Category: THE LABEL

THE HELD NOTE!

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THE HELD NOTE CONCERT SERIES is a curated collection of soothing sounds created by artists from all over the eastern United States. Over six shows, HELD NOTE will present sonics and visuals that could be tagged as “folk,” “ambient,” “primitive,” “spoken word,” “drone,” “electronic,” and more. All shows will be held at the Lodge of the Fishermen in the Boonsboro neighborhood of Lynchburg, Virginia in cooperation with Church of the Covenant. For each show, $10 at the door supports this series and the artists who perform.

The series has been split into three fall shows and three spring shows. Here’s everything that’s been confirmed for the fall:

HSAL #67 (BANDCAMP EXLUSIVE)

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RELEASE: HSAL #67
RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2025

AVAILABILITY: DIG
ARTWORK: Courtesy of Stilyagi
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

This, our ninth compilation, is a total “family & friends” affair. We’ve seen many artists come and go since dreaming this all up back in 2009. Consider this collection of tunes as a random card you get in the mail one day from a long-forgotten friend. It is steeped in nostalgic references and mile-markers from their journey that they think will at least hold your interest and at most rekindle a connection.

Here’s a track-by-track description of the compilation:

  • Track 01 – Fainting Couch, “So Long”:  new single from the guitar half of “Powerviolet,” who we featured on HSAL #65.
  • Track 02 – Lost In Space Camp, “Aquatone (Attic Session)”:  Instrumental take on a track that may include vocals on a future release…
  • Track 03 – honeybrandy, “Closed For Learning”:  new track from upcoming album, “File Under Contemplative Protest,” due out later this year.
  • Track 04 – Plastic Hacks, “Slow Glow”:  new single from the forthcoming album, “Fabulously Melancholy,” due out Spring 2025 on Friend Club Records.
  • Track 05 – Young Hierophant, “From A Room Forever”:  this track is an unreleased composition from the sessions for his STELLAR 2024 album “Return To The Healing Church.”
  • Track 06 – Sheetrock, “Herald”:  new single from RVA members of Toan Team.
  • Track 07 – asentimentalsong, “The Calm Before The Calm”:  new piece presented by Joe from TLVS. #dronelife
  • Track 08 – Times Tables, “Zoom Meeting”:  new single from Roanoke’s faux-midwestern emo sons. EP drops later this month.
  • Track 09 – TLVS, “Honey From Every Wind”:  only track from last year’s split with Powerviolet that’s never been played live.
  • Track 10 – Steve Scott, “On A Personal Note (Stilyagi Drone Mix)”:  Per Steve, this is a rough sketch of something being worked on.

HONEYBRANDY’S BACK IN LYH!

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Thrill Jockey artists Magic Tuber Stringband are playing a bunch of east coast dates in support of their STELLAR 2024 album, “Needlefall.” Having fallen hard for them after their collaboration with fellow NC’ers Weirs (they live tracked a session in the Crozet tunnel!), we reached out to see if they would be able to camp out in the hill city for a date. THANKFULLY, the stars have aligned! Come soak in an early spring evening with us at the Lodge. Our own honeybrandy will provide local support.

Music should happen at 7:30 PM. Hope to see many, many friends out for this one…

DETAILS

  • DATE: Saturday, March 22nd
  • COVER: $10 at the door (cash, card, and Venmo accepted)
  • DOORS: 7:00 PM
  • MUSIC: 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
  • ARTISTS: Magic Tuber Stringband (from NC), honeybrandy (from LYH)
  • VENUE: The Lodge (on the campus of Church of the Covenant – 4415 Boonsboro Rd, 24503)

HONEYBRANDY SHOW IN LYH!

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Our Czech friends over at Stoned To Death turned us onto this Swiss instrumentalist who creates serenity with layer upon layer of acoustic guitar, synth washes, and field recordings. NATURALLY, we snagged a date on his US east coast tour. Come soak in a special autumn evening with us at the Lodge. Our own honeybrandy will provide local support.

Music will start at 8:00 PM sharp. Don’t be late. We’re taking donations at the door to ensure our traveling musician is taken care of while in the Hill City.

DETAILS

  • DATE: Thursday, October 10th
  • MUSIC: 8:00 PM – 9:15 PM
  • ARTISTS: Son of Buzzi (from Switzerland), honeybrandy (from LYH)
  • VENUE: The Lodge (on the campus of Church of the Covenant – 4415 Boonsboro Rd, 24503)

HSAL #66: “RITUAL DETERGENT”

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RELEASE: HSAL #66
RELEASE DATE: September 6, 2024

AVAILABILITY: DIG
ARTWORK: Courtesy of Stilyagi
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: UNKLE’s “Psyence Fiction,” Vacation Bible School, Early Nicolas Jaar

The creative itch for this single was birthed out of writing sessions for TLVS in the summer of 2024. Both Joey and Nathan shared a desire to push into more experimentation than what made sense for the three piece. Joey suggested that honeybrandy material may be just the thing to scratch said itch.

The upfront commitment to rhythm and samples mark something of a shift in the duo’s composition style. As they continue to work toward a new album, look for this newfound direction to compliment the more drone-based tension of previous releases.

