Experimental Indie Electronic

A new wave of experimental, independently-released electronic music is rising on SoundCloud. The artists shaping the scene channel influences like ambient, noise and experimental textures into music that defies easy genre categorization.

Artists like raf shermen, serpuline and mårdhund craft lush, multi-color soundscapes built on minimalist structures, accompanied by field recordings and gentle ambience. Elsewhere, boyhoodie veers into surreal alternate realities where beauty, noise and hypnotic machine rhythms collide.

“A charm of our pocket of music is that a lot of the music is very reliant on being sort of an amalgamation of attributes rather than being part of a genre or style,” says serpuline, who believes that thinking in genres can make music feel “predetermined.”

So is it even a scene? Kinda. Just not one you can visit.

“A lot of what ties us together doesn’t have to do as much with style, but just that we share a common post-geographical location,” says raf sherman. “Basically everyone I know in this scene, I initially hit up through SoundCloud DMs.” 

The references are, in raf shermen’s words, “very fractured,” pulled from “the weird shit we came across on the internet.” Elaborating further, raf, who lives on a remote island off the Canadian coast, cites Japanese environmental music albums like Hiroshi Yoshimura’s ‘Air in Resort’ and Haruomi Hosono’s ‘Watering a Flower’ as formative influences. Both of these projects were commissioned in 1984 to serve as in-store background music for the cosmetics giant Shiseido and the lifestyle essentials retailer Muji, respectively, with the artists tasked with soundtracking everyday consumer spaces with relaxing, natural atmospheres.

The sound is also informing and influencing another wave of music makers. Among them is producer 444jet, who nods to Kraftwerk’s 1986 single “Musique Non Stop” on “music non-stop,” and has produced for rising hip-hop artists including Nettspend and xaviersobased (“Impact”) and yuke (“my bad”). Then there’s MASSI, who layers playful orchestral sounds with jacket zipper recordings into cacophonous, thousand-layer textures. 

Get to know the artists shaping this wave of experimental indie electronic with this collection of tracks featuring raf shermen, 444jet, serpuline, vånda and more.

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LISTEN TO THE EXPERIMENTAL INDIE ELECTRONIC PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD

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raf shermen, “speed”
Based on an island off the east coast of Canada, raf shermen references the sounds of Japanese environmental music, Yung Lean songs and Flash games he played growing up, turning them into ambient soundscapes. 

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444jet, “music non-stop”
When he’s not producing for underground heavy hitters like Nettspend, yuke, xaviersobased and phreshboyswag, 444jet shows his experimental credentials with tracks like “music non-stop” with its Speak & Spell-style computer voices, skittering drums and eardrum-pressurizing flutter pads.

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serpuline, “my song about the wattersons family get left behind”
One of the core members of this corner of SoundCloud, who counts among their influences Washed Out and Jon Brion’s “Phone Call” from the film ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.’ This track is taken from his June 2026 album ‘gps.’

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vånda, syra, “you looked so dead”
vånda is a member of the collective nysa, and also goes by mårdhund, who appears later on this playlist. In this track, the producer teams up with frequent collaborator and fellow Sweden-based artist syra, the latter providing unearthly vocals atop wind chimes and distant pianos.

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MASSI, “My Winter Coat”
UK-based MASSI occupies a more playlist sonic space. “My Winter Coat” is indicative of their eclectic sound, punctuated by playful strings and zipper sounds (perhaps from MASSI’s actual coat).

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Ezra Laeux, “Your Cold Hands”
For complex sound design, robotic noises and reversed audio, check out “Your Cold Hands” by esoteric Croatian artist Ezra Laeux, released in 2024. From their newer material, expect to hear vignettes of hyperpop and warbling ambient pads interspersed with noise bursts, as though tuning in on broken radio from a parallel universe.

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alongthewalls, move, Erebasu, “personal_Vendetta”
Malaysia-based artist alongthewalls occupies similar sound design territory as Ezra Laeux. This track expertly takes the listener under water at the 1:04 mark, maintaining its heartbeat rhythm.

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galloper, “430amm4/3/2024”
For fans of Aphex Twin’s ‘Drukqs’ and The Flashbulb, galloper channels complex percussion programming and bit-crushed toy box ambiences into this tempo-shifting track.

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mårdhund, “hoppspindel”
This one-minute piece of ethereal world-building — translating as “jumping spider” — is elevated by tiny piano riffs that ping-pong back and forth, and comes courtesy of Swedish artist mårdhund, who also goes by vånda.

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Thorjn, “Upon The Woods”
London-based experimental ambient artist Thorjn also runs scarab moon media, a label putting out noise, drone and experimental music. This track is from the March 2026 release of ‘Somewhere,’ a collection of remastered tracks from 2003 and 2004.

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saves, lhk “ring”
Sound designer and producer saves teams up with the breakcore-influenced lhk for the emotive, ethereal track, “ring.” 

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imuhki, “untitled”
Another artist discovered via SoundCloud’s network mapping tools, imuhki is influenced by the sounds of Japanese traditional instruments.

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kęnåi, “soft dreams for small wings”
The track “soft dream for small wings” by the Argentina-based experimental artist features one of the more engaging uses of mobile phone interference in a track. This track comes from kęnåi’s February 2026 EP, ‘soft dreams for small wings/tender lines.’

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sadorra, raf shermen, “Hope I find you again”
Baltimore ambient artist Sadorra collaborates with raf sherman for this contemplative three-minute track that evokes Japanese composer Yasuaki Shimizu. 

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iANO, “Teorema (Pt. II)”
iANO is another member of collective nysa, along with vånda, boyhoodie, raf shermen and serpuline. In March 2026, iANO released a collection of singles between LP drops called ‘loose change, vol. 1 (2025 singles),’ venturing into more vocal spaces.

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nysa, “i crash”
Technically produced by vånda, but released via the nysa collective profile — a “band” comprising vånda, boyhoodie, raf shermen and serpuline and iANO — this mournful, reverb-drenched track could easily be a soundtrack cue.

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Atum Bruit, “bug meet world”
This sunshine-filled track from Atum Bruit features cats purring, children playing and more, combining these found sounds with toy xylophone, banjo and acoustic guitar for a more folk-tinged take on this experimental corner of SoundCloud.

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life insurance, “isuzu trooper”
An exuberant 90 seconds of sound design from Washington-based artist life insurance (aka noah), from his October 2025 EP ‘isuzu.’

boyhoodie, “111111BLESS016111111”
The final member of nysa, Tennessee-based multi-hyphenate boyhoodie makes music across many genres, hoping one day to work with Yamantaka Eye, the former singer of Japanoise band Boredoms. He closes out the playlist with this nine-minute odyssey into resonance and delay-soaked percussion from the May 2026 album ‘CONTROL.’

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LISTEN TO THE EXPERIMENTAL INDIE ELECTRONIC PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD