So, my love for music started early with the classics—The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Todd Rundgren were my go-tos. But things really shifted for me when Warp Records artists started coming out of the UK. That sound changed the way I looked at music.
Both of these styles hit different for me, but they both satisfy in their own way. I’m curious—does anyone know of artists who’ve managed to blend those hypnotic electronic sounds with classic harmony and song structure? I’d love to hear any suggestions you’ve got!
Would love to hear any other cool clashes of genres you find interesting!
Ah, totally! You hit the nail on the head there. Should’ve thought of Radiohead myself—‘Idioteque’ is an absolute gem. This artist you mentioned sounds super intriguing. I’ll definitely give it a spin! Thanks for the tip, much appreciated!
Minor keys and nostalgia vibes from Warp like BOC and the Beatles and Floyd. Not a collision of genres but actually much closer than you think. Even the lyrics complement. I think a lot of Warp groups are inspired by tge Beatles and Floyd. I say this as a fan of the groups you mention and the Warp label.
Not in the particular styles you mentioned, but if we’re talking about acts that can give some people “genre whiplash”, my mind often goes to Secret Chiefs 3 (although you could simply resort to calling them a rock band if you prefer), as well as Bär McKinnon’s somewhat-related work as Umlaut. SC3 veers from metal, electronic, sound collage and middle eastern / various cultural styles, depending which lineup it is. Trey Spruance is one of those guys that infects everything he touches with creativity. I was told that they went through some really tough times in the past few years.
Hey, that’s a solid point! I recall reading an article a while back where BOC gave a shoutout to The Beatles as one of their influences. It’d be cool for me to hear some electronic artists that let that classic songwriting shine through, you know?
I also remember Richard James saying he couldn’t stand rock music, and yeah, Squarepusher—well, that definitely leans more into the jazz side of things.
As I’m in Barcelona at the moment I have to mention Rosalía. One of the most exciting genre boundary destroying artists to emerge from pop music. Her mashing of Flamenco with whatever else takes her fancy is just breathtaking. Hearing the El mal querer album for the first time was genuinely one of those wow I’ve never heard anything like this before moments and her last record Motomami is also ridiculously everywhere.
Ludicrously she’s been criticised for jumping all over the place but she’s brilliant at it and I hope she doesn’t settle into one thing.
Bjork seems like an obvious pick. I think her first few albums utilize more of a classic pop structure but I’ve always loved Vespertine for the way it incorporated the glitch “clicks n cuts” sound of the era:
Notwist too. I never followed them after Neon Golden, but I was obsessed with this album in high school:
