“First up: two hundred and four hours of chanting.”
February 16, 2016 11:27 PM   Subscribe

Ever since August of 2013, first Laurent Fintoni (“And This One Time…”) and then Miles Bowe (“Pay What You Want”) have traveled to the farthest reaches of Bandcamp to find its best content (at least, by the slightly outré lights of FACT Magazine). While twenty-six of the releases have disappeared, more than one hundred remain. They are linked within, for your sampling pleasure. (Not included: “It made quite a splish” by The Fish Was Delish)

(Albums are listed as “artistalbum (month/year) • tags”, and are sorted by artist, release date, and title. With the exception of donald trump, I only included tags shared by at least two records on the list. Because bands apply their own tags, they may be ironic.)

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//orangenoise//A Journey to the Heart of Matter (9/2012) • psychedelic, punk, rock, rock n roll, shoegaze

100%✦✧ (3/2015) • kids

52 Commercial RoadCommunion (11/2013) • bass, electronic, experimental, folk, jazz, post rock, post rock instrumental, psychedelic, rock, soundtrack

74 Miles AwayGear Change (5/2013) • beats, boogie, broken beats, funk, jazz

7even Recordings7even Releases III (4/2014) • bass music, dub, dubstep, electronic, experimental electronic, house, techno

???-???クラウド移動 (11/2013) • bass, electronic, future

A PREGNANT LIGHTAll Saints' Day (11/2015) • avant garde, black metal, experimental metal, hardcore, metal, punk

AFTA-1Toy Machines (7/2028) • electronic, experimental

ASSIMILATIONTHE ALPHA QUADRANT (1/2016) • electronic

AhkatariTJD004 (10/2014) • electronica, hip hop, jazz, world

Alaclair EnsembleLes maigres blancs d'Amérique du Noir (5/2013) • hip-hop/rap, postrigodon

Alsarah & The NubatonesSilt Remixed (10/2014), Silt (3/2014) • dance, dub, electronic, hip hop, house, world

AmanarTumastin (2/2016) • africa, african, ethnomusicology, folk, global, world

Amp FiddlerBasementality 2 (1/2014) • funk, soul

Anderson .PaakCover Art (11/2013) • alternative, alternative hip-hop, funk, hip hop, pop, r&b, r&b/soul, rap, soul

AnonymousEP.3 (7/2014) • bass, dancehall, dnb, drum & bass, drum and bass, electronic, experimental electronic, footwork, jungle, reggae, trap

Aoki_DesuEp Three (11/2013)

Ash KooshaGUUD (6/2015) • soundtrack

AttackRetreat (9/2011) • devotional

A—rpopaco (4/2013) • ambient, electronica, experimental, idm, techno, textural

BILLY SPRAYZOXI LEAN (4/2006) • devotional

BLLUDD RELATIONSBLLUDD RELATIONS (LP) (6/2013) • diy, electronic, jazz

BantumLegion (7/2013), Legion (10/2012) • alternative, ambient electronic, chillwave, classical, electro, electroacoustic, electronic, idm, instrumental, post rock

Ben VarianPart of the Y'all (7/2015) • electronic, experimental, minneapolis, pop, rock n roll

Black MilkSynth Or Soul (4/2013) • electronic, funk, hip-hop, hip-hop/rap, instrumental, rap, soul, synth

Blind MusicEP.7 (10/2015) • bass, dnb, drum & bass, electronic, experimental electronic, jungle

BluermuttWhen I'm Not (12/2006) • electronic

Boreal NetworkItasca Road Trip (4/2015) • ambient, beat, drone, electronic, experimental, folk, illuminated paths, noise, pepsi, pop, sample, vaporwave

BrianPaths We Take (7/2015) • electronic, experimental

CHARLES TREESOur Life (12/2015) • detroit, electronic, house

CainFG002: 'Mora EP' (9/2013) • bass, broken beats, electronic, electronic music

Chico DubHy Brazil Vol 2: New Experimental Music From Brazil 2013 (5/2013), Hy Brazil Vol 5: New Experimental Music From Brazil 2014 (6/2014), Hy Brazil Vol 9: (More) Fresh Electronic Music From Brazil 2015 (10/2015) • advanced, ambient, avant-garde, drone, electronic, experimental, future, glitch, idm, industrial, lo-fi

Coco BryceThe Lover (6/2014) • electronic

DIBIA$EPROgressions (9/2013) • electronic, experiemental, footwork, hip hop, hip-hop/rap, soulful

DJ OliveBALM (12/2012) • bass music, electronic, electronic music, meditation, minimal

DJ SlammeisterSuper Slam Bros. IV (4/2015) • experimental

DJ Woody & ClicktraxVødüm EP (1/2014) • electronic, experimental hip-hop, hip hop, hip-hop/rap

Danny ScrillaMonolith EP (10/2014) • bass, drum & bass, dub, dubstep, electronic

Deon TaylorHandling Business (5/2015) • soundtrack

Dewi Yull w/ManthausKina Baru Kau Rasa, Kau Bukan Dirimu - Kroncong Klasik (12/2015) • world

DimliteAbscission (6/2012) • soundtrack

Dolphins Into The Future - Lieven Martens Moana"Songs Of Gold, Incandescent" (6/2015) • classical

Donnacha CostelloStay Perfectly Still (9/2015) • ambient, buchla, drone, electronic, experimental, experimental electronic, modular

Drumset Music Works - Twiz the Beat Pro, Jaisu & Beatnick DeeFEE FI FO FUM (10/2014) • doom metal, hip hop, hip-hop/rap

Dub Store RecordsDub Store Records Sampler Volume One (name your price) (9/2014) • dancehall, dub, jamaica, reggae

Dym quell Holo001: Ball (11/2014), 002: Ball Appendix (11/2014) • alternative, normal

ENABinaural (11/2014) • ambient electronic, drum and bass, electronic

EUGLOSSINECOMPLEX PLAYGROUND (2/2015) • experimental, leftfield, pop, smooth jazz

EYELINERBUY NOW (6/2015) • boogie, electronic, experimental, funk, new age, vaporwave

EartheaterMetalepsis (2/2015), RIP Chrysalis (10/2015) • ambient, drone, eartheater, electronic, experimental, folk, fractal, new york, noise, pop, psychedelic, psychedelic rock, synth, zones

EgadzMatterhorn: Colormata (Full Version) (6/2014) • beats, electronic

EhnahreDouve (1/2016) • death, doom, metal

El Mahdy Jr.RAÏ DUBS (1/2014), The Spirit of Fucked Up Places (11/2014) • bass, dub, electronic, experimental electronic, psychedelic, west coast

Eman X VlooperXXL (9/2014) • hip-hop. rap, hip-hop/rap, postrigodon

Erica Eso2019 (10/2015) • electronic, electronica, experimental, experimental pop

FeralHaymaker EP (11/2013) • club, electronic

FujakoSoul Buzz (8/2014), Exobell (11/2014) • black saturn, clipping, contemporary classical, death grips, dub, electronic music, experimental, hip hop, improvised music, noise, shabazz palaces

Geesus HostGeesus Host remixes EP #1 (9/2013) • bass, bass music, electronica, future beats, grime, hip-hop/rap, instrumental beats, uk hip hop, wonky

George Clanton100% Electronica (9/2015) • brooklyn, chillwave, electronic, futurepop, lo-fi, richmond, vaporwave, virginia

Georgia Anne MuldrowVWETO (12/2010) • ambient, beats, experimental, funk, hip-hop. rap, hip-hop/rap, instrumental, instrumental hip-hop, rap, soul

GhostA Tale of Life in VI Parts (3/2012) • beats, electronica, future beats, hip-hop/rap, instrumental, instrumental beats, instrumental hip-hop, soundtrack, uk hip hop, wonky

Good WillsmithSnake Person Generation (7/2015) • ambient, drone, electronic, experimental, improv, noise, psychedelic

Guerilla TossFlood Dosed (10/2015) • electronic, funk, noise rock, punk

HARCO PRONTJibberish (9/2003) • ambient, broken beats, downtempo, electronic

Herrmutt LobbyMidi + Demi (5/2014) • electronic, jazz, unrezt

Hoarfrost/Jedność/JenotKatowice (4/2014) • electronica, experimental, noise

Holly WaxwingPeach Winks (6/2015) • electronic, footwork, house, pop, vaporwave

Huess14:76 (6/2014) • ambient, bass, hip hop, hip-hop/rap, instrumental hip-hop, wonky

HykuuKeep Dreaming EP (4/2015) • beats, club, electronic, hip-hop, nocturnal, trap

ILLingsworthKARATE-RELATED DEATHS (8/2014) • alternative hip-hop, beats, detroit, hip hop, hip-hop/rap, instrumental hip-hop, instrumentals, japan, rap, synth

Iman OmariSamadhi EP (6/2014)
posted by Going To Maine (21 comments total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
In case other folks want to compile FACT listicles into posts, the code I used for this one lives here.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:39 PM on February 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


I can vouch for a few of these:

George Clanton's 100% Electronica is pure 80s pop filtered through the last 30 years of music compression and production.

Holly Waxwing is fantastically deconstructed songs.

Macintosh Plus is a seminal vaporwave release (if such a thing is possible).

チェスマスタ is deep dream music, maybe generated by an artificial intelligence?

I did a project like this a few years back.
posted by sleeping bear at 12:20 AM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


Thanks for this! Been checking Fact's best of Bandcamp releases lists from time to time and found some excellent stuff.

Not only Bandcamp in general, but even some labels' catalogues - for example, Dream Catalogue's - are in themselves already overwhelming to go through. But Dream does have death's dynamic shroud.wmv which is a personal favorite right now. Especially this. Don't usually go for vapor that easily, but this feels quite different and more exciting.
posted by sapagan at 1:27 AM on February 17, 2016


Super post! I'm going to enjoy getting stuck into some of these today.

I really, really love bandcamp. I think it's a mixture of the really great (but mostly not mainstream) music on there and the fact you know that the band aren't being screwed over. Plus they make discovering music really easy.

