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"Layered" music that builds throughout the song?
Hi folks. I am searching for songs that, for lack of a better word, build up via "layers" as the song progresses. For example, Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Second Movement, The Boxer Rebellion's "Soviets", or Dave Matthew's Band's "Dancing Nancies". Do you have any recommendations? Perhaps a musician would be able to tell me what this type of music/structure is called?
EDIT: Thank you so much to everyone who responded. There are some GREAT suggestions! I have a lot of listening to do!
Take a look at the genre of post-rock. There was definitely a period where that kind of build-up got overdone in the genre, but if you're just coming into it and that's what you're looking for, it might be a good fit. Explosions In The Sky are a classic for a reason - check out the album The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place
Yndi Halda and Mogwai are two other bands to check out if you like layered builds.
The first tracks that jumped into my mind when I saw this thread were postmodern rock:
Also, a lot of electronic dance and trance music follow this formula of building up layers to a crescendo:
Post rock is definitely the genre for building up layers. Of all the bands in the genre I would recommend Sigur Ros as an good answer to the original question.
e.g. Starálfur
Untitled #8 was my introduction to the genre and is still one of my favorite songs
I'm not strictly sticking with Post-rock for my recommendations but some other bands that come to mind for me:
Industries of the Blind
Dawn of Midi
The Mercury Program
The Six Parts Seven
People As Places As People
Just a reply to say that Explosions in the Sky are putting out their first new album in seven years, and the first single is a great example.
Bolero, by Ravel
interesting story about a particular mental illness behind that song...
@OP, this is the archetypal slow build piece. It's sometimes overly-played to the point of meme, but it is a remarkable piece of musical innovation, and exactly what you're looking for.
Radiolab did a great episode about the mental illness connection with Bolero.
that episode was fascinating. a lady got obsessed with the song and started painting some artwork that she felt matched it, turned out she had the same illness!!
One that comes straight to mind: Tubular Bells
Also by Mike Oldfield, I love The Songs of Distant Earth for all of the building it does within each song and within the album as a whole.
We'll do it live!
Oh heck yeah! In particular, the last big sequence of the piece. It starts with just a super cool bassline, and eventually builds up into a huge number of layers. It's amazing that such a young musician pulled that off, with multi-track tape machines that were quite primitive compared to modern tech.
This is great, thank you!
Does progressive house, like Strobe by deadmau5, or Opus by Eric Prydz, match this description?
Progressive house fans, don't be sad that I've listed two of the more popular songs in the genre, I know nothing else!
Came here to recommend progressive house as well. Check out EDX, Nora En Pure, and Lane 8.
Dude, definitely try Tame Impala. Might be a low hanging fruit, I'm sure you will find maany progressive rock songs that have that multiple "layers" in them, but a bit earlier than recently I found Tame Impala, Flume and Flight Facilities, among others, that have that "layers" effect excellently. These songs might sound a bit pop-py at first, but they have effect of growing into them.
I remember that Gorillaz songs always have that vibe. One that I would like you to try is Gorillaz - Fireflies. It's a bit melancholy as well, but has them layers. You can also try some earlier Deadmau5 tracks and unpeel the levels and layers.
The Arctic Monkeys songs have quite some layers in them too but I feel their recent ones have very distinct layers that only the Monkeys are putting out currently (I think). On that note, Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) have more of them I think. Try QOTSA - Villains of Circumstance and QOTSA - Un-Reborn Again.
Try a few of them and let me know if they were ok to your liking... Prioritize the ones in the numbered list. You have now given me the idea of maintaining a playlist of music with "layers" effect. Thank you!
Awesome, thank you!
Just a heads up to prospective listeners, especially if you’re in Australia and you’ve been to the movies any time in the last few years: chances are you’ve heard that one (or a tiny part of it) as part of the “here’s an ad that also tells you to put your phone on silent” prerolls.
Still, I loved that little jingle they pulled out enough to then look up the real song, and I just love it!
