jacques (Belgium)

Mixed Synthi (1977)
My Lovely Planet (1978)

The 1978 release is also known as "My Lovely Planet by Computer JS26". It is a library album with extremely warm melodic electronic themes in French style. For those into Space, Droids and suchlike. Some tracks are extremely cheesy ("La Marche des Petits Robots") some are good electronic ballads ("Lettre a Electro-Lise"). So it's a mixed bag. But that's what you expect from a library release anyway.

 


Sis (USA)

Gnani (2022) (EP)

Sis is the moniker of Californian singer-songwriter Jenny Gillespie Mason who works in the indie pop realms. Gnani has warm analog synths thoughout but the real reason for inclusion is her foray into instrumental jazzy EM on the closer "Gazelle Rites", which gives hope for a possible future EM release.

 


Sistema (Spain)

Possible Sounds Of Möbius (2012)

A project of Manel Ruiz Lens from Barcelona. Melodic pieces that blend 1980's EM style with some club influences.

 


Sítě (Czech Republic)

Radiant Perception Beyond Sorrow (2023)

Floating EM with ambient, experimental and jazzy trends from this duo.

 


Site Nonsite (UK)

Hiroshima (2022) (EP)
Kyoto (2022) (EP)
Osaka (2023) (EP)
Tokyo (2023) (EP)

A sonic travelogue through Japan from this UK artist. Relaxed, cinematic, moody, a bit reminiscent on Vangelis' The City (more in mood than in sound).

 


Sitting With Plants (USA)

Spirit Burial Ground (2017)

Hypnotic, darkish Ambient.

 


Siver, Valery & Trepakov, Kiryll (Russia)

Midway (2003)
Music From the Russian Pages (2010)

Although not for EM purists, Midway is still a very pleasant album, very relaxing and emotive. Mixture of classical guitar and electronics.

See also: Expedition Zero

 


Siwek, Jędrzej (Poland)

Music For Glass (2020)
La Mer (2020)
Music For Sci-Fi Movies (2021)
More Music For Sci-Fi Movies (2022) (S)
In Memory of Alvin Lucier (2022)
La Mer Live At Katowice JazzArt Festival 2022 (2022)
Requiem (2023)

Ambient, electroacoustic, electronic artist born in 1983. Organic, acoustic with some electronics on Music For Glass. Completely electronic on Music For Sci-Fi Movies.

 


Six By Seven (UK)

Dream On (2020)
Dream On 2 (2020)
Dream On 3 (2020)
Dream On 4 (2020)
Dream On 5 (2020)
Dream On 6 (2020)
Dream On 7 (2020)
Dream On 8 (2020)
Dream On 9 (2020)
Dream On 11 (2020)
Ex (Inner Space) (2020)
The Ballad of Neil Young (2021)
Then (2021)
This Is Deutschland (2021)
Dream On Live (2021)
Kosmik Punks (2021)
Kosmik Punks 2 (2021)
Radio Bremen (2022)
Kosmik Punks III (2022)
Kosmik Punks IV (2022)

Varied rock group from Nottingham founded in 1996 by Chris Olley. Recently, it has basically become a solo project of Olley who plays all the instruments, sometimes accompanied by a drummer. Some of his material acquired a decidedly krautrock / Dusseldorf School attitude. Most of the material on the above is instrumental, with some vocal songs as well.

 


Six Missing (USA)

Unfolding (2022) (with Zac Colwell)

Nice, relaxing, acoustic / electronic Ambient from Texan artist TJ Dumser.

 


Six Organs of Admittance (UK)

Sleep Tones (2023) (recorded in 2020)

Long-form droning ambience from this Scottish contemporary folk project.

 


Siyanie (Russia)

Shining of Unity (2012)
Sonans (2012) (with Neznamo)
Homo Multidimensional (2013)
Mystery of Life (2016)

Ritual droning Ambient. Neznamo participates on Shining of Unity.

See also: Vresnit

 


Sjardin, Peter (Netherlands)

Changes (1982)

Dark, cosmic electronic tracks from member of Group 1850, recorded in 1978 with the help of his self-built "Organizer" instrument. Only 25 test pressings of this album were manufactured. Peter Sjardind died in 2015.

See also: Group 1850

 


Sjellos (Germany)

Gestalt der Nacht (2011)
Transmission Lost (2013)

Dark Ambient by Tibor Knopf.

 


Sjerp (Czech Republic)

Demo 2 (2002)
My Tribute To Forgotten Woods (2003) (EP)
Anarchia Funeralis (2003)
Černobyl (2004) (S)
The Last Temple (2004)
Žatva (2005)
Válcovy mlýn chroustov (2006) (EP)
In the Memory of Rafael Maria Bousek (2007)
V hlubině mračského lesa (2009)

Dark.

 


Sjunde Inseglet (Sweden)

Kalontas Auton Pou Onomazetai Satanas Kai Diavolos (2018)
Shadow Projection (2020)

Ritualistic ambience.

 


SKAARJ (Russia)

The Human And the World: The Retrospective of the Modern (2012)

Anton Sharoff.

 


Skadi (Germany)

Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (2005)
Eliwagar (2006)

Dark Ambient with rhythms and Ritual elements from Alexander Lesswing.

 


Sk-Ar (Iceland)

J​ö​fn (2023)

Experimental, noisy or ambient, melodic / esctatic synth compositions.

 


Skare (Sweden)

Solstice City (2009)
Grader (2015)

Frosty ambience from Mathias Josefson (Moljebka Pvlse), Fredrik Olofsson and Per Åhlund.

See also: Moljebka Pvlse

 


Skarpseian (Russia)

Skygge Slottet (2013)
Tan Gil (2014)
Fragmenter av Trolldom (2016)

Dungeon synth project from Moscow.

 


Skee Mask (Germany)

ISS007 (2022)

Completely ambient album from techno artist Bryan Müller, the man behind Skee Mask.

 


Skeld (Germany)

Mother of Wolves (2021)
Mana Battery (2022)
Alpine Circaea (2023)

Sort of dungeon synth-like, but focusing more on analog sounds.

 


Skeldos (Lithuania)

Įspaudai (2014)
Aviliai (2015) (with Daina Dieva)
Ilgės (2018)
Ilgės - Caretakers of Yearning (2019)
Žiūrėjimas į mus vis paliekančią kometą (2020) (S)

Ambient duo with heavy use of processed acoustic instruments. Overall, there's a folky, pagan, melancholic feel to a lot of the material here.

See also: IYv

 


Skeleton Beach (USA)

Being There (2017)
Ritual (2019)
The Inevitable Death of Language (2020)

A project of Knoxville, Tennessee-based Gene Priest, inspired by classic EM works and vintage horror scores.

 


Skeleton Harbor (USA / Norway)

Maiden Voyage (2019)

Long-distance collaboration between Eric Hardiman and Andreas Brandal. Mostly grim, water-inspired soundscapes, sometimes bursting into analog synth / acoustic guitar combinations ("Figurehead").

