tiananmen square dance //

Gloria Supatra Bhargava is one of us: a twenty-something corporate shill by day and vibrant artistic mind after-hours. While not whiling away the hours at what is probably a very lucrative career with advertising, Gloria combines vintage photography with surreal landscapes and galactic portraiture. As you well know, we love collage art at Tiananmen Square Dance. It’s what we know best: recombined samples from countless different bygone eras, all collected together as a cohesive, hyperreal mash-up. Collage Calamity is Gloria Bhargava’s outlet, and we hope you enjoy her work as much as we do. Below are some of our favorites. Do tha right thing, and check out her portfolio, and be sure to repost on your favorite social network if you like what you see.

“Whatever Happened to Analog?”

“Power Source”

“Afro Heartbeat”

After our hiatus, we re-arrive with the third installment of our new and exciting VHS Wave series. We owe our readership and listenership (?) an apology due to the unannounced vacation, but we are sure you understand. If it makes you feel better, we did our homework, and we are very happy with and proud of VHS Wave Vol Three, featuring the most tracks on any mix released to date (barring double releases, of course). This worthy entry into the Tiananmen Square Dance canon boasts more than its fair share of recent synthwave singles and old vaporwave and witch house faves. Kicking the party off with an overlooked VHS-wave oldie by Culture Voyage and bookending the experience with a mind-blowingly hazy banger by Friendzone, this mix is among our most treasured so far. Many little known artists from AMDiscs made their way onto the playlist, due to the timely release of their 2013 mixtape, so we’re happy to spread their love. Additionally, look for new singles by Luxury Elite, Airbird & Napolian, and Phaseone. We dredged up everything from the retro IDM-influenced synthwave in Dreams West’s “</3” to Giraffage’s glo-fi rework of Owl Eyes’ “Closure”. The varied representation of our favorite experimental electronic music styles is here in full force this month, so we’re sure you’ll pardon our releasing it a little on the late side. It’s well worth the wait. Download it here, or stream it at our Bandcamp page if you like to keep your hard drive uncluttered. As per usual, we highly appreciate your listening, and we sincerely hope that we broaden your musical horizons or at least add to your growing collection. If you enjoy what we have compiled, repost on your favorite social network. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more regular updates, and above all, support the featured artists financially. Buy their albums, attend their shows, and fund their Kickstarter projects. Without them, TSQ would probably just be a bunch of Nickelback songs.

SIDE A

1.   CULTURE VOYAGE  digital stargate

2.   POORSCHE  good anna da bad

3.   HORSE HEAD  we can win

4.   DREAMS WEST  </3

5.   ESPRIT 空想  cruiser

6.   MIDNIGHT RUNNERS  tell me

7.   LUXURY ELITE  secret

8.   DIANA  born again

9.   TAPES  slow touch

10. AIRBIRD & NAPOLIAN  in the zone

11. MIAMI VICE  skymall™

12. JACOB 2-2  videolympics

SIDE B

13. AIRSPORTS  dubbed in 3D

14. SUPREME CUTS & HALEEK MAUL  ball

15. JOGGING HOUSE  you don’t talk

16. THE PILLARS OF CREATION  gloom

17. OWL EYES  closure (giraffage remix)

18. CHUCK PERSON  eccojam B7

19. SAINT PEPSI  balancing towers

20. RIMAR  all we have

21. PHASEONE  bianca

22. LAPTI  featuring ol

23. SECRET SCHOOL  ghost ocean (oh, the world!)

24. FRIENDZONE  !!-major

Download here.

Synesthesiæ Films is not only our single favorite Youtube channel, but is also the creator of the official music videos for many of our favorite artists. Utilizing retro found footage and heavy visual editing, Synesthesiæ Films crafts nostalgic video montages for the vintage vibes purveyed by acts like 18 Carat Affair, Holy Other, Klockhaus, and many more. Periodically, they’ll put together a very short “station ID”, melding a choice cut from some lucky VHS-wave artist with washed out footage or decades old vector art. Do tha right thing, and enjoy these teasers created by Synesthesiæ Films, and then subscribe to their Youtube channel for more creative visual insight into the best of today’s electronic acts. You can even download their podcast mixtapes, deemed “Colourcasts”, at their Soundcloud page.

