Hot off the release of Proton Pump -- Akira Sakata was invited to the fantastic No Idea Festival in Austin, Texas last month. The organizers created a few outstanding line-ups for Sakata to soar in: trio with Damon Smith and Stefan Gonzalez; duo with Marshall Trammell; and a solo set on a "sprawling, untamed slice of land and water in East Austin." Wish we coulda been there.
Tashi Dorji and Tyler Damon are back with a companion to Both Will Escape, their 2016 hyper-acclaimed debut. Leave No Trace: Live In St. Louis LP perfectly captures their feedback shadow lines and bombastic percussion. It's out Feb. 2, 2018. Hand cut artwork by Jeremy Kannapell.
Meet Robert Crotty.
"In my mind, he was the finest blues musician of the post-World War II generation," says Loren Connors says of the late Crotty. "It was a sad misfortune that he never gained a following outside his hometown. Sure, New Haven music critics praised him, but none really laid it down that here among them lived a great genius."
We're very excited to release the first anthology of Crotty's music -- Robert Crotty with Me: Loren's Collection (1979-1987) -- on Dec. 8. This includes never before heard duos of Connors and Crotty perfectly in lock through acoustic improvisations and reshaping blues standards. The album also includes the first-time reissue of Crotty's sole LP and 45 single -- both released by Connors' on his private St. Joan imprint.
Did you catch Tashi Dorji and Tyler Damon on their recent tour? We did. Got to experience their pure light with a hundred (or was it two hundred?) awe-struck folks crammed into a sweltering room in Louisville at Cropped Out. Blissful. If you missed out, give thanks to the fine Milwaukee Taper -- www.milwaukeetaper.com -- for recording the duo's set at Acme Records and Music Emporium on Sept. 14, 2017. Richard Hayes wonderfully captured this spectacular evening of percussion and shadow scree and it is available here for you, for free. Get it. (Robert Szocik snapped the gents in action.)
We're very excited to reissue Hisato Higuchi's stunning 2003 debut She as an expanded LP/CD on Sept. 22. It features new cover art by Higuchi, two additional songs from the original recording session and remastered audio by Taylor Deupree. This album perfectly captures the 4 a.m. vibe where consciousness, sleep, and dreams slip into each other. To celebrate the reissue, here's a new video for "Girl Sister" that captures those states.