Bandcamp Friday 07/05/2021

For this May Bandcamp Friday, we've enlisted Exeter based Nu-Tropics manager James Hammond (aka HAMMO) to compile a collection of his favourite recent releases for you to take a peek at!

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Hello everyone, I hope we're all doing well! I've been very excited to profile all my favourite music thats come out recently for all of Haylcon Wax's readers. I've tried to include as much variety as possible with this list, but rest assured the quality throughout is unwavering. The need to support artists right now is still incredibly relevant - and equally for all the DJs reading this, we're getting dangerously close to proper gigs again. Now is the perfect time to stock up on some new music!

V/A - One Swallow Doesn't Make A Summer Part 3

You should know the drill by now. It’s Gerd Janson’s record label. It’s part three of the series. As with the previous entries, you can expect 4 joyous synth-infused numbers drawing heavy inspiration from the Italo glory days. What surprises me about this EP is the genuine variety amongst the four tracks. The favourite for me is SNAD’s wonderful use of breakbeat percussion in his song The Most Euphoric Moment of My Life.

LCY – Pulling Teeth

Created alongside artworks and a live audio performance, LCY’s 6 track EP is set in the backdrop of ‘a post-human, post-human friendly AI landscape where the world is run by artificially intelligent robots who are building humans for worship and experimentation.’ The very best of the post-dubstep world us mortals live in, LCY’s dark, threatening productions are still surprisingly danceable.

Anz – OTMI001

It really is Anz’s world and we just live in it. Here we have the first release on her brand new label OTMI. Whilst track 1 of this two track EP, Unravel In the Designated Zone, is rightfully taking an abundance of plaudits with its down-right outrageous synth lead, no.2 Morphing Into Brighter, a track driven by its incredibly punchy breakbeat, is equally impressive. A curse only borne by the true top tier of producers, this Anz EP simply leaves me wanting even more, and I cannot wait to see what else 2021 brings for her.

Two Shell – SoulCity E.P.

Out on Peverelist’s label Livity Sound, this four track EP marks the pair’s fourth release in total - and boy am I impressed. Simplistic yet incredibly polished, Two Shell’s work lands itself in the category of music I like to call ‘oh god the sound engineering’s good on that isn’t it.’

V/A L'eau repousse les feux agressifs

This 15 track collection from Parisian label Mama told ya includes some tunes that can only be describe as ‘very jarring, very heavy techno.’ I can appreciate them, but in all honesty I have included this release in the article for only one song. Iced out 3D by Tommy Holohan is one of the most incredible pieces of music I’ve heard this year. When I played this song on my speakers for the first time, I instantly realised this is what it must feel like to take off in a rocket ship on the way to some far-off planet. Awe-inspiringly beautiful with a kick drum that is pure violence, I cannot recommend this track enough. Please, please, check it out.

Dulha - C​-​Life / Lotus

Sticking with the space theme, this two track EP out on Interpolate Records is described as containing “two killer cosmic rave tools.” Not a genre I had encountered before, but I’m not complaining.

Generali Minerali and RNBWS - Beton EP

As a DJ and general fan of electronic music, I find it is really tempting to be constantly on the search for new sounds that break ground I didn’t even know existed. This is I find to the detriment of EP’s like this. Four simple, incredibly well produced electro tracks is sometimes more than enough.

V/A - 10 Years of Butter Sessions - Disc Three

A seven track EP hosting rave and techno music at a variety of tempos and intensity, there is at least one song for everyone in here. My favourite is probably D. Tiffany’s ominous stomper Cast The Trance.

96 Back – 9696 Beam

Sheffield native 96 Back brings us this 10 track project on Local Action. He’s younger than me, and has done a Boiler Room and released music with Special Request. Good for him. I still can’t afford Ableton.

Nicolas Duque – Breaks ‘N’ Pieces Vol.6

Here we have Nicolas Duque’s incredibly successful attempt to bring garage into the 2020s. Combining ravey breakbeats with a proper 2-step groove across the tracks, Mr. Duque is certainly going to be on my USB for summer parties. There’s even the obligatory R&B flip that every self-respecting garage producer has to put out at some point or another.

Flyrt - HI SWEETIE, HERE IN WAIKIKI

Up next we’ve got a 2-track EP of jazz-infused productions, both with a subtle but intriguing acid baseline throughout.

Nova Cheq – Staying Alive EP

Leeds based Gimme A Break Records have already amassed an impressive collection of releases since their launch last summer. The most recent addition, this EP by Nova Cheq, contains three breakbeat chuggers each with a properly heavy bass, and is up there with the label’s very best.

Oblique – Conditioning is

Championing a ‘break influenced techno,’ Oblique treats us to four delightfully tense tracks on this EP out on Jerk It International.

Rhyval – Footcell

Off Beat co-owner Rhyval features as the labels second release. Each track begins with some very stripped back and heavy hitting percussion before building to near-ambient levels of sound-scaping. These three cuts stand up as a very admirable contribution to an exciting new label.

V/A - tʌntrə XIV

FOURTY SEVEN ambient tracks for a mere £2. Varying in length from under three minutes to over half an hour, there is so much to be discovered within this one release. My personal favourite is Biloba Green’s playful Phtahlo (Ginko Version).

MoMA Ready - Good Time Wyatt & The 3rd Summer

One of my favourite producers at the moment, Wyatt D. Stevens (MoMA Ready) celebrated his birthday last month by releasing this four song EP. Recorded across eight years, these four house-orientated tracks feel fresh and modern. You’re not going to ruin Wyatt’s birthday by not buying this, are you?

Analias – Democratica

Sampling actual drum kits, Analias has managed to create a very interesting collection of quasi-acoustic jungle tracks. Underneath the stand out percussion is some seriously good design and some beautiful vocal samples.

London Modular Alliance – Cracked Dice

Apart from the last track on this EP, there is a surprising lack of straight-up electro present given it’s a London Modular Alliance production on Central Processing Unit. This is the opposite of a complaint, as instead we are treated to mysterious introspection on Cracked Dice, and a fabulous combination of electro synths and flat out rave beats on Head of the Keeper.

Burial + Blackdown – Shock Power of Love EP

I couldn’t stop myself from including the new Burial EP on this list. A surprise release, we find ourselves with two typically indescribable Burial tracks that certainly do not seem like an afterthought. Tasked with having to match Burial on an EP, Blackdown more than holds his own, with This Journey VIP probably edging it as my favourite of the four.