Bandcamp Explorer - Golden Lo-Fi Nuggets
by Mark Rowland
published: 7 / 4 / 2021

intro
In his ‘Bandcamp Explorer’ column Mark Rowland examines some of the best lo-fi bands and albums that are available on Bandcamp.
What is lo-fi? It’s pretty much anything these days. It’s not so much of a genre as an aesthetic, and not even a consistent one at that. For the most part, it refers to music made in bedrooms the world over – and these days, you can do a lot with a bedroom and a laptop. Take, for example, the mournful songs of Cody Ketchum, on his debut mini-album ‘bosc’. His songs have a Chilton-ish quality to them, played on a retro-sounding piano. Ketchum has a great knack for melody – the arrangements on ‘bosc’ are sparse, and Ketchum’s voice carries a lot of the weight effortlessly. It’s a lovely listen. Now, let’s take a leap back in time, to the bedroom synth pioneers of the 1980s. ‘Bedroom Cassette Masters’ is a multi-volume series of obscure electro-nuggets curated and compiled by Simon J Holland, AKA Carillion, who makes his own electronic music. The latest, ‘BCM11’, is 20-tracks of quirky, wobbly electro-pop. What’s not to like? At the other end of the 80s music spectrum is Linda Smith and her jangly four-track indie pop. A compilation of her songs spanning 1988-1996 just came out, potentially introducing a whole new audience to her songs. Like the best indie pop, Smith’s songwriting takes from punk, post-punk and the psychedelic underground of the late 60s. It sort of straddles the C86 sound of the 80s and the lo-fi movement of the 90s – jangly, sure, but darker, less twee, more cynical. Smith retired from music in 2001, but it’s great that the musical spotlight hasn’t quite left her. Lo-fi hip hop is a much-derided subgenre that’s often used to describe chilled, vaguely jazzy, usually instrumental tracks that sort of wash over you. It can all start to blend into one another, but there are acts that push it into more interesting areas. Paris, France’s In Love With A Ghost makes music with much of the trappings of that genre, and their music is often laid back and gentle, but not always. It’s like a good film score with a beat to it, and you can get the In Love With A Ghost back catalogue for ridiculously cheap. Their latest release is “Playful Spirits’ a collection of fun little nuggets that flits between bouncy, guitar-driven pieces to drum ‘n’ bass to ambient soundscapes. Now for something completely different: a collection of noisy, genre-bending tracks by Cara Neir. The opening track on ‘Phase Out’, ‘The Trimjrtle Sanction’ mixes black metal, noise rock, hip hop, bleeping video game synths and strange robot noises. It sets the tone for the rest of the album. It won’t be for everyone, but it sure is unique, and more importantly, fun. It’s also a concept album about being pulled into an 8-bit video game by aliens. Finally, JPEGMAFIA has put out a couple of EPs of experimental low fidelity hip hop over the past few months. ‘EP2!’ is an understated but disorienting listen, with the rapper’s heavily processed voice floating over subtly dissonant arrangements. It makes you uncomfortable in a good way.
Also In Bandcamp Explorer
Bandcamp Explorer (2021)
Bandcamp Explorer (2021)
Bandcamp Explorer (2021)
Bandcamp Explorer (2021)
Bandcamp Explorer (2021)
Article Links:-
https://codyketchum.bandcamp.com/album/boschttps://bedroomcassettemasters.bandcamp.com/album/bedroom-cassette-mas
https://lindasmith2.bandcamp.com/album/till-another-time-1988-1996
https://inlovewithaghost.bandcamp.com/album/playful-spirits
https://caraneir.bandcamp.com/album/phase-out
https://jpegmafia.bandcamp.com/
Picture Gallery:-





features |
Metal (2022) |
![]() |
Mark Rowland in 'Bandcamp Explorer' examines the best releases on Bandcamp of recent metal recordings. |
The Best of ‘The Best of Bandcamp’ (2021) |
World Tour (2021) |
Fuzz Fancies (2021) |
:Digging into Obscure Electronic Genres (2021) |
Envelope-Stretching Soul (2021) |
Bandcamp Explorer - Feb 2021 (2021) |
Bandcamp Explorer - Dec 2020 (2020) |
Bandcamp Explorer - Oct 2020 (2020) |
Bandcamp Explorer - Sep 2020 (2020) |
bandcamp
most viewed articles
current edition
Deb Googe and Cara Tivey - InterviewJack Frost - As Seen on TV
Nils Petter Molvaer - El Molino, Barcelona, 24/4/2025
John McKay - Interview
Editorial - July 2025
Robert Forster - Interview
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Kruder and Dofmeister - Paral-lel 62, Barcelona, 27/4/2025
Skunk Anansie - Old Market, Brighton, 16/5/2025
Yardbirds - Des Plaines Theater, Des Plaines, 18/4/2025
previous editions
Boomtown Rats - Ten Songs That Made Me Love....Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EP
Oasis - Oasis, Earl's Court, London, 1995
Loop - Loop / Godflesh - Heaven, London, 4/6/2014
Super Furry Animals - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Brad Elvis - Interview
Not Forgotten Girl - Interview
Serge Gainsbourg - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Heaven 17 - Interview
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
most viewed reviews
current edition
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the JumboVultures - Liz Kershaw Session 16.06.88
Billy Nomates - Metalhorse
HAIM - I Quit
Vinny Peculiar - Things Too Long Left Unsaid
Peter Doolan - I Am a Tree Rooted to the Spot and a Snake Moves Around Me,in a Circle
Pulp - More
Garbage - Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
Morcheeba - Escape The Chaos
Little Simz - Lotus
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart