16.01.26
TJ Chambers
(c) Bandcamp
It’s not that I have dreadful taste in music, in fact I believe I listen to, and purchase, really great music.
Albeit its typically not by high-profile artists, or on major labels, or performed in large scale auditorium – not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with more mainstream or routinely acclaimed music’s. In fact, more populist music’s indirectly subsidise my day-job income, so I’ve learned never to mix the personal with the professional. Otherwise, Wire, the Durutti Column, Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì, Augustus Pablo, Afrika Bambaataa, LFO, Lali Puna, LCD Soundsystem, Superpoze and Salvage Art (this week’s playlist) would be acknowledged as the standard by which all modern compositions should be judged.
Rather I am attracted to music performed by relatively new or obscure artists or those that are not so widely known. Whether inexperienced or untutored, or those engaged with more structural experiments in noise and rhythm, predominately instrumental albeit often propelled by a drum machine, and where the lyrics, especially when uttered in a foreign language, are heard as just another instrument.
The music’s I engage with have become a fundamental part of my character (calming, disposable, drone, dub, elektro, essential, exhilarating, inauthentic, inspirational, krautrock, life-affirming, leftfield, noisy, nostalgic, techno, trashy, and inexplicably wonderful), is at times the background to other activities, or as more centrally enhancing the contemporary emotion. And all are in some way linked to my personal cultural ‘year-zero’ i.e. 1976, a consciously anti-establishmentarian, boundary-redefining moment in social history.
One aspect of my music listenership and purchases as represented by my evolving Bandcamp (https://bandcamp.com/tjchambers) collection, and in keeping with the seasonal year-ending list-making, is a Top 20 ‘most played’ albums (as released during 2025), on that platform. (Obviously the date of release is a key factor impacting the number of plays, but some appear higher in the list due to an episode of obsession. And there is also a world of music regretfully not yet available via Bandcamp – e.g. Max Richter, Deutsche Grammophon, XXIM Records etc.)
The top twenty.
If there is a audio theme to this list, it is often one of restrained anger as characterised by a distorted guitar or drone, perhaps emblematic of the Chinese curse we inhabit: may you live in interesting times.
1/ Melodien – Exulansis | Self-Released | https://melodien.bandcamp.com/album/exulansis
2/ Sankt Otten – Hymnen Und Helden | Denovali Records | https://sankt-otten.bandcamp.com/album/hymnen-und-helden
3/ Aparde – Issues | Ki Records | https://aparde.bandcamp.com/album/issues
4/ Radio Bremen – Live Session 38 (Schwerte) | Saturday Night Sunday Morning Records | https://radiobremen.bandcamp.com/album/live-session-38-schwerte-2
5/ Radio Bremen – Live Session 40 (Krefeld) | Saturday Night Sunday Morning Records | https://radiobremen.bandcamp.com/album/live-session-40-krefeld
6/ Elektro Guzzi – Liquid Center | Palazzo Recordings | https://elektroguzzi.bandcamp.com/album/liquid-center
7/ Ex Colorado – Ex Colorado 3 | LAPTRA | https://excolorado.bandcamp.com/album/ex-colorado-3
8/ Badlands – Nobody Dies | RITE | https://badlandssounds.bandcamp.com/album/nobody-dies
9/ Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan – Public Works And Utilities | Castles In Space | https://warrington-runcorn-cis.bandcamp.com/album/public-works-and-utilities-2
10/ Die Antelle – Pelzwerk | Tapete Records | https://dieanteile.bandcamp.com/album/pelzwerk
11/ Monte Carlo – Monte Carlo | In Suspended Animation | https://montecarlo5.bandcamp.com/album/monte-carlo
12/ Rival Consoles – Landscape From Memory | Erased Tapes | https://rivalconsoles.bandcamp.com/album/landscape-from-memory
13/ Mouth 2 Mouth – Mouth 2 Mouth | Self-Released | https://mouth2mouthgroup.bandcamp.com/album/mouth-2-mouth
14/ Hior Chronik – Apofanie | Moderna Records | https://modernarecords.bandcamp.com/album/apofanie
15/ Sankt Otten – Tote Winkel | Denovali Records | https://sankt-otten.bandcamp.com/album/tote-winkel
16/ Stereolab – Instant Holograms | Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks / Warp Records | https://stereolab.bandcamp.com/album/instant-holograms-on-metal-film
17/ The British Stereo Collective – Praktische Elektronik | Butler Wallis | https://thebritishstereocollective.bandcamp.com/album/praktische-elektronik
18/ Darkside – Nothing | Matador Records | https://darkside.bandcamp.com/album/nothing
19/ Zement – Passagen | CrazyZane Records | https://zement.bandcamp.com/album/passagen
20/ Serge Geyzel – Superbefore | Touched Music | https://touched.bandcamp.com/album/superbefore
And the most played Compilations + Reissues:
Röyksopp – True Electric | Dog Triumph | https://royksopp.bandcamp.com/album/true-electric
Various Artists – Histoire De Coeur | CTR | https://ctrmusic.bandcamp.com/album/histoire-de-coeur-lost-french-synth-pop-7-ers-euro-bombs-1980-89
Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan – Appendix 1 | Castles In Space | https://warrington-runcorn-cis.bandcamp.com/album/appendix-i
Grey Factor – When The Future Arrives Without You | Tiny Global Productions | https://greyfactor.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-future-arrives-without-you
A Certain Ratio – Live In America (1985 Tour) | Mute | https://acertainratio.bandcamp.com/album/a-certain-ratio-live-in-america
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*Bandcamp obviously isn’t the only music discovery and distribution platform, usual disclaimer – others are available. And it’s also not the only way in which I purchase music, but I like the D-2-C link with the artist, its evolving catalogue, and ease-of-use. Only bug-bear is the increased costs of postage/ packing, especially for US-based music’s, but that’s not directly under their control.
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This has been a public service announcement. And it’s back to the usual live entertainment/ticketing-obsessiveness next time. Enjoy!
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TJ_Chambers 