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Comment by doorhammer | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, for sure!

Honestly the ADHD focus ones are kind of random because they're sort of just albums I happened to be listening to at the point in my life when I finally started doing programming professionally (I def still like them though)

These are the ones I listen to the most when I'm programming. I'll flip through them depending on my mood at the moment:

Tool - Lateralus

Don Ross - Klimbim

Axiom of Choice - Niya Yesh

Axiom of Choice - Unfolding

Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale - Breathing Underwater

They're just sort of cooked into my brain at this point

Oh, there's also an album of Harpsicord music that I used to listen to at cafes because for whatever reason the Harpsicord drowns out voices really well (for me at least). I can't remember what it is now, though. I mostly use mynoise.net cafe tracks for that now

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>Breathing Under Water

Wow, I've known that album since 2009? 2010? and never seen anyone else ever mention it. Curious if you remember how you found it?

I ask because the way I found it was odd enough that it sticks with me...

I was helping a friend in high school with their computer. I went to a boarding school without much internet and all the kids traded music on thumb drives. Windows Vista was new in our parts, and this girl's laptop was one of the first ones running it that I'd had access to. Asked her if she had any interesting music and she said not really, but there were some sample tracks that had come with the computer. So she gave me the Vista sample pack haha.

My favorite track was Karsh Kale's Distance, listened to it a lot. Later (months later, on vacation) looked the guy up to see if he'd made more like it. Didn't really click with the album Distance was from, but Breathing Under Water made the cut into "albums I remember to this day" (and I too have ADHD).

Nice! Yeah, it's kind of random, but less random than how you ran across it, I think.

I have a friend who's a drummer, and at some point in the early 2000's he picked up a tabla (a type of indian drum--sounds like something you're probably familiar with). I was really fascinated by tabla and started looking into more indian music, which led to listening to Ravi Shankar. I think I mentioned that to the same friend who told me about Anoushka and loaned me a copy of Breathing Under Water.

I haven't actually listened to any Karsh Kale, but I'll have to check it out.

I think that's also why I ended up listening to Table Beat Science (which I forgot to mention before).

Another more random album totally unrelated to those that I really like:

Iarla Ó Lionáird - I Could Read The Sky

It's more irish folksy inspired but has a vibe I always really liked. I used to sometimes just pick a random CD at the local music shop that I'd never heard and buy it. I think that's how I found that pme. That's also how I ended up with the four cd play-them-all-at-once flaming lips album(s) zaireeka. In retrospect, sort of an adhd thing to do, lol

Many many thanks! Always looking for music to help focus. Tool was unexpected but expected (I like to listen to NIN and Aphex Twin).

Your harpsichord comment reminded me of a folk band called Muszikas

np!

Muszikas just went on my list.

I don't listen to tool a ton anymore. I still like their stuff and think they're a talented band but just don't get the urge often, except for Lateralus.

Some of it is just happenstance, I think, but something about that album's energy and vibe can help me intentionally get into a steamroller of hyperfocus on work problems. It's honestly sort of draining for me? So I don't do it a lot. I can honestly say that I've listened to that album many hundreds of times at this point, so my brain long since stopped latching onto the patterns and lyrics.

For some reason I've never sat down and listened to Aphex Twin, which feels weird now. I'll have to check them out more intentionally.

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