Different activities require different soundtracks. Working out, for example, might be a braggadocious rap affair; cleaning the house might call for an anthemic Good Charlotte singalong; and your daily moment of unfiltered emotion probably needs a bit of White Ladder (just me?).
But anything that demands actual productive focus, like studying, writing, or doing your taxes, has a unique set of requirements. Namely: that it won’t distract you and can almost blend into the background. Importantly, it also needs to motivate you. Electronic music is the obvious choice here, but other genres do the trick, too, from ambient to indie rock.
Concentration-inducing music is obviously subjective, but, as there’s only so many times you can listen to ‘lofi hip-hop beats to relax/study to’, we’ve rounded up some of the best albums for productivity. See them below; then, once you’ve finished reading, stop procrastinating and get on with whatever you’re trying to do. Seriously.
Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)
Credited with coining the term ‘ambient music’, Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music for Airports, is actually made for productivity. Well, kind of. As Eno himself described it, it’s “intended to induce calm and a space to think; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting”. Listening to the four-track album – originally conceived to help quell the anxious energy of airports, and consisting of delicate piano and vocal loops – is a dream-like experience, and one that helps you tune into what you’re doing by soothingly tuning out whatever you’re trying to avoid.
Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express (1977)
For those who need something a little more melodic to keep you engaged, then Kraftwerk’s Trans-Europe Express is for you. A seminal synth-pop record, characterised by its precisely-crafted rhythms, trippy beats, and methodic vocals, the album is a masterclass in total hypnotic immersion. Listen hard enough and you might emerge as disciplined as the album itself.
Rasmus Hedlund – Far (2022)
If you want your brain to vibrate – in a good way! – then stick on Far, the third album by Finnish composer and producer Rasmus Hedlund. Traversing dub, techno, and ambient, the captivating album, with its cavernous, reverberating beats, has a unique ability to pulsate throughout your entire body, ensuring you stay locked into its sonic world.
Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One (1997)
Although the background vibe of ambient music and the fast-paced, repetitive nature of electronic arguably lend themselves to boosting productivity, that’s not to say that’s all you have to listen to when you need to concentrate. For the indie rock heads, Yo La Tengo’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, with its droning guitars, obscured vocals, but distinct pop melodies, is a joyous, calming listen. It’s also often considered to be the band’s masterpiece, so give it a listen when you can focus solely on the music, too.
Boards of Canada – Music Has the Right to Children (1998)
A landmark of electronic music, Boards of Canada’s debut, Music Has the Right to Children, is maybe the album for productivity. That’s not to say it’s background music – though it does work great for that – it’s precisely its complex layers of stimulating and atmospheric sounds that make it so engrossing; even if what you’re engrossed in isn’t always the album itself. It’s also just a must-listen album that’s influenced countless cross-genre artists (and is still influencing them), and is a treasured relic in electronic’s history.
Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime (2021)
The sounds of Mdou Moctar’s psychedelic guitar shredding on Afrique Victime – the Tuareg musician and his band’s sixth but breakthrough album – is anything but background music, which may make it a controversial choice for productivity. You might not, say, want to write your debut novel while listening to it, but the album’s hazy melodies, exquisite guitarwork, and chanting vocals, sung mostly in Tamasheq, make it a high-energy motivator, and a startlingly hypnotic listen.
Actress – R.I.P. (2012)
What better for cerebral concentration than cerebral electronic-ambient-techno? British producer Actress gives you just that on his third album, R.I.P., a heady, squirmy collection of distorted sounds that are as addictive as they are invigorating. It’s a disparate, textured, meditative listen that provides restorative medicine for a distracted mind.
Autechre – Tri Repetae (1995)
When Autechre plays live, they do so in total darkness, forcing the audience to totally immerse themselves in the soundscapes being hauled at them from the void. The same goes for listening while concentrating, particularly when it comes to their third album Tri Repetae; only instead of honing in on glitchy, repetitive rhythms in a pitch black room, the mesmerising computerised noise becomes the focus-inducing darkness that’ll force your hand into getting shit done.
Panda Bear – Person Pitch (2007)
Person Pitch, the third album by Panda Bear, aka Animal Collective co-founder Noah Lennox, is another potentially contentious pick, largely because it’s catchy as hell. It’s also got vocals, but they’re burbly, layered, and so, luckily, not particularly easy to sing along to. The album is a cacophony of intricate samples, loops, and harmonies that blend dance and electronica with experimental pop and mind-bending psychedelia. It’s a wild ride of a listen, twisting, splashing, and propelling you through the sky, wiping your brain of all its unnecessary thoughts – which hopefully doesn’t include the task at hand.
Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992)
Obviously there has to be an Aphex Twin album on this list, and it’s got to be Selected Ambient Works 85-92. The musician’s ethereal debut, an ambient record swirling with elements of clubby techno and acid house, will absorb your mind with its pulsating, synthesised twists and turns. Listening provides a melodic, twisted, hedonistic assault on the ears – in a good way – and one that’ll have you concentrating for hours without even realising it.
