Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Don't know how to cross post - so I have just copied and pasted from the other thread

Drift Episode 2 - Dexters Chalk gave me a thought that it sounds in part like one of the boys contemporaries. For anyone with Orbitals Blue Album (2004) track 7 Acid Pants, there are some real similarities (apart from the vocals from Sparks lead singer Russell Mael)

Anyone else feel that way ? Its OK, on first listening.

Maybe worth a different post, but the main contemporaries of Underworld always seem to be a short list of:
Orbital
Dust Brothers / Chemical Brothers
The Prodigy
(That would make a great gig when I win the lottery - you are all invited ! though I might add Public Service Broadcasting too

Any others to add that I should be aware of ?

Re: Drift Ep 1 - Another Silent Way (new single)
 

That's absolutely the short list. The longer list includes


The orb
Aphex
Fluke
Prodigy

Re: Drift Ep 1 - Another Silent Way (new single)
 

UW
Chemical Bros.
Fatboy Slim
are the big 3 of Electro IMHO

If you like the downbeat side of UW
DJ Koze (incl. Remixes and his label Pampa Records)
Deep Dive Corp.
Kruder & Dorfmeister
Is quality stuff.

Re: Drift Ep 1 - Another Silent Way (new single)
 

You forgot Daft Punk, Prodigy, Kraftwerk, Goldfrapp, Royksopp, New Order, Justice, and a dozen or so more i won't even type.

Re: Drift Ep 1 - Another Silent Way (new single)
 

well, I think it was more of a list of UW 'contemporaries' so I don't think you could include Kraftwerk or New Order (or Depeche Mode), as they predate UW... or Goldfrapp, Royksopp, and Justice as they came out a few years later...

In my opinion it'd be:

UW
Chem's
Orbital
the Orb
the Prodigy
Daft Punk
FSOL
Leftfield
Fluke
Moby

+ Bjork
+ Aphex Twin
+ Massive Attack
+ UNKLE (although I guess they didn't come around until '93/'94)

Then, if we're also going to include DJ's who also released singles you'd kinda 'have to' include:

Paul Oakenfold
Fatboy Slim
Sasha (and/or Sasha with Digweed)

I mean, it's a bit of an over-generalization, but they all effectively started as the bands we know today around '91 - '93 ish. Sure, UW existed in the 80's but that's a totally different sound & band. And yeah, Oakenfold & Sasha were around in the late 80's but I feel like they rose in prominence in the early 90's

[edit]

but back to the new song...

It's great on headphones... just wish I could have a proper copy instead of a soundcloud rip!

Re: Drift Ep 1 - Another Silent Way (new single)
 

I would say this is the main list, all British groups who got a fair amount of chart success in the early-to-mid '90s with album-centred post-rave techno / ambient-techno while it actually quite fashionable. None ever really fit into other things like IDM, and their music suited stadiums and festivals (and home listening) as much as it did clubs (if not more so, in most cases).

Re: Drift ep. 1 part 2: Underworld and Ø [Phase] - Dexters Chalk
 

Underworld
Daft Punk
Prodigy
Chemical Brothers
Massive Attack
Bjork
Fatboy Slim
Moby
Leftfield
Aphex Twin
Orbital
The Orb

I'll go on a limb and throw BT in there. Acts like Fluke and Faithless feel like also-rans to me but one's mileage will vary.

Re: Drift ep. 1 part 2: Underworld and Ø [Phase] - Dexters Chalk
 

whatever happened to Fluke anyway? they seemed to be the one EDM group that actually grabbed the UW sound and ran with it. always felt like a knock-off to me but I still liked their stuff. can't get enough UW-like stuff these days. last I heard some of 'em morphed into Syntax, they dropped one really nice album and just went away forever.

Re: Drift ep. 1 part 2: Underworld and Ø [Phase] - Dexters Chalk
 

Not to turn this into a Fluke thread, but after the three Flukers broke into Syntax, there was one Fluke album as a duo (Puppy), Syntax released a further EP (Tripolar) and various members collaborated as 2Bit Pie (excellent album). Nothing much for the past several years, though. Massive thread on hybridized forum that I'll link later. I loved Fluke and their various versions, but they definitely kept changing sounds from record to record, and thus may have gotten lost in the electronica shuffle.

Been running Dexter's Chalk on repeat...what great, slightly menacing lyrics! I get a bit of a Moaner or Peggy sussed vibe, maybe only for a more shouty vocal from Karl than we've had in recent records.

Re: Drift ep. 1 part 2: Underworld and Ø [Phase] - Dexters Chalk
 

yeah, loved Fluke myself. Would love to know what happened to those guys.

