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David Wingo is a busy man. In the years since the release of his last record as Ola Podrida, he's written and recorded soundtracks for several movies including Take Shelter (winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2011), MUD (starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon), and Prince Avalanche (starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch and co-composed with Explosions In The Sky), both of which are seeing wide release this coming spring/summer. When he had time in between films, Wingo assembled a live band featuring Colin Swietek on guitars, Matt Clark on bass, and David Hobizal on drums and began to bring his new songs in to the band. A first for Ola Podrida, the new album Ghosts Go Blind was recorded to tape in a proper studio, mostly live, with the full band. The resulting songs are energetic and accessible, while Wingo's abstract narratives are more personal and intimate than ever.

After releasing Freeclouds in 2011 under his own name, Carter Tanton toured the US with The War on Drugs and then joined Lower Dens. While on tour with Lower Dens, Carter had plenty of time to experiment with new ways of crafting songs using samples and other electronics. The resulting album, They're Flowers, is his first release under the Luxury Liners moniker.

Having played in various bands including Swords of Chaos and in Jónsi?s touring band, White Mountain is Úlfur Hansson's debut under his own name. With influences ranging from cult cinema, esoteric literature and contemporary music, Úlfur presents a unique twist on the supernatural.

In his own words: "Every track is a collage of field-recordings made while travelling. I met so many interesting people on the road (for instance, Alexandra of Mountain Man who did amazing vocals for "So Very Strange") and I always carry my tape recorder with me like a camera.

The title is a homage to Rene Daumal's Mount Analogue, as well as Alejandro Jodorowski's film Holy Mountain, but also something else?.Each individual sound has a very special memory attached to it, so the album creates these nostalgic nonexistent spaces, hidden places - an amalgamation of instances, situations that couldn't possibly exist. I imagine this White Mountain, an invisible imaginary place - a sacred place on the horizon. Maybe like a connection to the the universe above. An analogy of the journey of Man."

With a battery of custom built software instruments, samples, and 7 live lopers, Christopher Tignor and master percussionist Theo Metz saturate our senses with new colors reflecting the urgent vitality of their South Bronx neighborhood. At times the two seem to lock talons like eagles in a death spiral, as Metz's brutal percussive athleticism keeps pace with Tignor's machines in an aural game of chicken.

The inspiration and experiences that led Tignor to write Replicant are directly tied to his employment history and educational background. His undergraduate degree in Literature, Masters in Computer Science, and PhD in Music Composition are all reflected in Replicant's thematic and technical underpinnings. Prior to his current job as a software engineer for Google, he held a number of interesting jobs including working as LaMonte Young's personal assistant, an EMT, a sound engineer at CBGB, a bike messenger, and has had the opportunity to handle live sound for artists including Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and Patti Smith. Listening to Replicant, it's interesting to contemplate how each of these experiences have made their mark on the man and the Replicant.

On Stranger Balmorhea continues the cosmic dialog they began with their eponymous debut in 2007. Though the spirit of Texas' early inhabitants and the weight of the night sky inspired previous albums All is Wild, All is Silent (2009) and Constellations (2010), Stranger shifts the focus from the celestial to the terrestrial, or more accurately, it begins to explore the celestial resonance in all things terrestrial.

Balmorhea's music has always been guided by the experience of living in Texas, but with Stranger the band moves beyond contemplative reverence for the land and the history of their home state. The most forward-leaning of their catalog, Stranger presents worlds of tenderness, aggression, estrangement, and freedom using an expanded sonic palette including guitar loops, vibes, synthesizers, ukulele, and steel pan drums. In addition to these new sounds, electric guitars and percussion take the stage once occupied by piano and acoustic guitars.

Opening with the electric guitar loops, synths, and steel drums of "Days", the band invites us to move forward with them as they explore without pretense or expectation. "Pilgrim" provides the perfect ending, blurring alpha and omega...a concluding gesture taking us back to our beginnings.

Playing music together for over 20 years has given the Bell brothers plenty of time to learn how to build off of one another?s strengths as they write, record, and tour. During the three years Michael and Jared spent writing and recording their new album Symbolyst, they spent more time apart than they ever had. After several years of steady touring in support of two full-length releases and an ep with This Will Destroy You, the brothers found themselves on opposite sides of the globe, with Michael living in Japan and Jared studying graphic design in Brooklyn. The geographic distance led them to rely more than ever on the trust they?ve developed over the years they?ve spent creating together.

