These are this week’s Bandcamp essentials (18th September)

The pandemic of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has had a devastating impact on our scene, leading to the cancellation of countless events and festivals around the world.

Artists and DJs have been heavily impacted too, having their main revenue streams disconnected for the foreseeable future.

With tour cancellations and festival postponements leaving many members of the international electronic music community out of pocket, Bandcamp has become an even more vital platform for supporting the music you love, with 80% of all sales from the online music store going directly to artists and labels. In March, the platform announced it would be waiving its revenue share for all sales for one day, and on Friday 20th, took no cut from purchases made. In total, $4.3 million was spent on music over the course of 24 hours, all going straight to the creators. Throughout lockdown, Bandcamp continued to waive their fees on the first Friday of every month up to July, as well as on 19th June (Juneteenth), when the platform donated 100% of its profits to the NAACP Legal Defence Fund. In July, it was announced that a fee-free "Bandcamp Friday" would take place on the first Friday of each month for the rest of 2020. 

Eaerlier this year, as a show of solidarity to support the artists and labels impacted through the pandemic, and to support releases raising funds for charity initiatives and organisations, we launched a weekly roundup of the most vital Bandcamp releases.

This week, DJ Mag's editorial team have collated essential tracks, albums and EPs from the likes of Avalon Emerson, KMRU, Rose Bonica, Phelimuncasi, Nightwave, Sleep D, and more. Check them out below.