Re: Drift ep. 1 part 2: Underworld and Ø [Phase] - Dexters Chalk
 

i kept up with all the different versions of fluke and the spin offs and offshoots.
still listen to them even now. i moderated the yahoo groups for awhile, but
it died out ages ago.

i remember hearing about the grid, and now i'm a huge fan and have been
tracking down all their singles and remixes too. quality group also.

later
-1

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

The Grid had some good tracks, but I find novelty shit like 'Swamp Thing' really embarrassing.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Thanks for the extended lists, agree on the majority of those extra names. I think that (later) Fini Tribe would fit in well here (including the comedic but nonetheless excellent Finiflex album "And Away They Go.")

Thanks everyone

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Thank you for the lists! I have to admit I never heard of Fluke before (or forgot, the 90s were tough), but 3 albums are on their way to me now to join my collection thanks to this thread! :)

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Fluke's album Risotto is in my top 5 albums of all time. Oto is also great. Some tracks on Risotto are reworked Oto tracks. They have some amazing singles/EPs with great reworks/remixes that takes their tracks in new and different directions. The Atom Bomb singles with Atomixes 1 thru 6 is especially a good one.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

I'll add The Crystal Method.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Wow! Waiting for the postman to ring ...

Now I am curious: What would be the other 4 albums? Thanks for the EP/single info, l'll keep that in mind. It took me years to find out the older UW EPs can in no way be compared with the usual 12" remix overdose.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

I miss those '90s electronica singles where the band reworked their own material in really interesting ways. FSOL were the kings of it, but UW and Orbital did great jobs, Moby did a few good ones as well (notably the various formats of Hymn).

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

My top 5 albums?

The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land
The Chemical Brothers - Surrender
Fluke - Risotto
Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants
Leftfield - Rhythm And Stealth

These 5 albums have had a huge influence on me and inspired me into getting into music production. Of course, these artists made other amazing albums, but I picked my personal favorite from each. I could create quite an extensive list of faves. :p

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Amazing track from Oto...
https://youtu.be/lT36oX_UoAs

I'll give my left nut for a non-vinyl version of this track. I have a lossless rip of the vinyl. Sadly there is a very rare promo CD with it on it. I did find a copy of the Edit ripped from a promo.
https://youtu.be/82mTIvPvw3I

I wish Fluke would pull an Underworld and reissue their albums expanded.

Re: Drift ep. 1 part 2: Underworld and Ø [Phase] - Dexters Chalk
 

crazy to think that Syntax album is 15 years old now. that Tripolar EP was quite nice - I liked "Man with No Name" and "Zero Vision" a lot. I wonder why they didn't release part 2 or 3. I wonder if sales figures had something to do with it.


another name that fits in this thread - Lo-Fidelity All-Stars? their first album is sort of a classic, a bit bloated by today's standards but it still feels like a bridge from Fatboy Slim to LCD Soundsystem. I actually liked their second album (Don't Be Afraid of Love) even better, a lot more funky and upbeat. Their last album was decent, but man, it was a decade ago. Guessing they've gotten "lost" too.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Having gotten into electronic music in the late 90's, I was way into the usual suspects: Chemical Brothers, Moby, Crystal Method, Prodigy, FSOL, Leftfield, Fatboy Slim, Orbital and of course Fluke and Underworld.

Your bringing up LoFi Allstars reminds me of another band that had it's moments: Apollo 440. They had some pop/cheese big beat tracks, but also moments of ambient beauty. Their "Dude Descending a Staircase" lp probably showcases that diversity best, though really each record had fine dance tracks and chill tracks amid some nonsense!

Any Orb fans here? Amazing house-ambient-psychedelic records in the 90's ( loved Adventures beyond the ultraworld, uforb, orbus terrarum and orblivion lps) but gotta say I haven't felt the magic in latter records...they have so many, but seem to repeat themselves a lot.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Orb are great and so is every other band mentioned in here so far. Pretty shocked to not see Groove Armada mentioned anywhere - not necessarily in terms of genre but in terms of the big electronic bands of the 90s/2000s...

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

I enjoy their first two albums a lot: they're definitely going for daft rock-infused dance music in places, but there are also plenty of great pure electronic moments, particularly on Electro Glide in Blue - 'Vanishing Point' and 'Stealth Mass' are superb. They totally blew it on Gettin' High on Your Own Supply for me though, a really nasty mess of embarrassing faux-rock posturing and brick-wall compressed breakbeat. One of the ugliest albums I've ever owned. Kind of put me off them, although admittedly Dude Descending a Staircase has some nice moments.

The Orb were fantastic in the '90s, and I think Cydonia is underrated (although nowhere near as good as the earlier albums). Since then I've either found their stuff really uninspired, or simply not my kind of thing: Okie Dokie is a fine Kompakt-style minimal / dub techno record, but I'm not fond of that sound - the much more ambient focused Baghdad Batteries and Chill Out, World are pleasant but hardly the in the same league as their early epics. The Dream is a gorgeously produced album with some great tracks that would probably be up there with the earlier stuff without all the unnecessary vocals in the first half. Bicycles & Tricycles, the David Gilmour collab and that new one I find mostly just really pointless.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Seeing the orb on Saturday in Seattle! Moonbuilding and the new no sounds album I have enjoyed quite a bit, I have to say.


Seattle is weird for electronica. It breaks in two directions. All the big acts pass over Seattle (massive attack isnt getting closer than San Fran, orbital only came in 2010 as part of a new defunct city wide festival, underworld hasnt been through since 99, a local EDM promoter booked Carl cox for a big show and no-one bothered to see him), but the smaller acts I get to see in tiny venues with good crowds. Daniel Avery came through a tiny basement club, and now this will be twice I've seen the orb at tiny nightclubs locally.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

i like bands like 'hybrid', 'sasha', ''bt', and others, but they started to delve into more IDM, and other
categories. i think a lot of those guys are still going strong.

my biggest problem with all the new music is it comes in bite size digital chunks, or
very limited vinyl only.

that's actually not a problem either, but most of the tracks average 3-5 minutes.

whatever happened to the nice 6-8-10 minute epic songs. i guess they're dead now.

later
-1

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

I thought last year's Orb album (C.O.W.) was quite good. Really relaxing and a more pure form of ambient that's unlike the more beat-oriented stuff they usually do. The one before (Moonbuilding) was actually quite excellent. Purestrain dubby techno. This year's release (No Sounds Are Out of Bounds) was okay, it felt to me like Cydonia II, similar ideas but not as good. But then again, I always thought Cydonia was underrated, so not necessarily a bad thing.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Early Orb were important, but Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld has never been as strong as the KLFs Chill Out for me. The latter has been the last "track" on all the parties I hosted through the 90s and some years beyond. Nobody ever complained ...:D I still wear a Pyramid Blaster shirt occasionally.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Thank you - all exceptionally good albums! Surrender is also my fave from the Chemicals, still an amazing production. Regarding the others Music for the Jillted Generation, Dubno and Leftism would be the bands' best albums for me, but this is of course also my personal choice. Fluke's Risotto arrived today, and wow, great album! It began a bit too dark compared to the warm and friendly sound I mostly listen to nowadays, but I instantly liked it a lot. And it already grew while listending to it for the first time. I suppose Fluke will go on heavy rotation now.
Not sure about my Top 5 albums (I think I would go for Top 5 Electronica and Top 5 Guitar based albums), but

Underworld's Dubno &
Brian Eno's Muisc for Airports (Ambient 1)

are surely on my Top 5 Electro list.
My ultimate extended list is my physical collection, I think. :D

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

All from this decade, all within the 7-9 minutes range, all quite epic IMHO, and work both on the floor and and at home.
Organic and intelligent Progressive House/Deep House:

Herbert - It's Only (DJ Koze Mix)
https://soundcloud.com/secney/herber...ly-dj-koze-mix

DJ Koze - Magical Boy (Matthew Herbert remix)
https://soundcloud.com/pamparecords/...al-boy-matthew

Stimming & Solomun - Ghostdog
https://soundcloud.com/tylerdurden42...lomun-ghostdog

Dntel - My Orphaned Son (Die Vögel Remix)
https://soundcloud.com/pamparecords/...aned-son-die-v

Moderat - Bad Kingdom (DJ Koze Remix)
https://soundcloud.com/aidandeno/mod...-dj-koze-remix

Die Vögel - The Chicken
https://soundcloud.com/pamparecords/...ie-v-gel-a-the

Marek Hemmann - Left (feat. Fabian Reichelt)
https://soundcloud.com/marekhemmann/...abian-reichelt

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

you know who I kinda "forgot" about, and are actually better than I remember?

GusGus.

but back to the Orb for a second...

I really liked their "Okie Dokie" album, but I can get why fans of "the Orb sound" didn't like/get it, as it really does sound like "an album from Kompakt". I also saw them on that tour. It was a lot of fun, Thomas dj-ed as the opener while Alex had a drink and hung out. Then he climbed up on stage for the Orb's performance. When they were done, Thomas left and then Alex did a sort of "Back to Mine" (or a "Late Night Tales") sort of dj set.

I thought that their collaboration with Lee Perry was pretty good, but I don't know if it warranted 3+ different releases, know what I mean?

I couldn't get into 'the Dream' at all... COW and Moonbuilding were pretty good though.

I don't think I've listened to their new album enough to have an opinon.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Yeah, Risotto kinda kicks off with the big beat sound with tracks like Absurd and Atom Bomb, but soon goes down a much different path. The album feels like a nice journey. I got Fluke's discog in lossless, if ya ever looking for anything. I got many 90s electronica artists' discogs. ;)

Me, I am into the more aggressive side of electronica.

Some other great 90s ones are....