Edit: Ah, I didn’t realise I completely forgot to name the specific song I’m referencing — Flight Facilities Claire De Lune was the one that was used in the cinema ad.
Woah. I'm not anywhere close to Aus so I woudn't know about it. Which one are you talking about? I thought most of these songs were pretty niche, at least where I live, and I find it very interesting that one of these would get a placement in an ad. I'm guessing the QOTSA ones since they are relatively more famous here; Gorillaz is too but I doubt they would make that place; but most chances being Tame Impala since he's an aussie.
Tame Impala, Flight Facilities and especially Flume are all pretty big in Australia.
Let realized they are all from Australia /shrug/
Ah, I didn’t realise I completely forgot to name the specific song I’m referencing — Flight Facilities Claire De Lune was the one that was used in the cinema ad.
Practically the entire genre of post-rock, like Godspeed You Black Emperor.
Jam bands too, for a more lighthearted vibe. Again, much of the genre centers around layering and buildup.
Now that thinking about it, this is a pretty common thing in music, or at least genres that I like! Lots of EDM uses it too. Goodbye to a World - Porter Robinson, or Polaris - deadmau5 as some examples that I enjoy.
GYBE! My favorite band! I have nothing of value to add here, just excited to see them listed because I agree with ya.
Mladic by them is top tier for this category.
F#A# Infinity is probably my favorite album in existence outside maybe Dark Side of the Moon.
Hard same for favorite album of all time. The downside is that when people ask “what do you listen to?” its tough to explain “you ever wanted to know what Cormac McCarthy sounds like as music? It’s that.”
Holy cow, how spot on. I'm going to use this as my go to analogy from now on. McCarthy is also one of my favorite authors so now I'm wondering what personality traits draw me to that kind of art/music haha. I originally discovered it because of its use in the movie 28 Days Later. Almost every attempt I've tried to share GY!BE with people has ended in failure and I think it's because F#A# Infinity is just not something you can easily get into at first blush even though it's the album I want to share the most. On further consideration, I think 'Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven' is the more approachable to recommend to people.
Thank you - GYBE sounds amazing.
I haven't gotten around to exploring their back catalogue, but Dead Flag Blues is an outstanding track. Warning: will make you feel haunted and desolate.
I think you may be looking for Fugues. Layers upon layers upon layers. A typical fugue starts out with a theme, and then the theme gets tweaked slightly and added on top of the original. This repeats ad nauseam. https://youtu.be/Y9OUfBDIGhw
A few classical pieces I was thinking of, especially orchestral, some of which people have already mentioned:
In general I think you'll find loads of classical examples.
If you're a little less literal about the building process, there are several entire forms that are like that. For example, passacaglias and chaconnes:
Themes and variations:
Very motivic pieces:
Even less literally, and over even longer spans:
And if you go full hog arguably every fugue. You might not want all the hog though, since fugues usually have their thickest textures pretty early.
I love this kind of music too. I'm not sure the Beethoven 7 movement can be beaten but that Mahler 1 movement just blows me away every time.
These are great, thank you so much! For the Bach Partita No 2, I adore Valentina Lisitsa's Piano rendition of the Back Busoni Chaconne
Some interesting examples in electronic dance music:
Jon Hopkins - Collider
Moderat - Seamonkey
Caribou - Niobe
Killing Sound - Six Harmonies
That's a staple of EDM genres, like House, Techno and modern derivatives: elements are progressively added and taken away every 4-8 bars, and over time energy is built up by stacking those elements together toward the end of the track.
For an early/classic example of House, Ride on Time by Black Box: https://youtube.com/watch?v=M0quXl_od3g
You'll hear the TR-909 drums first, then the bass and piano come in one at a time, and the vocals, and it plays with which ones are active at a given time, stacking all of them at the high points of the song. (You'll also hear changes to the percussion, string and horn layers, etc.)
