Keeping Music Alive During Lockdown
Recommended compilations to download, Nirvana covers and a lockdown video
With live music under threat all over the world as a result of Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown, many defenders of the live arena, myself included, have been putting together digital compilations to help to raise money for venues and charities, whilst also keeping upcoming bands everywhere on the radar. Here I’ve collected just some of those many collections available. Alongside these I’ve also included a recently-released Nirvana covers album, but first, here’s a lockdown music video from some friends of mine.
Dorylus – new music video
Herts metallers Dorylus have recorded a new track ‘Clarity’, along with an accompanying video featuring all their lockdown expoilts, also featuring appearances from other members of the local scene.
(Cheers also to Joe from Dorylus for supplying this article’s cover photo)
https://www.facebook.com/dorylusband
Please check out some of these collections!
‘Club 85 Vs Covid-19 – Volumes 1 & 2’
I put these together myself to help the venue I work at, Club 85 in Hitchin, keep going whilst live gigs aren’t possible. As one the biggest and most well-known venues in Hertfordshire, its role in Herts’ music scene over the past several years cannot be understated. Volume 1 is a mix of many genres, from pop and indie-rock to soul and funk to folk and jazz, with various other uncaterizable acts.
Volume 2 is for those who like heavier things, with a mix of metal, rock, punk and their various subgenres, with some of the tracks currently being exclusive to this collection.
https://www.facebook.com/musikalsinmixtapes/
‘Now That’s What I call Club 85’
Also created as support for the same venue, this one was put together by one of our former sound-techs/promoters Tom Newman, now head of his own underground record label. This particular collection features bands who were big on the scene during the ‘MySpace era’, including Kerrang cover stars My Passion.
‘We Live’
Curated by Hertfordshire-based metal act Suffer No Fools, ‘We Live’ features 30 tracks for £4, with all proceeds going to the Hertfordshire Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Disaster Relief Fund.
‘ANR Against Covid – For Our NHS’
Astral Noize Records have put together this collection, featuring artists from their roster, with all proceeds going directly to the National Health Service. This features many acts I’ve had the pleasure of seeing at various London venues, including Wren, Hundred Year Old Man, Kurokuma, Aerosol Jesus and Tendrils, among others.
‘Voices From The Void’
Curated by the London Doom Collective, for just £4 this compilation gives you close to four hours of doom, sludge and stoner metal. Including the likes of Elephant Tree, Lowen, Grave Lines, Gurt, The Red Widows, Morag Tong and Old Horn Tooth, this is highly recommended for fans of the scene, with proceeds going towards the Music Venue Trust, which protects live venues across the country.
https://facebook.com/londondoomcollective
‘The Sound Of Heavy 2020’
The latest collection from popular underground record label APF Records, all profits from this will go towards South Liverpool Food Bank. Featuring all 26 acts from APF’s roster.
‘Heavy Pandemic – Ten Bangers For The NHS’
Extreme metal label Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings have released CD/digital compilation featuring acts from their roster, with all proceeds going to NHS charities. Includes the likes of The Infernal Sea, Ritual King, Crimson Throne, Damim and more.
https://apocalypticwitchcraft.co.uk/
‘No Gigs Does Not Have To Mean No Music’
This massive collection is actually free, created by Australian music company Desert Highways. Featuring acts from all over the world, this huge 205-track mixtape should keep every metalhead/alternative music fan occupied during lockdown! There are a handful of UK-based acts featured, including Sail, Alunah, Desert Storm, Trippy Wicked and Undersmile.
Thou – ‘Blessings Of The Highest Order’ (Nirvana covers album)
Intense doom/sludge metallers Thou have compiled all the Nirvana covers they have ever recorded and released them as a free album, available from Bandcamp at https://thou.bandcamp.com/album/blessings-of-the-highest-order. Regardless of how familiar you are with the originals, this is worth checking out.
That’s not all either for compilations this month though – head over to https://ukhc4change.bandcamp.com/releases for details of their forthcoming release, set to launch on June 26th – raising money for UK Black Lives Matter and Act Blue, it’ll be released digitally and on audio tape.
If you know of any other recent releases, feel free to comment below.
thursdayaddams 