Bandcamp Hunter

Thank you and good night from Bandcamp Hunter.

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:17:38 +1100

&amp;lt;a href=”http://ohioan.bandcamp.com/track/open-road” data-mce-href=”http://ohioan.bandcamp.com/track/open-road”&amp;gt;Open Road by OHIOAN&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Listen to this song while you read this, if you like.

Bandcamp Hunter began way back in the Melbourne spring of 2010. Much has changed in my life since then. People, cats, houses, jobs, study, beards…all have come and gone (and come back again in the case of beards), though many things remain the same. Music is still my great love and discovering new music still thrills me. Finding a band or singer/songwriter or synth alchemist who connects with you through their art is a beautiful thing. I feel privileged to have shared all of this music with you. To have consistently found that you seemed to dig it too has provided me with great joy.

However. Time is the thing.

These days I am in the second year of a degree studying wildlife and conservation biology. In the first year of study I found the juggling of study, work and blogging to be reasonably manageable but-as fellow students will concur-in second year things step up a bit. The load has intensified. As such I need to bring Bandcamp Hunter to a close. I don’t like saying it’s “dead”, it’s possible I’ll bring it back at some point. Anything Could Happen, you know.The phrase a friend and fellow sci fi geek recommend I use is “in stasis”. I’m not ruling out bringing BCH back from its deep space slumber in a year or five years or ten years, or a clone of me bringing it back in two hundred years, but for now it is entering that frosty compartment and being jettisoned to the outer reaches. I’ve considered scaling the site back and not posting as often but the thing is I spend a lot of time Bandcamp Hunting - too much. BCH has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for me but I’ve also developed some bad habits while running it. I need to spend less time on the internet.

The site will remain up for you to browse the archives. 2098 posts in all, accumulated over 3.5 years. Not a bad knock. I still have 3927 links in draft! Some of these have been posted already but most will remain in their purgatorial state, perhaps to be unearthed some day by BCH MKII or in some other form. If you ever sent me music and I said I would post it but did not, I’m very sorry. Things get lost in the backlog and, plainly, I’m a forgetful old bugger. (While I’m here, a little advice to musicians about contacting blogs : do not send giant emails full of band bios, press releases and descriptions of the music. I find it a real turnoff and I know other bloggers do too. Just send the music. It’s all that matters. Also : make nice cover art! Not that hard with technology these days. It matters too).

There are far too many people to thank and acknowledge - by far the best aspect of running BCH has been meeting all the like-minded bloggers, music fans and musicians from around the globe. Your support and kind words have been what’s fuelled the BCH engine, providing me with great inspiration and enjoyment. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to meet a few of you in the flesh some day. I have plans to travel over the next couple of years and if you’re ever in Melbourne do look me up. I’ll be happy to show you our local music scene, which, I maintain, is one of the best in the world. I’ll keep active on the twitter and my email is over there in About. Also be sure to acquaint yourself with my Friends running wonderful blogs and labels if you haven’t already.

Seeing this is my last post I’ll share a couple of my highlights of running BCH with you. Last year myself and Matty Barker of Hawkmoth Records and Water Music organised a benefit gig for the sadly departed Jason Molina. We raised a bit of money for his hospital costs but more important was the positivity we generated from uniting in our love of one mans music and in the singing of his songs. It was a night when I realised the blog had moved far from its beginnings as a time killing endeavour to something much more. It was giving me the opportunity me to meet good people, to share in my appreciation of music with others, and to give something back to that music. It was a very special thing.

The other event that stands out to me was a message I received from Matt of Dream Sick not too long ago. He was appreciative of me featuring his music and revealed that BCH making his album Pick of The Week came at a time when the band was having some struggles. He suggested the BCH post was a shot in the arm for the band during a rocky period, providing some impetus to battle on. So I think it’s fitting that their amazing new album “Morkkis” be the final Bandcamp Hunter post. There isn’t really much more you can ask as a blogger than to play a part, however small, in contributing to a great band putting more music into the world.

I’m going on I know, but I feel I most definitely should acknowledge Bandcamp. When I began it was in its formative stages and has since become a tremendous outlet for a mind blowing range of music from around the world (as has Soundcloud, which I like a lot too). It has been a pleasure to grow my blog alongside Bandcamp; to ride their ever increasing wave, scouring the universe of music that has proliferated within its waters. They are good people with good ideas and a determination to provide digital music with the platform it deserves. Kudos friends. Keep those flames flickering.

To close I urge you to keep supporting the music you love. The world of music has changed completely over the last few years, I believe for the absolute better. The state of music is in the hands of you, the fan, and this is a very, very good thing. Record shops come and go, record labels come and go, blogs come and go, but there will always be people making innovative, challenging and beautiful music. And there will always be people that want to hear it. There are more opportunities now than ever for you to hear that music, though as of today there is one less avenue. But that’s not something to be sad about. Browse the library. Hunt Bandcamp yourself. Keep searching for music that lights up your life, do not settle for mediocrity. Buy that bands music, wear their t-shirts, go to their gigs, tell them they’re great, and sleep well knowing that you are doing something that makes our world a better place.

Thank you, a million times thank you. I’ll see you on the open road.

