It kind of feels like Christmas morning when a new label pops up in Baltimore, especially when it is one this good. Say hello to Culture Dealer, a new outlet by Mike Collins.
With a handful of analog offerings already underway, this new label looks to specialize in short-run oddities of the highest caliber of weird. The teaser for Culture Dealer's flagship VHS is above, a fifty minute production called Video Door. The label promises a "compilation of mental maps, warped perspectives, dream exploits, nose cameras, audio-visual experiments and much more." It will feature work by Baltimore's Run DMT, Justin Kelly, Alex Deranian, Chase O'Hara, Will Pesta and more along with folks from out of town as well. You can order it now on green VHS for $7 right here.
Another inaugural release from Culture Dealer is a new cassette from the label boss himself, Run DMT. The album is called DREAMS, and streaming above is a new track from it called "Romantic". Mike just sent me the full tape yesterday, and I look forward to sharing more about this amazing cassette over on Impose in the coming weeks.
The L.A.-based psychedelic dub-warper Sun Araw is coming to Baltimore in June, part of an East Coast tour that debuts Cameron Stallones' new full band. Under the new moniker The Sun Araw Band, Stallones and crew will be previewing cuts from a forthcoming 2xLP via Woodsist to be titled Ancient Romans.
Streaming above is "Bump Up", a single from Sun Araw's most recent 7" disc from Monofonus Press last month. Here's a cut from a recent EP, Beach Head:
Friends Records continues its takeover of the Windup Space tomorrow with Run DMT, Microkingdom, Beyond Say, and Daytime. RSVP here, and to tonight's show here.
Sometimes when Daytime performs live, a large inflatable balloon is set up to encompass the crowd. This environment emulates how Daytime's recordings can make you feel.
Daytime's sound has always been deeply inverted, yet is still inflated with enough space to take you deep into the stratosphere. His newest release, Serendpity, is out soon.
Streaming above is "Blindspot", which makes up Side A of the forthcoming tape. Neal Reinalda describes this release as "Disney-Nirvana covered in syrup", perhaps an apt perspective to the new sculptured sounds. While it's most certainly ambient music, the presence felt appears to come from great distance - an intangible cosmic whirlwind that's impossible to ignore. There is something very commanding about Daytime, as Serendipity's ambiance remains inadvertently universal yet demandingly distant.
Daytime performs tomorrow at the Windup Space, pre-order the new tape here.
A few weeks ago Weekends played their Strange Cultures LP release party at Floristree. They were joined by Run DMT and Portland's White Fang, and it was a crazy good time.
Valerie was there to capture all the action, her shots are below and after the jump.
Today I present you with the first Clusterfuck post in awhile, as Saturday boasts an insane amount of quality music events in Baltimore. Here's what you should do tomorrow.
Immediately after the Spring Fair you'll need to coast down St. Paul to the 2640 Space where Wye Oak hosts a release party with their touring friends Callers. Get tickets for that here, and take a gander at their new video for "Fish" here. Also, it's Jenn's birthday.
After you leave the 2640 Space you'll need to head downtown to Floristree where you'll find and all-star cast of Weekends, Winks, White Fang, Run DMT, and Rapdragons.
And if that wasn't enough, the Talking Head has the Fan Death Records showcase with Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Locrian, Pleasure Leftists, Broken Water, and Heroin Sucks.
Over the past several years some Orioles have been heading up north to play at Shea Stadium. And much to our excitement to find out, the venue has been documenting these along with many other outings that they've hosted. The space serves as both a recording studio and show venue, an ideal arrangement for this sort of thing. I recently stumbled upon live recordings from some Baltimore residents including sets from Double Dagger, Dustin Wong, Future Islands, Run DMT, Teeth Mountain, and Weekends.
I've posted a handful of live Dustin Wong recordings over the past year, but here's the first from out of town. Dustin hit this one straight up into the cosmos as usual.
A pretty full set from Double Dagger -- from last September so this one's a playoff game. Nolen, Bruce, and Denny were clearly all batting well over .400 for this one.
Future Islands were hosted after the All-Star break, and we certainly pushing their way to a pennant in 2010 when they played this one. Hear the full set for this right here.
Run DMT knocked three jams out of the park in a psychedelic whirlwind last October.
Weekends have stepped up to the plate a whole lot of times at Shea Stadium, but here's the venues favorite pitch of their hit "Raingirls", knocked home of course.
Check out Shea Stadium's entire archive right here.
Highlighting just a few ongoings this weekend, starting tonight at Club Phoenix where Cullen Stalin's Ice Age takes over. This week he's got Katrina Ford (Celebration) guest DJing, along with Door as well. Expect sounds of the dark, bizarre, rare, proto-industrial, positive punk, minimal synth wave variety. Free before 11 PM and just $2 after.
The flyer above was just passed along to me from Mike of Run DMT acclaim who promises "a psyched out other world party/show/psychedelic experience." He's throwing a pretty radical show at the Penthouse Saturday night that features Providence's Cool World along with a surprise set from Winks and also sets from Happy Family and Costume Box (a project from DJ Dog Dick). This probably starts around 10 PM.
Our neighboring sound-seekers over at Wigflip Records continue their aural onslaught of gorgeous tunes with a fresh compilation to help commemorate the end of summer. In addition to some new jams from some local and familiar favorites, this compilation features some stellar new tunes from afar.
This is my first run-in with My Friend Wallis, which is the project of Crystal Dorval who resides in Vancouver, Canada. Above is "Be Free", a steady romp through the clouds that is chock full of ethereal pop bliss. Highly recommended for the Indian summer days of October, and another stellar addition to the Wigflip family.
Another radical new find is the work of Acid Flashback. A somewhat mysterious entity based out of both Atlanta and Toronto, their contribution to the compilation is certainly a highlight. "Big Dreams" recalls the head-bobbing 60s pop nostalgia found in Run DMT's "Spruce Bringsteen" (also on this comp), adding layers of even more dreamy vibes.
These new find are paired with some gems from some of our favorites including Dead Drums, Happy Family, Semya, Do While, Gem Vision, and more. Download the entire compilation for free right here, and check out the full track list after the jump.
While Run DMT sometimes calls Baltimore home and collaborates often with folks from around these parts, describing his presence as more a vagabond is probably more accurate. Lately his music has hinted at a new direction to drift, with recent tracks like "Spruce Bringstein".
Run DMT now has a release due out on the infamous Woodsist, and a brand new track on their recently dropped compilation gives us a bit of a preview. His song is the second track on Welcome Home Diggin' The Universe, and it's called "Richard".
"Richard" pulls the atmospheric tones and psychedelic whirls from Run DMT's earlier sound collage works, and blends them into a pop song. The result is as good it sounds described, calling to mind some of the finer sample-driven bedroom artists of late - Panda Bear, Happy Family, Atlas Sound, etc.
The rest of Woodsist's new compilaton is pretty splendid as well, and I highly suggest snagging one of these while you still can. Grab it via cassette or vinyl right here.
V/A- WELCOME HOME/DIGGIN' THE UNIVERSE LP 13 tracks, 12 exclusive to this tape
SIDE A 1. WOODS- "Im Not Gone" 2. RUN DMT- "Richard" 3. WHITE FENCE- "The Love Between" (from their s/t CD/LP) 4. THE FRESH & ONLYS- "Heel.Toe." 5. THE MANTLES- "Bad Movies" 6. SKYGREEN LEOPARDS- "Catch" 7. ALEX BLEEKER- "Gettin By"
SIDE B 8. MOON DUO- "A Little Way Different" 9. CITY CENTER- "Box of Rain" 10. CAUSE CO MOTION- "Over You" 11. ART MUSEUMS- "Darling Are You Out Of Your League Again" 12. NODZZZ- "Old Clothes" 13. DUCKTAILS- "Sun Out My Window"
A couple weeks ago an entire floor at the Annex was dominated by fantastic sounds from the likes of Run DMT, Prince Rama, Emily Reo, Winks, and a lot more. I was out of town catching Dan Deacon, Height with Friends, and Dustin Wong all invade New York at the Cake Shop, but Adam from Weekends was in attendance. He played a set with Winks, and shot some really rad photos.
Run DMT
Prince Rama
Emily Reo
Check out Adam's full photo set of the night after the jump.
I am extremely excited to premiere a brand new compilation from our friends over at Wigflip Records. Caleb Moore (Lands & Peoples / Dead Drums) passed along this doosey of a release last night, the first compilation to come out of the new Baltimore label.
The comp is called SUN SUN SUN, and features new and exclusive things from a whole mess of Baltimore goodness. It is available as a free download, which Bmore Musically Informed is proud to premiere at the link below:
Wigflip's compilation sports some pretty heady ambient jams from the likes of Dead Drums, Semya, Winks, Zu Shapes, Brendan Sullivan, Amy Reid, Run DMT, Dustin Wong, Happy Family, Rod Hamilton, Dygn, and Amanda Schmidt. It's a bright and dreamy summer adventure, one that's best served with an open mind and deep spirit. Caleb, who curated the tracks and put together the art, had this to say about the release...