Symbolyst draws on the band?s eclectic pool of influences?The Jackon 5?s funk, Jung?s dream theory, Bergman?s existentialism, Baudelaire?s prose, and Wright?s organic architecture. The distinctly catchy melodies and head-bobbing rhythms are immediately inviting, while the densely layered polyrhythms, harmonies, and countermelodies reveal themselves over multiple listens, making for an incredibly rewarding experience no matter how many times you?ve heard the album.

In 2008 we had the honor of releasing our first Balmorhea record Rivers Arms. Though the band?s sound and size has grown, the soulful collection of songs on Rivers Arms continues to resonate with listeners. From the contented isolation of "The Winter" to the hazy heat and hopeful longing of "San Solomon," their music captures the indescribable feelings of living and growing in Texas.

Now, 4 years later, we?re excited to make this limited edition vinyl version of Rivers Arms available with 4 bonus tracks and updated artwork. Still wearing their bathing suits, Rob Lowe and Michael Muller recorded the first two bonus tracks as children jumped and splashed in San Solomon Springs (Balmorhea State Park) in the background. These two sunny guitar pieces are followed by a powerful live version of ?Theme? recorded in Vienna, Austria. The final track is a version of ?San Solomon? featuring live drums, recorded in 2008 for their very limited tour E.P.

Trevor Montgomery is a craftsman. By day he's a skilled tile setter, a job taxing to both the mind and body. By night he's an equally meticulous and hard working musician, coaxing just the right tones out of his vintage drum machines and synths to carry his tales of love and redemption. As a tile setter and as a musician, his job is the same: assembling things of beauty to fill empty spaces.

Montgomery's previous album The Trickster (St. Ives) was inspired by his youth, wandering in the woods, riding trains, taking meth and heavy psychedelics, and narrowly cheating death on more than one occasion. On Navigated Like the Swan, his debut under the Young Moon moniker, he emerges like a shaman from the woods of his youth -- his darkness is filled with light, cynicism and macabre fixations washed away by a revitalizing and intoxicating love.

Raining is the third installment in the small music series and the first posthumous Rolf Julius release. The title piece "Raining" originally appeared as part of the 2007 installation "Drawing (Dot)." When played at a high volume the piece engulfs the listener in a dense world of rain, wind rattled trees, and soaked pastures full of life. However, when played through the small flat speaker Julius chose for the installation, the sounds become soft and cyclical patterns, like a lush landscape viewed from a plane miles above. The second piece "Weitflächig" is an example of what Julius called "Musik für eine weite Ebene" (Music for a Wide Plain) - using small sounds to create vast landscapes of sound. "Music for a Glimpse Inward" originally appeared in a 2005 installation. With small speakers placed along the edge of very large empty room, the music played softly, heightening the listener's perception of space and emptiness.

Despite feeling disillusioned, drained, and disconnected after an intense year of touring, Brooklyn-based recording artist Jesse Marchant, a.k.a. JBM, felt an insatiable need quietly gestating. After a much needed break, he relocated to a remote cabin in the Catskills and started the long process of writing and recording Stray Ashes, his followup to 2010's Not Even in July. Like a twilight journey through canyons, with noctilucent clouds on the horizon, these songs flow with refined grace and raw force.

Though he recorded most of the album in a large log house next to a frozen lake inhabited by hundreds of geese in upstate New York, John Congleton joined the project for additional recording and mixing. Congleton's contributions help to define a sonic space throughout Stray Ashes that perfectly cradles Jesse's earnest vocals, as do the additional performances of McKenzie Smith (of Midlake, Drums), and Macey Taylor (of A.A. Bondy, Bass) on several tracks, which were recorded by Congleton in his Texas studio. The gauzy sonic blanket Marchant and Congleton have created provides a foundation for the mysterious collection of songs on Stray Ashes.

Further Out / Perfect Pairs is a collaboration between Callers and Luaka Bop recording artist Delicate Steve. "Further Out" is a disjointed narrative about hotels and their occupants, left to tie up loose ends as life rockets past them, while "Perfect Pairs" explores the difficulties of maintaining relationships within relationships within relationships.

