According to a recent Billboard article, independently released songs and albums accounted for almost one-third of all music consumption in the United Kingdom last year—53 million albums streamed or purchased—marking the sixth consecutive year of growth for the country’s indie sector, according to new figures from labels trade body BPI.
Helping drive growth across the indie sector was the booming popularity of physical formats, with nearly four in every 10 vinyl LPs and just under one-third of CDs, yes CDs, bought by British music fans last year having been released by artists signed to or distributed by an independent label, reports BPI.
First off, Yes. This is the UK. Not the US. However, music purchasing trends in both countries have been mirroring each other over the past several years. The number one fact is that vinyl sales have steadily increased worldwide for the past three or four years. So we provided those figures to make this point.
When you purchase music on Bandcamp Fridays, when all the money goes directly to artists, it’s taking hold. Being counted. Benefitting the artists and slowly upending the entire music ecosystem.
Revolutions start small and local. That’s when they evolve. Make good choices people. Check out the below and support!
NEUTRALS, “WISH YOU WERE HERE,” NEW TOWN DREAM (SLUMBERLAND)
Neutrals is a post-punk trio based in Oakland-SF by way of Glasgow, consisting of Allan McNaughton as lead guitarist and vocalist, Phil Lantz on drums, and Lauren Matsui from Seablite on bass and backing vocals. Their second album, New Town Dream depicts the experience of growing up under Thatcherism’s oppressive regime narrated by jangle pop melodies, razor-sharp basslines, and clever lyrics from Allan. Fans of “kaleidoscopic mod melodies streaked with cynicism” will love this sophomore release. It looks like it’s going to be a great summer for the band.
Pre-order New Town Dream here.
MONTY LUKE, NIGHTDUBBING (REKIDS)
Some producers can infuse that edge…. into their dub-house tracks. I prefer a bit of tension, hair on your knuckles, in that alloy. It nails the point with a bit of mis en scene in the ointment.
“40 Acres And A Terabyte” from Monty Luke’s excellent Nighdubbing release, works those deep plundering basslines next to synth daggers, attacking like a Jordan Peele sci-fi flick’s opening sequence..
Monty spent a hot minute and a cup of coffee living in The Bay years ago, but his sets seem not that far off in memory. Always a big dance floor player, no matter the size or space of the venue.
He spent 10 formative years in Detroit, working for and with Carl Craig, where the city’s unique musical spirit influenced him immensely.
Now located in Berlin, he’s imparted those experiences into the music he’s released on labels like Rekids, Planet-E, Hypercolour, and his own Black Catalogue. Supported by Josh Wink, Fred P, nd_baumecker, Louise Chen, and Laurent Garnier, he’s at that standard.
As he’s stated in the press “In a world full of copycats, Nightdubbing is my attempt to look deeper within for inspiration. It’s a dive into the influence that Dub, House, and Techno have had on me as an artist.”
But one cannot help but think of “Music and Lights”(Night Dubbing) by Imagination from 1983 consisting of Larry Levan, Steve Jolley and Tony Swain who laid the foundation of this amalgam down so cold that Carl Craig couldn’t even outbest it. Monty Luke is dealing his best hand here, and any smart house head should snatch up this piece of great work, but don’t forget or disrespect the OG’s, Mister Luke.
Get it here.
foamboy, EATING ME ALIVE (N.I.T.A.)
Portland’s foamboy is motivated to dance you through whatever the hell is your next episode. Whether it’s a breakup, feeling like a fraud in math grad school, navigating the ups and downs of a hard and devastating relationship, discovering your own queer identity, rejecting heteronormative narratives…
Small stuff, ya know. No presh.
However, the pocket of this jazzy disco-pop act—producer Wil Bakula and vocalist Katy Ohsiek—continue on, documenting that human condition through a “modern take on late ’70s disco.”
Eating Me Alive, the follow-up to 2021’s debut My Sober Daydream, departs from the typical Spotify three-minute song format. Bakula’s Rod Temperton-inspired charts and Katy Ohsiek’s never-boring, always-thoughtful lyrics? Mature melancholy from one of Portland’s best.
foamboy came through with a full album of dark realities by way of dreamsicle arrangments (somehow) and brainy Quiet Storm interludes that stay with you, even as you consider how to move on. Consider the dart-Adams pop of “Burnout,” that nervy earworm quality of calling it quits on “Not A Go,” even the breakbeat drum and bassy nature of “He f*****g Texts Me.”
Or that ye ole vegan chicken soup aspect of the anti-love song “Songs About You.”
“Exit Sign,” a standout on an album with multiple hits and superior songwriting alchemy, uses its low-slung bass pattern—Bakula’s hi-low bump—and Ohsiek’s debonair line reading to help you make the transition onwards.
Coolest and for sure some of the dopest musicians in the Pacific Northwest. Stop sleeping peoples, (don’t you ffolkes have coffee and shit) foamboy is your next obsession.
Buy it here.
BALTHVS
Khruangbin vibes. Go ahead. Google that shit. It’s a thing, people. That’s how much of a get-down that funky, little trio out of Houston is. Proclaiming, they have vibes? Highest compliment from the kids.
We’re not here to review Khruangbin’s newest release, although it is The Sheeeit.
Naaaw, I’m bummed I missed BALTHVS, pronounced “ball + thus,” the indie psyche-soul trio based out of Colombia, when played in Berkeley this past March.
According to dispatches and such, using the video above, all three members—Balthazar Aguirre, Johanna Mercuriana, and Santiago Lizcano—are proving to be one of those international bands, that’s a not to miss type of situation. Most known for their eclectic, genre-defying sound that blends cumbia, surf rock, funk and Turkish musical influences, it’s a melodic-bluesy tapestry that feels like golden hour, all night.
Pre-order their new album Harvest here.
ERIS DREW, RAVING DISCO BREAKS VOLUME II – ROCK THE HOUSE (T4T LUV NRG)
So I have to tell you this right from the start. When I wrote this, the mix, sold physically on cassette, was sold out on the Bandcamp page (it’s back now). There is almost nothing that speaks louder in terms of praise than that kind of immediate response. But I’m going to try.
Way back in 2018, T4T LUV NRG’s first release, Eris Drew’s Raving Disco Breaks Vol. I almost broke my brain. Sure, we can go back to the DJ tricks involved, scratches, drops, utilizing turntable techniques such as “doubles” tricks and “hot mixing” – all that good stuff.
It was unexpected, big, and undeniable.
Fast-forward to 2024, T4T LUV NRG is now one of the most respected electronic music labels in the game today. I’m not the one saying it, one of my editors over at Resident Advisor can back it up with hard numbers and those coveted clicks. This trans-centric boutique label has brought humanity to the forefront of the dance community… to keep it brief.
So Eris spent the last five years building crates and created a rock ‘n’ roll-infused house mix.
There’s that humanity again.
Revisiting something that wouldn’t even come close to your cool, minimal, “are all my levels on cool bruv”, type of snooze-inducing mixes. Janis Joplin, Joe Strummer, Ramones, and Led Zeppelin – they all get sampled, scratched, and dropped along the way into new waters and different aural settings.
The first half is 45 minutes long with breakbeat, acid basslines, punchy melodies, pumping house, party B-Boy breaks, and Big Beat, all cut and swirled with ravey keyboards and vocal triggers.
It’s the wild party, chaos on top of bedlam, “lock-in” until 8am dancefloor frenzy.
Each of the tracks on Volume II is at least 20 years old but manipulated with so much rave love from Eris Drew, these tracks will leave you feeling lively, high on H2O, and that’s fresh.
Grab it here.
