I wrote the intro essay for Pitchfork's 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time - and short appreciations for Boards of Canada's Geogaddi and Isolée's Rest.

As with the ambient list, there's lots of things I've never heard, and even a few names I've never heard of.

Surprised at the non-appearance of Luke Vibert, though.

If the electorate has been restricted to a single voter -  me! - then Throbbing Pouch would be Top Five and Tally Ho! would have placed somewhere too. There'd be even more Aphex Twin (Analogue Bubblebath 3.... that old tracks for free megadump bonanza of a few years ago) and even more Boards of Canada. Those exquisite early Black Dog EPs would have got a nod. 





Yes, I would incline to a narrower and somewhat Britcentric conception of IDM.... Do Detroit-aligned or German-minimal things really count? IDM fans might like them, but....

You'd also have seen this lovely record in there too. 



An album inspired by bereavement, as it happens. 

Also grief-releasing is this first-phase IDM classic -  by the overlooked Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard. 



I did not know this existed. Like a beloved face, seen from a different angle.