3six

36 is the experimental (mainly) ambient project of Dennis Huddleston from the United Kingdom. Since 2008, the focus for the project has been to develop warm, hugely emotive loop-based compositions, with particular emphasis on melody and melancholic atmosphere.

www.3six.net

3six.bandcamp.com

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1. Change - The End

The End is one of my absolute favourite tracks of all time. It's a synth instrumental sitting quite awkwardly at the end of a vocal disco album. It felt totally out of place on the album, but that's what makes it so special. It really blew me away the first time I heard it. It has this really infectious melody and driving progression that just floods me with happy memories. It's a tune that never felt like anything else I've ever heard.

2. Future Sound of London - Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea started my love affair with FSOL, which continues to this day. When I think of the absolute classic UK club tunes from the 90s, this is the one that sits above all the rest. The best tunes explore the full gamut of human responses and this one has it all. Uplifting, energetic, yet also quite melancholic. They've made some really exceptional albums over the years, but this will always be my go-to FSOL tune, simply because nearly 25 years after it was produced, nobody has yet to match it's brilliance.

3. Metalheads - Kemistry

I grew up listening to the UK hardcore and blossoming jungle scene in the early/mid 90s and it's a special era for me. It was a time of rampant experimentalism and the records released in 1992 were so abstract and alien. It's no wonder the UK government shit itself when flash raves of 10,000 people suddenly sprang out of nowhere, taking over fields, blasting out gunshots and airhorns! My favourite record of this era was by Goldie and his proto-Metalheadz gang, who released this amazing 4 track EP called Terminator. It's one of the most respected and influential records and ridiculously ahead of it's time. My favourite tune is Kemistry, but the whole EP doesn't have a single bad track on it. That's what I love about this record. Every single tune could have been a single, but they went the extra mile and released them all together on one legendary 12".

4. Tangerine Dream - Love On A Real Train

Love on A Real Train is a track most people should know by now. It's a timeless piece of music, that I must have probably played hundreds of times and still get goose bumps listening to it. Edgar Froese sadly passed away earlier this year, but his musical legacy will live forever, with this track as his crowning achievement for me.

5. Pulusha - Isolation

Isolation encapsulates everything I love about ambient music. It's warm, ultra-emotional introspective music, that paints a thousand pictures in your mind when listening to it. Mark Pritchard is a genius really, who can seemingly touch every genre of music and do something special with it.

6. Autechre - VLetrmx21

Autechre are two of my favourite producers and I have a lot of respect for them. They've had this uncompromising vision from the start and made some truly original music over the past 25 years. Along with Aphex Twin, they pretty much moulded my love of abstract electronic music. Though I love all their stuff, it's their more "traditional" ambient track 'VLetrmx21' that is my favourite of theirs. Again, it's a high point in what makes ambient music so attractive for me. It's an incredibly deep, ultra-emotional tune, that sounds like the soundtrack to a dying star.

7. Vangelis – Blade Runner Blues

Pretty self-explanatory for this one. Simply the most beautifully made sci-fi film and soundtrack ever.

I'm Kingfisher

Thomas Jonsson (born 1979) is an artist of the Swedish indie/folk underground scene. With an expression equally from the contemporary scene and the songsmiths' golden era he has toured extensively in Europe and made a few appearances in US. He has done many albums under different monikers (Thomas Denver Jonsson, Topeka Twins, A perfect friend, I'm Kingfisher) and collaborated with artists such as Jennie Stearns, Rosie Thomas, Damien Jurado, Ned Oldham, Bobby Baby, Dear Euphoria and C-J Larsgarden.

www.imkingfisher.com

www.facebook.com/imkingfisher

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1. Eli Na - Jasmine

One of my best and most inspiring musical friends Elina Johansson, formerly doing music as Dear Euphoria, is now resurrecting with an EP in April as Eli Na. I was mesmerized by her music when I got to know her around 2005-2006 and she guested both my third album as well as my newest fifth. Her music was one of a few really important things that inspired me to take my own songs in a direction away from the retro alt.country and into a more indie/folk-inspired style. 

