Bandcamp Friday Recommendations for April 2021

It's Bandcamp Friday, which means it's time to open thy wallet! Need help figuring out what to purchase today? Below is a list of independent artists that deserve your ears and your support.

Noé's Picks 
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Inframundo - Nicolas
Genre: Minimal, Ballad
The first album by new label Mexican Rarities, an underground gem recovered from the depths of Mexico city. Melancholy and fatigue inspired by the alienating life in the city. Beautiful minimal compositions to listen to in an apartment on a Monday night.
https://mexicanrarities.bandcamp.com/album/nicolas-inframundo
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​Paradigm Shift 2020 - Blaxanta
Genre: Electronic, Electropunk
This single channels 2020 anxiety into an absolute banger fit for the end times. 
https://xblackxsantax.bandcamp.com/album/paradigm-shift-2020-single-2
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3 UR MIND - Joi Lau
Genre: Eclectic Electronic
Incredible electronic productions from Hong Kong. Banger after banger brimming with detail. The songs change so much on their playtime but remain extremely danceable and enjoyable throughout. It is eclectic and hard to pin down, but all the better for it. 
https://klassewrecks.bandcamp.com/album/3-ur-mind
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​Guerrilla - Nazar
Genre: Electronic, Rough Kuduro
Music from the trenches. It captures the horror, messiness, longing, and adrenaline of war. Engaging and unique.
https://nazar.bandcamp.com/album/guerrilla
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Trojan Horse - Ciel
Genre: Electronic
A set of fun, danceable, and at times haunting tracks built with a variety of samples that draw from Ciel’s Chinese origins while being embedded in western modernity
https://cieltrax.bandcamp.com/album/trojan-horse 
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Ways - Xyla
Genre: IDM, Footwork, Electro
Colorful, lush, and immensely replayable. All of these songs are incredibly produced and deserve to be played in speakers that pack a punch.
https://xylasf.bandcamp.com/album/ways
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I Am The Last of That Green and Warm-Hued World - M. Geddes Gengras
Genre: Ambient, Fourth World
A deep and dark record that takes you to another world that is desolated but fascinating. It achieves a delicate balance of dread and beauty. 
https://hausumountain.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-the-last-of-that-green-and-warm-hued-world
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CLUBPACK VOL II - Aggromance 
Genre: Club, Experimental, Reggaeton
Aggromance takes songs out of their context and converts them into bangers perfect for dancing and twerking at the club. Original, irreverent, and very fun.
https://aggromance.bandcamp.com/album/clubpack-vol-ii
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Reflection - Loraine James 
Genre: IDM, Club, Drill, Experimental
One of the best producers around. Pre-order her new album and prepare yourself!
https://lorainejames.bandcamp.com/album/reflection


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A. Iwasa's Picks
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Tras de Nada - Tras de Nada
Genre:  Punk
Playing shows for around ten years in Chicago, Tras de Nada was my runaway favorite local band.  I saw them six times in a backyard, a basement, and even an old bowling alley and a church.  Tras de Nada shows were the perfect place to vent during the W. Bush years, and the first couple of lonely years opposing Obama from the Left before Occupy.  There are a couple clips of them in Beyond the Screams, though sadly no one from the band was interviewed for it.  They vocalize exclusively in Spanish, but the CD had all the lyrics translated into English and some of the greatest DIY punk art ever.
​https://discorporaterecords.bandcamp.com/album/tras-de-nada

