album premiere: Live in the Velvet Rut - Zack Mexico
When you really think about it music has a massive amount of power. From heightening our emotions to getting us through bad days, bringing us together and saying all the things we can't, music is a force. And in this case, the force of music is being used for complete and utter good. Our friends at WarHen Records are surprise releasing this new collection of live tracks from a Zack Mexico performance in Charlottesville with 50% of the proceeds going to the Heal Charlottesville Fund. We're honored to bring you the full stream along with information from WarHen on why they felt it was necessary to release this:
With the recent unfortunate events in Charlottesville and the current political climate, it seems to me that music & art are more important now than they ever have been before. At least in my lifetime. I try to use music to bring hope & light into the world, and this release is just another attempt to do that, all the while giving a little bit back to the city that could really use a shot in the arm right now. Releasing this show is important to me because I don't want Charlottesville to be remembered as an event. I want Charlottesville to be remembered as a place where special things can happen.
This Zack Mexico show is exactly that. Part of me feels like I was able to catch lighting in a bottle with this recording. As Rob mentioned before, I released Zack Mexico's most recent LP and am currently in the process of re-pressing it before they ship off to Europe at the end of October. So there was a preexisting relationship there. I was aware of their energetic live sets, having seen them a few times by that point, and I knew they were riding high on their tour with Future Islands, so it seemed like a no-brainer to tape the set. And the result was truly amazing. The crowd knew it too, just listen to their reactions as the set progresses. The band was totally locked in, yet reckless like a runaway train that could derail at any minute. It was incredible to witness.
Kudos to Rob for capturing the overall vibe of the show. I gave him some pointers while he mixed it and told him to listen to a couple of other live records I love (Lambchop's Live at XX Merge was a big one), but encouraged him to take liberties with it as well. I love where it ended up. Also this was a totally spontaneous mixing situation in the first place. I sent Rob the set just because I thought he'd dig the tunes. Then he got really into the music and ran with the mix. I'd say it all worked out real well.
On top of all that, you'll be able to catch Zack Mexico live on tour in Europe with Future Islands! So Go preorder now!