See also: Brandal, Andreas

 


Skelton, Richard (UK)

Marking Time (2008)
Riftmusic (2009) (S)
Landings (2009)
Wolf Notes (2010) (with Autumn Richardson)
Verse of Birds (2012)
Succession (2013) (with Autumn Richardson)
Memorious Earth (2015) (with Autumn Richardson)
Diagrams For the Summoning of Wolves (2015) (S) (with Autumn Richardson)
Towards A Frontier (2017)
Earth By Means of the Currents (2017) (EP) (with Autumn Richardson)
Border Ballads (2019)
Moraine Sequence One: Till Fabrics (2019)
Lastglacialmaximum (2020)
These Chams May Be Sung Over A Wound (2020)
Talus (2021)
A Guidonian Hand (2021)
Isolarii (2021) (S) (with Corey Fuller)
Selenodesy (2023)

English ambient composer with a darkish sound inspired by geological processes and history of Earth.

See also: Inward Circles, The

 


Skepp, A. (Sweden)

III IIIII IIII (2016)

Electronic Music from drummer of progressive rock band Gösta Berlings Saga, whose keyboard player David Lundberg is also in the encyclopedia as part of Necromonkey duo. Melodic Ambient / Berlin School sound.

See also: Gösta Berlings Saga

 


Skeppet (Sweden)

Untitled (2009)
Fåglarnas Samtal / Passagen (2010) (S)
Phase 3 (2014)
Deluxe (2015)
Kosmisk Väg (2022)

Krautrock-influenced duo of Andreas Malm and Henrik Wallin. They sit somewhere between Popol Vuh's "raga rock" sound, Dusseldorf School and psychedelia. Deluxe is a sampler gathering tracks previously available on split releases.

See also: Frihet, Body Awareness.

 


Sketch (Norway)

Sketch (1990)
Reasons To Sway (1994)
Abeyance (1997)
Zincanode (2000)
59°56'N 10°44'Ø 21.09.00 (2000)
Unreleased (2002) (recorded in 1994 - 1998)
Live (2002)

Not particularly known, the ambient duo Sketch (Kai Mikalsen and Tor Jørgensen), however, seems to be the one that introduced none other than Geir Jenssen aka Biosphere to Electronic Music, back in the early 1980's. There's something for lovers of ambient techno in their oeuvre, but also for those who prefer the deeper stuff. Their first eponymous cassette contains tracks recorded on a 4-track recorder in 1986 - 1990. It was re-released on CDR in 2000.

 


Skilly & Bone (USA)

Comet Omelette (??)

Way obscure, strange, privately pressed electronic album. The only information is what's written on the back of the vinyl sleeve: "Realized in the electronic studio of the Philadelphia Musical Academy on instruments designed by R.A. Moog". It must be from the early 1970's and is one of the rarest electronic albums out there.

 


Skin Hologram (Sweden)

Sentō Dream (2017) (S)

Hypnotic webs of analog sounds and sequences.

 


Skin Lines (USA)

First Fires: Demos 2014-15 (2015)
Stimulus Regression (2016) (S)
Troubled For Life (2016)
Double Lives I (2018)

Another Portland, Oregon-based synth project, this one mixes cosmic atmospheres with slight 1960's EM influences and a noisier edge in places. Skin Lines is Dustin Krcatovich.

 


Skin Mechanix (UK)

The Secret Life of Angels (2002)
Fallen Angel (2005)
Media Evil (2011)

Skin Mechanix are Dave Hughes of T-Bass UK and some 'Skin'. All lovers of the aforementioned group as well as Mark Shreeve fans should check it out. Powerful, energetic synthetics.

See also: T-Bass, Ion.

 


Skin To Skin (USA)

In the Shadow of Love (1999) (S)
Temenos (2002)

Soundtracky Ambient with lots of chant-like textures. Skin To Skin are Lena Måndotter and Ronnie Hall.

 


Skincage (USA)

Axon (2000)
Graft Coordinates (2000)
Things Fall Apart (2007)
Unimagined Space (2017)

Tucson-based Jon Ray aka Skincage is one of the purveyors of the blackened dark soundscape approach.

 


Skins (Sri Lanka)

Never Cursed (ஒருப ோதும் சபிக்கப்பட்டதில்லை) (2022)

Pretty varied music from this London-based artist - part digital collage, part looped "decontructed club" and part Progressive Electronic.

 


Skiold (Denmark)

Airways (1983)

Skiold is Danish synthesist Per S. Frederiksen.

 


Skipism (USA)

Air From Here (2018)
Sound Stitches (2022)
Under Your Hat (2023)

Synth music from the duo of Dru Johnson-Jones and Drusilla Johnson that can be classified as both Experimental and Noise Ambient, depending on your perspective, but certainly gravitating towards the former, as there's not much in terms of real noise here. There are a few vaguely melodic moments and something of machine / automation component, which makes this stuff much more listenable than it probably could have been.

 


Skisserna (USA)

Sketch For Midlife (2023)

Varied droning ambient compositions from Michigan.

 


Sklyarov, Igor (Russia)

Kepler-10c (2019)

Spacey Electronic Music from this synthesist.

 


Skodvin, Knut (Norway)

Kondens (1982)
Gynt (1989)

Knut Skodvin is a classical composer and electronic pioneer from Bergen. He released several albums on LP and CD, the most interesting one being Kondens from 1982, made on analogue synthesizers mostly (EMS, Aries, Crumar, EKO and the fabled Davolisint), with help from acoustic bass, guitar, piano and sax.

 


Skognatt (Germany)

Landscape of Ice (2017)

Diverse black metal / ambient project. The above cassette features BM songs on side A and a four-part synth suite recorded in 2016 on side B. Looks like we can expect more ambient / EM material in the future.

 


Skorneg (Canada)

Foehn (2014)

Collaboration of Frederic Arbour and Christian Corvellec. Dark Ambient.

See also: Visions, Instincts.

 


Skornik, Guy (France)

Ils Viennent du Futur! (1980)
Tusk (2019) (recorded in 1979) (soundtrack)

French pop / chanson artist. The first side of this unusual album features a multi-part progressive suite, some of which is pure EM. Beware of vocals and file under EM-related. The soundtrack music from "Tusk" confirms the role of Skornik as one of the unsung pioneers of French Electronic Music, with material that at times reminds on Steve Hillage's Rainbow Dome Musick.

 


Skøtt, Jakob (Denmark)

September (2007) (with Jonas Munk and Rasmus Rasmussen)
Doppler (2012)
Amor Fati (2014)
Taurus Rising (2014)
All the Colours of the Dust (2016)
Instrumentality (2018)
The Discipline of Assent (2020) (with Martin Rude)

Another cosmic synth endeavour by a member of Causa Sui. This time it's the group's drummer.

See also: Videodrones

 


Skoulaman (Netherlands)

Live (2001)
Voyager (2006)
Synthesizer Mood (2012)
Dreaming of the Future Reflecting the Past (2014)
Andros Awakening (2015)
Next Step In Evolution (2018)
Fluxes In Philadelphia (2019)
Deepminds (2020)
Byssed (2021)
Mundus In Motu (2022)
Hot August Afternoon (2022) (with Ron Boots)
Flight#433106 (2023) (with Stephan Whitlan)

Analog synth artist (with a Berlinesque flair) who used a different artist name for each of his CD-R releases. He was "Skoula" on Live, then turned "Skoulariki" on Voyager and, finally, "Skoulaman" - a name I used as a catch-all for his works. The real name of the artist is Hans Van Kroonenburg. He is also part of the EM trio AKS.

