Index

 

Z.E.I.T. (France)

Fleur 2036 (2022)

A mixture of poetry and cosmic analog EM.

 


Za Siódma Górą (Poland)

Muzyka Jakiej Świat Nie Widzi (1996)

Hybrid dark industrial / dark folk project. This particular album will interest fans of Dark Ambient, as it's mostly soundscapes, with only a few folky injections.

See also: Spear

 


Zabba Lindner And the Rhythm' Stix (Germany)

Extra Ordinaire (1982)

Obscure LP released on Sky records. The style is not known but considering that Zabba is a legendary "krautrock" drummer and the fact that apart from drums and guitars, synthesizers are featured, chances are high that there's something of interest to EM fans as well.

See also: Eschersheim, Christian von

 


Zabelin, Nikita (Russia)

Rhizome (2019)

Experimental techno musician from Moscow. Two of the tracks on Rhizome will interest fans of Experimental EM and Ambient, though.

 


Zaboitzeff, Thierry (France)

Promethee (1984)
Dr. Zab And His Robotic Strings Orchestra (1992)
Epreuves d'acier - Fragments d'une forge (1995)
Heartbeat (1997)
India (1998)
Les chants d'Alice et du vieux monde (1999)
Nebensonnen (2000)
Miniaturen: Zoydian Suite In 3 Movements (2000) (with others)
Dr. Zab II: The Fantomatick Bands (2001)
Missa furiosa (2004)
Iva Lirma (2007)
Voyage au centre de la terre (2008)
Overdrive XL (2008)
Sequences (2013) (soundtrack)
Planet LUVOS (2013)
Sixteenth (2013)
Multiple Distortions - Archives 2005 - 2016 (2016)
Sleep No More (2019)
Professional Stranger (2020)
Le passage (2024)

Thierry Zaboitzeff  (born in 1953) used to be the bassist for legendary Art Zoyd. On his solo works he finds himself in the electronic mode.

See also: Art Zoyd

 


Zabrecky, Rob (USA)

SEANCE! with ZABRECKY (2022) (S)

American magician, actor, songwriter and musician. SEANCE! with ZABRECKY is a strange record that plays as a curiosity more than anything else. It is sort of a soundtrack to a magic seance and has Zabrecky's narrating voice with background music. Amazingly, the latter is based very much on analog synths, creating both abstract and pulsing sound worlds. It is rather minimal but also very pleasant sounding. It would be nice to have the music without the narration, though.

 


Zacepin, Alexander (Russia)

Mystery of the Third Planet (1981) (soundtrack)

Electronic soundtrack for an animated cartoon. Warm, floating, analogue, melodic. Never released officially, a bootleg version exists of this work.

 


Zachert, Louis (Belgium)

Vie! (1992)

Synthesizer soundscapes. The above album was re-released in 2002 in a limited edition of 200 copies, but the new version consists of reworked and remastered material plus one bonus track. Louis Zachert was born in 1963 in Germany and died in 2015 in Belgium.

 


Zachrisson, Johan (Sweden)

Soil (1988)

Although primarily a guitarist, Johan Zachrisson plays homage to more ambient and electronic styles on his album Soil (apparently, his debut). Yes, his guitar is quite prominent, but so are the electronic keyboards and piano. I can detect influences of Pink Floyd, Mike Oldfield and EMC jazz. File under EM-related.

 


Zacht Automaat (Canada)

Memory of the World (2018)
P Is For Progress (2022)

Canadian duo influenced by krautrock and psychedelic rock, using mostly standard rock instrumentation (guitar, bass, drums, organ, plus some sporadic synths). Memory of the World has a strong "early krautrock / EM (pre-sequencer days)" explorative feeling. Not bad.

See also: Didur, Carl

 


Zadig (France)

Takara Machi (2020) (EP)

Electronic artist who alternates between rhythmic, electro tracks and ambient / prog synth.

 


Zadri & Mo (France)

Erebus (1982)

Electronic Music from Stéphane Zadri and Julien Mo.

 


ZÆN (USA)

Volume 1 (2020)

Melodic, electro-pop-influenced music made on analog hardware and vocoders. ZÆN consists of Ben Thomas and Zach Solem. There is a cover of Kraftwerk ("Europe Endless") on Volume 1. The rest is original material. Some tracks have vocals. The epic "Into the Undrone" is quite impressive but apparently it is only available on the digital version of the album. In short: the experimental material is excellent, the pop material is ok.

 


Zafaun, Zazen (USA)

Infinity I (??)
Infinity II (??)
Infinity III (??)

 


Zahn, Spencer (USA)

People of the Dawn (2018)
Sunday Painter (2020)

New York-based multi-instrumentalist. People of the Dawn is more ambient, electronic and experimental. It is actually pretty nice EM. Sunday Painter adds more acoustic instrumentation and has a jazzier flair.

 


Zaiden (Japan)

零花 -Absolute Flower- (2022)
LAPIS (2022) (recorded in 2010 - 2012) (EP)

A project of Kasumi Hayano, member of a few hardcore punk and dark wave bands. Unique style of EM here - complex, with a lot of mallet instrument emulations, cascading melodies, voices, classical piano, electroacoustics, etc.

 


Zaitsev, Alexander (Russia)

AZ (2013)
Spiegel (2017) (with Sergey Kostyrko)

Repetitive, experimental, playful, wacky, weird, sequence-full music from this member of IDM duo ¨ëî÷íûå Èãðóøêè (aka EU). Pretty curious stuff and quite different from his parent band.

 


Zajda, Edward M. (USA)

Independent Electronic Music Composer (1968)

Chicago-based "loner" who built his own electronic musical devices and released this little gem in 1968. Drones, chirping moogs, concrete textures, collage and astronaut's voices. What more could you ask for?

 


Zakarion (USA)

The Seas Swell And the Sky Darkens (2022)

Dark ambience with ritual undertones and brief noisy eruptions.

See also: Oneiromancer

 


Zaksek, Edgar (Germany)

This Perfect Day (1983)

Cassette on Syntape with (supposedly) Electronic Music from drummer of obscure new wave group The Kaz Radge Band.

 


Zaliva-D (China)

Chemical Climax (2006)
E.V.I.L. (2015)
Forsaken (2019)
Immorality (2020)
Sky Singing (Echo Edition) (2020)
Misbegotten Ballads (2023)

Beijing-based female duo with a weird style that, for some reason, reminds me on solo Moebius (on Forsaken), with an extra industrial touch.

 


Zalys (France)

Summoning the Phoenix (2013)
Wandering Through Space (2013)
Sublime (2015)
Reminiscences (2015)
Fragments of Life (2016)

Dark Space.

 


Zamboli, Simona (Italy)

Ethernity (2021)
Loisirs (2022)

A bit harsh, neurotic electronics from this Milan-based musician, mixing progressive and harder, techno sounds.

 


Zamek UFO (Poland)

Stellar Shrine (2021)

Polish duo with a style that could be called Space Music, although the music is much more dramatic and darker than the genre's standards.

 


Zanagoria (Italy)

Insight Modulation (1972)

Obscure ancient library electronics from organ player Giorgio Carnini. Just like you would imagine looking at the date of release, there's not much in terms of melody, but it does have an excellent dark, mechanical atmosphere to it.

