The Best Music to Listen to When You’re Working or Designing (Part 1)

Today I’ve gathered several artists/albums/specific songs that I can personally say help me very much when I’m working, be it designing a new website in Photoshop, programming CSS/XHML/PHP, or just browsing the web. Feel free to let us know what you prefer to listening to in the comments as well!

I asked a few of my friends on Twitter what they listen to when designing, and most agreed that Trance is the genre of choice. It used to be the only genre I wanted to listen to when working, but lately I’ve found more artists that can fill the void in the same way with different sounds, such as Explosions in the Sky and Ulrich Schnauss.

Trance is a genre that I just simply cannot deny. For whatever reason, it is not very popular in the US, besides dance clubs. To me and many other nerds/coders/designers, it is great. I believe the reason behind this is that Trance songs are usually 7 or so minutes long, have lush soundscapes, and a driving beat. This equals a concentrated yet creative mind. They energize you but don’t distract you…pretty much the perfect blend when you’re trying to get something done but need something to hear at the same time. That’s why I like so many Trance songs! Without further ado, here are some artists, labels and albums that I especially like.

Above & Beyond and Anjunabeats label [Trance]

Above & Beyond themselves are amazing – their album, Tri-State simply blew me away, with its lush piano and orchestral sounds mixed with etheral chords and pounding 4×4 kicks. But it gets better than that. I decided to listen to some other artists on their label, and found some great compilation CD’s as well as great new artists, such as Super8 & Tab, Oliver Smith (one of the three in Above & Beyond), Daniel Kandi (I did a remix of one of his most amazing songs “Make Me Believe”) and Kyau & Albert. Definitely check all of these artists out.

Notable songs:

• Above & Beyond – “Good For Me”
  
  
  
  
• Daniel Kandi – “Make Me Believe”
  
  
  
  
• Above & Beyond – “Oceanic”
  
  
  
  
• Adam Nickey – “Never Gone” (Above & Beyond Respray)
  
  
  
  
• Super8 & Tab – “Suru”
  
  
  
  
• Super8 & Tab Feat. Alyna – “Delusion”
  
  
  
  
• Kandi Neumann – “Let Go”
  
  
  
  
• Adam Nickey – “Slider”
  
  
  
  
• Super8 & Tab – “Elektra”
  
  
  
  
• Sundriver – “City Lights”
  
  
  
  

Armin Van Buuren [Trance]

Armin is a great Trance producer. Many of his songs fall into the true Trance category, but he also has a few “Pop Trance” hits with vocals and all. His album, 10 Years, is truly amazing because it contains a nice blend of both of those styles. Also be sure to check out his podcast, A State of Trance, that features simply amazing Trance, and has introduced me to many, many more great Trance artists, which I will list a little further down.

Notable songs:

• Armin Van Buuren – “Sail”
  
  
  
  
• Armin Van Buuren – “Love You More”
  
  
  
  
• Armin Van Buuren – “Zocalo”
  
  
  
  
• Armin Van Buuren – “Shivers”
  
  
  
  

Ulrich Schnauss [Ambient/Shoegaze]

When I discovered Ulrich Schnauss’ music one idle day on Pandora, I was truly amazed. This guy makes music that can make you feel both happy and sad at the same time, and bring back old memories that you thought you had lost forever. He combines many vintage synths with calming but quick beats to create a sound that is hard to come by with other artists. I strongly recommend all of his albums, “A Strangely Isolated Place,” “Far Away Trains Passing By” and “Goodbye.” There is literally not one song I hate by him, so I just included some albums below.

Notable songs:

The Idan Raichel Project [World/Chillout/Alternative]

The Idal Raichel Project is a very unique “band” with a very different take on the musical scene. It’s difficult to describe them, so I’ll quote Last.FM: “With an enchanting blend of Ethiopian and Middle Eastern flavors coupled with sophisticated production techniques and a spectacular live show, the Idan Raichel Project has become one of the most unexpected success stories in Israeli music today.” Basically, it’s great music. Some songs are so laid back and chill that it makes you feel like you’re not even working, and others provide amazing chord progressions with great vocal leads over top of it all to hit that sweet spot in your ears.

Notable songs:

• The Idan Raichel Project – Mi’Ma’amakim (Out of the Depths)
  
  
  
  
• The Idan Raichel Project – Siyaishaya Igoma (Sing Out for Love)
  
  
  
  
• The Idan Raichel Project – Brong Faya (Burn Fire)
  
  
  
  
• The Idan Raichel Project – Be’yom Shabbat (On Sabbath)
  
  
  
  
• The Idan Raichel Project – Shuvi El Beyti (Come Back to my Home)
  
  
  
  
• The Idan Raichel Project – Im Tachpetza (If Thou Wisheth)
  
  
  
  
• The Idan Raichel Project – Hinach Yafah (Thou Art Beautiful)
  
  
  
  

311 [Alternative Rock/Reggae]

This is a band that I truly love, because they mix great, relaxing drum patterns with simple yet pleasing chords and fantastic lyrics to provide an overall great experience. It’s hard to put them in one category, so they usually fall under two or more of the hip hop, alternative rock, punk, reggae, metal, and funk categories in stores. I would say they are sort of a more etheral, calmer Sublime. Whatever you want to call them, you can still agree that it is great music, especially for working to. The songs below are especially my favorites for their musical quality and are great for listening to when working.

Notable songs:

• 311 – Beyond the Gray Sky
  
  
  
  
• 311 – You Wouldn’t Believe
  
  
  
  
• 311 – Amber
  
  
  
  
• 311 – Flowing
  
  
  
  
• 311 – Love Song
  
  
  
  

More to come

I hope you’ve enjoyed the music, and hopefully you’ve discovered some new artists and songs! Again, these are all personal opinion, as your musical tastes may greatly differ. If so, please post a comment below and let us know. Part 2 is coming soon.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Vote For My Remix of Teisto’s “Knock You Out!”
• Hear My Latest Vocal Trance Song, “Final Wish (Feat. Cera)”
• New Free Hard Dance Song – I Don’t Give a F***!
• Kanye West – Love Lockdown Trance Remix
• 12 New Songs Coming: Preview Them Now!