The 1990s, especially the mid-to-late 1990s, produced some really futuristic tracks from iconic musicians. In fact, many of those hit songs from the 90s still sound way ahead of their time, like they weren’t made at the tail end of the 20th century. Let’s take a look at just a few of those forward-thinking gems, shall we?
“Hyperballad” by Björk from ‘Post’ (1996)
Quite a few songs on Björk’s art pop masterpiece Post could be worthy of a list of futuristic songs from the 90s, but there’s something about “Hyperballad” that stands out to me. While “Army Of Me” was ahead of its time for dipping into industrial rock with trip hop elements, “Hyperballad” is one of the earliest examples of folktronica in the mainstream music space, complete with sounds that complement it in wild ways, from acid house to synth-pop. And that music video? It feels like an early 2000s work, not a mid-1990s work.
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“Dreams Come True” by S.E.S. from ‘Sea & Eugene & Shoo’ (1998)
I admittedly don’t know much about K-pop, but I do know that some seriously amazing trip hop tunes came out of South Korea in the 1990s. One such tune would be “Dreams Come True” by S.E.S., which both musically and aesthetically predicted the Y2K style of the early 2000s before a lot of Western pop groups started doing it. That song is also objectively great dance-pop music, and it’s a shame that it isn’t as well known among non-K-pop fans. The K-pop outfit Aespa would cover the song decades later in 2021 and achieve international success with their version.
“Virtual Insanity” by Jamiroquai from ‘Travelling Without Moving’ (1996)
This smash hit from Jamiroquai doesn’t sound futuristic in terms of overall sound. In fact, “Virtual Insanity” absolutely sounds like the kind of acid jazz work you’d hear in the mid-1990s. But it does make it to our list of futuristic tracks from the 1990s because of those future-predicting lyrics.
Futures made of virtual insanity
Now always seem to be governed by this love we have
For useless twisting of our new technology
Oh, now there is no sound, for we all live underground, woah.
That resonates a little bit with modern-day struggles, don’t you think? Jamiroquai really saw the writing on the wall.
(Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns)