Ben LaMar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun (IA11 Edition)

€21,95 EUR

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Format Classic Black Vinyl LP (IA11 Edition) Digital Download (IA11 Edition) Test Pressing (IA11 Edition)

Release Day

March 28, 2025

Tracklist

Tracklist:

1Vitus Labrusca0:32
Muhal3:43
3Music For 18 Hairdressers: Braids & Fractals2:26
4Jubilee3:23
5A Seasoning Called Primavera3:51
6Miss Nealie Burns2:48
7Me, JayVe & The Big Bee1:45
8Uvas4:19
9Galveston3:47
10Swim Swim3:23
11Kunni3:47
12Melhor Que Tem3:29

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13Gator Teeth1:23
147th Stanza0:57
15Oh no...not again!4:53
16For Marcelo Yuka (digital-only bonus track)2:05
17Wine and Lemon Soda (digital-only bonus track)2:11
18Carousel (digital-only bonus track)3:09
19Super Science (digital-only bonus track)4:11
20Lapsus (excerpt) [digital-only bonus track]3:33

20 tracks · 60 min

Format Details

Notes

Ben LaMar Gay’s de facto debut album, 'Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun', was our attempt to introduce the legendary Chicago composer / improviser / renaissance man to the rest of the world with a compilation of tracks from 7 albums he made over 7 years (though he hadn’t yet made the effort to actually release). The material showcases Gay’s penchant for genre-hopping – from Steve Reich-ian soundscape voyages to Don Cherry-esque polyrhythm treks to Jorge Ben-style vocal-and-string earworms – while keeping his singular musical voice in focus.

In the years since its release, this long OOP collection has become a touchstone, foreshadowing the breadth and scope of Gay’s output since. The songs-between-the-songs warped Soul Americana madness and beauty of 'Open Arms To Open Us', the unhinged long form freedom of 'Certain Reveries' – each fresh mode would defy expectation if without the context established by Downtown Castles. To quote our OG announcement of the album: “to call it ‘eclectic’ would only scratch the surface. This music is everything.”

The IA11 Edition of this LP comes with an IARC2025 obi strip plus a 4-page insert booklet featuring new (old) photos and new liner notes by musician (and longtime BLG friend/collaborator) Gira Dahnee.

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