Hello sound friends.
This is is another 'list your top' question. Today:
Which music producers do you feel created unique and inspiring sound design and in so doing made the albums they produced a unique sonic experience?
To get the ball rolling, here's a few of my faves:
David Bascombe
Nigel Godrich
Thurston Moore
J Dilla
Madlib
Martin Hannet
On U Sound
Paul Simon
Who would you rate?
I think some of my favorite music producers who create unique sound design within their music are:
Eskmo
(this list is a bit biased towards electronic music btw!)
There are way too many electronic artists to name exhaustively, but some that come immediately to mind include (and apologies for overlaps):
Also need to give a tip of the hat to Trent Reznor. After his first 3-4 albums, I kept wishing he'd do a whole album of interludes and instrumentals, because I think he's a better sound designer than a composer. His multi-album set "Ghosts I-IV" was finally what I was hoping for. I'm no longer a fan of the rest of his ouevre, but there are a lot of neat ideas there (and most tracks have photos that suggests how some of the sounds were made).
I'd also add Lalo Schifrin, David Axelrod, the Kronos Quartet, John Cage, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Takemitsu as designers of unique sounds with (soemtimes) more traditional instrumentation. Heck, I'd even throw Tom Waits in there, especially on the percussive side.
Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree has to be my choice.
All of his albums enjoy great sound quality and tasteful production. However, he's a genius at creating soundscapes using guitars and synths. He also creates some great ambient music via his Bass Communion title.
If you like a bit of Prog/Metal/Psychedelia then you ought to have a listen.
Ian
I'd have to say Arjen Lucassen (he puts together the Ayreon albums), and Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad and numerous solo efforts/side projects). Both experiment a lot, but in totally different ways.
They're worth checking out for the sonic landscapes they produce.
I'd say composer, arranger and producer David Axelrod. He's a master at designing multi-layered compositions that often take the listener on a deep journey...
I'm a huge fan of Flying Lotus.
Have a listen to this: (in HD of course)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExbckB15XeM
Such an amazingly colourful mesh of organic and electronic textures. Blows my mind every time I hear it!
Lots of great names in this inspiring thread.
Trent Reznor is one of my big inspirations for working with sound. He has done so much great work with Nine Inch Nails and now he's done the score to the new David Fincher film, The Social Network - really looking forward to that one.
Another great modern producer is Dave Fridmann who has done beautiful work with Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. I once visited him in his studio in upstate NY and he's got a whole house that's constructed as a studio - The Flaming Lips usually records their vocals in the bathroom! The inventive sonics on all of his productions are really something - besides the aforementioned bands, also check out his work on the Low-album Drums and Guns, it's an amazing headphone experience.
These days, a new record I really adore is the latest album by Neil Young which has the beautiful title Le Noise. It was produced by another sonic master, Daniel Lanois, who has some very interesting thoughts on the record and on sound generally - check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrbp9Tv9tHw
I also need to mention Brian Eno and Howie B as two sources of inspiration. But there's so much great stuff out there and a lot of the names mentioned in earlier posts on this page are amazing!
Burial's work sounds unique and deeply atmospheric. Also Ben Frost's "By the throat". And I'm throwing in Tomas Dvorak's "Machinarium" OST, full of nice little details.
I came across the following artist (Soncbrat) today and thought about such a topic until I searched and found this. Great thread, and I share the taste of many who already posted here.
If we're talking about composers that have inspired my sound design, I'd have to reach back a little further and say Harry Partch and John Cage for their sheer inventiveness in the acoustic world.
And don't forget Pierre Schaeffer and the developers of Musique Concrete who were pushing the boundaries of sound manipulation well before most of us were born.
And Ennio Morricone...who created new and interesting sounds that by layering instruments together, not to mention a new genre of "western." Also a master at sonic storytelling.
And, of course, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and Hendrix who pushed pop music and multi-track recording to a new level.
I strongly second BT (This Binary Universe) as he was the fellow that got me into sound design, ambience and superfine editing. How about, Trifonic: guitarist/programmer for TBU^ Trentemoller Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree: super wall of synths! Amon Tobin 2nd: Hyper sampling Flying Lotus 2nd: Ganja Sound Design
