| Artist |
Title |
Description |
Buy
at Amazon USA or UK
|
Suggested
By
|
| Adventures
in Stereo |
Adventures
in Stereo (1st album) |
One
of the ultimate musical definitions of Dreambeat .... just get
lost in Adventures in Stereo,in the garden, in the country on
a late summers evening. You'll never want to wake up from the
halcyon dreams of a lost childhood this music draws you into. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Air |
The
Virgin Suicides (sound track) |
Still
swimming in a sea of major/minor melancholy but no sign of the
voices from Moon
Safari which gave that extra dimensional edge... but still
brilliant. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Air |
Moon
Safari |
Apart
from a deceptively unimaginative album title which sounds more
like a cheap perfume, this is otherwise an ingenious blend of
supersmooth melody and psychedelic, thematic lounge.... "All
I Need" being one of the finest, deep cutting songs of the
1990's. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Allegri |
Miserere
Mei, Deus |
The
inclusion of choral works in these listings has nothing to do
with any religious context whatsoever. The point is that this
ancient music can produce some of the most stunning harmonics
in the history of creative sound ... and Allegri's Miserere is
one of the most haunting, moving and melancholic of such pieces.
|
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Art
Blakey |
Soundtracks
for "Des Femmes Disparaissent" and Les Liasons Dangereuses |
Ultra
cool, slightly quirky, catchy, thematic late 50's Paris jazz. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Bach,
J.S |
General
|
These
Amazon links lead you to a selection of Bach CDs. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Billy
Cowie - Lucie and Cathryn Robson |
La
Chanson Bien Douce |
25
Verlaine settings beautifully sung by Lucie and Cathryn Robson,
written by Billy Cowie. |
UK
|
L-G |
| Brian
Eno |
Music for
Films / Music for Airports
|
The
godfather of ambient who has been an influence to many sound shapers
and synth-heads. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Bulgarian
State Radio /TV Female Vocal Choir |
Le
Mystere Des Voix Bulgares |
If you have never experienced this
amazing cultural phenomenon of vocal harmonic / dynamic perfection,
now is your chance. Expand your view of world music... this is
the first stepping stone and it will astound you. Click through
to purchase. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Byrds |
the
Notorious Byrd Brothers |
Definitive
60's soft psychedelia. Classic summer road music. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Carol
King |
Its
Too Late (from the album Tapestry) |
A
song and a voice you can never ever tire of. Tapestry is a classic
album of the 70's but timeless due to its un-effected and transparently-produced
qualities... a perfect balance. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Chicane
|
Offshore
/ Early |
Drift
into it... past the dawn. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Cibo
Matto |
Sugar
Water (from the album Viva! La Woman) |
Cute,
groovy and underrated. Underscored with intelligent sampling and
production which is complimentary to the main vocals. |
USA
CD
|
L-G |
| Delius |
In
A Summer Garden |
Perfect
afternoon tea side dish with the cucumber sandwiches |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Dominique
Durand - from the band Ivy |
"Worry
About You" from the album Long Distance |
db
listing - top music choice
Ivy are a lo-fi gem from New York who have slipped almost unnoticed
into the top ten of favourite background music for tv shows and
movies. "Worry About You" is an outstanding offering from the
band's album "Long Distance", and surpasses even much of their
probable influences such as Portishead etc. Ivy make it into this
listing on that one track alone, but what gives them a place on
the top of the Dreambeat
Essentials is Paris born singer Dominique Durand ... An ultimate
dream-voice laced with pure pop melancholy. Simple, sultry - radiating
natural, liquid-emotion. Classy, without sounding over-trained
or contrived … Anna Karina, Francoise Hardy, Stereolab and a touch
of St Etienne instantly spring to mind....
