After Spotify stole 12 dollars from me, I deleted my account and went to hunt for a new way to listen to music. Listening offline was alright, especially with my 3DS, but my music choices were lacking.. and Youtube Music just doesn’t feel right..
And then I tried Bandcamp.
For those unaware, Bandcamp is an online music site like Spotify where you can, shocker, listen to music. The big draw of Bandcamp, however, is how you can support the artists. A really big cut of ANY music or merch purchase goes to the artist/label, and the rest goes to Bandcamp for keeping the site up. As they put it, ‘Since we only make money when artists make a lot more money, our interests remain aligned with those of our community. It’s a straightforward, artists-first approach.’ Since I’ve been getting into indie stuff lately, thought I’d write about some of the songs I’ve been listening to & plan to buy from.
#1: Cinnimin – [SPECIAL METALLIC EDITION by TELEFENNEC]
My first exposure to Bandcamp was actually through a friend named Cinnimin. They make a variety of lofi electronic music, and [I even got to make an album art for one of their releases!] At the time of writing this, I gave an older album a listen, SPECIAL METALLIC EDITION. All of Cinnimin’s music has a flavor of ARG to them, as each release has some sort of lore or story attached, including every artist involved with the songs being an OC – in SME’s case, it’s about someone falling in love with a Laserlight 34 Pro Special Metallic Edition, to the point they seem to get lost & ask for something to help them out. Very atmospheric, very crackly-sounding, very cool, I will always vouch for Cinnimin’s music.
Favorite Song: CARRION
#2: MICROMECHA – [Underwater Quest]
The first (well second) artist I found on Bandcamp was an Italian D&B/jungle artist named MICROMECHA. They like to sample a lot of their beats & sounds from other sources, and it ends up having this cool PS1 techno style to it – very fitting, because Underwater Quest is directly inspired by PS1 games. The artist says that they imagined the whole album acting as the OST to a mecha game that’s all water levels, and I believe them, every song has that aquatic feel that was really popular back in the 90’s. For getting my feet wet with Bandcamp, I couldn’t have asked for a better intro.
Favorite Song: Hydrosphere (Second place goes to Manta Rays)
#3: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - [PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation]
...Yes, that is the band’s name, and yes, that is what they called their album. They make a lot of alternative metal & rock music, and DOENAAOPEATBOMD is very much no exception, real heavy guitars & drums, super sick. I’m a really big fan of the album art in particular, if it’s not obvious by looking at me.
Favorite Song: Supercell
#4: Ninajirachi – [I Love My Computer]
I’m not really a hyperpop (or pop) guy, to be honest. With my music, I prefer something more punkish or heavy… Ninajirachi – an Australian artist – has just become the exception with this album. Her music is centered around nostalgia & the computer, and it has that same bounce like you’re hearing it at a club, it’s so good.
Favorite Song: iPod Touch
#5: Motorbike – [Kick It Over]
The SECOND album from these punk guys, and WOW is it a treat. The songs all sit under 3 minutes, with 4 of them going under 4 minutes, but they use the short runtime well. I don't have much more to say to be honest, it's just some really good motorbike rock.
Favorite Song: Afraid of Guns
#6: Pile – [Sunshine and Balance Beams]
If an album opens with a genre I usually don’t like (slow, melodic metal), yet keeps me hooked with it, then you know it’s a really good album. Described as a “Sisyphean fable concerned with labor and living,” each song had a nice, grungy sound that wouldn’t feel out of place in something like Skate or a kind-of-too-serious action movie, and I mean that in the best way.
Favorite Song: A Loosened Knot
...I just realized I sound like an advertisement guy, uh oh-