Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of generative music, Brian Eno has been creating ambient and generative music since the 1970s. His “Generative Music 1” and “Generative Music 2” software systems have been influential in the field.
Björk
Icelandic musician Björk has incorporated generative elements into her albums, such as “Biophilia” and “Vulnicura.” She collaborated with software developers and composers to create interactive and generative music apps for her audience.
Holly Herndon
Known for her experimental electronic music, Holly Herndon explores the intersection of human and artificial intelligence. She has used generative techniques to create immersive soundscapes and interactive performances.
Autechre
This pioneering electronic music duo, consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, has been creating complex and abstract generative compositions throughout their career. Their music often combines intricate rhythms and evolving soundscapes.
Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai)
A German composer and visual artist, Alva Noto has embraced generative music as part of his creative process. His works often involve minimalistic and glitch aesthetics, with generative algorithms shaping the sonic output.
Ryoji Ikeda
Japanese composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda explores the realms of generative music and audiovisual installations. His works incorporate precise mathematical patterns and data-driven structures.
Mark Fell
Mark Fell is an experimental electronic musician who utilizes generative systems to create intricate rhythmic patterns and textures. His compositions often involve algorithmic processes and generative software.
Richard James (Aphex Twin)
Known for his innovative approach to electronic music, Aphex Twin has incorporated generative techniques into his compositions. His album “Selected Ambient Works Volume II” features generative elements and evolving textures.
Laraaji
Laraaji is an American musician and ambient artist who has utilized generative music techniques to create mesmerizing and meditative sonic landscapes. His music often incorporates improvisation and relaxation elements.
Tim Exile
Tim Exile is a British musician and innovator who has developed his own generative music software, such as “Flow Machine.” He uses these tools to create dynamic and interactive live performances.
We all got a huge Earth Day gift from musician Brian Eno‘s EarthPercent Foundation.
To help raise money for climate organizations, Eno and his staff gathered 100 musicians and bands to contribute a previously-unreleased track for the special EarthPercent x Earth Day initiative.
It’s an impressive list of artists that includes Eno, Big Thief, Michael Stipe, Peter Gabriel, Coldplay Death Cab, The Weather Station, Jarvis Cocker, Hot Chip (a track that also features Brian Eno and former Savages drummer Fay Milton), Dry Cleaning, Metronomy and many more.
See the full tracklist below.
“This is what unleashing the power of music in service of the planet looks like,” said Eno in a statement. “Historically music has often been at the front of social change – think of ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ and Rock Against Racism. Now we’re facing climate change, the biggest challenge in human history. It’s time for us to get out there again.”
You can buy songs via Bandcamp for $2.50 USD.
Unfortunately, the tracks are not available to stream without buying.
Nonetheless, EarthPercent has shared Big Thief’s demo of “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You,” as a one-off and representative of the album.
EarthPercent x Earth Day Contributing Artists
Adonis – Al Khafif (The Light Version) Alfie Templeman – Living In A Universe Amirali – Nemesis Anna B Savage – Corncrakes (demo) Anna Calvi – Peaky Blinders: Season 5 (Original Soundtrack) Anrimeal – Source and Time AVAWAVES – Nocturnal Balmorhea – June (Demo) Beatie Wolfe – “Oh My Heart” (live at the Nobel Prize Summit) Biako – What’s It Like To Be Him Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe In You (Demo) Billie Flynn – Red Right Hand Billy Lockett – Together At Home (Live) Brand New Moon – The Garden Knows Brian Eno (featuring Leo Abrahams) – Did The World Begin Today Broadside Hacks – Barbry Allen (Matthew Shaw remix) Brooke Annibale – What If You (demo) Charlie Hickey – Things I Believe (demo) Coldplay – Humankind (Live in Mexico City) Cosmo Sheldrake – Dance Off (Cosmo Sheldrake Remix) Courtney Marie Andrews – It Must Be Someone Else’s Fault (Demo) Damefrisør – Beautiful Soul (Katy J Pearson cover) Damien Dempsey – What A Day Daniel Brandt – Soon To Be Deantoni Parks – The Plague of Plastic deathcrash – Wrestle With Jimmy – Live From The Hush House Death Cab For Cutie – Your Bruise – Live at The Showbox Debit – The Age of Equitable Nature Declan McKenna – Elephant [demo]
Dry Cleaning – Her Hippo – Live Elder Island – Purely Educational (Live) Emel – Does Anybody Sleep English Teacher – A55 (demo) False Window – Sea++ [Ver 1.01]
Fito Paez – Cisne Flower Face – The Garden Fovea Hex – All Those Signs (EarthPercent Mix) Franc Moody – Water (Instrumental) Frank Wiedemann – A New Start Future Utopia – Crystalline Fred again.. & Mr Eazi – Light Up Galya Bisengalieva – Kantubek Live Gesloten Cirkel – Landing Gigi Masin – MADAME DU VENT Hania Rani – Leaving (Niklas Paschburg rework) Hannah Peel featuring Ulster Orchestra – Act Now (Greenpeace UK) Hinako Omori – 春の海 ✷ haru no umi Holy Fuck – Luxe ft. Alexis Taylor (Live at Fox Theater) Honeyglaze – Burglar (live) Hot Chip x Brian Eno x Fay Milton – Line In The Sand ISYLA – Where We Dare (Live at Cube) Isobel Waller-Bridge – Elizabeth James – Beautiful Beaches – Conservatory Version JARV IS… – DEPRESSIVE DISCO Joep Beving – We will want to remember (EarthPercent demo) Joy Anonymous X Toya Delazy – JOY(JEQE) JoyCut – The Plastic Whale Kaerhardt – Heart of Stone Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Tides IV – Music for Meditation and Yoga Kate Davis – Alright Laura Misch – Lagoon (Variation for Saxophone and Voice) Laurence Guy – What Exactly Are You Asking Me? Lily Moore – Last Goodbye Lola Kirke – What It Was (Demo) Love Ssega – Ssanyu Lutalo – Georgia (Instrumental/Demo) Mandy, Indiana – The Call Is Coming From Inside the House Manu Delago – Zeitgeber (Live) Mara Simpson – Nowhere (LAYERS) Martyn – When We Are Innocent ME REX – Swingset (live) Metronomy – Walking in the Dark (Folly Group Remix) Michael Begg – Arctic Moonlight: A Zooplankton Nocturne (EarthPercent Mix) Michael Stipe – Future, If Future Miho Hatori – Mobula Phantasmagoria Modern Woman – Offerings (Stripped Back Version) Müller & Makaroff – Todo Puede Suceder ft. Kevin Johansen Múm – Goodbye In The Future Murkage Dave – Hackney Dalston Canonbury Highbury [DEMO]
Nick Mulvey – A Prayer Of My Own (LaJoya Remix) Ft. Liz Wathuti Nicki Wells – Ocean – Strings Nile Rodgers & Philippe Saisse – Sugar Rush Monk Nuno & Maria Bettencourt – Sideways (Citizen Cope cover) Olivia Reid – Water Damage (Stripped) Oracle Sisters – Good All The Time (Demo) Orlando Weeks – Distance Mover Patch and the Giant – Fire & The Flood Paul McDonald – Forgiveness (Sanctuary Demo) Peter Gabriel – Shock the Monkey: Earth Day version – for EarthPercent Pictish Trail – EARTH DAY: Nuclear Sunflower Swamp (Acoustic) Pixx – Alien Prima Queen – Chew My Cheeks (demo) Poppy Ackroyd – Pause – Live Session Rasha Nahas – Al Madini (Live at Thalia Theater) Reka and /Beyond/ – We Owe You All Richard Coleman – Changes (Live) Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Peter Punk Rutger Hoedemaekers – Sing The Songs Of The Glory Of None S Carey – Paralyzed (At Home Version) Sam Lee – The Tan Yard Side – Singing With Nightingales Sebastian Mullaert – Asked Quietly Of The Night Seb Wildblood – Bad Space Habits (dub) Sonia Stein – Sweet Spot SØS Gunver Ryberg – Doing our best is no longer good enough Soundwalk Collective – Butterfly Kiss (feat. Charlotte Gainsbourg) Squirrel Flower – your love is a disaster (NNAMDÏ remix) Talk Show x D.U.D.S. – Leather Rework The Album Leaf – Rotations The Big Moon – BIG The Black Chapel Collective – The Secret ft Daniel Rhodes The Weather Station – This Way Tom VR – Don’t Stop Us Floating Away Treeboy & Arc – Austere tummyache – growing pains United Freedom Collective – Manifest Bliss Violet Skies – Settle (Live Session) .VRIL – Andromeda Nightmare Wará – Yahannaman Warmduscher – Hey Guys Waves Rush In – Travellers Dream (Live) Wayne Snow – Pale Blue Dot Weval – Keep It Up
The end of 2012 is fast approaching and the ‘best of’ posts and playlists are already in the works. But there are still six weeks left in the year and some of the most anticipated new albums of the year dropped this week, among them Sufjan Stevens‘ newest addition to his Christmas albums collection, Silver & Gold, which we’ll have much more about this weekend for the Album of the Week (only a partial list right now) feature.
