Experimental

For many, the word "experimental" may inspire visions of a white-haired, lab-coated scientist furiously moving between bubbling beakers filled with odd-smelling substances. But when applied to music, the term refers to exploring the possibilities of sound, breaking boundaries, and challenging formally accepted definitions of "music."

Experimental artists communicate ideas that the languages of popular music are unable to express. These artists move beyond rock, jazz, electronic music, and other established idioms, sometimes blurring the lines between genres, sometimes creating sounds that fall outside known boundaries. Whether it's a harsh barrage of noise, a gentle wash of guitar, or a complex field recording, experimental music entices the listener to reevaluate preconceived notions. So take a chance and listen. You won't even have to put on a lab coat.


Genre walkthrough
Click here to hear a walkthrough of the Experimental genre. WALKTHROUGH


Artists in the Experimental Genre
1 Mile North
386 DX
9000 Drummers Featuring Kevin Carnes
A.M.P.
Aarktica
John Adams
Adult. vs. Solvent
Alien Soap Opera
All Scars
Aloha
Alp
Animal Collective
David Axelrod
Ayers/Everall/Harris
The Azusa Plane
Bablicon
Michel Banabila, Hannes Vennik, and Bobby
Gregg Bendian's Interzone
Han Bennink
Berliner Theorie
The Binary System
Black Dice
The Black Dog
Blectum from Blechdom
Kath Bloom With Loren MazzaCane Connors
Boredoms
Bovine Life
Glenn Branca
Anthony Braxton
Tyondai Braxton
Brise-Glace
Peter Brotzmann
John Cage
Capitol K
Capricorn
Jan Cardell
Cars Get Crushed
Casino Versus Japan
Samarai Celestial
Cheer-Accident
Kit Clayton
Nels Cline & Gregg Bendian
CocoRosie
Colongib & Christopher Graves
Colophon
Controlled Bleeding
John Corbett & Heavy Friends
Cornelius
Diego Cortez
David Coulter
Henry Cowell
The Cranium
Crescent
Cul de Sac
Alvin Curran
Dance Chromatic
Darkitecht
DAT Politics
Greg Davis
De Facto
Deerhoof
Eddie Def
Stuart Dempster
The Denison Kimball Trio
Disc
DNA Le Draw D Kee
Dntel
Charles Dodge
Don Caballero
Double Nelson
Downpour
EBLAKE
Edie Sedgwick
El Guapo
Elders Of Zion
Electric Bird Noise
Electric Birds
Electric Company
Matt Elliott
Eyeless In Gaza
Jad Fair and Jason Willett
Morton Feldman
Fibreforms
Dave Fischoff
Steve Fisk
The Flying Luttenbachers
Ellen Fullman
G.D. Luxxe & Solvent
Godspeed You Black Emperor!
Goem
Mathias Grassow
The Grassy Knoll
Guillermo Gregorio
Randy Greif
Hal Russell's Chemical Feast
Half Japanese
Hall of Fame
Lou Harrison
Harvey Milk
Healamonster
High Rise
William Hooker
Sarah Hopkins
Illusion of Safety
Iran
Ivanovich
The Japonize Elephants
Jhno
Sven-Ake Johansson
Steffen Basho Junghans
Edward Ka-Spel
Kid Koala
Kid606
Kiln
King Black Acid And The Womb Star Orchestra
King of Woolworths
Kohn
Kozo
David Kristian
L.O.S.D.
Steve Lacy, Irene Aebi, and Frederic Rzewski
Laminar
Suzanne Langille With Loren MazzaCane Connors
Laughing Stock
The Legendary Pink Dots
Lesser
Lilys
Live Human
Local Area Network
Loscil
The Lowdown
Lowfish
Lydia Lunch and Rowland S. Howard
Lustmord
M'Lumbo
Jake Mandell
Ingram Marshall
Takagi Masakatsu
Matmos
Loren MazzaCane Connors
Joe McPhee
Daniel Menche
Metamatics
Microphones
Gene Moore
Moslang & Guhl (Voice Crack)
Mount Analog
Mount Florida
Muslimgauze
Nachtluft
Need New Body
Negativland
Neurosis
Nocturnal Emissions
Noisegate
Ogurusu Norihide
Norken
K.K. Null
Tara Jane O'Neil
O.rang
Vidna Obmana & Asmus Tietchens
Octopus Inc
Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, and Panaiotis
Orb
OST
Nick Parkin
Pele
Various Artists - Penguin Mechanics Vol. III
People Like Us
Pepito
Per Mission
Phonem
Physics
Pilote
Johnny Pinkhouse
Plaid
Quintron
Radar
Rah Bras
Lee Ranaldo
Rapoon
Tom Recchion
Martin Rev
Terry Riley
Rook Vallade
ROVA Saxophone Quartet
Rovo
Ruins
Schlippenbach Quartet
Stefano Scodanibbio
Stephen Scott
Shadowbug 4
Shakuhachi Surprise
The Silverman
A Small Good Thing
So Takahashi
Soma Sonic
Sonic Youth
Soul-Junk
Spaceheads
Spaceheads and Max Eastley
The Spires of Oxford
SQ
Starometska
Stars of the Lid
Starship Beer
Mikael Stavostrand
Steam
Stilluppsteypa
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Storey/Ayers/Greif
Storm and Stress
Sunshine
Swans
sync, synthetic
Tar Baby
Tarentel
Tchicai-Schweizer
Tennis
Terminal 4
Theoretical Girls
The Third Eye Foundation
Luther Thomas/Human Arts Ensemble
Thuja
The Wharton Tiers Ensemble
Timeblind
Tinfoil Teakettle
Amon Tobin
Tone Language
Towns of Five Hundred or Less
Tranquil
Transmo
Tribes of Neurot
Noriko Tujiko
Otha Turner and the Afrossippi Allstars
TV on the Radio
Twine
The Vandermark 5
Tom Waits
Woe
Xiu Xiu
Young People
Richard Youngs
Z'Ev
Matthias Ziegler
Zoviet France