GREAT NEWS! Our most recent compilation, “Isolation“, is now available on Spotify! Over the coming days, you’ll find it popping up on most every digital platform. Stream/share this one with everyone you know. We are all responding to this strange season in our own ways. Consider this collection from among the Commonwealth’s finest are soundtrack to the full range of emotion. Thanks for listening…
Category: THE LABEL
“Isolation” being recognized!
Since releasing last week, HSAL #57 has been streamed over 500 times! It’s been great to see/read the positive repsonse to this record. Over the weekend, the comp started showing up on radio playlists:
- Radio Free Roanoke (WROE): played the entire comp during their “Deep State” show on Friday, 04/17.
- Luxemborg’s Radio 100,7: played From Overseas‘ track during their “E-Lodie” show on Saturday, 04/18.
- Seattle’s KEXP: played From Overseas‘ track during their “Pacific Notions” show on Sunday, 04/19.
Where have you seen “Isolation” pop up? News feeds, podcasts or other streams? Let us know…Our sincerest hope is that it brings comfort to anxious ears and hope to heavy hearts.
HSAL #57 IS LIVE!
Given how difficult it’s becoming to readily acknowledge which day of the week it is any more, we went ahead and pushed HSAL #57 out this morning. Truth be told, we know what day it is (March eleventeenth, right?) – we just couldn’t wait to deliver this collection to you all. Birthed out of the myraid feelings isolation has caused / is causing, this set presents over an hour of introspective, contemplative pieces loveingly crafted by some incredible Commonwealth-based artists. Each act has not only provided music, they have written out what this season and this project has done in and around them. Take some time to read through the content with each track. Oh, the download comes with bonus material as well (extra track, videos).
Above all, we hope HSAL #57 will provide head / heart space to work through feelings and land at a posture of peace. There’s no need to fear. LOVE DEFEATS FEAR!
HSAL > COVID-19 (part two)
Spring is happening all around us! Regretfully, so is that pesky coronavirus. Your friendly neighborhood record label REFUSES to hand life over to an unseen force that threatens our very well-being. That said, we are also 100% on board with measures (be they responsibly insituted or culturally mandated) to stop the spread of said unseen force. Here’s the next installment in a series of posts to reinforce what the HSAL family is doing amidst the COVID-19 scare.
HSAL #57: Various Artists, “Isolation”
RELEASE DATE: April 17, 2020
Perhaps the most unnerving element tangled up in this historical moment is fear. Fear of the future. Fear of contraction. Fear of engagement. These things ought not be. As a community, we reach across technology to share art, which in most every case is an expression of love (directly or indirectly). In a season where multiple pressures were driving people away from each other, your friendly neighborhood record label worked with friends and family to collect recordings made during the COVID-19 scare (03/13/20 – ???). The result is this compilation of sounds primed for times of solitude and contemplation. Of the many emotions that reside in these sounds, may one thing ring true – LOVE DEFEATS FEAR!
AVAILABILITY: DIG (download comes with extra goodies)
ARTWORK: courtesy of HSAL
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp
FFO: PAN‘s “Mono No Aware“, Unseen‘s “Disquiet” Series, Past Inside The Present‘s “Healing Sounds“
HSAL > COVID-19 (part one)
Your friendly neighborhood record label REFUSES to hand life over to an unseen force that threatens our very well-being. That said, we are also 100% on board with measures (be they responsibly insituted or culturally mandated) to stop the spread of said unseen force. As such, we are beginning this series of posts to reinforce what the HSAL family is doing amidst the COVID-19 scare. Last week, we ran a “social distance” sale – thanks to everyone who jumped in on it. Orders were shipped on Monday, so keep a close eye on your mailbox.
As parts of the HSAL family get creative with their isolation output, we will share the ways to stay connected here. This weekend, Elliott from You’re Jovian will be streaming a live acoustic set from his tidewater confines. #1 – you should check out the set. #2 – if possible, throw him the coin you’d hand the door guy if Jovian were playing your favorite haunt (NOTE: Elliott’s a venmo guy).
SOCIAL DISTANCE SALE!
We’re offering 50% off all titles through the weekend (we’ll ship on Monday). Our goal is to put new music into homes as we hunker down to stop things from getting any worse. Stay healthy, keep rockin’!
Starting 2020 Off Proper!
Hope you and yours made the holidays special in unique ways. We took the downtime to exhale in preparation for all that the new year will swing our way. Here’s what we know right now:
L.A. DIES ON WNRN!
The Commonwealth’s widest reaching independent radio station, WNRN, has just picked up “Feels Really Small” from the four-piece’s HSAL debut for regular rotation. We supremely proud of this record, so it’s swell to learn of it capturing the ears of others.
HSAL #52 IS ABOUT TO DROP!
Our next release comes courtesy of Blacksburg’s Graven Image. This EP, the first proper recording for the cello/synth + voice duet, was tracked at the Old City Cemetery Chapel right here in Lynchburg back in November. Joey from honeybrandy sat in on the session as well. The result is a really dark ethereal pair of long-form compositions that feel akin to the work of Julianna Barwick or Richard Skelton. The band is going to end up with most of cassette run, but we will have a handful to sell once the release drops in February. Stream a sample from the EP here.
OUR BANDS OUT & ABOUT!
Most of our acts are hitting stages in the coming weeks. Here are the dates we know about (follow the bands directly for the most up-to-date information):
- L.A. DIES / TLVS: 01/10 @ Taphouse (Norfolk)
- YOU’RE JOVIAN: 01/24 @ Fuzzy Cactus (Richmond)
- L.A. DIES: 01/25 @ Nicky’s House (Richmond)
- TLVS: 01/25 @ Speakertree (Lynchburg)
- YOU’RE JOVIAN: 01/31 @ Meridian (Williamsburg)
- YOU’RE JOVIAN: 02/01 @ Tea Bazaar (Charlottesville)
- HONEYBRANDY: 02/07 @ The Academy Center (Lynchburg)
Do the bands a solid – dance, sing along and buy some merch!
Thanks, Folks!
We’re only days away from the end of the decade! It’s been a complete BLAST working with so many talented folks thus far. We are especially thankful for what 2019 brought our way:
- EP’s from Good Dog Nigel and You’re Jovian
- Full lengths from Andres Momentomori and L.A. Dies
- A double CD from Oahu
- A completely killer ten-year anniversary party at the Academy Center featuring friends old and new
We threw together this Spotify playlist as a “debrief” for all that action that we were a part of this year. Also included are some choice sounds that the Commonwealth birthed over the past twelve months. Some of these are as-of-yet unsigned acts (Emily Brophy) while others are between labels (Big Baby, KEEP, Opin). Then there is the latest single from our good buds DEMONS for good measure…
Here’s to a new year, a new decade, and a new chapter in the HSAL story!
L.A. Dies on the air!
Fresh off their “Dead Air” appearance at the Academy Center last month, regional independent WNRN has invited L.A. Dies up to the studio to help usher in holiday cheer this week. Wednesday evening (12/11) from 8P – 10P, the band will join other Commonwealth up-and-comers (Will Overman, Saw Black) to perform live. If you’re in Virginia, chances are you can find it on an old fashioned receiver dial. Everyone else can pull the show up online via the tune in app.
In related news, the station is currently running a poll for the best albums of 2019. While there are several records of note, we’d love to see “Drifting Still” come up in the final tally. Simply write in the latest L.A. Dies album and submit it with the records you returned to the most this year.
MASSIVE HSAL Sampler!
To finish off the celebration of TEN YEARS of doing right by Virginia, we curated a sampling of the HSAL catalog. This “Career Box” contains a track from every release – starting with HSAL #01 (a split 7″ EP between Herizon & Virgineola) & ending with a cut from the just released HSAL #56 (the second single from the new L.A. Dies album).
While digging back through the archives, we came across several submissions, live cuts, covers & other special moments from years of artists coming & going through the Hill City. We thought some of this action would be the perfect addition to our collection here.
There is also a visual collection assembled from our vault. Pics – lots of pics – from our first decade. Candid live shots, staged press photos, & more! Oh, & we put together some interesting HSAL-related video footage as well.
We thought about what we should charge for such a project, but couldn’t get away from the idea of this “box set” being a gift from us to any & all who care to receive it. Consider it our way of saying “THANK YOU” to any & all who have supported our endeavors to promote inddpendent art.
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