Bandcamp Friday: November 6th
Bandcamp Fridays began as a way to help artists during the coronavirus pandemic. The music platform announced in July that it would extend the practice through the rest of the year, with Bandcamp Friday falling on the first Friday of each month.
In addition, Bandcamp now hosts a searchable Black Bandcamp database, made independently from Bandcamp itself and featuring thousands of Black artists and labels on the platform. There are also crowdsourced lists of Black Femme Identifying Electronic Music Artists and a Black Trans & Nonbinary Bandcamp Day.
Here are some of the releases our staff are most excited about this Bandcamp Friday.
Various (Krunk Kulture) – Ganga Jamuna: Flavours Of The East
Mumbai label Krunk Kulture releases the latest compilation in its Flavours Of The East series, this time named for a drink made from the juice of oranges and sweet limes. The blend of forward-thinking garage, drum & bass, jungle, footwork, bassline features artists from India, Nepal, Japan and beyond.
Huey Mnemonic – Technician
Huey Mnemonic is one of the most exciting young artists hailing from Detroit, and this inspired EP easily lives up to his city’s hallowed techno tradition.
Elevenpigs – MIRROR WORLD
This full-length from the Los Angeles artist elevenpigs is meant to reflect the experience of going clubbing by yourself. Jackhammer beats go from uplifting to paranoid in the same track, while voices and footsteps echo on the sides. It’s not so much dance music as music about dance music, and it’s one hell of a debut album.
ssaliva – IM THE ONE WITH NO SOUL
Belgian experimentalist Ssaliva has been around for a while now, popping up on labels like Leaving and Ekster. Lately, though, he’s hit on something brilliant, applying a loop-based approach to massive shoegaze riffs and dream-pop melodies. Both of his recent solo LPs, IM THE ONE WITH NO SOUL and God Room, are full of fuzzy, transcendent moments.
Sw. – Viole{n}t
Viole{n}t, the latest 12-inch from SUED cofounder Sw. for Chicago’s Kimochi Sound, is as strange as it is inviting, channeling the original, exploratory spirit of ambient house.
Jennifer Loveless – 1.5m
Australian artist Jennifer Loveless’s first release on D. Tiffany’s label Planet Euphorique is described as an “audio-digital time capsule” from the lockdown period in Victoria. There’s something suitably listless about it—it’s a house track with a beat that sounds like it’s pacing around a room. Backed with great remixes from Korea Town Acid, JLO and Female Wizard, it’s one of the most distinctive releases on Planet Euphorique yet.
Swordman Kitala – Kimbalagala EP
This is the first full solo EP from Frank Amanya, who you might know from his past appearances on Blip Discs and Nyege Nyege. It also follows a successful campaign to raise money for Amanya’s physical therapy after he suffered a stroke at age 27. He sounds better and more spirited than ever on Kimbalagala, with a nimble, agile flow over beats from a cast of UK all-stars. Special shouts to the K-Lone produced “Malanga Ja,” with its UK funky bounce and beaming performance from Amanya.
Tomu DJ – Trans Woman Techno
The lead track off Bay Area artist Tomu DJ’s new EP—”Goes To Bossa During Covid Once,” featuring Darian—is a thing of pure beauty. Imagine an ambient jungle track pared down to just the soaring pads, with a chunky beat thrown on top. It’s a nice balance of fluffy-cloud textures and gritty metal gleam, one of the prettiest tracks you’ll hear this Bandcamp Friday.
Alex Zhang Hungtai & Pavel Milyakov - STYX
Pavel Milyakov is in the zone. Over the past 24 months, he’s dropped album after excellent album, effortlessly toggling between his hectic dance floor alias, Buttechno, and the more exploratory jams he makes under his own name. The first release on the Moscow producer’s psyx imprint—a new platform for multi-genre sonic experiments, visual arts and moving images—is a deep, noir-ish collaboration with LA multi-instrumentalist Alex Zhang Hungtai. The seven-track record juxtaposes heady, menacing drones with lyrical saxophone and guitar.
CYRK – “Solar Mechanics”
“Sollar Mechanics” is the lead track off CYRK’s new release for Science Cult, a Dallas label launched last year to keep up the city’s decades-long tradition of excellent, sci-fi-influenced electro. This track sits on the tougher side of that sound, with grotty synths, probing basslines and early AFX-style chord sweeps. A must for any fan of E.R.P., Cygnus or Aux 88.