 


Zander, Christian (Germany)

Konsolenkinder (2008) (EP)
Der Kosmonaut (2009)

Musician who on Konsolenkinder seems to be absolutely influenced by Kraftwerk circa The Mix. The closing track is a real letdown.

 


Zander One (USA)

Emerald Awaking (2015)

Zander One is Joe Maas from Ohio. He has a very warm, smooth sound, mostly flowing and ambient, sometimes sequencer-based and gently pulsing. Sometimes dub elements are prominent and become dominant. All of that only applies to Emerald Awaking, though. Earlier albums may be much more dubby and techno-oriented. In fact, I don't know if they fit in stylistically.

 


Zandvoort & Uilenbal (Netherlands)

Gerius uit Somberdorp (2016)
Folk Triumfator (2021)

Unique music played on harmonium, mixtur trautonium, synths and a few other obscure and not so obscure instruments. Cosmic, melodic, analog, experimental... Zandvoort & Uilenbal is a duo of Danny Wolfers and Jimi Hellinga.

See also: Wolfers, Danny, Legowelt, Falckenhaus, Franz, Smackos, Weltman, Klaus, Phalangius, Nomad Ninja, Occult Orientated Crime, Knutson, Saab, Ufocus, Taniyama, Satomi, Rising Sun Systems, Osmo, Sammy,Star Sheperd, Psychic Stewardess, The, Bontempi 666, Mavelli, Florenza.

 


Zane, Sandro (Italy)

Nobody Land (1985)

Subtitled "Possible Music for Film and Performance".

 


Zanetti, Luciano (Italy)

Volo Delta / Sesto Senso (1976) (S)
Space (2022) (recorded in 1976 - ??) (S)

Obscure Italian artist (1938 - 2004) who studied violin and piano before releasing a synth disco single with two tracks in 1976. More tracks from his archive were released posthumously, showing his progressive and less commercial side. If you like melodic EM, this is for you.

 


Zann (France)

Music To Remember (2020)
Dream Is A Shadow of Something Real (2021)

Paris-based ambient artist with a nice, soft, emotional sound.

 


Zann (Germany)

Strange Ways / Inside Jungle (1990)
Zann And Moon (??)

World Music by future members of Vasudeva.

See also: Vasudeva

 


Zann, Eric (UK)

Ouroborindra (2005)

Ambient, sci-fi-ish, monolithic electronic compositions of experimental nature. Towards the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, early krautrock, academic electronics realms.

See also: Belbury Poly

 


Zanni, Adriano (Italy)

Soundtracks For Fallen Trees (2017)
Disappearing (2017)
Falling Apart (2017) (S)
Ricordo Quasi Tutto (2019)
Songs To the Sirens (2020)
Passato, Presente, Nessun Futuro (2020)
Racconti d'osservazione (2022)
A Corte (2022) (with Enrico Coniglio)

Ambient composer who uses electronic textures and lots of field recordings. Rather nice.

 


Zanov (France)

Green Ray (1976)
Moebius 256 301 (1977)
In Course of Time (1982)
Nous Reprenous Notre Avenir (1984)
Virtual Future (2014)
Open Worlds (2016)
Chaos Islands (2020)
Lost In the Future (2023)

Classic Electronic Music from Pierre Zalkazanov. There were rumours once that Zanov was a pseudonym of engineer Alain Gross but in fact the latter only produced his albums. Nous Reprenous... was never released officially.

 


Zantey, Harry (Australia??)

Sleep (1981)

Rare cassette from guitarist of the first incarnation (1977 - 1978) of Australian post-punk band Crime & The City Solution. The album seems to have been recorded in London and released on cassette privately. It is not clear, whether Zantey just lived in the UK back then, or whether he is British, so his country of origin is not exactly known at the moment. The music was recorded in one take with just an EMS synth and no overdubs. Will appeal to fans of Experimental EM.

 


Zapp / Becker (Germany)

Chrystall (1995)

Wilfried Michael Zapp & Sangeet T. Becker.

 


Zappa, Frank (USA)

Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (1984)
Francesco Zappa (1984)
Jazz From Hell (1986)
Feeding the Monkeys At Ma Maison (2011) (recorded in 1986)
Dance Me This (2015) (recorded in 1993)

There's no need to tell who was Frank Zappa, because everyone with even basic musical knowledge is aware of this great musician and experimentator. The above releases are partly or completely electronic and may be interesting to EM fans. I have Jazz From Hell which is absolutely crazy, Synclavier-based music that sounds like... well, jazz from hell! :-) Recommended! On the other hand, Francesco Zappa is totally crazy in its concept. The thing is that Zappa actually didn't write the music. From a dictionary he learned of an obscure composer named, you've guessed it, Francesco Zappa, who composed during the late 18th century. Thinking he might be an ancestor, Zappa re-arranged his works for the Synclavier digital system. Therefore, the music sounds like cheesy renditions of classical works typical of the era they were composed in (although the harpsichord gives it a Baroque feel). The Perfect Stranger is half contemporary orchestral pieces (ala Stravinsky) and half Synclavier works that range from neutral to scary.

 


Zara (Germany)

Patchwork One (1995)

A duo of Roland Benesch and Detlef Hommel.

 


Zara (USA)

Messages From the Melting Prism (2022)

Experimental electronics from Laura Marina. Alternatively glitchy, noisy or synthy and ambient.

 


Z-Arc (UK??)

Rematerialise (2018)

Downtempo project of Kris Derry. The above album has some elements of EM by means of melodic synth leads and some other elements.

 


Zardoz (Belgium)

Kronos (1983)
Travel (1986)
Adventure Games (1987)
Lost Temple (1993)

 


Zarelli (UK)

Soft Rains (2015)

Member of Colorama, Zarelli aka Carwyn Ellis composes a synth soundtrack to an audiobook read by Leonard Nimoy ("There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury).

 


zarr. (UK)

Cloudform (2018)
Sojourn (2021)

Ambient artist with a nice, lush sound and a mixture of guitars and electronics. Real name = Kamal Manzar.

 


Zarzycki, Daniel (Poland)

Hallo California (1989)
Never Ending Dream (1990)
Atmosphere (1990)
Eden Coasts (1991)
Everlasting Youth Earth (1991)
Going After the Horizon (1992)
Valley of the Dreams (1992)
Solo Vae (1993)
Digi Dance (1993)
Lunar Evening (1994)
Computers Don't Cry (1996)
In the Silicon Forest (1999)
Digital Tales (1999)
Beside the Silence (2002)

Polish artist (and analog instrument builder) who makes classic, melody-oriented EM.

 


Zarzycki, Mirosław (Poland)

Anthem (2020)

Synthesist with a melodic, symphonic style.

See also: Ingvarr

 


Zauchner, Carola (Germany)

Electronic Underground (2015)
Four Colours 1 + 2 (2016) (S)
Chaos Total (2016)
Four Colours 3 + 4 (2017) (S)
Chaos Total II (2017)
Metamorphosis (2017) (recorded in 2001)
Kuckuck (2017) (recorded in 2009) (S)
Electronic Underground II (2017)
Chaos Total III (2018)
Nemesis (2018)

Member of Traumklang.

See also: Kern, Carola, Traumklang.

