Bandcamp Friday - May

Reporting in with this month's offerings. I thought it was going to be a little thin on the ground as I didn't have much lined up, but I managed to get some done in time. In a surprise twist, it also features a fair amount of new releases too! Let's take a look.

Kicking things off with some DMX Krew - Ed from DMX pretty consistently drops New releases to the point where it can be tricky to keep up. I heard the first track from Return To Jupiter when it was up for pre-orders and I knew then I'd get my hands on it soon enough. This is Ed's second release on Peggy Gou's Gudu Records, the first being the equally nice Don't You Wanna Play? EP. It seems to be that when DMX makes stuff for this label he switches focus to pure instrumental, there's no cheeky playful vocal as seen on some other DMX releases here. The title track is the one that sold me - it very clearly takes heavy inspiration from Underground Resistance, especially the Galaxy 2 Galaxy material. The end result is this fine slice of retro-futuristic techno, bouncy and airy, it's a lot of fun to listen to.



Next up is Yaga, yet another artist that until now I'd only really had bits and pieces from scattered across miscellaneous compilations. My experience up until this point was mainly bits from Rhythm Of Snow - all pretty minimal, at the border of my taste in the genre, anything further is a bit too minimal for me. I don't remember exactly how Faded Photographs came onto my radar, but I do remember being entranced by the one preview track at the time No Matter What.

Now, having spent a fair bit of time with the whole album, I can happily confirm the rest is very much in the same vein. I've seen a lot of discussion from fans of Yagya saying that this vocal-oriented shift he's taken isn't for them, but I quite like it, granted it is my first real experience with it beyond his older works.

It's an album that is pretty antithetical to my listening habits, my usual MO is a set of speakers and my entire collection on shuffle all at once. Faded Photographs by comparison is a much more intimate experience, one that benefits greatly from immersing yourself completely in it. I was a little on the fence about it until I threw on a set of headphones and listened to it front-to-back, it all flows together in a lovely way.

That said, there are still tracks that stand alone, my favourite still being No Matter What, but I'm really liking the whole thing, you can spend a lot of time picking out the delicacies on repeat listens and I just adore the moments of melodic vocal flourishes. It can end up sounding a little same-y in parts, but I'd definitely give it a spin if you're in the mood for some quieter, introspective listening.



Third is a compilation I'd had my eyes on for a while, one I'd assumed wouldn't be available digitally due to the label, Musik Aus Strom, being defunct. Turns out it was revived in 2022 by one of the founders and has almost all its back catalogue available, with more planned to come!

The compilation in question, the punnily titled MAS Confusion is a goldmine of lesser known IDM vendors and if you're a fan of then sound, especially around the early 00's when this compilation released then it is certainly worth checking out. There are some early highlights: the opening track from Metamatics that I've talked about before is beautiful, and Adamn Johnson's tracks are almost perfect encapsulations of what makes the 'IDM' sound. My choice for today though is Xela's Streetlevel, a lovely bit crushed nostalgia trip that also embodies all things IDM. Xela has a pretty extensive list of releases too, if you like this one I highly recommend For Frosty Mornings And Summer Nights for more in the same style (in addition to the rest of this compilation of course!)



Finally, a last minute addition in Sachi Kobayashi. It's been a little while since I picked up any ambient, so I went looking through my past purchases to check up on some artists. I'd only had a couple EPs from Sachi Kobayashi, but I very much liked them all - turns out there'd been plenty of releases between mow and the last time I checked in so I was a little spoilt for choice. I went one up from where I last checked in, Weathervane, a release inspired by the surviving Weathervane after the Notre Dame fire. For me, Kobayashi is at her best on tracks like Symbol, very roomy soundscapes with a hint of melody carrying throughout. A lovely closer to the experience, Weathervane is an ideal jumping in point for Kobayashi's work and it is currently 'name your price' over on Bandcamp, so there is no price barrier to entry if you enjoy it.



And that'll be all for today, so much for 'thin on the ground' after all eh? Part of me is considering doing a full review of the Yagya LP, but I also put most of my thoughts into this post here (hence the length!). At any rate, I hope you've found something to pique your interest here in this slightly eclectic selection. I'll drop by again with more in due time but until then, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Tune In, Drop Out

Postponing another post as I needed to get this out ASAP. Some of you may remember how much I love Miss Kittin's compilation/mixtape thingy Radio Caroline, Vol. 1, I've posted about it plenty in the past! It's finally made it's way to digital distribution (as have a lot of her mixes) via bandcamp, which I was surprised at because I thought it'd be a licensing minefield. I long ago picked up a second hand physical version anyway but it's nice to see it accessible like this.