2. Dwight Yoakam - Second Hand Heart

And speaking about direction. All of a sudden I got this really huge craving for Dwight Yoakam this past winter. I've been listening a lot to his '87 album Hillbilly Deluxe. And now he's releasing a new excellent album, back on the Reprise label where he once started. I don't know what to make of this massive impact of his music in terms of my own songwriting. To be honest, I'm not too comfortable by the thought of doing honky tonk and wearing a stetson hat. So I don't know what to do, I just know I have to do something.

3. Ash - Girl from Mars

From when it was released 1996, every time I listen to this, I'm just stunned. It's a perfect pop song. 

4. Johnny Cash - If you could read my mind

Regarding acoustic ballads, this is one of the best and one of the best versions ever made. Johnny Cash is treating every syllable with such comfort and pain. And the lyrics are excellent, never standing still, always in transformation. It's a heartbreaking, undramatic end of a relationship. About things just happening over the course of time, with no obvious reason. It's a topic I often return to myself and this song makes me cry every time. 

5. Tom Rush - Child's song

On the same topic, another one of those stripped, reflecting songs I adore. About cutting the strings to your family

and your childhood. About following your dreams. About farewells. God, I want Tom Rush to guest on my next album.

6. M. Ward - Lullaby + Exile

M. Ward is my favorite artist and guitarist. I couldn't do a list like this and not mentioning him. He's so timeless and riveting plus his guitar technique is a joy just watching. I've watched M. Ward play a couple of times and after that I got really interested in trying to take the guitar to new places, instead of just being a dull backing instrument. 

7. New Partner - Home

Went on tour with this band just a few weeks ago and not only did we became good friends (I usually don't

like people - but I like them!), their twisted, broken, sore folkpop gave me some answers how to finish some songs I got stuck with for my next album. Something how the beautiful, broken, fun and insane can collide.

Bersanin Quartett

There is no "quartet" as such - just several supporting musicians revolving around German composer Thomas Bucker - but the name does suggest the intimacy of chamber music if not its small-scale sound. The self-titled debut album contains slow, lumbering breakbeats cradling warm strings, and dark chords rendered with moody synths. The second album, simply called II, is a sort of movie music for the mind, and has been released by Denovali in 2012.

http://www.bersarin-quartett.de/

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01. Jean-Michel Jarre - Ethnicolor
Most impact in my childhood.
02. Burial - Ghost hardware
My favorite kind of clubmusic.
03. Mouse On Mars - Bib
Wonderful organic electronic music.
04. My Bloody Valentine - Soon
The beauty of distortion (1).
05. Tim Hecker - Stags, aircraft, kings and secretaries
The beauty of distortion (2).
06. The Necks - Sex
The beauty of repetition.
07. Lucrecia Dalt - Ara
Simply lovely music - reminds me of good times at madeiradig ... (feel free to google).

Coastal

Coastal formed in 1999 as a hybrid of several musicians who had played for years in different bands in the Provo, Utah area. The band debuted on Words On Music in 2001 with a self-titled album which is an inspired blend of restraint and tonal splendor, punctuating the contemplative atmospheres developed by artists such as Low and Ida. The album was released to great acclaim, and songs from Coastal were played by John Peel, the renowned British DJ, on his BBC Radio 1 show. In 2015 they released a collection of singles and unreleased stuff named Beneath the snow and streetlights.

http://www.coastalrock.com/

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1. Velour 100 - Calendar

Huge open space between the piano notes. Beautiful melodies. Painfully honest lyrics. Slow tempo. Dreamy. A lot of people think I was influenced by Low but I was way more into Velour 100 when Coastal was formed.

2. Hammock - Blankets of Night

This song knocked me on the ground the first time I heard it. Still does. If I could sound like any band I think it would be these guys. Brilliant.

3. The Cocteau Twins - Primitive Heart 

One of the few songs we’ve covered as a band. I proposed to Luisa while this song was playing. Been a huge fan of this band for years.

4. Red House Painters - Mistress 

Hugely influential to me. Amazing how he can craft such pain with such beauty. Achingly sad, yet soothing music.

