Bandcamp recommendations October 2025
I don't care about Halloween. It's not part of my culture and I don't want it to be part of anything around me. I openly hate the North American/British culture, which, for some reason, is cooler than our traditional celebrations that are old (very old) and beautiful, normally related to nature. The only good thing about this cultural colonization is that I can speak and write English, so I'm able to communicate with many people that I couldn't otherwise. But why is English the global language and not Catalan? The same thing will be thought by the people of Peru about Spanish, and I totally support them in their defense of Quechua, Aimara, etc. Why do we have to use a colonizer language?
Well, since I'm aware of the good part of speaking an understandable language by many people (I refuse to consider it "common", since, for me, it is a foreign language that I was forced to learn in order to be able to study, work and be an average citizen), and I'll keep writing using it, but I'm going to invite you, dear reader, to learn new languages that do not represent the capitalism and colonizers of the world. Learning a language may sound challenging, but it actually takes an hour per day to understand the basic things in about a month or two. You probably have that time! If you're a native English speaker, you can consider it this way: many of those who speak English had that time to learn so we could communicate with you. Why are you not making that effort?
Okay, let's make it easier. There's a perfect language for those who don't have much time and speak languages that come from Europe: it's called Esperanto. Yes! It still exists! It's a beautiful language with a beautiful community, a bit similar to punk in many ways. For example, people travel through the world visiting esperantists because they know they will have a lot in common, so they trust each other. Sounds a lot like punk, to be honest. Also, esperantists hold events constantly so they all meet there, and if you attend one they will love to find new people into this language and values. Very punk, isn't it?
The values and political context where Esperanto is developed can be found in many places, I recommend you to check it. But since it's the start of the month and I'm actually recommending you some music from Bandcamp, I decided to add some esperantists that make music :) I hope you enjoy them and try to translate their lyrics and titles. That's how I learnt English when I was 10: translating Green Day lyrics!
SOCIO LA DIFEKTA - Kreski
My current favorite esperantist band is SOCIO LA DIFEKTA, a Japanese band that takes the sound of the crust anarchopunk from the 90s/early 00s and brings it back. They share members with another band that also uses Esperanto as a main language, MALIMPLIKI, and also share members with other amazing bands like UNARM and BLISTERING NOISE.
This EP is a little gem for those interested in anarchopunk. Using Esperanto for their lyrics is a big stand against any colonizer culture. Remember that Japan was (and could be argued that it still is) a colonizer nation, and that the US had invaded and controlled them since World War II, changing the country forever. Also, anarchism is not the most popular political option in Japan, not even in punk, so this band is challenging in many ways all that they have around.
The music is a non-stop hardcore attack, with brilliant musicianship and the amazing effect of two vocals that turn this noisy punk act into a ferocious stance. "Polico Fikas Aĉulon" (Police Fucking Bastard ?) is an amazing starting track, and now my favorite Esperanto phrase since I even wear a badge with it. It sounds way better than in English!
I would like to reference this music with other bands that you might like, but it's just a perfect example of Japanese uniqueness brutal hardcore, an experiment with sound that doesn't feel like an experiment at all, but a very well-prepared punk act. Do you like DISRUPT, DOOM, LIFE, even some DISCLOSE? I know, they sound different, but then you will like SOCIO LA DIFEKTA. Kreski is not the only release of this band, they later released a promo recorded in their practice rooms only for their Japanese tour with SUBDUED.
https://beachimpedimentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kreski
VOCO PROTESTA - Neniam Konfidu Al La Stato
Japan, Japan, Japan! Fuck Japan and every state! Fuck borders! But when we talk about Esperantist punk, I think the best we can do is not get far from this territory and their amazing scene. VOCO PROTESTA are one of the first bands I learnt that were still using this language. We played with them in Tokyo in 2018 after MALIMPLIKI and I couldn't believe what I was seeing (or hearing). That night was probably the one when I finally started to have that feared chronic tinnitus. It can be a kind of punk baptism, or the start of a punk retirement, it depends on how you want to see it. Here I am seven years later, so I guess I chose my path for the rest of my life: being deaf and lying to myself making me think I like a lot of bands that sound like white noise.
Anyway, we are here to talk about music (not noise hehe). I decided to choose this VOCO PROTESTA release because it sounds amazing, and I feel like it's a bit overlooked compared with their previous LP Vojo Al Libereco. "Never trust the state" is the title of these songs of classic sound passed through a Japanese crasher crust filter, but very subtle compared with their other recordings. Actually, it sounds more "hardcore" than their previous releases, but they still are pretty extreme in a good way. I'm talking here as if we were friends in a bar having some beers, so don't mind my vague descriptions, this is not a scientific investigation.
Neniam Konfidu Al La Stato is a powerful album, with incredible references like the one to "Historia de un sucio policía" by IV REICH. Soldida Policia is a perfect cover and interpretation that made me jump in excitement once I listened to the first riff, a classic of Iberian punk. It amazes me to see the different sound and style VOCO PROTESTA used here. I'm not going to lie, I love IV REICH so much, but I wish they would have sounded like this. The rest of the album continues with this reinterpretation of 80s classics that I guess are from all over Europe, especially from the Scandinavian countries. The songs are short but not too short, the mix is, in my honest opinion, perfect. And the album cover, like the previous LP is made by Teodoro Hernández: if you don't know him, you better start to check OTAN and the zines that produced over the last 20-30 years.
I heard that some people from VOCO PROTESTA were at the Esperantist society of Tokyo, but I'm not sure about this. I hope they are still active, but I guess they aren't since I haven't heard of them in the last few years. Please check their whole discography, it's pure gold! And translate the lyrics to find a way to express anger through a non-colonizer language!
https://lavidaesunmus.bandcamp.com/album/neniam-konfidu-al-la-tato-lp