Music: Culture Voyage - “Digital Stargate”

Music: Com Truise - “Colorvision”

Music: Bibio - “Vertical Helical Stan”

Music: Letherette - “Montego Fuzz”

The sophomore installment of our new free monthly mix series is now officially available for stream and download. Featuring a hodgepodge of new singles and recently unearthed classics, VHS Wave Vol Two is a treasure trove of jams that feature that independent bedroom synthwave sound that we know and crave. Side A of the playlist starts with a typical VHS-wave bang in the form of Lapti’s sassy funk tune “Day by Day”, segueing into a more radio-friendly glo-fi and synthwave vibe after a few tracks. We packed in a couple of new wave and downtempo songs towards the end of the first side as well, most notably, a crashing entr’acte of sorts with Lusine’s stellar IDM/post-rock jam “Stratus”, from his most recent full-length. What sets this particular entry aside, however, from previous mixtapes is the very pervasive witch house tone in side B. Featuring everything from Main Attrakionz’ deep dark hip-hop (produced by Friendzone) to an ear-splitting loop-based vaporwave outro by Chuck Person, the second half of VHS Wave Vol Two is all hazy metropolitan chic and jet black urban serenades. Don’t miss our favorite cut from Giraffage’s newly released neo-R&B album or Elite Gymnastics’ “Is This on Me?” towards the end, an old unreleased gem from 2010 that we’re sorry we’ve only now just discovered. We’ve taken great care to compile only the absolute best of what we’ve heard since our last installment, so we sincerely hope you enjoy what lies here. If VHS Wave Vol Two broadens your horizons musically, please consider reposting on your social network of choice or jamming it at your next house party. We’d of course be honored if you followed us on Twitter, Facebook, and Bandcamp for more updates and plugs that don’t get full write-ups. Ultimately, though, we’ll be happiest if you explore the back catalogs of the artists represented here. Purchase their releases, fund their Kickstarters, attend their shows, and buy their merch, because they could really use more airtime and capital. If you discover your next favorite artist and give them a little bit of a financial bump thanks to our free monthly mixes, we’ll know that we did our job. Do tha right thing, and grab a free download of VHS Wave Vol Two right here, or stream it for free right here.

SIDE A

1.   LAPTI  day by day

2.   MIDNIGHT RUNNERS  late night dancer

3.   OCCULT YOU  warp drive

4.   GIRAFFAGE  all that matters

5.   AMUSEMENT  mural

6.   ONTHE88  an evening out

7.   TEAMS  original theft

8.   FANCY MIKE  swan swan

9.   MIRROR KISSES  takeover

10. CROZET  we can see it

11. LUSINE  stratus



SIDE B



12. MIAMI VICE  climate control

13. SUPREME CUTS  E2

14. CLAMS CASINO  motivation

15. KVLTIK  horizon

16. MAIN ATTRAKIONZ  chuch

17. JULIAN WASS  (theme from kuchibiru network 3)

18. TAQUWAMI  all my life

19. NAPOLIAN  ascension

20. ELITE GYMNASTICS  is this on me?

21. CHUCK PERSON  eccojam A3

Download here.

The cycle has begun anew. We are now on year three of Tiananmen Square Dance’s reign. With the inception of our domain, our Twitter, Facebook, and Bandcamp page, our reach has expanded exponentially. As a result, so has the amount of time and level of dedication that we’re putting into locating, praising, compiling, and perpetuating this new wave of independent electronic music. With this second anniversary upon us, we’re excited to announce the first edition of a brand new series, VHS Wave Vol One. There’s no better way to describe that microniche sound that we live for, so we officially adopting “VHS-wave” as our cornerstone focus. It is getting so incredibly difficult to whittle the deluge of fantastic jams that we pull in every month down to an acceptable length, but we’re sticking closely to the formula. In addition, we’ll be adopting a side A / side B method that we’ve loosely employed before, and that will be the rule for future monthly free mixes. With this particular installment, VHS Wave Vol One, we dug deep into the dark corners of the discographies of some of our favorite retro lo-fi synthwave acts, unearthing some choice cuts by Vektroid and 18 Carat Affair. In addition, we added some funky fuel to the fire in the form of entries by Midnight Runners and Sloslylove, thanks to the free new Keats//Collective Vol. 3 playlist. Friendzone’s original contribution, along with their production of Mondre M.A.N.’s “Do or Die” also come courtesy of their recently released Kuchibiru Network 3 mixtape. Of course, we also took great care to represent some of this past month’s standout singles as well, most notably Teams’ rocking new wave tune “Hatsumi” and Mirror Kisses’ eighties drenched synthwave banger “Runaways”. We are very happy with VHS Wave Volume One, a reasonably cohesive mixture of VHS-wave, synthwave, and new wave (with a splash of underground hip-hop). We hope you enjoy this collection as well. If you’re just joining us, feel free to peruse our back catalog here at our site or at our Bandcamp page. Follow our Twitter and Facebook for regular updates that don’t make it to the site. Those of you who have been fans for some time, we appreciate your retweets, shares, and posts immensely. Remember that every track on this mix that you enjoy was painstakingly crafted by a corresponding artist that deserves your financial support. Pay for their Bandcamp albums, pledge to their Kickstarters, and buy their merch. We love this current musical movement, and if it ends because no one paid for the songs, we’re gonna be pissed. In conclusion, do tha right thing. Download VHS Wave Volume One here, or stream it for free here.

