While the big streaming services are certainly conveinent and useful, (And surprisingly packed with idol music.) they are, at their core, in league with Satan. And not Satan in a cool metal kind of way, but Satan as in soulless and greedy corporate ogres. You know who’s not in league with Satan though? Bandcamp!
I’ve mentioned it a few times before, but I believe Bandcamp is the very best thing that’s happened to music distribution in the 21st century. I love it and surf it addictively, searching for neat stuff and often striking gold. And the other reason I love is because it’s a terrific company with ethical practices and noble motives. As you may know by now, in light of Covid’s destructive impact on the ability of musicians and music providers to earn a living, the website began “Bandcamp Fridays”, where on the first Friday of every month, the revenue earned on that day goes entirely to the artist. I’ve been trying to keep this when in mind when purchasing from the website, and since today is the first Friday of October, here’s a few idol and idol-adjacent offerings I felt compelled to share with you…
Okinawa Electric Girl Saya has been uploading the majority of her prolific catalog of experimental releases onto Bandcamp, and there’s a couple that especially stand out for me:
“NEO SAYA”, a full-length album she released back in May, is a real standout for me. Actually, it’s already up in my best-of-the-year list! I might say it’s more accessible than some of her more avant-garde stuff, but that’s not to say it’s not a challenging listen that requires an ear accepting of bold ideas and big visions…
“Horror Electronic Human” by SOZESAYA is a collaboration between the minds of SOZELICA (AKA Soze Nakamura of Melon Batake a go go) and Saya! This is even more of must-listen since it’s Halloween time and this is essentially the soundtrack to the arthouse nightmare film in your mind. It’s quite brilliant, and might also make you sleep with a nightlight on…
The biggest treat of this month is the surprise appearance of Suzuki Kokone of SAKA-SAMA onto Bandcamp! Aside from her idol activities, including an absolutely fantastic solo release, she likes to play guitar and write quirky songs…
https://twitter.com/sakasama_kokone/status/1311237081545338882
“Encounter” is an improvised bedroom-pop masterpiece that sort of reminds me of the glorious early no-wave days of Sonic Youth and Pussy Galore, which was not a sentence I ever expected to write but it sure pleases me to do so! This is her only upload so far, but I sure hope she continues…
And then there’s this mysterious group, Erisu, who I believe may be originally from China and working closely to the Monster of Dolls crew. I think they’ll go over big with you peeps into that dark n’ heavy idol stuff. With the explosion of wider distribution, international idols are a concept who’s time has come and worth putting on your radar…
https://twitter.com/monster_dolls/status/1311709217682792448
And while these songs are from last year, a couple of Beni Usakura‘s frequent collaborations with CHILDISH TONES are available digitally if you didn’t score the 7″ records originally! Fun? Yes! Childish? Absolutely!!!
Lastly, I really wanted to find a way mention Tapeworms, this terrific French shoegaze/dreampop band. How do they fit into the Homicidols mission? Because Tapeworms represent something of an exciting development: The members are huge fans of Japanese music, and in interviews, they’ve cited RAY and Maison book girl specifically as influences! To the best of my knowledge, I think this is the first western rock band to mention idols as inspiring them, and that’s pretty wonderful and fantastic to hear. It makes me wonder what’s to come in the future as music continues to break borders and boundaries. And it’s also important to point out that Tapeworms is a great, great band!
https://twitter.com/_RAY_world/status/1300624259870388224
No doubt many of you know of course that there’s other idols using Bandcamp as well, so by all means, comment below or reply on twitter about your personal picks and recommendations. And if you have a release on Bandcamp (And certainly not just idols, anything you love.) then keep in kind that today is a great day to get some good music and put a little extra funds into your favorite’s pockets. Support great artists, and support great ways to get their music!