"Some of these people are my close friends, and some of them are acquaintances that I simply respected the shit out of. Over the course of this project those two lines were blurred, my relationships with the participants grew, and our musical tastes shifted ever so slightly. This has been in the works for about six months. For me, this compilation is a perfect representation of everything I love about the Baltimore music/art community."
Get the full track list after the jump, and look out for a physical release to come. Dead Drums - "Voicemail" Semya - "Stardust Magic" Winks - "Bongy Rubble" Zu Shapes - "Fakin' It" Brendan Sullivan - "Plans To Make" Amy Reid - "Nooks" Run DMT - "Abulanceone" Dustin Wong - "Soft Metal" Happy Family - "Cat Videos" Rod Hamilton - "Snowden" Dygn - "Snowed In" Amanda Schmidt - "Theme For Daytime Television"
We are pleased to announce a special surprise for tonight's Height with Friends record release party, as Run DMT has been added to the bill. He will be opening up the affair.
A few weeks ago, Chase (Winks and In Every Room) hit me up about a huge show his friends were throwing. That goes down this week, as the Annex hosts Prince Rama Of Ayodhya, Run DMT, Blissed Out, Quiet Hooves, Winks, Emily Reo, Attached Hands, Rabbit Punch, and Dark Sea Of Awareness this Thursday night.
If reading this lineup and hearing "Spruce Bringstein" by Run DMT and "Sometimes I Can Fake a Smile" by Winks doesn't get you all hot and bothered, you'll need to check out the following video for "Above Ground and A Golden Cloud" by Emily Reo.
This is the last show for the current residents of 4W, and it starts at 9 PM.
I've been stoked for a lot of the releases to come out of the Wigflip ranks this year, but there was one brewing all along that the mere thought of had me foaming at the mouth. Will aka Happy Family emailed me Banana Split last week, a split release with Happy Family and Run DMT. I have not listened to much else since.
We got the first taste of this release a few weeks back, when Run DMT's "Spruce Bringstein" seemed to appear magically on the interwebs from up and out of the clouds.
"Spruce Bringstein" is a clear departure for Run DMT, an incredibly catchy 60s vibe pop song that is a long ways away from the experimental sound collages painted on Bong Voyage and Get Ripped or Die Tryin'. While I was (and still am) a sucker for the his first two releases, this jam is easily one of the best single tracks I've heard all year. In what could be one of the more intriguing on-stage collaborations I've heard about, Lands and Peoples joined Run DMT on stage to play this live down at Total Bummer. L&P claims they butchered it, but they can do no wrong in my mind.
While the A side is full of four new tracks from Run DMT, the B side sports three new gems from Happy Family. "Youtube" made it's way to the internet a few weeks ago, but is now the official single of the release. Check it out in all it's glory.
I raved about Happy Family's debut EP last year, and its clear Will has one-upped his game and has is ambitions set high. "Youtube" is one of the prettier tracks I've heard this year, with sounds that warm your insides and calm your brain cells . There's a spacey and ghostly feel to all this beauty, like the feeling one gets when they go bowling with space-spirits somewhere on Mars for dollar beer night. If that didn't make any sense to you, please listen to "Youtube" once more. Yes.
Banana split is closed out with Happy Family's "Laura's Diet" and "Going To", two tracks that flow seamlessly into one another with a very pure and upbeat grace. Wigflip will be offering the split in either compact disc or cassette tape form, both of which you can pre-order right now. RUN DMT + HAPPY FAMILY BANANA SPLIT
RUN DMT 1. spruce bringsteen 2. murder she wrote 3. heavy vibin' 4. cash for gold
HAPPY FAMILY 6. youtube 7. laura's diet 8. going to
Wigflip Records just got going this year, yet this is already the eighth digital release under their belt. Wigflip's first physical release, Do While's self titled CD, is now up for pre-order, but the label's already got a few other jaunts in swing.
There's talks of a Run DMT/Happy Family split 12 inch in the works, and the infectiously fantastic track above is said to be one of the new Run DMT diddies you'll find on there. But for now, the fellow's just dropped Lexx'sMangoblunt.
Above is "Throw Ma Thing Down", a Mangblunt track that cuts some Missy into the mix.
