instrumental post-rock

Sleepmakeswaves are an instrumental rock band from Sydney, Australia. Drawing influences mainly from but not limited to post-rock, the young quartet mix driving metallic bombast with textured electronics to create a sonic space where delicate melodies and thunderous climaxes peacefully co-exist. Since their formation in late 2006, sleepmakeswaves have rapidly established themselves as a promising and unique voice in their field.

El Ten Eleven is a Los Angeles-based instrumental rock duo consisting of Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty. What separates El Ten Eleven from their musical peers is that they are only two musicians on stage creating pounding landscapes of sound with no laptops or sequencers. Dunn switches off (sometimes mid-song) between a double-neck bass/guitar and a fretless bass, while his feet dance on an extensive floorboard of looping devices and effects pedals. He plays everything live, loops himself and juggles all the layers of tracks on top of each other.

Read more about El Ten Eleven on Last.fm.

Stars of the Lid are a band specializing in drone-based ambient music. They list among their influences minimalist and electronic composers such as Arvo Pärt, Zbigniew Preisner, Gavin Bryars, and Henryk Górecki, as well as Talk Talk (both bands have tracks named "Taphead"), post-rock artists Labradford, and ambient innovator Brian Eno. Their music largely consists of beatless soundscapes, composed of droning, effects-treated guitars along with piano, strings, and horns; volume swells and feedback fill the gap of rhythmic instruments, providing dynamic movement within the songs.