SIDE A

1.   VEKTROID  orion megalith

2.   MIDNIGHT RUNNERS  stop over

3.   SLOSLYLOVE  been a long time

4.   SPINOFF  understood

5.   TEAMS  hatsumi

6.   SOFT LIGHTING  relive the motion

7.   SHADES  y.g. united

8.   MIRROR KISSES  runaways

9.   CROZET  before tomorrow, nooka

10. PHASEONE  hunter

SIDE B

11. FRIENDZONE  moments (part 2)

12. MONDRE M.A.N.  do or die

13. GUMMY†BE▲R!  daydreamingdeath

14. THE PILLARS OF CREATION  lust

15. FUJIMOTO TETSURO  puddle

16. 18 CARAT AFFAIR  10th & quindaro

17. WASTED NIGHTS  views

18. SAND CIRCLES  continuity

19. SUPREME CUTS  epitome

20. NAPOLIAN  rejoice

Download here.

Due to fan requests, better local uploading speeds, and record traffic, we will be fleshing out our back catalog of free monthly mixes over at our Bandcamp page. We added Tsq Vol II-3 to the lineup of free streaming playlists this morning, and we intend to have every entry in the second volume of monthly mixes available as soon as possible. Vol II-2 will probably be up for your consumption tonight. Thanks so much for the interaction, guys. Keep the requests coming, the links reposted, and the jams streamed and/or downloaded. We have over 6,000 logged listens since the inception of Tiananmen Square Dance at Bandcamp and one verified successful referral. Someone paid for 18 Carat Affair’s Gorgeous/Fantasy after “Iced” was just recently featured on our newest entry, Tsq Vol II-12, so pat yourselves on the back. Remember to funnel that rabid support towards the artists that actually create the art that we bring to your attention. Speaking of which, anyone who is interested in having their artwork featured on the cover of a mixtape in our next volume should get at us, like, yesterday. Just message us through Tumblr, tweet us, email us, post on Facebook, whatever. Lastly, in case you’re interested, here are the top ten tunes over at our Bandcamp. Peace.

1.   GAUNTLET HAIR  mop it up

2.   SUMMER OF HAZE  pussy juice

3.   THROWING SNOW  le cœur

4.   SELVA OSCURA  canopy wake

5.   CAPO BLANCO  hi, belmondo

6.   GIRAFFAGE  visible

7.   WASHED OUT  good luck

8.   PURO INSTINCT  dream lover

9.   TEAMS  love distance

10. STONER SHOWERS  give me a chance

This month, we have really been on the prowl, and it has certainly paid off. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we’re bringing this very uniform-sounding collection of the choicest cuts to you early this month in the form of Tsq Vol II-12, the final entry in the second volume of our running monthly mix series. So many fantastic jams that we’ve discovered this month are on the cutting floor just so that we could keep the flow going and keep the quality high. We’re incredibly excited about every single one of the artists featured on this playlist, and we feel that we have a good mixture of brand new singles and tried-and-true favorites on the table this month. There are so many special moments caught on tape here; like the sci-fi surrealism of Ford & Lopatin’s “Channel Pressure”, the retro sass in Kanoba’s “Missed Call”, and the dark deep house of the mixtape closer, the instrumental version of Main Attrakionz’ “Love Is Life”. Vol II-12 is a consummate curation of this month’s top VHS-wave, synthwave, and chillwave finds, with the occasional downtempo, witch house, and italo-disco entries. Get it for free right here, or stream it at our Bandcamp page here. We’re seeing record levels of engagement with our internet audience right now, so we want to thank you for listening, reposting, and sharing. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and stream past mixes at our Bandcamp page. Most importantly, though, purchase the releases by the featured artists if you like what you hear. When Bandcamp asks you to name your price, give ‘em fifteen bucks or so. The independent bedroom artists that we write about need your support, so do music as a whole a favor and pay for it.

Tsq Vol II-12

1.   18 CARAT AFFAIR  iced

2.   FORD & LOPATIN  channel pressure

3.   KANOBA  missed call

4.   WAYPHASER  altered state

5.   SWEATER BEATS  like that (make you feel it)

6.   SOFT LIGHTING  lust

7.   CROZET  just wait

8.   LAY BAC  stay out tonight

9.   MAROON 5  one more night (com truise remix)

10. PHYSICAL THERAPY  dope for me (hard dub)

11. EV3NMORN  yuriko

12. NAVIGATEUR  moshimoshi

13. CAPO BLANCO  so far so long

14. WASTED NIGHTS  girl (1986)

15. OHBLIV  san souci

16. D/A/D  thames

17. LUXURY ELITE  farewell

18. FRIENDZONE  i have nothing

19. SYNKRO & INDIGO  guidance

20. MAIN ATTRAKIONZ  love is life (instrumental)

Download here.

(tracklisting artwork thanks to Glass Planet)