Modern artists with a nostalgic sound? BoC, Stereolab, ...

[rainier]

It's hard to explain, but I am really picky about the way "nostalgic" sound is used. Sometimes I think it can be really superficial and cheap, but I just remembered this album and I thought it deserved mention, busdriver and radioinactive with daedelus.

[todieisfun]

It's hard to explain, but I am really picky about the way "nostalgic" sound is used. Sometimes I think it can be really superficial and cheap, but I just remembered this album and I thought it deserved mention, busdriver and radioinactive with daedelus.

such a great album! those two are perfect together. here's another great tune by the dynamic duo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qdiFF_0BwM

[Cab Dreaming]

If genre isn't an issue, I'd say Astra are a good example http://www.rocking.gr/interviews/en/Ast ... yme/15406/

Purson might be a good example too seeing as they pretty much sound like Curved Air

Saying that, I don't know if nostalgic is particularly the word I'd use, perhaps authentically retro? Legit vintage? *shrug*

[A_Northern_Soul]

^ bloody hell - Curved Air. That's an early vinyl memory for me....

[jcnporter]

What's a "nostalgic sound" in this case? Everyone's "nostalgia" is subjective.

For me it's a sound that seeks to invoke nostalgia, such as the references to 1970s/80s public information films that BoC and Ghost Box artists make, or in the case of Epic45 or July Skies a pastoral atmosphere, not 'retro' as in seeking to directly copy the sound of a particular era.

[jcnporter]

^ bloody hell - Curved Air. That's an early vinyl memory for me....

Just reminded me of -



A bit of personal nostalgia for me - my dad was a fan and Sky 1,2 and 3 were on constantly in the car throughout my 80s childhood.

[A_Northern_Soul]

I just remember one of their albums in my dad's collection and being one of the 1st records I took an interest in - the sleeve had coloured cutaway sections which must have appealed as a tot.

[warphead]

Check the latest isssue of Shindig

http://www.shindig-magazine.com/

loads of info on Broadcast and hauntology and Ghostbox

perfect!!

[Treefingers]

What's a "nostalgic sound" in this case? Everyone's "nostalgia" is subjective.

That's definitely a good point. You could even say something like Madvillainy is nostalgic, recalling as it does old cartoon superhero serials and stuff.

[rainier]

I guess I'm defining "nostalgia" here as not being purely retro style, but kind of a surreal reworking of older styles that replicates the way our memory warps past events. I think that's what nostalgia is really. It's not about the idea of an objective past but the way it takes on a dreamlike quality in our memories.

[electroworks]

The journalist Simon Reynolds has written an book that's (kind of) on this very subject, called Retromania. I can thoroughly recommend.
I've been a bit obsessed with stuff on Ghost Box recently, particularly The Advisory Circle - by far the best at pure 70s/80s public information film pastiche in my opinion.
Epic45 and July Skies are two more great bands that invoke a sense of nostalgia in their music, particularly regarding the countryside and nature.

The artists on Ghost Box are amazing and yes you are right, especially Advisory. Like his other outputs as Jon Brooks too.
I would also like to recommend The lastest from Belbury Poly, by far his best.

[wash]

no one has mentioned the caretaker?? does the nostalgia thing almost too well...

[machinea]

there was an interview with Bibio on UK Radio where the interviewer mentioned that some of Stephens music reminded him of Sesame Street and he hoped he wasn't insulted. I laughed because I had the same thought that some of his guitar loops reminded me of Sesame Street vignettes. Anyway he concurred that was somewhat intentional and it wasn't insulting at all.

While I'm not sure they are exactly trying for that sound on occasion Fleet Foxes and Toro Y Moi end up taking me back to the 70's in some ways I'm not sure are necessarily intended. Let's just say I don't think they are trying for nostalgia the way BoC are specifically evoking it.

In fact sometimes i go back and listen to random Sesame Street songs I really liked. Like Capital I.. just loved that melody.

[rainier]

In fact sometimes i go back and listen to random Sesame Street songs I really liked. Like Capital I.. just loved that melody.

Capital I is so good! I remember being a wee kid and just feeling this deep sense of melancholy when I heard that song...about a capital letter haha. A lot of those vignettes are really great. Oh and the Phillip Glass circle geometry one too! I watched that 3 times in a row yesterday.

[energywarning]

Stylsitically, I think bands/artists like The Make-Up, Leon Redbone, M83, Bibio, Caribou, Friends of Dean Martinez (among may others) are very "nostalgic" in that they draw heavily upon the sounds of specific eras. Or, at the very least, play to our deepest preconceptions or memories of a certain time.

More subjectively, I think the likes Stars of the Lid, Brian Eno, Eluvium, and their contemporaries can really evoke a feeling of nostalgia that's altogether different. It feels more personalized anyway. The song titles, album art, etc. work well together for these purposes.

[energywarning]

Also: I would love to read the paper if you're willing to share!

[m_thomp]

What wash said (apologies I can't quote posts on my phone). The Caretaker was another artist I was going to mention. An Empty Bliss Beyond this World is sublime. It's even more haunting because I think the album was written in response to Catetaker's father's illness (Alzheimer's?) and was supposed to evoke memories of of music from his dad's childhood.

[m_thomp]

What wash said (apologies I can't quote posts on my phone). The Caretaker was another artist I was going to mention. An Empty Bliss Beyond this World is sublime. It's even more haunting because I think the album was written in response to Catetaker's father's illness (Alzheimer's?) and was supposed to evoke memories of of music from his dad's childhood.