

Ask HN: What music alters your state of consciousness? - zen53

When you are feeling unproductive/unfocused what one piece of music alters your mind state and helps you refocus?
For me it's Carl Craig "At Les" http://bit.ly/3KfNRh
interested to know what yours is...
======
davepeck
Songite link: <http://www.songite.com/#e0eecb>

\--

Glenn Gould playing Bach.

London Elektricity's Syncopated City

Most pieces by Steve Reich

The Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack by Philip Glass.

Burial's Untrue.

Fujiya & Miyagi's Transparent Things.

Apparat's Walls

Miles Davis' In A Silent Way

DNTEL's Life Is Full Of Possibilities

The Weather Report's Heavy Weather & Black Market

...

I'm not sure what the linking thread is here. For example, elevator-cheesy
Heavy Weather is worlds apart from just about everything else on the list. But
it all works, at least to get me into the zone.

~~~
taifun
I never heard about Apparat, sounds great!

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kamme
Lately I've become a big fan of AIR, they make great instrumental tracks, as
well as songs with lyrics. I tend to listen to the soundtrack of the virgin
suicides quite a lot. Many people don't like the atmosphere of their music,
but I feel as if I get their songs. I also like the soundtrack of donnie
darko, the mood is quite unique, haven't discovered it anywhere else. I don't
know why but that kind of music doesn't distract me at all and makes me calm
and more productive.

~~~
tdm911
Two of my favourites as well. AIR are the perfect 'background music' and i
don't get distracted by their lyrics. The Donnie Darko soundtrack is moody and
atmospheric.

Also, anything by Sigur Rós. Not because they are a great band, but because
they don't sing in English (or Icelandic a lot of the time). I find their
music isn't distracting and really enthuses me.

------
tripngroove
I recently noticed that if I put on something extremely hard or caustic - some
kind of screamy metal like Protest the Hero or Tool - and turn the volume up
to the point where I can't hear anything else, I stop noticing the music
altogether. It kind of feels like it puts my auditory nerve on overload and
everything gets filtered out.

The intense, ear-crushing metal also confers the added bonus of warding away
pesky human distractions.

~~~
adriand
As an added benefit, you'll soon lose your hearing altogether and the annoying
sound of human voices will become a distant memory!

------
auston
Anything electro/techno:

\- Justice

\- Boyz Noise

\- MSTR KRFT

\- DeadMau5

\- Erick Morillo

\- (sometimes) A-Trak

This almost the _only_ way I can get work done, otherwise I am reciting lyrics
& enjoying guitar riffs.

~~~
kidsat
I've found these mixtapes by Moneypenny quite enjoyable:

<http://www.urchicago.com/spandexxxmixtape>

------
ronnier
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYUdixQGF0w> (Rossini La Gazza Ladra Overture
Abbado Vienna 1991)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CMo_mLNz38> (Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No.
1 - Mov 1, Part 1/3 (Martha Argerich, 1973))

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG2hGSL345I> (Rossini - William Tell overture
(Part 1))

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU_QR_FTt3E> (Rostropovich plays the Prelude
from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B49N46I39Y> (Holst - Jupiter)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLHj-eekdNU> (Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4, 4th
mvmt)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Sx5lbVlQA> (Pavarotti Last Performance
"Nessun Dorma" @ Torino 2006)

------
christofd
A varied selection:

Jazzanova

Old Blue Note Jazz stuff

Glenn Gould Goldberg Variations (1. version 1955)

Bach Cello Suites (Pierre Fournier)

Minimal Electronica

Daft Punk/ Justice/ Etienne de Crecy (French Electro)

Drum n' Bass (old Roni Size stuff - New Forms/ V Label)

almost forgot: Giles Peterson's monthly podcasts

------
rms
Alcest -- <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaDm6n2oo1c>

[http://rapidshare.com/files/90534814/Alcest_-
_Souvenirs_d_un...](http://rapidshare.com/files/90534814/Alcest_-
_Souvenirs_d_un_autre_monde.7z)

~~~
psawaya
Thanks, I had totally forgotten about Alcest. If I remember right, they
actually started out playing black metal

~~~
rms
The 2005 album Le Secret is _more_ black metal in that it has some dirty
vocals but purists would probably scoff at calling it black metal. I haven't
listened to Alcest's 2001 demo.

Alcest is a solo project of one guy from Amesoeurs. The full band Amesoeurs is
darker and actually black metal, though with an interesting mix of new wave.
Their recent album is good if a little inconsistent.

If you know more bands that sound like Alcest, I'd love your recommendations,
I haven't managed to find much with exactly that sound. Maybe some of Jesu's
recent stuff.

~~~
psawaya
I don't know if they're quite the same, but if you like Alcest, I bet you'd
enjoy Agalloch. The Mantle is really a beautiful album, though it has some BM
vocals.

I think the new Pelican album, What We All Come to Need, is also pretty
relaxing, and uses distorted guitars.

~~~
rms
Thanks for the recs, I like them both. Agalloch reminds me of Ulver.

------
JMiao
m83, bach, buckethead's acoustic work

i.e. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJud5kqFEDU>

------
ianbishop
air

boards of canada

burial

caribou

m83

memory tapes

mogwai

mum

ratatat

sigur ros

~~~
kyro
Caribou was formerly known as Manitoba, for any of you who want to look up
their older stuff. Really chill music.

I'll just put my list here while I'm at it:

-anything trance, mainly Tiesto

-Caribou (Manitoba)

-Architecture in Helsinki

-Frou Frou

-The Faint

-world music - no artists in particular as I just listen to last.fm radio channels.

------
Alex3917
It depends what state of consciousness I'm currently in and what state I'm
trying to get into. I think though that the best way to hack your state of
conscious is by selectively engaging or disengaging all of the senses at once.
There is actually a machine that was at least patented to do this for you,
although I'm not sure if it ever actually went into production or not:

[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-
Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sec...](http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-
Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-
bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN%2F5725472)

------
jonny_noog
Lately I've been liking Analogue Bubblebath and Selected Ambient Works Volume
II by Richard D. James, AKA Aphex Twin. I play the tracks softly when coding
and I feel it assists my concentration.

------
zoba
When I really listen to a few songs, at certain parts, I get an intense tingly
feeling all over my body that feels awesome.

Yes - Close to the Edge (when the organs come in) Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture
(the finale)

These two do it basically every time. Anyone know anything about this? Do
other people get this awesome tingling sensation?

I also find that harpsichord music is good for concentrating as well as music
by Can. In particular, I'll often put on Can's Tago Mago when I need to get
work done.

------
fogus
The music that alters my state tends to be the kind of music that creates an
atmosphere:

* Anything by Gas (but mostly Zauberberg and Königsforst)

* Eno and Fripp

* Burial

* Montauk

~~~
lowe
I'm with you. These two are great too:

* pole

* biosphere

------
fuzzmeister
Sahib Teri Bandi by The Derek Trucks Band: <http://www.songite.com/#c30f63>

(Disclosure: I built Songite a few weekends ago)

~~~
fallintothis
Wow, I'm really liking Songite. Great work keeping it simple -- not enough of
that these days.

Edit: Just noticed something playing around with it. Is there a way to correct
its results if it doesn't happen to get them right? For example, I searched
for _All That You Are_ by Mudvayne, and the only result that gets queued is an
8-second intro.

I like the "I'm Feeling Lucky" simplicity, but there should probably be a way
to fix the choice -- e.g., a button on the song for "not the right one" that
expands a list of search results.

~~~
fuzzmeister
Thanks. I'm definitely thinking about ways to correct songs that are wrong -
my current idea is a button next to each song that pops out a list of
alternatives.

------
peregrine
Ratatat usually gets me going.

------
niallsmart
Here's a Spotify collaborative playlist with some suggestions from the
above...

spotify:user:niallsmart:playlist:2Y7iDJaEoozuBDj4Npbm7L

~~~
zen53
Thanks Niall this is awesome. Syncing right now for the week ahead :)

~~~
niallsmart
Happy hacking :) Hopefully you're more productive as a result.

------
daeken
Not so much a particular piece, but many albums -- I rarely listen to single
songs, just albums and full discographies.

    
    
      Iron & Wine, particularly Woman King
      Splashdown and Universal Hall Pass
      Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream and The Incident
      Agents of Mercy
      The Flower Kings
      The Decemberists

------
m0th87
Apparat's Walls album. If there is a way to hack consciousness, Walls does it:
<http://www.lala.com/#album/1513490949824332234/Apparat/Walls>

Try Fractals part 1 and 2. It really does feel like the audible equivalent of
a fractal!

~~~
davepeck
Love the album.

As an aside, if you're an Ableton Live 8 user, you can go download Fractales
(both parts) as an Ableton Live Set -- part of their 10th anniversary
celebration. It is fun to tease apart the track and figure out what makes it
tick.

<http://www.ableton.com/able10-artist-packs> (see Apparat)

------
tptacek
<http://searchyc.com/submissions/ask+hn+music>

~~~
unalone
This one I think is an interestingly specific question. I'm not upvoting it,
but I'm not flagging it, either: It might lead to interesting answers.

Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians does it for me. It's a beautiful,
pulsating piece, with every movement focusing on a single chord, with no
progressions for minutes at a time. It's one of the most unique classical
pieces I've ever heard, and it gets my mind in a relaxed mood almost
instantly.

~~~
davepeck
You might find some other Reich tunes equally powerful, then. Among the best
I've found for programming: Electric Counterpoint, Tehillim [Original ECM
recording], You Are (Variations), Eight Lines (the re-instrumented version of
Octet), and Music For A Large Ensemble.

(Reich has also written some wonderful music that I find harder to listen to
in a programming context, including the landmark Different Trains [try the
recording that also has Electric Counterpoint], City Life, and the Desert
Music [try the San Francisco Symphony recording])

~~~
rms
Also check out Terry Reiley...

~~~
unalone
I've heard that before. Where would you recommend I start with him.

~~~
rms
I like A Rainbow in Curved Air, but it may be a little distracting for
programming work.

~~~
unalone
That's okay: I'm not a programmer.

~~~
tptacek
You're not? What are you?

[edit: that came out wrong]

~~~
unalone
Uncertain. Definitely not a programmer.

------
Ixiaus
A lot of Psybient music:

Shpongle, Bluetech, Entheogenic, Phutureprimitive

A lot of Dubstep:

XeNMaSTA, Cookie Monsta, Bassnectar, 16Bit, Logik

Ambient space music:

Steve Roach, (quite a few here, too lazy to look em up)

Classical Guitar:

Jesse Cook, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Zabuca, Linstead

~~~
z8000
Steve Reich?

~~~
Ixiaus
Never heard of him, Steve Roach does really awesome ambient music though...

------
AndrewO
Anything instrumental and epic sounding. Right now my favorites are:

* Explosions in the Sky

* Red Sparowes

* British Sea Power's Man of Aran Soundtrack

I'd also recommend a band called Souvenir's Young America which sounds like
the soundtrack to a zombie/western movie.

~~~
rms
You would like Crippled Black Phoenix -- not entirely instrumental, but
similar influences. Linked is their recent double album, Night Raiders opens
with their post-rockiest track.

[http://rapidshare.com/files/177917402/CBP_-_2009_The_Resurre...](http://rapidshare.com/files/177917402/CBP_-_2009_The_Resurrectionists_by_exhalethesound.blogspot.com.rar)

[http://rapidshare.com/files/177890387/CBP_-_2009_Night_Raide...](http://rapidshare.com/files/177890387/CBP_-_2009_Night_Raiders_by_exhalethesound.blogspot.com.rar)

------
Sapient
I find trance music extremely unobtrusive and yet motivating. Almost
everything else is distracting.

I am a sworn procrastinator, yet as soon as I turn on one of Armin van Buurens
radio sessions, I can do an entire days work in two hours.

------
nvn1
The Bladerunner soundtrack has worked wonders for focusing my mind since about
the age of 15. Gastr del Sol's Camoufleur LP also performed admirably during
my arduous PhD write-up.

------
adg
I really like stuff without lyrics that's fairly repetitive. Some examples:
<http://www.songite.com/#c1f21f>.

------
ulfstein
Most of the soundscapes from WildSanctuary (<http://bit.ly/2IHocS>) have a
pretty amazing effect on my productivity.

~~~
raju
I just discovered NatureSpace [<http://www.naturespace.com/>]. They call is
"Holographic Sound", and its pretty amazing. Check out their website (there is
a preview on their landing page, and I strongly recommend having a pair of
stereo headphones/earbuds on ;-) )

They have a free iPhone app, well if you have an iPhone, and want to try it
out.

[Update - Seems they have options for the Android too]

------
lg
I particularly like arch carrier, by autechre:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYikLIMPHSs>

------
jrandom
The later works of Scriabin. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Scriabin>

------
darkxanthos
Prince (the old stuff) I have tons of music but that's realy the best stuff
for getting me to focus and make me feel energized.

------
z8000
Stars of the Lid

------
aristus
Rachmaninoff. Also, look at "pink noise" tapes: rainforests, oceans, all that
new-agey crap. It actually works.

------
Keyframe
Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, New London consort, Slash's Snakepit... and
many many many more

------
niels
vocal trance <http://di.fm/vocaltrance>

~~~
vyrotek
<http://di.fm/trance> is really good on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Global DJ
Broadcast and Corsten's Countdown are awesome.

------
cpach
That's an interesting question!

But please post full links rather than shortened ones.

------
astine
For me, it depends on the day. Today, I put on some 90's ska. It's not usually
that.

------
h2odysee
Jean Michel Jarre

Shpongle

------
pauldelany
recommend Boards of Canada

------
clawrencewenham
The Future Sound Of London, especially their old radio sessions

------
Mr_question
I like any upbeat mowtown or stax records jams.

------
nedwin
Ratatat Kelley Polar Bon Iver The Knife

------
taifun
I love Bygdin, esp the Setesdal track.

------
cma
fateh ali khan

(p.s. unless you need to meet a text message minimum, don't use url
shorteners)

------
bobbyi
phish

grateful dead

john coltrane

------
chanux
trance, rock

------
zen53
Thanks for all the great answers HN...inspired by NiallSmart (see comment) I
created a playlist of all the music mentioned in this post - it features one
track of every artist listed in the comments. Specific track was used when
referenced.

spotify:user:zen53:playlist:5JtUZrhOvBV0IqySyhoDwF thanks again!

