Coming October 8, 2013

2013 reissue by Flannelgraph/Landlocked Music
Exclusively distributed by Light In The Attic
150g LP w/download card
Originally released in 1977 on Sine Wave Records
Remastered in 2013 by Alex DeTurk at Masterdisk

"Most lost-classic reissues fit snugly into genre ghettos, but Don Muro's 1977 masterpiece It's Time defies even our precise 21st-century methods of classification. Rock, funk, synth-pop, disco, ambient, space-age: nothing suffices. It's funny, it's solemn, it's light, it's shady, it's sly, it's earnest, and it's none and all of the above. Enjoy it ironically and suddenly it gets sublime; take it seriously and soon enough it's having fun at your expense. I dare you to try to file this one away - chances are it'll keep poking its head out of your collection, challenging you to figure it all out before it even attracts a speck of dust."
- Marc Masters (Pitchfork, The Wire)

Originally self-released in 1977, synthesizer pioneer Don Muro’s It’s Time is the singular work of one man combining his skills as a trained musician with a truly creative spirit and the somewhat unmarketable insistence that all of these different styles of music would make up his debut album. While this kind of genre hopping can often take away from an album’s coherence, “It’s Time” works as a whole because these are such well-crafted and interesting songs. At times playfully fun, at times beautifully earnest, It’s Time is consistently engaging for its entire 42 minutes. Muro’s sincere love of what he is creating shines through whether it’s a catchy, triumphant rock anthem, a subtly emotive instrumental synthesizer piece or an intense fusion dance jam.

“This album was released 36 years ago. Listening to it now brings fond memories of an intensely creative period in my life. There was time to explore many styles of music, and there was time to experiment with new instruments and equipment. No computers, no MIDI - only a room crammed with guitars, drums, keyboards, and an 8-track tape recorder. I didn’t have a specific audience for the album, hence the variety of styles. Back then people would actually sit and listen to albums as a total experience. I started and ended the album with aggressive synthesizer music, but in between those songs I was inviting listeners to go for a ride. Looking back, I would say that the variety of styles is both the strongest and weakest aspect of the album. But that’s who I was and, to a degree, who I still am. “
- Don Muro, 2013

Having spent much of his life teaching others about the latest music technology through his books, videos, classes and seminars, Muro’s influence on electronic music is immeasurable. His demonstration compositions for the legendary Korg M1 helped to make it the world’s best selling synthesizer. The recipient of several ASCAP composition awards, Muro’s music has been performed everywhere from New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral (where he presented the cathedral's first synthesizer concert) to Disneyland.

preorder at flannelgraphrecords.com

Don Muro "Squash" (1977)

2013 remix by Yuuki Matthews (The Shins, Teardrops, Crystal Skulls, Yuuki Matthews, etc.)https://soundcloud.com/yuuki-matthews

Original version appears on the 2013 reissue of Don Muro's "It's Time" Flannelgraph/Landlocked Music
Exclusively distributed by Light In The Attic
150g LP w/download card
Originally released in 1977 on Sine Wave Records
Remastered in 2013 by Alex DeTurk at Masterdisk

"Most lost-classic reissues fit snugly into genre ghettos, but Don Muro's 1977 masterpiece It's Time defies even our precise 21st-century methods of classification. Rock, funk, synth-pop, disco, ambient, space-age: nothing suffices. It's funny, it's solemn, it's light, it's shady, it's sly, it's earnest, and it's none and all of the above. Enjoy it ironically and suddenly it gets sublime; take it seriously and soon enough it's having fun at your expense. I dare you to try to file this one away - chances are it'll keep poking its head out of your collection, challenging you to figure it all out before it even attracts a speck of dust."
- Marc Masters (Pitchfork, The Wire)

Originally self-released in 1977, synthesizer pioneer Don Muro’s It’s Time is the singular work of one man combining his skills as a trained musician with a truly creative spirit and the somewhat unmarketable insistence that all of these different styles of music would make up his debut album. While this kind of genre hopping can often take away from an album’s coherence, “It’s Time” works as a whole because these are such well-crafted and interesting songs. At times playfully fun, at times beautifully earnest, It’s Time is consistently engaging for its entire 42 minutes. Muro’s sincere love of what he is creating shines through whether it’s a catchy, triumphant rock anthem, a subtly emotive instrumental synthesizer piece or an intense fusion dance jam.

“This album was released 36 years ago. Listening to it now brings fond memories of an intensely creative period in my life. There was time to explore many styles of music, and there was time to experiment with new instruments and equipment. No computers, no MIDI - only a room crammed with guitars, drums, keyboards, and an 8-track tape recorder. I didn’t have a specific audience for the album, hence the variety of styles. Back then people would actually sit and listen to albums as a total experience. I started and ended the album with aggressive synthesizer music, but in between those songs I was inviting listeners to go for a ride. Looking back, I would say that the variety of styles is both the strongest and weakest aspect of the album. But that’s who I was and, to a degree, who I still am. “
- Don Muro, 2013

Having spent much of his life teaching others about the latest music technology through his books, videos, classes and seminars, Muro’s influence on electronic music is immeasurable. His demonstration compositions for the legendary Korg M1 helped to make it the world’s best selling synthesizer. The recipient of several ASCAP composition awards, Muro’s music has been performed everywhere from New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral (where he presented the cathedral's first synthesizer concert) to Disneyland.

