Looking for electronic music that features guitars.

August 6, 2007 1:30 AM

Looking for electronic music that features guitars.

I'm an electronic musician who is interested in learning to play the guitar. I've been listening to my collection of music for inspiration, but found I have precious few songs with guitars in them at all.

Can anyone recommend electronic music that features guitars? It doesn't have to be an amazing guitar player, or a guitar-heavy song -- just incorporating a guitar as part of the overall sound would be fine.

Most of the electronic music I enjoy falls into the trance, techno, eurodance, or ambient/ downtempo/ chillout categories, but I'm open to suggestions from any (primarily electronic) genre. Any style of guitar from acoustic to distorted metal is fine.

Here are a few artists I've already found that sometimes include guitars: Moby, Way out West, Euphoria, Junkie XL, Deep Dish, Royksopp, BT.

Thanks!

posted by mmoncur to media & arts (62 comments total)

I know Fischerspooner has a couple of songs that use the guitar.
I'm going to bed right now, though. i'll get you a list tomorrow. (hopefully.)
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 1:38 AM on August 6, 2007

Contriva, Masha Qrella, The Go Find. This is stuff often tagged as "indietronica" on last.fm

Much of the music that comes out of the Morr and Monika labels might be interesting to you.
posted by uandt at 1:43 AM on August 6, 2007

Fila Brazillia is my favorite band that manages to integrate guitar with electronic sounds. You'll often see their name spelled "Fila Brazilia." A Touch of Cloth is my favorite album but I like everything I've ever heard.
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:17 AM on August 6, 2007

I'm sure that some of FSOL's ("Future Sound of London") stuff has guitars in it - both their earlier work, and the more recent 60's inspired weirdness.

Apollo 440 definitely have some guitar tracks which mixes well into their fast electronic/dance sound.

I'll have to check when I get home, but I also think that Archive has some guitar based tracks on one of their albums.
posted by Chunder at 2:39 AM on August 6, 2007

You definitely want to check out Digitalism - they have an album out now called Idealism. Great Stuff IMO. Also check out Justice - they have an album out called 'cross'.
posted by razzman at 3:18 AM on August 6, 2007

Ratatat is electronic-style music played on guitars.

Robert Fripp's "Frippertronics" stuff is very chillout electronica in style. Mindblowing YouTube clip of Fripp in action.
posted by oh pollo! at 3:21 AM on August 6, 2007

Zero 7.
posted by iviken at 3:34 AM on August 6, 2007

I highly recommend you get the album "Reunion" by The Flashbulb. The best recent electronic music featuring guitars that I can think of. I read that the guy usually makes IDM and sequenced music but that for that album he used no computers. So it has synths and guitars. Really great stuff.

Also try "Of Montreal" - their last three albums have lots of electronic bits with their guitars. I like "The Sunlandic Twins" best, myself. Beware - the music is supremely catchy.

Minotaur Shock's album, "Maritime", has some nice guitars in some of the songs. Much of the time you really have to pick them out, they can be unrecognizable sometimes but they add a real organic warmth to the songs.

Other than that, there was (still is?) a metal trend in the psytrance scene for a while. The SUN Project used to be a metal band before they went all Goa and psytrance. (aside: I've hung out with them before and I would say that they were pretty metal). I heard a live psytrance act at the "Shiva Moon" open-air in Germany in 2003. I'll bet there are still tons of them around. One popular song by another act called The Delta was "As a Child I Could Walk on the Ceiling". Rip Van Hippy's "Surf Mars" has some great little bits of guitar in there. If I remember correctly, PelinPala's album "My CD Has Landed on the Next Door Neighbour's Dog" actually had some jazz guitar in there - it's a pretty trippy album - I highly recommend it anyway.

I second the Fila Brazillia recommendation. I really liked the "Luck Be A Weirdo Tonight" album but I can't specifically remember any guitars.

Good luck! Oh, and please link to some of your music!
posted by redteam at 3:35 AM on August 6, 2007

+1 for Flashbulb. Incredible live and on record.
Also, check out Squarepusher - Ultravisitor and Drumcorps.
posted by knowles at 3:38 AM on August 6, 2007

Found the compilation: "Guitars on Mushroom Vol 1: Rockin' Psytrance" while searching. At least it gives you a lot of band names. On the tracklist I linked to, the band names are on the right.