HSAL #65: “POWERVIOLET / TLVS”

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RELEASE: HSAL #65, FCR110
RELEASE DATE: February 2, 2024

AVAILABILITY: CASS / DIG
ARTWORK: Rhys Meatyard, CASS layout courtesy of Stilyagi
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: New Order, Trans Am (A Side), Tarentel, Tristeza (B Side)

FCR110 & HSAL #65: A take on “instrumental rock music” that glides across a sonic pendulum using electronics and groove to measure its amplitude. This is a co-release with a VERY LIMITED run of super special cassettes. TLVS had created a new EP’s worth of material to follow 2022’s “Beauty In The Ghost” and began shopping it around. Buffalo’s Friend Club Records expressed interest and the two parties began to collude on a release. TLVS connected with Powerviolet, who had released “Wavelengths” through Friend Club in 2022, on the prospect of a split release.

Fast forward to the winter of 2023 becoming 2024…The digital version of this collection is available to stream most everywhere. The physical version has been meticulously crafted and is nearly in the hands of Friend Club, who has decided to close up shop. Your friendly neighborhood record label has taken the reigns on this and are currently shipping out the last few unclaimed copies.

TLVS Tour Update!

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The recent mid-Atlantic run was a smashing success for TLVS. Shows in Lynchburg, Norfolk, and Durham proved to be the perfect way to celebrate the physical release of HSAL #65! Super swell performances by Philly’s Soporus as well as Nashville’s Silence & The Unwinking Minds to boot. The band still has a few copies of the new split cassette in the merch box if you are itching for some interesting, energetic rock music sans vocals. Next up is a local show with labelmates L.A. Dies on the 24th at Rivermont Pizza.

HSAL #63: “The Way Of The Sevenfold Secret”

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RELEASE: HSAL #63
RELEASE DATE: November 3, 2023

AVAILABILITY: CD / DIG
ARTWORK: courtesy of Stilyagi
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: Eric Lunde, Allen Ginsberg, Gil Scott-Heron

The last time we were able to deliver a Steve Scott album, it was a collection of stories and feelings crafted over a decade’s (or more) worth of time. Perhaps it was the global pandemic’s penchant for driving focus, or maybe it was self-directed study of various religious texts, but something stirred our favorite British expat toward a cycle based on a 1926 booklet by Lilias Trotter. “Secret” begins with a pair of set pieces that read like memories as much as they do poems. The remainder of the album works through seven movements (plus an epilogue) that mirror Trotter’s writing.

Each poem is accompanied by subtly haunted tones that reinforce the presence of something more than Scott’s words. There are extended moments beyond the words that seem to invite reflection and internalization – as if the sounds that swirl around Scott mimic the role of Virgil leading Dante through the Inferno, Purgatory, and ultimately, Paradise.

Some albums resonate because the vibe they create invites an immediate repeated listen – the party doesn’t have to stop. “The Way Of The Sevenfold Secret” resonance is paradoxical in that the listener may find the silence replacing the final track to be the perfect headspace to make sense of the meditation through which they were just ushered.

New HSAL Sounds Are EVERYWHERE!

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HONEYBRANDY

First off, today is the official release date for the new honeybrandy record, “Deaton Forestbrook“! You can now stream the entire thing (all 39 minutes & 20 seconds) wherever you’d typically listen.

We’re pushing everyone we know to stream/purchase the new single, “Not In Our City” this weekend! We think the message couldn’t be more timely. It features a speech given by Dr. Keith Anderson to the Lynchburg VA City Council in prelude to the formation of the Alliance for Police Reform. Help us communicate this example of powerful things going on in small towns all over our nation!

L.A. DIES

L.A. Dies, Spring 2020 (PC: Tori Goodman)

Earlier this month, L.A. Dies were featured on a benefit compilation whose proceeds will benefit the purchase and continued operation of mobile shower units for the homeless community in the city of Birmingham, AL. There are also hopes or hiring homeless neighbors to clean and maintain the showers. Their track, “A Year In My House” predicts further exploration into the darker pop sounds of HSAL #49…

BENJAMIN MAUCH

Cover of “A (C)able Tethered To The Sky” (sefl-released, 2020).

Ever the composer, Benjamin Mauch just dropped a new album into the digital landscape. “A (C)able Tethered To The Sky” is a collection of pieces that Mauch wrote and performed using only the Novation Peak. All the trademark duality of bouncy melodies and contemplative tones you’ve come to expect from the Richmond-based artist are here. Proceeds from the purchase are being donated to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

It’s a new honeybrandy record!

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HSAL #58: honeybrandy, “Deaton Forestbrook”

RELEASE DATE: July 24, 2020

Joey and Nathan have been contemplating a record that mimics their live perfromances since dropping their debut LP – “Deaf Sharp” – back in 2017. The seasons since have found honeybrandy sharing stages with guitar focused acts (Andrew Weathers, Soporus) as well as acts that lean into electronic aether (Benjamin Mauch, Oahu). The duo studied, taking notes on various methods of composition and presentation.

“Deaton Forestbrook” showcases both artists’ penchant for the balance of drone and rhythm. “Which Are Not Pronounced” and “Not In Our City” lean into programmed drum loops while “These Words” finds layer after layer of synth and lap steel swarming around meditative instruction. The entire back half of the release is a single long form piece that could easliy score a fever dream.

AVAILABILITY: DIG
ARTWORK: courtesy of HSAL
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: early Tangerine Dream, Emily A. Sprague, The Inward Circles