Finding music on the Internet these days isn’t that hard. Besides iTunes, there are a plethora of online stores where one can purchase music. One of my favorite ones is Bandcamp, a website that allows musicians and labels to sell music, in both physical and digital formats, directly to their fans. Not only can you play entire songs instead of those 90-second samples, but you can also pick the type and quality of the digital file you want. That being said, there is still a huge amount of music available on the website, so finding something worthwhile is no easy task. Luckily, here are some LP’s/EP’s that you can find on the website are definitely worth the listen.
Hit Vibes and Gin City – Saint Pepsi: This New York-based vaporwave producer is on the rise, featuring a sound that provides refreshing take on disco, 80’s lounge, and R&B inspired electronic jams. The first LP, Hit Vibes, released back in May, is best described as disco party meets 2013 (because Daft Punk isn’t the only group that can do disco). A strong influence of French House can be heard and while that is never a bad thing, it doesn’t feel recycled with Saint Pepsi. His most recent release, Gin City, features a more modern sound while still retaining some of the influences demonstrated in Hit Vibes. This is probably the best representation of what is to come with the next generation of disco influenced electronica,Laudanum – Yourself In Peace: Ever wanted to hear what hip-hop inspired beats (i.e. Flying Lotus) mixed with shoegaze sounded like? Then be sure to look into the latest EP released by this duo from Los Angeles. While their first two EP’s were recorded in a bedroom (which is hard to believe when you hear them), this new release involved studio time, helping Yourself in Peace to fine tune its sound and songwriting even more. The combination of guitar with the electronic instrumentation meshes rather well, forming an interesting environment that still retains that organic feel of hand-played instruments.
Cassette Demo #1 – eaglesshadow: This demo by the experimental UK producer has some of the best soul, funk, jazz, and blues-inspired beats around. While on the downtempo side of things, each song has its own particular groove. “Jazz Sax,” in particular, has a drum and bass combination that generates a modulating rhythm with a mellow synth progression to complement in the background.
Solace – Aether: Still staying on the subject of beats, this producer from Boston features some quality ambient and hip-hop inspired electronica. Aether’s production is always on point, with some songs being reminiscent of old Boards of Canada material. The lo-fi and muddy sounding drum and bass progressions with dream-like vocal and synth melodies give a sense of a nostalgia, despite the release being far from old. Any fans of Flying Lotus or anyone else on the Brainfeeder label should consider listening to this.