Oh, and I put Of Montreal in quotes up there ... all the other artists I mentioned are not in quotes. Of Montreal is a (damn good) band.
posted by redteam at 3:40 AM on August 6, 2007

Thanks everyone! Still exploring all of these but here are a few I really like so far:

Digitalism - not too many guitars, but a great album - I bought it a week ago on iTunes and forgot all about it.

Ratatat - WOW! That's what I'm talking about. Just ordered both of their albums.

Apollo 440 - I had one of their albums and had forgotten it was guitar-heavy - I'll have to look at their other stuff.

Keep 'em coming!

P. S. Some of my music (probably pre-guitar) will be on Mefi Music soon.
posted by mmoncur at 3:45 AM on August 6, 2007

The most recent album by Boards of Canada features some good guitar parts in many of the songs. Excellent downtempo, trippy electronic music, and one of my favorite albums.
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 3:47 AM on August 6, 2007

New Order, Radiohead (Amnesiac especially), Stars...
posted by unSane at 3:47 AM on August 6, 2007

I've recommended it before here on AskMe, but try and find a copy of Matmos' The West. It fits perfectly in with what you're looking for. 8 years later and I still love it.
posted by snez at 3:47 AM on August 6, 2007

Broken by Nine Inch Nails
posted by SpacemanRed at 3:50 AM on August 6, 2007

The album "Discovery" by Daft Punk has a few notable instances of electric guitar use, including the songs "One More Time" and "Aerodynamic."
posted by saladin at 4:09 AM on August 6, 2007

You might try Metafilter's Own^TM Brad Sucks. The balance between electronica and straight-up rock changes (sometimes drastically) from song to song, but you can hear all his stuff free on the website, so it's worth a try.
posted by danb at 4:18 AM on August 6, 2007

M83's Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts has a lot of textural guitar in it.
posted by spartacusroosevelt at 4:24 AM on August 6, 2007

You should defo check out Fennesz, too - his use of guitar is pretty inventive, to the extent that watching him live you often can't really understand how the guitar is responsible for the sounds you hear.

His collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Peter Rehberg & Jim O'Rourke (as Fenn O'Berg) would certainly give you some great ideas about how to use guitar in an electronic music context, as would his live album. (That said, if you're into Ratatat and Apollo 440, Fennesz might be further into the wanky improv left field than you want to go?)

Also, when I think of guitars and electronics, Mouse On Mars spring to mind - I'm not sure what they're up to nowadays, but in the mid/late '90s they were using guitars a lot.
posted by jack_mo at 4:39 AM on August 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

You really want to check out Battles - they're basically a dance act that use guitars bass and drums. Amongst other things.
posted by influx at 4:41 AM on August 6, 2007

Sound Tribe Sector 9 (or STS9) is an electronic-jam-band-thingy or something. I havent heard them in a while, but you could check them out, they have lots of guitar, and their studio bits are not so "jammy". The Disco Biscuits could be considered another, if they still call themselves "trancefusion", but that's way more "jammy" and you need a nap between songs.
posted by Palerale at 4:41 AM on August 6, 2007

Artists:

The Postal Service
The Notwist
Caribou
posted by ludwig_van at 4:43 AM on August 6, 2007

Mylo
posted by jon4009 at 4:54 AM on August 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

Andain - Beautiful Things
posted by phatkitten at 5:52 AM on August 6, 2007

AIR uses a good bit of guitar, acoustic and electric. Also, ADULT.'s newer albums have some pretty solid electric guitar.
posted by SansPoint at 5:56 AM on August 6, 2007

Rinocerose might be up your alley.
posted by box at 6:08 AM on August 6, 2007

Laika
posted by minkll at 6:28 AM on August 6, 2007

Michael Brook Cobalt Blue
posted by doctor_negative at 6:33 AM on August 6, 2007

More in the vein of psytrance with guitars - Infected Mushroom!!!
posted by infinityjinx at 6:45 AM on August 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

This stuff is definitely on the more chill side of your spectrum. These albums are definitely electronic, but are mostly driven by the guitar. Not sure if that's what you're looking for..