Junkie XL - Saturday Teenage Kick
Meat Beat Manifesto - Actual Sounds + Voices
Deadstock - Deadstock
Orbital - In Sides
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
Apollo Four Forty - Electro Glide In Blue

90s electronica is fave being a teen during this period.

But there are tons of great later/newer music...
Anything by Amon Tobin, Clark, Lorn, Dolor, Moskva-Kassiopeya, iamamiwhoami, Moderat, Modeselektor, Justice, Nosaj Thing, Poemme, Alessandro Cortini, Sonoio, Slow Magic, Ehsan Gelsi, Siriusmo... and many more.

I'm always searching for new music. Love discovering stuff.

I make music as well under the name Neorev. You can find me on Bandcamp and the usual streaming sites and digital stores. ;)

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

i can't believe how great the 'impossible star' album from 2017 is.

i haven't checked on them since 2000 or so.

this album has been on heavy rotation for me, for the last
month or so,

along with shockingly, a 2004 solo album from
alan parsons (yes, THAT alan parsons from the project),
called valid path, it is definitely electronica along with
guests like : Uberzone, Shpongle, The Crystal Method, etc.

worth checking out.

later
-1

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Since we're getting a little newer, I'm gonna toss Four Tet out here too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca6pjR2TLns

On the song length thing: Burial's Rival Dealer ep is 3 songs and 25 minutes, two songs are over 10 minutes and the whole thing plays as a single piece, like a mini album or a riverrun release. It's my favorite electronic release for winter into the holidays. It adds just a slight drop of snowy/cheery optimism into his usual wet city night soundscapes. Maybe even a bit of nostalgia, a wistfulness for raves past?


Oh and Four Tet's Morning/Evening release from 2015 is two tracks and 40 minutes.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Paul Hartnoll said relatively recently that the reason recent Orbital albums are shorter is people don't listen to long tracks anymore, as Spotify, iTunes etc. has reduced listeners' attention spans - and yet the one complaint I always see about their recent stuff is the tracks are too short! recent UW stuff has been similar, and FSOL have taken it to the extreme, with most of their recent records being 15-24 tracks, mixing up three-four minute pieces with one minute interludes. The Orb have at least throw in a few longer tracks, particularly on Moonbuilding (everyone seems to love this one but me - I find it exceptionally boring) and a couple of tracks on No Sounds Are Out of Bounds (which sounds like a half finished album to me - lots of beats but where are the tunes?!)

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Here are a few other classics from the nostalgia files:
Way Out West
Freestylers
Roni Size
Juno Reactor
Propellerheads

Back in the CD era, I'd buy techno compilations (amp, Wipeout, grooveradio, urbal beats... looking at you!) And usually get turned on to something new. Mind you, this happens on streaming services now, but I dunno, maybe I was more excited by new music and more receptive in my youth.

A newer artist I really dig is Jon Hopkins. He collaborated with Karl and Eno on Pure Scenious, and can switch between teeth rattling techno and airy ambient no problem. His last two albums, "immunity" and this year's "singularity" are amazingly well produced and do have some longer tracks. Watch him on YouTube playing "Open Eye Signal" or "Everything Connected"... man's feeling it!

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

the boys in Autechre might have something to say about that


another group worth mentioning here is Mouse on Mars - they get that "IDM" tag a lot which seems to overrule everything but I never really got how they fit into that group, outside of the fact that they made strange electronic music. they released a new record this year which I haven't yet heard but really need to get around to. I feel like they're one of those groups that gets perpetually underrated, they don't really "stand out" per se but if I put on one album I always feel the need to play two or three more.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

Ah yeah, their debut still gets the occasional spin around here. Fit into that same progressive house / trance sound as Chicane's debut and ESCM by BT, before trance went fully into the commercial 'Ibiza' sound.

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

now there's a name i haven't heard in a long time..
looks like they've been busy since 2000, might
have to catch up with them.

their albums were solid, and so were the singles.

loved pretty much everything they put out.

they did some cool collaborations with fluke, called pistolero
also.

*UPDATE : listening to 'mutant theater' from this year.

first song - return to pistolero - 11 minutes, and every song on there is 5 min, with most
being much longer... great return to style

later
-1

Re: Underworld Electronica contemporaries
 

I know, right? Early Juno Reactor and Moby spoke to me, a kid with cheap keyboards and effects pedals, thinking, "This is the music I'm trying to make, but so much better!". Revisiting Juno Reactor's discography today has been very enjoyable. The Fluke remix of Pistolero has been a long time favorite.

Can I single Propellerheads out for a moment? I know they only had one LP, but it was excellent. A handful of EPs, too, all Excellent. I really enjoyed that they had live drums courtesy of Will White ( later with Orbital spin-off Long Range) that sounded like loops, but with groove. Nice mix of spy, hip-hop and electro.