Good Instrumentals

Most songs by Astra are either instrumental or featuring few, distorted vocals, and pack some great space melodies.

Thanks again for all the recommendations. I am going to make a playlist with all of this music on youtube now.

Hi,

Kobaek wrote: Most songs by Astra are either instrumental or featuring few, distorted vocals, and pack some great space melodies. Crippled Black Phoenix' "Faced with Complete Failure..." and "How we Rock" qualify as nicely developing instrumentals as well, and they often keep the vocals in the background essentially making them just another instrument, as with Astra (see Fantastic Justice by CBP and The Black  Chord by Astra). I second IA's Divinities is an excellent album as well, and a personal semi-instrumental favourite of mine is VdGG's Meurglys III.

^It's definitely something that varies from person to person. I get distracted by something as pedestrian as cars driving by sometimes. But I know of people who experience little to no difference with background noise. Some people prefer it, as silence is unnerving to those who don't like it.

cant believe no one has mentioned eno yet

mononokifool wrote:   I can understand how that is true. However the stuff that I am studying can at times be very dull(I dont think many system admins or computer scientist are known for captivating literature) and I really tend to loose focus and end up rereading passages that I dont remember reading in the first place. Maybe I have trained my mind to study better with something in the background, I have been doing this since I was very young since there was always music playing in the house as a child, so now it just helps me focus on the most tedious of instructions. If you know of someway to correct this I am all ears.

Edited by moshkito - January 22 2014 at 10:24

Panorama by Hans Glawischnig is a must. No doubt Jazz music, but Hans Glawischnig plays bass violin using a bow and adding a classical vibe to the music. When listening to Panorama...you get the impression that other styles of music are present and that the Jazz is composed around them. It's totally melodic and completely complex. "Line Drive", "Panorama", and "The Orchids" have strange little melodies later undertaking intense improvisations from sax and piano. "Gypsy Tales" is a return to "Roxy and Elsewhere" by Zappa and....mostly for the first 2 minutes of the piece and further extending into a jam reminiscent of Mel Collins and Ian McDonald soloing with King Crimson. "Set to Sea", "Oceanography", and "Beneath the Waves" all create atmosphere/sound often desired by people who enjoy sitting by the ocean or filming the lighthouse. The album creates those surroundings.

Some of my favs...they may not all be classed as prog...but still worth a listen

øresund space collective
Spaceman 3
Comets on Fire
Wooden shjips
Hawkwind
Chrome
Acid Mother Temple
Rosetta
35007
Porcupine Tree
Guru Guru

I've been kind of obsessed with Miles Davis lately, so I would definitely say Miles.  If you looking for not-quite-active-listening music, his cool jazz and fusion records are good.  I also love Ozric Tentacles.