The latest issue of “Internets most controversial underground e-zine” the Shadow Wolf Cyberzine issue#10 is out now on Nightwind Records. A 19 track ‘cover tape’ compilation with various artists. The term ‘cover tape’ stems from when magazines came with a cassette tape full of music or software on the cover back in the 1980s/1990s.
Last year I started this section for free/”name your price” music, that people or labels share on bandcamp or other platforms. Here is a selection of free music I came across this year.
SIRS presents a selection of edits in the memory of the East German music available for download on his bandcamp.
A collection of name-your-price/free download tracks compiled by Hard Fist, featuring edits by Aaron Maple, Alexis le Tan, Anatolian Weapons, Curses, Daniel Monaco, Disco Morato, Facets, Fabrizio Mammarella, Hysteric, Jonny Rock, Perdu, Thomass Jackson, Younger Than Me, Zombies in Miami and many more.
Free Summer compilation from the brokntoys basecamp. Insidia is a taster of things to come and features music from Mayo, KÆ, SMPL SMPL, Atsushi Izumi, Serge Geyzel, Sinitsin & The Droid, KafkaCtrl and Steifl.
Les Yeux Orange provides again some free edits through their bandcamp page. Enjoy and feel free to leave a tip if you liked the edits.
Italo Moderni brings Modernation Vol. 3 it’s third digital compilation. “We have edits from the likes of Marcello Giordani. Hysteric, Les Yeux Orange , Flemming Dalum, Adrian Marth etc. All tracks have been carefully edited without overdubs, in order to bring the spirit of classic disco to today’s dancefloors! in this bad situation we will adapt the edits to Name your price so everyone can buy music for free in this difficult times.”
Les Yeux Orange launched a new serie of edits called the NameYourPrice Edits.
As the name says it all, these edits are free download. Some edits are from quite obvious tracks, others from complete obscure sources. This package includes 6 edits from Aaron Maple, Curses, Franz Scala, Hysteric, Leonxleon and Nathan Joy.
Adrian Marth, the head of Italo Moderni, presents a collection of 6 italo edits ready for download as pay-as-you-want release on his own bandcamp page. Adrian has been crafting his own deeply personal style mixing italo and Electro. His music brings together sounds of the classic start of the Italo disco, space disco and cosmic disco of the 80s, electronic sounds with analog synthesizers and nuances with chill wave detunes.
After a heavy year that shocked the music scene all over the world, three fellow labels, Dalmata Daniel, EXILES and Farbwechsel joined forces to kick off 2021 with a massive 43-track compilation album. Contributed by 12z, Adam Krasz, AGA2L, A I W A, Alley Catss, Alpár, Carla Under Water – Máté Tulipán, CT Kidobó, David Harleydson, Dj Faktor X, FOR., Grabosky, ICR, Imre Kiss, J. Mono, Jeremiah Soft, Kobanya3000, Kokum, LAU, MA’AM, Maks, Marcibagoly, Max Sinclair, Mike Nylons, Microbeat, n o a h s t a s, Nemerov, Normal Tamas, Norwell, obwigszyh, OOO, Palmovka, Panoramic Barrier, Prince Matt, qvirk, ritual abuse, Roh Yugen, S Olbricht, Saint Leidal The 2nd, Sematic4, SILF, Sipowicz, SVR101, Tsering, Új Bála, Új Látásmód Fúzió, Wedding Acid Group This bold selection of contemporary Hungarian electronic music producers represents the three labels’ roster, including their core members and latest signings, alongside with other crews’ members and independent artists. The compilation ranges from experimental and ambient compositions across industrial, electro and acid bangers through the current techno sound of Budapest.
The compilation is available for download as name-your-price on bandcamp.
Danny Wolfers striking another album at the Northsea Institute For The Overmind. This time is coming under the Smackos alias, providing a 11 track album free to download / name your price on his bandcamp.
2020 was a tough year for almost everyone and definitely a year to forget for our scene. Events and gigs canceled, venues closed, artists lacking a way to earn a decent living and club culture facing a threat like never before.
