Obscure/Underappreciated Music - "I liked them BEFORE they hit 27 followers on Soundcloud. B)"

[Cyrus]

As I've been digging into the house scene thanks to the rekindling of my love for Daft Punk, I found some really good obscure artists, which made me think of starting a thread on obscure music and artists that we could use to help spread the word about said artists and/or share tracks we think are severely underappreciated or overlooked. Any genre will do, from rock to techno, just post what you love! Maybe even share your thoughts on what you like so much about tracks that you've posted or those that have been posted. I've been checking out a lot of underground french house music lately, so I'll be posting a lot of examples of that genre.

 

Galactik Knights - Thrillerz

 

 

This track sends chills down my spine and makes me wanna dance simultaneously. It's got that 80's synth pop vibe, and sounds like something out of the climax of a suspense flick. The bass is funky, the synths are sweet, and the beat is kickin'. I like the "knocking" precussion a lot, it fits in with the "thriller" theme of the track by sounding like a monster that's rhythmically knocking on a door that leads to its victim's demise. The evil laughter at 4:13 sends chills down my spine, and I love it.

 

Le Knight Club - Santa Claus

 

 

This fucking track. Dear. God. This right here is Le Knight Club’s best track by far, holy shit.

 

This track right here is one of LKC’s dance tracks with a straight up electronic feel, and good god, does it have the right to be called a dance track, because whenever I hear it, I just wanna run to a club, hit the DJ over the head with a club, pop this piece in and go crazy on the dance floor.

It starts off with two bait and switches; After the rather soothing sounds of winter winds, wind chimes, and someone, presumably Santa Claus delivering gifts (on foot…?), taking slow steps on the snowy ground, we’re given a minute of a 909 riff beat. Depending on the kind of electronic music fan you are, you’ll either find the repetition of NTS-TSS-TSS-POW-TSS NTS-TSS-TSS-POW TSS-TSS TSS-TSS-POW-TSS NTS-TSS-TSS-POW either eargasmically catchy or excruciating. If the former, just you wait, you’re in for a real treat. If the latter, don’t worry, it gets much better.

 

If you really hate long intros, I advise that you just skip to around the 1:30 mark, where an ominous synth appears and eases you into the drop, where your ears are joyfully dominated and penetrated by the amazing combination of the kicking beat, amazing bassline that rhythmically ascends and drops, and a unique harmonic sample. I love this track to bits, it never fails at making my toes tap or making my hips move.

[Dizcrybe]

*sees Le Knight Club*

 

My man.

 

Anyway, I'd say vaporwave as a whole, but by nature it's likely something of an acquired taste for some of you.If you don't mind screwed 80s Pop/Jazz...

 

 

And my current fixation:

[Lisbon]

"In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel is one of my favorite albums of all time, with the only one that I can say I like more being "War" by U2.
 
The album itself is easily their most recognizable work, but even then, none of their stuff is regarded as widely recognized or well known and that's just a damn shame. Personally, I think it's because Jeff Mangum has a very loud singing voice that doesn't translate into high notes, and that kind of bogged down a potential takeoff for these guys. Even then, though, this whole album is a masterpiece and the band itself is very much so underappreciated.
 

 

 

Also, if I were to name who I felt to be the most underappreciated musical act of all time, it'd be Hüsker Dü. Their stuff helped pave the way for bands like Nirvana and the Foo Fighters and the like - and while I'm not much of a fan of the former in particular, the impact they had on music is undeniable. Hüsker Dü is a big reason that they developed the sound that made them famous though, and their impact is still present today via the Foo Fighters.

 

Doesn't hurt that they're a damn good band.

