# Recommendations for awesome analog synth-based music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938 "2011-05-06T06:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/1 "2011-05-06T06:46:43Z")
I love the sounds of analog synth, but my music collection is sorely lacking in albums. I’ve heard some stuff by Giorgio Moroder, Terry Riley, and Wendy Carlos that I really liked. I also have a couple of full albums by Laurie Spiegel which are really excellent. The intro to The Who’s “Eminence Front” makes me sit up in my seat every time. So where do I go from here? Where is all the fantastic noise hiding? Any suggestions? Edit: including albums by the above musicians that I mentioned. Except for Spiegel, it’s always in the context of ‘listened to a couple songs on Youtube and they were good’. Also I don’t like the Blade Runner soundtrack just to pre-empt its mention. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/2 "2011-05-06T06:59:18Z")
[Jean Michel Jarre](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Michel_Jarre) Classic album: [Oxygene](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygene_%28album%29) [Gary Numan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Numan) Classic albums: [Replicas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicas_%28album%29) and [The Pleasure Principle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pleasure_Principle_%28Gary_Numan_album%29) [Tangerine Dream](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Dream) Classic album: [Phaedra](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Dream) OK, some variety there, check them out and see what you enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![lexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@lexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/3 "2011-05-06T07:11:14Z")
[The Lost Sounds](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1EtxU51JuM&feature=related), from Memphis, were an amazing synth punk band from 1999-2005. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/4 "2011-05-06T09:38:26Z")
You mentioned Terry Riley so you probably have already heard [A Rainbow in Curved Air](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFvDJDSsJwE) (I think the whole version is available on youtube but it’s blocked where I am. Genesis had many long synth melody sections back in the 70s. They would stick them together into a medley when they played live. It’s mostly the last 2 minutes [here (Cage Medley part1)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYRH2-dC3jg) and then another minute or so [here (part2)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-2zfGX8Gw&feature=related). Also [Riding the Scree](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P70tSW8pAi0). Chick Corea [El Bozo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQWEK8oOOF8&feature=related). Actually lots of Chick Corea in the 70s. If you like this let me know and I’ll recommend more. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/5 "2011-05-06T10:18:02Z")
Some good Moroder albums: **Battlestar Galactica** (especially, “Evolution”, which is also on E=MC[sup]2[/sup]) **E=MC[sup]2[/sup] From Here to Eternity.** Also, the extended version of Donna Summer’s **I feel love** is a classic. You might also like the soundtrack of **Cat People** if you like your synth music a bit more dramatic and less bouncy. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/6 "2011-05-06T13:28:25Z")
Jon Anderson did a solo album called [Animation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation_%28album%29) which I recall was quite synth-based (and good) Also, from the early 80’s" [A Man Called E](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_Called_E) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/7 "2011-05-06T13:32:36Z")
::grabs popcorn and pulls up chair, taking notes:: I enjoy a lot of this stuff. I love the thick tone of the main riff on Gary Numan’s Cars. I love MGMT’s retro-update songs Kids, Electric Groove, etc. Donna Summers’/Moroder’s I Feel Love is amazing. Some of what is described in the OP feels very much like it capitalizes on the thick tone of an analog synth; some feels like it is focusing on the “minimalist/pattern” delivery. I love **Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich** , which feels similar to a lot of stuff listed, but uses no synths… ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/8 "2011-05-06T15:04:41Z")
You should check out [Beaver & Krause.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_%26_Krause) Two of the original Moog artists. (Not all of their stuff sounds Moog-y; sometimes they were trying to demonstrate how much the synthesizer could sound like other instruments.) Linda Cohen, a folk/classical guitarist, released two LPs, _Leda_ and _Lake of Light,_ on which she is at times accompanied by some subtle analog synth. Oh yeah, and Kraftwerk. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/9 "2011-05-06T16:11:46Z")
I can’t recommend [Klaus Schulze](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Schulze) highly enough. He was part of the German cosmic scene. He started with Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel, and then went solo, and he’s still going strong. A good album to start with is [_Moondawn_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Schulze). (Eight minute excerpt. The full track is 27 minutes long.) I can also recommend the two _Body Love_ albums and ‘_X_’. His two earliest solo albums, \*Irrlicht \*and \*Cyborg \*are very good too, if a bit ‘difficult’. There is a good discography [here](http://www.klaus-schulze.com/disco/welcome.htm). ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/10 "2011-05-06T16:19:45Z")
**Stereolab** used vintage keys and electronics, and some guitar work also. I’m fond of _Mars Audiac Quintet_. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkpXoM0D-Pk) Also, wouldn’t most \*\*Kraftwerk \*\*fit the OP? Check out _Computer World._ ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/11 "2011-05-06T16:47:28Z")
I am a serious fan of both [Tomita](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isao_Tomita) and [Brian Eno](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_eno). Probably not as zippy as you might like, but try an [Eno](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-3djUYgebU&feature=related) and my favorite [tomita](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_plJalDgHA&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/12 "2011-05-06T16:55:24Z")
