djregular

Spare me the Hallmark Karl Marx.

Game and Music Lover. Writer. Unfortunate optimist.



Back again for another week of new tunes and music news, it's What's Good, brought to you by my inability to chill. The Bonus Beats for this week is particularly hefty on the editorializing in the wake of all the Bandcamp news, so buckle up.

Bonus Beats

The almighty Paul Thompson took in last week's Armand Hammer/Open Mike Eagle show in L.A. and wrote a few words about it, and living in the moment.

Ahead of their tour, Apollo Brown and Philmore Greene give us a closer look at their collaborative effort Cost of Living in this mini-documentary.

Gabe 'Nandez left the mic smoking over at Dublab for POW Radio with a freestyle over the "New York State of Mind Part II" beat. Cop that H.T. III at your earliest convenience.

Kenny Beats' beloved YouTube series The Cave has returned with Ski Mask The Slump God to set things off for its "final" season.

DJ Rashad's masterwork Double Cup turns 10 this week, and Miguel Otárola went long on it and the late Chicago dance music legend's legacy.

Half of Bandcamp's staff was laid off following its sale from Epic to Songtradr, and as more details come out, the worse it looks for both of the corporations involved. Definitely read the Samantha Cole's whole breakdown, but the pertinent details:

Songtradr told 404 Media that it did not have any union membership information when it made its decision on which employees it would keep as part of the sale, but the union told me Songtradr invited them to a meeting with Songtradr’s CEO last week. 404 Media has viewed the invitation, which shows Bandcamp’s bargaining team were invited and that Songtradr’s CEO Paul Wiltshire planned to attend.

“On Monday, October 16, 2023 over half of Bandcamp was laid off as a result of Epic Games’ divestiture to Songtradr,” Bandcamp United said in a statement. “Of those laid off, 40 were in the union bargaining unit out of a total 67 members. None of the eight (8) democratically elected bargaining team members received a job offer.”

Bandcamp United said that the layoffs cut Bandcamp’s editorial team in half, with 12 out of 13 union-eligible support staff “made redundant.”

Ethan Gach at Kotaku had additional details, including responses from Bandcamp United and how we got to this point. All in all, this sucks. Aside from hoping that Songtradr and Epic are staring down the barrel of a labor rights violation lawsuit...

Artists and labels that've made Bandcamp a central part of their release strategies should pay attention close attention to Songtradr's next moves. I'm not an insider by any stretch, but given that they've torched the editorial team, and everyone in the union, I doubt very seriously their claims about keeping things like Bandcamp Daily (don't be shocked if they try to replace their music features with generative AI listicles), and the revenue share in place. Their business is music licensing and I wager their concern will be getting artists who use the platform to pay into those services, and likely gatekeeping them from using Bandcamp for what they actually care about in the process.

If you're an artist, start looking into other ways to offer your music to your fans. Setting up your own digital storefronts are ideal, but in the meantime look at alternatives. @curiousquail pointed out that itch.io can work in a pinch, and @torcado created Scritch as a customizable album player that you can plug into any website or server you have access to, including Itch.

I'll keep offering up Bandcamp links until artists and employees start calling for any kind of action (or until people stop paying artists, whichever happens first), but for music buyers, support artists directly when they give you the opportunity. Brainorchestra, Jonwayne, and Open Mike Eagle are all on Patreon, for example. Barring things like that unfortunate deluge of musicians getting involved in Blockchain/crypto junk a few years ago, encourage your favorite artists to allow you to put money directly in their hands for music and merch. Large corporations seem to be laser targeting anything that allows people to spend money that they don't get a cut of, to support culture that they don't influence, so it's up to all of us to carve out spaces to allow culture to survive. And now, for this week's music.


Music

Scoopkid - Marine Fog (From Scoopkid and Weirdough's split beat tape KeYeD, out now. Stream/Purchase: Bandcamp)

Pugs Atmoz - Mookie On The Southside (From Mookie on the southside, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Kojaque - JOHNNY MCENROE (From Phantom of the Afters, out on 10/27. Purchase: Kojaque's Official Store | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Kwudi - Fast Car (Tracy Chapman cover) (Out now. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Brainorchestra - Proglodyte Vol. 2 (Out now. Purchase/Stream: Bandcamp. Access to the tracked out version is available at Brainorchestra's Patreon).