 


Skragn (Denmark)

Stund (2019)

A project of M. Egeberg from Copenhagen. Melodic / rhythmic EM. Nice synth sound here, although a bit samey. Often reminds on Tangerine Dream's soundtracks. Another artist that comes to mind is Martin Agterberg.

 


Skrika (UK)

Fifth Nature (2021)
Soludenia (2022)
Vyeltyra Vortex (2023)

Cinematic, post-apocalyptic ambience from Mathew Adkins.

 


Skripglow (UK)

Day One (2009)

Skripglow is one of side-projects by founder of EBM act Click Click. Originally Dark Ambient, the music became more rhythmic on subsequent (download-only) releases.

 


Skrzek, Józef (Poland)

Pamietnik Karoliny (1978)
Dominics Godfather (1979)
War of the Worlds (1982) (soundtrack)
Koncert Swietokrzyski (1983)
Ambitus Extended (1983) (with Tomasz Szukalski)
Podroz w Kraine Wyobrazny (1984)
Czas (1998) (with Michal Banasik)
U Stop Krzyza (2003)
Planetarium (2006) (with Colin Bass)
Maria z Magdali (2006)
La Tempete (2007)
Trilogy (2008) (with Paul Lawler and Steve Schroyder)
Schody do Nieba (2008) (with Daniel Bloom, Paul Lawler, Michael Ogorodov and Steve Schroyder)
Czas Dojrzewania (2009) (soundtrack)
Archives (2013)
Człowiek z Wysokiego Zamku (??) (with Jaroslaw Pijarowski, Władyslaw Komendarek and Jorgos Skolias)
The Dream off Penderecki (2013) (with Jaroslaw Pijarowski and Teatr Tworzenia)
Terrarium (2013) (with Jaroslaw Pijarowski and Teatr Tworzenia)
The Stratomusica Suite (2014) (with Przemyslaw Rudz)
Halny (2014) (with Steve Schroyder, Mirosław Muzykant and Steve Kindler)
Moja Muzyka (2014) (recorded in 1978 - 1981)
Requiem dla Chwil Minionych (2015) (with Jaroslaw Pijarowski)
Carpathian Wind (2016) (with Steve Kindler, Mirosław Muzykant and Steve Schroyder)
Terra Nostra Desiderabilis (2016)
Katharsis (A Small Victory) (2017) (with Jaroslaw Pijarowski and Teatr Tworzenia)
Stories (2017) (with Krzysztof Puma Piasecki)
Around the World In Eighty Moogs (2018) (recorded in 2003 - 2009)
Metropolis (2019) (recorded in 2009)

Jozef Skrzek, the leader of Polish progressive rock band SBB and one of the legends of Polish progressive music, was born in 1948. Not all of his works are electronic. The ones that are of interest to EM fans are listed above. Jozef Skrzek creates rather sedate Electronic Music that sometimes recalls early Popol Vuh. Koncert was recorded in a cathedral using church organ and moog. Podroz is a live recording as well.

See also: Ololuiqui, SBB.

 


Skua Atlantic (Iceland / Ireland)

Atlantic Fusion (2018)
Silfra Diving (2021)

This duo of Árni Grétar and Michael Gainford, when in the ambient mode, manages to come up with very strong material. It is based much more on electro and 1990's ambient techno sound, though. File under EM-related.

See also: Chillage, Mick

 


Skuggkonungen (Sweden)

Månens Vidunderliga Kraft (2021) (S)
Västmarken (2021) (S)
Analoga Ritualer (2022)
Enk​ö​pings Sä​llskap f​ö​r Paranormala Studier (2023)

Minimal, melancholic synth melodies with sequences and other elements from the Berlin School, ala Nattefrost.

 


Skunk Ape (USA)

The World That You Will Live In Until You Die (2019)
Ground Hums (2021)

A project of Elliott Hansen (with some friends helping out), between ambient drone, shoegaze and noise (not really noisy most of the time, though).

 


Skurken (Iceland)

Dagur (2022)

IDM project with some Prog EM tendencies on Dagur.

 


Sky (USA)

Dreams (1988)

Sky is a project of Germany-born US musician Ronny Roman Bunke. This album will be enjoyed by fans of new age and new instrumental music mostly. However, the closing ambient epic "Shores of the High Priestess" that was featured on "Musical Starstreams" ambient radio show will appeal to general EM fan base for sure.

 


Sky Burial (USA)

Of the First Light (2006)
Spectrehorse (2006)
Sky Burial (2006)
Skinwalker (2007) (S)
IV: Of Dharma And Drowning (2007) (S)
Kiehtan (2010)
Transmissions From the Void (2011)
Aegri Somnia (2011)
Threnody For Collapsing Suns (2011)
Dream Decimator (2011)
There I Saw the Grey Wolf Gaping (2012)
Pas the Sarvering Gallack Seas And Flaming Nebyul Eye (2013)
Canticle of the Three (2013) (with Caulbearer)
Demo(n)horse (2014)
A Revised History of Dreaming (2014)
Corranach (2016)
Chapel Image (2017)
The Forcing Season: Further Acts of Severance (2019)
Stations of the Sun (2020)
Where Sky Meets Earth (2022)

Dark Ambient from Michael Page.

 


Sky H1 (Belgium)

Motion (2016) (EP)
Azure (2021)

The 2016 EP is a revigorating mixture of UK bass / grime music and Progressive EM. Very different but also very nice. Azure continues in the same direction and does not disappoint either. Recommended. Sky H1 is an alias of Brussels-based Chantal Peeters.

 


Sky People, The (USA)

The Sky People (2011)
Ancient Astronauts (2012)
Homeworld Return (2013)

Another project of extremely prolific Chuck Daar. Music ranges from beatless and atmospheric to upbeat and rhythmic.

See also: Daar, Chuck, Hexagram, Cathedrals of Sound, Vapor State, A.V.P., Return To Titan, Architectures.

 


Sky Stadium (USA)

Spring Escape To Oceania (2010)
Slanted Glass For Comfortable Future (2010) (S)
South Sea (2010) (S)
Plateau (2011) (S)
Ancient (2011) (S)
Cerulean (2011)
Continental (2011)
Tile (2011)
Carpet Ride (2011)
Palmae (2011) (S)
Mid-Air (2011)
Setting Vision (2011) (S)
The Lodge (2011) (S)
Freely Without (2012)
Sky Stadium / Potions (2012) (with Potions)

Ambient with a bright, almost new-agey slant.

 


Skyggespill (Norway)

Morphing Between Spaces And Phases (2014)

Dark Ambient with some cosmic stylings.

See also: Husebø, Kjetil, Optical Substance.

 


Skyline (Australia)

I (2017) (S)

Ambient duo from Sydney (David Akerman and Del Lumanta).

See also: Del Lumanta

 


Skyminds (USA)

Skyminds (2019) (recorded in 2014 - 2015)
Shapes & Traces (2020) (recorded in 2014 - 2018)
Terra Preta (2022)

Oakland-based duo with a droning and often semi-acoustic sound.

 


Skymn (Sweden)

Biker Scene (2017) (S)

Techno artist from Stockholm who started to show EM / Ambient influences on Biker Scene, which is a moody ride through dimly-lid neon roads, as the label put it.

 


Skynet 75 (Greece)

Civic TV (2018) (S)
No Escape (2020) (S)
Telepresence (2021) (with Ioannis Savvaidis)

Pretty unique sound here, based essentially on the sequences, like modern analog music not completely free of a "classic EM" flair, of course.