Don Muro - Squash (YUUKI MATTHEWS Remix)

from the 2013 instrumental benefit album "The Holidays Don't Have To Be So Rotten: Volume 4" on Flannelgraph Records

All proceeds will go to purchase mattresses for residents of Amethyst House, an addiction recovery center in Bloomington, Indiana.
Download at flannelgraphrecords.bandcamp.com.
Purchase compact disc at flannelgraphrecords.bigcartel.com.

The album features 19 all new original holiday instrumentals from....
Candy Claws
Soporus
Nachtambulous
Jonathan Rado feat. Diane Coffee
Octagrape
Chad Serhal
quixod
Kurt Friedrich
Daring Ear
Mike Adams At His Honest Weight
Circuit Des Yeux
The Parade Schedule
Moor Hound
Ben Lumsdaine
Via Vegrandis
Liquor Store Dad
Vapor Lanes
Jon Autry
Frank Schweikhardt

Mastered by Eric Day at Sleepwalk Recording

Album cover by Gavin Smith


Jonathan Rado feat. Diane Coffee "Starry Knight"

from the 2013 instrumental benefit album "The Holidays Don't Have To Be So Rotten: Volume 4" on Flannelgraph Records

All proceeds will go to purchase mattresses for residents of Amethyst House, an addiction recovery center in Bloomington, Indiana.
Download at http://flannelgraphrecords.bandcamp.com.
Purchase compact disc at http://flannelgraphrecords.bigcartel.com.

The album features 19 all new original holiday instrumentals from....
Candy Claws
Soporus
Nachtambulous
Jonathan Rado feat. Diane Coffee
Octagrape
Chad Serhal
quixod
Kurt Friedrich
Daring Ear
Mike Adams At His Honest Weight
Circuit Des Yeux
The Parade Schedule
Moor Hound
Ben Lumsdaine
Via Vegrandis
Liquor Store Dad
Vapor Lanes
Jon Autry
Frank Schweikhardt

Mastered by Eric Day at Sleepwalk Recording

Album cover by Gavin Smith

Candy Claws "Alp Shades"

from BEST OF BOILER ROOM CLASSICS, released May 13, 2014 on LP/CD/DVD/TAPE

honestweight.tumblr.com

twitter.com/micdadam

flannelgraphrecords.com

press sheet text.....

It’s been over three years since Oscillate Wisely, the debut album from Mike Adams At His Honest Weight. A lot has happened to all of us since then, but it was a particularly action-packed time for ol’ Mike. His newborn son requiring emergency heart surgeries immediately after birth (doing fine now!), his former rock band of nearly 10 years calling it quits, and plenty of other heavy things have helped shape the follow-up, Best of Boiler Room Classics, into one of the most believably moving albums to come around in a long time. 

But forget about all that stuff for a minute because we need to talk about how great these SONGS are! And these are real songs, daddy! Verses, choruses, hooks, bridges, you know, well-written timeless songs that at least some of us will be listening to 50 years from now. The same mixing/mastering team of Adam Jessup & Eric Day have returned and have really taken their time to make this album sound like exactly one million bucks. The thoughtful, hard work that went into this record has resulted in something truly special, like a Midwestern Tusk made by fun, lovable people who actually get along really well. 

Best of Boiler Room Classics has the subtle, earnest warmth of an album like the Clientele’s Strange Geometry but with the arena-ready grandeur of ELO’s Out Of The Blue.  While there is an unforgettable instant catchiness to these songs, there is a depth, both lyrically and musically, that makes repeated listens a delight.

While this is not a country album by any means, songs like “Count On It” and “Don’t Want It, Don’t Get It” find Mike’s comforting words gripping your heart like an old Roger Miller ballad. Speaking of “Count On It”, just wait until those actual strings kick in at 2:27!  It’ll do something to you! 

What if the GBV albums on TVT had been produced by Cowboy Jack Clement?
What if The Wonders songs in That Thing You Do were actually performed by The Pernice Brothers? What if Dee Dee Ramone wrote “Late For The Sky” instead of Jackson Browne? What if Todd Rundgren engineered a Cass McCombs record? 
Find out on April 29, 2014 at your local record store! 


Mike Adams At His Honest Weight "I'm Worried"

from FGR036, coming Sept. 30, 2014

Pre-order now at http://flannelgraphrecords.com

SIDE A
1. Funny Morning (3:36)
2. Generations (12:18)

SIDE B
1. Funny Morning (Richard Swift Remix) (4:12)
2. Chrysanthemum (Slow) (19:37)

There's a good chance you've heard Yuuki Matthews even if his name doesn't come up every night at the family dinner table just yet. Currently a member of The Shins, Yuuki has really been around. From his work as a member of Seldom and Crystal Skulls to his contributions both on the record and on the road for crooners like Sufjan Stevens and David Bazan, he's constantly busy making things sound good.