 


Zaumne (Poland)

Przeżycia (2016)
Błysk (2019)
Contact (2019)
Élévation (2021) (S)
Dreams of Teeth Falling Out (2021)
Parfum (2023)

Ambient music, which distiguishes itself by its heavy use of samples.

 


Zavalloni, Enri (Italy)

Italo Con Organo (2013)
Universi Paralleli (2016)

Enri Zavalloni is an artist working mainly within the domain of easy-listening / bachelor pad / lounge music, using only vintage organs (Hammond, Farfisa, etc.) and synths. He started showing some progressive tendencies on Italo Con Organo, with "Afro Tron" being sort of a "Pop Corn meets Kraftwerk" concoction and the exotic closing track being of interest, too. It was on Universi Paralleli, though, that he completely went the EM route and created a nice, melodic synth / Space Music work. Warm, nostalgic sound and pretty unique.

 


Zavijava Orchestra (USA)

Rivers of Light (1986)

Unique EM by Charles Townsend and Christopher Faris who use synthesizers and some acoustic instruments. At times new-agey, the music also goes into quite hypnotic realms (as on "Magnetic Dreamscape" for example, that sounds like it could have been recorded ten years earlier).

 


Zavod31 (UK??)

Uniplanetary Awakening Signal (2021)

Sort of dungeon synth-like music but on space / alien themes. There is a nice EM touch to it. Reminds a bit on Doom soundtrack.

 


Zawadzinski, Tomasz (Poland)

Around (1999)
Kosmos, Pustka i Ja (2000)
Soundwich (2001)
Sounds Like Pictures (2002)
Ex Civitate Copernici Ad Astra (2004) (with Slawomir Jedraszek)
Follow Me (2004)
Gorlice 2005 (2005) (with Slawomir Jedraszek)
Saved As (2009)

Polish synthesist with an original style and references to classic EM (not only the Berlin School).

 


Zawinul, Joe (Austria)

Dialects (1986)

Legendary late jazz keyboardist, member of Weather Report and Miles Davis collaborator, Joe Zawinul released this curious album in 1986. His affinity for synthesizers shines through as he uses lots of keyboards and voices. In a way it reminded me on Jarre's Zoolook, albeit Zawinul's approach is more frenetic, approximating the synth-funk territory explored by Herbie Hancock in the 1980's. On the other hand, some programmed rhythms do sound a bit dated and the most interesting tracks are the slow / atmospheric ones - namely "The Great Empire" and "Peace". Otherwise, it could be viewed as an innovative World Music work in its own right.

 


Zazaz (USA)

Equinox (2022)

A synths / synths / drums trio from Seattle, consisting of Colin Roper, Michiko Swiggs and Justin Schwartz. Melodic, energetic, with nice solos.

 


Zazou, Hector (France)

Sahara Blue (1992)
Songs From the Cold Seas (1994)

French (of Algerian origin) Ambient and ethnic musician . He started in the 70's as the keyboard and violin player in the chamber jazz-rock group ZNR. After leaving the group, he started his solo career that was based around him combining elements of Ambient and ethnic musics. Zazou collaborated with a host of musicians, among them: Dead Can Dance, Bjork, Lightwave, Harold Budd, Bill Laswell, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mark Isham and others. I am not really sure how much of his solo output could qualify as EM, but the ones listed above should be interesting. Hector Zazou died on September 8, 2008.

See also: ZNR

 


Zazz (USA)

Soft Harbringer (2018)

Pastoral flutes and new-agey synths from the duo of Angela Wilson and Braeyden Jae.

See also: Electric Sound Bath

 


ZDBT (Canada)

ZDBT (2017)

Restrained, rather minimal synth compositions ranging from floating to gently pulsing.

 


Zdzisław, Matwin (Poland)

Undertones (1995)

 


Ze In the Clouds (Italy)

Oportet 475 (2023)

The 2023 album starts with a few somewhat Zappa-esque experimental tracks. It then progresses to jazzy / symphonic, impressionistic synth territory akin to some The Enid material. After that the experimental tracks come back only to give way to instrumental jazzy synthiness again. A strange, somewhat schizophrenic release, but everything is done expertly and overall I found it to be great fun. Ze In the Clouds had an earlier album out (Magical from 2021). I know nothing about it at the moment. The real name of the musician is Giuseppe Vitale.

 


Zebras (USA)

The Spirit Soars (1980)

Very obscure electronic ensemble with five synth players based in North Texas State University.

 


Zed (France)

Visions of Dune (1979)
Visions of Dune (2014) (S) (recorded in 1979)

Zed is Bernard Szajner. A classic of French electronic scene. Sometimes reminds on Heldon.

See also: Szajner, Bernard, Hypothetical Prophets, The.

 


Zedu X-tra (USA)

Ambient Cafe (1987)

Ambient EM released privately. A duo of Art Baker and Jim Rote.

 


Zeisig, Florian T M (Germany)

ZZZZZzzzzzz (2019)
Coatcheck (2020)
Music For Parents (2021)
You Look So Serious I + II (2022)
Planet Inc (2024)

Harmonic tones and ambient compositions made with the help of image-to-sound conversion, granular synthesis and other techniques.

 


Zeisig, Hans (Germany)

Tonfilmmelodien (1981)

Rare cassette. Hans Zeisig is a pseudonym of Aachen-based musician and synth geek Uwe Hüter who was a member of new wave band Der Verdacht.

 


Zeit (Canada)

Nightbirds (2019)

Doomy ambient synth dirges, field recordings of birds and some overdriven guitar drones. A project out of New Brunswick.

See also: Faxes

 


Zeit (Italy)

Sunja (2003) (with Alio Die)
Raag Drone Theory (2007) (with Alio Die)
Waves From the Sky (2008)
Il Giardino Ermeneutico (2010) (with Alio Die)
Live At Dada Theater (2012) (with Alio Die)
Probing the Depths (2012) (recorded in 1998 - 1999)
A Circular Quest (2013) (recorded in 2009) (with Alio Die)
Live At Dada Theater (2017) (recorded in 2007) (with Alio Die)

Tommaso Cimo, known as a collaborator of Alio Die, with his own vision of Ambient music. Probing the Depths seems to be influenced by classic German EM.

 


Zeitgeist (Canada)

Schmelzen (1988) (with The Art Effects)
Astronomer (1988)

Obscure self-issued tape of ambient synth bliss.

 


Zeituhr (Germany)

Escapism (2019)

Berlin School music from Lars Telmann. Sequences, solos and lots of mellotron sounds. Also a touch of krautrock by means of sporadic live drums and electric guitars. A lot of tracks from Escapism sound like outtakes from longer sessions, starting and ending with fade-ins / fade-outs, so maybe a more thought-out concept would be nice next time.

 


Zeitwind (Russia)

Hexenzeit (2012)

Zeitwind is Dmitriy Grigorov.

 


Ze-Ka (France)

Ghost Planet (2017)

Cellist and electronic musician. The above is an ambient album that features both processed cello and electronics.

 


Zeltklänge (Germany)

Zeltklänge (2021)

Music by Lorenz Lindner. Minimal, ambient sound.

See also: Molto

 


Zement (Germany)

Zement:Werk (2016)
Portland (2017) (S)
Klinker (2018)
Klinker auf XLR (2019)
Unter Palmen (2020)
Schleifen (2021)
Rohstoff (2021)

If you like steady motorik rhythms, lots of synths and guitars, then the music of this Würzburg-based neo-krautrock duo will be right up your valley.

