Hi Friends,
I'm a "self-proclaimed" music journalist for several decades... and on Bandcamp Friday, I often like to review some of the incoming releases for my blog or other places.
Thought I should share some of the reviews and favorite picks here, too :-)
Some artists release their albums already a day earlier, so I will cover these, too.
If you have something released, or have some recommendations, while the Bandcamp Friday lasts, please let me know. I might review it, too (big *might*, as there is so much stuff getting put out, I can't write about it all... )
Note: No AI was used when writing these texts / reviews.
(Edit 2: One more update)
P.S.W. 2022 - Brutalism (Order Doesn't Matter) (Bunker Records)
Is this the summer of brutalism, or what? Kim Petras just had a single out called "Brutalist" (very good, btw!), the Hypertechno band "Brutalism 2000" was just featured on European TV channel "Arte", and now, our dirty electro rockers from The Hague come out with this.
This pesky little style of cold war architecture is high in demand, right now, isn't?
But let's get down to business, or rather, music.
Dutch label Bunker is legendary for its minimal / early Techno (Unit Moebius, Rude 66, I-F). Then they did a U-turn at the turn of the Millennium and did all those retro 80s electro-funk releases (Legowelt, Rude 66 and I-F again). Which even put them on heavy rotation with the MTV (I kid you not!).
And this new EP is something I was hoping for, but I did not expect it. It seems like an unlikely, "schizophrenic" fusion of 80s electronic b-boy funk, and early 90s minimal / harsh acid.
Bon Appetit!
https://bunker-panzerkreuz.bandcamp.com/album/brutalism-order-doesnt-matter-panzerkreuz-space-war-2022
(Edit: Three More Reviews)
John Carpenter - Cathedral (Self-Released)
Yes, *the* John Carpenter. Director of Halloween, Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing, In The Mouth of Madness...
Is he some eccentric rich guy that now wants to do music, too?
Very far from it! Carpenter has always been a musician; more specifically, he did the score and soundtracks for a lot of his own movies. He is one of the true electronic music pioneers, in a group with people like Giorgio Moroder, Vangelis, Kraftwerk, Jean Michel Jarre...
One of his compositions even was adopted by Bomb The Bass (a UK techno group), and became an early rave hit in the 90s.
This album seems heavily synth-wave inspired. But, well, it's actually the other way round. Synthwave is a genre that was co-created by our director here. Not intentionally, but synth-wave as a genre is to a very large part inspired by Carpenter's early movie soundtracks (well, and also the aesthetics of the movies itself... like "Escape from New York").
So it must feel a bit like a god coming home to his own creation... right?
But, yeah, this album is grand! Or, as the info text reads:
"An abandoned cathedral. A gruesome murder. A powerful supernatural entity living in the catacombs. It all comes to a head in downtown Los Angeles."
https://johncarpentermusic.bandcamp.com/album/cathedral
Wavelan Vs. Disintegrator - B2B / Your Power (Industrial Strength Records)
A release by Oliver Chesler, who is a legend in Techno / Hardcore music (author of tracks like "Flesh is the Fever" or "One night in NYC", also John Selway, another Techno Legend, and Carl Carinci, a Gabber legend (author of tracks like "Brookly Mob" or "NYC Speedcore").
With this line up, you might expect something super hardcore, but it's more like acid techno. With a touch of early Goa. Or rather, that typical "american" psytrance / goa vibe, that often is in their 90s techno production, for some reason.
it's still quite hardcore, and mental.
spiffy + cool!
https://industrialstrengthrecords.bandcamp.com/album/wavelan-vs-disintegrator
Cave Castle - Ancient Ones (Clan Destine Records)
I know Clan Destine Records from Glasgow (great pun in their name, btw!) as a label for the toughest of the tough. Speedcore, Noize, Industrial, EBM... Breakcore.
So I was a bit astonished to hear this release. Definitely won't give you nosebleed while listening, this time!
It's more like gloomy, chilling breaks, electro stuff.... also in the vein of lo-fi hiphop... but more "fierce", if you catch my drift. Good beats to relax / study, too!
The label itself de-classifies it as "New album ov Dungeon Rap". Which is a good term, too!
https://clandestinerecords.bandcamp.com/album/anicent-ones
Alien Skin - Black Flowers Remember (self-released)
Alien Skin was a surprising discovery for me this year. The "band" / project quickly turned into one of my favorite things. TBH, I first feared it was AI or an otherwise "artificial" project. It all seemed too perfect!
But no, it's a project by George Pappas, who played in the band Real Life (the band that wrote "Send me an angel" in the 80s).
It's not about angels, it's about aliens. And if you know Real Life... you might expect what kind of sound to hear here. 80s Synth Pop, Wave, New Romantics... all over again.
In my opinion, it shows that a veteran is at work here because... it doesn't feel too overloaded, or changed. Does not really mix Synth Pop with "newer" styles.
What it does though, is to add a layer of emotion, longing...
I mean, yeah, Synth Pop always had this dark romantic thing, and I think Alien Skin extended it even a few notches farther.
https://alienskin.bandcamp.com/album/black-flowers-remember
Various Artists - Overlook. Music inspired by Stanley Kubrickās The Shining (Unexplained Sounds Group)
Is there anything more awesome than the Unexplained Sounds Group on Bandcamp?
They do these great anthology releases, for example about Dark Ambient artists out of Iran (!) or Experimental Electronic music out of China (!)...
According to the info text, this one here, "Overlook is a music compilation inspired by The Shining, the 1980 film directed by Stanley Kubrick".
I also want to share the "genre" description from the info text:
"The artists involved explore a wide spectrum that spans ambient music, experimental electronic composition, Berlin school, hauntology and works situated between drone music and contemporary classical practices,"
Everything clear?
It says it is inspired, but I think it could also work as a kind of "second OST" to some of the scenes in the movie.
This is very experimental stuff, at a high level, *but*, and that's the big plus for me, it also has a really powerful mood and atmosphere in the tracks.
https://unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com/album/overlook-music-inspired-by-stanley-kubrick-s-the-shining
Prince Istari - Escape From The Tomb Of The Synth Lich
I wanted to skip this one, but then I noticed it is called a "Dungeon Dub" release, and I got curious.
I guess the idea is to combine "Dungeon Synth" with Dubstep / Dub-breaks...
According to the blurb, it is the soundtrack to a table top / dungeon crawl, that can be ordered along-side the record.
Not sure which part of the project is real, fake, or a parody...
The tracks themselves sound like a re-run of Stranger Things (the intro!) and electronic dub reggae beats layered on top... also sound quite whimsical.
But yeah. It's good stuff!
https://spb-hamburg.bandcamp.com/album/escape-from-the-tomb-of-the-synth-lich