Radio Caroline a real treasure trove of rare tunes, myself and Kittin's music taste sometimes clash, I've listened to a few of her other compilations like this and none of them have quite gripped me the way this one has. It's not just the track choices either, Kittin injects a little bit of uniqueness to the compilation/mix by overdubbing herself musing in spoken word about a variety of topics, it makes the whole thing feel a lot more personal and twinned with the excellent track choices you really get a feel for her personality through it. Let's get right in.

It doesn't take long before we hit a highlight, after a brief intro we hit the gorgeous melodic IDM of Delarosa & Asora, this track is one of many that made it onto my 'must pick up' list off the back of this compilation (though unfortunately some are a lot harder to come by than this) it really sets the mood for things to come, even down to the little spoken word interlude from Kittin towards the end as it mixes out into the next track. I may yet write a full Retro Review of this compilation because it totally deserves it, and being a mix it might be a little disjointed with me just picking my favourites. That said, listening to it in prep for writing this, a lot of the tracks stand pretty well on their own, the only giveaway they're from a mix is usually on the outros and not the beginnings which is a testament to how well the tracks are picked.



Back to the rarities, here's one that pretty much only exists on this compilation. It's another one of those instances where mine and Kittin's music taste doesn't quite align, but where I would become quickly bored by tunes like this in a regular mix, Kittin's spoken word gives it a little edge that keeps it fresh and the best part is how effortlessly it's put in there, Kittin's voice doesn't seem like an out-of-place addition, you could almost mistake it for being part of the studio track. And bonus points for the absolutely gorgeous mixing out into Marshall Jefferson vs. Noosa Heads' Mushrooms (Salt City Orchestra Out There Mix), which is one of my favourites of all time, never mind from this mix!



Keeping things rare with a piece from Plaid alias Repeat, and you can definitely hear the Plaid influence in there once it's pointed out, though it is very different from their usual melodic semi-IDM style. This is again another one of those tracks that would have been super obscure were it not for this mix, this isn't Kittin flexing on how many rare records she has in her collection though, it's something a little more wholesome. I know I'm repeating (ha!) that point a lot but it bears doing so: part of the reason I got into blogging and the reason I adore mixes like this is that you get to shine a light on so much stuff that you enjoy and hopefully others will as well.



Saving my all time favourite for last. If we wanted to talk about flexing rarity this would be the track to do it on. Taken from Walking Endustries one and only EP called "Relaxation II - The Era Of 'Mental Hip Hop", of which there are only 500(!) copies. This record has been a great source of pleasure and pain for me, between Radio Caroline and another compilation I had a total of two tracks from it and they were both super gorgeous. I saw rumors a while ago now that it was going to get a digital release but nothing seems to have materialised yet. After literally years of fruitless searching I finally got my hands on a copy (digitally that is) not too long ago and it's everything I could have wanted. I love the inclusion of Makkee on this mix, it stands out amongst the minimal and house we've heard so far and is generally just a lovely slice of Hip Hop. What really makes it complete though is that tempo switch up in the latter half, kicking in at around 3 minutes in, and it's subsequent mixing out into the final track [Kinesthesia - Flicklife (µ-Ziq Mix)]. I could have written the whole article on this track alone, but the whole compilation has been an incredible chapter in my music listening history and I cannot recommend it enough. Especially now it's super easy to get your hands on via bandcamp.



Be sure to check out the full thing on Bandcamp! I skipped over many a track, including a couple favourites not mentioned here (If you've been reading long enough to know my taste you might be able to spot them! ). Worth noting if you love a bargain like me, Kittin is currently offering a coupon code to get 80% off anything from her bandcamp (until July 16), the code is "happybd" (minus the quotes). Get out there and support your favourite artists!

Uncertain Times

Hi again. I'd apologise once more for the extreme delay on any post but I'm sure you're all aware we have bigger issues on our collective plates at the moment. With that in mind I am going to try update here now and then to just give y'all something to read that isn't doomy. Starting with a reminder that my Ambient releases are available over on Bandcamp, for free if you would like. They have always been Pay What You Want and will continue to be so. I know personally how much music can mean, and I am a firm believer in accessibility to music (especially if you don't have the means to pay for it), so don't feel like you have to give me anything for them at all, and I hope you enjoy. (if you don't want to use bandcamp, there are direct links to my releases at the bottom of this post!)









