Pure Sound: 10 Lyric-less Electronic Tracks that Create New Worlds
- Nicole Basham
- May 15
- 6 min read
I love that fully instrumental songs allow my brain to populate with images without the guiding force of lyrics. Without a specific storyline to follow, the experience becomes almost a choose-your-own-adventure. Rather than delivering a certain message, these songs create a particular landscape. These soundscapes help process feelings that can be difficult to put into words and help my brain relax. Below are 10 electronic tracks to escape and be in your own world: the perfect playlist for chronic daydreamers. Whether you’re working, out and about, or rotting in bed just trying to cope with the current state of the world, these ambient electronic tracks can provide an excellent backdrop.
"Lightning Lipgloss Life" - Life Sim
This electrifying track may sound familiar if you are a Charli XCX fan, as it is sampled throughout her song "Lipgloss" feat. cupcakKe. This makes a lot of sense upon learning that Life Sim is heavily rumored to be a collaborative side-project of one of her producers, A.G. Cook. The track manipulates rising chord progressions and trance-inspired beats. While I have to aggressively fight the urge to hum and sing "mmm-hmmm, I keep it sticky-icky like lip gloss" when listening to the original, it is definitely worth appreciating in its entirety for its sustained, assertive arpeggios that shift tone but maintain the same rapidity throughout.
"The Game has Changed" from TRON: Legacy - Daft Punk
Movie soundtracks are a great thing to listen to when you want a dose of "main character energy," or even just a cinematic backdrop for running errands. This sci-fi-inspired track shares many elements with Daft Punk's other French house and electronica dance tracks, with aggressive beat drops and repeated zap effects that mark the tempo. Daft Punk fully embraces the futuristic vibes of the 2010 film TRON: Legacy by ensuring that the song sounds hyper-digital and dramatic, bringing their unmistakable techno sound to theaters. This track is sampled in the trailer below, creating a vital component of the digital world of Tron.
"Sun Loop" - Sega Bodega
For something painstakingly digitally rendered, "Sun Loop" has quite a simple, organic feel. The track seems to evoke the rhythmic passing of time through natural cycles, conveyed by the gentle, looping circularity of its melodies and beats. The tensions between modern design and the timeless nature of the track are emphasized by the inclusion of a song with the track title "Sun Loop" on an album called Sportswear. This same ironic juxtaposition of acoustic sensibilities and digital sounds unites several of the following tracks on this playlist.
"aruarian dance" - Nujabes
Nujabes is an iconic Japanese producer who is best known for his genre-blending, ambient, instrumental tracks. He has been credited with inspiring the Lo-Fi music craze online due to his relaxing beats that flawlessly combine elements of jazz, electronic, and hip hop. This particular song is from the 2004 Samurai Champloo anime soundtrack. Although Nujabes' life was tragically cut short by a car accident, his discography, production studio, and unique sound continue to shape the musical industry and inspire artists around the world. I personally love his mixing of digital and acoustic sounds that create a wonderful feeling of looking at a natural landscape that is both calming and somewhat surreal.
"Stampede of the Ohmu" from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Joe Hisaishi
I had the pleasure of seeing this gorgeous movie in theaters during a re-release. One thing that struck me immediately was its deviance from most of Hisaishi's renowned soundtracks for Miyazaki's movies due to the incorporation of electronic synths. The soundtrack works extremely well with the sci-fi nature of the film. Peaceful, shimmering synths cut to sudden discordance and action-style beats, mirroring the lives of those who live in The Valley of the Wind. In the film, these villagers try to live in accordance with nature, but perpetually fear giant bugs called Ohmu, which occasionally attack from the Toxic Jungle. These sudden, seemingly unnatural musical shifts also reflect the film’s predominantly blue and green color palette, capturing a world where serene natural beauty teeters on the edge of collapse. The opening of this track can also be heard at the beginning of the trailer linked below.
"Alone in Kyoto" -Air
Air is one of the most iconic electronic-based bands of the 90s-2000s, but their tracks were more atmospheric than the House or EDM styles popularized, at the time, by bands like Daft Punk. They are known for creating the soundtrack for The Virgin Suicides, and "Alone in Kyoto" also appears in Sophia Coppola's 2003 film Lost in Translation. Their songs focus on using digital technologies to create immersive, natural-seeming sounds that become defamiliarized in the electronica context. I love that this track uses vocals as an instrument without the inclusion of dialogue. The sound of waves washing over the shore, which ends the track, further emphasizes this attenuation to landscape-inspired ambience and its ability to mesh with man-made sounds.
"Voicenote"- Himera
I love this track because it feels so fitting for its title. The touchtone sounds at the beginning immediately evoke the world of digital communication, setting the tone for what the song seems to explore. A moment of silence, followed by a soft sigh, interrupts the early rhythm, hinting at a sense of disaffection or dissatisfaction with the way we connect through texts or voice notes, where messages may sound upbeat, but often lack emotional depth or authenticity. The song continues, then breaks again to introduce an ascending and descending abrasive synth that reminds me a lot of "Lightning Lipgloss Life." The song ends by fading out ethereally, then a few more bright touchtone sounds, signifying a potential moment of connection and cheerful sign-off.
"Nothing More to Say - Dub" - SOPHIE
I love that SOPHIE created multiple versions of the song, both with lyrics and without. The "Vox" version with lyrics states:
"You're the one that made me have to walk away/ You tried to compromise and make me change my ways / You left me cold and I've got nothing more to say / You left me dry and I've got nothing more to say, say, say, say."
Yet, the "Dub" version conveys the same message of having "nothing more to say" just as effectively, even in removing the words entirely. This song is multifaceted while still maintaining a comforting sense of control and regularity throughout. It is the perfect song to listen to when you need to mentally remove yourself from a situation or make peace with letting go. The consistent drum kicks pair in a really interesting and bizarrely cohesive way with beautiful, soft wordless vocals and digital effects that sound like they could be from a classic video game.
"The Substance" from The Substance - Raffertie
One of my favorite parts of watching "The Substance" was the abrupt interruptions of unsettling, harsh synth and drum kicks that seemed to mimic a human pulse. The oscillations of intense sound and silence pair excellently with ominous scenes of Demi Moore unpacking and injecting herself with an electric-green "substance" from a meticulously labeled kit she picks up from a sketchy, high-tech locker. For a film steeped in body horror and unafraid to explore themes of isolation and excess, the soundtrack offers a striking contrast. It cuts through the stomach-churning sequences and uneasily anchors Moore’s psychological journey with jarring frequencies reminiscent of 21st-century technologies, ironically echoing the film’s broader themes. This track can be heard in part in the trailer below.
"Who is in Your Heart Now (Instrumental)" - Studio Killers
Studio Killers is a digital band formed in 2011, comprised of fictionalized animated characters who appear in their music videos (similar to the style of Gorillaz). The group experienced a recent resurgence on TikTok with trends inspired by their queer love anthem, "Jenny." Although I love lead singer/character "Cherry," described on Spotify as "the ghost in the machine, an icon of pop culture, and the original 'OG' Girl Boss," I appreciate that Studio Killers made both a traditional and instrumental version of this album. "Who is in Your Heart Now" both exposes the wound of being left behind by a lover and manages to dance the pain away. This song strikes a perfect balance between wistfulness and a detachment from outcomes, resulting in a sound that feels both triumphant and infectious.
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