Folktronica Essentials

Apple Music Dance
Updated Thursday

As sampling ramped up in the ‘90s, many producers—particularly those with backgrounds in indie rock and instrumental music—came to a startling conclusion: Electronic music didn’t have to sound electronic. In addition to the usual synths and drum machines, they could avail themselves of acoustic tones evocative of another era, teasingly mixing digital techniques with the sepia-tinged timbres of yesteryear. Folktronica was born, and pioneers like Four Tet, Caribou, and Lali Puna set about reworking the synthetic textures of IDM with plucked harp, fingerpicked guitar, and brushed percussion, all rendered as gently as a snowflake settling on an eyelash. The concept had legs: The French duo Air parlayed the sound into film soundtracks, and Argentina’s Juana Molina spun it into a kind of avant-garde ambient pop, while Bon Iver picked up the baton and ran in the other direction, seeding full-on indie folk with rich layers of glitch and Auto-Tune.
Gold Panda
Gold Panda
Lucky Shiner
3:36
Air
Air
Talkie Walkie
3:39
Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Trailer Park
4:46
DJ Koze
DJ Koze
Knock Knock
5:25
Schneider TM, Kpt. Michi.gan
Schneider TM, Kpt. Michi.gan
Binokular EP (Schneider TM vs. Kpt. Michi.gan)
4:03
Bibio
Bibio
Petals - Single
2:36
Four Tet
Four Tet
Rounds (Special Anniversary Edition)
4:41
März
März
Love streams
4:08
Caribou
Caribou
Up In Flames (Special Edition)
3:57
The Accidental
The Accidental
There Were Wolves (Bonus Track Version)
4:03
The Books
The Books
Lost and Safe (Remastered)
4:02
Dntel
Dntel
Life Is Full of Possibilities (Deluxe Edition)
5:44
Apparat
Apparat
The Devil's Walk
3:33
13 & God
13 & God
13 & God (feat. The Notwist)
3:48
Adem
Adem
Homesongs
3:56
Sparklehorse, Fennesz
Sparklehorse, Fennesz
In the Fishtank 15
4:27
Barbara Morgenstern
Barbara Morgenstern
Nichts Muss
3:54
Psapp
Psapp
The Only Thing I Ever Wanted
2:47
Boom Bip
Boom Bip
Seed to Sun
3:58
Colleen
Colleen
Les Ondes Silencieuses
5:46
Nils Frahm
Nils Frahm
All Melody
6:59
Expectations
Expectations
Sleeping Ute (Grizzly Bear Remix) - Single
5:56
múm
múm
Finally We Are No One
5:19
Fridge
Fridge
Happiness
2:38
Mia Doi Todd, Flying Lotus
Mia Doi Todd, Flying Lotus
La Ninja: Amor and Other Dreams of Manzanita
3:03
Hood
Hood
Cold House
5:13
Bon Iver
Bon Iver
22, A Million
2:48
Jon Hopkins, King Creosote
Jon Hopkins, King Creosote
Diamond Mine
6:31
Juana Molina
Juana Molina
Tres Cosas
5:58
Matmos
Matmos
The Civil War
3:31
Four Tet
Four Tet
Everything Ecstatic
1:44
Tunng
Tunng
Songs You Make at Night
3:45
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear
Horn of Plenty (The Remixes)
4:48
Mira Calix
Mira Calix
Eyes Set Against the Sun
5:27
Dntel
Dntel
Life Is Full of Possibilities (Deluxe Edition)
4:37
Low
Low
OwL (Low Remix)
6:38
Nicola Cruz
Nicola Cruz
Siku
5:07
Caribou
Caribou
The Milk of Human Kindness
5:23
The Notwist
The Notwist
Neon Golden
5:13
Panda Bear
Panda Bear
Person Pitch
4:04
Schneider TM
