10 Spooky Scary Electronic Albums for Halloween Time

Shlohmo
Dark Red

It was a tossup between this album and XXYYXX’s self-titled LP, but where that LP is more abstract and otherworldly, Shlohmo’s latest album, Dark Red, is much more suited for a dimly-lit party. This thing is straight-up beat music for people who sleep in coffins. Busy, complicated rhythms are wrapped in synthesizers so dark you can’t even see your hand in front of your face.

Shlohmo is an expert when it comes to creating busy and bizarre grooves, and this album shows him growing even further as a crafter of unsettling, albeit accessible atmospheres. This album, as well as his stellar Laid Out EP, are very much deserving of airtime during your Halloween party.

(Choice Cuts: Buried, Slow Descent, Fading)

Holy Other
Held

It was only a matter of time before a Tri Angle Records artist showed up on this list. Like many Tri Angle signees, Holy Other is an electronic music producer that hangs around in the shadowy, pitch-black side of things, with a series of glacially-paced, syrupy pieces of electronic music that are just as serene as they are eerie and oddly sexy.

Definitely a series of tracks for if you’re looking to do some sensual slow dancing at your party.

(Choice Cuts: (W)here, U Now, Held)

Burial
Untrue

Although perhaps more depressing and emotional than creepy and haunting, Burial’s 2007 magnum opus Untrue is still one of the best electronic music albums out there when it comes to setting a strong, uneasy mood. Vivid, otherworldly soundscapes are matched with choppy, progressive rhythms that perfectly enshroud the listener in its self-created world of striking bleakness.

If you want your Halloween to get suddenly introspective, throw Untrue on your stereo.

(Choice Cuts: Near Dark, Ghost Hardware, Untrue)

Lorn
Ask the Dust

Ask the Dust is easily some of the most sound-rich beat music of the decade so far. Brainfeeder and Ninja Tune affiliate Lorn’s 2012 sophomore LP is chock full of grainy, despondent, immaculately textured sounds, set against some extremely well-produced and detailed beats that you might expect from someone who was once a Brainfeeder signee.

Ask the Dust is a skilled and sorely overlooked LP with a strong, entrancing sonic aura. Listen to it.

(Choice Cuts: Diamond, Ghosst, Chhurch)