I don't think all these are contemporary but as someone who loves post rock and instrumental music here are some artists that make it into my playlist pretty regularly. Hope this is helpful! The ones near the top I probably listen to more regularly right now but it tends to rotate.

• Sleepmakeswaves
• We Lost the Sea
• Explosions in the Sky
• Codes in the Clouds
• Ef
• Russian Circles
• Collapse Under the Empire
• Mogwai
• Secret Gardens
• Red Sparowes
• Moonlit Sailor
• Maybeshewill
• 65daysofstatic
• Caspian
• Sleep Dealer
• If These Trees Could Talk
• Balmorhea
• God is an Astronaut
• The Evpatoria Report
• Sigur Ros
• False Horizon
• This Will Destroy You
• pg.lost
• There's A Light
• Oh Hiroshima
• Tides from Nebula

EDIT: got around to checking my library and have a few more.

• Distant Dream
• Saor
• Those Who Ride With Giants
• For Giants
• U1327
• The Best Pessimist
• Saxon Shore
• Dorena
• The End of the Ocean
• Random Forest
• Joy Wants Eternity
• Paint the Sky Red
• Eldamar
• we.own.the.sky
• Eleventh Vibration
• Shadow of Io
• Jake Eves
• The Last Sighs of the Wind

In hindsight I don't know if a giant list is the most useful thing but it's here if you want it.

Godspeed you! Black Emperor

Edit: I’m not old, but old enough that I only really remember their first round of albums. No idea what the newer ones are like, sadly. Just never got around to listening.

Ratatat

Tycho, UTAH, Attom, lots more in my instrumental playlist. These are mostly chilled or electronic type genre songs, but I also have a "djentstrumental" playlist if that's your jam, with artists like For Giants, Andromida, Returning We Hear the Larks (a personal favorite), and more.

Aphex Twin & Godspeed You! Black Emperor

A lot of post-rock bands might be good for you. Usually atmospheric/instrumental music played with typical rock instruments and little to no vocals.

Some of my favorites are Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, El Ten Eleven, and Sigur Rós.

(although Sigur Rós technically features vocals but it’s a language of nonsense sounds the lead singer Jónsi made up called Hopelandic, so it’s instrumental-voice I guess??)

Polyphia is great as was already suggested. If you want to go heavier, try Animals as Leaders. If you want to go jazzier, try Snarky Puppy.

Explosions in the Sky

Space Knife

LORN

Some metal and metal-adjacent instrumental bands I listen to a lot:

• Sunn O)))
• Russian Circles
• Pelican
• Lethe
• Explosions in the Sky

Definitely check out Khruangbin! Great music, very few vocals. They are awesome live and recorded. Hope you enjoy.

Have you heard of Khruangbin?

Post rock post rock post rock post rock

Explosions in the Sky

Mogwai

Sigur Ros

The Album Leaf

This Will Destroy You

try these on for size and see if the genre takes you like it took me. I tried to include some stuff that is more traditional rock in form and instrumentation and some that is a bit more experimental in that regard.

Apocalyptica. Metal on the cello. They sometimes have s guest vocalist. I like their self-titled album.

Phamie Gow. Pianist and harpist. Maybe too orchestral. I turn to the Beyond the Milky Way album oftenwhen working out studying.

Mary Lattimore. Experimental harpist. I've been enjoying her latest album, West Kensington, with guitarist Paul Sukeena.

Kelly Moran. Experimental pianist Can't recommend her album Ultraviolet enough.

Burial. For some chilled, glitchy dubstep.

The Comet is Coming. For some psych jazz.

Moderat. For some house electronica.

Uboa. For some droney, noisy, doomy metal.

George Clanton. For some synthpop vapourwave. His latest album is great.

In no particular order:

Ryuichi Sakamoto (particularly Async, and his albums with Alva Noto)

Aphex Twin

Apparat (though he does also feat singers on some albums)

Four Tet

Squarepusher

Ørdrop Wolkenscheidt

MGMT

Sevish

Matt Elliott (very few sung bits)

Paco de Lucía

Guilhem Desq

Jordi Savall

Ledetraad

Bremer & McCoy

Athletic Progression

Psykovsky

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Kettel

Secede

R mccarthy

Sungazer

999999999

Susumu Yokota

Caravan Palace

These do fall into the vg category but it's more edm / retro than "epic orchestral":

Scattle

Chris Christodoulou

Toby Fox

The Toxic Avenger

Jake Kaufman

The term for this would be 'instrumental', which I only mention because it might help you find what you want. If you search streaming platforms for '[some genre] instrumental' it might turn up a playlist.