_[Laurie Anderson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Anderson)_ (if you don’t mind vocals) “Big Science” ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/13 "2011-05-06T17:03:36Z")
**Moe** kinda mentioned, but Genesis is a great source for synth stuff, and their whole album _The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway_ is full of great synth parts. Not sure how versed you are on a lot of the classic mainstream(ish) songs with synth in them, so I hope everyone forgives me for some of these “obvious” suggestions off the top of my head: Subdivisions - Rush Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) - Styx Questions of My Childhood - Kansas Seperate Ways (Worlds Apart) - Journey Won’t Get Fooled Again - The Who Walk Under Ladders - Joan Armatrading . . . and many other tracks by any of those groups. Also, the whole album _Remain in Light_ by the **Talking Heads** is full of synthy goodness. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/14 "2011-05-06T17:07:15Z")
Almost anything by ELP. Maybe not their first album. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/15 "2011-05-07T01:29:31Z")
Thanks everyone for the recommendations. Please keep 'em coming! > [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Also, the extended version of Donna Summer’s **I feel love** is a classic. Do you mean the 15 minute Patrick Cowley remix (which is brilliant) or is there another extended version by Moroder? ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/16 "2011-05-07T01:49:27Z")
Try the “KPM 1000” series of library music. These were recorded in the 1970s and have some of the first generation analog synth music (as well as other styles of 1970s instrumental music) that were extremely influential in the music community. There are a few easy to find web sites that let you browse and sample through the whole KPM 1000 series. You might want to spend the day there! For something a little more polished, have a listen to the Italian band Goblin - their themes for the 1970s horror movies Suspiria, Tenebre, [Deep Red](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JpuislFVzU) and others are very popular. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/17 "2011-05-07T01:53:18Z")
It’s very hard to find nowadays, but I highly recommend Walter (now Wendy) Carlos’ _Switched-On Bach_. ETA: Also, Bruce Haack’s [_The Electric Lucifer_](http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Lucifer-Bruce-Haack/dp/B000OV0W94/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304733213&sr=1-1) is now available on CD. Bruce actually built many of his own synthesizers. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/18 "2011-05-07T03:06:54Z")
I’m surprised to see no mention of Larry Fast’s Synergy Project. > **[Larry Fast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergy_(music))** > > Lawrence Roger Fast (born December 10, 1951) is an American synthesizer player and composer. He is best known for his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums (Synergy) and for his contributions to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, Nektar, Bonnie Tyler, and Hall & Oates. > Fast grew up in Livingston, New Jersey and attended Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, where he obtained a degree in History. There he took his previous training in piano and violin and meld... I like almost all of his work, but my favorite is Metropolitan Suite, in particular the track named West Side Nights. Disruption of World Communication is good too, but I forget which album that’s on. A lot of his work has been used as soundtrack and incidental background music for sciency shows like Cosmos. If you like Vangelis or Jean Michel Jarre, definitely give Synergy a listen-to. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/19 "2011-05-07T16:26:54Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > I love the sounds of analog synth, but my music collection is sorely lacking in albums. Pop out and buy the following Stevie Wonder albums: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale. You already have Songs in the Key of Life, or your parents do. There’s your answer. Pick up a copy of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn as well and just play side one. On a tangent, a lot of the synth albums of the 1970s have surprisingly little synthesiser on them. Tubular Bells and A Rainbow in Curved Air are mostly guitar and organ respectively, and Jean Michel Jarre’s first two albums are surprisingly organ-heavy as well. He had an organ strings machine that had a very distinctive, heavily-phased sound. Tangerine Dream’s classic albums, such as Phaedra and Zeit and so forth, have some classic analogue synth sequences but are otherwise mostly organ and Mellotron and guitar. And piano. Same with ELP. Please don’t buy any ELP albums, they’ll put you off music. Gary Numan’s The Pleasure Principle, which has “Cars”, is an odd hybrid of analogue synth lead riffs with a conventional rock band doing the drums and bass. Kraftwerk’s The Man Machine and Computer World, Yazoo’s Upstairs at Eric’s, the Human League’s Dare are all pretty much 100% analogue synthesisers (plus some electric piano), although people often think of them as digital albums because they have a very clean, precise sound, and they came out in the 1980s. Except for The Man Machine, which came out in 1978, but was ahead of its time. Vince Clarke and The Human League in particular were absolutely militantly pro-synth, and Clarke carried on using analogue synthesisers throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, at a time when they had briefly fallen out of fashion. Nowadays a lot of the mystery of old synthesisers had died off, because you can download VST simulations of them. I have a simulation of the ARP 2600 made by a company called Arturia, which has cables and things you can move about with the mouse. Also, download this VCS 3 simulator, and just play with the knobs and the pin board: [http://ninecows.dk/cynthia/](http://ninecows.dk/cynthia/) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938/20 "2011-05-07T17:45:17Z")
If you want to go really old school, then try and find a copy of [Electric Storm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Electric_Storm) featuring Delia “Dr Who Music” Derbyshire. If you want to go paleolithic, then there’s [this](http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Samuel-J-Hoffman-Theremin/dp/B00000IJH7) from the late 40’s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-awesome-analog-synth-based-music/580938.md?page=2)