Schneider TM
Zoomer
4:21
Bibio
Bibio
Ambivalence Avenue
3:42
To Rococo Rot
To Rococo Rot
The Amateur View
3:40
Apparat
Apparat
Walls
3:59
Subtle
Subtle
A New White
3:56
Nils Frahm
Nils Frahm
Eclettica by Glass Coffee
3:29
The Books
The Books
Thought for Food (Remastered)
4:06
Mice Parade
Mice Parade
The True Meaning of Boodleybaye
7:25
Capitol K
Capitol K
Island Row
6:07
Hood
Hood
Outside Closer
6:55
José González
José González
Let It Carry You - EP
6:29
David Kitt
David Kitt
Yous
4:11
Haiku Salut
Haiku Salut
Etch and Etch Deep
4:06
Gold Panda
Gold Panda
Lucky Shiner
4:40
Colleen
Colleen
Captain of None (Bonus Track Version)
4:54
King Creosote, Jon Hopkins
King Creosote, Jon Hopkins
Diamond Mine Jubilee Edition
3:25
Bullion
Bullion
Blue Pedro - Single
5:12
Four Tet
Four Tet
Pause
3:39
Low
Low
Double Negative
6:22
El Búho
El Búho
Cenotes - EP
4:00
Prefuse 73
Prefuse 73
One Word Extinguisher
5:15
Bon Iver
Bon Iver
Bon Iver (Deluxe Edition)
5:36
September Collective
September Collective
All the Birds Were Anarchists
4:27
Ultramarine
Ultramarine
Every Man and Woman Is a Star
4:27
Bibio
Bibio
A Mineral Love
4:03
Tunng
Tunng
...And Then We Saw Land
4:26
Panda Bear
Panda Bear
Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper (Bonus Mr Noah EP Edition)
6:12
Nicola Cruz
Nicola Cruz
Prender el Alma
3:53
The Grid
The Grid
Pecker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
7:15
Juana Molina
Juana Molina
Halo
5:41
Figurine
Figurine
The Heartfelt
4:10
Mary Lattimore
Mary Lattimore
Hundreds of Days
11:31
DJ Koze
DJ Koze
Amygdala
2:34
Nicolas Jaar
Nicolas Jaar
Space Is Only Noise
5:21
Gold Panda
Gold Panda
Companion
5:31
Efterklang
Efterklang
Modern Drift - Single
4:53
Feist
Feist
Open Season
5:01
High Places
High Places
High Places
3:32
Silje Nes
Silje Nes
Branches - Single
4:02
Colleen
Colleen
Everyone Alive Wants Answers
3:31
Food
Food
Molecular Gastronomy
4:17
Barbara Morgenstern
Barbara Morgenstern
Unschuld und Verwüstung
5:47
Panda Bear
Panda Bear
Buoys
3:41
The Beta Band
The Beta Band
The Regal Years (1997-2004)
3:46
Styrofoam
Styrofoam
I'm What's There to Show That Something's Missing
5:43
Selling, Gold Panda, jas Shaw
Selling, Gold Panda, jas Shaw
On Reflection
4:19
Hayden Calnin
Hayden Calnin
We Can Take Our Time - Single
4:10
CocoRosie
CocoRosie
La Maison de Mon Rêve
4:10
Jim O'Rourke
Jim O'Rourke
Late Night Tales: Another Late Night - Zero 7
3:54
Mark Pritchard
Mark Pritchard
Under the Sun
4:25
Her Space Holiday
Her Space Holiday
The Young Machines
3:33
Lali Puna
Lali Puna
Faking the Books
4:00
S. Carey
S. Carey
Chrysalis - Single
3:44
Caribou
Caribou
Andorra
6:15
Björk
Björk
Vespertine
4:28
Brian Eno, Nicolas Jaar
Brian Eno, Nicolas Jaar
Brian Eno x Nicolas Jaar x Grizzly Bear - Single
7:40
Message to Bears
Message to Bears
Maps
3:41
Carmen Villain
Carmen Villain
Both Lines Will Be Blue
7:49
Dengue Dengue Dengue, Sara Van
Dengue Dengue Dengue, Sara Van
Siete Raices
4:39
März
März
Wir sind hier
5:13

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