See also: Dim DJ

 


Skyprojection (USA)

One Through Thirty Three (2009)
Skyprojection (2011)

A project of Paul Greiner, who uses lots of analog machines for a dark, brooding sound, between horror synth and Dark Ambient perhaps.

 


Skyramps (USA)

Days of Thunder (2009)

Ambient / floating synth / guitar duo of Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) and Mark McGuire (Emeralds).

See also: Oneohtrix Point Never, McGuire, Mark, Lopatin, Daniel.

 


Skyrealm (USA??)

Virtual Dreams (2019)

Cyberpunk / neon / futuristic / dreampunk ambience. Pretty nice and moody stuff.

 


SkyTwoHigh (Japan??)

Onset of Winter (2021)

Releasing vaporwave music since 2020, SkyTwoHigh aka Marvin Blachnik (his name does not sound Japanese to me) set out to explore ambient electronics on Onset of Winter.

 


Slabe, Ron (USA)

Zagadka (1984)
Better Music Through Electronics (1984) (with Bill Trivison)

Classic style synthesist from Euclid, Ohio.

See also: Cerberus

 


Slagle, G.C. (USA)

Æarth (2017)

Low-fi, droning ambience with a melancholic flair.

 


Slagle, Matt (USA)

An Explanation of the Past (2002)
The Boundaries of Infinite Complexity (2006)
Clarity Through Madness (2008)
Ultraterrestrial Intervention (2011)
The Endangered Consciousness (2018)

Varied soundscapes.

 


Slalom (Poland)

Slalom (2013)
Wunderkamera (2015)

Polish krautrock-inspired band, but pretty unique overall and with a nice sense of humor (the music is instrumental with lots of weird synth sounds).

 


Slama, Norbert (Algeria)

Pulsar (1980) (S)

Released in the USA, Pulsar features two sides of electronics by Algerian-born Norbert Slama together with Marcus Esposito and "a drummer from outer space". The music is based on signals received by a radio telescope from distant pulsars.

 


Slane, Keith (USA)

Star Captain (1978)
Pulstar (??)

Rare LP with Electronic Music from this synthesist. He started composing in 1977 and after releasing Star Captain issued several cassettes and library records during the 80's. After that he acted as club musician until 1996 when he started recording again.

 


Slap (USA)

Slap (1984)
Pratique (1985)
Downtime (1985)
Songs From the Cross (1986)
Bed of Nails (1987)
Eden Now (2008) (S)

Slap is / was synthesist Stephen Nester. The music is rather complex and experimental.

See also: Happiness Boys

 


Slap, Robert (USA)

Sedona: The Psychic Vortex Experience (1986) (soundtrack)

New age musician. He usually combines guitar tracks and keyboard tracks, or use both in the same track. The above release is no different. I found the synth tracks to be nice Electronic New Age, though, sometimes quite reminiscent of Kitaro. There are even some Tangerine Dream-like sequences, so Sedona is really Progressive EM most of the time.

 


Slasher Dave (USA)

Spookhouse (2013)
Tomb of Horror (2014)
Lunatic (2015) (S)
Chubbies (2015) (soundtrack)
Exorcisms (2016)
Frights (2018)
Hauntings (2019) (S)
The Horrors of Hellhouse (2020)
Night of the Jack-O-Lantern (2020) (S)
The Jack-O-Lantern Murders (2022)

One of the "horror synth" revivalists, Slasher Dave fills the aural space with analog synths, sequenced rhythms, fat drums, choirs, mellotrons and spooky themes. John Carpenter, Goblin, Tangerine Dream... it's all there.

 


Slasher Film Festival Strategy, The (USA)

An Introduction To Mayhem (2000) (S)
Dead Bodies (2003)
Crimson Throne (2013)
Wet Leather (2013)
Psychic Shield (2015)
Crimson Cavern (2017)
Lunar Temple (2017)
The Mill River Revenant (2020) (S)

Started circa 1996, The Slasher Film Festival Strategy is a project of Christopher Banks Ashley, who was right from the start influenced by horror scores, noise, power electronics and drone. The above discography is incomplete, as it only includes releases with ambient or EM-related material. Lately (starting from Crimson Throne), his sound became very much influenced by current synthwave trends, mixing them with horror synth and some ambient moments. File under EM-related.

 


Slator, Simon (UK)

Cold Sun (1999)
Sunset Cove (2000)
The Mosaic Effect (2000)
Rain (2006)
Skylight (2006)
Ambientology (2006)
6am (2006)
Antarctica (2006)
Four Patterns (2006)

Cold Sun is Tangerine Dream-like, while Sunset Cove contains about forty minutes of Ambient music from this UK musician.

 


Slav Group, The (Bulgaria)

Äèõàíèå (1992)
Ïðîñâåòëåíèå I (1995)
Âñè÷êî â åäíî (1995)
Ïúòóâàíå â áåçâðåìèå (1997)
Ïòèöè âúðõó æèöà (1997)
LARGO < > PRESTO (2010)

A duo (Bulgarian - ÑËÀÂ) formed by Lubomir (Ljubomir, Lyubomir) Velev together with Svetoslav Bitrakov. They were an audiovisual project that used live dancers on stage and combined acoustic sounds with electronics for a relaxed, often new-agey, but slightly avant-garde sound.

See also: Velev, Lubomir

 


Sledder (USA)

Sledder (2021) (S)

Ambient music from Tyler Losinski.

 


Sledge, Frank (USA)

20 Light Years Away (1992)

 


Sleep Clinic (USA)

Night City (2015)
Stray Light I (2016)
Stray Light II (2016)
Ruinous (2018)

Sleep Clinic is an electronic / IDM / noise / exerimental / musique concrete / ambient project of Los Angeles-based musician and visual artist Jeff Swearengin. Night City features melodic and subtle Noise Ambient compositions that sound like a walk through abandoned industrial facilities at night, where the city acquires a musical language and speaks for itself. Cold and mechanical but strangely warm and comforting at the same time. Nice and different. Not sure other releases by Sleep Clinic (most are digital only) would qualify for inclusion, though.

 


Sleep D (Australia)

Live At the Fairfield Amphitheatre (2016)
From 50 (2017) (S) (with Albrecht La'Brooy)
After the Rain (2017) (S) (with Albrecht La'Brooy)
Freak of Nature (2020) (S)
Flashed Glass (2021) (with Ad Lib Collective)

I don't know what's the reputation of Sleep D, but I suppose they are mostly known in club / chillout circles. The above, however, is a live recording of a surprisingly EM-styled, pulsing set. Some of it even brings parts of Hoenig & Goettsching's Early Water to mind (yes, there's guitar here, and a very good one at that). The beat-heavy sections, on the other hand, can be compared to some of the music Klaus Schulze and Pete Namlook used to play together on "The Dark Side of the Moog" series of albums. A lot of "Ash Ra Tempel meets Namlook" feel on the ambient sections as well. The 2017 12-incher with Albrecht La'Brooy includes an ambient / EM track as well - the closer "Sleeping Patterns".

 


Sleep Deprived (USA)

Through Dreamscapes (2012)
Transcendence Through Bonding of Psychedelic Phenomenon (2014)
Through Dreamscapes Vol. II (2014)

Cinematic soundscapes, mostly of the darker variety.

 


Sleep Orchestra (UK)

Drowning In the Sky (2014) (with Pjusk)
Home (2015)

Sleep Orchestra is Christopher Pegg who combines field recordings and electronics in an ambient setting.

 


Sleep Research Facility (UK)

Nostromo (2001)
Dead Weather Machine (2004)
Dead Weather Machine - Re:Heat (2004)
Deep Frieze (2007)
Stealth (2012)

Deep Ambient from the Scottish project of Kevin Doherty. Nostromo is based on the first 8 minutes of Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic "Alien". This album takes you on a journey deep within the bowels of Nostromo via its ultra deep and dark atmospheres.

 


Sleeping Corpse (New Zealand)

Death / Time (2018) (recorded in 2015 and 2016)

A dungeon synth / Doom Ambient hybrid. Mostly dungeon synth in sound (with lots of organ) but very Doom Ambient in feel and philosophy.

 


Sleeping Knight, The (USA)

Seldom Lore [Edition One] (2022)

Sleepy, meditative "dungeon synth" / Ambient hybrid.

 


Sleeping Pandora (Germany)

Quiet Pass (2017)
From Above (2018)
Spheres I (2019)
Signs In the Sky (2020)
Lifting Water (2021)
Ride the Horizon (2021)
All the Way (2021) (recorded in 2020)

Modern master of echo guitar (Mathias Rosmann from Berlin). If you like Günter Schickert, Achim Reichel and of course Ashra, this may be an expansion on those ideas. The basis of the tracks on Lifting Water and Ride the Horizon is electronic. On top of that, Mathias lays down his spacey guitar licks. Also comparable to artists like Frank Dorittke or Maxxess, although Sleeping Pandora relies slightly less on electronics. He has some earlier albums that may be more guitar-oriented. Best track: of what I heard so far, probably "Wish" (Lifting Water) - that one really hit the spot.

 


Sleepland (Japan)

Monukenokara (2012) (S)
June Forecast (2014)
For Silentseeing (2015)
Meditate On Fall (2016)
Cascades (2016)
Tidal Motion (2018)
Plain Works For CDR (2018)
Out of Hue (2019)
新しい環境 New Environment (2021) (with Duenn)

Ambient artist Kengo Yonemura who uses acoustic guitar and electronics.

 


Sleepy Town Manufacture (Russia)

No Traces / Dalshe 8 02 02 (2009) (with Unit 21)
Ambient Forms (2017)

Diverse electronic project from Russia, initially composed of Alexander Ananyev, Anton Lukoyanychev and Roman Komarov, now essentially a solo project of Ananyev. Some works lean towards Ambient. These will be listed.

See also: Beatumn

 


Sleepytime (New Zealand)

You Are Feeling Sleepy (1998)
Vol. 2: Schlafwandler (2003)
Sleepytime Vol. 3: The Twilight Drone (2008)

Ambient research into sleep states by Johannes Contag.

 


Slepian, Don (USA)

Electronic Music From the Rainbow Isle (1978)
New Dawn (1980)
The Sea of Bliss (1980)
Open Spaces (1980)
Computer Don't Breakdown (1981)
Largos (1982)
Rhythm of Life (1982)
Reflections (1986)
Christmas Candlelight (1986)
Sonic Perfume (1987)
Duets... For Two Synthesists And Selected Atmospheres (1987) (with Chris Wyman)
The Strawberry Candle (1989) (with Joan Fericy)
Introspection (2000) (recorded in 1980 - 1999)
Beginnings One (2005)
Beginnings Two (2005)
Music Spell (2016) (with Karen Bentley Pollick)

Unique and probably very interesting electronics. The first album was originally released only on cassette and contained pieces recorded between 1972 and 1978. A CD version is currently available that adds tracks from the 1979 - 1984 period. Introspection contains pieces recorded in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1999. Some of the compositions are simply piano solos. 

See also: Electric Diamond, Synarios.

 


Slim Vic (Sweden)

Habrovink (2013) (EP)
Brain Mash (2014)
Personliga Artiklar (2017)
Nor Om Dalälven (2018)
Vid Fronten (2018) (with Lehnberg)
Ambient Morning (2019) (with Anna-Karin Berglund)
Finnskogen (2022)
Ambient Night (2023) (with Anna-Karin Berglund)

Varied Ambient, mostly of the darker variety. Slim Vic is Viktor Zeidner.

 


Sloan, Gary (USA)

Harmonitalk (1980)
Nightraid (1983)
Clone Tapes (2012) (recorded in 1979)
Clone - Hallowe'en 1976 (2013) (S)
Son of Octabred (2014) (recorded in 1982) (S)
E tai daotion (2022) (recorded in 1977) (S)

One of the more exotic and unique electronic artists, Gary Sloan is from Alaska and is part of the local EM scene (that includes Kurt Riemann and Paul Alexander; Gary collaborated with the two under the name of "Clone"). However, Gary must be the odd one of the lot as he likes to focus on electronic harmonica. His music is often a combination of harmonica leads, strange vocoded vocals and "regular" EM. There is also a synth-pop album that he released in 1987 in collaboration with Melissa Bledsoe, titled Techno-Blue.

 


Sloan, Jason (USA)

Soundtracks of Loss (2000)
A Quiet Return (2000)
An Unsaid (2000)
Silence Behind the Horizon (2000)
The Shoreline of An End (2001)
To Cross the River of Light (2001) (EP)
Whispered With Water (2001)
The Space Between Beginnings (2001)
Moving Through (2002) (with Matt Borghi and Brannan Lane)
Still (2003)
Winterwomb: A Collection of Selected Live Recordings (2003)
Guilford (2004) (with Matt Borghi)
A White Bleeding Silence (2004)
Live Webcast :: January 24, 2004 (2004)
Y:adnus: As I Lay Blinded By the Light of the Moon (2005) (with David Manchester)
Hymns For the Afterlife (2006)
Ending [Light] (2008)
Static (2008) (S)
[--] (2009)
CorruptedHorizon (2010)
Deluge (2014)
Haven (2016)

Ambient soundscape artist who worked with the likes of Brannan Lane and Matt Borghi and whose music was featured numerous times on Star's End radio show. A lot of his earlier material was released in very limited editions.

See also: Dolmen

 


Slocum, Brad (USA)

Sonic Synsations (1977)

A strange LP. Mostly cover versions of classical themes and an odd "birthday theme" interpretation. All music is performed on an ARP 2600 synthesizer.

 


Slomo (UK)

The Creep (2005)
The Bog (2008)
The Grain (2012)
Transits (2017)
Super-Individual: Collective Ritual (2018)

Synth / guitar duo with a droning ambient sound. Often intense and noisy.

 


Slott, Mike (USA)

Mirror I Mirror (2016) (S)
Vignettes (2020) (S)

Varied ambient compositions.

 


Slow Attack Ensemble (Canada)

Soundscapes For the Emotional-Type Listener (2016) (S)
Delay Music (2019)
Music For Turntable, Guitars And Sampled Instruments (2020)

Ambient ala Harold Budd / Eno / Tim Story with a melancholic, post-rock vibe.