Here's what Delicate Steve had to say about the collaboration:"I met Sara through some mutual friends at a Deerhoof concert last year. Soon after that I checked out her band (on myspace!!) and was really into it. I sent her an idea I had for a song while on tour, then we met for a minute during SXSW, saw each other's bands, and talked about making a song when we were both home from tour. Next we met up at Michael Azerrad's "Our Band Could Be Your Life" concert in NY where our bands were both playing. I had an awesome time in the mosh pit with Ryan. A week or two later we started recording "Perfect Pairs" together with Don Godwin behind the board. Shortly after that, we made "Further Out" collaborating back and forth in our home studios."

Carter Tanton (formerly known as Tulsa and current member of Lower Dens) has announced a national tour with The War on Drugs and Purling Hiss behind his forthcoming full-length, Freeclouds. The album features the enchanting vocals of Boston dream-folk artist Marissa Nadler. Tanton's last release with Tulsa, I Was Submerged won the approval of both the media and fans alike, praised by NPR, SPIN, and Rolling Stone, who said Tanton's "indie-seraphim voice is not of this world." In addition to recording and co-writing one song on Marissa Nadler's well-received 2011 album, Tanton has recorded albums by George Lewis Jr (Twin Shadow) and Drug Rug among others.

All Will Prosper, Keith Kenniff's latest album under the Goldmund moniker, is a collection of 14 traditional Civil War-era folk songs and one contemporary track "Asoken Farewell." Kenniff has always been a student of Civil War history and culture. From the Ken Burns documentary series on PBS to Bill Carothers' solo piano album The Blues and The Greys, he has studied and enjoyed the music that tied friends and families together in a time when the nation was being torn apart.

Recorded over a period of 5 years in various houses in Massachusetts, Oregon, and North Carolina, Kenniff's arrangements feel fresh and intimate, while retaining the wistful charms and timeless appeal of the originals. In part the album's intimacy is created by his recording technique. With the top of the piano left completely open, microphones were placed close enough to capture the mechanical movement of the keys being pressed and the pedals squeaking. Similarly the acoustic guitar is close-mic'd, tracing the sounds of his fingers scraping and plucking the metal strings. The result creates a rich, almost hyper-real environment, where the tiniest details are magnified and brought to the surface.

Though Balmorhea's studio recordings never fail to impress, their songs have always been most powerful and affecting when performed live. The group's intense soulfulness during a live set is consistently remarkable and this special recording from Ghent, Belgium is no exception. The opening track alone is goosebump-inducing, and perfectly sets the tone for this intimate recording.

Throughout the evening the band played with so much energy and emotion that's hard to believe they had just arrived at the venue after a long sleepless drive from Spain. With massive stone walls and floors, the Saint Elisabeth Church (built in 1873) colored each song with a natural reverb and delay, while amplifying the tiniest incidental sounds from the crowd. Despite the intense cold of the unheated church, the band's fingers remained nimble, warmed only by the glow of the candles used to light the stage and the center aisle. As the candles burn out the show comes to an end with the crowd-pleaser "Untitled" followed by a solo piano encore performance of "Constellations." We hope you enjoy this recording as much as we do, and if you haven't experienced a Balmorhea show, we hope this album inspires you to check them out next time they're in your town.

Before the success of his group Here We Go Magic, Luke Temple worked full-time as a plasterer. At nights after work, he spent his hours crafting what would become Here We Go Magic's self-titled debut. During the days he wrote a completely different set of songs in his head. The resulting record Don't Act Like You Don't Care shines with clarity and daylight, in contrast to Here We Go Magic's hazy aquatic debut.

After recording two critically acclaimed solo records for Mill Pond (2005, 2007) Temple's work still hadn't garnered much attention from the record-buying public. Frustrated, but not defeated, he focused his creative energy into the writing of two amazing, but completely different records. Initially referred to as "The Country Record," Don't Act Like You Don't Care was shelved due to the success of Here We Go Magic's self-titled debut. Now, three years later, we're finally able to offer this incredible collection of folk-pop songs.

Feeling Today is Spencer Stephenson's debut release under the Botany moniker. The culmination of years of assembling music, this EP, and his forthcoming full-length, flow with a transcendental radiance. Under the gauzy patina of decades-old samples, this Texan sound-sculptor masterfully merges the past and the present, the earthly and the infinite.

Spencer recalls recording a casio keyboard onto cassette-tape at the age of 4, and becoming hooked on the simple idea that he could capture sounds and share them with those around him. Now 22, he's still at it, playing instruments and stitching sounds together in his home atop a hill, surrounded by trees, fringed by the wide Texas horizon.