...read
the rest of this Looking-Glass review |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Doors |
Riders
on The Storm / Light My Fire |
With
tracks like these never close The Doors behind you... |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Dreambeach |
Angels
Cry |
Dreambeach
are a refreshingly unpolished dreambeat-style duo, originally
discovered on the old MP3.com website. You can now buy their albums
via their own website. |
USA
|
L-G |
| Dusty
Springfield |
The
Look of Love |
Bacharach/David
masterpiece... the finest swansong for Dusty Springfield. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Elephants
Memory |
Old
Man Willow (from the soundtrack of Midnight
Cowboy) |
Eerie
psychedelic with an assorted arrangement of key and swing changes.
This is on the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack mainly by John
Barry. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Future
Sound of London |
Dead
Cities |
Clever
use of the musical canvas creating tonal perspectives to a very
high standard with no noticeable naff synth sounds. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Gary
Lucas |
Skeleton
at The Feast |
Includes
live soundtrack performance to Galeens gothic fantasy horror.
See The Golem
in film section for details or visit Gary
Lucas website |
USA |
L-G |
| Gibbons
(Orlando) |
General
|
Not
the "lets all join in hymns"... no way! but the alternativechoral
and instrumental compositions. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Gong |
I Never Glid Before / Castle in the Clouds (from
the Album Angels Egg) |
A
quircky, bizzare musical off-roader refelecting UK and Europe's
hive of contemporary activities in the early seventies. Also an
effective guitar intermission by Steve Hillage. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Hefti |
Theme
from The Odd Couple |
ditto
description as Taxi. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Holst
|
The
Planets (Venus, the bringer of Peace) |
Holsts
masterpiece... but Venus stands alone as a the celestial body
of eerie emotion. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Hooverphonic |
2wicky |
Belgium
Subultracool drum n' bass team, which takes the best of all ambient
worlds with a splash of Portishead. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Isis
Project |
The
Isis Project - Guy Chambers and Sophie Hunter |
The
Isis project was released in mid 2005 and sung by UK based actress
Sophie Hunter, the niece of Jane Birkin.
Playing this CD from the beginning, the album promises to be a
consistently beautiful collection of tunes, written by Guy Chambers,
that strongly reflect the style and textures of 60's French singers,
such as Francoise Hardy, Anna Karina and Birkin herself. The first
two tracks, 'Chère Isis' and 'Les Amants d'Edimbourg' reflect
this genre perfectly, but by the third song the music bizarrely
falls flat into an amateurishly produced collection of meandering,
self-absorbed, and often over-flourishing compositions.
Programmed with a hotchpotch of uninspiring drum and synth samples,
the remaining tracks give the impression of scratch-pad demos
rather than professionally arranged studio productions.
The only thing that saves the remainder of this album is Hunter's
truly beguiling voice. What on earth went wrong with the direction
of this album after the first two tracks is anyone's guess, but
the Isis Project could so easily have been one of the finest
concepts of its kind to be released this decade. Buy the album
all the same, because along with a beautifully designed CD casing,
the first two songs are worth every penny, but the spell may easily
be broken if you play the rest. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| James
Taylor |
Fire
and Rain (From the album Greatest Hits) |
Songs
in the same perfect melting pot as Carol
King. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Jan
Garbarek and The Hilliard Ensemble |
Parce
mihi domine (from the album Officium) |
The
follow up album to Officium is embarrassingly naff and should
not be put in context with this original experiment in ancient
choral / jazz fusion production which worked very well. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| jAntonio
Carlos Jobim |
General
|
The
master of pink champagne lounge although be selective because
he, also, can go a bit heavy on the cheese. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| jBob
James |
Theme
from Taxi (Angela) |
There
are few TV themes which capture the ambience as a prelude to the
program itself...this is one such theme which does exactly that. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Jethro
Tull |
Life's
A Long Song EP |
A
period when this band where still relatively unaffected by over
flashy musology and still delivered emotional and heartfelt melodic
textures. (can only find "Life's A Long Song" most of
Tull's stuff after '79 misses the mark). |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Jimi
Hendrix |
Electric
Ladyland |
Only through the free spirit in Hendrix can true soul inspired
guitar artistry make sense... .It also confirms why so many third
rate twiddly fiddly rock lead guitar players down the pub just
don't get it... do they. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Jocelyn
Pook |
All
works |
Jocelyn Pook's assemblage of musical
perfection is achieved through intelligent use of sampling,
intuitive, flowing song structures and her own beguiling dream-girl
voice. This sonic montage exhibits incredibly imaginative drama
and melancholy, both light and shade. In fact nearly everything
euphoric about genuine musical emotion is derived through her
works. Extraordinarily harmonious with the core essence of the
dreambeat definition. See also her acclaimed soundtrack for
"The Merchant of Venice"
|
USA
UK
CDs
Untold
Things
Flood
Blow
the Wind
|
L-G |
| John
Ireland |
General
|
Both
Ireland's early piano and chamber works are worth exploring...
some more accessible than others. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| jQuincy
Jones |
$
(The Heist) soundtrack |
Lost
classic, which is bound to be "rediscovered" by trendy
media spotters at some point... and thereby used in a car commercial
as has Bulitt and Jimmy
Smith. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Julie
London |
Cry
Me A River |
Smoky,
sultry queen of cool lounge jazz. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Led
Zeppelin |
L-Z
III side two tracks 1 to 3 |
A
set of deeper, real and refined melancolic accoustic songs which
seem to have otherwise gone over the heads of the usual Stairway
to Heaven brigade. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Leftfield |
A
Final Hit... etc |
Headphones,
horizontal, summer night, empty field. Stir emotions with stunning
tracks like A Final Hit. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Liquid
Alice |
(theme
from) The Liberec Affair / on Eclipse |
Retro
but timeless classic reminiscent of the 60's 70's cold war romance
themes... On Eclipse produces atmospheric filtrations and sonically
well animated title description. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| lMichel
Legrand |
Theme
from Summer
of '42 |
Michel
Legrand's sensitive composition which melts in your mouth. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Love |
Alone
Again Or |
Absolute
pinnacle of 60's acidpop.... just a beautiful song... press repeat. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Lush |
Sweetness
and Light |
Magical. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Madrigals
(Early Italian) |
General
|
The
magic potion for drifting into time travel late at night. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Mahler |
Symphony
No 5, Adagietto (music from the film Death
in Venice) |
Incredibly
moving and timelessly emotional. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Massive
Attack |
Unfinished
Sympathy (from Blue Lines)
Teardrop.
(from Mezzanine)
Protection
(with Tracey
Thorn on vocals)
(from Protection)
|
Essential
sonic solutions to encircle and pacify any emotional angst.
"Protection" eminates a stunning infinite groove. Take
a look at the promo maker Michel Gondry, an outstanding visionary
who directed this and also the listed Cibo
Matto videos... Perfect audio to visual interpretations. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Mazzy
Star |
Fade
Into You (from the album So Tonight that I might
See) |
With
a voice (and looks) like Mazzy Star the majority of the productions
so far don't justify her potential. But this track works well,
out of context. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Miles
Davies |
Lift
To the Scaffold (sound track) |
If
only there were stations which played just this pure definition
of smoky melancholy, instead of the meaningless thwacky-bass-UK
funk-muso-crap which otherwise pollutes the "Jazz" airwaves. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Miles
Davies |
In
A Silent Way |
The
origin of contemporary freestyle so subtle and underscored you
could play this eternally as incidental background to your own
life ... a circle, never ending... just press repeat on your player...
and drive... and do things. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Miles
Davies |
Kind
of Blue |
The
definitive of smoky jazz... so smoky in fact it's best to leave
the windows open to keep carcinogens at safer breathing levels. |
USA
UK
|
|
| Monkees |
Head (soundtrack)
also I'm
a Believer
|
A most original concept created
by The Monkees with some help from Frank Zappa. A cross blend
of musical extremes and sounds which, retrospectivly has since
paid off... becoming a cult classic 30 years later (see Head
in the film listing for further details).