Ron Obasi - ZACKTAYLORZ (From Thirty Sunz, out now. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Freddie Joachim - Pe Na Estrada (From The Reset Series: Vol. 1, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Buddy - Free My Mind (Out now. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

jerrard (fka Danny Watts) - Long Roads (Out now. Stream on Soundcloud and follow jerrard on Not Twitter).

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band - Halloween Theme (From the Stranger Things b/w Halloween Theme 45 out now. Purchase: Vinyl via Big Crown Records | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Full of Hell & Nothing - Spend The Grace (From When No Birds Sang, out on 12/1. Preorder: Vinyl & Merch via Closed Casket Activities | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Forest Swords - Night Sculpture (From Bolted, out now. Purchase: Vinyl & Merch via Forest Sword Official | Ninja Tune | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

lojii & Alexander Spit - $TARTER_PACK (From $TARTER_PACK, out 11/17. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

LOMAN - Curse (From SHADOWS, out now. Purchase/Stream: Bandcamp)

Danny Brown - Tantor (From Quaranta, out on 11/17. Preorder: Vinyl & Merch bundles via Warp | Bleep | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist - 100 High Street (From VOIR DIRE, out now. Purchase: Merch and Digital Download via Earl's store, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Delasi - Amplifier ft. Nii Noi Nortey (Out now. Purchase: Brownswood Recordings | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Floating Points - Birth4000 (Out now. Purchase: Ninja Tune | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Kevin Richard Martin (aka The Bug) - On Top Of The World (From his tribute to Amy Winehouse, Black, out now. Purchase/Stream: Bandcamp)

Shabazz Palaces - Binoculars ft. Royce The Choice (From the EP Robed In Rareness, out on 10/27. Preorder: Bandcamp | Sub Pop, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Jorja Smith - Feelings ft. J Hus (From falling or flying, out now. Purchase: Physicals and merch via Jorja Smith's Official Store, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Radamiz - Ffiirree ft. ICECOLDBISHOP (From El Duende!, out 10/25. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify. Also check out the short film surrounding the LP's creation, Not The Angel, Not The Muse.)

NappyHIGH - Mad Hatter ft. Mick Jenkins & Memnoc (From MENACE, out 10/27. Preorder: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Vinson - Break A Sweat (From the Break A Sweat EP, out 11/14. Preorder: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Drop Nineteens - The Price Was High (From the upcoming Hard Light, out on 11/3. Preorder: Bandcamp | Wharf Cat Records, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Bry.Zen - MadMax (From CLUB TURBO GG093, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

BADBADNOTGOOD & Charlotte Day Wilson - Sleeper (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Pink Navel & Kenny Segal - Speedrun (From How To Capture Playful Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Pale Jay & Chris Keys - Share A Dream (From the deluxe edition of Mello Music Group's label compilation Omakase, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter - MAY THIS COMFORT AND PROTECT YOU (From SAVED!, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Vinyl and merch via Perpetual Flame Ministries, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson - Ano Yo (Live) (From Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1, out on 11/10. Preorder: Bandcamp | Brainfeeder/Ninja Tune, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Illingsworth - Alive Light (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Niontay - Real hiphop ft. Earl Sweatshirt, El Cousteau, & MIKE (From Demon Muppy, out 11/2. Preorder: Official 10k Store | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Vic Spencer & August Fanon - Arguments With Outfits (From Psychological Cheat Sheet 4, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Devin Morrison - Itaim Meadows (From Dream Lobby Vol. IX, out now alongside Dream Lobby VIII. Purchase/Stream: Dream Lobby VIII @ Bandcamp | Dream Lobby IX @ Bandcamp)

Kelela - Contact (Karen Nyame KG Remix) (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Terrace Martin & Alex Isley - I Left My Heart In Ladera ft. Robert Glasper (From I Left My Heart In Ladera, out now. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Playlists

That does it for this week. Make sure to share this with your people, and drop a line in the comments to let me know what you're rocking with this week. Have a great weekend, and make good choices.

P.S. RIP The 45 King


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