Sonic Smash - Shining Soul
Genre:  Hip hop
Phoenix hip hop duo.  Politically right on lyrics, great flow and samples.  Like the way they ride bicycles in one of their videos, this group is literally and figuratively my speed.
https://shiningsoulmusic.bandcamp.com/album/sonic-smash
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Party Time - Drunken Boat
Genre:  Punk
Though they self-identified as punk, this band was way more indie rock to me, but with a clear post-punk edge to it.  Great vocal harmonies, and upbeat music without being overwhelmingly poppy.  I saw them by default at a basement show in McKinley Park, Chicago back in 2009 that I was at to see one of the local bands and was blown away. 
https://drunkenboatpdx.bandcamp.com/releases
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The 13th Sign - Curse of Denial
Genre:  Blackened death metal
I'm starting to become convinced all noteworthy Clevo bands over a certain age bracket are supergroups.  To me, this is more true of Curse of Denial than some of the more prominent acts.  Without a doubt, I believe this album can stand on its own merits for technical expertise and brutality, but Curse of Denial's predecessor bands and this album's guest musicians are an impressive array of the 1990s Clevo metal scene's who’s who of still active veterans. 
https://curse-of-denial.bandcamp.com/album/curse-of-denial-the-13th-sign
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Reefer Sessions - Dumpster Full of Dragons
Genre:  folk punk
I saw one of the folks from DFoD playing a house show in Olympia, just guitar and vocals, so the CD took some getting used to.  More musically elaborate and vocally harmonious than most folk punk.  Plus, it reminds me of all the people going back and forth between Oly and Arcata in 2019 where I first encountered DFoD's guitarist.  (Also, “Reefer” is a reference to a refrigerated train car, not dope.)
https://dfod.bandcamp.com/album/the-reefer-session
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Hans Gruber and the Diehards 2 - Hans Gruber and the Diehards
Genre:  Ska punk
I can count the number of ska bands I like on one hand, but I really enjoy the ones that I do.  What they all have in common are great live shows, but this band also has a sense of humor that tops most.  If the name doesn't give them away, please check out the music! If "This Flat Earth” isn't a joke, I will be very, very sad because it's one of the best ska songs ever.
https://hansgruberandthediehards.bandcamp.com/album/hans-gruber-and-the-die-hards-2-2
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Parisa's Picks
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I've Forgotten Now Who I Used To Be - Witch Camp
Genre: Ghana music
An amazing collection of field recordings from women in the witch camps of Ghana, almost all “instant compositions” and created using instrumentation from their immediate environments, including tea pots, tree limbs, and corn husks. Sounds and stories that we may never have heard if it weren’t for this release, this is something very sacred.
https://witchcampghana.bandcamp.com
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Threatening Costume - Warren of Ohms
Genre: Noise rock
​I've featured Warren of Ohms on my Bandcamp Friday lists before, but each release that's come out within the last year has really held a light of its own. Amazing math rock/post-metal/noise based out in Tempe, AZ. The tape release also comes with DIY marble swirl case, die cut stickers, handmade lyric sheet, and a copy of our latest zine! All for $8!
https://warrenofohms.bandcamp.com/album/threatening-costume

Lunca - Balkan Taksim
Genre: Balkan music, global fusion
One of two fantastic 2021 EPs from Balkan Taksim, a Bucharest-based band combining traditional Balkan music with bass, breaks and synths. The complex polyrhythms are complemented beautifully with Balkan Taksim’s psychedelic dancefloor stylings.
https://balkantaksim.bandcamp.com/album/lunca
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Zan - Liraz
Genre: Synth pop, Iranian music
A favorite from last year, Liraz pushes pre-Revolution era Iranian music into the present with a catchy synth-pop aesthetic. Who says pop can’t be political?
https://lirazzan.bandcamp.com/album/zan
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Burn in Many Mirrors - Wode
Genre: Blackened death metal
The metal genre is extremely saturated with blackened death metal these days (I'm not saying that as a bad thing), but Wode really stands out with their '80s anthemic metal influence. A very elaborate and grandiose atmosphere, excellent production, and technically precise instrumentation.
https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/burn-in-many-mirrors
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Deafbrick - Deafkids & Petbrick
Genre: Experimental punk
An absolutely INSANE collaboration between São Paulo experimental punk rockers Deafkids and industrial noise group Petbrick, featuring Iggor Cavalera of legendary thrash metal band Sepultura​. This album is a journey into dystopian synth-driven soundscapes, psychedelic but in a very unsettling way.
https://deafkidspunx.bandcamp.com/album/deafbrick
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Pseudacusis - Anthony Pateras
Genre: Classical
Beautiful avant-garde, experimental classical music from one of my current favorite composers. Read my interview with Pateras about his other band tētēma, featuring Mike Patton on vocals, here. 
https://bocian.bandcamp.com/album/pseudacusis
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ONDA - Jambinai
Genre: Post-rock
​A criminally underrated band in the post-rock scene, Jambinai combines the genre with Korean folk music and avant-rock compositions. Music that is constantly ebbing between somber serenity and thrashing ferocity.
https://jambinai.bandcamp.com

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​Check out more Bandcamp Friday recommendations from our December, February and March blogs!
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