This past year has been a rough one for indie music. Many of the artists we’ve come to know and love have either dropped off the face of the planet, or, worse yet, sold out. For all those who have remained true to their craft, we have made this list in honor of you all. Here are our top 10 best indie electronic music producers right now:
10. Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains: Producer Grainger is known for his unique sound and his ability to take on any musical project at hand. His new album, “Innocent”, is set to release later this month, and is highly anticipated by fans of the genre.
9. Grizzly Bear: Grizzly Bear has been around since 2006 and they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Their latest album “Veckatimest” was released just last year and earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album; not bad for a band that started as a solo project in 2005! Their sound is unique because each member contributes something different from their own musical background, which makes it hard not to love them!
8. Neon Indian: Neon Indian’s first album was released in 2009 but it didn’t take long for them to make their mark on the
This list is part two of two, the first being “Top 10 Indie Electronic Bands Right Now”.
“Indie electronic” can be defined as electronic music made by independent artists, who are free to make the music they want. As opposed to artists who are forced to make music that will sell.
In this list I will tell you about 10 indie electronic producers and why I think they are the best right now.
I have ranked them in order of what I consider their quality and popularity. All these artists come from different genres within the broad category of “electronic”, but all have a large influence over the whole scene.
1. Bonobo
Bonobo is a British musician, producer, and DJ. He has been making music for over 10 years. Bonobo’s sound is an amalgamation of cool trip-hop beats with lush strings and percussion. His songs are cinematic in nature, which makes them perfect for film trailers or movie scenes. Bonobo’s music has been featured in TV shows like Netflix’s “House of Cards” and HBO’s “Entourage.”
2. Caribou
Caribou is another great indie electronic music producer from Canada. Caribou, also known as Dan Snaith, creates beautiful, upbeat tracks that are catchy and fun to listen to. Caribou has released six albums since the early 2000s. His most recent album, “Our Love,” was released in 2014 and received critical acclaim across the globe.
3. Tycho
Scott Hansen, aka Tycho, is a San Francisco-based artist who creates dreamy electronic music under the moniker Tycho. Hansen incorporates elements of ambient and IDM into his songs to create beautiful soundscapes that take listeners on a sonic journey through time and space. Tycho’s latest album, “Awake,” was released in 2014 and features vocal contributions from Scottish singer-song
Its no secret that electronic music has gotten increasingly popular over the last few years, especially in America. However, the majority of this new found love for electronic music is directed towards the commercially successful artists like Deadmau5 and Skrillex.
This post will cover some of the up-and-coming indie producers that deserve your attention. Most of these guys are not well known, but they are definitely on their way to success. They all have their own style and sounds, so I am sure you will find something you like here.
Without further ado, here is my list of 10 indie electronic music producers you should know about:
10. Pretty Lights
Pretty Lights is more popular than many others on this list, but he still deserves a mention as he has become one of the most successful American electronic DJs/producers in recent years. His music can be categorized as trip hop or downtempo, with heavy influence from jazz, blues and funk samples.
10. Bag Raiders
Bag Raiders are an indie electronic music duo from Australia. They formed in 2006 and released their self-titled debut album in 2010. The album included the popular single “Shooting Stars” which was featured in a meme and was played on the television show “Gossip Girl”. Their second album, “Horizons”, was released in 2016. Two years later they released “Waterfalls”.
9. Le Youth
Le Youth is the stage name of indie electronic music producer Wes James. He is best known for his song “Cool” which samples Cassie’s “Me & U” and has over 200 million streams on Spotify. James also has other hits such as “Dance With Me”, “About Us” (featuring Tay Beckham), and more recently he collaborated with Ava Max on her song “Sweet but Psycho”.
8. RAC
RAC is the stage name of indie electronic music producer André Allen Anjos, who is primarily a remixer but also produces original work. His first release came in 2007 when he remixed The Shins’ song “Australia” which was featured on the soundtrack to the film “Garden State”. In 2009 he released his first EP, followed by his first full length album
In a time where Electronic music has become nothing but mainstream and popular, it’s hard to find authentic indie electronic producers. What makes this list so unique is the underground quality of each artist’s work.
The list is in order of my personal favorite on top to my 10th favorite on the bottom.
10. Blood Diamonds: Blood Diamonds is an electronic producer from Canada. In 2013 he had many songs that were released on separate EPs. Blood Diamonds is known for his use of recording artists’ vocals and sampling them onto his own beats. His most famous song is “Barbara Streisand” with a sample from Duck Sauce’s “Barbara Streisand” which was one of the most famous songs in 2010.
1. M83
M83 is a French electronic music project created in 2001 by Anthony Gonzalez and formerly co-produced with Nicolas Fromageau. The band is named after the galaxy Messier 83, and their albums are often named after celestial objects.
2. College
College is David Grellier, a French musician specializing in synthwave and chiptune music. He has released his records on the Valerie label since 2007.
3. Com Truise
Com Truise (a.k.a Seth Haley) is an American electronic musician from Oneida, New York. He is currently based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Since 2010, he has released two studio albums, Galactic Melt (2011) and In Decay (2013), as well as the 2015 mini-album Silicon Tare on Ghostly International.
4. Tycho
Tycho is the solo project of Scott Hansen as primary composer, songwriter, producer and mixer based in San Francisco, California, United States. Hansen uses the name ISO50 for his photographic work and runs an associated blog of the same name as well as a design firm called The League of Moveable Type (with Jesse Ragan).