How to find music you’ll love without the algorithm

While there is a lot of criticism that can be directed at what The music that the algorithm serves usAnd how, the real problem in discovering music in this era Algorithmic recommendations It is that listening has become a passive activity. It’s very easy to hit the launch button and let a pile of code take the wheel. Whether that’s creating a “station” based on a specific song or artist, launching Discover Weekly, or just letting Apple Music automatically play infinitely after a particular album or song finishes.

With less listener involvement, and less intentionality, it’s easy to simply become music Background noise. Research suggests that younger generations do as well Discover new artists less frequently Compared to previous levels, there is a direct relationship between low levels of music discovery and reliance on the algorithm. so how are you? Look for new music with intention?

The simplest and most traditional is through musical media. There are countless sources of excellent music journalism and criticism, it’s just a matter of finding the source that speaks to you.

pitchfork It may not be Cocky hip young man anymore, but it’s still a relatively reliable source for discovering new music. It straddles the line between mainstream and indie music well, covering everything from pop stars like Taylor Swift, to experimental electronic artists like Feeo.

if pitchfork It is a very corporate touch for you, many of the former employees have formed their own independent outlet called Hearing stuff, And there’s always that brave one in the early music blog era, Stereogumwhich recently Relaunched.

Bandcamp Daily It is also an excellent resource. In addition to the core Album of the Day and weekly releases, Bandcamp’s editorial side publishes monthly genre-specific guides to new releases in hip-hop, metal, and even field recordings. If your thing is small labels that focus on cassette releases, There’s a column for that. How about a clue to naming the exuberant vaporwave Geometric Lullaby? There you go.

Just like everything else on the Internet, music has an impact. The most important of them is Anthony Fantano, who New York Times named “The only music critic that matters (If you are under 25 years old.)” Fantano is an establishment at this point. His YouTube channel, Needle drop He has more than three million subscribers, and has high school News and comments channel It has more than two million.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t call Amoeba records And for her What’s in my bag? A series where celebrities and musicians go on a shopping spree at the legendary record store, talking about what they decided to buy and why.

Kind of straddling the line between traditional music media and influencers is the world of Substack. There are plenty of newsletters offering artist interviews, curated playlists, and deep dives into bands’ discography.

Flow state It offers two hours of instrumental music every week. Think of it as lo-fi beats to study, but much more interesting and varied. Active listening Featuring beautifully written tracks on jazz, hip-hop, soul and more. While there are a lot of lesser known names Active listeningand it also presents new works by more famous acts such as those of Mos Def Black on both sidesfrom a strong personal perspective.

Don’t go overboard with Substack subscriptions if you want them to be really useful for discovering music, as things can get annoying very quickly.

Traditional radio can still be a solid source of new music if you stay away from the big commercial stations owned by iHeartRadio and the like. Your local college station is a good place to start, but there are other independent, non-commercial stations, e.g WFMU In New York, step away from your usual pop fare. WFMU describes itself as a “freeform” station playing classic jazz, punk and experimental music. Sound collages With equal regularity.

In addition to traditional terrestrial stations, there are live Internet broadcast stations. NTS Radio She is one of the best, in my opinion. The site makes it easy to follow DJs and showcases what you like, be it Astrid Son View monthly surroundings, or Underground and Black with Ash Laurenwhich focuses mostly on deep house. The station also often Collections of guest artists He loves Herbold and Danny Brown. One of the best ways to find new music rabbit holes is to get to know your favorite artist’s favorite artist.

This is the section that has the most potential to get out of control, but you should become a fan of the brands, not just the artists. When I was in high school and college, I followed the songs of Matador, Sub-Pop, Def Jux, and Grand Royal with an almost religious fervor. Sadly, Def Jux and Grand Royal are no more, but Matador and Sub Pop are still going strong.

If you’re a fan of underground rap, there you have it Backwoods Studioshome of Akai Solo, Billy Woods, and Armand Hammer. For lovers surrounding experimental electronic music, Leave records Releases albums from Arushi Jain, More comfortand legendary Laraji.

Ultimately, record companies are custodians, and the best ones have a distinct identity. This doesn’t necessarily mean releasing only death metal records (although it could). It means building a specific atmosphere and point of view that unites artists under one umbrella. It may not be immediately obvious what unites Aphex Twin, Yves Tumor and Nala Sinephro. But what all artists are up to Warp Participation is a relentless desire to push the boundaries of their chosen genre, while adhering to its broad characteristics.

This is the broadest umbrella here because it can cover a lot of different things, but the best way to find new and interesting music is just to connect with other people who share your tastes. This can be as simple as getting recommendations from friends Or an older brother. (Or, if you’re trying to keep up as you get older, consider a younger sibling.) But there are plenty of online communities for music recommendations.

The type is specified com.subreddits She is fit Starting pointbut Reddit can be messy. In general, the noise-to-signal ratio on social media is very high, however Completely incompletewhich is specially designed to recommend things (including music), can effectively cut out the noise.

Disagreement is another great source. Many artists have Discord fan servers, and people there are happy to share music they think fellow superfans will like. But don’t rule out servers that aren’t specifically music-related. I subscribe to a lot of things, like synth nerds and horror writers, who have dedicated channels for music recommendations.

Finally, go see live music. Go see a band you know, but make sure you get there for the opening act. That’s how I discovered The Hold Steady soon after Almost killed me out. They opened for Wren at the Bowery Ballroom and went on to release two of my favorite records of the 2000s. So don’t come late just because you’ve never heard the first band on the bill.