I've never ever thought of any music as Kafkaesque...
Huh...
this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
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I'm curious, can you explain what you mean by that?
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 was heavily inspired by Kafka and quoted him constantly. Maybe the game's soundtrack has something you might be looking for. https://archive.org/details/resident-evil-revelations-2-ost
Drone Zone on SomaFM.
Gustav Janouch interviewed Kafka who talked passionately about music but not specific music.
However, being from Central Europe at the turn of the century, it's likely he was talking about the composers Smetana and Dvořak.
Bohemian or Czech right?
I'd love to give a helpful answer other than Kafka audiobooks (sorry, am dad, could not help myself), but what do you consider kafkaesque?
my first instinct is to recommend DEVO
If I'm going for an unsettling bleakness maybe slow noir jazz like bohren and der club of gore, or something faster and jarring maybe clown core, or just esoteric and made to be unapproachable like infant annihilator or knocked loose
I'm sure it doesn't truly count, but The Vaselines have a song called The Day I Was A Horse about being a horse for a day. It might actually be about drugs though idk. Not strictly kafka-esque, but it is at least somewhat Kafka-adjacent.
Intriguing question. Still thinking here but this may help others sort through their mental jukeboxes...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka#%22Kafkaesque%22
Boils down to: "Kafka's quintessential qualities are affecting use of language, a setting that straddles fantasy and reality, and a sense of striving even in the face of bleakness—hopelessly and full of hope."
First thought: Pink Floyd The Wall..... .....
Trout Mask Replica
Only thing I can think of is Aquarela do Brasil, but that's only because of Terry Gilliam...
Maybe check out Califone. First thing that Kafka brought to mind. Also the Robert Devereux Fungicide album.