[zbplayer]
Also, check out lead singles from new albums by Crystal Castles, School of Seven Bells, The Weeknd (with a single featuring Drake), Social Studies, El Perro Del Mar, Clinic, Bear Colony, among others.
Make sure to check back tomorrow and during the weekend, not only for a full review and profile of Stevens’ Silver & Gold, but also for Volume II of this week’s album releases, featuring more sweet singles by a number of artists and bands, including one of the greatest (some say the greatest) rock and roll bands of all time – The Rolling Stones (and a chance to win a free 50th Stones’ anniversary eBook), as well as legendary bands of the 1980’s and 1990’s, including live and new studio album releases from Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, and Guided by Voices, and IRC exclusive DIY releases.
The official album cover of III is actually an award-winning photo of Fatima al-Qaws cradling her son, Zayed, who was wounded during a Yemenese anti-government protest
Crystal Castles Release Their Best Album To Date, III
The wildly popular, and immensely talented, Canadian electro duo, Crystal Castles, blew us away in 2010 with their self-titled sophomore LP after peaking our interest with their 2008 self-titled debut. In recent months, the duo have released a few fresh singles, including “Affection,” from their new album, III, their darkest, most haunting album to date. “Affection” is dominated by Alice Glass‘ ghostly cooing and the melodically dark and staggered synth riffs of Ethan Kath, who also produced the album himself.
“Affection” – Crystal Castles from III on Casablanca Records
In July, the duo dropped “Plague,” a schzophrenic, somewhat demonic, track that starts off with what sounds like the industrial rumble of a factory in the distance and a ghastly howl overlaid with Glass’ soft, spooky vocals. Waves of flickering synths and eerie sound effects suddenly explode into a fully engulfed electronic thrasher with Glass’ now piercing shrieks set against Kath’s raging riffs and a single, coarse drum beat that hacks away methodically in the background – altogether resulting in a truly rattling, sorrow-filled, angst-driven, ominous album. In fact, some fans have noted that III sounds like it could be the soundtrack of the 2012 Mayan doomsday prophecy, which supposedly culminates on the winter solstice, 12.21.12. As another bonus from the duo, download another single off the album, “Wrath of God” for free via Soundcloud.
School of Seven Bells’ New LP, Lead Single and Cover of Lil Wayne Track
Released only two weeks ago, the fresh electro pop/dance single, “Secret Days,” from the New York indie rock duo School of Seven Bells, received nearly 52,000 plays and nearly 50 thumbs up comments on SVIIB’s Soundcloud page, crowding up the track’s timeline with oodles of praise from fans. Plus, check out an interesting electro-style cover of Lil Wayne’s “How To Love.”
“Secret Days” – School Of Seven Bells from Put Your Sad Down EP on Vagrant Records
Bonus: “How to Love” (Lil Wayne) – School Of Seven Bells from Put Your Sad Down EP on Vagrant Records
The Weeknd Collaborates with Drake on Single from LP Trilogy
Musician Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, dropped a new album this week that includes the single, “The Zone,” featuring the popular artist Drake, who also makes a brief appearance in the music video as well. The track was originally featured on Tesfaye’s mixtape, Thursday, released earlier this year.
Also on Tuesday, San Francisco indie band Social Studies dropped their sophomore album, Developer, featuring the thunderous single, “Away For The Weekend,” which highlights the haunting vocals of Natalia Rogovin, who we think is a rising female vocalist in the realm of indie rock. The band hired Oakland engineer Eli Crews (Tuneyards, Deerhoof, Thao & Mirah) to refine their sound, digging deeper into mood-altering textures and repetition, and deep-sixing some of the ornate flourishes to reveal an anthemic core.
The band’s label, Vice Records, was spot-on in suggesting the track sounds like a “sober” version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Social Studies also premiered a new video for the song, “Terracur,” in which there are some fantastic shots of San Francisco at night. Plus, Little Rock indie band, Bear Colony (yup, another group with ‘bear’ in their name), dropped a new album this week, Soft Eyes, featuring the feel-good single, “Flask Retort.” The song is awash in warm and fuzzy synth notes, reverb-heavy guitar riffs and a fine rhythm to boot. This is the band’s first album of new material since their widely praised 2006 debut LP, We Came Here To Die. Also check out the lead single, “Hold Off The Dawn,” from the new album, Pale Fire, by El Perro Del Mar.
“Hold Off The Dawn” – El Perro Del Mar from Pale Fire on The Control Group
Clinic Chills Out; Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch and How To Destroy Angels
Chill out with Clinic on the mellow track, “For The Season,” followed by another calming track, “Etimasia” by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch. Might as well keep the chill beat going with the latest dubstep single from husband and wife duo How To Destroy Angels.
Double-shot: “Misty” – Clinic from Free Reign on Domino Record Co.
“Etimasia” – Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmuschfrom The Mystery of Heaven on Sacred Bones Records
“Keep It Together” – How to Destroy Angels from An Omen EP on Columbia Records
Brian Eno’s Lux 1 Video, Bambi Lee Savage, and Books On Tape
To wrap up Volume I of this week’s top releases and singles, check out the new music video for the latest single on the album, Lux, by the godfather of indie electro pop, Brian Eno, plus DIY artist Bambi Lee Savage, and Books On Tape. Check back for more singles and music videos in Volume II from this week’s top releases tomorrow.
“Lux 1 (exerpt)” – Brian Eno from Lux on Warp
“Oh Loneliness” – Bambi Lee Savage from Darkness Overshadowed (self-released)
“Super Dr.” – Books On Tape from Retired Numbers on Sorry Juniper!
Check back tomorrow for Volume II of this week’s Best New Music Releases that will feature new songs and videos from The Rolling Stones, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and many others.
Slim pickings is about the best way to describe this week of new releases. In fact, this is one of the thinnest weeks for new albums that we’ve seen all year. So far, 2011 has delivered a steady flow of one week after another of terrific new releases from virtually unknown bands to the most popular ‘indie’ and alternative rock artists of the day.
Traditionally, releasing new albums right after a holiday is not a smart strategy because so many people’s attention is divided up between vacationing, catching up with work after the holiday, visiting with friends and family, and so on. So, not surprisingly, the offering of new albums out this week is rather thin compared to most other weeks so far this year.
While there are no “big” or highly-anticipated releases out this week, coming close to that would be the newest LPs from popular artists like Brian Eno, Kaiser Chiefs (who are not ‘indie’ anymore), Memory Tapes, and the Old 97s. In our opinion, the album that we look most forward to listening to from this week is the newest offering from the legendary Brian Eno, whose influence on indie music – especially synth pop and rock – is unmistakable.
There are also some other new ‘bands on the radar’ this week, most notably the dreamy lo-fi synth sounds of Big Spider’s Back, and the shoegazey electro-pop of Digitalism. Plus, while we generally stopped posting remixes some months (because, as we see it, the remix craze has gotten out of hand; but mostly, because there’s simply too much good original music to focus on already). Nevertheless we make exceptions, such as this remix from Arc in Round of A Sunny Day in Glasgow‘s “II.”
And there is also the new track from the self-titled debut from Gardens & Villas, which sounds more like the title of an elitist magazine then some rock band – so, hate the band name, but the track “Black Hills” is alright. (Hint: Guys, change your name now rather than later; trust us; it’s hard to market and publicize a band name “Gardens & Villas” – hello).
Secret Chiefs” – Big Spider’s Back from Memory Man
“2 Hearts” – Digitalism from I Love You, Dude
“II (A Sunny Day in Glasgow remix)” – Arc In Round from || EP (self-released)
If you are a fan of female pop singers, then you may enjoy the singles below from Bright Archer, and a melancholy track from Circuit Des Yeux. And if you like a little bit of indie country/folk from time to time, then check out the new single from The Express.
We also included a track from the new album by The Glorious (via the site ThisBonusTrack.com), but it’s not exactly going to prompt us to buy the album (which you can stream here). We’re including it mainly to see what you guys think of it. While we don’t share the enthusiasm (not even close; we hear far better bands no one has ever heard of all the time) that the writer at TBT does for the Americana folk band’s debut album, we’re pretty sure some of our readers and visitors will appreciate the inclusion.
“Carry Me Home This Way” – The Glorious from Stories from A Fractured Youth
“Hidden Systems” – Bright Archer from Hidden Systems
“3311” – Circuit Des Yeux from Portrait
“Nobody Knows” – The Express from The Express (self-released)
