IDM – Queen City Sounds and Art

“Spin Glass” by storyinsoil is an Ambient IDM Piece That Sounds Like the Score of a Utopian, Existential Science Fiction Drama From the ‘70s

The rapid-cycling, almost iterative aspect of storyinsoil’s “Spin Glass” with the intro has a minimalistic quality of early synthesizer music but as the track progresses the modulated, lower end tonal rhythm anchors the song. The circular bright tone increases in volume and brightness and then decreases giving a real sense of space allowing for other layers to express a more delicate emotional coloring from inside its framing. The percussive aspect of the more prominent sounds lends the song a tactile quality and the more subtle sounds one more melancholic yet imbued with a sense of wonder. Toward the conclusion the song gives way to a touch of more conventional melody as the rhythms fade out conveying a cinematic quality to the song like the closing credits of one of those existential science fiction and adventure films of the 1970s and 1980s the likes of which were typically soundtracked by the likes of Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh. This doesn’t feel like a homage to that era of synthesizer music so much as finding a fresh application of the way that music had an analog tonal quality that was as palpable as it was atmospheric. Listen to “Spin Glass” on YouTube and follow storyinsoil at the links provided.

storyinsoil on Twitter

storyinsoil on Instagram

Strange Fruit’s IDM Shoegaze Single “Monopolar” is Like a Mood Window Into Late 90s Underground Music Hopefulness

Strange Fruit, photo courtesy the artists

“Monopolar” by Jakarta, Indonesia’s Strange Fruit eases into motion with hazy harmonics and swelling and resolving textures and tones. The mood is like a downtempo band that got deep into blissed out shoegaze psychedelia. Yes, there is guitar but the whole songwriting aesthetic is more like electronic music and fans of Seefeel, Black Moth Super Rainbow and the more experimental end of Verve will appreciate the most. It’s like a musical break from the overwhelming turmoil of world events which we could all use a little bit of now. It feels like what the late 90s did in the underground music world with a sense of mystery and an ambient hopefulness. Watch the entrancing video for “Monopolar” on YouTube and follow Strange Fruit at the links below. The group’s latest EP Drips, its first release after about a decade-long hiatus, drops April 3, 2026 via Gentle Tuesday Recordings.

Strange Fruit on Instagram

Strange Fruit on Bandcamp

Drum & Lace Soundtracks a Future Science Fiction Body Horror Classic on IDM Ambient Single “Lichen”

Drum & Lace, photo by Priscilla C. Scott

“Lichen,” the lead single from Drum & Lace’s forthcoming EP Terra (out March 13, 2026 via Mesh), is brimming with richly saturated synth tone in the foreground and layers of well-crafted percussion/textures and rhythmic bass coursing through the song. The music video looks like a kind of video from an alien scientist examining a biological specimen through a high tech imaging method that links observable phenomena with boxes and lines as a graphic interrelational tool. The sound design approach of the composition and arrangement immediately puts your mind into a state of curiosity and wonder and wanting more of where this music and the visuals are leading without a word having to be spoken or lyrics providing a narrative. Alex Garland, David Cronenberg, Flying Lotus should tap the cleverly named Drum & Lace for soundtrack work in upcoming films because Sofia degli Alessandri-Hultquist clearly has a keen ear for futuristic vibes and a command of combining IDM, ambient and dubtechno aesthetics. Watch the video for “Lichen” on YouTube and follow Drum & Lace at the links below.

drumeandlacemusic.com

Drum & Lace on Instagram

Drum & Lace on Bandcamp

lil busy Contemplates the Existential Challenges of a Creative Life on Darkwave IDM Track “thumbdrive”

“thumbdrive” by lil busy isn’t a long song at one minute fifteen but it packs a lot of ideas musically and in terms of sentiments and feelings expressed. There is a sense of menace in the low end synth line that draws out with a tone like the electronic version of a brass instrument. This contrasted with the vocoder and the contemplative string part, urgent background wail and bursts of white noise conveys a sense of pressure from inside the songwriter’s head and from the expectations of others. Singing about he’s putting lots of dreams on a thumb drive reveals he has learned to operate through slender means in order to realize aspirations and holding on to his work not even on a portable hard drive but a thumb drive. One imagines working on the music at a friend’s place, at the library, at a college computer lab, wherever he can put in some focused time while keeping his mind on the end goal and hoping it’s going to take him places in a world that up to now has only offered challenges, stumbling blocks and discouragement yet what do you do when you have a creative or personal vision you’re pursuing? Give up? This song isn’t about the “grind,” it’s about that impetus that some people have to work on their art when it’s not easy, when it’s not convenient and under severe limitations on their chosen art form and doing the best they can with what’s available. The production is hip-hop style but the sound palette has more in common with a darkwave or IDM yet this song doesn’t fit into a narrow, established genre and its cross genre aesthetic is part of its appeal. Listen to “thumbdrive” on Spotify and connect with lil busy on Instagram linked below.

lil busy on Instagram