Instrumental Indie: New Directions in Noise
By Michael WojtasWhile a few choice noise, drone and experimental albums typically make the year-end lists, these often oblique, largely vocal-less genres tend to go underappreciated. Nevertheless, the frontrunners of instrumental music continue to find fresh forms of expression, from retro-future synthscapes that wouldn't sound out of place in an ‘80s dystopia flick, to elegant mood pieces cobbled together from mountains of pop culture refuse (vintage commercials, laptop startup noises and decaying thrift store vinyl being but a few of the found sounds recently repurposed into something approaching high art). While some of these artists have received critical recognition and others continue to sail blissfully under the radar, all of them operate light years left of the dial in their search for unexplored frequencies.
Click here for our Instrumental Indie playlist on 8tracks and here for the one on Spotify. Also, check out our Pinterest board of Instrumental Indie album covers.
| CRITICAL LIST | |
|---|---|
 The CaretakerIndie Instrumental Artist |
|
 Tim HeckerElectronic Composer |
|
 Black DiceMusic Group |
|
 Oneohtrix Point NeverExperimental Indie Artist |
|
 EmeraldsIndie Instrumental Artist |
|
 Sand CirclesIndie Instrumental Artist |
|
 PontiakMusic Group |
|
 Philip JeckIndie Electronic Artist |
|
 Explosions in the SkyPost-Rock Band |
|
 Com TruiseIndie Instrumental Artist |
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