In the midst of these events were several people / organizations who tried to ease the pain, offering out some comfort by releasing music to people for free or by pay as you want download. This was always done, but this year I noticed that more and more artists are doing this.
Here is a selection of albums and compilations I came across this year and that I think is worth mentioning again.
Pedro Vian just shared a new five tracks EP on his Modern Obscure Music’s bandcamp. You can download the tracks for free or name your price.
The second volume of Italo Moderni edits comes with 8 italo-disco edits from Adrian Marth, Louis Moorhouse, Katmandü and Power Disco.
Legowelt with another free offering on his Nightwind Records. Written, performed and produced by Danny Wolfers at the North Sea Institute For the Overmind Scheveningen Holland. Across the ten tracks, you will find shades of house, electro, techno and Italo but what most notably ties them all together is Legowelt’s signature use of distortion. The album is dripping in Lo-Fi tactics and features plenty of vocal work throughout.
New Gesloten Cirkel release on his bandcamp via his Ratsnake alias. On Acidophile, the enigmatic producer delivers four acid tracks fresh our the studio. Released as a pay-what-you-want download through the Gesloten Cirkel Bandcamp.
Brokntoys presents “Cold Light, Low Tide” a free digital compilation of tracks from affiliated artists, featuring Black Propaganda, Obergman, K100 Signal, Trance Remix, Annechoic, Non Punire and XY0815.
RØDHÅD has continuously pushed the boundaries of modern techno to new hypnotic and theatrical heights on his Dystopian party-turned-label imprint, where he released his debut Anxious back in 2017. This time, RØDHÅD tunes into a place of reflection and reformation on his most avant-garde project to date: WSNWG – BACK TO ZERO. Intended to provide a space for solo releases, the imprint comes at a crucial turning point, as society circles in on itself during the pandemic. RØDHÅD christens the label with MOOD, his first ambient experimentalist release, comprised of his own solo archival material mostly from 2017/2018, working on a plane of spontaneity, devoid of set structures. The result is a life-giving, intimate and solipsistic work. Awash with field recordings, droning loops and subtle granulations, the sparse soundscapes on the 18- track album are deeply profound and satisfying. Crafting emotive textures through detailed layering of ethereal pads and simple synth melodies on ‘When They Returned After Midnight’ reflects the producer’s meditative sensibilities, whilst more beat-driven tracks such as ‘He Didn’t Seem The Kind of Guy Who Would Just Talk To A Stranger’ and ‘Pigeons Dancing On The Roof’ employ trip-hop beats atop washed synths and textural loops for a more downtempo affair. The album often has the dynamics of a sci-fi film score; the slow-building distortion on ‘A Huge Plume of Ash Rose From a Volcano’ carries a profound weight and substance, whilst the eerie ‘Like Sleepwalkers Ghosting Through A Dream’ breathes as if it had a life of its own.
Arnaud Rebotini started to give away free tracks on his soundcloud page a month ago in his “Quarantine” series. Since then he release 8 EP with tracks by himself and remixes from producers from all around the world. “To (Wo)Men On The Assembly Line”, the last EP of the series, is including an original and 6 remixes from David Carretta, Djedjotronic, Jensen Interceptor & Kris Baha, Max Durante and Perel.
“We are now in our last week of strict confinement. So I’m going to interrupt this weekly EP series but with the eight title, I want to pay tribute to the women and men who have allowed the country to continue to operate during this period. But also to all those who will resume their work in factories, in the construction, food processing and services that will boost the economy, often in jobs that are poorly regarded and low paid but so essential to the functioning of our society.’
New Gesloten Cirkel release on his bandcamp via his Ratsnake alias. On ПЛЕДЖЕ, the enigmatic producer compiles six tracks fresh our the studio and a bonus live version. Oozing in raw synthesis, fiery acid lines and classic hardware drum sounds they both embody a sound that is the elixir of life for the true analog freaks. Released as a pay-what-you-want download through the Gesloten Cirkel Bandcamp.
The Hipodrome Of Music 