Any recommendations for creepy /weird alien / bizarre sounding music?

[frankthedm]

Been basing up some Tyranids [proxies mostly] and wonder if the board has any recommendations for creepy /weird alien / bizarre sounding music? Like a song that would make a good good background music for a hoard of alien locusts. Like if some fool plugged a set of headphones into a hivemind.

Maybe something like whalesong crossed with rock or synthesizer? Melody or hypnotic sounding patterns is a definite plus. Looking to avoid Grindcore or tunes that are too soothing.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, weird is in the ear of the...umm..."behearer."

For something unsettling like the scenario you described, my first instinct would be to go for early (pre-1978) Tangerine Dream. Some of those albums could best be described as acid-influenced electronica.

You might also check out the compositions of Glen Branca.

For a more "rock" take on things, check out Helios Creed and Buckethead. HC tends towards heavily distorted vocals and highly processed guitar for a unique take on "space rock.". Buckethead, OTOH, has a much cleaner sound, and with his intensely fast picking and taste for dissonance, some of his stuff sounds like the vocalizations of insectile aliens.

An amazing artist in his own right, occasional Buckethead collaborator bass-player Bill Laswell has decades of music in a variety of styles under various names. In particular, his album Doom Ride (under the name Chaos Face) would probably suit your needs, as would some of his stuff as Praxis (w/Buckethead).

Laswell's work with other bass players Jah Wobble and Bootsy Collins would also work, especially Bootsy's Lord of the Harvest (as Zillatron).

Finally, I'd check out drone bands like Earth or Sunn O))).

 

[frankthedm]

Thanks for the rapid response!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You might also want to check out this database: http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/174448-game-related-music-threads-links.html

(to which this thread has been added...)

 

[frankthedm]

You might also want to check out this database: http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/174448-game-related-music-threads-links.html

(to which this thread has been added...)

Good link.

Good call on Tangerine Dream, I only knew of that bands name because of the song from Legend. This one's opening is in the direction i wanted.
outube.com/watch?v=JsMWazTDJt8

Also "Sunrise in the third system" would be in the vein of what i wanted, other than the organ. That organ winds up being such a tether, sending much of the song's alien quality back to reality.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Hmm, Tangerine Dream is a good suggestion.

Maybe Future Sound of London particularly their Lifeforms album, or sometimes on the softer side would be Aphex Twin.

 

[RangerWickett]

Not appropriate for Tyranids, but certainly weird:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QspuCt1FM9M]YouTube - Justin Bieber 800% Slower[/ame]

 

[MarkB]

For "weird and alien", you could do worse than track down the Forbidden Planet soundtrack.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That is a classic theremin & synthesizer drenched sci-fi soundtrack.

 

[grufflehead]

Funnily enough, I never considered a lot of TD to be unsettling or weird, but then I'm listening to their '74 - '86 stuff pretty much every day. I'd say, try some Robert Rich. Inner Landscapes is particularly sinister in places.

If you plan on buying stuff and are a quality freak, let me point you in the direction of a very good website for electronica albums:

MusicZeit Lossless Audio - MP3 and FLAC downloads provided by Musiczeit

If the TD stuff is what you like, search the music directory for 'Berlin School' and look for bands like Free System Projekt, Airsculpture, Arcane, Redshift (also a good choice as they go into some dark places on occasion), Javi Canovas, Brendan Pollard/Rogue Element, and Dweller at the Threshold.