Diamond Terrifier's (Sam Hillmer of ZS) Himalayan Appalachia was released on Sockets Records on limited-edition cassette tape on Sept. 17. This first full release under the Diamond Terrifier moniker features two 20-minute solo tenor sax workouts. Side A of Himalayan Appalachia sees Hillmer moving between long waves of stretched notes to fluttering and back again. Side B transitions to an echoey soundscape complete with hand percussion and noisier sax-pedal crescendos.

Himalayan Appalachia was recorded on July 10^th, Hillmer’s 33^rd birthday. “We had the idea to record on my birthday like 5 days ahead of time.  Ben Greenberg (ZS) let us use the space, Rich Zerbo got out his mobile, analog tape machine, and Laura Paris (Trouble) got the projections and the videos ready to go.  Lastly, my buddy Nate came through and took pictures.  It was an awesome thing to do for a birthday, and I recommend it to anyone who makes records.”

For Hillmer, the point with this record, and with everything that Diamond Terrifier does, “is to make music on the saxophone that is outside the spirit of the available niche the instrument has cultivated to date.  From the self important catharsis of free jazz and the urban angularity of bop, to the vague sexuality of adult contemporary, there is really no place to call home as a saxophonist with a certain aesthetic sensibility.  So it’s trying to make the world I want to live in.  Imagining the saxophone as an instrument that never fell into the hands of monster technicians and unctuous stylists.  Like, an instrument with the profile of, say, some random flute you pick up somewhere.  But then you just really go for it!”

Sam Hillmer (aka Diamond Terrifier) has been active in New York City since 1996.  Hillmer has lead several ensembles under his own name and co-founded the chamber ensemble/band "ZS".  He is also a founding member of Wet Ink, a not-for-profit new music presenting organization, Representing NYC, a Hip Hop based youth development group, and the art duo Trouble.  Hillmer appears regularly in and around New York, across North America, in Europe, and in Japan.

Diamond Terrifier
Himalayan Appalachia
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$5 + shipping

SIDE A:
1. Two Witnesses
2. Three Things

SIDE B:
1. One Point
2. Five Dark Ages

This release is also available digitally via Bandcamp:

Deleted Scenes, a four-piece band from DC, released its first self-entitled EP in 2007, twelve years after meeting in grade school. In 2009, the band released a full-length, Birdseed Shirt, which was recorded mostly in group houses across the east coast over the course of a year with producer L. Skell (the Rude Staircase). It was met with critical acclaim from Pitchfork, which praised its “thoughtful existentialism and strange, drowsy downers” (8.0 score), and NPR, which called it “playfully unpredictable and totally infectious.”

Deleted Scenes is based in Washington, DC. They are Daniel Scheuerman (guitar, vocals), Matt Dowling (bass, keyboards), Dominic Campanaro (guitar, keyboards, samples), and Brian Hospital (drums), with guitar playing by Chris Scheffey on tracks 1, 6, and 11. They have shared the stage with Cursive, Wild Nothing, Abe Vigoda, Black Kids, The Antlers, Medications, Matt and Kim, and others. They have played SXSW, CMJ, and Pop Montreal.

Deleted Scenes
Young People's Church of the Air LP
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$13 + shipping

1. A Litany for Mrs. T
2. The Days of Adderall
3. Bedbedbedbedbed
4. A Bunch of People Who Love You Like Crazy
5. Nassau
6. Burglarizing the Deaf
7. Baltika 9
8. English as a Second Language
9. Ordination Day
10. The Demon & the Hurricane
11. What an Awesome Backhanded Compliment

Deleted Scenes will release Young People’s Church of the Air on Sockets Records on CD (Sept. 6) and LP (Sept. 20). This second album builds on the “thoughtful existentialism and strange, drowsy downers“ of their 2009 debut, Birdseed Shirt (Pitchfork, 8.0), pushing the band’s formidable rhythm section further, and exploring the possibility of hope.

Grabbing rhythmic feels from 80s pop, R&B, surf rock, dark funk, and Go-Go, Young People’s Church of the Air showcases Deleted Scenes discovering what it can do. Drummer Brian Hospital introduces the double-kick pedal to art rock with thoughtful drum arrangements. The lyrics find Daniel Scheuerman taking risks to explore themes of family, love, death and joy in a self-devouring poetic style. The album’s production is fuzzy and warped, inspired by the cassette warble of Southeast Asian psych-pop and the detuned stew of Elliott Smith’s final album, From a Basement on the Hill.