See also: Schweben

 


Zemiter (Poland)

Zemiter (2019)

This duo consisting of Marcin Dymiter and Hubert Zemler creates rough, experimental electronic compositions - noisy, but not without rhythmic content.

See also: Melatony

 


Zen Hanami (Germany)

Volume 1 (2007)
Volume 2 (2008)
Volume 3 (2008)

Zen Hanami is German musician Ingo Ito who, influenced by Brian Eno and Harold Budd, released a series of CD's with classic ambient compositions. This is Ambient the way we know it from the times of the pioneers, a bit new-agey in places, perhaps. There are also two compilation CD's titled Reflection 1 & 2 that gather shorter versions of tracks from the above albums.

 


Zenamon (Bolivia)

Zenamon (1984)
Promenade (1988)
Park of Attractions (1991)
Natural Sensations (1993)

Born in Bolivia, Jaime Mirtenbaum Zenamon is a multi-instrumentalist, whose main instrument is the acoustic guitar. However, he usually combines his guitar playing with melodic electronic arrangements that at times end up sounding like a mixture of 1980's Tangerine Dream and Oldfield. He recorded his music in Europe (mostly Germany) and was a teacher at the Berlin Academy of Music from 1980 to 1992. He currently resides in Curitiba, Brazil.

 


Zendad (UK)

Evolving Entities (2013)
Starclad Messiah (2015)
High Degrees of Strangeness (2016)
Abracafuckindabra - The Live Album (2020)
Goatfish Rising (2021)

Zendad is the brainchild of Steve Kavanagh from Coventry. He is influenced by space rock bands like Hawkwind and by EM (or so it seems). As a group (Kavanagh and friends) they are loud and spacey. At the same time, for short interludes, as well as for some rare longer tracks, Kavanagh seems to prefer to stick to just the electronics. This makes this project slightly EM-related. Goatfish Rising is probably the best one in this regard (as of 2021).

 


Zenial (Poland)

Lancelot's Delusions (2021)

Zenial is Łukasz Szałankiewicz. Lancelot's Delusions is a minimal ambient release.

 


Zenovonzan (France)

Hypnose (2012)

Cosmic, sequencer-based, driving analog synth / drums combination in Zombi / Goblin / Heldon / Tangerine Dream vein.

 


Zentura (Norway)

Aerodynamics (??)

Rhythmic music made with the Waldorf Wave synthesizer.

 


Zenxen (Germany)

Zenxen1 (2018) (EP)
Zenxen7 (2019) (S)
In Waves (2021)

Ambient project from Berlin. Rather dark sound here.

 


Zenzizenz (USA)

Where We Will Be (2018)
Create Greenness (2021)

A couple of rhythmic (sort of house-like) tracks and the rest is varied ambient electronics, sometimes flowing, sometimes with a pulse / sequence / arpeggio.

 


Zero Gravity (USA)

Space Does Not Care (1995)

Zero Gravity is a solo project of synthesist Len Del Rio (of Spiral Realms and Nik Turner fame).

See also: Spiral Realms

 


Zero Gravity Thinkers (USA)

Zero Gravity Thinkers (2016)

Collaborative project between Peter Principle, Dok Gregory and Aaron Taylor Kuffner. Psychedelic electronics of the ambient kind. The extact style is not known at the moment.

See also: Principle, Peter

 


Zero Ohms (USA)

Trans Spheres (1998)
The Glass Bead Game (1999)
Atma-Spheric Surfaces (2000)
Supreme Infinite Essence (2000)
Sweven (2001)
Ecstatis (2002) (with Gordon Rhyne)
Unafraid of the Impending Silence (2002)
Soundfall To the Infinite (2002) (with Brannan Lane)
Immense Distance (2003) (with Brannan Lane)
True Degrees of Freedom (2003)
Spacial Glacial Nebulous (2004)
Path of Least Resistance (2005) (with Craig Padilla)
Beyond the Portal (2009) (with Craig Padilla and Skip Murphy)
Worlds, Afterworlds (2011)
When the Earth Is Far Away (2012) (with Craig Padilla)
369 (2013)
Process of Being (2014)
Broken Stars Through Brilliant Clouds (2015) (with Numina)
From Worlds Unseen A Light Yet Streams A Sound Replete (2015) (with Markus Reuter)
Cloudwalker & The Ascent (2022)

Zero Ohms is Richard J. Roberts who started experimenting with sound already during the 1970's. By the late 1980's, he got involved in the whole new age scene, subsequently releasing several project in that style. However, they were not very successful, contrary to his ambient sets he played live in various coffeehouses. Little by little his style changed and became what we know today, i.e. Ambient music with a huge wind-synth presence.

 


ZerO One (USA)

Zero One (1998)
Prototype 2 (2000)
Psy-Fi (2005)
ozOne (2007)
RemiXed (2011)
sOnar (2013)
Signals (2015)

Ambient with slow rhythms by Northern California-based synth player Kevin Dooley. Kevin became interested in Electronic Music during the 80's, after hearing Autobahn by Kraftwerk.

See also: Gray Matter, Short-Term Memory.

 


ZeroNull (Spain??)

Red Mars (2022)
Green Mars (2023)

Pretty hypnotic and nice dark soundscapes. Long tracks.

 


Zeta (Japan)

1999 (2019) (recorded in 1999)

Zeta is / was a psy-trance / goa trance project created in the 1990's by Tokyo-based musician Yuuki Kuromitsu. 1999 features unreleased tracks from said year and shows his more ambient side, closer to melodic, spatial, rhythmic style of artists like Sven Hansen (especially Timeframe), with a touch of 1990's ambient techno and one upbeat psy trance number more in Yuuki's usual style.

 


Zeta, Pilar (Argentina)

Moments of Reality (2018)

Wow, this is absolutely unique music for sure. Take the Art of Noise's sampling style, add a bit of vaporwave and what is sometimes called the "Sequencer & MIDI" style and you get what Moments of Reality is about. Mostly digital timbres here, masterfully arranged in abstract and sometimes melodic, but definitively progressive, compositions.

 


Zetina, Xavier (Mexico)

Sorpresas Imaginadas (1988)

Rare Electronic Music from Mexico, with the author playing all instruments. Melodic, with something of a Dusseldorf / motorik aesthetic and Middle-Eastern-styled leads. I am not completely sure that the 1988 year of release is correct but it should be from the 1980's.

 


Zetterberg, Torbjörn (Sweden)

Opinions (2022)

Jazz bassist from Sweden. Opinions opens with a sequencer-based electronic piece titled "Sketch of the Path".

 


Zeybek, Mert (???)

In the City Happens (2023)

Reflective compositions, mostly of ambient nature, using field recordings, guitar and electronics (Ableton).

 


Zguba (Poland)

Potwarz (2019)
Pomór (2020) (S)
Znój (2022)

Polish ambient project.

 


Zhothaqquah (Canada)

Oubliette (2021)

Soundscapes from Nicholas Gibas. From noisy to vaguely cosmic, but at the same time claustrophobic.