This is honestly just a fairly common arrangement technique that you'll find, which is used to keep things interesting (see: the "eight bar rule") without sacrificing the familiarity of melodic components. It also manages the "energy" level throughout the song by raising and lowering the volume/complexity to build and release tension.
Thank you!
I don’t see Max Richter listed here yet, but I’d recommend him. He’s contemporary classical and you’ll potentially recognize him from soundtracks he’s contributed to or from him showing up on Spotify sleep playlists.
Memoryhouse is my favorite album by him, specifically would recommend the track November to fit the category you’re looking for.
November is beautiful - thank you for the suggestion!
I recognize none of the songs you mentioned, but the description instantly made me think of Carbon Based Lightforms. Check out their Derelicts album.
I had the experience of listening to them live last year, and the entire time was like an epic journey building up to something amazing.
Awesome suggestion - thank you!
Radiohead doesn't always build, but there are a lot of layers. If you're looking for mellow...
If you're into a bit heavier, more aggressive stuff, Between The Buried And Me have a song called "Telos" that has a great build that gets me every time.
Less heavy, Converge has a song called "Wretched World" that's kind of a slow burner and never fails to give me goosebumps. Lots of neat subtle layers there. The guitar player is a hell of a producer.
Super heavy suggestion, "Coexistence" from Beyond Creation has several builds and peaks that are wonderful. Makes me smile always. 🙂
Sometime Around Midnight by Airborne Toxic Event is one of my favorite slow build songs.
Also a lot of Tool songs do the slow build also.
Thank you!
In college my professor called this the Wall of Sound, a technique developed by record producer Phil Spector (yes, that Phil Spector) in the 1960s. My professor used You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling by the Righteous Brothers as an example of the technique. You can really feel the way the song builds as new elements are introduced.
Sweet - thank you for this!
“Last of the Starks” from the Game of Thrones soundtrack. Not exactly fully layered as you say, but it builds in a similar way and climaxes very poetically (esp if you are familiar with GoT).
If I'm understanding what OP is asking for, Light of the Seven would qualify, yes? I never got into GOT but I heard that song and immediately sought out the episode because it was so damn evocative I had to know what it was building up to. It was an absolutely perfect match of music and scene, and I've listened to the song on its own and also watched that scene many times. I love that even though I know it so well, it still stimulates that feeling of frisson - and then builds it up for nearly ten minutes!
Soma - Smashing Pumpkins
Starts with a few layered clean guitars, then the bass and drums come in, then the vocals and then the guitars continue layering in different ways until the distorted guitars kick in. Then the avsolutely insane guitar solo starts and afterwards it all begins to wind down before the song ends.
Songs just a big crescendo of instruments building up to a climactic guitar solo.
Billy Corgan has gone on record multiple times saying there are 40 guitar tracks throughout this song.
Awesome suggestion - thank you!
Soma is great. It isn't exactly the same as what was requested, because it doesn't build throughout the song in the same way as Soma, but I've always been partial to Porcelina of the Vast Oceans - Smashing Pumpkins. Like the ocean it comes and goes in waves.
Porcelina is a great song as well, that dreamy intro definitely builds up, more and more layers of swooshy and sweepy guitars then when that wall of distorted guitar riffs first hits, it's just amazing.
My personal favourite off Mellon Collie is Thru the Eyes of Ruby. Really similar to Porcelina, the dynamics ebb and flow throughout the song, something the Pumpkins utilised quite often.
Lots of great suggestion in this thread. Not sure this is quite what youre looking for but my gut reaction to the prompt was The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (part 1)
YT - Spotfiy
It doesn't stand on its own as a movement like your Beethoven example, but in the Shostakovich Symphony #7, there is an extended section programmatically describing the Nazi invasion of Leningrad, and it builds in the way you describe. It starts about five minutes into the opening movement. It's somewhat reminiscent of Ravel's Bolero, mentioned elsewhere in this thread.
