Being a Discography of CDs which I have found an Inspiration

None of these CD are published by TSR; indeed none of them have anything to do with AD&D. They do have one thing in common, though: I find them all wonderfully inspiring, and I've used many of them for background music during game sessions.

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i. Music for Modrons ii. Music for Celestials iii. Music for Fiends

iv. Ambience v. Aphex vi. Future Sounds

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A few words from Jon:

My taste in music ain't exactly what you'd call 'standard' by a long shot, if such a thing even existed. Amongst my recommended titles you won't find classical music -- although I've used my fair share for atmosphere in games. There ain't much stuff with lyrics, either -- and if that doesn't automatically rule out most of today's artists then nothing does.

The CDs I've pictured and described below aren't just my recommendations for atmospheric music in games -- though some of them certainly would perform that task very nicely. Rather, they're CDs which represent some of the themes and concepts of Planescape (albeit in a very abstract way), at least to the way I see it. I've found ideas come more quickly and clearly when I'm listening to 'em. I've mentioned a few of the reasons I've chosen each of them and yeah, I know how pretentious it all sounds. You'll have to lump it!

If you're interested in acquiring your own copies, most of these CDs are fairly easily available in the UK in specialist music shops or the larger chain stores (HMV, Virgin, Our Price, Tower Records). If you're not from the UK then I wish you the very best of luck trying to find them...

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i. Music for Modrons

Titles (Top row, l-r): Untitled (The Lime Album) [Orbital]; Snivilisation [Orbital]; The Box [Orbital]; Sabresonic [Sabres of Paradise]; Haunted Dancehall [Sabres of Paradise]; Advance [LFO]; Science & Nature [Salttank].
(Bottom row, l-r): Untitled (The Brown Album) [Orbital]; In Sides [Orbital]; Leave Home [Chemical Brothers], This Film's Crap Let's Slash the Seats [David Holmes]; Found Sound [Spooky]; Phat. Lab. Nightmare [Wagon Christ]; Second Toughest in the Infants [Underworld].

Untitled (The Lime Album) -- Orbital

An electronic world of musical beats and clangs. "Steel Cube Idolatry" -- a modron steel band, perhaps? The final track, "Belfast", sends shivers up and down my spine: It's simply beautiful.

Snivilisation -- Orbital

Techno music with a message: The irony of "Philosophy by Numbers", the reaction against the ever-present freak-show culture in "I Wish I had Duck Feet", or the scary answer to the question "Are We Here?" -- 'What Does God Say...'

The Box -- Orbital

One of the few singles listed here, mainly because of track 2: Techno with harpsichords! What can I say but 'It Works!'

Sabresonic -- Sabres of Paradise

Not as good as the later Haunted Dancehall but still a strong album. The sounds here are more electronic and less organic, dancey rather than atmospheric.

Haunted Dancehall -- Sabres of Paradise

A scary musicscape of echoey beats, bubbles and organic machines. This album is so evocative that it's hard not to imagine it being the sounds of Mechanus itself.

Advance -- LFO

Track 3, "Loch Ness", embodies the Spire -- curious at a distance, growing steadily as you approach it until it's infinity is overwhelming. "Them" sounds like it might have been recorded on the Elemental Plane of Elastic -- you have to hear it to believe it.

Science & Nature -- Salttank

A varied bunch of tunes, my favourite of which is "pi", celebrating the intricacy of the number. As the sample goes: "At about the 300 millionth decimal place, there are eight eights, right in a row. Eight eights..."

Untitled (The Brown Album) -- Orbital

Orbital's second album, considered by many to be the best. "Lush 3" runs into "Impact: The Earth is Burning" in a rapid sequence of ideas, culminating in "Halcyon + on + on" which is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.

In Sides -- Orbital

Orbital's newest album, vastly different from the others, yet still uniquely Orbital. Every track is wonderful, but particularly special is the 23-minute "Out there Somewhere?" which rounds off the album.

Exit Planet Dust -- The Chemical Brothers

Less for atmosphere (this is techno to dance to), but great for inspiration. The Chemical Brothers have a characteristic sound which is at the same time painful and relaxing. "Song for the Siren" combines a soothing vocal with blaring sirens, for example! If you've ever hear them live, you'll understand why their music is something to be treasured.

This Film's Crap Let's Slash the Seats -- David Holmes

The album starts with "No Mans Land", which I once used as a soundtrack for Curst, the gate town to Carceri. It's a claustrophobic album on the whole, which suggests a bleak world where machines have taken over.

Found Sound -- Spooky

The only word for this is "bizarre". Spooky have constructed music from the most unlikely sources: "Central Heating" is made from the sounds of pipes being hit by a metal hammer, and it really is fantastic! The whole album could've been made by modrons, it's so rhythmical.

