Optimo Music

27/03/2025

Friday night, JD Twitch @ Todmorden Golden Lion. Strictly for creatures of the night.

14/03/2025

Tomorrow night, EXIT Glasgow 20.00 - 03.00

12/02/2025

Statement on Spotify from Kaukolampi

This is my Spotify Wrapped 2017-2025.

I believe that 2025 is the beginning of a new era. We are becoming more and more disappointed in the technology that surrounds and enslaves us. For instance, when social media was in its infancy, we were promised new ways of communicating and sharing ideas. However, nobody likes their relationship with social media anymore. We have come full circle. We are done. We are all totally fried. Our mental health and concentration has been shot to pieces. “Ensh*ttification” is complete.

I must feel pure at heart to be able to create. Releasing music still gives me huge pleasure, but recently I have been confused and anxious about the process. After a period of contemplation, I realized that the reason is Spotify Technology S.A.. It is for this reason that I have decided to pull my solo catalog from Spotify and stop releasing new music on the platform. This also applies to soundtrack albums created together with Tuomo Puranen. This is my investment towards a future where I have no obstacles between me and how I release my work.

There are many reasons for this. Firstly, there is the total lack of respect for artists. Daniel Ek, Spotify’s co-founder and CEO, is attempting to gamify and water down the experience of music. For me personally, if one person would understand and feel the meaning of what I'm trying to do then that would be enough. This is why the stats and social media aspects of Spotify feels totally moronic and totally unnecessary.

The techbro Ek also betrayed artists by rewarding Joe Rogan with an exclusive deal worth some three hundred and fifty million dollars, thereby making Spotify part of the right-wing culture wars. By giving him a platform to spread delusional conspiracy theories and punch down on trans and q***r people, Ek has helped him to monetise hate. Rogan is the Dunning-Kruger effect manifested into the form of a man. This is cruelty and grievance with no self reflection—a perfect example of reactionary fragile masculinity.

Another reason relates to money. As a self-employed entrepreneur, I’m not accepting Spotify’s pricing model. Artists are locked into a predetermined economy without the possibility to negotiate sustainable rates. How can we secure the future costs of producing music, let alone make a spartan living? We are paid less and less, and shareholders are rewarded with more and more. Spotify is the modern day metaphor of the Soviet Union's government-run label Melodiya (Мелодия) records. If you lived there, that was your only option.

Spotify is also rigging the game by creating fake artists so they can pay less to real artists; they do this in collaboration with another parasitic company called Epidemic Sound. Ghost artists have Spotify verified blue badges and fake bios. For instance, the information for a fake producer called Ekfat reads “Ekfat as a classically trained Icelandic beat maker who graduated from the “Reykjavik music conservatory,” joined the “legendary Smekkleysa Lo-Fi Rockers crew” in 2017, and released music only on limited-edition cassettes until 2019. Neither the Reykjavik Music Conservatory, the Smekkleysa Lo-Fi Rockers crew, or these cassettes exist! It would almost be funny if these ghost artists weren’t garnering over fifteen billion streams—that’s more than Metallica, Michael Jackson, and Elton John. This is not to mention the whole issue of Spotify’s manipulation of plays and playlists. Their relationship with major labels is sketchy to say the least! (Reported by Liz Pelly in the book “Mood Machine” 2025)

Finally, in 2021, Ek’s investment company Prima Materia invested €100 million ($114 million USD) into Helsing, an artificial intelligence company that assists in military technological ventures and has just unveiled HX-2, an “intelligent strike drone” which has been “designed from the ground up to be software-based, mass-producible, and swarm-capable”. Personally I feel extremely uncomfortable being associated with a music distributor that also side hustles as a weapons dealer.

These are some of the reasons why I am leaving Spotify. It is my right, it is my duty.

You can find me on the Öm Sound Bandcamp, Optimo Music Bandcamp and all other streaming platforms.

See you soon. Peace!

Helsinki 2.2.2025
Timo Kaukolampi

31/01/2025

Optimo Music has reissued a handful of records over the years — Chris Carter, Psyche, Peter Zummo, A Bad Diana, H.E.A.D, and Force Dimension among them.

However, for various reasons, many more never made it to release. I thought I’d share a series of failed reissue projects to highlight what could have been…

1) Henri Texier – Varech (1977)

“Varech” is is a singular hybrid of jazz, ambient, minimalism and new age musics channelled through Texier’s singular bass, oud, and chanting voice. The bass is obviously a major focus here, but Texier’s voice is also spectacular.