Bela Bartok includes a brief parody of this in his Concerto For Orchestra.
-- editing because I learned a thing today and I don't want to perpetuate common misinformation. According to Shostakovich, "It’s not about Leningrad under siege; it’s about the Leningrad that Stalin destroyed and that Hitler merely finished off.”
Layering up to a point throughout the song where it ends on a super high? Or does it crescendo to a point near the end, and then relax a bit for the close? This interpretation of your prompt makes me think about the music I love to listen to while cycling. Such as Nocturnal, or Quinn and Valor.
Lots of songs have several highs and lows throughout, seemingly building to higher and higher crescendos as they progress, such as Rhapsody in Blue.
But it sounds like you may also be looking for something that ends rather abruptly. Such as I Want More, but it may not build from low enough to justify the prompt.
But for me, your prompt has ultimately left me with some song in my collection that I just cant find in my memory at the moment. It ends so abrupt that you're rather shocked that was the end, and yet, it's such a fitting end. I even went through my recently listened to see if I could find it, because it's escaping me at the moment. This is one of those things that in the next several days it's going to reveal itself to me somehow and I'll suddenly exclaim "There it is!" And those near me in the moment will either completely ignore me, or inquire what I'm on about. Still, I'm grateful that you've planted this seed. Thanks for that.
Thank you for the great suggestions! Both layering to a point at the end of the song fit well. Let me know if you find that last song!
I know everyone knows it as the I want to fuck you like an animal song, but imo the song is best in the second half, after the lyrics. Seriously check out Closer by Nine Inch Nails.
I feel a little like a poseur by suggesting their most popular song, I think there are better NIИ songs, but the layers and buildup/crescendo after the lyrics end is a phenomenal example of what I think you're asking for. Maybe not the genre your looking for, I don't know. I strongly suggest listening with headphones and trying to pick out each layer, or when layers come in/out.
Many NIИ songs have rich, complex layers of sound actually. But I think the building up of intensity and crescendo of Closer is what you're talking about.
Another example I think would be Adagio in D Minor by John Murphy (his channel is Distorter Records). It's the theme from the film Sunshine. John Murphy is also the composer who made In the House - In a Heartbeat, the theme from 28 Days Later, which may also be an example of what you're seeking.
Thank you!
Surprised no one has mentioned Steve Reich, a composer who's centered his pieces around layered loops.
There is another more contemporary composer Mathieu David Gagnon. I've been listening to his Flore Laurentienne project a lot lately and really love how the simple idea builds and builds with each wave.
Steve Reich is an amazing composer. I have been obsessed with music for 18 musicians for a few years as it's a great piece to listen to in many different contexts including times where I need to be energized or relaxed.
Music for 18 Musicians was one of the first pieces where I could sit down and pick out the differences between recordings and pick a favorite (or at least one that matches my mood). Typically, I gravitate to the 2000 Nonesuch recording that's disc 1 of the Pulses compilation or the 2015(?) Ensemble Signal recording. The Nonesuch is jazzier (slightly swung) and slower; Ensemble Signal has a stricter rhythm and increased speed.
I'll check those out, I really enjoy the ECM Records 1978 recording as it's a classic and has that eras roughness around the edges of it's recording techniques and feels more organic.
Then Erik Hall's 2020 solo recording is quite nice as well as I enjoy it's different aspect of being synthetic, but fully embracing it. A great recording to come out of covid's quarantine. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/erik-hall-music-for-18-musicians/
LCD Soundsystem does what I think you’re describing in some of their songs. Here’s a couple:
The first thing that came into my mind while reading your post though is Miracles out of Nowhere by Kansas. There’s a bit around 2:30 in that I always felt had a really satisfying build up. It doesn’t last the whole song though, just 30 seconds or so.
I think Lost in the World by Kanye West is a great example of this. Outside of that you might want to look into a lot of the prolific French electronic artists (Daft Punk, Gesaffelstein, Kavinsky, Justice, etc.)
