Non-intrusive music

jp_bl_68 · 26 Jul 2011 at 18:10

Can anyone recommend any non-intrusive music that can be pleasant to listen to but can be quite easily ignored if you want to focus on something else?

I like to read on the way into work but the bus is often very noisy which distracts me and makes it difficult to really appreciate what I'm trying to read. I'd like to have some music that I could listen to which would mask the ambient noise of the bus without providing me with a new distraction.

Any suggestions? Perhaps some classical music or maybe a film score?

Brian8bit · 26 Jul 2011 at 18:14

Drone music.

Shamikebab · 26 Jul 2011 at 18:16

Royksopp
Boards of Canada
Solar Flare
Aes Dana

Nitefly · 26 Jul 2011 at 18:17

I find the Deadmau5's first album 'Random Album title' is so repetitive and linear that it makes good background music.

Brian8bit · 26 Jul 2011 at 18:21

Shamikebab said:
Royksopp
Boards of Canada
Solar Flare
Aes Dana

The problem with that type of downtempo stuff is that it still adheres to a rhythm. And your brain will pick up on the rhythm. And you'll find yourself suddenly becoming aware of sections of the music.

Incredibly annoying when you're trying to read. Most of the time I wouldn't even bother with music when trying to read. But if I am, it has to be something that carries absolutely no beat/rhythm and has nothing that could be considered invasive.

Drone or Ambient space music is the electronic equivalent of listening to whale music for me.

Fenris · 26 Jul 2011 at 18:35

Brian8bit said:
The problem with that type of downtempo stuff is that it still adheres to a rhythm.

All music adheres to a rhythm, drone music is essentially just ambient background noise. There's nothing wrong with it but it's not what I would describe as music.

You must have a terribly attention span if you can't read without stopping to pay attention to a rhythm.

Nitefly · 26 Jul 2011 at 18:42

Fenris said:
You must have a terribly attention span if you can't read without stopping to pay attention to a rhythm.

Actually I'm exactly the same. I can't listen to anything with a beat when working, puts me off.

There is a really good mp3 of a thunderstorm that is about an hour and a half long - does anyone have a link? Really useful when studying!

Brian8bit · 26 Jul 2011 at 18:43

Fenris said:
All music adheres to a rhythm, drone music is essentially just ambient background noise. There's nothing wrong with it but it's not what I would describe as music.

You must have a terribly attention span if you can't read without stopping to pay attention to a rhythm.

Drone music is perfect for what he wants then. Ambient background noise that over rides what he'll normally be subjected to on the bus.

My attention span is fine. Reading while listening to anything that invades your thought process is annoying. It's like suddenly being aware of someone standing over your shoulder a bit to close and having a nosey at what you're doing.

Jingo... · 26 Jul 2011 at 19:07

Try listening to some of 'The American Dollar'.

Really atmospheric, but blends perfectly into the background if you have to focus

Brian8bit · 26 Jul 2011 at 19:09

Jingo... said:
Try listening to some of 'The American Dollar'.

Really atmospheric, but blends perfectly into the background if you have to focus

Cheers, I'm always wanting to hear new post-rock bands.

Jingo... · 26 Jul 2011 at 19:23

I'd recommend listening to 'Bump' to gain an idea of whether or not you like them

If you find this too layered then look at their 'Ambient 1/2' albums which are (shockingly

) ambient versions of their records, but starkly different variations that are recognisable, but certainly different enough to warrant their own listen

If they really grab you, other artists worth checking out might include Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, God is an Astronaut, Bonobo and some of the later NIN albums i.e. Ghosts I-IV.

lsg1r · 26 Jul 2011 at 19:56

I'd say take a look at amethystium, achillea or diane arkenstone.

You can't get much more chilled than amethystium in my opinion but the other's might be worth a look too

titaniumx3 · 26 Jul 2011 at 20:04

So you essentially want some ambient music, right?

Try some Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana or Alio Die.

PixelChef · 26 Jul 2011 at 20:20

Since there is some talk about Post-Rock in here I thought I'd mention B.M. Sharp (http://www.last.fm/music/B.M.+Sharp). It's the guy who is behind the Cloudkicker project, but before that he produced Post-Rock type music. It's free as well: http://sites.google.com/site/benthesharp/downloadallthismusic!

He's an absoulte genius I love all of the music he makes. Not sure if it's "non-intrusive" or not but I like having it on as background noise when cooking for example.

Also the new Maybeshewill album is absolutely beautiful (don't get put off by the electronical sounding bit at the start):