 


Zhuoling, Wu (China)

Another Shore (2022)

Singer-songwriter and electronic composer from Chengdu. Another Shore features her EM side and is a pretty nice work in a unique style - relaxing, a bit Cluster-like perhaps, with pastoral & cosmic touches. Some downtempo rhythms as well.

 


Zhuravkova, Sophia (Russia)

Sleepless (2019) (S)
Unseen (2020)

Varied ambient synth compositions from this Moscow-based artist.

 


Zhurong (China)

火神之怒 (2005)
淬火 (2010) (EP)

Also known under its Chinese name 祝融. Dark synth compositions with a Martial Ambient / neo-classical flair.

 


Zielinska-Van, Barbara (Poland)

Wizje (1995)
Koledy (1999) (with Sabina Borner)
Muzyka Ilustracyjna (1999)
Secret Garden (2002)
City Songs (2002)
Polish Landscapes (2002)
Miracles (2003) (with Sabina Borner)

Melodic, even twee music. In my view, it's more like Electronic New Age rather than real EM. Receiving academic musical education (piano), Barbara gained some interest in electronic instrumentation and in 1993 she founded the "Diaton" studio (the name was changed to "B&T Records" in 1999). Inspired by Keith Jarret, Oscar Peterson, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre etc. she started recording electronic-based instrumental music, releasing her first cassette (Wizje) in 1995. After that, many more releases followed as well as appearances on several samplers.

 


Ziggurath (???)

Jungle Majesty (2023)
True North (2024)

Bleak, mysterious, melancholic synth compositions.

 


Zima Stulecia (Poland)

Minus 30​°​C (2023)

Polish duo with synths and drums, whose album tries to conjure up images of growing up in post-communist Poland in the 1990's. Sort of nostalgic, hauntology vibe permeates the material that does not shun from a techno beat or two, but mostly goes for the lively, jazzy, melodic approach.

 


Zimbo (Netherlands)

Cat (1984)
Poets Due To (1985) (with Wedge)

Minimal melodies and rhythms played on synths and Casio keyboards. Rather charming and unique. A project of John de Pagter.

 


Zimiamvian Night (USA)

Zimiamvian Night (2004)
Zimiamvian Night 2 (2007)
Zimamvian Night 3 (2018)

Gloomy, darkish ambient soundscapes. Zimiamvian Night is a project of Mike Bennett.

 


Zimmer, Hans (Germany)

Paperhouse (1988) (soundtrack)
Backdraft (1991) (soundtrack)
Interstellar (2014) (soundtrack)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) (soundtrack)

Famous film music composer born in Frankfurt in 1957. By the beginning of the 1980's, he had already started his career of a composer of jingles and soundtracks. In 1980, he collaborated with The Buggles on their Age of Plastic LP, establishing himself as a force in the world of analogue synthesizers. Since then, he has assembled a giant collection of various synthesizers (both modular and compact) and worked with several bands, including Ultravox. Apart from Parerhouse (done exclusively with synthesizers), he has some other purely electronic works, as far as I know. There are also soundtracks where he combines electronics with orchestral scores. Further investigation is needed.

 


Zimmerman, Steve (UK)

Liminal Spaces Vol. 1 (2022)

Melodic and ambient music mixing guitar and electronic sounds, somewhere between post-rock and EM.

 


Zimmermann, Cedrik (France)

Planet Nine (2019)

Ambient musician with a cosmic sound marrying synths and spacey guitar ala Ashra.

 


Zimmermann, Friedrich E. (Germany??)

 


Zimpel, Wacław (Poland)

Long Weekend (2020) (EP) (with James Holden)
Massive Oscillations (2020)
Primal Forms (2020) (with Shackleton)
Breath of Brahma & Sri Crickts (2022) (with Hans Kulk)
Train Spotter (2023)
In the Cell of Dreams (2023) (with Shackleton)

Polish clarinetist who on Massive Oscillations experiments with synths and electronic equipment (apart from using his clarinet of course). Nice EM - experimental, but accessible, with traces of minimalism, World Music and more. Train Spotter is another excellent EM work.

 


Zinkl (Germany)

No Snaildance, Please (1994)
Lovely Night Creatures (1995)
Plexus Andromeda (1997)
Circus Maximus (1999)
Underwater (2001) (with Alquimia)
Dance Music For Insects (2002)
The Temptations of St. Anthony (2004)
91-99 (2014)
Cockaigne (2014)
Kinder der Nacht (2015) (with Nero)
Tanzmuzik für Roboter (2020)
Rebirth (2022) (with Gozon)

Anton Zinkl is German synthesist born in 1960 who is often refered to as techno-influenced EM musician. Well, I've heard parts of Dance Music For Insects and it's simply great stuff. Very original and interesting music that is highly recommended. I cannot see the techno connection whatsoever. I admit that maybe some of his other works (that I haven't heard) are more techno-ish. In any case, it is quite clear that we are dealing with real talent, not just another amateur or Schulze wannabe. Anton Zinkl started experimenting with electronics in the 1970's, using a Farfisa organ and processing devices. The 1980's were devoted to playing with a band before he resurfaced a decade later as a solo musician and started releasing his music on CD.

 


Zinn, Hartmut (Germany)

Heiles Land (1982)
Gipfelstürmer (1984)
Tagträume (2002) (recorded in 1986 - 1993)
Souvenir (2002)

The first album of Hartmut Zinn was called Heiles Land and it featured music strongly inspired by Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells. All music was played on electric and acoustic instruments. However, on Gipfelstürmer he turned to a more easy-listening / synth-based sound, incorporating lots of Jean-Michel Jarre (in his more accessible mode) influences.

 


Ziúr (Germany)

Deeform (2016) (EP)
U Feel Anything? (2017)
ATØ (2019)
Antifate (2021)

Antifate features complex, industrial-like, UK bass / dubstep / grime / digital experimentation-type EM from this Berlin-based artist. Sounds like a living organism or sounds made by some virtual forms of life.

 


Ziyek (???)

Way of the Bow (2018)
Healing Songs (2022)

Ambient with a slight lo-fi feel, a bit in the spirit of some English artists like Andrew Chalk, Ora, etc.

 


Zlata (Czech Republic)

Cosmosis (2021)

A project of Bára Hladík, who is currently residing in Montreal. Minimal ambient sounds and melodies.

 


Zlatanos, Thanasis (Greece)

Nekropolis (1982)
ARTificial (1987)
Datura (1993)
Om/At/Røynd (2009)

Greek electronic musician who started his career while he was living in Norway. His first album, the strange and darkish Nekropolis was a group effort (he was helped by Norwegian musicians) recorded in Oslo. He has since relocated back to Greece.

 


ZNR (France)

Barricade 3 (1976)

Avant-prog / chamber music ensemble formed in 1975 by Hector Zazou and Joseph Racaille. They play short tracks full of darkish moods and chamber atmospheres. On this debut album they use violin, brass, clarinet and other typical chamber instruments, along with piano and analogue synthesizers. As a result the music sounds like a mixture of chamber prog and Electronic Music. There was another album titled Traite de Mecanique Populaire released in 1979, but for that one they seem to have abandoned electronic instruments completely.

See also: Zazou, Hector

 


Zoat Aon (Finland)

Star Autopsy (2005)
The Triplex Bestial (2006)

Soundscapes / Dark Space from Jaakko Vanhala.