5. The Field Mice – If You Need Someone

I’m a huge Sarah Records fan. The album Coastal by the Field Mice was an inspiration for our band name. I actually got a coastal CD to Bob Wratten and he dug it and complimented the name.

6. Slowdive - Waves 

One of the first Slowdive songs I heard in the early 90s. They’ve been a massive influence on me since then. Amazing to see them live last year. We went together as a band. Spoke to Al from Low at the gig and reminisced about playing with them in London circa 2003.

7. Siouxie and the Banshees – The Ghost in You

I can’t claim to be a longtime Siouxie fan but this song stops me in my tracks every time I hear it. Love the imagery it conjures.

Honorable Mentions: 

Lush  – Sweetness and Light

Ride – Vapor Trail

Boo Radleys – Does this Hurt? 

Billy Bragg – Tank Park Salute

Jessica Bailiff

Jessica Bailiff is an American singer-songwriter from Toledo, Ohio. She has been defined the queen of drone-folk. Bailiff was discovered by Low's Alan Sparhawk, who recommended her earlier demos to Kranky Records, the label on which Bailiff later recorded. Bailiff collaborated and released records with acts such as Odd Nosdam of anticon. and cLOUDDEAD fame, Low's Alan Sparhawk, Dave Pearce of Flying Saucer Attack, Casino Versus Japan, Rivulets and Annelies Monseré amongst others.

http://jessicabailiff.tumblr.com

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1. Flying Saucer Attack - Light In the Evening

Hearing FSA the first time ("My Dreaming HIll") propelled me into an obsession with recording at home. "Light In the Evening" inspired me to try to make songs that conveyed certain feelings using a contrast of harsh sounds and soft vocal melodies.

2. Low - On the Edge Of

I was amazed at how this three-piece band, whom I'd followed since their first album, could develop like this - from slow, minimal songs to lush ones full of sonic impact and beauty. Truly raw, brave, and emotional words in this one, and a great example of why Al's my favorite lyricist.

3. Codeine - Cave-In

The first few years I was writing with guitar, I stumbled upon Codeine songs all the time (which led to me covering one). It was frustrating and precious. I still adore them.

4. Nick Drake - Hazey Jane II

I was never a great guitarist or singer (Nick Drake, to me, was both), so I don't know how this song influenced me. But I do know that I listened to it a lot, especially in times of anxiety - it always calmed and re-centered me somehow.

5. Radiohead - Like Spinning Plates

The production on the album version of this is great - curious and playful recording techniques and sounds. It's also one of the most successful songs I've heard, as far as the music emulating what's being sung about.

6. Nico - Janitor of Lunacy

The simplicity of instrumentation is always compelling in this era of Nico's work. I love the idea of singing your guts out to a harmonium and nothing else.

7. My Bloody Valentine - I Need No Trust

There was a time when I absolutely devoured each song by my favorite bands. I would sit in front of my stereo and pan a song to the left channel, and then to the right, in order to hear more detail in an instrument or lyric, and pick it apart to see how it was done. I'd also re-EQ a song to bring out the part I was trying to figure out. I remember doing that with this song, and thinking I could hear that different vocal takes had been used make the one track that Kevin Shields sings. It was a sort of epiphany.

MWVM

Michael Walton is an electronic musician based in County Durham in the UK. He officially started mwvm in the fall of 2005, but he’s been experimenting with delay pedals & recording techniques since 1996. He has spent the last few years refining his sound, focusing on guitar manipulation, repetition, & ambience. His minimal creations are produced in a self-induced solitary environment; but within this isolation, he found that his music could capture the interests of a larger audience both nationally & internationally.

http://www.silbermedia.com/mwvm/

http://soundcloud.com/mwvm

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1. Pink Floyd - Interstellar Overdrive

Probably the reason I picked up a Telecaster in the first place. First time I heard the guitar played in an unusual way. I still love the Binson Echorec feeding back - Syd played it like an instrument in its own right. I realised I didn't need lyrics to enjoy music. Not my favourite Pink Floyd song but a big influence. All their early stuff was.

2. Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene Part 1

It still sounds like music that belongs in outerspace - even now. Our Ian (my brother) was the biggest influence introducing the electronic stuff. I love the EHX small stone on the strings but equally I also love the emotional dynamics of the song.

3. Neu - Hallogallo

My head nods instantly as soon as the rhythm kicks in. Classic krautrock. The minimal bass line, hypnotic drums and repetition. This is instant good feeling record.

4. Gong - Flying Teapot

Daevid Allen was the glissando guitar king in my opinion. It had a huge impact on me in using a slide to get a violin/cello effect. A good friend from work introduced me to Gong and the Canterbury scene. I think the majority of their stuff is a bit rubbish ...but you know - the glissando guitar spaced out stuff is sublime. I get instant gratification using this slide technique. The song is only 1/5th glissando but it also has great riffs and a hypnotic vibe.

5. Soft Machine - Out-Bloody-Rageous

The tape loops at the beginning of this song are immense. You could knock this type of thing up on computers in seconds these days days. Though back in the day they cut tape, slowed it down, played it backwards and sped it up. A lovely collage. Big influence on me. Primarily Soft Machine had a jazz influence. Lots of solos etc... but I do love their spacer riffer stuff... very nice.

6. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Storm

I like all the gybe songs. This one in particular gives me tremendous pleasure. It has all the peaks and troughs dynamically and emotionally. I could run through a brick wall after listening to this record. They have a shephard tone thing going on with their ascending charge. But equally I love the harmonic strings and quieter parts. Not a dull moment in this song. Perfection.

7. Stars of the Lid - Requiem For Dying Mothers part 1

No one can argue the fact that Adam Wiltzie produces fantastic drones/ambient records. This has everything. It is how I want an ambient record sound. The tone/timbre of the swells, the plucks, the repetition. It is a perfect song. His other music - Dead Texan and A Winged Victory For the Sullen are also tremendous works of art. The guy is a ridiculously talented musician.

Rllrbll

In a recent show preview, one Portland music critic wrote, "Which Rllrbll will show up?" It was an acknowledgement of Rllrbll's voracious creative appetite. They write smoky, dark, post-cabaret songs with accordian and dueling male-female vocal harmonies; blat out gnarled jazz-damaged improvisations with reeds, brass, shakers, and wild-eyed drumming; make you ache with melodic bass-and-piano-driven drifters; and get you up with skronking noise-beat laced with samples. They are always exploring, they fairly teeter into chaos, but their strong personalities always ensure that they are not too scattered.

www.facebook.com/pages/Rllrbll/191004990915797

rllrbll.bandcamp.com/

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1. Led zeppelin - No Quarter

I first heard this song at a party in a small town in Montana. There was a blizzard outside and I was sitting at a kitchen table. This song makes a strong visual and created an energy that changed music for me.

2. Screaming Trees - Caught Between

My first christmas alone ever. This song on repeat. Still holds up forever for me.

3. Sonic Youth - Wish fulfillment

This band influenced me heavily. Especially how they all brought songs in and each person had a style. Lee will always be my favorite.

4. Three Mile Pilot - Eastern wave

Pall is one of my most favorite singers... his lyrics and voice.. all of it. The bass is incredible. Saw them 2 years ago and it still meant the world to me after all these years.

5. Red Red Meat - Braindead

Best times in Portland so long ago. Sitting on a couch with my friends freaking out over this band. Lost in sound and words so you forget where you are. I love Califone just as much

6. Dog Faced Hermans - Keep your laws off my body

I saw this band at Satyricon for 5 dollars. It was like a huge lesson in respecting what music is and how it can help put words of power out there to create change. Magic.

7. Waylon Jennings - Walk on out of my mind

Moves me to drink and cry and hope i can write a song half as good as he does!