This album is an all-time personal favourite. It was notoriously difficult to find, so around 2013, I looked into the possibility of a reissue. My sister, who is fluent in French, reached out to Texier’s Paris based management to see if the rights were available. They were — and they were happy for me to release it. However, there was one major catch: I could only sell it in Scotland.

That, of course, would have significantly limited sales potential, so I ultimately passed. I suspect other labels faced the same restriction, as the album remained out of print until 2018, when it was finally reissued by the label run by his management.

A highly recommended album, as are “Amir” and “A Cordes Et A Cris.”

29/11/2024

Out today on Optimo Music Rocks, from the destined for greatness Saint Sappho, their third single, Fall Into A Lie. Their debut album will arrive mid 2025.

A stirring injection of bass synthesiser, industrial drums, spacious vocals, and hazy delay-driven guitars, ‘Fall Into The Lie' is both dreamy and defiant - ethereal electronics yield to a robust percussive groove and deeply penetrating lyrics. As the state of the world around us appears to grow more fractured by the day, here Saint Sappho muse on the slippery topics of religion, politics and contemporary culture.

The song is both a warning and a rallying cry; when it feels as though your voice goes unheard and your individual efforts come to nothing, it's all too easy to "fall into the lie".

Available on Bandcamp and all good digital and streaming platforms

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/fall-into-the-lie

https://fanlink.tv/Fall_Into_The_Lie

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y19z2YesZP0

21/11/2024

All things Optimo on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/optimo-espacio.bsky.social

31/10/2024

It’s back! JD Twitch Halloween mix, like last year available only for the next 12 hours.

Link - https://soundcloud.com/optimo-music/jd-twitch-halloween-mix

We are also back with our first Halloween party in a long time on Friday night at Glasgow Riverside Museum 7pm until midnight. There are a tiny handful of online tickets left and then there will be 50 tickets on the door to encourage some early attendees. Dressing up is optional.

04/10/2024

Last 3 copies of Anarcho Disco vol 1 on sale - https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/anarcho-disco-volume-1

Half price copies of Ambassade album too, due to slight seam split - https://deambassade.bandcamp.com/album/the-fool

13 track album

13/09/2024

Tony Morris - House Of God, out today!

Bandcamp link - https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/house-of-god

Fanlink - https://fanlink.tv/HouseOfGod

10/09/2024

Tony Morris - House Of God (+ JD Twitch remix) out Friday. Clips here -

https://soundcloud.com/optimo-music/om-d-61-tony-morris-house-of-god-house-of-god-jd-twitch-remix

06/09/2024

Saint Sappho's 2nd single is out today! On all streaming services and on Bandcamp here - https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/end-of-the-world

video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPZn13RofQk

05/09/2024

Out tomorrow morning is the vinyl release of "Anarcho Disco Volume 2" by GǼG - available on Optimo Music Bandcamp. Further copies of Volume 1 will be available too for those who want to save on shipping costs and get both together. Digital release not for another 2 weeks.

30/08/2024

Out now, "Sientelo", the 3rd in Iñigo Vontier's triology of Optimo Music Digital Danceforce EPs

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/sientelo

23/08/2024

Anarcho Disco Volume 1 by GǼG is out now -

https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/anarcho-disco-volume-1

Just 3 vinyl copies left for sale on Bandcamp. We will have more in a few weeks though.

20/08/2024

Crazy Music from Japan -

OM 59 - GǼG - Anarcho Disco Volume 1 EP (sampler) out on 12" and digital this Friday.

��Clips - https://soundcloud.com/optimo-music/om-59-gaeg-anarcho-disco-volume-1-ep-sampler

14/08/2024

For Arthur Russell fans - all Arthur DJ set recorded at The Barbican, London back in May.

On May 25th 2024, to accompany the launch of his Arthur Russell book "Travels Over Feeling" Richard King put together an event at London's Barbican celebrating Arthur's life with an all star musical c

25/07/2024

Annual all Jamaican music set, Saturday @ Glasgow Rum Shack. 7"s a go go. 20.00 - 01.00. I'm on 22.00.

04/07/2024

Back at The Berkeley Suite this Saturday for our residency. 11.00 - 4.00. It's a week earlier than usual so please don't come next week. 🙂