Bandcamp Friday - SRN Aotearoa Recommendations

Bandcamp Friday has rolled around fast, this time synergising with the first Friday of NZ Music Month 2022. Continuing our new series of spotlight features, we invited Student Radio Network (SRN) breakfast show teams and programme directors across Aotearoa to recommend some standout local tracks, to help listeners navigate through the maze of options and hopefully discover new faves to support. Unless you've been shackled deep underground in some kind of dungeon for the past few years, you'll know Bandcamp Friday is when the online music platform waive their revenue share on all artists' music and merch sales for 24 hours — starting 7pm tonight (NZST) and running until 7pm on Saturday 7th May (for the handy countdown clock see HERE).

Stepping up to the plate this month are teams from Radio One 91FM, Radio Control 99.4FM, Radio Active 88.6FM and 95bFM. On top of these expert selections, be sure to check out the impeccably curated and diverse buyaotearoa wishlist HERE, and of course dive into Bandcamp's New Zealand tag page HERE for more up-to-the-minute local music discoveries...

Hot Sauce Club - 'Ride Along'

Breather Bands (they call Scarfies 'Breathers' now, don’t ask) have been smashing it across the country for the past few years, from Soaked Oats to Marlin’s Dreaming, The University of Otago has been banging out hit bands at a rate not seen since the 80s. Hot Sauce Club might just be the next band to make it out of their damp, half rotten flat and into the nation's consciousness. The sound of ‘Ride Along’ sits firmly in late 00s Surf Punk realm, with distortion washed guitars and driving percussion. Have a listen and check out the rest of their debut record while you are at it. — Jamie Green, Radio One 91FM, Ōtepoti / Dunedin

TākaroTechnoClub - 'So Lonely (makes me sweat)'

TinyClub in Pnaughty’s sported a bunch of hard n fast hardware bass over the past couple years. Essential listening — and more importantly dancing — are TākaroTechnoClub’s up-tempo cheeky remixes. Here’s a luke-fresh bootleg to sweat to. — Fi Carr, Radio Control 99.4FM, Te Papaioea / Palmy

Freddie Gibbs — 'Thuggin' (ABG's 180bpm Special)

Leshgooo 180bpm Freddy Gibbs remix by ABG! Somehow the Manawatūnes keep getting faster, hotter n hectic-er. It’s the remix season y’know *Autumn*… all reflective n stuff? — Fi Carr

Borrowed cs - 'Ghuznee Dub (TAKE 3)'

The BCS12001 EP by Borrowed cs is so finely balanced. Cory Champion captures the dark and light of Wellington’s wintry nights, delivering a true sonic journey to the past. Ghuznee Dub (Take 3), eclipses my memories as an evening DJ at Active, back when the station formerly resided on Ghuznee St. My way to gauge who was listening was by watching the ravers driving by wave and toot from their cars, through our huge studio window. — Maggie Tweedie, Radio Active 88.6FM Breakfast host, Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington

Minuit - 'Islands'

I’m revisiting Minuit’s final album, Last Night You Saw This Band in music month. I love this release and its chalky production. Almost a decade ago I watched Minuit play at Homegrown on the electronic stage with Wellington’s Balkan Brass explosion. Ruth Carr’s voice singing, “We got to go, we got to get off this Island!” makes me itch to travel beyond the border. — Maggie Tweedie

The Pleasure Majenta - 'Full Of It'

If you need some gloriously evil music for the onset of winter look no further than Berlin-based Tāmaki expats The Pleasure Majenta and their latest single ‘Full of It’. Big gat shreds, wonky sax, and a cursed falsetto chorus — honestly what more could you want from a song. The full album Looming, The Spindle is out in July via Dedstrange so pre-order the heck out of this one. — Rachel Ashby, 95bFM, Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland

Baby Zionov - 'Fantasy' feat. corpse-becoming-foxes

I love Baby Zionov: she makes music that is joyful, smart and silly. Her EP …And You Are The Bitch was a big soundtrack for many lockdown kitchen raves in our house. ‘Fantasy’ is her second single from her debut album Henrietta and features lyrics and backing vocals from corpse-becoming-foxes (seriously strong name). It’s beautifully emosh and boogy-able, get it in your life before the full release is out via Sunreturn in July. — Rachel Ashby

Samara Alofa - 'Laid Out'

Just after our last Bandcamp Friday hang-out, pillar of the Tāmaki music scene Samara Alofa released their contribution to The Assurance Compilation, ‘Laid Out.’ The track seems to glide, complementing Samara’s lyrics which respond to the concrete covered waterways of Tāmaki Makaurau (read more in the below statement). It’s easy to visualise the waters waiting under the city. ’Laid Out’ is in no rush, driven forward by the nafa and pātē inspired drums, and of course accompanied by Samara’s instantly recognisable and totally beautiful vocals we’ve all been enchanted by in their previous releases.

"The drums take inspiration from the nafa (Tongan drums) and pātē (Samoan wood drums, origins of Tahiti), representing Samara's indigenous heritage. Alongside nods to Samara's Indigenous roots, 'Laid Out' draws inspiration from R&B and Neo Soul and LoFi essences and embodies a spirit of sovereignty and hope. The lyrics of 'Laid Out' are written in response to the gentrification and ever continuing colonisation of Indigenous people in Aotearoa and speak of the streams and river ways which have been excavated or covered up with concrete and lay dormant under the city." — Zoë Larsen Cumming, 95bFM, Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland