Author Archives: Kat Lukes

For over half a century, Kassé Mady Diabaté has been stunning listeners in Mali and the world over with his powerful range as a traditional West African vocalist. Still going strong, we’ve got a vinyl copy of his latest album Kiriké that we’re eager to send your way.

Kassé Mady Diabaté, born in Kéla of West Africa in 1949, comes from a profound and influential lineage of musicians. His grandfather built a legacy as a singer under the moniker Jeli Fama, and his great aunt Siramori was equally as successful. While still a child, his family recognized his gift for music and encouraged him to cultivate his talents.

At the fresh age of 21, Diabaté became the lead singer of the Orchestre Régional Super Mandé de Kangaba. This career move was made concurrently with the Cultural Authenticity Initiative, an artistic movement that intended to reinvigorate the heritages of the newly independent West African states. After several successful collaborations in West Africa, Diabaté moved to Paris. He recorded two albums with producer Ibrahima Sylla during his ten-year residence.

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Yes, you are seeing double; the DC-based indie outfit U.S. Royalty is re-releasing a limited edition vinyl pressing of their debut 2011 album, Mirrors—and we’re pleased to announce we have a copy to send to one of you.

This deluxe limited edition flaunts creamy marble vinyl in a sleeve printed with the band’s curvaceous logo. Mirrors also comes with some previously unreleased extras, including remixes and a new effort shared by Alex Goose and Phil Ade. Each copy comes with a digital download for listening on-the-go.

Only 300 copies have been pressed, making this album a rare little dreamboat to add to your milkcrates. The launch of this edition will be celebrated this Saturday, January 17th from 7-9pm at Hill and Dale Records in Washington, DC with an in-store acoustic performance and Polaroid exhibit, brought to you in part by Rob Norton of the same shop.

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Touring to promote In Bardo, LA-based White Arrows is bringing their ’80s synth island party to venues across the country. See a gig you’d like to find yourself at swaying underneath the stage lights? We’ve got a pair of tickets for 3 readers to the venue of their choosing.

White Arrows is the ultimate pseudo-tribal, rave in the desert, west-coast electronica outfit; think Carlos Castaneda in a neon windbreaker. After their 2012 album Dry Land is Not a Myth, last year’s In Bardo feels hefty at just 11 tracks.

Any one of them has the chops to become that rogue indie party song to grace mainstream radio stations and college Spotify playlists, especially the album’s second track “We Can’t Ever Die.” The lyrics tell a tale of 21st century mysticism, libido, and youthful immortality. With its sing-along friendly chorus, this track could snuggle up comfortably with the likes of Yeasayer, Passion Pit, and Vampire Weekend.

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Dropped late this past year, the stacked tracks of Cold War Kids’ fifth album Hold My Home proved the band was reinvigorated and ready to roll. And lucky you—we’ve got a vinyl edition we’d love to send your way!

Since their first release in 2006, Cold War Kids have been working their way through a slow and calculated metamorphosis. Moving from the gritty character-driven rock tales of woe that characterized their first two albums, their 2011 and 2013 releases were softer in tone and musicality.

October’s Hold My Home plays like the culmination of the band’s legacy, melding the early raw and brutal with the later subtle and airy for a reinvigorated album, fit for a comeback kid.

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As a special Record Store Day release on Black Friday, Madison Gate Records and Legacy Recordings have issued an extended edition of American Hustle, The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from the critically acclaimed 2013 film, featuring six exclusive bonus tracks. But just in case you didn’t make the seasonal American hustle to the heinous Black Friday lines, we’ve got a copy we’d love to send your way!

This deluxe edition is pressed to two 12” LP gatefold blue and red 150 gram vinyl records, a color scheme lifted straight from the film—think Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper bunny-sloping at that sketchy discotheque to Donna Summer’s trance tune, “I Feel Love.”

The luscious album art is a nod to the film’s plot points on art forgery, with a painted likeness of each cast member printed on the cover. Six additional tracks beef up this already well-fed homage to the music of the 1970s, including Steely Dan (“Dirty Work”), The Temptations (“Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”), Todd Rundgren (“I Saw The Light”), David Bowie (“The Jean Genie”), Frank Sinatra (“The Coffee Song (They’ve Got An Awful Lot Of Coffee In Brazil)”), and Ella Fitzgerald’s earlier (“It’s De-Lovely”).

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