Though their sounds may be borrowed from the past, Portishead--along with Tricky, Massive Attack and others--are considered one of the pioneers of trip-hop, a fusion of hip-hop, rock and ambient electronica. Heavily influenced by both American hip-hop and '60s spy soundtracks, Portishead twist and wa

Dense, Hypnotic, Trip-hop, Trippy

Complete with absurd melodies, speedy jungle beats, and progressive jazz accompaniments, Squarepusher's quirky brand of drum 'n' bass breaks free from the genre's mainstream definition. Considered the father of the "spunk jazz" movement, Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson) rejects the groovy hip-hop flavor

Dense, Eclectic, Jungle/drum 'n' bass, Manic, Playful, Quirky

To call Terre Thaemlitz experimental is a generalization of the worst kind. Thaemlitz is a musical experimenter, to be sure. But he's also a social experimenter, a technological experimenter, and a gender experimenter. Thaemlitz is a philosopher who uses his sonic thinkscapes as social treatises and

Anxiety, Dense, Layered, Political, Self-reflection, Sophisticated, Tense

Bernard Herrmann wrote scores for over 40 movies, providing music for films by Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut, and Martin Scorsese. From his first film, "Citizen Kane," to his last, "Taxi Driver," Herrmann heightened psychological nuance and dramatic tension with sound, often using

Dense, Polychromatic, Sophisticated