Play "I'm A Believer"
back to back with The Archies' "Sugar Sugar".
|
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Nielsen |
Piano
Works |
Like
a flickering log fire music like this works as an unobtrusive
relaxant whilst busying away on your desktop... |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Nouvelle
Vague |
Nouvelle
Vague |
db
listing - top music choice
Released in early 2004 but only recently discovered by TV advert
makers (so you now hear extracts of this album on everything ...
which is kind of a shame), Nouvelle Vague is an amazing reworking
of 1980's new wave songs sung in a Latin style by the cutest sounding
French female singers. Yes ... it's a bizarre mix of musical genres,
but it works brilliantly.
Truly outstanding, and the best album of its kind to appear in
the first decade of the 21st century. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Palestrina |
General
|
Silent
nights though country roads and misty mornings by still shores..... |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Pink
Floyd |
Atom
Heart Mother - Side Two |
The
fine French band Air
(also listed) are obviously hugely influenced by this stuff. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Popol
Vuh |
General
|
The
name Popol Vuh is the Mayan "Book of the Dawn of Life"
The band Popol Vuh led by Florian Fricke are responsible for the
haunting background music in Werner
Hertzog's best films... Another sub-harmonic of the dreambeat.
|
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Portishead |
Dummy |
Mostly
tracks of a dreambeat nature. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Quincy
Jones |
Everything
Must Change |
Quality
vocal track from the album Body Heat. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Radiohead |
Street
Spirit |
A
cross between Mash
and traditional english folk song.. in fact it sounds like a whole
of things but its still a groovy track. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Radiohead |
Talk
Show Host |
You
can also find this on the sountrack to Romeo and Juliet. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Robert
Miles |
Children |
Whirly
whirly feel-good... but shame about the token club-Ibiza-hammering-on-a-cardboard-box.
|
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Roberta
Flack |
Killing
Me Softly With His Song |
Same
story goes here as with the David Cassidy description but this
track was covered reasonably well but spoilt by completely out
of place flavour-of-the-month rap chat...so... hear this, the
timeless original. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Saint
Etienne |
So
Tough |
Surreal
angelic, melancholic.. and therefore has the required ingredients
to make this another classic album of the dreambeat genre St Etienne
shares first place with Adventures
in Stereo and Air's
Moon Safari as three out of four of the best "dreambeat
sound" albums of 1990's. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Samuel
Barber |
Adagio
|
The absolute definition of musical
melancholy...It also seems to have been rediscovered in the
last three or four years and is therefore played and "remixed"
into commercial overkill... don't let that put you off.
|
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Satie |
Gymnopedies |
Never
fails to have you drifting into warm, Monet, lilly wonderlands. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Serge
Gainsbourg |
Couleur
Cafe |
As
well as being one Gainsbourgs album titles this track alone can
also be found on "Expresso"... a various artists compilation
of which 50% of the selection is OK... the other a bit naff. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Simon
and Garfunkel |
General
|
One
or two outstanding, unforgetable songs on most of their early
albums. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Smoke
City |
Underwater
Love |
Haunting. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Stereolab |
General
|
Haunting
tones and drones of a lo-fi dreambeat signature. A Looking-Glass
favourite. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Stina
Nordenstam |
Little
Star |
Beautiful,
upclose vocals from an artist who, astonishingly seems to be otherwise,
little heard of. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Tallis |
General
|
Again
a choice of pieces to suit your time of day or life... As the
listing becomes more refined so will we point towards specific
pieces in all the classical areas. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Tavener |
General
|
Be
very selective and listen through for the gems, since some of
the stuff gets too hymn-ish and flavourless. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Tricky |
Hell
is Round The Corner (from the album Maxinquaye) |
scratchy-mello. |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Vaughn
Williams |
General |
One
of the most accessible English composers of the last century...
an endless stream of simply beautiful visionary music |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Wannadies |
You
and Me Song |
The
best pop song ever? |
USA
UK
|
L-G |
| Wendy
and Lisa |
Valley
Vista (from the album Eroica) |
Prolific
|
Dreambeat
Listings