Monophona

When Claudine and Chook first started discussing a common musical project in the winter of 2010, they came from completely different worlds. He had discovered DJ-ing as a teenager and soon made a name for himself not only as a turntable artist, but also as a drum&bass producer; she was a singer-songwriter touring with a folk-rock band and had an admiration for the likes of Tom Waits, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell. The result of this collaboration is Monophona, a blend of two extremes, electronic and intimate, melodic and innovative. On stage, the line-up is completed by percussionist Jorsch, equally at home in both musical worlds.

www.monophona.com

www.facebook.com/monophona

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They contributed two songs each (Chook 1-2, Claudine 3-4, Jorsch 5-6) and chose one song that the three of them like (7)

1. Nas - Illmatic 

Nas' "Illmatic" is simply one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.

2. Trentemøller - Even though you're with another girl 

Trentremøller has been a huge influence on the music I make.

3. The Smiths - Handsome Devil 

I love The Smiths and Morrissey - I think he is one of the best lyricists ever. This is one of my favourite songs of theirs. "There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more." I agree.

4. Elvis Costello - Shipbuilding 

The perfect song. And it says it all about the absurdity of war: "With all the will in the world, diving for dear life, when they could be diving for pearls." 

5. Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love 

This was the song that shifted my attention from classical music to rock.

6. Trentemøller - Vamp 

Trentemøller's music opened up a new world of sounds for me.

7. Fink - Trouble's what you're in 

The three of us really like Fink's music and we were delighted when we got the opportunity to open for him in Luxembourg.

Nick Grey

Nick Grey has been releasing experimental yet highly emotional music since 2002. His songs are an expressive, soulful blend of torpid acoustic arrangements and unpredictable electronics, underlined by melancholic and often ironic lyrics. The Wire magazine described is music as “eccentric and highly literary”.

www.nick-grey.com

nickgrey.bandcamp.com

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1. Roxy Music - If There Is Something

I don’t listen to very much music these days anymore, but when I do, I usually return to old friends. The first Roxy Music album is among the oldest - and this song in particular. The mood shifts - from the aether to the ravine and back - at work here are absolutely incredible.

2. Tim Buckley - Driftin’

Every Tim Buckley record is a masterpiece in its own right, but Lorca’s tonal and rhythmic explorations made it such a staple for me for years. If I allowed myself to be consciously influenced by artists I adore, I’d try to replicate Driftin’s guitar tone.

3. Klaus Schulze - 1. Satz : Ebene

Quite regularly, various events and occurrences in my life force me to temporary retirement. I then sign out and disappear for a certain amount of time. And while I do, I listen to “Irrlicht”.

4. The Stooges - We Will Fall

I cannot stress enough how important the first Stooges album is. “We Will Fall” isn’t among their most-loved pieces, and I could never quite comprehend why. It sounds as much Marble-Index-Era-Cale than Iggy and the Ashetons, and that is precisely why it left an even stronger mark on me than the rest of the record, which is of course incredible but much more straightforward.

5. The Strawbs - New World

Cruel, edgy prog-folk at its finest. The sheer intensity of this track always left me breathless, and to me this piece stands out from the rest of their discography, which is also a huge part of my listening habits. An indiscutable influence: certainly, the mantra “Let them rot” has twisted my mind at an early age and brought me to my current musical aberrations.

6. The Loom Soundtrack

Another one that made quite an impression on my young self. Tchaikovsky played by a 1990 home computer! Beautiful, haunting. Later, of course, I would investigate further, unearthing Wendy Carlos, Bruce Haack, Isao Tomita, Raymond Scott… but in 1990, the Loom soundtrack was all my 12-year old self needed to travel the cosmos. (Played the game on Atari ST, if I remember correctly)

7. The Wedding Present – Octopussy

In my opinion, this album by the Wedding Present delivers the same sort of cathartic experience one can expect from, perhaps, a Swans concert, only with a slightly happier outcome: a bitter, gut-wrenching masterpiece that leaves you dried out but ready to start anew. « Dalliance » is one of the finest album openers ever too, but « Octopussy »'s subtlety made me obsess over it for quite a while.

