Finding similar music to the TRON: Legacy soundtrack.

December 15, 2010 7:32 AM

I'm addicted to Daft Punk's TRON: Legacy soundtrack and really want to find more music in the same style as it's not like their other stuff. I love the dark/forboding and futuristic tracks like "The Son of Flynn" and "Solar Sailer". Can anyone help?
posted by Hates_ to Media & Arts (26 answers total)

You want Vangelis. I'd start with the Bladerunner soundtrack. His stuff has a bit of a dated sound, but that chunky square-wave is coming back in style.
posted by cosmicbandito at 7:35 AM on December 15, 2010

Maybe it's just me, but the TRON:Legacy soundtrack reminds me a lot of the score for The Dark Knight
posted by dforemsky at 7:53 AM on December 15, 2010

You might enjoy: Studio.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:05 AM on December 15, 2010

I think the TRON soundtrack is remarkably similar to the Inception soundtrack.
posted by Joh at 8:06 AM on December 15, 2010

Response by poster: Indeed, the orchestral pieces are very similar to The Dark Knight and Inception. It's the futuristic ones I would like to find songs for. A lot like the Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer music.
posted by Hates_ at 8:11 AM on December 15, 2010

I haven't listened to that soundtrack persay, but if you like Daft, I'd look at the following:

Justice
MSTRKRFT
Ed Banger
Adam Freeland
Mylo
Simian
Wolfgang Gartner
Jape
Kavinsky
Gui Borratto
posted by Hurst at 8:19 AM on December 15, 2010

Autechre (though more glitchy than the TRON: Legacy OST), some Aphex Twin. A good keyword to search might be IDM.
posted by proj at 8:33 AM on December 15, 2010

I think you're going to have good luck with soundtracks/scores for this.

First, I want to definitely second Vangelis.
Also Trent Reznor's soundtrack for The Social Network.
Maybe some of the tracks from the original Tron soundtrack?
posted by aganders3 at 8:52 AM on December 15, 2010

You could try recent stuff from The Knife. It's not much like Daft Punk but it's forboding and electronic.
posted by fire&wings at 9:15 AM on December 15, 2010

Following the same path as you, last.fm took Daft Punk and gave me deadmau5
posted by Oktober at 9:28 AM on December 15, 2010

Everyone, OP says: really want to find more music in the same style as it's not like their other stuff.
posted by proj at 9:34 AM on December 15, 2010

A lot like the Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer music.

The Deus Ex 2 soundtrack is pretty good.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 10:12 AM on December 15, 2010

Actually this one is my favourite track from the Deus Ex 2 soundtrack.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 10:14 AM on December 15, 2010

Perhaps "Mezzanine" by Massive Attack
posted by Fiery Jack at 11:05 AM on December 15, 2010

Son of Flynn and Solar Sailor are generally going to be filed under Ambient or Chill-Out

Here are some of my faves:

Tangerine Dream - Love on a Real Train

Junk Project - Composure

Also Vangelis (particularly the bladerunner soundtrack)

Art of Noise - Moments in Love

Orbital - Belfast
posted by empath at 11:11 AM on December 15, 2010

Gas: Nah und Fern. Listen and buy on Bleep.
posted by Nelson at 11:16 AM on December 15, 2010

(To help elicit better answers, here's an extended medley of music from the TRON soundtrack for people who aren't familiar with it.)

It's a bit more chiptune than Daft Punk's work, but you might like PPPPPP, the soundtrack for popular indie game VVVVVV. Parts of it are pretty upbeat, but some tracks match the TRON stuff nicely.

I'd also recommend the score for Sunshine, for the sweeping orchestral/eerie electronica vibe.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:47 AM on December 15, 2010

Several of the tracks quote Aaron Copland fairly obviously.
posted by rhizome at 3:09 PM on December 15, 2010

You want to listen to Solar Bears, e.g. Twin Stars from the album She Was Coloured In.
posted by philscience at 4:12 PM on December 15, 2010

Above me, Hurst mentioned Justice, and I have to agree. As soon as I saw your question, I thought of this.

Also, -hell yeah-. I didn't yet know Daft Punk was doing the music for TRON. _Thank you_ for the head's up.
posted by DisreputableDog at 9:19 PM on December 15, 2010

Thomas Bangalter (1/2 of daft punk) did the soundtrack to the movie Irriversible, which has a lot of similar sounding tracks.

Night Beats
Outrage
posted by hellojed at 11:30 PM on December 15, 2010

You're in luck! This kind of music, or at least something similar, has actually kinda come into fashion lately in a quasi-80s-nostalgia kind of way (but way more interesting than just straight up nostalgia/tribute, I reckon). I don't follow it too closely myself, but you might want to look at Solar Bears as philscience said above, or maybe some folk like Oneohtrix Point Never, Stellar OM Source or Dylan Ettinger.
posted by Dim Siawns at 11:34 PM on December 16, 2010

I've been trying to find out if there's a specific name for this minor-key, pulsating style of music. There's very similar music on the soundtracks to the Bourne trilogy, Inception, and The Fourth Kind.
posted by dopeydad at 7:02 PM on January 26, 2011

The Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 soundtracks are what you (and I, having discovered this question) are looking for.
posted by slimepuppy at 7:13 AM on February 4, 2011

Not sure how on the mark this'd be, but my husband loves that soundtrack too despite normally not caring for Daft Punk. He went out and bought it as soon as finished the movie which surprised me. Other soundtracks he adores include anything by Goblin/Libra/Simonetti Morante & Pignatelli, John Carpenter's stuff esp. the Halloween III soundtrack and Escape From New York, Brad Fiedel's scores for the first two Terminator movies and The Serpent and the Rainbow, the atmospheric score to Let's Scare Jessica to Death. BTW, the most recent Portishead album Third has a song on it that is a very blunt direct homage to the Terminator theme.
posted by ifjuly at 10:03 AM on March 2, 2011

I have the feeling you will much enjoy this track,

Actress - Maze (Long Version)

posted by prithee at 12:59 PM on March 2, 2011