Welcome back to Bandcamp Friday! What is Bandcamp Friday, you ask? Bandcamp Friday is the first Fridays of every month where Bandcamp waives their normal fee so that more money goes directly to the artist. That means it’s the best day of the month for you to support independent artists. Here’s just a small sampling of some of the artists you can support today when your money goes even farther.
Raúl Cantizano and the Hidden Forces Trio
Raúl Cantizano is a flamenco and experimental guitarist who teamed up with free jazz unit the Hidden Forces Trio to put out a self-titled joint effort on Sentencia Records. It’s streaming on their label’s Bandcamp now where you can also order the album on vinyl.
Opening track “Hold My Coffee” is everything that’s wild, wonderful, and weird about free jazz with some anarchistic saxophone, scattered drumming, and spastic guitar. Then “We, Who Sold Our Soul for Nothing” featuring guest vocalist Mike Watt takes on a sense of whimsy reminiscent of Primus. Then “Eine Melodie Schnitzen” feat. Ricardo Jiménez is more guitar-focused as the chaotic guitars tangle together to weave a bizarre musical composition. “Jail in a Bird” is a standout track as the slow horn serves up a soulful serenade. “Apotrophe” borders on beat poetry in the vocal performance from Howie Reeve over the disjointed bassline. “Daumen und Rumplen” which, again, features Ricardo Jiménez is one of the most beautiful free jazz cacophonies you’ll ever hear. “Late But Sharp” is a jumbled up piano piece that’s absolutely dazzling. Any fan of the free jazz genre is going to adore this album.
Follow Raúl Cantizano and the Hidden Forces Trio on Facebook and Instagram to kkeep up with future updates.
Staleworth
Staleworth is a melodic post-hardcore band from New York. They have a new single out called “Days Away” which is now available on their Bandcamp.
What’s great about “Days Away” is how the grunginess and hardcore vocal elements combine perfectly with the song’s melody. The lyrics are cryptic and poetic and match well with the swirling guitars.
Follow Staleworth on Facebook and Instagram for future updates.
Finte
Finte is a post-hardcore math rock outfit out of Germany. Their newest album is called Wie Das Endliche Treibt (which, according to Google Translate, means How the Finite Drifts) and it’s available on their Bandcamp where you can also order the album on CD or vinyl.
The album opens, ironically, on “Ende” (“End”) with synthesizers that slowly build up an intense mood that comes to a crescendo with the emotionally wrought vocals. Then “Jagd” (“Hunt”) comes in with a swinging rhythm and lean, muscular guitars before, in typical math fashion, it abruptly changes tempo and comes in with some hardcore vocals. “Fährten” (“Drove”) relies on a bit of a more traditional melody, but those muscular guitars make an appearance again to beef up the song. “Asche” (“Ashes”) pulls out the synthesizers again and, with some distorted vocals, to create a calming mood that’s then shattered as the rhythm starts to break down. Then “Zersetzung” (“Decomposition”) contrasts it by returning to some guitar-driven rock. Closing track “Im Licht” (“In the Light”) is a gloriously upbeat way to close out the whole album.
Follow Finte on Facebook and Instagram for future updates.
The Giveups
The Giveups are a hardcore band from Long Island, New York. They recently put out a new EP called Working Class War and it’s available on their Bandcamp.
The opening, title track rings in with the sound of an Emergency Broadcast Signal before the eternal classic rage of political hardcore comes in to throw down the gauntlet to the ruling class. “So Sick” with its powerful raging and the gang vocals is everything that’s great about hardcore. Finally it ends on a cover of “Nothing” by Negative Approach which carries off every bit of fury from the original.
Follow The Giveups on Instagram for future updates.
The Immortal Samsara Travelers
The Immortal Samsara Travelers are an experimental drone metal band from Antwerp, Belgium. Their latest album, Hanging Gardens in Glacial Apocha, is streaming on their Bandcamp where you can also buy the album on CD.
Opener “Samsarishi Portal to the Second Glacial Epoch” is a long, slow, drawn-out drone tune with vocals reminiscent of throat singing before the thundering guitars enter the picture and absolutely level the landscape. “Spacing Guild Sustain” is similarly long, powerful, and devastating. But the real masterpiece of this album is the 24-minute closing track “Rites of the Indukush, Battle of Hydaspes, At the Edge of the Known World” full of its crippling guitars and experimental soundscapes.
Follow them on Facebook and Instagram for future updates.
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There’s plenty more band to check out and support this Bandcamp Friday. Please do your part to support independent artists like these.
