tiananmen square dance //

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)

At this juncture, I’d say we may very well have hit upon a magical formula for dredging up some real chill vibes, whether they be new singles or forgotten entries. This month’s edition of the Tsq Vol II series is comprised primarily of further finds by artists that we’ve been watching lately, bringing to the table a lot of retro lo-fi synthwave sounds that we like to call “VHS-wave”, a made-up phrase that perfectly encompasses the tone and aesthetic of those types of jams. A very pronounced non-western eighties experience is at play on Tsq Vol II-11, fringed of course by a small number of noticeable downtempo and dream pop entries. What really stands out to us (the must-hears, if you will) are the bass-heavy intro by Capo Blanco, Summer of Haze’s noisey witch house tune, and that chopped up new wave disaster that is 18 Carat Affair’s re-interpretation of Mirror Kisses’ “Team Follow”. That vintage-tinged pitch-shifted track by Teams is pretty legit too, considering it came off of a collection of B-sides and unreleased songs. We’re pretty proud of this selection, and we’re offering it up for free download here and free stream here. In fact, we’ve got a small selection of cuts that didn’t quite make it to the mixtape table, and all it takes is one interested person to ask about them, and we’ll post a short, free addendum to Tsq Vol II-11. As always, we highly recommend that you follow our Twitter, Facebook, and Bandcamp for updates that don’t make it to the site. In addition, we urge you to explore the work by artists that we feature that you enjoy, and we know they would appreciate it if you supported them financially. With that, enjoy this month’s playlist, and let us know if you dig it!

Tsq Vol II-11

1.   CAPO BLANCO  hi, belmondo

2.   STOUT CORTEZ  berliner

3.   MIDNIGHT RUNNERS  rush line

4.   LAY BAC  kasumi (孤独)

5.   GAMES  shadows in bloom

6.   SUMMER OF HAZE  i know you wanna fuck me ∞ why can’t you love?

7.   A GAP BETWEEN  neon signs

8.   MIRROR KISSES  team follow (18 carat affair re-freak)

9.   DREAMS WEST  mind over MIDI

10. TEAMS  MVP

11. EAGLES FOR HANDS  glitterall

12. TAPES  L.O.T.W.K.

13. VEKTROID  yr heart

14. OCTO OCTA  memories

15. SUNDAY MORNING  lovers

16. NAPOLIAN  art

17. LASERSHIP STEREO  whispers

18. OCCULT YOU  love trick

19. LLLL  falling alone

20. NU MÄS  warm arms

21. :PAPERCUTZ  rivers

22. PHASEONE  it’s not forever

Download here.

(cover artwork and tracklisting artwork thanks to 80’s Touch and Operation Neptune)