The Books - Enjoy Your Worries, You May Never Have Them Again might fit what you want. It makes me think of someone making an animation by recording various magazine cutouts being dropped onto each other; The Books describe their work as "collage music".
Omg so happy to see someone mention The Books. How did you find them and how long have you listened to them?
Unfortunately, due probably to an extended period of intense alcohol consumption in my 20s and 30s, I have no memory of where I first heard them. It could have been through my sister, who is cooler and better at finding new music than I am, or it could have been through Portal of Evil. Or I might have managed to find them myself through Youtube, presumably starting with The Avalanches and following suggestions from there. I'm drawing a complete blank. I think by the time I heard of them they already had a second album (at least), so I wasn't an early fan.
Maybe because it's cliche so nobody's posted it yet, but Pink Floyd's brand of progressive rock is famous for making building tracks and evolving soundscapes. Something like Echos does it as dreamy ethereal experience while The Wall does this both musically and as a narrative both constructing and deconstructing the music just like the metaphorical wall in the story. And you just can't go wrong with Dark Side of the Moon.
Thank you!
Probably my favorite example of this is the final track on Cursive’s Ugly Organ, Staying Alive.
10 minute tract that slowly builds from slow guitar and cello to a moderately heavy song about deciding not to commit suicide.
Thank you!
The Edge (from U2) made a soundtrack album in the 80's that I like. It has an instrumental called "One Foot In Heaven" that's layered in this way: Each instrument enters as a distinct voice layered on top of the previous instruments. I also recommend the song "Heroine" on the same soundtrack, which has vocals by a young Sinead O'Connor.
Some other people have already pointed out the genre of post rock which perfectly answers the question and is one of my favorite genres but if you’re looking for some non-post-rock (ok a few of these songs are post rock bands) that do the same I have a playlist on Spotify of some of my favorites.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1TTuCt6bQ2xwJLsr9uFUo3?si=CjG5PkeHThm3aYiDnwMpJA
Jake Kaufman / virt, who's the house video game music composer for Wayforward and Yacht Club, does a great job at filling out his tracks with some dense arrangement. Shovel Knight is a long rock chiptune album that happens to fit into the structure of a Mega Man style game, and the Mighty Switch Force soundtracks are some thick, driving pop. Made a lot of one-off songs like Lorem Chipsum that are ridiculously technical without tripping over themselves.
'Regyptian Strut', by Frank Zappa on the album Sleep Dirt, is a great example of this, and done in a very 'Frank Zappa as a classical composer' style.
A piece that I haven't seen mentioned, but that I think fits the discussion, is Edvard Grieg's In the hall of the mountain king from "Peer Gynt". I love it and I bet than more than one who has played The Witness still has nightmares about this piece :)
Reincarnation Ritual by Egoid is a super layered song that progressively builds on top of itself with a really wide range of sounds.
For some reason the first thing that I thought of was Reggie Watts. The second was Bolero.
I'm not sure if those are what you're looking for.
I love this kind of music progression in a lot of different genres. Actually I live for it.
K’s Choice - We Are Glaciers
Rare instrumental track from a great pop/rock band with otherwise mesmerising harmonies.
Mew - Comforting sounds
One of my all time favourite tracks which they always close their live performances with. Just pure liberation.
Violet Cold - Warm Winter
Metalgaze that transcends an inexperienced listener to the genre.
Sòstafir - Ótta
Epic Icelandic post rock/metal that takes you there.
Monkey3 - Icarus
Instrumental rock with flow
Crippled Black Phoenix - Everything I Say
Woozy rock that sucks you in.
Atoma- Here Comes The Wave
Floaty, drifty and dreamy.
Thank you. Comforting sounds is exactly the kind of music I was looking for!
"Comforting sounds" is one of my favorite songs as well 👍
All I Need by Radiohead
I’ll Be You, Be Me by Glen Hansard
Both build from bare bones into a cacophony.
