Spurred by Hylidae’s recent appearance on Cityscape, we decided to trace that line between ambient drone and melodic pop music. Here, we're presenting six tracks from STL artists who draw that line with different tools and tones.
All acts rely heavily on digital and electronic hardware including synthesizers (sometimes home-assembled), samplers and software.
Golden Curls: Sarah Downen and Noah Blackwell formed as the two musicians traded snippets of songs via the internet. The pair released their first EP Warm Fiction in 2012.
Raglani: In 2008 Joseph Raglani released an album on kranky, a record label that often functions as a synonym for textured electronically produced music with a blissed out or experimental feel. His releases have tapered off in recent years but that album still holds strong.
Black James: Extra-warped dance music. Jennifer McDaniel’s solo project veers from long-form mixes of sampled songs to short audio collages with a heavy dance beat.
Feeling Curious? Similar national artists include Tim Hecker, Beach House, Tara Jane O’Neil, and Black Moth Super Rainbow.
The audio from Cityscape:
Audio Agitation is a reccurring six-song playlist culled from recent releases or shaped by events in St. Louis' ever-changing music scene. If you're from the STL area or Missouri and you're putting out a record you think we should hear, send a heads' up to warnold@stlpublicradio.org.
