Bandcloud EOY
Reflections from Tiro!, Ambient Babestation Meltdown, claire rousay and Sheepshead
Welcome to the first of Bandcloud’s lists (2021 edition). It’s hard to believe it’s five years since the first time I invited friends and artists to compile alternative year-end lists, but then I can’t believe it’s nearly eight years since Bandcloud itself was born.
This year’s lists feature DJs, videos, reissues, ramblings and more…
Tiro!
Top 10 people who made me realise that we need to start attributing DJing to South Africans like we attribute sprinting to Jamaicans…
Every time I listen to these folks I am reminded of the deep well of talent that exists in our country. Also, our DJ to person ratio is like 1 in 3.
Kyle Russouw
Nataša
Dormantyouth
Mandy Alexander
0_0_0_0 (Faces)
Rose Bonica
Terry Aronis
Deniece Marz
Odous
Ray Bennet
Tiro! on Bandcamp
Ambient Babestation Meltdown
CHIZZY PLAYLIST EOY LIST
Many people ask “what is chizzy?” And I have to explain that it’s about drugs. But I genuinely think that you don’t need to take drugs, or have ever taken them to understand the beauty of the Chizzy Playlist. It’s about those silly videos you watch at parties with your bezzie mates when everyone else has left, and you’re sat about creasing at the weirdness on screen. It’s about the music videos where clearly Too Much Chizz has happened somewhere along the making of the video. Whether it’s at the conceptual stage, or whether it was during the shoot. It’s far too obvious that somebody, somewhere, partook that bit too much.
The idea behind this was conceived during the deepest darkest part of lockdown earlier this year, living alone with only my cat for company, and all I yearned for was those exact types of times with mates. I started sharing some of these videos on Facebook and this primer list is somewhat of a collaborative affair, which is exactly how it would be IRL at a party. So strap in and enjoy some of the wildest performances ever recorded.
Dennis Parker - Like An Eagle
So there’s two versions of the video, both equally as chizzy. This one just happens to be my fave, as it’s basically him having a chizzy breakdown on the streets of New York. Dennis was a former gay porn star, turned one-hit-wonder, and this track is a disco classic. I bought the LP and honestly the rest of it is just extremely gay NYC ‘70s chorus line stuff.
Mick Fleetwood and his percussion vest
I’ll be honest, I struggle to watch this all the way through, it’s too chizzy even for me haha. But it epitomises that afters vibe of someone putting on a YouTube clip of something so bananas that you’ve never seen and OMG how have you never seen this?! His face when he ditches the drums and truly breaks into the percussion vest solo… is something to behold. I’d like to add a warning, that this video should only be consumed under the cover of darkness or at an afters. It’s too much to handle at any other time
The Gap Band - Burn Rubber On Me
This reeks of gasoline. And sure it starts innocuous enough, classic disco vibes. But check the wide eyes. Check the jaw with a life of its own making that lip sync slightly trickier.
Dennis Edwards ft. Siedah Garrett - Don't Look Any Further
You can’t talk about loose jaws without turning to this classic next. Full gurn within the first five seconds. They spent the budget on primo gear and Seidah definitely got in on it but clearly Dennis hoofed the lion’s share.
D.A.F. - Brothers
Great outfits Ridiculous set Intense eyes Mild gurning
Bonus: Robert Gorl checking out Gabi Delgado’s arse.
Dorine Hollier - Tonight… Crazy Night
This one is a bit special ‘cos there’s so rarely any Italo music videos, so to find one that is pure chizzy playlist is like finding the golden ticket. Tonight… Crazy Eyes. I love this track and I love her swivel eyes.
Fischerspooner - Emerge - Top of the Pops
From Richard Blackwood’s confused/scared face, to the outfits, to Casey Spooner going off-piste with the lip sync, to the sound guy getting in amongst it on the stage, to… ahem… THAT reveal. It’s a televisual treat for the ages.
Hodgy, Domo Genesis And Tyler, The Creator- Rella
Chizzy playlist knows no bounds to genre or decade. This is quite high-budget though, which means the chizziness all happened in the exec meeting when they planned this chisel tour de force. Watch out for the centaur with the extreme nose polo.
Take That - Relight My Fire (Hometown - Live In Manchester) ft. Lulu
Relight My Fire is a queer disco classic, originally by Dan Hartman, and I really respect Take That for FULLY FUCKING LEANING INTO THE CAMPNESS with this. And bonus props to Howard Donald for being extra and wearing nowt but horns, chaps and a jockstrap. That’s commitment. Lulu’s here too doing some mild scenery chewing. But honestly, this is just another one of those videos where I wish I was on a fly on the wall at whatever meeting conceived this performance. “So they’re all sexy gay devils yeah?” “wow that’ll get the ladies of Manchester raring won’t it.” Reader, it did indeed get the ladies of Manchester raring. Gosh the ‘90s were a different time weren’t they.
The System - You are in my System / Robert Palmer - You Are In My System
I’ve included the original here too ‘cos it’s the most gloriously low budget perfect video ever. The comedy timing with some of the shots and transitions is next level. But really we’re here for the cover version…
What is Chizzy Playlist without the King Of Chizz Robert Palmer? I could’ve gone for Looking For Clues, sure, but his cover of The System is an ultimate for me. Like why is it such a straight up cover? Why? Someone once described this video to me as “TFW the tiny clump in the corner of the bag stretches to 3 lines” and I think that sums up that end of the night/it’s now morning so go tf home afters-vibe feeling pretty well.
