Bĵork

 

 

What more needs to be said about Bjork? One of those rare artists whose albums may be on your BEST list and WORST list.

Front Line Assembly

 

 

Front Line Assembly - Bill Leeb & Rhys Fulber - have been astonishingly prolific between FLA, Delerium, Conjure One, and many other side projects and production work.

Delerium

 

 

Delerium began as a side project. Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly decided to release more ambient/instrumental pieces under the Delerium name. They actually got thrust into the darkwave subgenre, garnering some success.  Then on their 1994 album Semantic Spaces, they began utilizing female vocals, pushing the sound in a more ethereal, Enigma-esque direction.  The 1997 album, Karma, went further in that direction, producing the surprise hit "Silence" featuring vocals by Sarah McLachlan.  The next album continued in the same vein, even featuring Matthew Sweet singing one song.

Rhys Fulber broke away from Delerium to form his own similar-sounding project, Conjure One, using some of the same singers who featured on Delerium's albums.

Deep Forest

 

 

I've seen the term "enigmatic" to describe the slew of artists who came up after Enigma scored a couple hits.  I've also heard the terms worldbeat & ethno electronica... basically music that really doesn't fit into the "new age" category because it may be a bit too beats-oriented or eclectic or even dark.  Whatever the term, I ate this stuff up.  Perfect for a lazy summer afternoon on the terrace.

Texas

 

 

Texas hail from Scotland, of course. They started off as a kind of country-ish band with a more R&B/pop oriented vocal style before slowly moving to a straight ahead pop style.

Skids

 

Skids were a post-punk band that had a very anthemic/Celtic feel.  Guitarist Stuart Adamson would take his guitar sound with him when he left and formed Big Country.  Singer Richard Jobson formed the short-lived Armoury Show before moving on to be a TV host.

Hüsker Dü

 

 

Hüsker Dü or Dü not, there is no try.  From Minnesota, like fellow punks the Replacements.  But unlike Westerberg, Bob Mould never really strayed too far from his original sound.  There are some very melodic gems buried under layers of distortion in the HD catalog.  Even a move to a major label didn't change their sound... which was unfortunate in that they had the same crappy drum sound their whole career.