Indie artists recommend “the best records you’ve probably never heard”
A record recommendation is a free gift. They might not seem like much, but the right one can stay with you for a lifetime. They don’t always have to be ground-breaking sometimes, it can just be the Bob Dylan album that passed you by, but other times, it can be a little-known opus like The Gritterman by Orlando Weeks (there’s a bonus one from us for free) that suddenly expands your musical horizons.
Quite often, it is simply algorithms driving such gifts. But as Nick Seaver, a ‘Computing Taste’ expert, recently told us, these are unbiased and often based on an existing pool of data on you. That’s why you might simply be getting more of the same. They are also open to bias and bribes. Therefore, it is also best to get independent recommendations. When it comes to expansion, it’s even better when the albums picked are done so with the express intent of being something you’ve probably never heard.
So, as a proudly independent publication, we reached out to proudly independent artists to bring you some recommendations that you will hopefully soon be proud to call fixtures in your own collection. The only advice I can give beyond giving them a whirl is to always pass on the baton to the ones you like. Sharing music that we like becomes a currency exchange of shared experience—joint playlists with friends or borrowed records steadily become akin to photo albums over time.
With that sentimentality setting the tone, we’ve not only compiled the recommendations below but also made them into a little mixtape for you. We’ve got exotic cuts from the likes of Moudou Ould Mattalla and overlooked gems from Stolen Violin, among many, many others. Enjoy…
Indie artists recommend underrated records:
Recommended by Slow Pulp:
“There’s this band here in Chicago called Footballhead that just put out a record called Overthinking Everything that I have really been liking. It’s this super catchy, kinda pop-punk stuff with huge hooks. There is so much amazing music coming out of Chicago right now. I feel really lucky to live here.”
Recommended by Pom Poko:
“Mauritanie: La guitare des Sables by Moudou Ould Mattalla contains some of the craziest guitar playing I’ve ever heard. I found it some years ago during a period of intense obsession with music from Mauritania, and it never stops amazing me what this guy can do with the same electric guitar that we all sit around noodling with.”
Recommended by Fidlar:
“Max Kuehn’s Modern World… it’s so good.”
Recommended by Folly Group:
- Sean: “Daughn Gibson – All Hell”.
- Tom: “Gemi – Gemi Tapes Complete”.
- Kai: “Chris Dave and The Drumheadz – Chris Dave and The Drumheadz”.
Recommended by Middle Kids:
“Temperate Touch, Tropical Tears by Stolen Violin.”
Recommended by Jazzygold:
“I don’t know if you’ve heard this album or not, but one of my biggest musical inspirations is Emilie Nicolas. She’s a Norwegian artist, and the first album I heard from her was Tranquille Emile, which was released in 2018. The first time I heard it, I got so emotional; it was such a fresh breath of new music that I hadn’t heard before, and she got me in tears, so go listen! (Her album after that is also so, so beautiful).”
Recommended by Eugene Dubon:
“J. Zunz – Del Aire”.
Recommended by Becca Mancari:
“Wede Harer Guzo by Hailu Mergia. [He] is such a special artist, and this music is my favourite to put on and just conjure up another world of feeling. It really feeds me.”
Recommended by Matthew Wilcock:
“Ohio Players, Pleasure? Or that Dijon, Absolutely, OMG. The live music video versions are amazing, too.”
Recommended by Bill Ryder-Jones:
“Barafundle by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. It probably had the most effect on me that any record ever has… ever. It was everything I wanted from a record. I’ve never heard anything like it. But it was so familiar. It all makes so much sense.”
Recommended by YĪN YĪN:
“Takeshi Terauchi – Eleki Bushi 66-74. One of the first surf guitarists from Japan with fat vintage sound. Our guitarist, Eric, is definitely a big fan. Tarantino-esque licks and flavours of a cool Japanese gangster movies abound.”
Recommended by Katy Kirby:
“Staying Mellow Blows by Eliza Neimi.”
Recommended by Nation of Language:
“I’ve been listening to the band Cola a lot. Deep In View by Cola.”
