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Plenty of times. Independent artists abound. All over town here in the Twin Cities. Doesn't they're ever going to make it big or not. And yeah, some of them suck. But I'd rather support them then a label. My favorite band distributes through A Different Drum. It's a label too, but they give the artists a lot more control over their music. And give them a slightly bigger audience and presence. Labels don't have to be evil. And Bruce Dickinson doesn't need to be in every studio.

I don't like people who don't buy music because they can download it for free. Support the damn artists if you can. I know they're generally getting screwed, but do what you can. Yeah, I take a pretty firm stand when it comes to music piracy. I'll make a CD for a friend if I think they'll enjoy a band. But that's all they get. I've ended up thinking vastly less a few people because they wanted a copy of my library for their benefit. Most of my stuff is from private labels and the like. I want these artist to continue making music. I'm like any other guy. I'll make exceptions to the rule, especially if I think some one will get hooked on one of my favorite artists.

Excellent point. For that matter purchasing online music as opposed to CDs from RIAA labels is equally bad.

Here are some of my independent sources:

A Different Drum
Emusic

Where do you go?

Michael.

Its probably a bit too late to post to this thread but Anything Box actually played the batcave (nyc) not so long ago (2 years or so?).
(speaking synth nostalgia redflag played there right around the same time period)

The synthpop thing has recently been given a revival of sorts lately, especially now w/ its superceded version hip "electroclash" version.

If you do happen to like any of the anything box songs, take a look at the different drum label.

Particularly, take a look at De/vision, Wolfsheim, Cosmicity.. (these still get a lot of "club play" btw).. if you like your synths a bit darker and moody, take a look at metropolis records Bands like And One, Covenant, VNV Nation and Apoptygma Bezerk have HUGE followings even here in america.

Finally, if this synth stuff all seems a bit to cheezy, we can hip you out w/ the electroclash stuff. Most of this is on emperor norton but Fischer spooner, Felix the Housecat, Ladytron, Miss Kitten and the hacker all have pretty big followings currently. (Fischer spooner just got signed to capitol).. Incidentally, and it speaks mostly of where the kids who produce the mtv shows hang out (brooklyn club scene :)), a LOT of the background music to all the real world shows are clips from these bands (if you were curious as to where the music was coming from). One of the offical VH1 segways is actually fischer spooner's emerge now as well. Anyway there is a ton of good stuff out there all w/ huge active followings w/ club nights in many of the major cities as well.

-bloosqr

Not sure which Camouflage album you're looking for (they're releasing a new one this year), but most of their stuff can be found at A Different Drum (which has lots of other similarly-styled stuff you might like) or even Amazon.

Seems a major electronic genre is being left out - synthpop. You know, like the old 80's stuff... Depeche Mode, Electronic, Pet Shop Boys, several around and still kicking. And there are a lot of new bands too that are great - Echoing Green, Cosmicity, etc. A good site for this is A Different Drum. You can find a lot of good stuff there - links, info, etc.

Also, tons of the electronic bands (synthpop and otherwise) seem to have a lot of good stuff on mp3.com. Check out Bassic, 303 Infitity, Cosmicity, Red Flag there as well.

If you are looking for the more trance type like Paul Oakenfield you mentioned, look at the names of the groups on his albums because he is a classic dj and remixes songs from a lot of other great electronic bands (paul van dyk, etc.)

Mesh - I have no idea how this band is not more well known (can you spell RIAA?), simply fantastic music across each of their albums. Lots of influence from Depeche Mode. The latest album "Who Watches Over Me" is sure to please just about anyone.

Evil's Toy (now called just T.O.Y.) - they started out as strictly Industrial, but have transformed their music into dancy/EBM in their latest albums.

Covenant - they've been around for a long time now, and are considered to be one of the founders of the EBM genre. Their last album "United States of Mind" is a definite must have.

Icon Of Coil - A style similar to the of VNV Nation but with a much more energetic and dancy feel. This a popular band that gets played a lot in Industrial clubs.

Echo Image - very very upbeat, pop/dancy, and enjoyable. They're brand new and hit the scene pretty hard with their album "Compuphonic".

Some other's to check out:

Cut.Rate.Box
Neuroticfish
The Nine
The Echoing Green
Iris
Colony 5
DeVision
Fictional

Where the heck do you find this type of music? Metropolis Records (http://www.metropolis-records.com) is the label most of these bands are on. They are independent label, with no affiliation with the RIAA as far as I know. You can get lots of info, and check out short clips from the bands. A Different Drum (http://www.adifferentdrum.com/) signed most of the others I listed.

Metropolis runs the BEST CD mail-order service (http://www.industrial-music.com), and carry music from lots of other labels as well.