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Ask HN: What focus/coding music are you listening to these days?
25 points by bane on July 26, 2023 | hide | past | favorite | 34 comments
I always find HN's recommendations for focus/coding music fantastic and helps really expand my horizons of what's out there. I think it was HN that introduced me to Low-Fi Hip-hop as an example.

Recently I've been really listening to a lot of the new Underworld Drift music and Spoq (both on youtube) depending on my mood, though I tend to sort of steer towards old fashioned proto-IDM music like the classic Artificial Intelligence albums by Warp Records, and the Ambient works by Aphex Twin. The Black Dog by Spanners is sometimes incredible.

What are you listening to these days?




Generally (and for the last 20 years or so), the excellent SomaFM[1]. Mostly DefCon and Groove Salad with some Synphaera[2], AAC streams all saved in a playlist in Strawberry, has been my regular goto.

Otherwise, I've been on a Synthwave/chillwave kick, since it reminds me of my younger years (80's/90's... rose-tinted glasses and all that). The Midnight; Brian Eno; Tycho; Tangerine Dream; etc... or whatever comes up on Tidal and Spotify.

My favorite though is Spotify's "Synthwave from Space" playlist[3] from aofd3. Otherwise, hard rock/metal, classical, ambient/"concentration" style playlists, etc... anything really, depending on what I'm doing. Sometimes just a local terrestrial radio station is good enough.

[1]https://somafm.com/

[2]https://somafm.com/defcon/ https://somafm.com/groovesalad/ https://somafm.com/synphaera/

[3]https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4sgUux9hmykyWYmVoe4W6p?si=...


On my side, I listen to Unreal Tournament OST, Hitman OST by Jesper Kyd and a playlist of tracker music from the 90s on Youtube. Occasionally, I also listen to Kraftwerk "Computerlove" album and Rage Incoming OST.


Oh great choices. I don't know if this is up your alley, but I'll sometimes just "shuffle play" on this site.

https://chiptune.app/browse

And Nectarine can be good sometimes

https://www.scenestream.net/demovibes/


I just stumbled upon your posts while listening to this Neurodancer compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-lq20_9_Vs

And previously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W68EAyBwI28

Man, there's something about those old amiga tunes that keep me coming back. Plus I learned a lot from the demoscene when I was a kid, even tho the amiga was on its way out already.

I binge stuff like that or arcadey songs from mid 2000s games like Need for Speed, UT, when I wanna get fired up before coding or starting my day, or when delivering something under the clock (pressure mine, really)

For focusing, as in real focusing, that's a different story: I prefer ambient peaceful drone songs, or some minimal compositions. Kind of Tomasz Bednarczyk, Chihei Hakateyama, or just plain rain noise.

There's an in between that could be anything, but for what I like to call 'thinking music' I find more moved compositions, like Hania Rani fititng.


Mostly classical music. Nothing in particular, I'll usually look up spotify-curated playlists like "Baroque classics" or "French Composers" etc.

Music with singing is too distracting when I'm working, and so is music that I'm overly attached to or get excited by - for instance jazz.

Spotify has a ton of ambient playlists too. I feel like ambient tracks strike a good balance for me when working.


>Music with singing is too distracting when I'm working,

Same here.

>and so is music that I'm overly attached to or get excited by - for instance jazz.

Same again, for jazz. A friend who invited me to a jazz concert years ago, and talked a bit about it, said that jazz kind of "makes you listen to it", IIRC. I don't know why it is so, but it seems he was right.


I usually find anything that overly activates my language centers to be a problem. So singing in English? no way. Singing in a language I don't know? Could work depending.


In general my rule is "stuff I've listened to hundreds of times over the decades". If music is new to me I find myself paying too much attention to it. The best example of this is Yes's Tales From Topographic Oceans, I've listened to it for 50 years.

For some reason the exception to this is Club Dubstep on di.fm.


Movie Soundtracks! You can start with all the ones nominated for awards and figure out what you like from there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAFTA_Award_for_Best_Original_...

I tend to like TV soundtracks for suspenseful shows. Action movies/shows are too bombastic generally.


Loads of Max Cooper [1] and other misc from Mesh [2]. Always new bits of interest from every listen. Also very much looking forward to (finally) experiencing a live show with upcoming AU gigs.

[1]: https://maxcooper.net/

[2]: https://www.meshmeshmesh.net/


Chillwave like this [0] or the original Ghost in the Shell soundtrack.

Edit: Also great to block out the environment is this [1], I donated 50€ years ago and still get to listen to everything.

[0] https://hellometeor.bandcamp.com/ [1] https://mynoise.net/


Dawn of Midi’s Dysnomia

https://dawnofmidi.bandcamp.com/album/dysnomia

Laurie Spiegel’s The Expanding Universe

https://lauriespiegel.bandcamp.com/album/the-expanding-unive...


I make my own: https://vibrafox.bandcamp.com/


Vilayat Khan - Rarely Heard Ragas.

Buddha's Flute - Osho Dream. Go for the Lamaste channel one, the best, IMO. I also use it to help me sleep.


my 2 cents for Osho Dream. Listen to it before interviews


When I’m developing usually I listen 24h news channels in background, to keep myself informed about the world.

Otherwise I listen my jazz bebop playlist: https://music.apple.com/it/playlist/jazz/pl.u-qxpMIJYRBl?l=e...


That's interesting, I usually find people talking/singing in a language I even partially understand to be highly disruptive to my coding/writing work. It sort of short-circuits my language centers.

I wonder if people locate developing into different brain centers?


> people talking/singing in a language I even partially understand to be highly disruptive

That's readily addressed:

Luritja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSJmwEZhLp8

Djambarrpuynu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lmZXAdSMQI

Kuanua: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvNFKL8h2U

If you're looking for patterned music to keep the world at bay you might look to composers like Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Wim Mertens, etc.

eg:

Music for 18 Musicians - Steve Reich

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJWO2FQ16c


At the beginning was not easy, is like -for me- to listen a podcast in English and read text in Italian. You need to get a bit used to it, the important thing is that I don’t “listen/follow” really the news in Italian when I’m developing in English, I only keep it in background as “a companion voice”.


Also:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/ti%C3%ABsto-at-edc-las-vega...


I like the Phonk genre, here is the great playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4yuqaqob6d9Wb3NTB0hXyw?si=...


Only things I can trigger on Alexa. I can’t have music playing on my computer when I’m doing things on the computer. Just can’t.

So usually classical playlists or instrumental jazz or study beats. I don’t hunt for new things honestly.


I used to listen to Joe Satriani albums, Crystal Planet was getting me into the mood, also Super Collossal was OK. Other albums are OK too, he almost never repeats himself.

I also liked Starblast ost, it had good tempo.


I have listened to the Hearts of Space radio show for 20+ years: https://v4.hos.com/home


Some of you have great recommendations! Unfortunately mine are pretty boring - usually either Music Made for Airports or some Lofi.


Weightless, by Marconi Union

Years ago I heard on a podcast that this albums was proven in a study to increase function. So either that or a mighty good placebo for me.


Mainly some kind of instrumental Rock/Metal, like Animals as Leads or Plini. I have a huge playlist with a bunch of artists that repeats after two full work days.


oh wow, great recommendation. I can get tired of electronic music sometimes and good instrumental rock/post rock stuff can work great. I've listened to a lot of Tycho in the past as an example.


Hardtechno, Schranz and German Hardtekk. Always makes me feel like I'm a superhuman and can power through the Pull Requests


This time of year I'm almost always listening to classical music as it's Proms season.


Jazz without lyrics, many flavors


Video game lofi


Tomorrowland


Tritonia




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