Carving music recommendation: UNDERWORLD

[SWriverstone]

Just one word: UNDERWORLD.

No, not the movie(s). I'm talking about the influential electro/dance/trance/experimental duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith.

If you're even remotely a fan of synth-heavy music, particularly music with a minimalist leaning...you've got to check out Underworld.

Don't make the mistake of thinking Underworld is just another trance or dance act. No way...these guys have continually broken new ground and pushed the envelope for the past two decades. In fact, they're the kind of artists who are almost impossible to pigeonhole into a single category...the kind of artists who say "F-you!" to convention and wreck it to pieces.

If you're new to Underworld, here are links to their greatest works...

A Hundred Days Off

Beaucoup Fish

I wish there were MP3 samples at Amazon, but for whatever reason there aren't...but you can read the raving reviews there of both albums.

There most recent (and IMO greatest) work is "Riverrun," which can be bought/downloaded (maybe sampled?) at their website:

http://www.underworldlive.com/shop/digital-audio.html

Riverrun consists of over 2 hours of music, divided into three main 30-40 minute tracks. Each track is further divided into 3-4 "songs" that segue one into the other.

The tracks in Riverrun are:

• Pizza For Eggs

• Lovely Broken Thing

• I'm a Big Sister, I'm a Girl, I'm a Princess, and This is My Horse

Seriously...this is incredible, absolute-cutting-edge stuff. Nobody else even comes close.

If your tastes in music are fairly mainstream pop/rock/jazz, you won't like Underworld...but if you like synth-heavy, bleeding-edge, almost experimental music that absolutely has a driving groove and hypnotic pulse, Underworld reigns supreme!

I'm a Juilliard School graduate and have been creating music with synths and digital audio workstations since the birth of MIDI in the 80s...I've listened to a LOT of this stuff over the years...and there is nothing out there as sophisticated as Underworld.

Scott