 


Slow Bicycle (Greece)

Slow Bicycle (2021)

Slow Bicycle is an alias of Greek artist Christos Panagiotakis who is currently based in Germany. Rich, symphonic, cinematic EM mixing lush chords and leads with some acoustic instruments and ethnic touches. Nice. If you like Vangelis, check this out.

 


Slow Dancing Society (USA)

F A N T O S M E S (2018)
Prologue: the Magic Lantern (2018)
The Disappearing Collective Vol. 1 (2020)
Mirrored (2020) (with
扎克)
Low Sun Chadeaux (2021)
Meridians Murmur And Sun Makes Sound (2022)
Do We Become Sky? (2024)

Long, dreamy ambient tracks.

See also: Hallow Under

 


Slow Glass (Switzerland)

A Million Pieces (2020)

Varied electronics, from rhythmic to cosmic / experimental.

See also: Le Frére

 


Slow Heat (USA)

Slow Heat (2022)
Mekong (2023) (with Scurge)

Slow Heat is James Novick from LA. Bright, ambient, sometimes melodic and crisp synth compositions.

 


Slow Point (Australia)

Kanjiro (2019) (S)

Melodic / rhythmic / sequencer EM project of Glenn Palmer.

 


Slowave (France)

Slowavology (2023)

Ambient and slowly rhythmic, floating synth music from Florian and Michael Quistrebert.

 


Slowbeat (Sweden)

Elektriska Etyder Vol. 1 (2004)
Elektriska Etyder Vol. 2 (2005)

Experimental but quite listenable synth etudes.

See also: Strömberg, Mikael, Igor.

 


SlowedChromeChain (Estonia)

Crystal Quetzal (2020)
Little Garden (2022)

Cyber ambience. Other albums by this project may be noisier. Further investigation is needed.

 


slowerpace 音楽 (USA)

Lost in space 宇​​​宙​​​の​​​冒​​​険 (2023)
Quintessence (2023)

Vaporwave-related artist / project. Most of Lost in space 宇​​​宙​​​の​​​冒​​​険 is slow-motion / relaxed tempo electronics. The track "Rings of Saturn" is pretty nice.

 


Slowing, David (USA)

A Sinuous Path To Pleasant Valley (2023)

Texan artist who on A Sinuous Path To Pleasant Valley is inspired by minimalist and neo-classical composers (including Terry Riley, Nils Frahm and a few others). Repetitive, sequence-full EM with some guest contributions on acoustic / chromatic percussion instruments..

 


Slowlodger (Spain)

A Violent Soundtrack For A Non Sense Life (2018)

A project of Anto Molina from Madrid. Dark soundscapes, sometimes noisy.

 


Slows (UK)

13'56 / 13'05 (2015) (S)
Slows (2016)
A Great Big Smile From Venus (2018)
Enormous Pause (2018)

Slows is a project of Wire guitarist Matthew Simms. His debut 10" was recorded with just a Farfisa Matador organ. The music reminds on Terry Riley. Would be interesting to see how it develops. Note 26.10.2016: The full-length LP from 2016 does not disappoint - it's a nice electronic soundscape, combining the Farfisa with modular synth explorations.

See also: UUUU

 


Slowspace (UK)

The Eternal Realm (2005)

Ambient. Slowspace is Michael Hogg.

 


SLPWK (Poland)

Illuminations (2023)

Breathy, airy, but at the same time monolithic and droning ambient compositions.

 


Slutba (???)

Omen (2019) (S)

 


Små Vågor (Sweden)

Små Vågor EP (2015)
Små Vågor 2 (2016)
Små Vågor 3 (2017)
Små Vågor 4 (2019)
Små Vågor 5 (2022)
Små Vågor 6 (2024)

Ambient synths, dark analog sounds and pulses ala John Carpenter. A project of Henrik von Euler.

See also: Dödens Dal, Virke.

 


Smackos (Netherlands)

The Age of Candy Candy (2004)
Waiting For the Red Bear (2006)
Computer Day (2007)
Pacific Northwest Sasquatch Research (2007)
UFO Onderzoek 1983 (2010)
A Vampire Goes West (2017)
Eden In A Sea of Mystery (2020)

Pacific Northwest Sasquatch Research is a mixture of ambient atmospheres, field recordings and sequencer pieces. Smackos' real name is Danny Wolfers.

See also: Wolfers, Danny, Legowelt, Weltman, Klaus, Falckenhaus, Franz, Phalangius, Knutson, Saab, Nomad Ninja, Occult Orientated Crime, Ufocus, Zandvoort & Uilenbal, Taniyama, Satomi, Rising Sun Systems, Osmo, Sammy, Star Sheperd, Psychic Stewardess, The, Bontempi 666, Mavelli, Florenza.

 


Smagghe & Cross (France / UK)

MA (2017)
Talking To Katz (2017) (EP)
Jazz (2017) (S)
Timothy Dalton (2017)
1819 (2020)

Varied set of tracks from Ivan Smagghe and Rupert Cross, ranging from noisy, monolithic compositions to ambient and electroacoustic numbers to pure analog synth, sometimes with a weird Cluster feel.

 


Småland (Sweden)

Ljudspårsmusik Vol. 1 (2019)
Döden (2023)

The 2019 release is an imagined soundtrack with a moody, melancholic style, made on analog synthesizers and pump organ by a trio of Dag Rosenqvist, Thobias Eidevald and Christian Berg.

See also: Rosenqvist, Dag

 


Small Chief (Netherlands)

Across the Lands (1995)
Icedwarf (1995)
The Electron Gun Concert (1996)
Direct Target (1996)
Aquamarine Waves (1998)
Magnetic Levitation (1999)
Small Dreams (1999)
Aurora Borealis (2000)
Deepsky Dreams (2003)
Mindtraveller (2005)
Hexagon (2017)
Upala (2019)
Petroglyph (2021)

 


Small Craft (USA)

Monuments (2013) (EP)
Deathless (2016) (EP)

Ambient project of Beau Finley.

 


Small Things On Sundays (Denmark)

Fare Forward (2017)

Electro-acoustic duo with something of a hybrid noise / ambient sound. Hard to decide if any of their stuff should be in EEM, so only one album so far.

See also: Poulsen, Claus

 


Smalley, Alex (UK)

JAN SBR 15 (2016)
Vanaprastha (2021)
Patterms (2022) (with Lucia Adam)
Shapes (2023) (EP) (with Lucia Adam)
Moments At the Re-Engage (2023)

Gentle ambient compositions.

See also: Olan Mill, Pausal, Cask, Ilm.

 


Smbols (USA)

Dreamsill (2019)

Varied synth project in a somewhat hauntology-related mould.

 


SMC (Italy??)

Moth Room (2021) (S)

Varied synth and Spanish guitar tracks.

 


SmiLga, Marta (Latvia)

Lunar Maria Vol. 1 (2018)

Cosmic and droning modular synth compositions from Riga, dedicated to the Moon's plains mistaken for seas by early astronomers.

 


Smiling Eye (USA)

Voice of the Planet (1981) (S)
Travels Within (2000)
Rhapsody In Green (2002) (recorded in 1990)
Metaphysics 101 (2008)

Ohio-based painter Larry Smiley creates aggressive synth / guitar compositions.

 


Smith, Adam (USA)

Snowy Dreamscapes (1995)
Tell Me What You Feel (1996)
Passageways (1999)
On the Threshold of Dawn (2000)
Wilderness (2001)

Electronic Music with many influences: jazz, Ambient, musique concrete, etc.