Phat. Lab Nightmare -- Wagon Christ

Another weird album, this one combining floating choir-like lyrics with scary sounds like engines grinding and unfathomable booming noises. If anything's certain, it's that this is inspiring :-)

Second Toughest in the Infants -- Underworld

Hard-hitting fast-paced dance music, full of aggression and still relaxing. A strange combination, but Underworld are well-known for just that. "Pearls girl" is a particular favourite of mine...

ii. Music for Celestials

Titles (Top row, l-r): Shepherd Moons [Enya]; Sacred Spirit [Sacred Spirit]; MCMXC a.D. [Enigma]; Free Zone 1 [Various Artists].
(Bottom row, l-r): Amrita [Loop Guru]; Maya [Banco de Gaia]; The Cross of Change [Enigma]; 76 14 [Global Communications].

Shepherd Moons -- Enya

A beautiful album of Celtic-influenced music; mournful vocals and peaceful instruments. This sort of thing's perfect for the Upper Planes or Tir Na Og. Actually, anything by Enya'd be perfect (they've had several other successful albums: "Watermark", "In Memory of Trees" both spring to mind).

Sacred Spirit -- Sacred Spirit

Imagine native American chants set to a modern-style of music (drum machine, dub loops, samples, etc.), if you will. That's pretty much what Sacred Spirit's all about, and I must say it works very well. I've used it as music on the Outlands, though it'd fit well with any shamanistic society.

MCMXC a.D. -- Enigma

Modelled around samples of monks chanting, with vocals in French, English and German, Enigma (a German group) managed to create something unique -- frequently copied by others since. If you don't like the drum beats, you could always buy a CD of the real thing: "Gregorian Chant", the genre's called.

Free Zone 1 -- Various artists

A compilation album of various ambient artists, included here because it's more mainstream than some of my other ambient choices. As with many compilation albums, this one's very hit-or-miss, but there are many tracks which'd be useful for background music on the Upper Planes.

Amrita -- Loop Guru

Loop Guru have taken an Indian-sounding style of music and jazzed it up for Western ears. It's really lively -- I used it for a Sensate party in Sylvania once -- but there's a definite modern feel to it that would be out of place in a more sober campaign.

Maya -- Banco de Gaia

Again, mainstream ambient music, easy to get into and lively. My favourite track of Banco de Gaia's isn't on this CD -- it's a remix of one of "Shanti" (on the single "Desert Wind") which is simply wonderful. Banco de Gaia are certainly worth a listen.

The Cross of Change -- Enigma

The second album by Enigma, more sophisticated than the first, but by this time, less original. There are several completely instrumental tracks perfect for background music -- there's a definite "environmental" feel to the music (don't as me how) that'd make it good for the Beastlands, perhaps.

76 14 -- Global Communications

In a search for the latest gimmick no doubt, Global Communications thought it'd be cool to name their tracks simply by the length of time they played for (and print them in almost-invisible ink), and to write the inlay card in Morse Code. Even so, it's still a good CD -- I've yet to use it in Planescape, but in a Ravenloft game I once used the first couple of tracks (the first scary and menacing, the second with an unnerving grandfather clock ticking most of the way through). There's also a track with chilling whispers flitting in and out -- great stuff...

iii. Music for Fiends

Titles (Top row, l-r): The Downward Spiral [Nine Inch Nails]; March of the Pigs [Nine Inch Nails].
(Bottom row, l-r): Further Down the Spiral [Nine Inch Nails]; Closer [Nine Inch Nails].

The Downward Spiral -- Nine Inch Nails

So okay, Nine Inch Nails ain't exactly a original choice for Lower Planes music, but I don't care much for rock music and heavy metal. I love the lyrics -- they're so appropriate for so many themes in Planescape (take "Heresy" and the Athar, for example) -- and the sheer venom in the music is wonderful. Anyway, I reckon their later stuff is best for the Lower Planes. I've used abut half of "Downward Spiral" during the adventure "Recruiters" from Well of Worlds, and I've got plans for more.

March of the Pigs, Further Down the Spiral, Closer -- Nine Inch Nails

More of similar, really. "Further Down the Spiral" is particularly notable for having an Aphex Twin (see below) remix of a Nine Inch Nails track -- wonderful.

iv. Ambience

Titles (Top row, l-r): Air [Pete Namlook]; Air 2 [Pete Namlook]; Air 3 [Pete Namlook]; Silence 2 [Pete Namlook & Dr. Atmo]; The Four Seasons [Pete Namlook].
(Bottom row, l-r): The Ambient Cookbook [Pete Namlook and various artists]; Definitive Ambient Collection Vol. 1 [Pete Namlook]; Definitive Ambient Collection Vol. 2 [Pete Namlook]; 4Voice [Pete Namlook]; Luciana [Juno Reactor].