See also: Depther, I.corax.

 


Zobel, Dieter (Germany)

Freizeit (1987) (with Jorg Thomasius)
Oszip Tugari (1988) (with Carsten Spindler)
Musik Aus Dem Regen (1988) (with Jorg Thomasius)

Falscher Hase (1989) (with Jorg Thomasius)
MEZ 31,00 (1989)
Moschus (1990)

St. Vitus's Dance (1992)
Teilbotzer (1992) (with Lord Litter)

East German musician and experimentator who is very much into unique electronic compositions and processed guitar sound.

 


Zodiac (Latvia)

Disco Alliance (1980)
Music In the Universe (1981)
Music From the Films (1982)
3: In Memoriam (1988)
Makoni / Clouds (1991)
Soviet Bus Stops (2023) (soundtrack)

Danceable electronic pop, sort of like Space but without the vocals. Ironically, it was the first 'electronic' group that I listened to, back when I was a kid. Ok, there are of course some nice tracks, like the first track from Disco Alliance, for instance. The line-up for the first album was: Janis Lusens - ARP Omni, ARP Odyssey, celesta; Zane Griva - piano, ARP Omni, vocal; Andris Silis - guitar; Ainars Asmanis - bass guitar; Andris Reinis - percussion. Later Zodiac's music aqcuired a more focused sound. If you like general melodic EM, you may like In Memoriam, which is a nice LP, somewhat comparable to Tangerine Dream from around the same period, but also with Baroque / Classical influences. It's still nothing to write home about, of course, e.g. lots of obligatory and dreary thin digital synths of the time. The above albums were re-issued on CD by Russian 'Boheme' label. In Memoriam is also available on CD from 1996 as "Dedication".

 


Zodiac (Netherlands)

Zodiac I (1991)
Zodiac II (1991)
Spherics (1991)
Spirits (1993)
I.C. (1994)

Melodic music by Frans Ramakers and Ruud Grothauzen. Sort of average.

  


Zodiac Free Arts Club (Greece)

Floating World (2011)
Structures + Codes (2018)

Named after the legendary gathering place for late 1960's Berlin experimental musicians, Zodiac Free Arts Club is an unusual diversion for Greek deep techno producer Argyris Theofilis. It is beatless and focuses on atmospheres and rhythms inspired by Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Cluster, Ash Ra Tempel, Popol Vuh, Neu! and other German EM and krautrock pioneers.

 


Zohastre (France)

Quark Star /\ Étoile Étrange (2016)
Pan And the Master Pipers (2018)
Abracadabra (2023)

A duo of characters who call themselves Héloïse and Olmo Uiutna. Both acting as solo noisicians, this is different from solo work of both I guess. What we get here is basically a spooky, lo-fi version of early solo Moebius if you can imagine that, with a touch of raw, archaic, 1960's electronic music. Marginally progressive, the music manages to create a unique atmosphere and is rather neat for what it is. Pan And the Master Pipers delves deeper into noisy, raw, but at the same time cosmic kraut / EM visions.

 


Zollo, Pietro (Italy)

Treescapes (2021) (S)
Consciousness (2023)
A Long And Cold Journey (2023)
Exploring Untersberg (2023) (with Fabio Keiner)

Noisy and archaic electronics between Noise Ambient and Experimental EM.

 


Zoloto, Ivan (Russia)

Black Album (2022)

Russian artist based in Barcelona, mostly related to the noise genre. On Black Album, he moves in the ambient EM direction, although there are still some noisy bits & pieces.

 


Zoltan (UK)

First Stage Zoltan (2012)
Psychomania (2013) (S)
Sixty Minute Zoom (2014)
Tombs of the Blind Dead (2014) (S)
Phantasm / Tanz der Vampire (2015) (S)

Another one of those "John Carpenter revival" projects, this time from the UK. This trio of Andrew Prestidge, Andy Thompson and Matt Thompson plays an analogue synth-based music that, apart from Carpenter, seems to be influenced by Goblin, Zombi and classic German EM.

See also: Cremator, Morlock.

 


Zombi (USA)

Zombi (2002)
Twilight Sentinel (2003) (S)
Cosmos (2004)
The Zombi Anthology (2005)
Surface To Air (2006)
Digitalis (2006) (S)
Spirit Animal (2009)
Sapphire (2009) (S)
Escape Velocity (2011)
Shape Shift (2015)
Liquid Crystal (2021)
ZOMBI & Friends, Volume 1 (2022)

Analog horror synth soundscapes with bass and drums, inspired by Goblin's soundtracks, John Carpenter's style and 70's EM artists like Tangerine Dream, Synergy and Jarre. Zombi was formed in Pittsburgh by Steve Moore and A.E. Paterra.

See also: Moore, Steve, Majeure, Paterra, A.E.

 


Zombie Hyperdrive (Germany)

Hyperion (2016)
Imperium (2020)

Rich synthwave pastiche with echoes of Jarre.

 


Zombie Zombie (France)

Zombie-Zombie (2006) (EP)
A Land For Renegades (2008)
Dog Walker (2008) (S)
Rituels d'un Nouveau Monde (2012)
Loubia Hamra (2014)
Slow Futur (2016)
Livity (2017)
L'Heure de la Sortie (2018) (soundtrack)
L'Heure de la Sortie / Irréprochable (2019) (recorded in 2018 and 2016) (soundtrack)
Vae Vobis (2022)

French band heavily influenced by krautrock and Italian horror soundtracks (Goblin et al). They use vintage analogue instruments mostly. Zombie Zombie consists of Etienne Jaumet and "Cosmic Neman".

See also: Jaumet, Etienne

 


Zomes (USA/Sweden)

Improvisations 1 & 2 (2010)
Earth Grid (2011)
Imminent Frequencies (2012)
The First Stone (2018)

Folky improvisational duo of Asa Osborne (guitars, electronics) and Hanna Olivegren (voice, electronics). Some of their works seem to focus on vocal-free electronic improvisations. The First Stone features fantasy-like music, a bit dungeon synth-like, but brighter.

 


Zona (Turkey)

Appel du Noir (2019)
Silent City (2020)

Moody soundscapes mixing guitar / ethnic instruments and modular synth. A project from Instanbul.

 


Zonderwerk (Belgium)

Babel (2023)

Minimal, cyclic electronic patterns from the duo of Linde Carrijn and Dijf Sanders.

 


Zone (UK)

Sword of the Sun (1988)
Born of Fire (1991)
The Divine Simplicty (1994)
Angel of Freedom (2000)
Alien Nature (2005)

Esoteric Ambient band (Andrew Cadmore and Chris Brandrick) with some Neofolk moves. They were influenced by a lot of musicians in their early days, including Throbbing Gristle and Tangerine Dream.

 


Zone 99 (Denmark)

A Journey To Planet Elektra (1998)

An early incarnation of a band that would become known as Carboneids.

See also: Carboneids, Nattefrost, Jeppesen, Bjørn.

 


Zone Verte (Belgium)

Zone Verte (1984)
A La Prison de Forest (??)

Electronic duo of Guy Stuckens and Marc Vanneste. Flowing, rhythmic, often sequencer-based music with some jew's harp playing and synths.