The songs began as fruity loops-based jams in Scheuerman’s basement studio, the Crab’s Claw, which were then introduced into the band environment, taking on a live identity over the course of 300 shows on tour. The album was finally recorded at the Garden Center in Hockessin, DE, with Nick Krill (the Spinto Band) and Birdseed Shirt producer L. Skell. It contains a mixture of studio sounds and home-recorded lo-fi noise.

The album title comes from a 1930s radio-church hymnal Scheuerman found in an old piano bench, and evokes the elusive and sometimes illusory nature of hope.

The first single from the album, indie club anthem “Bedbedbedbedbed“ was released on July 5 in 12“ 45 RPM format.

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Deleted Scenes
Bedbedbedbedbed 12" EP
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$12 + shipping 

America Hearts play short, quirky guitar pop. Lead singer/songwriter, Jess Matthews, writes songs that embody a a sense of economy and humor. Stream the lead single, "White Socks", from the band's most recent 7", out on Sockets Records:

The 7" is a split with Cotton Candy (Teenbeat, ex-Unrest, ex-Blast Off Country Style)

Cotton Candy & America Hearts
Split 7"
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$5 + shipping 

Side A - AMERICA HEARTS:
1. White Socks
2. When You Dodge a Bullet

Side B - COTTON CANDY:
1. Strudel Zum Toast-It
2. Compulsory & Auditory
3. Water Country
4. Pregnant Beekeeper
5. Cosmetic Center
6. Gulden Draak Mock

Cotton Candy is the duo of Mark Robinson (Teenbeat, Unrest, Air Miami) and Evelyn Hurley (from the Blast Off Country Style). As well as intepreting old ads and jingles, the band writes original tunes that are bubbly and disjointed. The band is featured on the newest Sockets Records 7", which is split with DC's own America Hearts.

Cotton Candy & America Hearts
Split 7"
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$5 + shipping 

Side A - AMERICA HEARTS:
1. White Socks
2. When You Dodge a Bullet

Side B - COTTON CANDY:
1. Strudel Zum Toast-It
2. Compulsory & Auditory
3. Water Country
4. Pregnant Beekeeper
5. Cosmetic Center
6. Gulden Draak Mock

It's getting warmer outside and spring time in Washington, DC is one of the best seasons anywhere!

So, Sockets Records, after 6+ years, finally had some label t-shirts and tote bags printed up just in time for your seasonal sartorial needs. But, these aren't just regular shirts/totes with a logo, text, or something boring emblazoned on the front. Instead, we hooked up with Chloé (Sockets super intern) and her amazing friends, Flannery and Kelly, on a much better, collaborative project.

The concept, design, and creation of the shirt was all done by Chloe Maratta. As you can see from the pictures above (taken by Kelly McNutt!), these shirts are art pieces. In fact, they are extremely limited edition and have their own Sockets catalog number. The t is a first in a series of hand-made shirts we'll be "releasing" on the label.

In the spirit of this new shirt/tote bag, we asked for a short film based on the project. Along with shirts, tote bags, and photos, Flannery Silva (!) created an amazing short film to accompany the project:

 Order the t-shirt below for $15 postage paid:

Sockets Records T-SHIRT (designed and created by Chloe Maratta)
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$15 Postage Paid

SIZES

Small Medium Large Extra Large

Sockets Records TOTE BAG (designed and created by Chloe Maratta)
$10 Postage Paid
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Limted edition of 25!

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To order the 7" for $5 including postage, click the paypal link below:

Quantity

1 $5.00 2 $10.00 3 $15.00 4 $20.00

BLUEBRAIN
'The Pull' 7"
A - 'The Pull'
B - 'The Push'
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Limited Edition of 300
$5 postage paid

Edie Sedgwick and A.K.
Songs for Isadora (cassette)
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$6ppd (International orders add $3)

Side A - Para Jugar
1. Boom Boom Baby
2. Wiggle & Jiggle
3. Who's That Baby in the Mirror?
4. You Gotta Crawl
5. Baby Talk
6. The Ocean

Side B - Para Dormir
1. Hello
2. Sigh
3. Yes
4. Sleep Tight Little Angel

Thesaurus are named after the tragedy of September 11th 2001, when some of the MCs lost family members, thus spawning their oft recited tag “when the towers fell we rose”. After years of writing rhymes,
spitting, free-styling and battling, the current, and lasting line up met and got organized at the Beacon Center for Arts and Leadership in Bushwick Brooklyn. It was there that the young MCs linked with Representing NYC founder (and member of Brooklyn band Zs) Sam Hillmer, beginning conversations, meetings, and later rehearsals, performances, and recording sessions, that would lead to the release
of Ground Zero Generals.

