✨ IC Community Weekly #40
ft. the IC-sponsored PDX Record Label Fest, new music by Mito y Comadre, Roadside Graves & Foyer Red, a Speedy Ortiz reissue, an upcoming Chastity Belt album, Camera Obscura return to Merge & more!
Hey and welcome to the 40th (!) edition of IC Community Weekly.
In the week where it was announced that over half of the nominees for the 66th annual GRAMMY Awards come from the independent sector, the IC community, as usual, released lots of great music.
Keep scrolling for that, but first, some general community news…
We’re proud sponsors of the upcoming PDX Record Label Fest, a celebration of Portland’s abundant music community, taking place at the Chapel Theatre Annex in Milwaukie on December 9th. Head to the bottom of the email for the lineup poster but expect: DJs, live music, snacks, drinks, raffles, and over 15 local record labels showcasing their wares all day and into the night.
Big news for Merge: The Collected Works of Neutral Milk Hotel, the discography-spanning Jeff Mangum compendium, has been nominated for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package at the 2024 GRAMMYs! The honor marks Jeff's first GRAMMY nomination!
H1 Massive is having a Black Friday sale November 24th-27th - use code BFCM to take 10% off everything in the H1 Massive online shop.
Double Double Whammy are kicking off their annual holiday sale with 10% to 70% off select items.
Nonclassical are taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, which offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to double their donations. They’ll use the money to raise funds to support the creation of four brand new orchestral pieces from their Artists in Residence and are aiming to raise £7,500 when the campaign goes live at 12pm GMT on November 28th. More info here.
🦃 We’ll be taking a break for a fortnight for Thanksgiving and some website tweaks but will be back in the saddle the following week!
👋 If you’re an IC catalog and you’ve got news, releases, or other fun stuff you want us to include, just reply and let us know - this goes out to 2500+ inboxes every week!
NEW CATALOGS
A very warm 🤝 to…
GroundUP Music, an American label set up in 2012 by Michael League as a home for his band Snarky Puppy and now putting out records across a variety of genres including jazz, folk, rock, and gospel.
NEW RELEASES
ALBUMS
🎧 ZZK released Guajirando, the debut album by experimental Venezuelan synth-pop artists Mito y Comadre, today, which honours indigenous Venezuelan culture and its history of resistance while taking the listener on a journey through the sights and sounds of their country.
🎧 Captured Tracks released Limbo, the new EP from Juan Waters today, a collection of homespun bonus tracks written during an extended break from touring in the wake of the pandemic.
🎧 Get Better released A DOG A DEER A SEAL, the sophomore album by Hit Bargain. In it the Los Angeles quartet, featuring members of the beloved indie bands Cold Beat and Beach Fossils, tackle some of the biggest issues facing America: a broken medical system, abortion restrictions, and the epidemic of gun violence.
🎧 Don Giovanni released I Won't Cry Alone, the new Roadside Graves album last week. In 2011, the band released We Can Take Care of Ourselves, which was based on the classic S.E. Hinton novel The Outsiders and they’ve again returned to her writing for inspiration with the latest record, this time drawing from her more painful and surreal book Rumblefish.
🎧 Houndstooth released Death Is Home the new record by the Swiss experimental producer and vocalist Aïsha Devi. It’s her first new album in five years and is “…the clearest and most distinct version of her sound yet… rave music with a brain and a heart” (Pitchfork)
🎧 Nonclassical released a new compilation Outside the Lines, Vol. 6, a “…sonically-diverse collection of music connected to African art music traditions, incorporating electronic music, field recordings, traditional African instruments, and African Classical music.”
SINGLES
🎧 Fire Talk released HFCS, the latest single by PACKS, which is lifted from upcoming record Melt The Honey. The track also arrives with an accompanying video, which the band shot in Vegas during the band's recent tour with Geese.
🎧 Carpark released two new Foyer Red singles, Tallest Dogwood and Barkin’ up a Knot, hot on the heels of their debut LP, Yarn The Hours Away, which Pitchfork described as a “tongue-in-cheek, deconstructive take on indie rock”.
REISSUES
🎧 Carpark released a remastered 10th anniversary edition of the critically acclaimed Speedy Ortiz record Major Arcana.
