Razor X Productions - Killing Sound (2006)

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For fans of: The Bug, Bogdan Raczynski, M.I.A.

Perhaps some of the hardest electronic music I've ever really enjoyed, this album is full of heavy crunchy bass, feedback, and lots of heavily processed electronic drum beats. It's as dense as an Autechre release and hits like an intense drum and bass album. On top of it all are various dance-hall raps, which are very good, but it's The Bug and The Rootsman's production that really shines here. It is made up of two discs with 10 tracks each, the first includes a variety of rappers, and the second includes instrumental dub versions of the 10 tracks. - Matthew Foster

Holger Czukay - Movies (1979)

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For fans of: Can, Silver Apples, Brian Eno

The former Can bassist shows off his experimental, progressive, and funky chops with this album. Full of samples which, based on the title, I assume come from various movies. It is very dubby and laid back, laying out a framework with his bass guitar, and filling the remaining space with electronics and samples. It really seems to foreshadow much of the great electronic and sample based music to come out in the last decade. A greatly enjoyable listen. - Matthew Foster

Bark Psychosis - ///Codename: Dustsucker (2004)***

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For fans of: Talk Talk, Disco Inferno, Slowdive

Music simply doesn't get much (if any) better than this. It's absolutely astonishing, incredible, beautiful, and puzzlingly awesome! The different elements in the music seem to function like organs, each serving a certain purpose and helping to create a living thing. Like Frankenstein's, the organs here may come from many different places, but when configured correctly, anything is possible. In this case, the organs are configured perfectly, and what results is evolutionarily far superior than anything previously known. When listening to this album, my mind is wholly consumed by it's beauty and mysterious power. If there is anything like a The Velvet Underground & Nico for 2004, this is it. - Matthew Foster

Rechenzentrum - The John Peel Session (2001)

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For fans of: Demdike Stare, Vladislav Delay, Autechre

To me, this is the epitome of experimental electronic music. Soundscapes in which you really have no idea what you are going to hear next. It embraces the ideas of minimal and experimental music and does so while keeping the joyful desire to create in the first place. Artists such as Demdike Stare are now following in the same vein. Using techno music as a foundation, they take theoretical possibilities to the extreme. The result is a sometimes fruitful, sometimes not fruitful, but an always edge-of-seat fascinating listen. Listen to this when you can't decide on anything else to put on and follow the intriguing path of pure creativity. - Matthew Foster

Ilitch - 10 Suicides (1980)

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For fans of: Throbbing Gristle, Legendary Pink Dots, Suicide

While rooted in experimentation, this album embraces the synth, punk, and krautrock of the 70s. It is a relentless exploration of musical textures and ideas that can only be compared to artists like Throbbing Gristle or Nurse With Wound. If you're looking for something beyond the synth punk of Suicide, with a bit more of an ambient or psychedelic feel, this could be just the thing for you. - Matthew Foster

Tim Buckley - Starsailor (1970)

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For fans of: Scott Walker, Nico, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

Fantastically and divinely experimental. It features a heavenly tenor voice over free, sometimes folky, sometimes jazzy instrumentals. The strange combination borders on insanity, but the great voice and a few more conventional songs hold it together beautifully. "Monterey" and "Starsailor" are the pillars here for me, merging the unknown with the known. At times the album gets close to sounding over experimental and unrewarding, but when it works, it works incredibly well, and does so throughout most of it. - Matthew Foster

R. Stevie Moore - Clack! (1980)

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For fans of: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, XTC, Half Japanese

Along with Phonography, this is surly one of the best places to start at in R.S.M.'s catalog. It was the first of his albums to be recorded in a professional studio and contains many of his greatest hits including personal favorite "Part of the Problem." Absolutely nothing can prevent some of these songs from being the wackiest, yet also the happiest and funnest you may ever hear. Anyone enjoying Ariel Pink's music has a big reason to thank R. Stevie Moore and should look into his music very soon. Check out some of his videos:

Chantilly Lace
Conflict of Interest
Sit Down
Part of the Problem
- Matthew Foster

Foetus - Gash (1995)

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For fans of: Swans, Coil, Nine Inch Nails

Simply some of the most intense music I've ever heard, not in an extreme Merzbow noise fashion, but in a funky, experimental, industrial, and riff-filled way. Usually I don't particularly like this kind of harsh-alternative sound, but I can't deny the power contained within in the case of Foetus. There are so many styles meshed together here that it can seem jarring at times, but it's all done very well and nothing really ruins the flow. This is an album that can fairly be compared to a roller coaster; there are moments of pure adrenalin and excitement, there are others that simply serve to build up to those other moments, and there are those that change direction. For a sound that is like Nine Inch Nails's, but more adventurous, noisy, and powerful, I'd imagine there's nothing better. - Matthew Foster

Lusine - Serial Hodgepodge (2004)

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For fans of: Boards of Canada, Deru, Echospace

I'm surprised this is from 2004, it has a very dubstep feel to it and sounds a lot like something that would get a good amount of attention in 2010. It's rhythmically complex like IDM, yet still retains a nice danceability to warrant a techno label as well, and at times borders on microhouse. Within the beats there are vocal snippets and nice warm pads. It's all done very well and in my opinion rivals much of Boards of Canada or Aphex Twin, though a bit more straightforward. My only complaint is that some of the tracks should contain full vocals, it seems to beg for some singing. - Matthew Foster

Old Time Relijun - Witchcraft Rebellion (2001)

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For fans of: Captain Beefheart, Erase Errata, The Residents

Enjoyable strangeness and wonky pop. It's punk, experimental, free, noisy, and bluesy. It's like a wall with projections extruding in and out here and there. The singer croaks out in a kind of alien voice about mysterious creatures and mystical happenings. If you took Captain Beefheart and Pere Ubu, squished them together and let them ferment underground for a few years, this might be what you'd end up with. - Matthew Foster

The Books - The Way Out (2010)***

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For fans of: Laurie Anderson, Animal Collective, The Avalanches

After just falling in love with their previous three albums a couple months ago, The Books' fourth comes at the perfect time for me. It is definitely the same Books five years since their last album, but they do seem to have changed a bit since their early years. The Way Out seems more musical than the others, and sounds much more like a strange electronica album. The music is able to evoke nostalgia and imagery like no other with it's sampling of playful child voices. When the children are absent, there are thought feeding musings about how and why the human feels and thinks the way it does. While keeping their sample-based food for thought, they've made something much more melodic and musically satisfying, it could be their best yet. - Matthew Foster

Alasdair Roberts - No Earthly Man (2005)

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For fans of: Richard Youngs, Josephine Foster, Richard & Linda Thompson

Alasdair Roberts is a Scottish folk singer who writes stripped-down songs that are subtle and beautiful. This set of songs is haunting and intense at times with a variety of instruments coming into the mix and great production to do it all justice. The overall theme here is one of loss, and the tales told keep me interested and attent the whole time. The synthesis of traditional song and modern sound is a winner. - Matthew Foster