The Avant Garde/Experimental Music Recommendation Thread
 

Any Noise or Math Rock similar to

Shellac
Sleeping People
Unwound
Polvo
Drive Like Jehu
Piglet
Chavez
Hella
Don Cab

possibility?

You should check out U.S. Maple

azwarm
aboombong
dustdevil & crow
bendle

check out ahleuchatistas; they're most similar to hella out of that list.

I'm looking for some experimental rap/hip hop. Any ideas?

Well, from what I've listened to:

Rat At Rat R - Rock & Roll Is Dead, Long Live Rat At Rat R (1985)
Live Skull: Bringing Home The Bait (1985), Cloud One (1986), Dusted (1987)
Ut - In Gut's House (1988)
Rapeman - Two Nuns And a Pack Mule (1988)
Bastro: Rode Hard And Put Up Wet (1988), Diablo Guapo (1989), Sing The Troubled Beast (1990)
Scratch Acid - The Greatest Gift (compilation 1991)
Jesus Lizard - Head\Pure (1990\89)
U.S. Maple - Long Hair in Three Stages (1995)
Killdozer
Helmet

You're probably familiar with Big Black and Butthole Surfers

Relatively newer groups: Lightning Bolt, Magic Markers

^ Yeah I already know a few artists on that list but I'll be sure to check everything out, thanks guys.

Merzbow... if you dare.

Already covered most of these in the Best Math Rock thread but...

Rumah Sakit
Tera Melos
Three Trapped Tigers
Rodan
June of 44
Hot Snakes
LITE
Lynx
Tic Code
Faraquet
Medicine

Dead Can Dance. Although I dunno if they really belong here... but they're great nonetheless.

i dont know if they are math rock....but U Totem and Thinking Plague has to be included. Their time signatures are off the chain!

can somebody recommend something for me?

these new puritans
boards of canada
maserati
battles
aphex twin
NEU!
mogwai
explosions in the sky
don cab

Your missing 65daysofstatic, And So I Watched You From Afar, and Giraffes? Giraffes!. Ghosts and Vodka

The Mercury Program
Sigur Ros
Kayo Dot
God is an Astronaut
Sleepmakeswaves
Sunlight Ascending
We All Inherit the Moon
The Ascent of Everest
The American Dollar
If These Trees Could Talk
Animals as Leaders
M83
My Bloody Valentine
Olafur Arnalds
Lights out Asia

The Residents (They are one of the most musically, lyrically and visually interesting bands I have ever seen.)

Pere Ubu (See above.)

Zorn

One word post? Yes. Does that make his advice any less valuable?

NO.

I like how everybody skipped me.

How about Trans Am? Have you ever given them a listen? Their style changed a lot over the years but a good starting point with them might be either their self-titled debut or the album Futureworld.

I have Red Line, but I will definitely check out Futureworld and their self titled.

Also, in terms of IDM, have you ever checked out Kid 606 or Clark? I'd recommend Kid 606's Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You and Clark's Turning Dragon if you haven't heard them.

I have Clark's Clarence Park, but I will definitely get Turning Dragon, and I've also been meaning to get into Kid 606.

Interesting thread. I haven't heard of half these artistes. No, make that 90% of them. Many are not to be found on Spotify either - no surprises there I guess!

i'd like to hear the essential boris album.

Can someone tell me why The Residents are great?

They were amazingly ahead of their time. Their sheer raw originality in both visuals, and music far surpasses nearly everything at the time, and I think is still ahead of today. They aren't the only Art Rock band, and they're not the first. Yet seemingly are by far the only band I know of that seems so 100% focused to the dedication of their art over the presentation of themselves as artists. I can't think of one example of an ensemble, or person, who is even remotely dedicated to the aesthetic presentation of their art form as The Residents is.

Now, musically, they are not too shabby. They're not about individualistic instrumental talents, so don't expect virtuoso performances. Yet, they way they so freely and liberally manipulate, and over-manipulate, studio recording techniques allows them to present a sound that was so free, original, and distinguishably Residents yet even through their distinction they were able to cover an extremely wide variety of genres from classical to jazz to blues to art rock to satire to even bible stories, and commercial jingles.

They do exactly what an avant garde art rock band should do perfectly. They take, and obscure, and abstract their intake of culture both pop, and obscure, then hash it out to make something that truly inspires fresh new emotions that aren't directly derived from the influences presented.

Essentially, Residents are great because they embody every element that is crucial in attempts to make art music while avoiding all attempts at commercial success, do so in a way that is completely, and utterly unrestrained by commercial expectations, or greedily building commercially viable marketable figures of themselves.

Any recommendations for The Residents songs? I want to get into them, but... kind of difficult.

Constantinople?

Any recommendations on avant garde musicians that incorporate classical instruments in their music?

Univers Zero, Art Zoyd, Present.

Well, you have avant-garde composers in so called art music.

Iannis Xenakis - Jonchaies He used different mathematical models for composing, making a kind of architectural music. But this composition is just a blast!
György Ligeti - Lontano You have probably heard some of his compositions in Kubrick films (2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining - this one). So thanks to Kubrick stealing Ligeti's music (I mean using it without permission), we now have such audio-visual mastery that is 2001: A Space Odyssey. Well played.
Harry Partch - Exordium: The Beginning Of A Web (Delusion of the Fury) Well, there are no classical instruments here, but ones made by Partch himself. (although maybe he left some, I'm not sure)

What about any that incorporate interesting lyrics? Or artists within the realm of Xiu Xiu or the Velvet Underground (who aren't quite Avant-garde, but you get what I mean).

I'd look into the now recently departed Captain Beefheart for that. Like or no, There's no way you could not consider his lyrics interesting.

Yea... I could never bring myself to like him before. Sorry to hear that he's dead though.

I love Partch's instruments. I also love the vagrant theme of Delusion of Fury.

Honestly man, I don't know. You seem to be really trying to get into experimental but not liking it from the lines of questions.

Trying to help, but not much I can do. What do you like of the genre?

Xiu Xiu, Velvet Underground, Arthur Russel, John Cage, The Residents, Frank Zappa, and the Flaming Lips are a few avant-garde/experimental rock musicians. I know it's strange to like Zappa and not the Captain, though.

ah...my apologies. I thought you were struggling to get into the genre, and trying to figure out why everyone else loved it so much.

I'm blanking on a name... The first letter of his name starts with a "k." He's an avant garde composer who was very influential with Throbbing Gristle. Does anyone know?

Krzysztof Penderecki, perhaps? Not an 'avant-garde composer' by definition but some of his work kind of suggests it.