Bandcamp Friday Recommendations - May 1st, 2026
Welcome back to ULTRAVIOLET-VISIONS, now with a new home! Previously, our blogs were hosted through Tumblr but it's been a while and now there are more blogging tools available than ever. I chose pckt.blog since it's free to use, highly customizable, and connects directly through our Bluesky account through AT protocol. Ideally in the long term we'll have our own website built to host all of our blog posts as well as the UVF music catalog, but in the meantime this is the place to be!
While I'll be recommending a ton of albums, these aren't full album reviews and you should all go check them out for yourselves. In the future I will definitely use this blog to host full length album reviews, but in the meantime here's my list of album recommendations to check out this Bandcamp Friday!
Plexus - QuadratoX
With their newest release "Plexus", QuadratoX brings us 20 new tracks that have been carefully produced over the last 3 years. The album delivers with its attention to detail while covering a broad range of ideas from atmospheric IDM tracks to beautifully strung together glitchy botanica tracks and heavy distorted pieces of drone.
QuadratoX had this to say about the album in a community post on their Bandcamp, which I believe brings context and describes the album perfectly:
Plexus is not an easy album.
It wasn’t easy to create, and it won’t be easy to listen to.
I’m asking you for a small favor.
When you press play, turn off your phone.
No distractions.
Put on your headphones and go somewhere quiet, a small forest, a park, or simply your favorite place.
If you want to listen on speakers, then move. Dance. Let it out. Let the music take over.
In the more intense moments, follow the rhythm.
In the calmer ones, lay down and just listen.
Plexus is movement.
Highs and lows. A continuous flow.
This is not an album made for hits or to go viral.
It’s something personal. For me, and for you.
Listen to it alone, or with someone you trust.
Stay inside, or go outside.
But give it your full attention.
Plexus will be released on the fifth full moon of 2026.
That evening, I ask you to do something simple: go outside.
Find the closest piece of nature near you, a forest, a park, a garden, anything green and alive. Stay away from social media for 85 minutes, the length of the album, and just be there. Under the moon, with Plexus.
If you can, let it move you. Dance. Meditate. Let your body follow what your mind can’t always explain. There is something ancient in moving under moonlight, and Plexus was made for moments like this.
85 minutes.
Something I poured years of effort, silence, and hope into.
I think it’s worth it.
I hope you will too.
NOBODY HERE: The Story of Vaporwave
If you've been following the Vaporwave scene then I'm sure you are well familiar with this documentary that has been in the works for years, but as of April 20th it is finally here and is everything a Vaporwave fan could have asked for.
The documentary crew consists of Chris Bitten (Director), Vincent Bailey (Producer), Jerome Sabourin (Producer), and Veez Nixon (VFX). Throughout this 2 hour long film, a wide cast of artists and other people from the scene are interviewed to give their retelling and perspective of the genre from it's early infancy all the way to the current modern day state. As someone who joined the scene a little late to the party around 2020, the movie was a great recap of the early days I might have missed out on while still showcasing the later days as well. Watching this made me weirdly emotional towards the end as it showed clips of Electronicon 3 and while I never got to go to those shows in person, I can vividly remember where I was around that time and how much time has passed since then despite not being too long ago.
Whether you’re a Vaporwave veteran or completely new to the scene, this documentary is something special and definitely worth a watch ❤️!
global tourist assembly - voljum
Now that’s what I call an album cover!
I’ve been spending a lot of time recently digging through the depths of Bandcamp’s genre tags and have struck gold when I found this voljum record. “global tourist assembly” is an 8 track oasis of jazzy breakbeats mixed with glitched out ambience. I genuinely don't think I’ve heard anything quite like this particular blend of sounds and after hearing it I’m left wondering where it’s been all my life! This record is playful, experimental, groovy, and glitchy all at the same time.
Nascent - Alexander Panos
For fans of Imogen Heap’s vocoders and Porter Robinson’s botanica themed production, “Nascent” is a beautiful 10 track retrospection on maximizing the feeling of being human while sounding completely alien at the same time. The album features original vocal passages from Alexander Panos themselves accompanied by various synthesized vocals to create an otherworldly experience. Whether its the slow but impactful “Sutter” or the high climax of “Equinox”, each track is flooded with emotion and beautifully executed through it’s composition and production.