Barzin

Barzin is a Canadian singer-songwriter known for his slow and melancholic folksongs. He has recorded many EPs and albums; the last one, called To Live Alone in That Long Summer, it's been released on 2014 by Monotreme & Ghost Records.

www.barzinh.com

www.facebook.com/barzinsongs

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If permitted, a few opening remarks. Some of the artists who have been influential to me are those who have managed to create a sound so compelling and captivating that it is as important as the songs they create. It is hard to choose one song from their canon and say that it has been their most influential song. Since this project is about songs that have been inspirational, I will try to keep that as the focus. But I do like to tip my hat to some of these artists whose sound has been very influential and inspirational to me. Some of the bands/artists who fall into this category are: Parker and Lily, Tindersticks, Mick Turner, Frankie Sparo.

1. Bob Dylan – Visions of Johanna

Dylan has gone through so many different stages that the only other person that rivals him is Bowie. But the Dylan that I love the best is the one from the Visions of Johanna phase. Lyrically, he walked on the edge of comprehension during this period; it wasn’t complete surrealism, and it wasn’t the straight storytelling of his early years. This song is filled with lines like this: “Inside the museums, infinity goes up on trial. Voices echo, this is what salvation must be like after a while”. “Visions of Johanna” really opened up my eyes to the power of words and what one can do with them. This is one of the songs I always return to when writing my own songs. Every time I hear it, I feel I am being given permission to allow the chaos of my mind to spill out onto the world.

2. Erik Satie – Gymnopedie

Satie always fulfills my endless love of minimalistic music as well as solo piano pieces. But what’s so wonderful about this piece is how the emotions behind it are so ambiguous. I have always gravitated towards pieces whose emotions are not apparent. It’s almost as though a new emotion has been introduced into the world as a result of this piece.

3. Lou Reed – Walk on The Wild Side

In The history of Rock ‘n roll, I think many bands have tried to embody the sound of “cool” in their music. But the “cool” that I love is found in the music of Velvet Underground, and more specifically in this song. I constantly return to bands who I use to love when I was younger, and often times, I find their music has failed to age well with time, and I begin to see the sound they stood for or represented as being a little adolescent. But this song never seems to lose its appeal. This is a great snapshot of what “cool” is, in my humble opinion.

4. Led Zeppelin - Bron Yr aur

Every time I hear a Zeppelin song, I get sentimental, because they were very influential to me during my formative years. I must have been 13-14 when I first heard their music, and it really left a deep mark on me. As a teenager, I loved Zeppelin along with all the other classic rock bands like Doors, Hendrix, Bowie, Stones, etc.... “Bron Yr Aur” opened up a whole new world for me. The song is played using a Open C turning on the guitar, and that was something that was very new to me. I became really interested, not only in instrumental pieces, but also with experimenting with open turnings on guitar. I would sit around for hours with friends as we tried to figure out this song so we could play it.

5. Leonard Cohen – Suzanne

This song comes as close to a perfect song as possible, if such a thing even exists. Cohen has always set the standards when it comes to lyrics. And he has achieved magnificent heights in many of his songs, but with Suzanne he reaches a new height. In “Suzanne” I feel one is listening to a true poet who has found the perfect balance between music and words. Everything that Cohen has always written about- Love, God, Sex, Longing, desire, etc... comes together in this song in a perfect way.

6. George Harrison – Long Long Long

Of all the great songs that the Beatles have written, this one continues to stick out for me. I know it’s a strange choice, but I find this song to be so great and fantastic. I love the production, especially the drums. Love George’s delivery. And the use of space in this song. But most importantly, I love the feeling behind this song. That’s what keeps me coming back to it.

7. Mark Hollis – Watershed

Anyone who has fallen under the spell of the band Talk Talk will know what I am talking about when I talk about Mark Hollis. He is probably one of the most expressive singers I have ever come across. It’s not just the fact that he has such a unique voice, but there is something intangible about his singing that draws you in. Talk Talk was a simple pop band and when they started, but in the span of 4 records they grew and matured into a great band, which is reflected in their recordings. This song reflects so many qualities that I admire about this band--experimentation with arrangements and recording, brining subtle elements of jazz into the world of pop, and Mark Hollis’ exceptional and unique singing style.