Kaveh Rastegar | Light Of Love

He's a founding member of the Grammy Nominated Jazz Quintet Kneebody. He's written and produced with folks like Bruno Mars, Cee Lo Green, Kimbra, and Meshell Ndegeocello, and De La Soul. He's a founding member of the 70 piece Hip-Hop orchestra Dakah, and a member of the Seattle based power trio THRUSTER! featuring guitarist Timothy Young and drummer Matt Chamberlain. He's slung the bass with style and grace on stage with Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain, Cee Lo Green, Bruno Mars, Sia, and of course John Legend. Kaveh Rastegar is a powerhouse, bringing a solid punk and rock mentality into whatever genre he chooses. 

We are proud to be the place for Kaveh's solo debut, Light Of Love, a collection of songs that form his perspective on music drawn from his world of experience. Light Of Love finds Kaveh in the studio with a cast of accomplished characters: Chris Dave, Brandon Coleman, Gaby Moreno, David Garza, Nicholas Payton, and the sublime Becca Stevens, among others. Preorders start this Friday July 13.  

dustlights

We know Joe Wilson from the high energy band Karikatura, and now he returns with a new and unique project titled dustlights. The band’s story began in late 2015 Brooklyn, when saxophonist Joe Wilson and bassist Ran Livneh escaped from their busy freelance musician lives for a few hours every week to explore esoteric curiosities, such as how would Erik Satie and Steve Coleman sound playing together?  Or, how would Miles Davis make post-rock? Very soon they knew they were onto something, and brought in Wilson’s long-time friend and collaborator David Christian on drums. The foundational groove and spacious textures of the dustlights sound soon emerged.

Breaking all the “rules” in their first year, the trio refused to play live shows.  Instead they committed to cycles of creation, destruction, and renewal. Ideas would be born out of nowhere, fed some life, and then torn to shreds. The songs that survived these development sessions would be set in digital stone as an EP.  Fittingly, their first recording session was the last one to take place at legendary Rubber Tracks studio before its demise by high-rise developers.

During the next development phase, everyone’s individual lives took deep dives into cinematic worlds.   Christian got a call to work with major producers Danger Mouse and Sam Cohen on the TV series Man In the High Castle.  Wilson was commissioned to compose and produce a soundtrack for awarred-winning short film “Jake”. And Livneh, who hails from Israel, drove into the heart of “real ‘merica” on US tours with indy art rockets Milan to Minsk.  As visual life merged influences with sonic creations, the band in turn joined forces with a duo of international fine arts and illustration “bandmates” - Toshitaka Aoyogi and Kara Smith- who dreamed up a visual vibe for the record and videos.

In 2018, dustlights have generated the buzz of a good secret, as the band won huge applause from a small avant-garde rock audience of strangers at legendary East Village club nublu;  100x repeat position on a Berlin tastemaker’s private Soundcloud playlist; and earned the attention of award-winning film composer Ariel Loh to engineer their most recent recording session at Stone Studio.  

DB3 | Firebrand

DB3 is the brainchild of guitarist and bassist David Bailis, who after touring internationally with renowned artists for many years including the Pimps of Joytime and John Forte of the Fugees, started his own trio in 2017. What started as a residency in NYC has become an exciting creative outlet for Bailis, with the debut album slated for release in July of 2018. David Bailis’s skilled guitar playing and diverse sonic background shine through in his live shows with influences ranging from jazz, afrobeat, funk and rock. His adventurous compositions and the band’s synergy take listeners on a memorable ride. Firebrand will be released on The Infinity Gritty label on July 20, pre-order right over here. 

Ill Doots

We love Philly, and we love humans that work for the greater good in a collaborative way. Ill Doots are just that; they share a common place, culture, and similar ideology, and they transcend the term collective in an open source, dynamic community of artists, educators, and musicians. They are from many places, assembled in the great city of Philadelphia, with a shared emphasis on the value of the process rather than the product. With an open flow like this, it is natural that the output takes varied forms. From theater to education to live and recorded music. And so it is that Ill Doots bring their new self-titled album to the world via Ropeadope on July 27th. Check out the first revealed track featuring Ron Draper and Anwar Marshall right here. 

“The movement is about more than the group. It is about the community. It is about living life to the fullest, the way it should be lived, whatever that may entail. Musicians, artists and other creative people are encouraged to join in the lifestyle. “ILL” stands for “I Love Living.” (Jump Magazine)