Press for Nine-11 Thesaurus:

"...East New York teenagers ignoring the subjugating fantasies of mainstream rap and collaborating with outsider Brooklyn noisemakers..."
- Village Voice

"As performers they keep the hype level at a constant boil as only the truly young and alive can, and in an era of tidal mainstream vapidity, intelligent, militant teenagers are definitely something to be
celebrated." - New York Post

"Nine 11 remind me of the early days of the Cold Crush Borthers, the way their energy just flows off one another..." - Charlie Ahearn, Director of Wild Style

Nine-11 Thesaurus
Ground Zero Generals CD
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OUT APRIL 26th

 1. Intro
 2. The End Of The World
 3. Police Sirens
 4. Rookie Of The Year
 5. Stressin'
 6. Lost Memories
 7. 16 Bars
 8. Woo Ha!
 9. Metal

Skeletons is the brainchild of Ohio-bred/Brooklyn-based Matt Mehlan who also runs the amazing Shinkoyo Records. First signed to dance-label extraodinaire, Ghostly International, in 2005, Skeletons' released a set of avant-pop classics, inlcuding Git and Lucas. Employing sinewy guitar melodies, thoughtful composition, and complex rhythms, the band shares an equal love of lush beauty and experimental exploration.

“People”, their new album, co-mixed by Rusty Santos (also known for his work with Owen Pallett and Animal Collective/Panda Bear)is the first released in exciting union between Shinkoyo and Crammed Discs, with a limited vinyl edition via Sockets Records. It brilliantly boils down all the band’s thrilling sonic excursions into a collection of concise, fluid and emotive songs: rich, subtly dramatic musical atmospheres envelope Matt Mehlan’s compelling lyrical tales, inhabited by unlikely real-life characters (Jimmy Damour, Tania Head, Lil’ Rich and others) whose stories are told from a viewpoint which is both human and social/political.

Skeletons
'People' LP
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$15ppd (International orders add $4)

TRACKLIST:

1. L’il Rich
2. Grandma
3. More Than the One Thing
4. Walmart and the Ghost of Jimmy Damour
5. No
6. Tania Head
7. Barack Obama Blues
8. People

Macaw’s sole member is Wilson Kemp – an artist, art teacher, and multi-instrumentalist hailing from Washington, DC. With Macaw, Kemp soaks layers of synths with his dream-drenched vocals and a mid-tempo throb shared equally by machine and human drumming. Kemp is a member of the band Hume and recently opened an exhibit of new murals and large-scale prints entitled Out of the Lull at 410 Goodbuddy Gallery in DC.

A beautiful document of Wilson Kemp's synth, percussion and vocal improvisations, Macaw's debut LP, Celadon unveils layer after layer of radiant, wandering bliss.  The record features stunning three-layer silk screened illustrations by the artist, translucent blue-green vinyl and a choice between tan or black recycled cardstock jackets. The sprawling nature of the soundscapes mix well with the propulsive beats and a wide range of timbre and sources from Moogs to mallets present an interesting dialog between the organic and electronic.  Celadon is a fully realized, beautiful first release and is available online or at shows.

Macaw
Celadon LP
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$15ppd (International orders add $4)

Side A:
1. In Search of Spacetunnel
2. What Circle
3. Five Minutes at the Rainforest Cafe
4. A Zone of Our Own

Side B:
5. Caxixi
6. Prismatic Spring
7. Seas of Bees (Rifle Recoil Cover)

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Macaw's “Five Minutes at the Rainforest Café” is featured in The Wire magazine's Fall 2010 Tapper compilation. For information on how to order the October 2010 edition of The Wire, head over to the magazine's website. Here's a pic of the magazine:

Also, stream "Five Minutes at the Rainforest Cafe" on SoundCloud:

Macaw - "Five Minutes at the Rainforest Cafe" by Sockets Records