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Ask HN: What music alters your state of consciousness?

37 points by zen53 ↗ HN
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...

86 comments

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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])

unalone
I'm a huge Reich fan. City Life is incredible.
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.
bingaman
If you like Reich, try "In C". Not sure that I could code to it though. Maybe. PS: It's Terry Riley.
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)

zen53
Fractals part1 and 2 now on my playlist - thank you!
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...

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

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.
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!
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.

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.
davepeck
I just updated my original post with a songite link. It's a very nicely designed tool!

(I had trouble finding a sharable version of Weather Report's Palladium. Any way you can give me choices when I want/need them?)

kamme
OT: some feedback, I'm on a 1200x800 screen and there is a scrollbar that serves no purpose. I changed the margin of #container to margin:50px auto auto; and the scrollbar is gone. Or you could make the top margin like 5% to behave better on bigger screens. Not much else to say except nicely done!
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.

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.

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.
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)

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.

nuba
Do Make Say Think works wonders for me. and also Egberto Gismonti.
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.

aristus
Rachmaninoff. Also, look at "pink noise" tapes: rainforests, oceans, all that new-agey crap. It actually works.
clawrencewenham
The Future Sound Of London, especially their old radio sessions
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!

Mr_question
I like any upbeat mowtown or stax records jams.
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