The only downside of getting the bulk of my music from bandcamp is that nobody else will ever have heard of it. I think that's starting to change somewhat - more well known artists (presumably those who aren't tied up in a mess of complicated record contracts) are starting to move to the platform.

Hopefully they manage that transition while staying true to their roots. It would be a shame for the platform to be bought out by a big record company or end up aggressively pursuing profits to the detriment of its original ethos.
posted by leo_r at 1:58 AM on February 17, 2016 [2 favorites]


Bandcamp was the first place I put my music, but I've never really looked at what's in there. I've got this bookmarked and will delve into it when I retire in June. Thanks.
posted by kozad at 6:06 AM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


Going To Maine, I, I think I love you!
posted by evilDoug at 6:31 AM on February 17, 2016


Couldn't wait for December eh? Great post.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:08 AM on February 17, 2016


Thanks Strong Sad! And Going to Maine! This is amazing I hope no one sends a search party while I'm going through this.
posted by 1adam12 at 7:51 AM on February 17, 2016


I did a project like this a few years back.

I was sad when that project ended.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:36 AM on February 17, 2016


While this is cool and all, isn't this post just a scrape of FACT's content?
posted by scruss at 10:02 AM on February 17, 2016


While this is cool and all, isn't this post just a scrape of FACT's content?

Well, technically it's a scrape-and-sort of Bandcamp’s content, as curated by FACT over two years, placed into an easy-navigable list. But, yup, that’s it. I do agree that the merits of such a post are interesting - if I’d made a website for this same list, it would go into projects. But then, that could be true of any post on the site. And I’ve certainly done lists of things before. It’s just that this particular list was tool-assisted rather than hand-curated by searching Youtube repeatedly.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:14 AM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


where are the 204 hours of chanting? :?
posted by blackfly at 1:12 PM on February 17, 2016


just sent this over to laurent and his reaction was "lol how did you find this?"

these features were such a great way to learn about music.

ash koosha signed to ninja tune earlier this year.
anderson .paak (featured in 2013!) went on to work with dr. dre and release an album that i've enjoyed A LOT.

wandl put out one of my favorite remixes of (mefi's own ;)) gucci mane. link here.

(the scrape code is cool, too! killer job, GTM!)
posted by raihan_ at 2:34 PM on February 17, 2016


You can't forget the *astoundingly* prolific (approaching 40 releases, most full albums) BLVCK CEILING, a post-witch hell-trap drag-mix extravaganza. Some favorites of mine.
posted by FatherDagon at 4:14 PM on February 17, 2016


I love Bandcamp so much.

Some of my favourite albums from B-camp:

Bombino, Agadez Tuargeg/Mali tunes.

The Haggis Horns Hot damn, great funk

Floex, zorya, originally linked here. Classical meets Plaid, great stuff. Originally discovered via mefi.

The Oh Hellos country folk, really love it and they are taking off now.

J-Live, SPTA, old school hip hop.

David Kuchherrman The Path of the Metal Turtle, ambient pan and metal percussion.

Ariya Afrobeat Arkestra self-titled cool afro-funk.

The Infamous Stringdusters, We'll do it live, country folk bluegrass.

Some things I find frustrating with bandcamp - 1) the tags are shit, people don't bother to tag their shit properly, it's either overly broad (you call this folk?) or too specific ("post-dynamic-jungle-glitch-Estonian-chill-piano-glockenspiel-zithers") I hate it when tags fall down the the edm rabbit hole.

2) because it's mostly amateurs of one level or another, it can be very modish, I find. And some genres are dominated by wan imitators, e.g bad J Dilla hip hop, or I dunno what the word is like glitchy, trebly electronica in edm. Can be frustrating to weed out the really solid, professional, interesting stuff sometimes.

But when you find gold, you really find good stuff.

There's so much on there.
posted by smoke at 4:34 PM on February 17, 2016 [2 favorites]


(Token reminder that you can add your Bandcamp fan page to your profile for easy location with the Social Explorer.)
posted by Going To Maine at 4:43 PM on February 17, 2016


I love Bandcamp, but it is a problem sorting through things. I guess the problem with curated lists is you have to have the same taste as the curator. I’ve worked my way through a fair number of these and find them too same-y, and mostly not what I’m looking for. Lots of 80’s influenced amateur sounding stuff.
posted by bongo_x at 6:04 PM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


Cool, thanks. Though your list only seems to cover bands whose names start with letters up to I...
posted by klausness at 4:57 PM on February 21, 2016


Cool, thanks. Though your list only seems to cover bands whose names start with letters up to I...

AAAGH! It's been shrunk! This probably happened when some of the duplicate entires got purged. I’ll email the mods...
posted by Going To Maine at 6:56 PM on February 21, 2016


Well, the mods have spoken - they don’t want to make substantial changes to the thread this late in the game. As such, I've regenerated the list, made some custom fixes to the alphabetization, and posted it to the github page: list.md
posted by Going To Maine at 9:36 PM on February 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


Thanks!
posted by klausness at 2:14 PM on February 22, 2016


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