Where Can I Find More Buttons to Fuck?
September 12, 2016 3:19 PM   Subscribe

What if I told you that early 70's Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and Boards of Canada went and made their own little bloopity-bip digital baby?

Okay, so.

There's this absolutely stunning electronica band.

They call themselves The Fuck Buttons.

They sound like early 70's Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and Boards of Canada had a baby together.

Where can I find more of this kind of psyched-out, banged-up, but melodic music?

And it can't be scary, please. No links to Aphex Twin, s'il vous plait.
posted by Lipstick Thespian to Media & Arts (15 answers total) 32 users marked this as a favorite
 
I assume you've already checked out blanck mass?
posted by advil at 3:30 PM on September 12, 2016 [3 favorites]


You might like Mouse On Mars or Marumari or Lusine, all of which sometimes have a crunchy melodic motorik thing going on.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 3:38 PM on September 12, 2016


I just skimmed through the Fuck Buttons' "Slow Focus" over a few minutes, and I found plenty there that I would classify as scary/harsh, and I know of some Aphex Twin music that is much more melodic and mellow than some of what I just heard.
Just sayin'.

As for other psyched-out, banged-up melodic (electronic) music, check out
Tame Impala (e.g. New Person, Same Old Mistakes)
Black Moth Super Rainbow (e.g. Dreamsicle Bomb)
Squarepusher (e.g. A Journey to Reedham)

For less banged-up but still psychedelic and related electronic goodness,

The Flaming Lips (e.g. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2 )
Stereolab (e.g. Super Electric)
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:51 PM on September 12, 2016 [4 favorites]


Was also thinking Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots :))
posted by jbenben at 3:54 PM on September 12, 2016 [2 favorites]


More on the Black Sabbath / Deep Purple / Talking Heads end of psychedelia than the Boards of Canada end (e.g. guitars more than synths), but I just saw these folks live and woah:

Wand -- Ganglion Reef
Wand -- Golem
Wand -- 1000 Days
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 4:08 PM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


I saw the Fuck Buttons live back in 2008 as an opening band to Mogwai. I didn't quite understand them live that first time, but I grew to like the after listening to their albums. I'm also a big fan of Boards of Canada.
Thinking about the music I have and also the music that Spotify says is related, but also considering that it's been a while since I actually listened to their albums, consider the following:
* Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun
* Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That
* Battles - Mirrored
* Portishead - 3
* Dan Deacon - Bromst

These may be a little "brighter" than the Fuck Buttons, but I think they tickle a similar itch in the brain.
posted by GeneticFreek at 5:31 PM on September 12, 2016 [3 favorites]


Best answer: I posted from a phone earlier so I didn't give too much detail beyond my one rec. I really, really like fuck buttons also, and aside from literal side projects (namely blanck mass, especially their most recent album "dumb flesh") there's not much that's like it. But here's some expanded suggestions that in various ways hit similar notes for me:

gang gang dance (similar build and flow to songs, similar balance of guitar vs not guitar, but vocals)
Oneohtrix Point Never, especially the most recent album (which this link is from).
apparat, at least sometimes. Also occasionally moderat.
crystal castles, sometimes
emeralds
Jon Hopkins sometimes (this song at least)
Slightly odd suggestion but sometimes todd terje works for me in a similar way, even though the overt sound is quite different.
Nathan Fake

similar epic-ness / slow builds, but not necessarily other elements
There's a lot of psych-influenced post-rock that fb are building on. E.g. God is an astronaut.
stuff like bitcrush (note that that link is cheating slightly because it's a remix, but it's my absolute favorite song by them, discovered via this mix.)
lights out asia
port-royal

specific songs maybe along these lines

andy stott - no surrender
deastro - open up ye dark gates. (Other deastro may work, e.g. wind powered. But it's a bit all over the place.)
health - in violet
Nils Frahm - Peter (Clark remix)

Also, if you want, I can share a playlist I made last year for a swap that is centered partly around fuck buttons "sentients" (as well as this clark song); if so drop me a mefimail with a dropbox appropriate email address.
posted by advil at 5:43 PM on September 12, 2016 [5 favorites]


I came to recommend:

Blanck Mass
Tim Hecker
Andy Stott
Demdike Stare
Vatican Shadow
posted by naju at 6:17 PM on September 12, 2016 [4 favorites]


Couple others to look into:

Arca
Ben Frost
posted by naju at 6:33 PM on September 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


This could be all wrong, but Vancouver's Black Mountain has been getting rather Meddle-era Pink Floyd of late. To whit, "Space to Bakersfield":

https://youtu.be/HYyCSplpABU
posted by baseballpajamas at 7:23 PM on September 12, 2016


From your language, I'm guessing you're not from the UK so hopefully these recommendations won't be blindingly obvious as the "scene" surrounding these artists is fairly well established now.

The inner circle includes:
Blanck Mass for obvious reasons is the closest you'll get
Ben Frost is incredible and, especially live, is very similar in that droney ndma-antagonistic way
Yellow Swans
The Haxan Cloak

More peripheral but still frequently similar artists include Oneohtrix/Lopotin, Emptyset, some Tim Becker stuff and even Kangding Ray.

I'm also massively confused by suggestions such as Flaming Lips and Marine Stern?! However do agree that Fuck Buttons can be dark/scary as fuck.
posted by turkeyphant at 9:05 PM on September 12, 2016 [2 favorites]


I got some good answers to this AskMe a few years back (which was, essentially, what sounds like Blanck Mass?)

In addition to all the good suggestions here, I'd add:
Teeth of the Sea's more electro-oriented stuff.
Holy Fuck (at least some of the time).
posted by Sonny Jim at 8:13 AM on September 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


The Field does a good line in the sort of textural stuff that make up some of Fuck Buttons sound - layered microsamples put together in swirling dense hypnotic techno. Less aggressive than the Buttons of Fuck, but definitely in a similar head space.

Also, maybe Necro Deathmort. Yes, I know you said "not scary", the name is misleading. Or at least, it is for some of their output, they vary hugely between albums/EPs. EP3 and the album The Capsule are both quite dense textural synth stuff, more in a motorik kind of vein. The earlier stuff sounds more like you'd expect a band called Necro Deathmort to sound, so perhaps pass on that.
posted by parm at 8:29 AM on September 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


(in fact, seeing Teeth of the Sea and Necro Deathmort in the same thread makes me think checking out more stuff on Rocket Recordings might be an idea - they veer more towards psyche in general but also do a great line in synthy motorik stuff too)
posted by parm at 8:31 AM on September 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


Slow Focus reminds me of some of the remixes on HEALTH's Disco and Disco2. It might be worth your while to listen to those two albums and look for stuff from the remixers that floats your boat.
posted by Kreiger at 2:02 PM on September 13, 2016 [2 favorites]


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