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1. Various Artists, “Léve Léve: Sao Tomé & Principe sounds 70s-80s”
2. David Nance Group, “Peaced and Slightly Pulverized”
3. Quakers, “II: The Next Wave”

Bandcamp is an online music platform used largely by independent artists and record labels to stream songs and sell merchandise. It’s also a vibrant virtual community teeming with interesting sounds just waiting to be discovered. Each week, I’ll highlight three releases available on the site that are well worth your time and attention. If you find something you dig, please consider supporting the artist with a purchase.

Various Artists

“Léve Léve: Sao Tomé & Principe Sounds 70s-80s”

Bandcamp is awesome, but it’s not the only way to discover music, of course. Recently I was in another time zone listening to my favorite college radio station (WRFL, 88.1 FM in Lexington, Kentucky) when I heard this incredibly sprightly and melodic song come bounding from the speakers in my rented Kia Soul. The song is called “Sun Malé” by Sangazuza, and it appears on “Léve Léve: Sao Tomé & Principe sounds 70s-80s,” a compilation of Puxa music from São Tome and Principe, two small, Portuguese-speaking islands off the coast of Gabon in central Africa. Puxa is an upbeat and ultra-danceable musical style that weaves together elements from Africa, Europe and the Americas with the carefree spirit of the islands, and most of the other 15 tracks on this compilation are every bit as great as “Sun Malé.” Visit the link, read about these bands and listen for yourself.

David Nance Group

“Peaced and Slightly Pulverized”

Over the past several years, Omaha, Nebraska, singer-songwriter David Nance has become one of the great meat-and-potatoes rock ‘n’ rollers in the underground, releasing a bunch of killer albums and playing wild-eyed shows across the Midwest and beyond. (His late-night set at Pickathon near Portland two years ago was a highlight of the festival.) Nance has a new album out called “Staunch Honey” that returns to his early lo-fi days, but if you’ve never heard him, I’d suggest starting with 2018’s “Peaced and Slightly Pulverized,” a thick slab of heavy psych-rock complete with blown-out guitars, squalling feedback, meandering melodies and plenty of thick, stoney vibes. Nance is a throwback to when rock music was hairy and loud and weird and slightly unnerving, so if you’ve been missing that, get thee directly to the link above.

Quakers

“II: The Next Wave”

In 2012, the great indie-rap record label Stones Throw released the debut album from Quakers, a supergroup of beatmakers including Fuzzface (aka Geoff Barrow of Portishead), 7-Stu-7 and Kataklyst (now known as Supa K). With 41 tracks that fly by in 70 minutes, “Quakers” is sort of a sampler platter of the three producers’ skills, paired up with a parade of underground rappers. It was also the kind of project that felt like a one-off, but lo and behold, Stones Throw has just released a follow-up, this time with 33 tracks and guest verses from MCs like Guilty Simpson, The Koreatown Oddity, Chester Watson, Sampa The Great, Jonwayne and Jeru The Damaja. But while the rappers have changed and the rhymes offer more political and social commentary, the beats are as consistently dope as ever, whether they’re exploring classic boom-bap, jazz ‘n’ soul beats, futuristic bleep-bloops or some other shadowy corner of the sonic universe. This is hip-hop for the adventurous and the short attention spans.