See also: Stuckens, Guy

 


Zones of Industrial Wasteland (Sweden)

Sectors (2019)

Cinematic, industrial-tinged EM. Pretty unique and nice sound here. A project of Janolof Enberg.

 


Zonnewiel (Netherlands)

Wyrd (2002)
Bloed en Bodem (2003)
Channeling the Essence of Wuotan (2003) (S)

Epic Pagan Ambient.

 


Zonos (UK)

The Solar Objective (2019)
Giblets (2020)
New Century Drones (2022)
Void of Dream (2023)

Scottish project based in Edinburgh. Ranges from droning ambient synth to something quite intense, albeit sparse at the same time.

 


Zoobin (Iran)

Mana (2019) (EP)

A project of Tehran-based artist who alternates between danceable and beatless synth tracks.

 


Zool. (Belgium)

Zoolepone (2004) (EP)
Zooleptwo (2005) (EP)
Vadem (2006)
Camera (2009)
Ballroom Blitz (2014)
Bombykol (2017)
The Time Remaining (2021)

Zool. is Gerry Vergult who mixes guitar and electronic sounds. Pretty varied compositions overall.

 


Zootime (Netherlands)

Movement (2018)

Very weird stuff with lots of tribal beats and some experimental electronics.

 


Zopelar (Brazil)

Universo (2021)

Based in São Paulo, Pedro Zopelar is a deejay and composer mainly in the realms of funk, jazz fusion and house (including the "balearic trends"). All of this can be heard on Universo, plus an ambient EM touch on tracks like "Process of Change", "Universo" (partly) and "Break the Cycle" (available as digital bonus only). File under EM-related.

 


Zorch (UK)

Ouroboros (1975)
Glastonbury Live (2001) (recorded in 1991)

UK synth band formed by former Gong member (Basil Brooks) somewhere around 1972 - 1974. The line-up consisted of Brooks and Gwyo Zepix. They gave several dazzling shows (with light projections by John Andrews) during the 70's and released the album Ouroboros that was recorded in Peter Zinovieff's EMS studio.. Their music was classic analog synthesizer stuff, very driving, cosmic, free and... well, synthetic. The band is now reformed and already gave several performances, one of them (an older one) documented on Glastonbury Live.

 


Zoreya (Brazil)

Quando o Mal Estava Ai (1996) (recorded in 1989 - 1995)

Cosmic electronics in complex blend with some traditional instruments like viola, sax, clarinet...

 


Zoviet France (UK)

Soviet France (1981)
Untitled (1982)
Garista (1982)
Norsch (1983) (S)
Mohnomische (1983)
Eostre (1984)
Gris (1985) (S)
Popular Soviet Songs And Youth Music (1985)
Misfits, Looney Tunes And Squalid Criminals (1986)
Gesture, Signal, Threat (1986)
A Flock of Rotations (1987)
Assault And Mirage (1987)
Loh Land (1987)
Shouting At the Ground (1987)
Look Into Me (1990)
Just An Illusion (1990)
Vienna 1990 (1990)
Shadow, Thief of the Sun (1991)
Collusion (1992)
What Is Not True (1993)
Digilogue (1995)
In Version (1996)
Mort Aux Vaches: Feedback (1998)
The Decriminalisation of Country Music (2000)
Music For A Spaghetti Western (2005) (recorded in 1985 - 1986)
7.10.12 (2012)
The Tables Are Turning (2013)
Patina Pooling (2014) (with Fossil Aerosol Mining Project)
Russian Heterodoxical Songs (2020)
A Long Walk (2022)

Someone described it as a mixture between Throbbing Gristle and Tangerine Dream. Others have compared Zoviet France to Current 93 and Nurse With Wound. Definitely worth checking out for lovers of experimental industrial music.

See also: Rapoon, Penumbra.

 


ZQO (Russia)

†hΣ†▲pØ (2016)

Varied electronics here, somewhat vaporwave-y, but generally ambient and with a Prog EM touch.

See also: ׸ðíûé òóìàí

 


Zreen Toyz (France)

Aesthetically Nebulous (2007) (recorded in 1994 - 2002)
Ephemeral Moon (2007) (recorded in 1985 - 1993)
Polyglot Ripples (2007) (recorded in 1975 - 1983)
Hypnosis Rustle (2007) (recorded in 1972 - 1974)
Abyssal Zones (2008)
Pocket Recycling (2009)
The Timeless Topographer (2009)
Mineral Abstraction (2010)
Mental Fragments - Works For Compilations (2012)
Tout ces Petits Riens (2013) (with Charles Premier)

Aka Jihel (Jean-Luc Berthelot). Experimental ambient soundscapes.

See also: Tales, Jihel, Elemental Noise.

 


Zsüja (Hungary)

neonwind_lights (2020)

A project of Zsanett Liszkai. Drifting soundscapes and some throbbing rhythms.

 


Ztiworoh, Drahcir (USA)

Eros In Arabia (1981)

If you read Drahcir Ztiworoh backwards, you'll get the name of US-born experimental musician and soundtrack composer Richard Horowitz, whose career spans more than three decades and who collaborated with Jon Hassell, Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Bill Laswell, among others. Richard has always been influenced by both ethnic music (mostly of Moroccan / North African origin) and electronics. Not surprisingly, on Eros In Arabia you get the best of both worlds - some ethnic instruments (including ney) and tons of processing and synths. A pioneering World Music work, Eros In Arabia remains largely unknown and possibly quite underrated.

 


Zu (Italy)

Jhator (2017)
Terminalia Amazonia (2019)

Italian math rock / progrock trio that recorded this fantastic World Music / EM album (Terminalia Amazonia) after visiting an indigenous tribe living on the border between Brazil and Peru. A mixture of location recordings and mysterious, hypnotic synthesizer soundscapes.

 


Zuckerman, Jeremy (USA)

Lucky (2021) (soundtrack)

Hybrid orchestral / electronic soundtrack from this Los Angeles-based composer. The electronic parts are pretty nice.

 


Žugić, Saniboj (Croatia)

Saniboj Žugić (??) (S)

Electronic musician from Zagreb who used mellotron and synthesizers (including homemade ones) to create flowing, cosmic electronic tracks. The above release is a reel-to-reel master copy and is supposedly from the late 1970's or early 1980's.

 


Żuławy (Poland)

Horyzont (2019)
Haffa (2021)
Haff-Ufer-Bahn (2022)
Hals (2023)

Electronic project between IDM and ambient / Prog EM.

 


Zundmarazkhulshilkîn (UK)

Iklaladrân (2019)
Izremabrusây Ra Shâkalmamakhhul (2020)

Warm ambient compositions. Melodic, dungeon synth-like...

See also: Red Gremlin

 


Zuvuya (UK)

Dream Matrix Telemetry (1993) (with Terence McKenna)

Psychedelic electronic trio in English style (roughly along the lines of Nodens Ictus and likeminded musicians). The music on Dream Matrix Telemetry is kinda nice in its own way but I'd prefer it unspoiled by McKennna's rants. The subsequent release, Shamania, introduced techno beats, as the music drifted out of EEM stylistic borders.

 


Zuwe (Netherlands)

Endless (2020)
Warped Echoes (2020) (EP)
SH40 (2022)

Relaxing, hypnotic and melancholic ambience with some sounds of nature and a touch of vaporwave.