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Man Power Presents TU&TCB w/ Ambient Babestation Meltdown (Slack's 27/8/21)
Ambient Babestation Meltdown on SoundCloud and Instagram
claire rousay
ten experiences from 2021 that i’m grateful for:
- really, like actually, starting to exercise regularly
- my dog’s resilience and continued love for me even though i travel quite a bit
- a blooming romance with one of the greatest people i’ve ever met
- my friends’ and family’s patience with me this year as i grow and change
- the twilight movies
- all the new music i heard this year from friends and non friends
- so many people coming thru for me when my house was robbed and vandalized
- access to gender affirming healthcare
- the ability to play live music again - regardless of how long that opportunity will last
- the endless support my music has received. i am actively trying to take the time to appreciate this more.
photo: Em Scott
Sheepshead
A Few Of My Favorite Things
2021 was an interesting year -- certainly better than 2020, which left most of us stuck in place waiting for the world around us to reopen. Slowly but surely, those doors started to open; letting us recoup some of the feelings that we lost and recharge ourselves emotionally, physically and of course, musically. These are some of the things that made this past year a pretty, pretty good one if ya ask me.
VACCINES
Let’s just be thankful that modern science did its thing and provided us with something that could at least get us to take small-to-medium steps towards levels of socializing that we were previously used to. Also, please get boosted if you can!
CLUB SPACES REOPENING
Outside of gigs, I was never the type of person to frequent club spaces often prior to the pandemic, but this past year I’ve been out-and-about way more, probably the most I’ve been out in at least half-a-decade. I had never realized how important that intrinsic shared experience was until I was forced to be away from it for so long.
THAT’S SOME GOOD VIBES YA GOT THERE
Here’s a list of mixes that I still can’t stop listening to:
91 Forward: CCL - 151021 by NTS Friday (soundcloud.com)
Fresh Kicks 163: Ayesha by djmag (soundcloud.com)
Juanita's Mix 059: Lychee by JUANITA'S NYC (soundcloud.com)
Dekmantel Podcast 340 - TSVI by dekmantel (soundcloud.com)
RA.791 Quartz by Resident Advisor (soundcloud.com)
DIM255 - DJ Voices by Dimensions Festival (soundcloud.com)
Crack Mix 415: Tim Reaper by Crack Magazine (soundcloud.com)
Listen to This! Special : Oiseaux Des Plaines Russes by DBGO (soundcloud.com)
Groove Podcast 301 - Monster by Groove Magazin (soundcloud.com)
Yak with Ma Sha - 20 May 2021 by Rinse FM (soundcloud.com)
Here’s a list of some tracks/releases that gave me absolutely wonderful vibes this year:
Bubbling Inside | De Schuurman | Nyege Nyege Tapes (bandcamp.com)
Potential Energy EP | Ayesha (bandcamp.com)
Above The Clouds ('21 Jungle Remix) - Unknown Artist | Unknown Artist | Fokuz Recordings (bandcamp.com)
Symbiosis (Jabes Remix) | Stolen Velour | Kindergarten Records (bandcamp.com)
Wing Pinger | Scanner (bandcamp.com)
Artificial Prodigy (Aquarian Remix) | Max Dahlhaus (bandcamp.com)
infina ad nausea | QRTR (bandcamp.com)
Late in life | Iu Takahashi | Regional Attraction (bandcamp.com)
The Callers w/ JADALAREIGN remix [SR46] | WTCHCRFT (bandcamp.com)
FRIENDS (OLD + NEW!)
It was so important to re-establish the connections that made me feel whole and make some new ones as society started to reopen. Between going to rooftop parties, grabbing BBQ, just listening to records whilst playing with a cat - remembering basic social etiquette was kinda tantamount to remembering one’s identity in this scene. That also included a notable amount of house parties that were attended, along with several bottles of Chacha being consumed (thank you Masha) - between the spinbacks and shots, new connections were formed and moments were shared that brought me a bit of optimism for what’s to come, especially musically.
THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD DJs HERE, PEOPLE
Collectives such as the Kindergarten and Sorry Records crew have kick-started exciting, noteworthy talents in the last year-plus and with the pandemic (slightly) easing, it was time to finally show what the future had in-store.
Artists such as Ayesha, Despina, Drummy, Escaflowne, Ma Sha Ru and WTCHCRFT have started to make waves domestically / internationally with their productions and the results speak for themselves. Playing their tracks in my own sets have garnered excellent reactions, rowdiness and a level of intensity that leaves me wanting more from these acts and those associated with them in the near-future.
PEOPLE WANT IT ALL THE MUSIC (INCLUDING BLOG HOUSE)
We had been seeing it with teases by Objekt for quite a while now, but blog house was starting to come back into DJ tracklists around the world. However, experiencing it Live at Nowadays (starts at 20 minutes) was enough of a license to push the parameters of how far crowds could go - and yeah, blog house (but really it’s “fidget house”) still bangs almost 15 years later. Playing out the likes of old Boys Noize, Hervé, Sinden, Solid Groove in a club nowadays feels a bit weird, but the crowd reaction is totally worth it as you’ll get a whole new generation of people enjoying that injection of cheekiness. Perhaps it is partly due to the pandemic, but the thirst for that intense dancefloor connection means there are no genre-centric guardrails anymore, as playing what you want freely here in NYC seems encouraged so long as you know how to do it smoothly and efficiently.
RIVERDALE, THE CRINGE OF MY DREAMS & NIGHTMARES
A big part of my coping with colder temperatures at the moment is watching later seasons of the “teen drama” Riverdale, and it’s as wonderfully insane as this video portrays. I’ve watched it numerous times to prep myself and finally took the plunge just a couple of weeks back. Hot damn, this is a beautiful trainwreck that I cannot look away from, it’s truly the best kind of cringe.
FINALLY, IT’S BIG MAC
This creature brought me so much joy this year, being such a good boy and making some weird noises every time he was summoned.
Sheepshead on SoundCloud and Instagram