VANITY RENEGADE - DARK DESIRE
Okay whether you’re in the Vaporwave scene or not I promise you are sleeping on this album!
“VANITY RENEGADE” is my first encounter with DARK DESIRE but I can assure you it won’t be my last. Admittedly, the moment I see the genre tag “barber beats” I’m already not very interested, but this record completely exceeded my expectations. These 12 tracks of glitchy vocal chops. hard hitting percussion, and freeform melodies have cemented DARK DESIRE as an artist to keep an eye on in the future. Since this release in February 2026 they've already dropped a follow up companion album titled "VANITY RENEGADE: Prologue X" in case you were itching for a more stripped back and experimental version of this already eclectic record. Just this last month in April they released another album "collages" as an ongoing collection of experimental loops and ideas.
trinket - tsubi club
Youtube recommendations pulled through on a rare W when showing me this new release by tsubi club. "trinket" is bursting through the seems with bitcrushed pop from the moment you press play. Tsubi club comes off as whimsical and playful with bright tones in their production, the colorful album cover, and cutesy track titles like "reclusive wizard leaves tower" (literally me fr) and "( ╥﹏╥ )". The album also features these voiceover adlibs throughout the tracklist that sorta roleplay as a baseball coach speaking to the artist which is a fun little touch. If you're looking for a fun and punchy electronic pop album then this is definitely up your alley.
mind your business - blankwave
If endless plunderphonic loops are your thing then "mind your business" is your cup of tea! I discovered this record as well as blankwave's discography while "digital crate digging" through Bandcamp (there's gotta be a cooler term for this) and it has been on repeat for me ever since. They label themselves as "post-internet" which is a newer term you may or may not have seen popping up but is constantly growing every time I check. The record is filled with plundered loops that are chopped and repeated ad nauseam. Songs just come and go in a blip with rough transitions after bombarding you with hard hitting sample chops. This album is rich in texture and filled with so many different grooves and microsamples that become addicting the more you listen.
No Rondo - Mitch Porsche
I feel like I've recommended Mitch Porsche to everyone that is a fan of Vaporwave or specifically Vaportrap ever since I heard their record "Laced Liquid Lies", which is an AMAZING album for fans of that "I'll Try Living Like This" brand of Vaporwave/NUWRLD. After a bit of a wait, Mitch Porsche returned in 2024 with their latest album "No Rondo".
At this point in their discography it seems like Mitch Porsche has solidified their sound and has perfected their style with this collection of 16 tracks. The record is filled with punchy drum loops that never stay stagnant and are constantly evolving. Covering a range of influences like vaporwave, downtempo, and lofi trap beats, "No Rondo" is one of their cleanest albums to date.
before they were gone - netbooks.WRLD
4 years after their last full length project, netbooks.WRLD returned late last year with their heavily atmospheric new record "before they were gone". The album covers feelings of isolation and sonically portrays the feeling of doom-scrolling through tragedy after tragedy during long sleepless nights. Just like the album cover, the record is dark and heavy with a deep feeling of emptiness while the music floods your ears and drowns out the rest of the world. Plenty of concept records have emerged from the Vaporwave scene, but not many have hit the mark or felt truly as genuine as what netbooks.WRLD has put on display with "before they were gone".
I highly recommend putting this record on and sitting with it without other distractions and really just focusing in on it's themes.
That's gonna wrap up my recommendation list for now! Of course I could talk on and on about every Bandcamp release I could recommend to you but we'd be here forever. I hope you all can find something new to enjoy from this collection of recommendations. Feel free to share with me your own new releases or other Bandcamp finds you've come across that you think I might enjoy. Whether or not you buy an artist's merch or purchase their albums digitally this Bandcamp Friday, just know that listening and sharing independent music is what matters at the end of the day.
Be sure to check out the music and artists on our Bandcamp page as well!
See you all in the next post!
-portal from UVF