Check out the song "Nice Weather For Ducks" by Lemon Jelly, and the entire album called Trilogy by Carpenter Brut.
Thank you - I love Carpenter Brut and already have several albums. I'll check out Lemon Jelly.
In a jazz context, a good example is the Mingus Big Band's version of Moanin'. It starts with an improvised cadenza from the baritone sax, which then plays the opening riff for 16 bars. Then with each cycle of 16 bars additional layers are added - first with the hi-hat and trombones, then full drumset and bass and saxophones, etc., with more riffs being introduced each round. As the layers get added on, various horn members peel off to start improvising solo phrases, each of which serve as another layer and add to the density and tension. Finally at 1:56 the cacophony builds to a peak, with a full stop for one measure as the tension is released and the song goes to the bridge (which itself quickly builds through layering). Then it's quickly back to the main riff where the effect repeats in miniature before a long sax solo. Again, as each solo builds you can hear various riffs start to get piled on by the horns as background figures (for example, around 3:35). The song ends the same way it began, building up from just the bari sax into the full band going wild. It's so great.
Thank you!
I'll throw out something else for the crowd to change it up. If you're into psychedelic pop, check out The Olivia Tremor Control. I wouldn't classify a lot of their music as something that builds upon itself throughout the song, but this is absolutely some of the most layered music I've listened to...
It's especially impressive when you find out they recorded most of their music on a 4-track without the help of a professional studio.
I really love Do Make Say Think (http://domakesaythink.com) and have been listening to them while studying for years. Each of their albums has a somewhat different feel but I would recommend listening to them in chronological order..."Reitschule" or "The Landlord is Dead" are good representative songs.
People call them post rock but they have more of a jazzy feel than Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai. I know I'm late to the party here but I was waiting on an invitation...
Just wanted to add some not already mentioned that I could find in my library :)
Warrant, Foster the People
Dream Sweet in Sea Major, Miracle Musical
All These Things That I've Done, The Killers
Be Above It, Tame Impala
Re:Re: (2016 Ver.), Asian Kung Fu Generation
Country Backroads, Theo Katzman
I heartily encourage you to listen to the album Weather Systems by Anathema. Essentially ever song on the album crescendos throughout ("The Lost Child", in particular), but I'd also argue that the first three songs on the album are a slow build up towards "Lightning Song" (the standout song on what I consider a perfect album; I'm intentionally not linking to the song to reenforce the idea that you should listen to the song in context!).
In addition, I suspect every Oceansize song longer than ~7 minutes is probably layered in the way you qualified. An example from each of their albums:
Prog rock is generally good for this style of music, so here are a few more songs from assorted artists:
One that comes to my mind when reading your description is Nectar by BT off his album ESCM.
Francis Cabrel's "Madame n'aime pas" starts with just a guitar and simple hi-hat rhythm, then adds bass, drums, piano, and accordion in each subsequent verse.
EDM has a bunch of different genres as others have mentioned that fit the "build and layer" criteria. I have always compared classical music to some dance genres in that regard.
I am not too good at recommending artists specifically as it's more of put on in the background type music for me.
I have quite enjoyed listening to the Melodic Progressive channel on di.fm over the years.
This Eminem cover by Kasey Chambers, which I found shared in a comment in another music thread, is an amazing cover but builds really effectively over 8 minutes.
Bayonne is a multi-instrumentalist who has done this regularly in his live shows, using loops to build layers to form amazing songs. This is a video recording (recorded in a studio that is an old house) of him performing one of his best (IMO) songs in the fashion, Spectrolite. (and another one by him I just found, similar fashion)
I've also enjoyed "Permanent Holiday" by Mike Love which does an interesting "vocal building blocks" bit starting around the 4:20 mark.
Death Cab for Cutie's I will Possess your Heart is one of my favorite examples of this. There's a long intro where each instrument comes in one at a time and the song is built from nothing.