 


Smith, Adrian (UK)

Subterranean (2019)

Adrian K Smith is a veteran electronic musician, working under various guises, mostly as Another View (minimal synth), EFF and Paperhouse. He is also part of Click Click (EBM / industrial music). Subterranean is unique in that it gathers some recordings from 1979 - 1988, processes and arranges them into a shadowy whole that at times almost sounds like a more out-there extension of Klaus Schulze's "Velvet Voyage" or, using a more precise parallel even, "Shadow Piece" from Historic Edition. I love "Shadow Piece" and I enjoyed Subterranean a lot. Recommended.

See also: Another View

 


Smith, Al (USA)

Clock Works (1978)

Very rare record pressed on acetate (lacquer) disc. The music ranges from vocal psych to Electronic Music that has been compared to Kraftwerk and Eno. There is an earlier album by Al Smith, also on acetate, called Up All Night. I know nothing about it at the moment.

 


Smith, Brett (USA)

From Inside (2012) (soundtrack)

Moody electronic soundtrack from the mastermind behind Caul. Lots of tribal beats here, along with droning synths.

See also: Caul, Tertium Non Data.

 


Smith, Dallas (USA)

1984: Newsound (1983) (with Steven Halpern)
Threshold (1984) (with Steven Halpern)
Stellar Voyage (1985)

Nice solo album by this flautist, clarinetist and sax player. Don't get wrong with his reputation of a new age artist, as there are some nice electronics here.

 


Smith & Erickson (USA)

Blue Skies (1985)

Private cassette release from Berkeley, California, supposedly Space Music with one track amusingly titled "Roll Over, Vangelis".

 


Smith, Kaitlyn Aurelia (USA)

Euclid (2015)
EARS (2016)
Sunergy (2016) (with Suzanne Ciani)
The Kid (2017)
Electronic Series: Vol. 1 - Abstractions (2018)
Tides: Music For Meditation And Yoga (2018)
Abstractions (2018) (S)
The Mosaic of Transformation (2020)
I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon (2022) (with Emile Mosseri)
Let's Turn It Into Sound (2022)

Unique abstract and rhythmic electronics, experimental but very listenable, done mostly on Buchla modular system.

 


Smith, Kelvin (UK)

Lapis Lazuli (1998)
Galaxy Gate (1999)
Reclining Music (2003)
Ambient Works (??)
Solarization (??)
Dreaming Mind (2005)
Persian (2006)

Ambient from this South Wales-based musician. Sometimes more rhythmic.

 


Smith, Linda (USA)

Untitled 1-10 Plus 1 (2021)

Linda Smith is a Baltimore, Maryland-based "bedroom musician" who released a few albums in indie rock style since 1987. Untitled 1-10 Plus 1 is her foray into instrumental music recorded in 2020. Featuring mostly shorter tracks, the music was made with various keyboards and samples, including some nice mellotron string sounds and that "1980's US underground" feel.

 


Smith, Mike (Canada)

Transcombobulation (2016) (with Jonathan Adjemian)
Famous Wildlife Movies (2016)

The collaborative album with Jonathan Adjemian is a playful, wonky, jazzy album of dual synthesizer workouts from this Toronto-based musician. Famous Wildlife Movies is a jazzy group effort (released as "The Mike Smith Company") that combines the sound of the former with typical jazz instrumentation.

 


Smith, Stefan (UK)

Stefan Smith (2019)
Thlostones (2022)

London-based synthesist Stefan Smith composes diverse EM - mostly dynamic, sometimes with techno / acid elements, sometimes in pure synth-sequencer vein, sometimes more ambient and / or vapowavey.

 


Smith, Steve (UK)

Phoenix Arising (2011)
Pools of Diversity (2013)
Stealing Time (2017) (with Robin Banks)

Steve Smith was one half of VoLt and an experienced synthesist in his own right. This music was done in collaboration with a duo of musicians called "The Tylas Cyndrome" and the music is melodic, in typical British EM tradition and with an extra prog rock touch. Steve Smith passed away in 2022.

See also: Volt

 


Smith, Steven K. (USA)

Totality 6.10.94 (2005)
Requiem For Failed Suicides (2007)

Solo Ambient from member of Dolmen.

See also: Dolmen

 


Smith, Steven R. (USA)

Log the Man Dead (1995)
Gehenna Belvedere (1996)
Autumn Is the End (1998)
From Ashes Come (1999)
Slate Branches (2000)
Tableland (2001)
Kohl (2002)
Lineaments (2002)
Antimony (2004)
Crown of Marches (2005)
The Anchorite (2006)
Owl (2007)
Cities (2009)
Westering (2009) (with Gareth Davis)
The Line Across (2010) (with Gareth Davis)
Floor of the Sky (2011) (S)
Old Skete (2011)
Ending  / Returning (2013)
Hymnal (2016) (with Dirk Serries)
A Sketchbook of Endings (2019)
In the Spires (2021)
Spring (2022)

Dark and atmospheric electronics like a somewhat updated version of Fripp & Eno (although warmer) from former member of space rock band Mirza.

See also: Ulaan Janthina

 


Smithson, Forrest (USA)

Dreaming Time (2013)
Ooti (2014)

Californian synthesist with a relaxed style reminding on Steve Roach, Paul Ellis and other North American EM / ambient musicians.

 


Smokeyfrog (UK)

Sketches 2 (2023)
Sketches 3 (2023)

Smokeyfrog is Paul Nagle under a pseudonym. The music combines crisp sequencing in the style of 1980's Tangerine Dream with melodic analog leads and rich pads. Nice, expertly created EM just as we know and love it.

See also: Nagle, Paul, Far From Stars, No Artificial Sweeteners, Joint Intelligence Committee, S t d m, Binar, Headshock, Cosmic Smokers, Ideation.

 


Smomid (USA)

Rhythms of Light (2015)
A Smoment In Time (2017)
Pyramidi Scheme (2019)

A project of Nick Demopoulos, who designs and builds his own instruments. Abstract, jazzy, rhythmic, improvisational...

 


Smorenburg, Bert (Netherlands)

Running Status (1990)

Melodic music from this Dutch artist.

 


Smrtan (Poland)

Mystery of the Trees (2021)
R'Lyeh (2021)

A project of Piotr Wójcik. Mystery of the Trees contains tracks originally composed in 1995 - 1998, adding two tracks from 2020 / 2021. The 1990's material was re-recorded using original midi files. Melodic, symphonic, hymnal, dungeon synth-like, with lots of piano and strings.

See also: Nirnaeth

 


Smutskatt (Sweden)

Dit Men Inte Längre (2016)
Shaman (2017)

Atmospheric synthscapes and subtle beats, like a Swedish version of Cluster, updated with minimal techno influences.

 


Smyth, Allan (UK)

Spinning (2019) (S)

Long ambient track.

 


Snake Union (USA)

Specimens (2015)
The Role of Revulsion (2017)
Terminal Array (2018)
Three Arrows (2020)

Modular synth duo of Dave Grant and Chuck Bettis. Experimental and partly noisy, but also heavily based on the sequences and pretty hypnotic.

