what track/album brought you to the idm culture?

for me: Autechre's Confield. the track was Cfern. i recall sitting at a table with my headphones on listening to this track. i remember feeling refreshed, helpless, inspired, challenged, and confounded all at the same time.

Confield became the roots of my discographical tree. from there, i started listening to the classics. everything from BOC to Squarepusher. the greatest thing about this music is that there is so much out there. jumping from label to label to find the next inspiration is a great task and very rewarding when you stumble across something new and original. thankfully we have forums like this and databases like discogs.com to give us a medium to navigate through.

not to put him on the spotlight, but Josh (Equinox) has helped me grow musically and has introduced me to countless artists and ideas. i thank him for his knowledge and guidance. the same goes to all of you as well that sift through this forum.

so what was it like for you fellow robot?

for one, I don't believe it's a type of culture. That makes it seem pretentious in a way, sort of making it higher than all types of other electronic music. Confield, IMO, is not IDM. It's purely experimental. To be experimental, one can say that it doesn't really fit in any other category and this is what I believe to be true of this album. I appreciate the commendations you hand out, although I just mention the artists that I've grown to love and figure that you may have the same opinion. The first IDM album I purchased was Aphex's "I care because you do". It also happened to be the first electronic album I ever purchased. The cards just fell that way. I actually moved on to other parts of techno, dnb, jungle, etc after buying this, so I wasn't just into that style at first, I've tried to enjoy a little part of everything.

well, again, it's not IDM that 'got me', it was actually The Orb's Fluffy Little Clouds. The track cwas for me (at the time) revolutionary; i had been a typical 'clique' type kid who had just stuck to one genre, just to fit in.
I was introduced to the track at a friend's elder brother's (an FEB?) room, and i couldn't help liking it, even though i had sworn to 'never ever like anything but punk'... the naivety of children. Of course when his elder brother asked if I liked it (probably after noticing I was tapping my foot) i said something totally 'cool', like 'meh, it's ok.' (glaning at my friend for some sign of appreciation, i was sticking to my punk roots )
Anyway. Things have changed vastly after Orb, and for the better. I think, as with everyone, it's a bit of putting your toe into the water to see the temperature and mixed with maturity.

so, i agree with equinox.

It's funny how intensely moods and desires can change. I distinctly remember seeing the 'Come To Daddy' video as a preview on some show; they said it was the most amazing video in history, while I said 'meh' and went back to Deicide or something...

Since then I've gradually, yet passionately seen the intensity and creativity in all forms of music, with IDM being the foremost for a while.

I do think there is a culture in a way though, even if some don't subscribe. I'd suggest it being in the cliche of the 'bedroom artist', yet I can't pretend it's not the main thing that hooked me, i.e. "I think I can do this too"

I used to listen to Future Sound of London, Orbital, The Orb, Cold Cut and other stuff before I even know this "IDM" genre existed. I would say it was Aphex's Selected Ambient Works II that introduced me to this whole "IDM genre". SAW II is not exactly "IDM" but it opened the door for me, u know...

, I'm glad you added that last part, because the type of music that it best displays is even in the title Many things can open the door to other various styles, and that's the great thing about electronic music, it's open for experimentation and no limits when it comes to creativity.

My first experience with IDM came via the Pi soundtrack in '99, which exposed me to various electronic artists, Aphex Twin being the one artist that most impressed out of the lot via the track "Bucephalus Bouncing Ball"...from there I went on an electronic buying spree...since then I've had a great respect and love for experimental electronic music, but I'm nowhere near the fanatacism of say, Equinox or Evilmatik, obviously...

wow, I am nowhere near Josh's fanatacism

a fanatic I am, it's ridiculous, isn't it? now back on topic!

Well, comparatively, you listen to much more electronic music than I do, so in my world, you qualify...

...but you're probably right; I don't think anyone here comes close to Josh's fanatacism.