Dustsucker
Hi, I'm Nikolaj. I live and work in Copenhagen, Denmark, where I run the label Pink Cotton Candy Records, the blog/Substack Dustsucker, and write songs for the chamber-folk/post-rock band Quiet Sonia.
Dustsucker is a fiercely independent music blog and newsletter focused on overlooked, alternative, and experimental releases from across the globe. Each month, I recommend 15-30 new releases spanning all genres, with a particular focus on the fringes of experimental and alternative music. I comb through Bandcamp, blogs, newsletters, radio stations, and a large database of labels I’ve built up over time.Many of the featured records come from small labels and scenes - naturally also from the Danish underground - that rarely get covered elsewhere or fall outside the usual English-language circuits.
There’s an urgent need for more solidarity, organization and transparency within the independent music world. Music remains one of the most unregulated and opaque industries we have where exploitation and structural inequality are simply part of the everyday. Major players in both the live and recorded music industries have created near-monopoly conditions. The system - largely designed by and for them - creates unfair advantages and keeps smaller actors in a state of constant struggle. If independent actors in music don’t begin to push back, and stand for a more sustainable, equitable future (whether in terms of economic justice, representation, access, or digital autonomy), no one else will.
https://dustsucker.substack.com/