Along with tracks remastered by Emily Lazar from The Lodge and Chris Allgood, showcasing the original pristine mix from album engineer Justin Pizzoferrato, the new, limited vinyl color pressings come with a photo spread from the archives of the band’s guitarist, lead vocalist and lyricist Sadie Dupuis and special liner notes by Lars Gotrich (NPR Music), who wrote:
“The songs were unpredictable, yet weirdly memorable, swaggering with a winky and wry sense of self. Riffs would twist with a topsy tenderness, then slam a ruptured discord. Sadie Dupuis' sphinxian-yet-sensitive lyrics were not only matched but accentuated by her coil-sprung vibrato. How could Speedy Ortiz not immediately become my new favorite band?
PRE-ORDERS
🎧 Suicide Squeeze announced a new Chastity Belt LP, Live Laugh Love, which comes out March 29th and is their debut on the label. The record’s first single, Hollow pairs shoegaze-y chords and blunt vocals with a melancholy lead guitar line and is accompanied by a video that pokes fun at influencer wellness culture.
🎧 Polyvinyl announced the latest full-length album from punk icon Laura Jane Grace, Hole In My Head, will come out February 16th. The title track, Hole In My Head is out now following last month's release of the fan-favorite Dysphoria Hoodie.
🎧 Merge announced that the new Mary Timony solo record Untame The Tiger arrives on February 23rd. Timony is known for her work as a member of the bands Helium, Autoclave, Wild Flag and Ex Hex and was voted one of the greatest guitarists of all time in last month’s Rolling Stone feature! Check out new single Dominoes or watch the DR. CAT directed video for it here.
NEW SIGNINGS
✍️ Not so much a new signing as a re-signing, but Merge have welcomed beloved Glasgow baroque pop heartbreakers Camera Obscura back to their family! 2024 promises to be a big year for Tracyanne Campbell & co. as the band will tour the UK (details at the bottom of the email) and release new music!
VIDEOS
🖥️ Glitterfox (Kill Rock Stars) recently performed a PNC Live Studio Session, playing their song TV:
INTERVIEWS
🎙️ Gareth Lidiard (Joyful Noise), best known for his work with The Drones and Tropical Fuck Storm, spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald about his ramshackle studio, building the rich worlds within each of his songs and the worst day job he ever held.
🎙️Marnie Stern (Joyful Noise) talked to Jenn Pelly at Pitchfork about her new record, the formative influences of Mick Barr and Sleater-Kinney, playing for millions of people on TV while fending off morning sickness, and what it means to make noise for decades.
FROM THE ARCHIVE
🖥️ The latest outing of a new section where I'll choose a video I love from YouTube’s treasure trove of music videos, live performances and curiosities.
This week: A beautiful My Brightest Diamond performance of her song I Have Never Loved Someone for La Blogothèque’s Take Away Shows series, filmed at a restaurant in Berlin in August 2011. The composer and multi-instrumentalist behind the project, Shara Nova, wrote the song as a lullaby for her son Constantine and the lyrics, inspired by the classic Margaret Wise Brown picture book The Runaway Bunny and the Édith Piaf song L'hymne à l'amour, pack a powerful punch - leaving both her and the patrons of the restaurant in tears.
SHOWS, TOURS + EVENTS
🚌 Lambchop (Merge) is heading out on a tour of the UK and EU next week, starting with the 14th edition of Misty Fest in Portugal | TICKETS
💿 IC is proudly sponsoring PDX Record Label Fest in Portland, Oregon on Saturday December 9th, which is a free event and open to all ages | 🆓
🚌 Camera Obscura (Merge) are touring the UK in May next year, as well as playing Mexico City in June | TICKETS
📆 UPCOMING INDUSTRY EVENTS
+ check out the 🎟 Events Directory for more conferences, festivals, record fairs, webinars, etc!
Nov 17th - 18th ‣ Primavera Weekender 2023 (Benidorm, Spain)
Nov 21st - 25th ‣ Linecheck (Milan, Italy)
Nov 25th - 26th ‣ Primavera Sound Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Nov 29th - Dec 3rd ‣ Primavera Sound São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil)
Dec 7th ‣Primavera Sound Asunción (Asunción, Paraguay)
Dec 9th ‣ PDX Record Label Fest (Portland, OR, US)*
Dec 9th - 10th ‣Primavera Sound Bogotá (Bogotá, Colombia)
Jan 9th ‣ MBA: Trust and Safety In Music Symposium (NYC, NY, US)
*we’ll be there!
That’s all for this one! Stay safe and we’ll catch you next week for more.
- Adam & the Infinite Catalog crew