FUTURE DISKO

January 24, 2011 6:23 PM

Hey, Music nerds! I'm looking for tracks with the same kind of vibe as Justus Köhncke's "Timecode" or Alden Tyrell's "Love Explosion".

I've done some research online and have had some luck with artists on Kompakt or Bpitch like Jonas Bering and Ellen Allien, which (when great) are great- my problem is that the large bulk of stuff out there seems to be basically filler tracks with a kick drum and ambient pads. I'm dying to hear another Timecode- that track gives me goosebumps.

Super extra bonus points: Stuff not in English, particularly German!

posted by dunkadunc to media & arts (10 answers total)

Also Sie mögen Deutsche musik anhören!

You could try Michael Mayer, who's on Kompakt, or Apparat, who did an album with Ellen Allien. Give the DJ Kicks! album by Erlend Oye a shot. Check out The Field. I dunno if any of this stuff will line up with what you're looking for, but I enjoyed it, especially Erlend Oye and Michael Mayer's album 'Immer.'

I'm not a huge techno-head, so when I need a recommendation I usually look to Pitchfork - I mean, I know they're snobby and all, but I usually like the stuff they like.
posted by boghead at 6:54 PM on January 24, 2011

Herbie Hancock - Rockit

Anything by Ratatat.
posted by belau at 8:29 PM on January 24, 2011

Alden Tyrell's "There May Be Dark Days Ahead" is one of the handful of songs I've heard in my lifetime that was so good I had to pull over my car and call the radio station to ask about it. (Aerobicise warning in the video...) Gui Boratto (loads of stuff available on YouTube) and Michael Heilrath (can't find any YouTube vids, but I think he has a MySpace page... look for the soundtrack to the movie Shoppen to start) are artists that give me similar "this touches me more than most dance music" feelings.
posted by mintcake! at 11:12 PM on January 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

Well, you'll like the Pet Shop Boys, or at least Rent.

More seriously, you might like stuff on the D.C. label, like Padded Cell or the Emperor Machine. Other labels you might like: Get Physical and Spectral, both of whom have released excellent comps & mixes. Maybe some Morgan Geist stuff. You might try his Unclassics mix, or his Metro Area stuff (the Metro Area Fabric mix is very fun). Maybe Matthew Dear, at the very least I bet you'll love Dog Days. I-f's Mixed Up In The Hague mix is ground zero for the rediscovery of weirdo post-disco dance music-- very influential. Italo disco has a well-deserved reputation for cheese, but if you can develop a tolerance for terrible English-as-a-second-language lyrics, I suspect you'll really like it. This comp isn't a terrible place to start. In general, ILM would be a better place to look for this sort of stuff, but I'd recommend searching their archives rather than asking a question-- they can be unkind to newbies.
posted by TayBridge at 11:37 PM on January 24, 2011

Go to Beatport and browse the minimal charts. You should find tons of it.
posted by empath at 5:50 AM on January 25, 2011

my problem is that the large bulk of stuff out there seems to be basically filler tracks with a kick drum and ambient pads.

Keep in mind that the vast majority of this stuff is meant to be mixed by DJs. You'd almost never hear these tracks on their own in their 'natural environment'. You were never meant to listen to them straight through from beginning to end.

I don't really follow that scene much, but try a mix like Dubfire and Loco Dice's Cocoon mix cd. You'll see how those 'filler' tracks are meant to be used.
posted by empath at 5:58 AM on January 25, 2011

Tocotronic: Pure Vernunft Darf Niemals Siegen (Superpitcher & Wasserman single mix)
The MFA: The Difference It Makes (slow build, but totally worth it)
The Chromatics: Hands In The Dark (more Italo than German, but perhaps still relevant to your interests?)
Oliver Hacke: 21-31 (more minimal-ish, but still one of my favorites)
posted by en forme de poire at 8:35 AM on January 25, 2011

That Justus Köhncke track sounds to my ears like early nu disco with a minimal feel. There's a huge world to explore there, but recommendations for melodic minimal like Gui Boratto, or nu disco like Morgan Geist, that'll certainly get you going in that direction.

On the other hand, Alden Tyrell? I love that tune, I've got stacks of that kind of thing on vinyl. I'd describe it as nu talo or nu electro, and as mentioned above, I-F is the one of the key people in that scene. So for associated things, check out anything on Viewlexx, his record label, and Intergalactic FM where they stream all sorts of italo, nu electro, nu disco, cosmic disco, etc. Also loads of DJ mixes from that scene at RobotDJ.net

Some specific tracks and artists, off the top of my head:
Freak Electrique - Cloud Surfer
Elitechnique - Minirimini
Mr Pauli - Der Alte
Rude 66 - The 1000 Year Storm
Legowelt - Disco Rout
posted by iivix at 2:44 AM on January 26, 2011 [2 favorites]

* "nu italo" that should say.
posted by iivix at 2:44 AM on January 26, 2011

Hm, thanks for all the suggestions so far! Any minimal-feeling nu-italo suggestions would be awesome.
posted by dunkadunc at 4:48 PM on January 27, 2011