For those who dug the Inflatable Mattress release, (other moniker for Happy Family's Will Pesta) Real Talk, Mangoblunt is another tape of tainted beats and hazy club jammers. This EP also might mark the first time a Ying Yang Twins verse has been used in fair taste since... always. This 20 minute EP offers a smattering of synth-driven beats with found sounds and warped vintage layers abound. It's certainly a fun listen and would prove delightful for any 1 AM porch session dance party. Lexx tosses traditional hip hop of the crunked out variety and damages it with art from a wide palette, leaving behind some heavy beats.
Not without some funk, dance, and soul - this one pays homage with glitches and mashes that get you all jittery inside. Certainly worth a listen, Mangoblunt is a free download over on Wigflip. Also free for your downloading pleasure, Lexx's Slime Time.
Run DMT's Bong Voyage and Get Ripped or Die Trying have become headphone mainstays when in the need of cosmic journeys or ADD-relief, and have proved helpful for pretty much everything else in between. With much thanks to Chocolate Bobka, these releases will now reach a physical format.
The NYC-based blog yesterday announced the beginning of The Curatorial Club, in which they'll help archive sounds that were previously unavailable. The first batch of tapes released will come from Alex Bleeker, Twin Sister, and Baltimore's own Run DMT.
This will be Run DMT's debut tangible release, and will be limited to just 20 handmande cassettes. The tapes will feature Bong Voyage on one side, and Get Ripped or Die Trying on the other side, as was originally intended for these works. Chocolate Bobka also promises that the tape will be speckled with exclusive new Run DMT magic dust.
Order the tape for $5 here, and peep the artwork below.
Diva Cup is one of the newer entities to surface from the Wigflip-related circle of jaded electronics here in Baltimore. A few weeks ago Sam, aka Diva Cup, sent me over a thirteen track full length called X Minus One.
The majority of this album is spent off in space, where you are blasted off to in opening track "Bmore". Up there, time is spent in array of instances and influences that are chopped together into blissful chunks of audio. Influences are varied, but friends of Sam's like Run DMT and Happy Family are blatantly evident. Instances throughout X Minus One seem more far and wide, with samples ranging from Muhammad Ali to Kermit the Frog.
Streaming above is "Magikarpet", a vibey and up-paced track towards the end of the release that's drenched in electronic exuberance. Below, download the full album for free.
Download Link:Diva Cup - X Minus One The album is thirty lively minutes of sample-based beats and songs, that is "meant to be shared with all the living creatures of the enchanted forest". All forest dwellers will be able to scoop up the album this summer via Wigflip Records.
Sam also occasionally contributes to Happy Family, Will Pesta's amazing project that should see it's first proper full length released this year. Influences play a major role in this Diva Cup release. The tenth track is dubbed "Happy Family", sampling "Running in the Fields" which was the second track on Happy Family's 2009 Sound Farm EP. Run DMT's "Ramona" is also the base of "Ramona Ali", where Muhammad Ali's words are sprinkled over top the new incarnation.
This is an album that represents a culture that is consistently connected to media - where Youtube videos run rampant with avant beats and melodic journeys. It is the uplifting and positive side to these factors that are what's addressed throughout X Minus One, leaving the downside back on earth.
Enter Wigflip Records, Baltimore's newest label. Will of Happy Family is largely responsible, deciding that he much rather start a music label than paint for his thesis at MICA.
Wigflip will house a heavy load of new and enchanting artists, ranging from the likes of Happy Family, Run DMT, Semya, Do While, Lands and Peoples, and plenty more. These releases look to be mostly of the digital variety, and also mostly free.
Download Run DMT + Happy Family's new AMANDA HUGGANKISS, and get more details on this release and a handful of others below. Will from Wigflip is particularly excited about two albums coming out in early spring, largely because he's watched them grow and is now seeing it all come together quite nicely. Semya will release a full length called Georythyms, and Do While will have a self titled release, both of which are available in March via Wigflip.
You can download Run DMT and Happy Family's collaborative AMANDA HUGGANKISS above for free in all its faded spacey glory. This release takes guitar drones and varying samples and squeezes them all through one of those Play-Doh spaghetti things, only to mush it all back together at some sort of intergalactic laundromat.
Wigflip Records will also host the next two full lengths from both Happy Family and Run DMT. I know I've been jonesing for a Happy Family LP since the Sound Farm EP, and its good to hear this is in the works. We've still got the audio up from his stellar Soft Fest 2009 set too.
Be sure to stop by the label's site, as they've already got up some other classy free sounds. You can currently grab two EPs from The Treehouse, Bong Voyage by Run DMT, and a mix made for the bathroom at Soft Fest. Look for more info/thoughts on Wigflip's releases to come right here.