Air -- Pete Namlook

An old favourite of mine for Ravenloft campaigns, "Air" is a melancholy, breezy CD of cryptic French samples in a soothing voice, sad-sounding instruments and a gorgeous atmosphere of brooding and loneliness. I've used it for the Vistani gypsies in the Demiplane of Dread, and I'll certainly use it again in Planescape.

Air 2 -- Pete Namlook

Eleven tracks, all called "Travelling Without Moving", and all perfect atmospheric music. From the haunting Arabian call and Middle-Eastern instruments to a dancey track with a didgeridoo, this is an incredible collection of music.

Air 3 -- Pete Namlook

In a progression from older sounds to more modern, there's a great variety of uses to which this could be put. "Inauguration" is an expansive, vast plain of sound, replete with alien animal calls -- the Hinterlands, perhaps? "Est-ce que l'amour fait mal?" is a return to the sombreness of Air 1, though a little more upbeat. "Give Space a Trance" could be useful in Mechanus, or a Spelljammer campaign.

Silence 2 -- Pete Namlook & Dr. Atmo

The first track on this CD could be a funeral dirge for the Dustmen. It's a full half hour long, minimalist to an extreme, and a whispering voice asks "What is Life?". Later tracks are very Arabian-influenced; "Faith" would make the perfect soundtrack for a temple or cult headquarters. "What is Time?" would work well as background too, especially on the Temporal Prime...

The Four Seasons -- Pete Namlook

Originally, Namlook released limited edition "Spring" and "Autumn" CDs -- each a continuous hour-long mix of atmosphere. In particular, Autumn is wonderful. Now you can get a compilation of the best bits of these two, along with "Summer" and "Winter". Unlike some of the atmosphere CDs that you can buy, there's no patronising flute solos or babbling brooks, just ambient landscapes. If you can find Autumn (a red CD without a box) on its own, it's a better choice (and cheaper too), because the whole thing builds up over an hour, but this Four Seasons is a pretty good substitute, and certainly better than nothing at all!

The Ambient Cookbook -- Pete Namlook and Various Artists

If you only ever buy one ambient CD from this list, make it this one! In fact, there are four full-length CDs in this box, and they're not that expensive either. There's a huge cross-section of Namlook's work here, and you're bound to find something for any occasion. For starters, there's a track which sounds to me just like the Shining Seas of Mount Celestia, and another that's the Plane of Ice.

The Definitive Ambient Collection Vol. 1 -- Pete Namlook

A compilation of many tracks from other CDs in this list (Air 1, 4Voice for beginners), this is a good introduction to the more listen-to-able side of ambient music. It's not as minimalist as Ambient Cookbook, and the tracks are shorter, so 'get to the point' a little more quickly. If you're new to the genre, some of the more 'ambient' ambient CDs might be a little too ambient, if you get my meaning.

The Definitive Ambient Collection Vol. 2 -- Pete Namlook

More compiled works. OF particular interest are "Duane Sky", which is a cicada-filled garden with a tinge of menace -- Garden in Baator, perhaps?; "Trip to Mars", which has a mental drone reminiscent of Ilsensine's Caverns of Thought, or the breathy "Trip to Polaris", which could well be the corpse of a dead power in the Astral!

4Voice -- Pete Namlook

On the dancey side of ambient music, I was rather surprised when I first heard this CD! The style's very much more techno than Namlook's usual, so I wouldn't recommend this for atmosphere, except for the intro, the outro, and "The Final Frontier", a very very scary track with the throb of machinery and weird scuffling noises. I defy anyone to figure out what that is all about!

Luciana -- Juno Reactor

I use this CD as background music whenever my party is in Sigil. When they first heard it, they hated it, but it very quickly grew on them until they ask me to play it whenever they're in the Cage. The whole CD is a single track, over an hour long, and throughout there's a throbbing drone of the streets. Occasionally there are strange and unexplained sounds -- portals, fiends, spells being let off, or whatever. On the whole, it's minimalist, but that's good for a background track, right? It mightn't be everyone's cup of tea, and it's certainly not something to listen to on your own, but it suits my Sigil down to the ground!

v. Aphex

Titles (Top row, l-r): The Richard James Album [Aphex Twin]; Mike & Rich [AFX & µ-ZIQ]; Selected Ambient Works 85-92 [Aphex Twin]; I Care Because You Do [Aphex Twin].
(Bottom row, l-r): On [Aphex Twin]; Classics [Aphex Twin]; Selected Ambient Works Volume II [Aphex Twin]; Surfing on Sine Waves [Polygon Window].

The Richard James Album -- Aphex Twin

The most recent album from the Aphex Twin (a.k.a. Richard James), and one of the strangest by far. Only he could create such a bizarre tack as "To Cure a Weakling Child", a child singing amidst a jungle drumbeat, or "Logon Rock Witch" -- the title says it all! The style is ambient, mixed with jungle drum and bass: Hard to explain and truly unique.