Air - The Virgin Suicides soundtrack
Juana Molina - Segundo
Manitoba (now called Caribou) - Up in Flames
posted by Sasquatch at 7:06 AM on August 6, 2007

30 comments and nobody has suggested KMFDM.
posted by baphomet at 7:12 AM on August 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

Any style of guitar from acoustic to distorted metal is fine.

Try some Godflesh.

Essential metal/electronics hybrid.
posted by The Straightener at 7:18 AM on August 6, 2007

Also, Robert Rich has a guitar oriented project that's more likely up your alley called Ameoba.
posted by The Straightener at 7:23 AM on August 6, 2007

nthing Robert Fripp. Any of his stuff will do, especially the Fripp and Eno, although the Ambient stuff can be a bit numbing. Try the recent re-release of his first solo album, and any number of King Crimson albums.
posted by Gungho at 7:24 AM on August 6, 2007

The Kovenant is hilarious. A run of the mill black metal band that gradually had an electronic, Zigy Stardust sound.
posted by munchingzombie at 7:34 AM on August 6, 2007

The Whitest Boy Alive
The Notwist (specifically Neon Golden)
posted by camcgee at 8:20 AM on August 6, 2007

Killing Joke
Atari Teenage Riot
posted by DieHipsterDie at 8:22 AM on August 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

Gary Numan.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 8:44 AM on August 6, 2007

Analog Pussy (hard psy) uses bass guitar, does that count? (They're also seriously badass).
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:04 AM on August 6, 2007

Does Massive Attack count as electronic?
posted by timeistight at 9:16 AM on August 6, 2007

luke vibert + bj cole : stop the panic - Hawaiian Steel guitar. Fun.
posted by enfa at 9:33 AM on August 6, 2007

dDamage
although it might not "sound" like a guitar.
posted by SageLeVoid at 9:35 AM on August 6, 2007

In the same vein as Fripp, I have always been impressed by the guitar work of the Durutti Column. Especially the album Vini Reilly. There is a minimalism and vertical orientation to the music that appeals to electronic musicians.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:42 AM on August 6, 2007

the "Earthling" album by David Bowie

To expand on what some others have mentioned, Scorn and Jesu cover some of the same territory as Godflesh. (one of my favorite record reviews ever was for a Godflesh album and was basically "walls of inpenentrable guitar noise hung over plodding unhuman drum beats. Highly recomended")

In addition to the Fripp stuff mentioned, check out the ProjeKcts (King Crimson related solo projects, often electronic in nature).

Some Buckethead albums are basically electronica albums with bizarre skitering scattering bleepblooping computer melting guitar histrionics. Aka, awesome.

In addition to STS9 and Disco Biscuits, Lake Trout also do a good job of mixing guitar and fuzz bass with electronica inspirations.
posted by alikins at 10:16 AM on August 6, 2007

nthing New Order.

If you're looking for house music that incorporates guitars, check out Kaskade's album Love Mysterious, which is very much house music, but has quite a bit of guitar work, as well.
posted by The World Famous at 10:28 AM on August 6, 2007

Wow! Thanks, enfa, I totally forgot about that Vibert/Cole album! All the songs on it are golden! I recommend that one, too.

If I can hijack for a second ... does anyone remember a fun little house(?) track from '98 or so that featured a banjo?
posted by redteam at 10:28 AM on August 6, 2007

Try Champion from Montreal.

Listen to this song.

Some great guitar sampling.
posted by ageispolis at 10:44 AM on August 6, 2007

"Pure Energy (I Wanna Know)" by Information Society has the baddest guitar riff/breakdown ever created.
posted by DefendBrooklyn at 10:47 AM on August 6, 2007

LCD Soundsystem (first eponymous album, not so much Sound of Silver)
posted by mkultra at 11:04 AM on August 6, 2007

Try Champion from Montreal.
Some great guitar sampling.

