News I by and I 04.08.17

11 releases handpicked by FACT to buy today on Bandcamp

Bandcamp will donate their share of profits for all music sold on Friday, August 4 to the Transgender Law Center. The fundraiser follows US president Donald Trump’s tweets alleging he will ban transgender American from serving in the armed forces. Want to support but need help with your shopping list? We got you.

Earlier this week, Bandcamp announced they would be donating 100% of their profits for sales made on August 4 to the Transgender Law Center. “Bandcamp is a platform for artistic expression, and all manner of variance in experience and identity, including gender and sexuality, is welcome here,” the staff wrote in a statement announcing the fundraiser. “We support our LGBT+ users and staff, and we stand against any person or group that would see them further marginalized. This includes the current U.S. administration, and its recent capricious declaration that transgender troops will no longer be able to serve in the military. That this announcement was motivated in part to help fund the border wall exposes it as part of the administration’s cynical, discriminatory agenda.”

Looking to participate but not sure where to start? We’ve compiled a list of old favorites and new releases you can tack on to our 33 Bandcamp essentials guide we published back in February to help you out.


Abra
Rose
(Ninja Tune)

We know, we know: you’ve heard of this one before. But how could we pass up one of our favorite albums of 2015 from Awful Records siren Abra on vinyl for the first time?


HIRS
YØU CAN’T KILL US

Philly collective HIRS capture the life or death immediacy in the fight for transgender rights in a 5-minute volcanic eruption of the best grindcore around. It’s a record that sees hope in the future headline ‘Trans Woman Dies Of Old Age’ (“She outlived her enemies / homophobes rolling in their graves”), warns abusers “Don’t you think I won’t make your obituary read ‘Murdered by a woman’” and in one defiant scream declares “no one is going to kill me including myself.” It is a life-affirming and vital piece of music.


Luxury Elite & Saint Pepsi
LATE NIGHT DELIGHT
(Illuminated Paths)

A Bandcamp list from FACT wouldn’t be complete without at least one vaporwave classic. This split from Lux Elite and Saint Pepsi (aka Carpark signee Skylar Spencer) captures two of the originators at their absolute best and it’s recently been reissued and remastered on red cassette.


mmph
Dear God
(Beer On The Rug)

Young Boston producer Sae Heum Han aka mmph kicked off the year with this startling debut. His blend bass-heavy bangers and haunting film score atmospherics is unpredictable and leaves us utterly excited even though we have no clue what he’ll do next.


Sudan Archives
Sudan Archives
(Stones Throw)

Experimental folk artist Sudan Archives was one of our recent FACT Rateds for good reason. Her self-titled debut fuses funk, soul and West African rhythms to make some of the most genuinely exciting music we’ve heard in a long time.


Tanning Salon
Dream Castle
(Olde English Spelling Bee)

Vektroid makes her vinyl debut this month with an incredible reissue from Olde English Spelling Bee. Existing outside of Bandcamp classics like Floral Shoppe, her gorgeous, crumbling ambient release as Tanning Salon brings to mind James Leyland Kirby and Grouper. We’re betting it sounds even better on wax.


Theo Burt
Gloss
(Presto!?)

The brain-melting secret weapon of Lorenzo Senni’s Presto!? label and perfect complement to his work on Warp, Gloss is one of the most slept-on experimental electronic albums in recent memory. The only reason this wasn’t on the ACLU list is because we wanted to make sure we could buy copies of our own first. Call us greedy, but it’s just that good.


Trouble
‘Snake Eyes’ b/w ‘Mother’s Gone’
(Sacred Bones)

Trouble, a project that includes Dirty Beaches’ Alex Zhang Hungtai and David Lynch’s son Riley, may have only formed to create music for Twin Peaks: The Return, but the 7″ released after their Roadhouse performance is one of the year’s best.


UMFANG
Symbolic Use of Light
(Technicolour)

Discwoman co-founder UMFANG’s debut on Ninja Tune imprint Technicolour is one of the warmest techno albums of the year. Recorded live with minimal editing, Symbolic Use of Light is packed with an unexpected and rare intimacy that can’t be missed.


Unknown Me
Subtropics
(Not Not Fun)

This dreamy collection from Japanese crew Unknown Collective brings dub techno, exotica, ambient music and field recordings together in one blissful swirl. Its warm, sunny soundscapes got us through winter, but the album feels like it’s in season right now.


Xiu Xiu
DRUNK COMMENTARY: Fabulous Muscles

When it comes to Bandcamp, experimental greats Xiu Xiu are best known for releasing absurdly entertaining drunk-commentaries of their own albums from band leader Jamie Stewart. This week, they finally gave fans one for their most iconic record: 2004’s Fabulous Muscles. And whatever profits they make, they’re donating double to Black Lives Matter.

Read next: 33 essential Bandcamp releases you should buy to support the ACLU this Friday

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