JJ Baker

Morkkis | Dream Sick
Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:10:05 +1100

Morkkis | Dream Sick

Morkkis by Dream Sick

Addict - Nothinge
Sat, 30 Mar 2013 14:21:10 +1100

Addict - Nothinge

Addict by Nothinge

Curtin EP | Curtin
Sat, 30 Mar 2013 13:35:01 +1100

Curtin EP | Curtin

Curtin EP by Curtin

Rainer | Secret Mountains
Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:34:06 +1100

Rainer | Secret Mountains

Rainer by Secret Mountains

No Love Lost | Drill Folly
Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:39:38 +1100

No Love Lost | Drill Folly

No Love Lost by Drill Folly

Bottle Shop | Velcro
Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:19:09 +1100

Bottle Shop | Velcro

Bottle Shop by Velcro

The Moon EP - Water Music <a...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:54:00 +1100

The Moon EP - Water Music

<a href=”http://hawkmothrecordco.bandcamp.com/album/the-moon-ep” data-mce-href=”http://hawkmothrecordco.bandcamp.com/album/the-moon-ep”>The Moon EP by Water Music</a>

Sacred Flowers | Apollo Vermouth
Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:04:46 +1100

Sacred Flowers | Apollo Vermouth

Sacred Flowers by Apollo Vermouth

CRMNL HYGNE LP | Criminal Hygiene <a...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:28:47 +1100

CRMNL HYGNE LP | Criminal Hygiene

<a href=”http://criminalhygiene.bandcamp.com/album/crmnl-hygne-lp-2” data-mce-href=”http://criminalhygiene.bandcamp.com/album/crmnl-hygne-lp-2”>CRMNL HYGNE LP by Criminal Hygiene</a>

Buff as Fuck - Transept
Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:02:45 +1100

Buff as Fuck - Transept

Buff as Fuck by Transept

gathering for the feast | waywardbreed
Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:55:34 +1100

gathering for the feast | waywardbreed

gathering for the feast - digital by waywardbreed

Onkalo | Petrels
Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:22:34 +1100

Onkalo | Petrels

Onkalo by Petrels

Couldn’t Be Better | Camperdown and Out
Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:50:23 +1100

Couldn’t Be Better | Camperdown and Out

’Couldn’t Be Better’ (album) by CAMPERDOWN AND OUT

El alimento hace bien EP | BOSQUES
Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:18:02 +1100

El alimento hace bien EP | BOSQUES

El alimento hace bien EP (2013) by BOSQUES

Dark Beach | The Peep Tempel
Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:23:16 +1100

Dark Beach | The Peep Tempel

Dark Beach by The Peep Tempel

Shadows | Maston
Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:52:36 +1100

Shadows | Maston

Shadows by Maston

Erotic Theology | Keep Sheila On Acid
Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:02:13 +1100

Erotic Theology | Keep Sheila On Acid

Erotic Theology by Keep Sheila On Acid

New Design E.P | Deep Heat
Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:49:46 +1100

New Design E.P | Deep Heat

New Design E.P by Deep Heat

Globe Rush Progressions | Elephant Micah
Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:59:13 +1100

Globe Rush Progressions | Elephant Micah

Globe Rush Progressions by Elephant Micah

Bandcamp Hunter

Thank you and good night from Bandcamp Hunter.

Morkkis | Dream Sick Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:10:05 +1100 Morkkis | Dream Sick Morkkis by Dream Sick

Addict - Nothinge Sat, 30 Mar 2013 14:21:10 +1100 Addict - Nothinge Addict by Nothinge

Curtin EP | Curtin Sat, 30 Mar 2013 13:35:01 +1100 Curtin EP | Curtin Curtin EP by Curtin

Rainer | Secret Mountains Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:34:06 +1100 Rainer | Secret Mountains Rainer by Secret Mountains

No Love Lost | Drill Folly Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:39:38 +1100 No Love Lost | Drill Folly No Love Lost by Drill Folly

Bottle Shop | Velcro Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:19:09 +1100 Bottle Shop | Velcro Bottle Shop by Velcro

The Moon EP - Water Music <a...

Sacred Flowers | Apollo Vermouth Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:04:46 +1100 Sacred Flowers | Apollo Vermouth Sacred Flowers by Apollo Vermouth

CRMNL HYGNE LP | Criminal Hygiene <a...

Buff as Fuck - Transept Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:02:45 +1100 Buff as Fuck - Transept Buff as Fuck by Transept

gathering for the feast | waywardbreed Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:55:34 +1100 gathering for the feast | waywardbreed gathering for the feast - digital by waywardbreed

Onkalo | Petrels Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:22:34 +1100 Onkalo | Petrels Onkalo by Petrels

Couldn’t Be Better | Camperdown and Out Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:50:23 +1100 Couldn’t Be Better | Camperdown and Out ’Couldn’t Be Better’ (album) by CAMPERDOWN AND OUT

El alimento hace bien EP | BOSQUES Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:18:02 +1100 El alimento hace bien EP | BOSQUES El alimento hace bien EP (2013) by BOSQUES

Dark Beach | The Peep Tempel Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:23:16 +1100 Dark Beach | The Peep Tempel Dark Beach by The Peep Tempel

Shadows | Maston Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:52:36 +1100 Shadows | Maston Shadows by Maston

Erotic Theology | Keep Sheila On Acid Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:02:13 +1100 Erotic Theology | Keep Sheila On Acid Erotic Theology by Keep Sheila On Acid

New Design E.P | Deep Heat Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:49:46 +1100 New Design E.P | Deep Heat New Design E.P by Deep Heat

Globe Rush Progressions | Elephant Micah Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:59:13 +1100 Globe Rush Progressions | Elephant Micah Globe Rush Progressions by Elephant Micah