Those guitar riffs aren't samples. His band (The G Strings) consists of four guitars, a bass and a singer.
posted by Monk at 12:05 PM on August 6, 2007

i'm surpised no one has mentioned the books yet. really great experimental electronic/guitar stuff.

check out bibio. this guy does crazy good stuff with mostly tape loops that he records. very impressive.

tunng are also very worth a listen if you're at all into folk/electronic hybrids. they get tagged as folktronica on last.fm, which is pretty accurate actually.
posted by christy at 12:15 PM on August 6, 2007

redteam: That record was Swampthing by The Grid, whose album featured... Robert Fripp. He does get around, that man.

I'd be remiss if I didn't self-link here - Waiting for the End, SeaSong, Fingertip Testing by Cultural Amnesia.
posted by Grangousier at 1:46 PM on August 6, 2007

Chiming in late here, but definitely give I'm Not a Gun a try. (Link to someone's Vox page audio selection.)

I'm Not a Gun is John Tejada, electronic artist/producer/dj extraordinaire, and Takeshi Nishimoto, a talented 7-string playing Japanese guitarist/composer. Check out the album, Our Lives on Wednesdays.
posted by QueSeraSera at 2:14 PM on August 6, 2007

the berserker?
posted by Palerale at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2007

ozric tentacles
posted by singingfish at 3:10 PM on August 6, 2007

Wow, Grangousier! I've only been looking for the name of that song for the past nine years. With that out of the way I guess all that's left is seeing the Aurora Borealis, climbing Everest, and flying around in the eye of a hurricane, then I'm done with this world. Thanks!

Sorry for the hijacking, mmoncur! To make up for my indiscretion, I present more tracks:

"Hireklon" by Ricardo Villalobos on the "Thé Au Harem D'archimède" album (or maybe it's a harp or dulcimer?)

"Plotinus" by Squarepusher on his (100% awesome) "Hello Everything" album.

Also, check out two albums by Flanger: "Outer Space-Inner Space" and "Spirituals" - the latter has tons of guitar.
posted by redteam at 4:07 PM on August 6, 2007

The song "Ghostwriter" by RJD2 on the "Deadringer" album.
posted by redteam at 4:19 PM on August 6, 2007

Seconding Ozric Tentacles ('Jurassic Shift' 'Spirals in Hyperspace' 'Pungent Effulgent'). Also M83 (try 'Before the Dawn Heals Us').
posted by Rufus T. Firefly at 4:27 PM on August 6, 2007

Seconding some other ones, and adding a few more.

Most of them are more along the industrial/goth genre line, but they're a great example of seamlessly mixing electronic-based music and guitars.

Nine Inch Nails
Marilyn Manson
Prick
Pop Will Eat Itself
KMFDM
Rammstein
Prince
Rob Zombie (not so much White Zombie, though)
Sisters of Mercy
Skinny Puppy
Stahlhammer (kinda like Rammstein, but they do an interesting cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight")
Tiamat
Tomahawk
Peeping Tom
Mr. Bungle
Lovage (you'd really dig this if you haven't heard it yet.)
Wumpscut
Zeromancer
And Christ Wept
Beck (yeahdude, that Beck)
Bigod 20
Black Heart Procession (softer, indie-type stuff. You'd probably dig it)
David Bowie (someone mentioned "Earthland", I say try "Outside" as well)
Depeche Mode
Emergence (a bit more "upbeat" electronic stuff, try songs like "The Creeping Hours")
posted by revmitcz at 6:32 PM on August 6, 2007

Thanks again everyone. This is going to take me months to go through.

I'm glad I was deliberately vague about genre because there's a lot of stuff here I never would have considered but will probably enjoy anyway.
posted by mmoncur at 5:00 AM on August 7, 2007

Here are two Mefi Music mp3's from my old band, Denim and Diamonds (more music here). All synth and guitar. And vocals. And samples.
posted by Item at 5:26 AM on August 7, 2007

A few songs from one of my brother's projects:

Fusion of synth, live drums, drum tracks, samples, live guitar (my brother), live bass and bass tracks. They call it trip rock.
posted by syzygy at 5:39 AM on August 7, 2007