Here's some favourite albums of mine, which are 'ambient' so you might find them terribly boring, but they certainly are instrumental:

• 1 2 3 - Pole
• And Their Refinement of the Decline - Stars of the Lid
• Plume - Loscil
• The Sound of Lights When Dim - Slow Dancing Society

Polyphia

I'm a metal head, so these will be in a similar vein, though there is techno and more relaxed stuff at the end. Might add links if I remember later:

Chon, Animals as leaders, Polyphia, Plini, Syncatto, Intervals, Meganeko, Broke For Free

Herbie Hancock, Snarky Puppy

I listen to Ghost Data and Porter Robinson lots. Both are electronic music, but I like them more than Zedd or Madeon because they sound more unique.

Ghost Data's chord progressions are unique but repetitive (I don't know many other artists that have a chord progression or vocal idea like that of "Queen of Knives", so it's unique, but the main chord progression of "Queen of Knives" doesn't change all that much throughout the song, so it's repetitive). I like that there's sonic variety while exploring singular ideas fully, like how the main melody of "Thy Flesh Undone" repeats through different instrumentations.

Porter Robinson stuff is pretty great because it sounds more emotional than most EDM I hear. It can sometimes have words, sometimes not. The Worlds album is more of an ambient and emotional/inspiring twist on EDM; specifically I'm thinking of "Goodbye to a World" and "Lionhearted" as uniquely happy songs.

I give an honorary mention to "Antirrhinum" by MALO because its rhythms are pretty cool and confused me a lot at first. It was entertaining trying to figure them out.

I enjoy listening to The HU. They are a Mongolian Metal/rock band. Most of their songs have lyrics, but it’s all in Mongolian so I just treat the vocals as another instrument and it may as well be instrumental to me.

Plini.

how recent is contemporary? how tolerable is EDM? Cuz the first thing that comes to mind is Deadmau5

The following can be classed as instrumental, post-rock or post-metal:

• Russian Circles
• Caspian
• ISIS (the band)
• Sigur Ros
• Mogwai
• God Speed You! Black Emperor
• Blanket
• Vaudlow

I can recommend Solar Fields, although they did the Soundtrack to Mirror's Edge, their albums are pretty nice.

Also (but not really contemporary): Casiopea - Japanese Fusion Jazz. Sounds like the soundtrack to Gran Turismo, but still.

A few I can think of while going through my music library:

• Ochre
• Makeup And Vanity Set
• Blanck Mass
• Carpenter Brut
• Danger
• Magic Sword
• Ratatat
• MASTER BOOT RECORD
  Their capitalization, not mine :)

Some are relaxing and others are loud and fast.

Is Rock okay? If so: And So I Watch You From Afar

Badbadnotgood

The Omnific

Polyphia

miles davis esp like bitches brew type era

Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, Keith Jarrett.

RATATAT has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Love almost every single song of theirs.

Polyphia, The Omnific, Animals as Leaders

The American Dollar

Polyphia, Casiopea (Mint Jams album)

Guts Pie Earshot are one of my favorite bands - just Cello & Drums (except in their first years), for example Butterfly

The Comet Is Coming - for some psychedelic/jazz/rock, Tiny Desk Concert

Space Rock - An Interstellar Traveller's Guide is one of my favorite compilation albums (so not really an artist but a bunch of artists)

Some more space rock: Yuri Gagarin

Die Wilde Jagd have some lyrics, but also many instrumental tracks, like Austerlitz.

When it comes to techno, there is obviously a lot of choice, I like e.g. Ellen Alien Lism for a more ambient vibe

I saw you said you like some electronic music, so I'll throw in Prefuse 73 (or really, any of Scott Heren's pseudonyms) and Infected Mushroom. Prefuse 73 has some voice samples but is largely electronic/trip-hop, while Infected Mushroom has a decent split between songs with lyrics and songs without, so I recommend just grabbing an album and picking out what works for you.

I like Yosi Horikawa.

Here are a few examples:

• Bubbles
• Stars
• Crossing (don't play this one when you're near traffic and wearing headphones)

Com Truise

Gidge, Bonobo, Nicolas Jaar, Nils Frahm

Ever heard of a crab rave?

I like to listen to synthwave when driving and I can recommend 'Rivera Rivera' and 'Inexdra' as well as 'Cartridge 1987'.

The latter has some great songs that tell a story without any words.

Infected Mushroom

Zircon

Eskimo

Little People

Maybe not quite contemporary, but

YYZ by Rush

Slabo Day by Peter Green

stuff i've been listening to lately:

• andy stott
• gas
• forest swords
• boards of canada
• tortoise

Little People
Rival Consoles

HOME, the anthem of speedrunning is by them too.

Polyphia is a pretty incredible instrumental band.

https://youtu.be/9_gkpYORQLU?si=eiTMnGJSydj5TKQc

beastie boys have some really great instrumental tracks in their catalogue

If These Trees Could Talk. Polyphia. Those are two I like quite a bit. Explosions In the Sky. This Will Destroy You.

Listened to these two albums today, both fantastic
https://youtu.be/5w6_D-jrt6s
https://youtu.be/2GhWimO54YE

Check out DJ Ugly Katz!

Disclaimer: That's one of my own projects...

Rival Consoles

• Jon Hopkins
• Carpenter Brut
• Black Lung
• Dance with the Dead
• DEADLIFE
• Soma
• Perturbator
• Com Truise

If you like proggy stuff I'd definitely check out Arch Echo, they're incredible. If you like acoustic stuff then Rodrigo y Gabriela are also a great listen, and so is Kaki King (though I mostly only know her older stuff)

I feel like this describes most electronica, but since you're looking for an artist: Blank Mass.

Ever check out some jam bands? They all have vocals but stretch the music out in interesting ways.

moe, Umphrey’s McGee, Aqueous, Phish, etc

Onward & Upward (22:48) • Umphrey's McGee • 2017-07-23 • CEFCU Center Stage at The Landing, Peoria, Illinois https://relisten.net/umphreys/2017/07/23/onward-upward?source=67144

Sure, just Odesza we were young Two feet just felt like playing the guitar and not singing Odesza kusangi Odesza koto Brock Berrigan Making Up (70s inspired music) Hippie Sabotage enlightened energy Hippie Sabotage smoke room Hippie Sabotage drifter

Not everyonea cup of tea, alternative/edm but yes let me know your thoughts

Opiuo, Ott and Griz are probably my favorites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJj_4ir12-w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cjxNU0S17g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMGWXAitaK8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6pJs5wPfcw

If you like solar fields, try Asura (also on ultimae records)! Also, hinkstep is pretty nice but has vocals some of the time.

Lustre

If you like guitar, Tom Anello.

plini, an addition to all the rock/metal listed

GoGo Penguin is a jazzy trio from the UK that makes midern jazz that is really engaging. I'm really a progmetalhead, but this band is ficking epic.

Bersarin Quartett is another band that I love. It's is a bit tough to get into, but it's really rewarding if you like slowish dreamy complex music. All song titles are in German, but luckily there's no lyrics.

Daliborovo Granje (Epic Croate Psychedelia)

Tommy Guerrero

Estas Tonne

Khruangbin

I've been enjoying Los Bitchos

A few more for you that I don't think I've seen mentioned: Kalaido Tycho Worakls The Cinematic Orchestra

Elephant Sessions, Kan, Peatbog Faeries, Monster Ceilidh Band, Flook. Peatbog Faeries have a new album out now that's great, but it is their first album with some vocal samples (not with many words though). All Celtic fusion bands to a greater or lesser degree.

Zoe Keating https://music.zoekeating.com/album/into-the-trees

DJ Krush for some instrumental hip hop/trip hop.

The French 79 has some lyrics but is primarily electronic melodies

Lindsey Stirling? Not sure if this is up your alley, but, her music is pretty great.

Also, Two Cellos, and the Piano guys.

Its, not classical. It's all instrumental music, no singing.

Lindsey Stirling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHjpOzsQ9YI

Two Cellos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT3SBzmDxGk

Oh, and as a bonus- more of their songs then not, are pretty damn good. I can listen to them non-stop through an entire workday.

Meute is a "techno marching band" - they mostly do covers/reworkings but they have some original works too. My fave tracks atm:

• holy harbour
• you & me
• infinite
• endling

City of the Sun is some fantastic Latin-inspired instrumental post-rock. (That’s probably drivel, idk what genre they are).

Their cover of Young Folks is how I found them, but their self-titled album from 2020 is probably one of my favorites of the last several years. It’s a good balance of calming serenades and powerful melodies.

Hon. mention - The Samuel Jackson Five - Easily Misunderstood is another old favorite of mine. Angrier and edgier, but still haunting in its own way.

The Beastie Boys also have a couple fantastic instrumental jam albums - The In Sound From Way Out, and The Mix-Up.

I'd recommend Solo by RiveR idk about the rest of their songs though I've only listened to Solo.

Jade Cicada, Tipper, Spoonbill.

I haven't seen anyone mention Tempel yet. And yes, it's spelled Tempel not Temple.

Bruit ≤

Kashiwa Daisuke

vexento

If the reason you want something without lyrics is so that you can focus on other stuff, you could consider songs in other languages. There's so much content out there to explore, and you might be able to find stuff in a genre that you already enjoy. I don't find it distracting, and it's fun finding new artists I otherwise would have never tried.

When I want pure instrumental, I usually go "instrumental {{genre}}" and just save the playlists.

Feint, Matt Large, and especially Gregory David are awesome.

Additionally, Bernth is really cool if you like guitar.

Shai Maestro Trio.

Chief Kaya, Benzmixer, Automhate, Versa, Badphaze, Akirah, Ternion Sound, Spass, Aweminus

I like listening to foreign language music when I don't want to be distracted by vocals.

Tauk

"Times Up"

Check out ENV -- Some of my favorite lyric-less music. There are a couple of playlists on YouTube with their albums. Firefrost is a good song to start with.

Flamingosis

Eevee

Anamanaguchi

I've been listening to a lot of music that is featured on the NPR shows Hearts of Space and Echos, which i highly recommend. The following artists/bands are of that type, instrumental, chill, "slow music for fast times", and all are available on Bandcamp.

Hollan Holmes

Kiasmos

Lars Leonhard

Michael Stearns

Röyksopp

I like Monster Rally a lot, they use a bunch of old tropical sounding music samples and put beats on it. Very good for relaxing and vibing.

When I'm working, I listen to Lydian Collective and Tennyson (some of his tracks don't have vocals). You might enjoy them as well!

Covet, Chon, Scale the Summit, Caspian, Mouse on the keys, God is an astronaut, Weekend Plans, DJ Williams projekt

Detektivbyron

Its Swedish folk music with some electronica.

I only have the Hemvagen EP, and I really like half of songs, with the title track being my favorite. I think the E18 album contains all of the same songs and more.

https://youtu.be/YE2yChrT4ok

They were partly inspired by Yann Tiersen who I also really like. Perhaps you've heard the Amelie soundtrack. If not, it's excellent.

Peter Gundry, Adrian von Ziegler

Chapelier Fou, but kinda went into a "symphonic direction" over the years I guess, but maybe you still like the older stuff? My personal favorite.

Marconi Union, Mord Fustang, Caravan Palace, Pkch, Siriusmo, Jacob Mann Big Band, Shubh Saran.

That should get you a wide variety.

Well, I happen to quite like upbeat, 8-bit-style music, but here's concrete artists nonetheless:

• Tremeschin
• Parnikkapore

Look up Nox Arcana if you want something Gothic. Might be a bit too orchestral for your needs, but it's a dark version that's unlike anything I've heard.

I like everything black sky giant has done. And just look at this sweet album cover: https://blackskygiant.bandcamp.com/album/planet-terror

(The opening track has some light vocal samples, but there's no lyrics or vocal parts in their stuff generally)

Edit: you can also click on the "instrumental" tag on that page and go exploring.

Browsed the comments really quickly and couldn’t see that anyone had mentioned Plini, so there’s my recommendation.

Nils Frahm, his albums are quite different from each other; here are some I like in no particular order:

• Spaces
• 7fingers
• Electric Piaon
• Streichelfisch

I like to listen to the genres Synthwave and Dark Ambiance. Spotify is pretty good to find new music in that regard. Since you asked for artist recommendations and not genres:

Judge Bitch – their Album Horse Blood is pretty good.

Perturbator – sounds like you're driving on some rainy highway at night to your cyberpunk destination

There's also Instrumental Nu Metal, for example:

Andromeda – start with their song Synthesis

MASTER BOOT RECORD – it's just riffs and booms, usually no vocals

A. Yarmak – has some nice metal remixes, for example Hydrogen from the game Hotline Miami

Then there's Dubstep and Breakbeat, for example:

The Prodigy – uses samples heavily, but also has a few tracks without spoken words

Lindsey Stirling – Dubstep and violin, interesting combination.

videogame OST […] either really well known or fall into the orchestral and/or “epic music score” I’m not looking for

Well, there are tons of videogames and many of them don't have an orchestral/epic soundtrack, and even more of them are not very well known. I think you're limiting yourself here.

Big Smoke Brass is really fun if you like kinda upbeat acoustic instrumental music

La Femme has some amazing non-vocal music (altho a good portion has French/Spanish vocals)

If u like Jazz, check out the album The Bright Mississippi

Nickel Creek is cool! They have songs with vocals too, but some instrumental stuff as well. Kinda bluegrass feel. My favorite of theirs is Smoothie Song

Guillaume David knocks it out of the park with every game they OST.

• https://youtu.be/RhTXyUERugQ

• https://youtu.be/aJIDqYZ7qM0

Check out John Matthias & Jay Auborn’s album Ghost Notes it’s really great.

Haven't been listening to him lately, but Estas Tonne.

No-one has mentioned "And so I watch you from afar" or "Redneck manifesto".