Good Instrumentals
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=96722
Printed Date: August 07 2025 at 17:31
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Good Instrumentals
Posted By: mononokifool
Subject: Good Instrumentals
Date Posted: January 14 2014 at 22:02
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Being in college I have to read tons of technical stuff and listening to music helps me focus on what I am reading. But if the music has lyrics I tend to just want to sing along. So what I am looking for is some instrumental albums to listen to while reading. I will be reading/listening for hours at a time so I will give anything a try. Thanks in advance for the recommendations. ------------- http://s187.photobucket.com/user/mononokifool/media/violet-1.gif.html" rel="nofollow"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: mongofa
Date Posted: January 14 2014 at 22:31
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4:33 on repeat
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Posted By: Neo-Romantic
Date Posted: January 14 2014 at 22:35
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Depending on your preferences I have a couple handy that I can recommend. Mahavishnu Orchestra is really good, especially if you've got a taste for jazz rock. Both good active and background listening. The Inner Mounting Flame is the only album of theirs I own, though. If you prefer more classical influence, the best ever instrumental album I've heard (at least to this point) is Anglagard's Viljans Oga. It's brilliant beyond measure, but takes a few listens to get into. Maybe keeping it as a background album for your first few listens would be preferable, with this in mind. I'll serve a double purpose of giving you top notch music to have on while you read and probably subset the initial inaccessibility a bit. |
Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: January 14 2014 at 22:40
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Popol Vuh is absolutely my favourite studying music. Not all their stuff is instrumental but the sparse vocals aren't distracting. (for some reason this first video skips part of the album and it makes me cry) Similar idea with lots of other bands on the calmer side of Krautrock/Prog Electronic If you want something louder, let me know because I've got lots of that too |
Posted By: Horizons
Date Posted: January 14 2014 at 22:52
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El Ten Eleven is some laid back stuff. ------------- Crushed like a rose in the riverflow. |
Posted By: mongofa
Date Posted: January 14 2014 at 23:50
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Tortoise
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Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: January 14 2014 at 23:50
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I often read with this on in the background...the whole cd is excellent. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: mononokifool
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 04:53
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Man These are all great. I listened to all of these videos tonight while reading up on how to efficiently plan out partitions on linux systems. So the music absolutely helped me stay focused. @ Neo-Romantic I had listened to Anglagard's Viljans Oga the other day and I fell in love with it. Please keep the recommendations coming. ------------- http://s187.photobucket.com/user/mononokifool/media/violet-1.gif.html" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Neo-Romantic
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 05:11
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^That's awesome! I'm so glad to hear you love it! I have a huge attachment to that one. It's a really special album. |
Posted By: zravkapt
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 10:07
Ha! I wonder how many people will get that. Some albums not mentioned: Univers Zero - Heatwave Gryphon - Red Queen To Gryphon Three Gong - Expresso II Soft Machine - Six Goblin - Roller Ozric Tentacles - Erpland Tangerine Dream - Force Majeure Heldon - Stand By Zombi - Spirit Animal Miles Davis - Dark Magus Squarepusher - Feed Me Weird Things Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller Maserati - Inventions For The New Season The Samuel Jackson Five - Goodbye Melody Mountain Alamaailman Vasarat - Valta ETA: The Ozrics and Weather Report albums do have one song with vocals but both groups are usually purely instrumental ------------- Magma America Great Make Again |
mongofa wrote:Posted By: schizoidman
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 11:26
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Ian Anderson's "Divinities: Twelve Dances with God":
Rick Wakeman's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII":
Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Birds of Fire":
Anything by Penguin Cafe Orchestra:
------------- Making the useless useful 24/7. |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 11:49
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Secret Oyster is one of my favorite instrumental groups.. It's a lively jazz/rock sound from mid 70s Denmark. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: Talbot
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 12:04
Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 12:05
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------------- |
Posted By: The Bearded Bard
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 15:50
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I recommend one of my favourite albums of 2013, Grand General's self-titled debut.
http://soundcloud.com/rune-grammofon/grand-general-the-fall-of-troy" rel="nofollow - http://soundcloud.com/rune-grammofon/grand-general-the-fall-of-troy -------------  
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 16:54
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Something that you may find to be of interest is the David Barrett Trio debut album. It is produced by Alex Lifeson and apparently David Barrett was in possession of Mr. Lifeson's double-neck guitar for the creation of this album before said guitar was donated to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfxx9Hn7hZQ&list=PLY0ERgfuldw242uzxeNbX9SDynQ2qWSqA" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfxx9Hn7hZQ&list=PLY0ERgfuldw242uzxeNbX9SDynQ2qWSqA ------------- 
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Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 17:08
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If you like acoustic jazz....I highly recommend both Crimson Jazz Trio cd's.
This Vol1
------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 21:14
| The four Mike Oldfield albums from the 70's might be good (Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, and Incantations). Rick Wakeman's 6 Wives of Henry the VIII. And the albums from Focus, I particularly like "Hamburger Concerto", and then "Moving Waves" is also very well liked. Actually, anything up to "Hamburger Concerto" is worthy of a listen. |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 23:40
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------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: January 16 2014 at 01:35
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Vangelis
early seventies experimental: The Dragon Hypothesis Earth the mid seventies electronic Heaven and Hell Albedo 0.39 Spiral Beauborg late seventies/ early eighties eclectic China Antarctica Soil Festivities Mask the late eighties and beyond Direct Oceanic Voices El Greco |
Posted By: Kobaek
Date Posted: January 16 2014 at 02:11
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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.
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Posted By: schizoidman
Date Posted: January 16 2014 at 09:17
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I would like to post one more song from that album. It really is worth hearing, imho:
------------- Making the useless useful 24/7. |
Posted By: mononokifool
Date Posted: January 17 2014 at 01:06
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Thanks again for all the recommendations. I am going to make a playlist with all of this music on youtube now. ------------- http://s187.photobucket.com/user/mononokifool/media/violet-1.gif.html" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: January 18 2014 at 08:36
Astra is a band that is really growing on me. I'm just listening to The Black Chord although I think The Weirding is probably the best of the 2.
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: January 18 2014 at 16:35
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Hi,
A lot of these are really good, and I've always even used the earlier Klaus Schulze stuff for meditations as the early period is fabulously good for it.
But, in general, for focus, in terms of studying, having anything in the background means that your attention is taken up a certain percentage, and I would like to recommend that you learn to study at a "higher percentage", so you can spend less time on it, and more time enjoying some of this music!
Acting example: 132 lines of the Messenger speech in Medea (Sophocles). You have to present this tomorrow!
You have two choices ... study these lines at 100% concentration and you will have them down in 3 hours or so, or study them at 80% concentration and it will take you 8 to 10 hours, and you will still miss some lines, because your attention span was not complete or there.
The difference? An A on one of those and a C, and you will not make it to the Advanced Acting class, because you do not have the discipline for it!
Now, ask yourself. Where do you want to be in your studies? ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: aapatsos
Date Posted: January 18 2014 at 16:51
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Just listening to a brilliant album by FROM.UZ - Sodom & Gomorrah which helped me to concentrate, check it out |
Posted By: Rick Robson
Date Posted: January 18 2014 at 17:58
Crippled Black Phoenix - for sure a very talented band, I've just listened again to this excellent album you recommended me:  The next one I'd like to know is Astra- The Weirding, hoping to enjoy it at least as much as I enjoyed Astra - The Black Chord. -------------  "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." LvB |
Posted By: mononokifool
Date Posted: January 19 2014 at 20:25
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. ------------- http://s187.photobucket.com/user/mononokifool/media/violet-1.gif.html" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Neo-Romantic
Date Posted: January 19 2014 at 20:47
| ^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. |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: January 19 2014 at 22:51
I want to recomend this 5-page thread of prog instrumentals from my country > http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=79149" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=79149  |
Posted By: Earthmover
Date Posted: January 20 2014 at 09:09
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cant believe no one has mentioned eno yet
music for airports is a beautiful album -------------  |
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: January 20 2014 at 11:37
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: January 22 2014 at 10:18
Doesn't matter the subject. Maybe what you just said is the reason why so much code does not improve and detail things better. Who knows? Because of that boredom, and folks not able to get past it?
It's up to you, and how smart and strong you want to be! I say do your work and then also spend your 100% moment enjoying the music!
You might as well be listening to muzak, otherwise, if the "value" in it, is not strong enough to grab your attention and help your concentration! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: January 22 2014 at 10:30
On another board, someone just trashed the "Thursday Afternoon" CD left and right, and many folks just don't get it, but I'm not sure that in a "traditional" way, this would be considered an "instrumental".
As much as I love this, I would imagine that "No Pussyfooting" could be considered "instrumental", but the later stuff when he is mathematically working on a sunthsizer and loops and such, I'm not sure that it should, correctly, be considered an "instrumental".