 

 

Lastly, it'd feel wrong to not give a shout out to the one-off supergroup that went by Temple of the Dog. Formed to make a memorial album for Andrew Wood, the lead singer of Mother Love Bone who had died due to a drug overdose, the self-titled album has some of the best music I've ever heard. It's one of those albums that I can listen to every single song on and not get tired of it, and I'd call it nothing short of a masterpiece. They may be slightly more known than the other acts I listed, but this is one of the ones I'd call a must-hear for any fan of music:

 

[Sami]

HEY

 

HEY

 

HEY

 

LISTEN TO CASKER THEY'RE NOT EVEN POPULAR IN KOREA EITHER FOR SOME STUPID REASON BUT THEY'RE MY FAVORITE BAND EVER BECAUSE THEY HAVE JUST A GOD DAMN AMAZING VIBE AND AMAZING COMPOSITION AND THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL THANKS 

 

[LATER BUDDY]

ska music, more should listen to it in general, >:U

 

Anyway I've always really loved The Explosion. Lamely heard them first through Tony Hawk's Underground, and I don't think they're the most obscure thing on the planet, but still never really heard anyone listening to them or talking about them haha.

 

 

Also while Streetlight Manifesto is pretty known, I seem to listen to the lead singer's side thing "Toh Kay" just as much if not more. I'm really partial to his version of Streetlight's latest album, which is a slower acousticy feel.

 

[Cyrus]

*sees Le Knight Club*

 

My man.

[Cyrus]

I dunno if a 200,000 YouTube view range is really underground, but I never hear about Plasterbrain outside of Soundcloud or comments under JelloApocalypse videos that ask or tell what the credits song is.

 

 

Admittedly, I also got into Plasterbrain through JelloApocalypse's end slates and only listened to Nimbasa Core on loop, but I've decided to check out their other stuff starting with Modal Shanghai. I was surprised that it's not that filtered liquid DnB sound that Nimbasa Core has, but this bouncy house instrumental with beautiful vocals is really good too. I hope they have even more tracks that will immediately tickle my fancy like the last two.

[Cyrus]

 

Raw Man - Lovers

 

Another track on the Crydamoure label that I absolutely love. Just listen to that bassline during the drop.

[Cyrus]

My Dear - Better Dance

Another one by Raw Man, released over ten years after the start of Crydamoure's hiatus. He's now in a band with his girlfriend(?), Blanche. This project seems to be yet another great homage to 80's synth pop.

 

Galactik Knights - Escape

90's-esque boy-bandy R&B and Euro House.... Surprisingly, they go as well as peanut butter and jelly, or at least the Galactik Knights made them go well together. I think I'd be a bit more tolerant of bands like One Direction if the Knights produced their instrumentals. Maybe.

[azoo]

Gonna have to throw one out there to some good friends of mine: Freen in Green.

 

 

They're a virtual cartoon band (like Gorillaz), but are quite a bit different.. for one thing, they're an indie band and have a very small view in the public eye. For that reason they can't really do as much animated stuff as they like... for now.

 

Second, they're probably the closest group you'll ever hear to VG music that isn't actually in a video game. Lots of synth / alternative / metal / dance sounds blended into one genre, and all the songs flow like really nice jam sessions. I've had part in their newer albums and I generally like their stuff a lot, but I gotta give it to the first album: This Album is Green. Easily holds a lot of my favorite songs by them.

 

I'd suggest looking into them, they've had a lot of great collaborators in on their work, and have some ties with the Sonic fanbase too. Yeah! They need more attention.

 

[Osmium]

I think I'm going to have to bring up one of the most obscure Power Metal bands ever: Iron Savior. 

 

https://youtu.be/9FbY5vcsams?list=PL7BAEA6805619914D

 

https://youtu.be/z1OniymyQDc?list=PL7BAEA6805619914D

 

https://youtu.be/RkIuPPcbbMQ?list=PL7BAEA6805619914D

 

https://youtu.be/iVz8dmbRiNg?list=PL7BAEA6805619914D

 

https://youtu.be/W8HQIYu3hY8?list=PL7BAEA6805619914D

 

They are a German Power Metal band that formed in 1996. Stuff like this really gets me so freaking pumped. It's a shame that all of their stuff is so obscure compared to other Metal bands. Just give them a listen. 

 

Probably one of my favourite Metal bands ever. 

[Cyrus]

Here's Galactik Knights' last track. I'm in love with the bassline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWwayOS897c