After five years, DIIV are back with their sterling new album, Frog in Boiling Water. Named after a metaphor about the “slow, sick, and overwhelmingly banal collapse of society under end-stage capitalism,” DIIV employ strains of grunge, alt-rock, and shoegaze to convey the dissatisfaction and hope that flutters over their dark, swirling tracks. But of course, DIIV’s influences reach far beyond those tentpoles — one of those being their love of electronic music. To celebrate the record’s release, DIIV drummer Ben Newman told us about his minimal and ambient electronic music essentials, from beloved Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to more obscure, experimental artists like El Fog and Purelink. Dive in below.
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Gramm – “Legends / Nugroove TM”
Pioneer of so-called micro-house, Jan Jelinek is one of my musical heroes. Prolific, conceptual, and always surprising, he has projects under many different monikers across the experimental electronic music spectrum.
Emptyset – “Gate 1”
This duo’s music is singular within the minimal techno sphere. It’s stark and atmospheric, with just enough rhythm to keep you moving forward.
Frank Bretschneider – “A soft throbbing of time”
Frank Bretschneider is co-founder of the Raster-Noton collective. His music is typically challenging and experimental, but the album Rhythm is aptly titled as it centers on percussive electronic pieces.
4kfairyfantasy – “lov u 2”
I don’t know much about this artist, but I love their work. MIDI classical compositions with glitchy accents. Pleasant and strange.
Ryuichi Sakamoto – “20210310”
Not much to say that hasn’t been said already about Ryuichi Sakamoto. His final album, 12, released just two months before his death in 2023 is heavy, stark, and beautiful.
El Fog – “Silent Soaring”
The album Reverberate Slowly on the Japanese label FLAU is beautiful, sleepy, and murky.
Purelink – “Pinned”
This Chicago-based trio makes music that is chilly, ambient, and dubby, like listening to a cool breeze.
Efdemin – “Secrets of Shoeshine”
Masterful minimal techno
Michel Banabila – “Niki Jumpei”
Another hero of mine, prolific Dutch experimental composer and sound artist Michel Banabila has released music and sound across many different genres, from noisy sound design experiments to orchestral soundtracks since the early ’80s.
Alva Noto – “Prototype 2”
Founder of the NOTON label — and co-founder of Raster-Noton with aforementioned Frank Bretschneider — Carsten Nicolai has been an important fixture in German experimental electronic music since the early ’90s.