I would like to see Dean comment on this one, out of curiosity. ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: February 08 2014 at 21:00
| 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. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: February 09 2014 at 14:09
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Accordo Dei-Kublai
Miriodor-Cobra Fakir ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: arctarus2708
Date Posted: February 14 2014 at 04:38
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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 |
Posted By: warrplayer
Date Posted: February 14 2014 at 21:17
Great recommendations.  two of my favorite albums form the last couple years.
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Posted By: thwok
Date Posted: February 15 2014 at 07:33
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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. ------------- I am the funkiest man on the planet! |
Posted By: timothy leary
Date Posted: February 15 2014 at 12:42
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Posted By: Andrea Cortese
Date Posted: February 21 2014 at 05:19
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Instrumental albums to listen while reading you say... Well, ANTHONY PHILLIPS' Private Parts and Pieces series... a sure hit!!
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Posted By: Silverleaf
Date Posted: February 23 2014 at 07:15
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Try Kenny Mitchells album "Voyager" , it's melodic, instrumental and very kind of retro 70s style prog rock. Very pleasant and easy to listen to. He's unsigned but you'll find him on Bandcamp. You could also try "The Snow Goose" by Camel which is very nice too or "Oxygene" and "Equinox" by Jean Michel Jarre If you like rocky Guitary stuff there's a good one I like called "EE Ticket" by Marc Bonilla For acoustic guitar there's all of Gordon Giltraps albums - kinda medieval minstrel solo acoustic guitar stuff - very beautiful and clever. For more sort of arty farty stuff try Andreas Vollenweider : "Down to the Moon" is my particular favourite of his. Mo Foster also has a couple of nice albums which are prominent on the fretless bass "Bel Assis" and "Reunion" Finally : "Artistry" by Martin Taylor if you can find it. Solo jazz guitar and unbelievably amazing
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: February 23 2014 at 13:50
My favorite PR&R is the one AP first released on Larry Fast's Audion label, titled Slow Waves, Soft Stars...electronic bliss! 
------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: tszirmay
Date Posted: February 23 2014 at 13:58
Totally underrated magician , Varga is a stunning guitarist ! ------------- I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth. |
Posted By: Rick Robson
Date Posted: February 26 2014 at 06:35
My favourite Vangelis phase, but i don't know yet the album El Greco from 1998, the next i'm looking forward to. ------------- "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." LvB |
Posted By: jayem
Date Posted: February 26 2014 at 07:42
So your thoughts go like this: "for (i=0; i<thisArray.length; i++) { if (Arrayname == thisArray[i get by with a little help from my friends," and then you sing Mmm, gonna to try with a little help from my friends ! Do you need anybody?..." Powerful ! Why don't we have it filmed...And except for Tuvalu (intrumental but also sung parts ), the bands in my signature below are instrumental.
------------- http://www.digger.ch/?lang=en" rel="nofollow - Support mine-clearing ! https://bandcamp.com/machinechance/?lang=en" rel="nofollow - bandcamp collection |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: February 26 2014 at 16:14
its a good un
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: February 26 2014 at 20:58
Have you heard Direct? ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Rick Robson
Date Posted: February 27 2014 at 06:53
Only listened to "Metallic Rain" and "Message", sure i should tke a time to listen to this album as well as others from Vangelis, by now the first in my list keep being El Greco. ------------- "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." LvB |
Posted By: Rick Robson
Date Posted: April 24 2014 at 08:14
Damn right Richard, El Greco - just amazing! Now which would be the next? The Dragon, L' Apocalypse des Animaux, Earth, Opera Sauvage, Soil Festivities, Direct or Mask? ------------- "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." LvB |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: April 24 2014 at 14:26
You can't go wrong with any of those.The first three on the list don't have synths. L'Apocalypse des Animaux has easily the most beautiful ambient music I have ever heard. Just stunning. The Dragon with its 3 perfect tracks is probably the best though. I am very fond of Earth as well. Loads of energy and ethnic sounds. Mask is very powerful and intense featuring a great operatic choir allied with fast looping synths.Incredibly unique! Opera Sauvage and Soil Festivites are both 'new age' but that isn't a dirty word in my vocabulary. Direct is more a summation of Vangelis work to date. Not that unique but its still a great listen. I would go in that order.
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Posted By: aliano
Date Posted: April 25 2014 at 03:12
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Hostsonaten-4 seasons cycle albums(Springsong-Winterthrough-Autumn Symphony-Summereve) |
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: April 25 2014 at 05:23
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When I study I listen to: Mike Oldfield's early albums, Jean Michel
Jarre, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Miles Davis, which are instrumental,
although I can study to music with lyrics because usually I don't give
it much attention. Here's my instrumental recommendation: |
Posted By: Rick Robson
Date Posted: April 26 2014 at 06:19
Nice to read the suggestions of such a Vangelis expert like you, thanks a lot. ------------- "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." LvB |
Posted By: PC-72
Date Posted: April 26 2014 at 23:53
I see Jean Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream mentioned at last! But I don't see actual albums recommended. There's some risks and pitfalls with both, so I'll recommend Jarre's Oxygène and Equinoxe as they appear to be most conducive to studying. Let's put Oxygène 7-13 in there as well. As far as Tangerine Dream goes, you could do worse than Rubycon and Stratosfear. I'd say Phaedra first of all, but it takes a bit to get used to. Actually, scratch that; anything Tangerine Dream from the 70's and up to the early 80's would work. Now, how about Departure from the Northern Wasteland by Michael Hoenig? I see a lot of Klaus Schulze being offered, but besides just the single songs you could look into entire albums of his, such as Moondawn, Timewind, and Mirage since those three are perhaps his most "general" ones when it comes to the Berlin School genre. Ashra, with New Age of Earth... With Mike Oldfield, head straight for Hergest Ridge, though the ones immediately surrounding it are no less good bets. This is all from a "music for reading" perspective, mind you. (and now for me to jot down all the suggestions people have made; I'm always on the lookout for instrumental music myself, so this is a goldmine..!) ------------- A negative number was raised to a power that is not an integer. |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: April 27 2014 at 16:18
It's not cited too often, but Zoolook is an adventurous listen, and "Rendez-vous II" from Rendez-vous is beautiful.
At least up through Poland (1983) or even Le Parc (1985).
Wonderful album. Hoenig's 1987 album Xcept One is very different in tone, very "digital," but a great work nonetheless.
Ditto, those first two are essential.
Blackouts, Correlations, Belle Alliance are my favorites.
Agreed! ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: April 28 2014 at 01:10
| I'm fond of Rendez- vous as well especially 'Ron's Piece' (Last Rendez -vous) which is very beautifull. Magnetic Fields and Equinox are also great J M Jarre albums and Waiting For Cousteau is also an 'interesting' album. |
Posted By: PC-72
Date Posted: May 16 2014 at 01:00
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Bumping. Keep 'em comin', folks! OP ain't the only one takin' notes! ------------- A negative number was raised to a power that is not an integer. |
Posted By: Tapfret
Date Posted: May 16 2014 at 03:58
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Exivious
Salle Gauveau Korekyojin Happy Family The Aristocrats Hiromi Banco del Mutuo Socorsso - di Terra, Garafano Rosso Any of the combos with Alex Machacek Attention Deficit Michael Manring Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries Universe Zero - Used Nebelnest Guapo Gordian Knot Canvas Solaris? Allan Holdsworth - Sand, Heavy Machinery Bela Fleck & the Flecktones - any of the first 4 albums ------------- https://www.last.fm/user/Tapfret" rel="nofollow">  https://bandcamp.com/tapfret" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp |
Posted By: clearer1
Date Posted: May 28 2014 at 08:08
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Check these guys out, 2 ep's completely FREE to download here: http://blacklightsecret.bandcamp.com
Great band!  |
Posted By: npjnpj
Date Posted: May 29 2014 at 00:18
| Seeing that several people have already recommended Miles Davis, I'd like to add any piano solo albums by Keith Jarrett and most of Chick Corea's catalogue (without Return To Forever as these can be a bit too intense for studying purposes). |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: May 29 2014 at 01:27
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If you like something a bit funkier (features Neil Durant in his pre IQ days) |
Posted By: Watcher of the Sky
Date Posted: May 29 2014 at 02:56
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It have Vocals sometimes but is nothing that can really distract you (is just things like "depoiments") Hope you like it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPc3WKZzrQs
------------- Nous sommes du soleil |
Posted By: Bérghem
Date Posted: May 29 2014 at 07:14
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Id suggest The Red Zen https://soundcloud.com/the-redzen http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7141
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Posted By: Davesax1965
Date Posted: May 29 2014 at 07:19
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"Here's one I prepared earlier". ;-) http://brotherhoodofthemachine.bandcamp.com/album/hin-und-zuruck |
Posted By: Davesax1965
Date Posted: May 29 2014 at 07:20
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Also http://brotherhoodofthemachine.bandcamp.com/album/the-golden-voyage-to-samarkand Well, it has two spoken intro lines at the start. ;-) We'll be moving all our music to Musiczeit shortly.
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Posted By: AlanB
Date Posted: May 29 2014 at 10:35