Roundup: May 2026
Featuring a Bandcamp alternative, more AI crap, and some of my new favourite EPs
Summer is finally around the corner and the weather has taken a turn for the better in Berlin. Sun’s out, I’m off to the canal.
Let’s dive in.
Out And About
More Depressing AI News
In yet more depressing AI music news, Suno AI has “taken control of” Songkick user data and Spotify and UMG have reached a deal where users can now use UMG artists’ music to generate AI remixes of said music. None of this is positive.
As to what Suno will do with Songkick’s data is right now not known, but it seems they’re going to integrate it into their product. Songkick is one of the internet’s larget resources of users and their artist interests, is this Suno attempting to train the output to be more aligned with their users? Who is this even for? Why even engage with music if you don’t want to be hear anything that isn’t exactly your interest. This whole thing stinks if you ask me.
And Spotify, oh Spotify. Has this company done anything positive recently? Record low payouts to artists and now pushing AI nonsense onto their users in any way possible, is there anything this company will do with the good of the music scene in mind? Letting users generating AI remixes of artists is so divorced from why people want to create music in the first place. “I don’t like how this song sounds I want to have it almost the same but the way I want it,” is something a 5-year-old would say. I want to hear from the UMG artists on this one, what do they think?
This all kind of goes hand in hand with what a lot of powerful people in the music scene are seemingly pushing for. Warner Music COO has come out and publicly said that “music is under-monetized, under-digitized, and ripe for ‘years of productivity’”. What is this supposed to even mean? Why are people constantly trying to optimise an art form?
Subvert.fm Launches
The long awaited new Bandcamp alternative is now live! As much as it is true that Bandcamp has not changed in the way many feared it would with its back to back sales, it’s still nice to see newer start ups attempt to tackle the broken music ecosystem. On top of that, Subvert.fm is a collective and aims to stay that way, decoupling itself from a reliance on outside funding and reducing the risk of a sale going sour. Personally, I’m enjoying that Bandcamp is now facing more and more competition. Whilst right now it still seems to work for artists and listeners alike in the way it always has done, there is still a chance that Songtradr, Bandcamp’s current owners, could alter the business’ trajectory in more nefarious ways. But, competition keeps Songtradr in check, as any deviation would result in people flocking to alternatives.
Nina also shut down this past month, which does not surprise me. The whole crypto hype-cycle has long been dead in the water and that’s what Nina sold itself on initially. As much competition is always good, it doesn’t feel like Nina is what was needed in the scene and it’s closure proves that. It was a good experiment.
Speaking of digital music store shutdowns, Juno Download also shut down in May which has not gone down well with users. It used to be one of my primary music purchasing stores (Beatport is terrible, I’ll use anything but) and it’s a real shame to see it go. Fortunately, Juno Records is still going, but it’s clearly all the more important to see and support newer alternatives to such stores to maintain the market diversity.
If you’re on the lookout for other such stores, may I suggest Cantilever. Instead of giving you literally all the music that has ever existed in a streaming service, you get a selection each month which are removed at the end of it. A really interesting way of exploring new music recommendations, I’ve been tempted to dive in myself.
New Berlin Record Store - SEVEN
Berlin has a new record store! And it’s from the Berlin based label SEVEN with an LGBTQ+ producer friendly house and techno focus. I’ve already picked up a number of their records so it’s nice to see newer labels making their way into physical locations, especially with dying high streets and creative companies struggling. The opening party itself was cute, with people milling outside in the sun. The inside has this funky, concrete based design. Check it out on Google Maps.
I had a chat with the guy at the till, the poor guy was saying that the till is so new that no one really knows how to use it apart from him so he’s been stuck at there all evening working. He also runs an electronic music zine called Hinterhaus that focusses on the workers in the industry as artists, clubs, and festivals tend to dominate more traditional music media. I enjoyed their article on Natalie Petek, the lead booker for Oxi, who talked about what she values in the scene and her journey to her current role. The club in Friedrichshain is one of my favourite in the city, a day party oasis often overlooked by the clubbing tourist crowd here in the city and one I can’t wait to go back to.
MORE AI
I came across this AI project called “Diggercamp” the other day. An AI music recommendation site, that supposedly takes a track you give it, “analyzes the actual sound: the frequency content, the rhythm, the texture, the energy, the timbral character”, and recommends other music similar to that.
Right, okay.
Guess I should check it out now shouldn’t I. I grabbed Barry Can’t Swim’s Kimbara, a certified disco house banger, and whacked the URL into the machine.
And would you look at that, the recommendations are terrible.
Firstly, the songs sound nothing like, or are related to, Kimbara. At all. And secondly, I gave the top two recommendations a listen to and I have this funny feeling they’re actually AI generated too. So not only has it failed at actually delivering me recommendations related to the song I inputted. But it also recommended yet more AI slop. See for yourself, here and here.
Ah well, I commend the vision.
The Real Reason Gen Z Yearns for Vinyl - Bellamy Richardson
Richardson wrote a fascinating article on Gen Z’s relationship with vinyl records and how the digital generation are yearning for a time they never experienced themselves. I’ll let his words do the talking, it’s a stunning piece of writing.
Millions of people can listen to the same digital track every day, the same clean sound waves delivered in the same way, perfectly and endlessly identical, forever. A record is personal. The scratches and skips become endearing characteristics instead of merely annoyances, embedding themselves in your experience of the feeling of the music. They’re proof that it’s been loved, proof that it’s lived. And that’s what we’re really chasing.
Music Recs
Gonna start with a few things I found on subvert.fm (there’s no embeds yet for subvert.fm, so bear with me and my screenshots).
Flysword’s Adieu is a summer groovy banger. The marimbas (?) are a delightful addition on the high energy bass. It’s also free so it’s a must get if you ask me.
Number Nine’s Our Man In Mouscron is a rerelease of his 1992 track on the new platform. It’s a heavy roller with that gorgeous 90’s sound.
Sferro’s Mental Stack is a great modern rendition of that 90’s sound with a deep bass. I love the distinct airiness that permeates it too, it feels like a breath of fresh air.
Coming back to my old favourite, Bandcamp, and we have Space Dance’s Deer Jade. It’s housey, it’s italo, it’s bassy, it’s a dancefloor groover.
I can’t get enough of IceMorph’s Daysa in recent months. The Mixmag cover on the elusive duo is a fantastic deep dive into this digital and mysterious world the enigmatic duo have created. And Daysa is such an interesting and new direction for the world of electronic music. It’s only 120bpm, a speed mostly associated with slower sets, but this tune packs a PUNCH.
Part of Bandcamp’s appeal to me as a music enthusiast, is that it isn’t easy to use. There’s no algorithms, there’s no recommendation system, there’s nothing been pushed in your face. The only real thing it surfaces are popular purchases. This means you can find yourself on wonderful rabbit holes and this next recommendation is from one of these deep dives. Paloma Bar, the club in Kottbusser Tor, has a record label on which they’ve released a number of EPs under the “009” name and every single one of them is an incredible collection of interesting electronic music. I highly recommend giving them all a listen, the diversity is incredible.
Bonus Content
Nial McKenna did a wonderful journey through french touch house for NTS recently. God I love this genre. Probably one of the grooviest genres out there.
YOTTO did another DJ set in the middle of the Finnish countryside and it looks COLD. They even showcase how they got all the stuff out there.
I dived into the RA’s 1019th edition of their podcast mix, this one hosted by OK Williams. I saw her at Glastonbury last year too and her track selection is out of this world. Highly recommend diving into this one.
Randomly came across rive.arte on Instagram the other week and he does these wildly detailed drawings that are all Sisyphos themed. So basically, it’s all ducks. He did the cover for Avocado’s set there from a few weeks ago and the set itself is hours of heavy stompers and groovers.
Until Next Time
Hope you’re all gassed for summer too. Got some longer form articles in the works too which I’m excited to show off at some point.
Stay safe and keep on dancing.