Song of the year, number 14: Molchat Doma - Zvezdy (Official Music Video) Молчат Дома - Звёзды

The second Belarusian band to feature in this years Songs of the year list, Molchat Doma released 'Zvezdy' at the very end of 2020 (I think I already explained my November - November philosophy when it comes to compiling the songs of the year list...) just ahead of releasing their most recent album Monument. Like earlier Song of the year entrants Dlina Volny, the band hail from Minsk and, like Dlina Volny, identify as a post punk band (albeit with synth pop leanings). In both cases, there is a sense of an underlying societal discontent in their work, both musically and visually, a yearning for something better. On this track there is a wistful longing for romanticism and escape into the imagination, away from the crushing, soul destroying mundanity of everyday life and the overall result is that of a more cheerful Joy Division. Well worth keeping an eye on. 

Thank God It's Bandcamp Friday!

The pandemic has laid bare the extent to which artists have become dependent on touring and merchandise deals for income. It's also assisted in highlighting the pitiful royalties artists receive from streaming. It was perhaps with this in mind that the "online record store and community" Bandcamp, which provides streaming, downloading and physical sales services direct from artists to fans, decided to launch Bandcamp Friday in March 2020.

As they say on their website, every sale on Bandcamp generates "an average of 82% of the money" for the artist in question. Which compares very favourably to streaming services, and to the average royalty payment received via record companies for physical sales of music. With Bandcamp Fridays, the idea was to have one day of the month where Bandcamp would waive their "revenue share" of sales on the site, meaning "an average of 93% of the money" would go to artists on sales made on Bandcamp Friday.

Originally only intended as a short term aid to help musicians during the pandemic, Bandcamp extended the scheme a number of times during 2020 and, in August, announced that they would be continuing Bandcamp Fridays until the end of 2021.

Today is Bandcamp Friday, and it's very reassuring for me to know that by buying downloads on Bandcamp today I will be directly contributing in a meaningful way to the incomes of artists. What's also nice is that the availability on Bandcamp of tracks I wish to buy has increased over the past year, meaning I can buy a wider range of music from a greater number of artists than I could in 2020.

For those of you in the UK, it's worth bearing in mind that Bandcamp Friday runs from midnight to midnight, Pacific Time, and that the UK is 7 hours ahead of the US (I've allowed for the clocks going back at the end of October in this calculation) but, even if you do miscalculate by a couple of hours, the artists you buy from will still see a good return on the sale.

Today I intend to purchase downloads by Lydmor (two tracks in her case), Jacknife Lee, Blue Hawaii, Jess Williamson, Cults, Molchat Doma, Noga Erez and Lucky Iris. 

Photo by FPVmat A on Unsplash

Molchat Doma - Zvezdy (Official Music Video) Молчат Дома - Звёзды

Belarusian band Molchat Doma formed in Minsk in 2017. Taking inspiration from post punk and synth pop, their style can vary but, at its heart there is always a strong early 1980s element. With 'Zvezdy', a song in which they sound like a more cheerful Joy Division, they use the video to create a subtley surreal but inspiring tale of resistance and rebellion which feels very timely.