Don't want to use Bandcamp or would prefer a direct download? no worries, I have you covered. Here are links to get the above releases from our own hosting as .zips!:

Compiled
Near Future Blues EP
Dive EP

Stay safe out there folks,
-Claude Van Foxbat

Ilictronix Podcast: This One Time, At Band Camp

"Claude and Adam are back to discuss their favorite tracks of the week! In this episode: Claude shares some recent Bandcamp finds, Adam shares what he listened to while in Texas"

After a longer than anticipated break, we are back on track with all things podcast! As I say in the episode it's actually been quite refreshing, though I've been itching to lay down these selections for a while now (and some of them will crop up again in a few months when I do the inevitable cyberpunk episode I've talked about). It's a slightly eclectic cross section of my bandcamp library this time (be warned it leans heavily on the soundtrack side because that's where I pick up all my indie game stuff!), this is definitely a format I'm going to revisit in future, I really like shining a light on the random bits and pieces I've acquired, doubly so when it gives us a break from the usual big names I talk about. Starting with a piece from Echochamber's i'm real, i'm here (which again, is most certainly going to make another appearance in the future). I'm not really doing the album justice by playing a single track from it here, as I say in the episode it's absolutely an album that is meant to be experienced sequentially. I picked the lone hip-hop infused track for this week's choices, there's nothing really else on the album like it which makes it stand out even further to boot, it takes a more downtempo turn towards the end that's more like the rest of the album's vibe though. But I included it because it's re-ignited a love of instrumentals once again so stay tuned in the next couple weeks for that showing up.

After that it's a tour de soundtracks once again, I talk about Graeme Norgate and how important his soundtrack work was to a young Foxbat, before hitting you with yet another example of me legitimately loving a song that's become a meme with Pascal Michael Stiefel's Peace And Tranquility which is no word of a lie one of my favourite house songs of recent years despite it's original context ans subsequent meme-ification. After that it's awhirlwind tour of sci-fi soundtracks courtesy of Ben Prunty for FTL, a fantastic album that is full of lush space-y sounds and finally a bit of the Neotokyo soundtrack by Ed Harrison (who now goes by 0edit). **Links to everyone's respective bandcamps will be in the show notes!**

Adam returns on top form, with a vertical slice of his southern listening that is once again very much his style. It's almost a shame I was the first to go this week, I'd have loved to hear Adam's choices back-to-back. He hits s with the usual affair, though definitely tinged by his recent travels. We even hit some absolute classics towards the end too which again makes me wish we'd coordinate lists sometimes. We at least planted the seeds of an 80's episode once again! be sure to remind yourself of that, future me. We leave off this week with a bombastic bootleg courtesy of Jean Sean and the collective Sophisticated Delinquency, you're not going to want to miss it! Full tracklist below as per usual.

Tracklist:
Intro:
Carly Simon - Why

Claude’s picks:
Echochamber - blindfoldz [& ticking clockz]
Graeme Norgate - SpyFi Tileset
Pascal Michael Stiefel - Peace And Tranquility
Ben Prunty - Engi (Battle)
0edit - Stopgap


Adam’s Picks
Vtgnike - Nervnii RnB
Shigeto - Detroit Pt. 2
Jacques Greene - Another Girl
Girl - Higher
Inner City - Good Life

Outro:
Amerie - 1 Thing (Mr. Alexis Remix)


SHOW NOTES:
Oh boy do we have a whole host of show notes this week, going artist by artist:
Echochamber's album 'm real, i'm here is available on bandcamp here, and additionally that campaign to get it pressed on vinyl has succeeded! if you would like one of your own on vinyl they are still taking orders as far as I know on the project page here!

Graeme Norgate's bandcamp is here, and it is full of (most of) his soundtrack work going back to the N64 days! I reccomed the Timesplitters albums naturally,they have some gorgeous pieces on there, and some straight up dnacable tunes too.

Ben Prunty's bandcamp is here! he does stellar work (no pun intended). I once again recommend the FTL soundtrack, as well as the mini-EP of extra tracks he released when a big update for the game happened too.

Finally, Ed Harrison's new 0edit bandcamp is here, the Neotokyo soundtrack is split into two albums; NSF and GSDF, I can wholeheartedly recommend both. I have yet to check out his other solo realse but I most definitley should given how I've fallen back in love with the Neotokyo stuff.

Jean Sean and his collective have a few releases under their belts already, the rmeix for our outro this week was taken from Tesoro Vol. 1, and you can see the rest of their releases so far here!