Mike & Rich -- AFX & µ-ZIQ

On the "pop" side of ambient, this album mixes modern beats with old-style riffs and looped samples. Watch out for the sharp tracks that are hidden amongst more friendly-sounding ones: "Vodka" is positively evil next to "Winner Takes All" or the retro "Jelly Fish".

Selected Ambient Works 85-92 -- Aphex Twin

A compilation of 13 tracks which are uncharacteristically friendly. "Ageisopolis" is a timid little track, "Heliosphan" a broad, thumping one, and "We Are The Music Makers" possibly the only Aphex Twin track with lyrics (although they're sparse at that!)

I Care Because You Do -- Aphex Twin

One of my favourite albums, this has such a breadth of styles and feelings. "Acrid Avid Jam Shred" is welcoming, and then it descends to "Icct Hedral", which I once used as atmosphere when Plague-Mort slid into the Abyss... "Ventolin" is a horrible, wheezy, painful track (I love it!) sounding like a bad day on the Blood War battlefield, then "Mookid" and "Alberto Basalm" reassure you that nice things can happen after all.

On -- Aphex Twin

I've included this single because it contains "d-scape", a wonderfully bleak track which would be perfect for the Grey Waste. "On" itself is almost an Upper Planar version of d-scape, upbeat but a little melancholy

Classics -- Aphex Twin

A compilation of the Aphex Twin's older music, less technically sophisticated, but inventive and imaginative as always. "Digeridoo" is one of his best-loved tracks -- the thrumming sound that brings the track in is wonderful. Most of the rest of the album is far angrier, suggesting the metal graveyards of Acheron or war in Baator, especially the echoing menace of "Dodeccaheedron" and "Metapharstic"

Selected Ambient Works Volume 2 -- Aphex Twin

A compilation of around 30 untitled tracks. Perhaps "untitled" is the wrong term -- each is represented by an abstract picture and a pie-chart segment (weird stuff). All are about as ambient as the genre gets -- expect to be bewildered, scared and confused by the rustling whispers, flowing harmonics and wide synthesised and sampled sounds.

Surfing on Sine Waves -- Polygon Window

A really mixed bunch here, from the relaxing and friendly "Polygon Window", through "UT1-dot" which is nothing short of menacing, to "Quino-phec", which is so far out of it it's almost not there...

vi. Future Sounds

Titles (Top row, l-r): Lifeforms [Future Sound of London]; Spanners [Black Dog]; Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld [The Orb].
(Bottom row, l-r): Dead Cities [Future Sound of London]; Leftism [Leftfield]; Hymn: Alt. Quiet Version [Moby].

Lifeforms -- Future Sound of London

The Future Sound of London have to have their own category, partly because they're so good, but also because they defy classification. Their music is at once tuneful and anharmonic, organic and mechanical, uplifting and dark. A bizarre mixture, and a wonderful one. "Lifeforms" is a progression of music and sounds over 2 CDs, and has to be heard to be believed. Best be warned though, FSOL are an acquired taste -- their music, for the most part, is very weird.

Spanners -- Black Dog

Less organic than FSOL but similar in the original nature and unclassifiability of their style, Black Dog's album uses technological sounds and mixes them with an Eastern flavour ('least, that's what it sounds like to me). Interspersed between the tracks are the "bolts" -- short snippets of sounds which then lend to the next track. It's hard to explain. Just listen to it.

Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld -- The Orb

The Orb are an original ambient pop act, recently accused of going crap. "Ultraworld" is one of their first albums, and damn good it is too. Plus, it's got "Fluffy Clouds" on it -- and that's always a sign of great things to come.

Dead Cities -- Future Sound of London

This has to be one of my favourite albums of all time. Darker and more cynical than any of their previous work, Dead Cities laments urban decay and the seemy side of life in the 1990s. "We Have Explosive" is an angry track (almost like the Prodigy's recent work), but there is peace and hope amongst the rest of the album. "My Kingdom" is a beautiful track that combines the alien with the wholesome, and produces something really special. Dead Cities is FSOL at their very best.

Leftism -- Leftfield

Maybe this should be in the "Music for Modrons" section, but it kind of fits here too. Leftfield's debut album is mostly dance-orientated, but amongst the more lively tracks are such gems as "Melt", and "Storm 3000". Great stuff, and what you don't use in an AD&D game you can listen to afterwards :-)

Hymn: Alt. Quiet Version -- Moby

Scary. The only word for this single. Sounding like a dead cathedral with machines instead of organs, and a distinct gothic flavour to it, this half hour track is the perfect background music for the Dustmen's Mortuary.

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