As of Earth Day 2022, Friday, April 22, there’s a slew of tracks up on Bandcamp as part of EarthPercent (earthpercent.org), a project co-founded by Brian Eno. EarthPercent encourages musicians (and other participants in the music industry) to pledge 1% of their income in order to address climate matters. Given the dismal economic state of the music industry, this may sound like a difficult pitch — but, Eno being Eno, he managed to get a ton of musicians to upload exclusive tracks as part of EarthPercent’s fundraising activities.
The names in the Bandcamp event range across genres. On the ambient and post-classical tip, I recommend Isobel Waller-Bridge’s “Elizabeth,” a minute and a half of choral hush; Poppy Ackroyd’s live set (three pieces originally recorded for her glistening Pause album from late last year); and Galya Bisengalieva’s brutally arid “Kantubek.” (Major thanks to Ian Brooks on Twitter for having hipped me to the latter two.)
Eno himself sings on “Did The World Begin Today,” featuring Leo Abrahams. It’s a beautiful, super-slow ballad, on the order of his “You Don’t Miss Your Water” cover, and his collaboration with John Cale, Wrong Way Up. Eno also worked on tracks with Michael Stipe and with Hot Chip.
None of the EarthPercent songs are streaming unless you purchase them, hence the lack of an embedded player in this post. Explore the full collection at earthpercent.bandcamp.com.