 


Zuydervelt, Rutger (Netherlands)

Samengedaan (2004) (with Boudewijn Betzema)
Vintermusik (2006) (with Dag Rosenqvist)
Woeling (2007) (S) (with Jeroen Vandesande)
Feberdröm (2007) (S) (with Dag Rosenqvist)
Gris Gris (2009) (with Mariska Baars and Robert Deters)
Drifts (2010) (with Leo Fabriek, Mariska Baars and Wouter Van Velthoven)
Bij Wat Ook Moog' Gebeuren (2014) (soundtrack) (with Leo Fabriek and Gareth Davis)
IJstijd (2014) (S)
Sneeuwstorm (2015)
Beginner's Luck (2015) (with Sergey Kostyrko)
Buoyant (2015) (with Dirk Serries)
Astroneer (2016) (soundtrack)
Re:Collecting (2016) (with Steven Hess)
Concrete Scores (2017)
What It Seems To Be (2017) (with Sarah Payton)
Movements of Dust (2019) (with Bill Seaman)
L'Incertitude (2020) (with Bruno Duplant)
Porcelain (2020) (soundtrack)
Scramblings (2020) (with Jean D.L.)
BERG (Music For A Film By Joke Olthaar) (2021) (soundtrack) (with Hugo Dijkstal and Peter Hollo)
Synchronicité (2021) (with Bruno Duplant)
Kaleiding (2023)

Electroacoustic composer and the mastermind behind post-industrial / noise project Machinefabriek. Some of his works may interest fans of ambient forms of EM. Astroneer is varied, spacey synth music composed as a soundtrack for a game. The above discography is not complete.

See also: Machinefabriek

 


Zwaans, Aart (Netherlands)

Semi Hora (1982)

Cassette tape with varied EM, mostly of experimental and cosmic variety.

 


Zwartjes, Frans (Netherlands)

Music By Frans Zwartjes (2014) (recorded in ??)
Slipknot / Transplant (2015) (recorded in ??) (with Schtinter)
Tapes 1 (2017) (recorded in ??)
Masterpiece (2017) (recorded in ??)
Tapes 2 (2020) (recorded in ??)
Frans Zwartjes (2023) (recorded in 196? - 198?)

Frans Zwartjes (1927 - 2017) was a Dutch artist and filmmaker. He made numerous art-house films from 1968 to 1991. The interesting part is that he also scored his own film productions, mixing collages, some acoustic instrumentation and synth music.

 


Zwei Kreise (France)

Mistmorning (2013) (with Coppice Halifax)
Panorama Island (2017)
ATMF BIOS (2021) (S)

Techno / IDM project of Alexandre Gouard. Surprisingly, some tracks On Panorama Island are fantastic EM of spacey / ambient or quirky, Cluster-like type. These include "Inexorable", "The Unveiler" and "Onett Horizon", as well as several other moments elsewhere throughout the album.

 


Zweistein (Germany)

Trip, Flip Out, Meditation (1970)

Weird, weird sounds here, way beyond early Ash Ra Tempel. It's a trippy 3-LP concept album released by Philips.

See also: Doucet, Suzanne

 


ZXC (USA)

ZXC (2018) (S)

A project of Zachary Croft based in Seattle. A mixture of rhythmic electro numbers and ambient / sequencer sketches.

 


Zyggurat (UK)

Zyggurat (2022)
Broken Circle (2023) (S)
Hide . Seek (2023)

British modular synth / drums duo comprised of Pete Grimshaw and Nathan Jones, based in Birmingham. Free-flowing, jazzy, complex, arpeggio-laden... A unique style.

 


Zygmunt, Michał (Poland)

Cygnus (2019)

Polish sound artist focusing very much of field recordings. On Cygnus, he combines this type of exploration with ambient guitar sound. He also uses electronics and the range of sounds he manages to coax out of his guitar is pretty impressive.

 


Zygoat (USA)

Zygoat (1974)

Excellent, complex EM in a unique style performed on ARP and RSE synthesizers by New York-based composer Burt Alcantara.

 


zYklen (UK)

Palace of Chords (2023)

A project of Simon Ferris from Cornwall. Calm, tranquil ambient compositions with a strong neo-classical influence.

 


Zyklus (UK)

Virtual Realities (1991)

Electronic 'jazz' ensemble created by Neil Ardley and John L. Walters in 1988. The music is based on their unique 'Zyklus Midi Performance System' that enables each player to control up to four synths / samplers simultaneously.

See also: Ardley, Neil, Greveson, Warren.

 


Zyklus, Jonathan (Italy)

Four Dimensional Waves (2019)
Parallel Worlds (2020) (with Tukico)
Waterpiano (2022)

Electronic musician with a diverse, mostly melodic / ecstatic style.

 


Zyl, Chuck van (USA)

Callisto (1989)
Moment of Totality (1990)
Europa (1991)
Io (1991)
The Xyl File (1991)
Ganymede (1991)
The Sound Museum (1991) (with Peter Gulch and Andrew Rath)
The Relic (1991)
Celestial Mechanics (1993) (recorded in 1989 - 1990)
Regeneration Mode (1994) (with Peter Gulch)
MemorySpace (2010)
Cenotaph (2012)
Rituals (2014)
Space Patrol (2015) (with Ombient)
Recitals (2016)
Star's End (2016) (recorded in 1987)
Rituals Volume 2 (2018)
Recitals 2 (2018)
SpaceTones (2019)
Recitals 3 (2019)
Live On Star's End 08.26.18 (2019)
Live On Star's End 10.06.19 (2020)
Votive (2021)
The Winter Wind (2022)
Skyspace (2022)
Live On Star's End 2021-2022 (2023)
Gwynedd (2023)
Passages (2023)
Star's Landing (2023) (recorded in 2022)

Chuck van Zyl (born in 1958 in Philadelphia) is best known as the host of "Star's End" - a radcprogram dedicated to "spacemusic dreamscapes". He is also one of the coordinators and organizers of The Gatherings concerts. Since 1985, Chuck has been performing his own Electronic Music. He is also known from the Xisle project and The Sound Museum is basically a Xisle album.

See also: Xisle, Ministry of Inside Things, Xyl.

 


Zylderberg, L. (Australia)

Her Her (2023)

Originally from Australia, Berlin-based L. Zylderberg creates nice ambient synth music - hypnotic and sometimes spacey.

 


Zytospace (Spain)

Wüste Land (2019)

Berlin School-oriented duo.

See also: Giron, Ruiz, Miguel Angel.

 


zZyzx Society, The (USA)

The zZyzx Society (2018)

Somewhat avant-garde synth duo of Jill Fraser and Peter Grenader. Both studied under Morton Subotnick in the 1970's and a bit later were involved in the creation of modular synths (Serge). Varied sounds here, from the abstract and noisy, sample-based to dramatic and melodic. Thighpaulsandra guests on their eponymous debut.

 


zZz (Netherlands)

Juggernaut (2015)

Indie rock / new wave / synth-punk duo of Daan Schinkel (keyboards) and Björn Ottenheim (vocals, drums). The long title track from Juggernaut is a surprising instrumental assault in Dusseldorf School style, sounding like Heldon jamming with La Düsseldorf in a dark cathedral. "Red Beat" is another interesting track. The rest is nice but contains vocals to a certain extent.

 


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