Sounds Good: August 7, 2020

Sounds Good: August 7, 2020

Remember two whole weeks ago when I proudly pronounced that this newsletter was a weekly? Classic Craig! Sorry about that. The good news is I’ve been working on a new project that will be announced next week—really excited to share that with you.

(Just writing that opening paragraph transported me back to the good ol’ days of personal blogs, when seemingly every post I read or wrote started out with an apology for not writing recently. It seems almost quaint now, when the very notion of apologizing—for anything—has been almost entirely excised from our political and social discourse. But to harken back to those glorious days, I ran a search for “sorry it’s been a while” on blogspot.com. The number of results? About 12,300. You should read a few.)

In the meantime, I didn’t want to let Bandcamp Friday pass us by without recommending some interesting sounds that are worth your hard-earned dime. Stream ‘em for free, and if you like ‘em, put your money where your ears are. As a reminder, on the first Friday of the month, Bandcamp waives their fees and puts more money in the hands of musicians. Get at it!

  • Sparkle Division, To Feel Embraced

    Did you ever wonder what would happen if noted tape loop maestro William Basinski picked up a saxophone and made a lounge album with his young protege, Preston Wendel? Wonder no more! Since so much experimental / electronic music is brutally self-serious, it’s always refreshing to come across something that embraces camp while still sounding aesthetically interesting. And if you like your good-natured electronic music of a smoother variety, I also highly recommend Todd Terje’s It’s Album Time.

  • Ed B, Money Tapes 01: Minute Dubs

    Money Tapes is a new label from Chicagoan Ed Bornstein, who I knew from the Iowa City scene and who is an all-around great musician and sound recordist. This new project produces mix tapes (on tape, of course, or digitally) and gives 100% of the money after production costs to charities in and around Chicago. Ed’s contribution is a series of around twenty “minute dubs,” one-minute slices of beats and samples and at least one cover song. I listened this afternoon and loved it. The money this month goes to the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression.

  • Chants, lo-fi chill beats to steal for your podcast

    Chants is the electronic project of Jordan Cohen from Madison, and this amazingly named collection is an archival release featuring instrumental beats he made between 2013-2015. In all seriousness, I will be stealing some of these beats for use in my podcast (if I ever make another podcast). And you can, too!

Talk next week—I hope…

Craig