Spencer explores the cosmic nexus of shimmering psychedelia, blissed-out pop, and instrumental hip-hop, as he turns recycled sounds into something thoroughly modern. For him there's a therapeutic value in reconfiguring the "noise" of an information-dense consumer culture into something nourishing and honest. He collects artifacts...scavenged bits of ephemera...all of the organic and inorganic matter that passes through our hands and heads everyday and he uses them to build something deeply personal. Ultimately, he reminds us that the natural world we are a part of is one of boundless wonder and color."

Night People is a series of character studies. Alienated and out of fashion, these people stay up all night, stumbling through isolation to explore trauma and ecstasy in search of their own glamour. The boundaries of reality dissolve in their environment, and the light from within transforms street lamps at last call into beacons towards infinity. Guided through fuzz and fog, truths emerge, as the knots binding sensuality and spirit unravel. In a world defined by EDM's music, the Night People's stories are projected, as reality turns into a film.

Just as the band's name has been abbreviated, their process of recording and producing has been been stripped down for this album. Unlike the meticulous self-production that defined Early Day Miners' albums, their first effort under the EDM moniker finds the band relinquishing engineering duties. Recorded and mixed by engineer Mike Bridavksy at Russian Recording in just five days, the Night People sessions have yielded the most expressive vocal and instrumental performances of Burton's career.

Nat Baldwin's forthcoming album People Changes is much like the stark Maine setting in which it was created. The album shows welcome markings of his experimental bent from years as the Dirty Projectors bassist and a former disciple of free jazz legend Anthony Braxton, but the serene isolation of 17 million acres of New England forestland make this cabin-born set intimate and sincere.

A lean ensemble of talented, time-proven friends was enlisted for the studio--some dating back to his New Hampshire childhood--chosen specifically to create the album's earnest live sound. Their apt decision to record voice and bass live on most tracks is quickly felt on opener "A Little Lost," letting Baldwin's softly warbled falsetto hug a heartfelt cover of Arthur Russell's sacred love song. Woodwinds flit and pull against contrabass pulses on "Weights," then recede to let Baldwin's bare performance stir on "Real Fakes." The full cast of Nat's touring ensemble handsomely match the bold arrangements of "Lifted," followed by jagged improvisation on "What Is There" and a tender rendition of Kurt Weisman's "Let My Spirit Rise" to finish. Ultimately, People Changes is a slice through the void of late nights spent among tall pines.

Soema Montenegro has been described as a poet, a shaman, and an excellent cook. She may be all of these, but above all, she's a world-class singer. Intense and dramatic, her songs echo the vibrant landscape and culture of her native Argentina. Soema honed her voice and songwriting skills for years before releasing her debut Uno Una Uno (2008), which grabbed the attention of La Blogotheque's Vincent Moon. He was so taken by Soema's charm and skill that he chose to film this relatively unknown artist for the website's special 100th Take Away Show. Watching Soema perform we witness her magically shift from a deep smoldering moan to a wild, but perfectly controlled caterwaul. You don't have to understand Spanish to be enchanted by Soema's theatrical and impressionistic story telling. Her music is so sensual and overwhelming, that it sometimes seems perilously close to madness. Its mystery burns with a heat barely contained by the angular and precise fingerwork of the accompanying musicians. Like Yma Sumac and Meredith Monk before her, Soema is using her voice to innovate and push the boundaries of pure human expression.

In a year defined of bank bail-outs and failures, Secret Cities found themselves fortunate to occupy the basement of a recently abandoned bank in Kansas City, Missouri. Complete with bulletproof glass, functioning pneumatic tubes, and a massive vault, this space served as the band's studio as they recorded their sophomore effort, Strange Hearts.

Working against a self imposed deadline, Strange Hearts was written and recorded within three intense, creatively fertile (if sleepless) months. The effort payed off with a taught pop record, crystallized like coal under enormous pressure. Filtering the classic romanticism of Dusty Springfield and the Shangri-Las through their own kaleidoscopic aesthetic, these songs pulse with an alluring mixture of melancholy and hopeful innocence, as warm and inviting as it is elusive and peculiar. While detailed and carefully crafted, it possesses a new found brevity and directness rooted in the excitement of creation. Ultimately, Strange Hearts is the sound of a young band testing its limits and finding that it hasn't hit them yet.