If you like to listen to music while you study but find lyrics distracting, there are plenty of options for you.
If you’ve tried listening to classical music by artists like Beethoven, Mozart, or Chopin (my personal favorite) and been put to sleep, or listened to movie scores and found them too dramatic, or even if you are already an avid listener of instrumental music, here are some lesser known artists with considerable merit you might want to look at.
1. Balmorhea
Balmorhea has been making gorgeous, pensive music since 2009 with their debut album All Is Wild, All Is Silent. Even with their obvious classical influences, they still manage to explore new territory with each subsequent release. Their arrangements and melodies are absolute gifts to this planet. I’ve listened to their entire discography several times and can always count on them to put me in a deep, reflective mood.
“If You Only Knew the Rain” best exemplifies Balmorhea’s stunning arrangements. This is the perfect song to listen to when it’s raining outside your window or when it’s raining in your brain.
2. Citay
Not all of Citay’s music is necessarily instrumental, but it’s not obvious what they are saying, so the vocals are easy to overlook. I would place Citay into the post-rock genre. Citay’s characteristic “guitar screeching” can turn some people off, but there are pieces that will give you the chills.
“Moonburn” is definitely one of those pieces that has a more reflective yet celebratory feel to it. The screeching guitar is present, but it’s meant to show how two seemingly opposing sounds really do enhance each other’s beauty.
3. Juliana Barwick
Juliana Barwick’s latest album Will is one of the best things I have heard all year. Her music is ambient, haunting, and ethereal. I might be cheating when I call her an instrumental artist because there are vocals with indistinguishable lyrics. I would, however, consider her voice to be an instrument itself.
The piano in “Beached” is a gorgeous track that I can listen to over and over again.
4. Goldmund
Like Balmorhea, Goldmund’s music is extremely pensive. Listening to them is an emotional experience. The piano is the main instrument used throughout Goldmund’s discography, and it is used to express a wide variety of feelings.
“As Old Roads” is the opening track to their 2015 release Sometimes, and this song really does open the listener to the world of the album.
5. Rodrigo y Gabriela
I know that this duo is popular, and I believe that they should be a household name. Rodrigo y Gabriela create an entire universe using two guitars. Their rhythms are hypnotic, their energy is boundless, and you will be left breathless by the sheer talent these two posses. Their entire discography is worth checking out as they retain familiar patterns and musical motifs throughout their work while managing to create a diverse bunch of tracks. They mainly have quicker tempo songs to show off their musical prowess, but when Rodrigo y Gabriela slow it down, they create these moments one can inhabit.
“Hanuman”, as the title track to the duo’s second album 11:11, sets up the expectations for the rest of the album as a series of rises and drops in tempo to create a perfect balance of emotion while showing off their talent.
6. Clogs
There’s no good place to being with Clogs. Their music is eccentric at times, and their style changes each album. There is always a sense of adventure in their music and embracing the strange unknown.
“Kapsburger” is probably not the best track to exemplify the type of music Clogs produces. In fact, no one track can pin them down because they create such a wide variety of sounds. However, this song does display their skill with classical arrangements and their ability to create kinds of tones. I personally like to imagine myself traveling through a desert in the sweltering heat while fending off monsters with my gaze. That’s just me, though.
The music and photos in this article are properties of the respective artists and do not belong to Her Campus UCD.