See also: On A Clear Day

 


Snakes of Russia (USA)

At Home Alone With Lions (2020)

Los Angeles-based project that combines heavily rhythmic structures and some ambient / atmospheric electronics. Tracks like "(ephemeral)", "Stella, This Must Be the End" and "Meds" are really good.

 


Snakestyle (UK)

Nordic Patterns (2020) (with Tove Aradala)

Snakestyle is a project of German-born English musician Matthew Leigh Embleton. He is usually associated with the so-called downtempo genre, but on Nordic Patterns, there is enough Prog EM / ambient electronic material to warrant an inclusion here. Some of the material is similar to a more ethnic-oriented version of Klaus Schulze / Lisa Gerrard material ("Hoburgsgubben").

 


Snapped Ankles (UK)

Come Play the Trees (2017)
Stunning Luxury (2019)
21 Metres To Hebden Bridge (2020)
Forest of Your Problems (2021)

Post-punk / krautrock trio formed in East London in 2011. They play live drums, do "vocals" and lots of bleepy electronics. Fans of motorik will enjoy a lot of their stuff. Best track: "Dream And Formaldehyde".

 


Snares of Sixes (USA)

Yeast Mother: An Electroacoustic Mass (2017) (EP)
Moonbladder (2021) (S)

Varied progressive / electronic project of Jason William Walton, who is known for his Dark Ambient project Nothing and as bassist for Agalloch, Sculptured and many other bands in the broad metal genre.

See also: Nothing

 


SNC (Italy)

Assalto Alle Nuvole (1994) (recorded in 1977)

One of the short-lived bands formed by Ciro Perrino (together with Alex Magazzino) after the dissolution of his progressive rock band Celeste. The music is a mixture of Electronic Music and space rock. Unfortunately, this is more or less a rehearsal tape with corresponding sound quality.

See also: Perrino, Ciro, St. Tropez, La Compagnia Digitale.

 


Sneaky Snake (USA)

Hey Brah! (2010)
The Sprawl (2011)

Gently sequenced EM and ambient floaters from this California-based duo of Ian James and George Jensen. Cassette releases.

 


Snelders, Eric (Netherlands)

9 Famous Synth Songs (1990)
Searching For the Arms of Venus (1991)
Looking Through the Eyes of the Overworld (1995)
The Source of Scarlet Dreams (1998)

Melodic and rhythmic EM.

 


Snidow, Chris (USA)

New Dawn (1987)
Leprechaun Hill (1988)
Crossing Over (1991)
From the Foundation of the World (1995)
Number Our Days (1999)
Daughter of God (2004)

Symphonic electronics. Sometimes cosmic.

 


Snipes, Jonathan (USA)

Room 237 (2013) (soundtrack) (with William Hutson)
Starry Eyes (2015) (soundtrack)
Excess Flesh (2016) (soundtrack)
The Nightmare (2018) (soundtrack) (with William Hutson)
El Duce Tapes (2021) (soundtrack)

Los Angeles-based soundtrack composer who likes to use synthesizers for his scores, including modulars.

 


Snitz (USA)

Tales of the Rat I (2022) (S)
Tales of the Rat II (2022) (S)
Greyguard Reigning (2022)

Repetitive music between "dungeon synth" and melodic EM.

 


Snoqualmie Falls (UK)

Red Fire Dark (2013) (S)
Dream Sequence (2014)

Long-form Ambient from Jeff Stonehouse and Alicia Merz. Somewhat dark and mysterious.

See also: Stonehouse, Jeff

 


Snøv (Norway)

The Dreams Return (2021)

Shorter electronic tracks that remind on a sort of a game soundtrack. Pretty varied overall - mostly rhythmic and melodic, though. A project of Mathias Lien Mikkelsen.

 


Snow, Aaron (USA)

Instrumentals '15 - '19 (2019)

Krautrock-based compositions, with motorik rhythms, guitars, bass and lots of synths.

See also: Ron Jon's Surf Shop

 


Snow Palms (UK)

Origin And Echo (2017)
Everthing Ascending (2019) (S)
Land Waves (2020)

A project of chromatic percussion (marimba / xylophone) player David Sheppard. Origin And Echo is heavy on the synths which are combined with David's chromatic percussion for a nice, hypnotic, repetitive sound.

 


Snow, Todd (USA)

Beyond the End of Time (1995) (with k-rakos)
Cosmic Magic (2003)
Faraway Land (2004)
Pentagram (2005)

Todd Snow is an Illinois-based recluse who lives in a country house and produces spooky Dark Ambient soundworlds.

 


Snowbeasts (USA)

Survival (2018)
Nocturnal (2018)
:Dead Voices On Air: Snowbeasts: (2021) (with :Dead Voices On Air:)

Dark Ambient duo from Providence, Rhode Island.

See also: Virosa, Elizabeth

 


Snowdrops (France)

Manta Ray (2019) (soundtrack)
Volutes (2020)
Inner Fires (2021)
Missing Island (2023)

Varied electronic compositions from the duo of Christine Ott and Mathieu Gabry. Both play keyboards, synthesizers and other electronic instruments (including the Mellotron). The sound of the Ondes Martenot gives it a special touch or course.

See also: Ott, Christine, Theodore Wild Ride, Cry, The.

 


Snowfade (Italy)

Return To the Silent Planet (2009)
Choir of Coldness (2009)
Horizertical (2009) (S)
Evil Cathedral (2013)
Terror (2014)
Molecular (2014) (S)
Mirrors (??) (EP)
Enchanted Tales (2019) (EP)
Samhain (2019) (EP)
Deep Horror (2019) (EP)
Fog Woman (2019) (EP)
Foreboding (2019) (EP)

Another ambient project of Marco Grosso.

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

 


Snowfall (USA)

Enwreathed In Frost (2020)

Slowly moving pads, wind and tinkling melodies. A "winter synth" project.

 


Snowfield, Lewis (Germany)

Antarctic Studies 2012-2015 (2017)
Antarctic Studies Vol. 2 (2016-2018) (2020)

A project of Leipzig-based Olivier Gobelet (his name sounds French to me). Frozen soundworlds.

See also: Poplar Bluff

 


Snowfields, The (USA)

The Snowfields (2008)
How To Get Good Sound From A Dead Ear (2015)

Nice, fat, analog EM, sometimes with real drums and a rock edge.

 


Snowflake Orchestra (Germany)

Snowflake Orchestra (2021)

A bit experimental synth music from Guenter Schlienz and Joachim Henn (E Jugend).

See also: Schlienz, Guenter

 


Snowspire (USA)

Solace Among the Spruce, Sorrow Among the Snow (2020)
A Spire Enshrouded (2020)
As If Wandering In A Dream (2021)
Firn-Treader Compendium (2022)
Snowswept Solitude (2022)
Lorefrost (2023)

Nice, if a bit unpretentious winter synth / snow synth. Melancholic and relaxing.

 


Snufmumriko (Sweden)

Tellurian (2015)
Chimera (2016)
At First Light (2017)
Drömboken (2018)
Sekunder, eoner (2019)
Radio Mnemosyne (2022)
Havstrakt (2023)

Gothenburg-based ambient artist Ingmar Wennerberg. A bit glitchy sound, with a strong electro-acoustic element by means of field recordings.

 


Snyder, Brent (Canada)

Cumulus (1985)

Quiet, relaxing Ambient akin to Steve Roach's Structures From Silence / Quiet Music period works.

 


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