Hey, it’s Bandcamp Friday this week. We’re still very cagey about the current state of Bandcamp post acquisition by Songtradr, which is why March 1st is a good day to buy some music; as always BC Fridays mean that artists get more of the pie from a sale. Whether or not you have any trepidation about the state of the platform or its future, that’s a win/win for artists and as good a reason as any to buy a bunch of tunes. Maybe even something from the tracks below? Just a suggestion.
Designer Violence
Kite, “Glassy Eyes”
Kite’s new single for Dais Records is a double A-Side, and while we’re very curious to hear the track “Losing” featuring Henric de la Cour (former bandmate of Kite’s Christian Berg in Strip Music and Yvonne) and Anna von Hausswolff, we can’t deny the simple pleasures of “Glassy Eyes”. If you come to Kite for the big feels and the power of Niklas Stenemo’s voice, pull up a chair; the song’s incredibly simple and sparse synth arrangement places Niklas at center stage for a showstoppingly sorrowful performance of the kind that have become the band’s trademark.
Poison Point, “Flowers & Surrender”
Timothée Gainet’s hopping betwixt IV Horsemen and Poison Point (not to mention that incredible Aleister Blake tap y’all are still sleeping on!) as his main projects has kept him hungry, active, and never complacent. An odd mix of the punchy body music we’ve come to expect from Poison Point with an especially saucy and catty delivery, this number from the forthcoming Wandering Echoes might portend a steering into the sharper and more arch side of the early synthpop one’s been able to detect traces of in Poison Point up until this, um, point.
Designer Violence, “Part Deux”
Queer Dutch synthpunks Designer Violence dropped one of the most direct and unapologetically political dark synth records in recent memory in last year’s We Gave Peace A Chance, and are right back at it with their thudding and sample-heavy new single. Like a DIY KMFDM who actually have something to say, Designer Violence are chopping up and reconstituting the detritus of the culture they’ve inherited as a survival mechanism as much as a means of expression.
Chrome Corps, “DARPA Gets Down”
Chrome Corps is back with a new four track single from a forthcoming LP, and the project has switched their game up. We’ve always been fans of the Seattle-based project’s take on classic euro-EBM, and “DARPA Gets Down” finds them digging deep into the funkiest aspect of that sound, from the trademark FM bass, stuttered vocal samples and got-damned rap breakdown mid-track. And hell, the rest of the songs on the release feature some new beat, acid and NRG touches that have us excited for the album when it drops.
Ultra Sunn, “Some Ghost Could Follow”
Another track from Ultra Sunn’s forthcoming Artoffact debut US, and it finds the Belgian act digging into their nation’s storied electronic music history. When the band first came to our attention it was with the new beat remix of their hit “Night is Mine”, and “Some Ghosts Could Follow” has some of the same energy: listen to that stabby, spooky lead and its interplay with the bassline to create a dance groove ready for your foggy dancefloor of choice.
Glass Apple Bonzai, “Mysteries”
Lastly, a decidedly more new wave outing from longtime ID:UD fave Daniel Belasco marks the first taster from his forthcoming Brother Bones LP as Glass Apple Bonzai. Daniel’s ear and talent for stuff of this sort are no secret to anyone who’s talked shop with him in the past, and a slightly less synthpop focused GAB record is an intriguing pitch.
