Bandcamp Friday is Back! Support Local Music Using Our Summer Roundup

Bandcamp Friday began in March 2020 as part of Bandcamp’s monthly initiative to direct more proceeds to artists in light of the pandemic by waiving their 15% revenue share for all music purchased that day. 

If you support artists on Bandcamp Friday, artists will get to keep all proceeds from music sales, minus a small PayPal or card processing fee. (Streaming apps like Spotify generally pay between $.003 and $.005 per stream, according to Business Insider.) Below we have rounded up a few of our favorite new releases from local artists this summer. Long Beach is overflowing with musical talent, so this is by no means a comprehensive list. Did we miss any of your favorites? Please let us know!

We encourage you to support Long Beach musicians by purchasing from their Bandcamp pages on the first Friday of the month. If you are unable to shell out some cash for new music this Friday, no worries. The Bandcamp Friday offer will continue for at least the rest of the year (upcoming dates are Oct. 7, Nov. 4, and Dec. 2). Please note, the regular rate is not too shabby either! On Bandcamp Fridays, artists get approximately 93% of what you spend, but on any other day they will get an average of 82%.

If you’re a Long Beach musician or a big fan of one, please let us know about new local releases on Bandcamp by hitting us up at editors@forthe.org.

SUMMER BANDCAMP RELEASES (JUNE – AUGUST 2022)

Dave Williams (BeatsbyDevastata) – Nutella

Released July 8

When he isn’t leading his jazz band MajicBulletTheory (in which he also plays trumpet), Long Beach native Dave Williams AKA BeatsByDevastata can often be found producing soundscapes blending hip hop, jazz, R&B, classic rock, and more. When making his “gumbo out of the genres,” he says, “it’s not just what you cut, it’s the order you put it in–like a chef’s presentation of food.”

Hear me clearly,
if you fear me,
say you fear me

On his new album Nutella, “Hear Me Clearly Love’s Theme” mashes up Pusha T’s “Hear Me Clearly” vocals with Barry White’s “Love’s Theme.” The track seemingly speaks to Williams’ own feelings about not being willing to suffer fools that pussyfoot around their feelings and his determination to stay true to himself in all his eclectic ways. 

See the difference ‘tween me & them,
I move to a different drum like EDM

 

Julia, Julia – “Fever in My Heart”

Released July 13

Julia Kugel, founding member of garage punk band The Coathangers, is getting ready to drop her debut solo album Derealization under the moniker Julia, Julia. Recently, she shared her first single from the forthcoming album,  “Fever in My Heart,” in which her trademark sweet voice is almost trance-like as she sings of her obsession for a lover.

I wait for you

Highway for you

I like it

I love it

The feeling in my head

I breathe it

As the mood of the song intensifies, another voice (perhaps figuratively her inner voice but literally her own voice) punctuates her worry about her adoration turning her into a different person altogether. 

Am I somebody else? 

(Somebody else!) 

Am I losing myself? 

(Losing myself!)

The album was recorded in Long Beach at the studio that Kugel owns with her husband, called Centre of Mental Arts (COMA). Kugel has said that she was inspired to create Derealization after experiencing the disorienting effect of touring so frequently with her other bands. 

“Honestly, I kinda lost it, and through making this record I made peace and reconciled myself as a real person,” Kugel said. 
Derealization will be released on Sept. 30, but if you preorder a record (which comes in a lovely “milky mint”) or a CD, it will be mailed out to you on Sept. 23.

 

Jagged Jein – “Spell”  

Released July 15

Jagged Jein (rhymes with vein) originally began as a solo project for Kadie DiCarlo. Despite changes to the lineup and the fact they have more than doubled in size in the past six years, Jagged Jein has remained true to singer/songwriter DiCarlo’s dynamic vocal style which has a punk, riot grrrl energy and ranges anywhere from low and moody to falsetto. Nowadays she starts off writing the lyrics and creating the bare bones of the song and then brings it to the group so each individual can contribute their own parts and flesh out the sound. Jagged Jein’s current iteration consists of DiCarlo (vocals, keys), Cullen Griffin (guitar), Nick May (guitar, production), Yassaman Rahimi (drums), and Jake Crawford (bass).  

The forthcoming album pith and peel, takes its name from lyrics from its second single, “Spell” which was released in July. (“Santos” came out in April).

It’s not an even keel,

It’s not a reason to stab when you’re living in hell

we’re eating pith and the peel

two sorry fighters sick and tired

i can’t stand still

hey lucid wound can you heal?

The pith (the white stringy part of citrus) and the raw peel are generally the least appetizing part of the fruit. “Spell” speaks of the bitterness after a falling out with a close friend or lover and the need for some sort of closure. The title came after the lyrics were complete. DiCarlo realized in hindsight that she was writing a “Spell” to manifest a reconciliation between herself and the other “sorry fighter” in the song.

When recording pith and the peel, Jagged Jein was between bassists, so Nick May played guitar and bass on the track in addition to production duties. Crawford’s first show as their bassist will be on Sept. 7 at the Silverlake Lounge with other Long Beach artists Hoop Jail and Smooth Jas. On Sept. 17, Jagged Jein will play in Long Beach at Vine on 4th Street with L.A. band UGHH. “It’s our drummer Yass’s birthday so come out and party,” DiCarlo said. They will be performing songs from the new album as well as some even newer songs they have yet to record. 

 

free tree – Cloudmachine Sound Test
Released Aug. 10

An artist known more for his vibrantly colored murals (such as the one that graces the side of Alex’s Bar on Anaheim and Gladys) and low-brow humor, as well as commercial work such as his recent album covers for the Grateful Dead, Dave Van Patten has also periodically made music under the name free tree since 2008. 

Cloudmachine, Cloudmachine
Drowning in a pool of sweat

And smoking up a dream

Influenced by Daniel Johnston, psychedelic garage bands, and other experimental lo-fi groups, Van Patten refers to his genre as a fusion of “psyche-pop-lo fi-shoegaze-folk-dance.” Cloudmachine Sound Test was released in support of Van Patten’s new NFT endeavor called Cloudmachine. At times, the track is wonderfully reminiscent of the cacophony that is Pink Floyd’s Animals and also includes a catchy chorus and the joyful use of a tambourine and a kazoo.

 

Decisive Koala – “Endless Summer”
Released Aug. 26

“Endless Summer” comes in slow waves at first, but next thing you know, it’s making you feel like you are running on the beach with the surf crashing rhythmically, or spinning around on a dance floor with the reflective prism of the disco ball crashing colors and light around you. Decisive Koala (DK)  is the brainchild of artist Chris Tsagakis who often says the music is “chill like a koala.” Koalas are so chill that they are known to sleep for up to 18 hours daily, yet DK’s kind of chill never means sleepy. And, the 15 lofi instrumental jams Tsgakis has released since mid-2020 (including three this year) suggest that he does not snooze his days away.

 

ALSO CHECK OUT:

Billy Mohler – Anatomy

Released June 10

 

Chase Petra- Liminal

Released July 5

 

bobby blunders – “no hang-ups”
Released July 15

 

Lakim – blends & bootlegs vol. 2

Released July 20

 

Hoop Jail – Infinite Pop

Released July 22

 

Basico – As Is If

Released Aug. 3

 

Gash – demo

Released Aug. 8

 

Armchair Generals ft Rap Dirty – “Fatima”

Released Aug. 11

 

Mikem Nahmir – “Stella’s Groove” (produced by thamightyconqueror)

Released Aug. 24

 

Dizzy Dustin ft MASTA ACE – “Rain Delays” (Pandemonium Exlusive with cuts by Jabba the Kut)
Released Aug. 30