Spooky season is upon us, and that makes it an opportune time to indulge in the unnerving and unorthodox. This playlist is perfect for just such an occasion, loaded with a litany of electronic cuts carried by a quick tempo and a sinister undercurrent. These tracks are moody and atmospheric without sacrificing danceability.

A major source of inspiration for this playlist was the music of Nicolas Jaar, whose two releases so far under the moniker Against All Logic provide a wealth of content for offbeat electronic music. In particular, this year’s release of 2017-2019 eschewed the approachable funk sound of his previous work in favor of a more industrial flavor. This is especially apparent in “Deeeeeeefers,” which combines clanging percussive noises with sirens and dissonant synths for a surprisingly infectious rhythm.

Still, if one artist were to be named the sovereign of the sound, the crown would undoubtedly go to Burial, whose 2007 release Untrue remains the paragon of murky and dark electronic music. As one of the seminal releases of dubstep, the album places strong emphasis on deep, echoey bass sounds and an irregular 2-step rhythm emphasized by humanized, imprecise hi-hats. Incorporating time-stretched and pitch-shifted vocals, as heard in “Archangel,” makes for an unmistakable and iconic ghostly vibe. Allusions toward this style can be heard among more recent tracks, such as in the deep, deep house of arctic circle resident AL-90’s “Experienced Girl” and “Melancholia Staroy Pornozvezdy.”

One other aspect that makes a song sound uncanny is if it is fully synthetic, something that predates even Burial. Experimental electronic works from the nineties–often designated collectively as IDM–provided the foundation for much of the development of electronic music in the new millenium, with Aphex Twin and Autechre being two of the most notable producers in the genre. The unusual sounds and samples heard in tracks such as “Bike” and “Windowlicker” opened the door for artists like Burial and Nicolas Jaar, and even Radiohead credits IDM as a major influence on the smash success of 2000’s Kid A.

I hope you find an opportunity to enjoy the heady groove of A Strange Party. Consider listening to this collection in order: it is front-loaded with more overt rhythms and recognizable names before descending into darker, longer tracks that simmer towards the end of the playlist.