Clocking in at 39:45, this 12" showcases the Matthews composition "Funny Morning", a remix of the song by the legendary Richard Swift, as well as two instrumental pieces, "Generations" and "Chrysanthemum (Slow)". While the music recalls the beauty of classic pieces like Eno's "Discreet Music" or Ashra's "Ocean of Tenderness", it is thoroughly modern. It's the sound of today, daddy!

Let these beautiful sounds soothe your body until you feel like you're floating down the indoor lazy river of life and loving every minute of it.


Yuuki Matthews "Funny Morning (Richard Swift Remix)"

From the hit album "Best Of Boiler Room Classics", available now wherever fine records are sold.

honestweight.tumblr.com

A limited number of marble blue vinyl LPs remain at flannelgraphrecords.com


Mike Adams At His Honest Weight "Good Thing Going"

from FGR047, "Souffrances Et Extases Du Jeune Amour", released 11/25/14

pre-order now at flannelgraphrecords.com

"These songs, composed and recorded between 1969 and 1974, chronicle yet another hypersensitive young man’s experiences with love. Some of the songs were recorded as demos, meant to be re-recorded in a studio with a concert grand piano. Time went by, my musical direction changed, and the tapes sat on the shelf for more than forty years until Jared Cheek expressed an interest in hearing them. Fitzgerald was correct – you can’t repeat the past. However, with an appropriate catalyst, you can shake the dust from your mind and conjure up people, places, feelings, sounds, scents and colors. And so for young lovers of all ages, here is yet another catalyst - a newly excavated map from peoples of the past, chronicling the risks and rewards, the sorrows and ecstasies of young love." - Don Muro, 2014

”It doesn't matter why this varied, bonkers collection of Don Muro's occasionally non-classifiable treats went unreleased for over 40 years. What's important is that we can enjoy them now and the future is a marvelous place to be. Imagine the deepest crate-digging Finders Keepers or B-Music could muster, then go delightfully weirder. Just when you think you have all the answers, Muro changes the questions.” - Jon Solomon (WPRB)

"Don Muro's songs feel like songs you've heard before: on a discarded Nuggets comp or a Laurel Canyon folk pop album you're sure your mother owned, something you caught late at night on an AOR rock station fading just out of signal or soundtracking a grainy public access science show. They are comforting no matter how strange they get (and they do get strange), warm, and guileless." - Jason P. Woodbury (Aquarium Drunkard)

When it comes to lost or unreleased albums, most have stories that are far more compelling than their actual musical content. But the intriguing narrative here is just how wonderful these songs are! This collection, whose title translates as "The Sufferings and Ecstasies of Young Love", is full of euphoric uppers and depressing downers that float across genres as Muro lets his young emotions flow through catchy garage rockers to smooth AM gold ballads to arena-ready prog pop anthems to the the analog synthesizer compositions for which he is best known. While comparisons could be made to anyone from The Zombies to Todd Rundgren to Carole King to Pilot to Elton John to Boston, the voice and direction throughout is distinctively Don Muro, who wrote, performed and recorded every note on the record.

When we reissued Don Muro's 1977 debut album "It's Time" in 2013, we had no idea that such remarkable songs existed from the years preceding it. It is sincerely an honor to be able to to share them with the world for the very first time. The raw emotion of a young man dealing with the elation and confusion of love combined with the diligent brilliance of a musical genius resulted in one of the most enjoyably moving albums of its time. And on November 25, 2014, it can finally be heard!

Don Muro "So Happy Together"

from FGR047, "Souffrances Et Extases Du Jeune Amour", released 11/25/14

pre-order now at flannelgraphrecords.com

"These songs, composed and recorded between 1969 and 1974, chronicle yet another hypersensitive young man’s experiences with love. Some of the songs were recorded as demos, meant to be re-recorded in a studio with a concert grand piano. Time went by, my musical direction changed, and the tapes sat on the shelf for more than forty years until Jared Cheek expressed an interest in hearing them. Fitzgerald was correct – you can’t repeat the past. However, with an appropriate catalyst, you can shake the dust from your mind and conjure up people, places, feelings, sounds, scents and colors. And so for young lovers of all ages, here is yet another catalyst - a newly excavated map from peoples of the past, chronicling the risks and rewards, the sorrows and ecstasies of young love." - Don Muro, 2014

”It doesn't matter why this varied, bonkers collection of Don Muro's occasionally non-classifiable treats went unreleased for over 40 years. What's important is that we can enjoy them now and the future is a marvelous place to be. Imagine the deepest crate-digging Finders Keepers or B-Music could muster, then go delightfully weirder. Just when you think you have all the answers, Muro changes the questions.” - Jon Solomon (WPRB)

"Don Muro's songs feel like songs you've heard before: on a discarded Nuggets comp or a Laurel Canyon folk pop album you're sure your mother owned, something you caught late at night on an AOR rock station fading just out of signal or soundtracking a grainy public access science show. They are comforting no matter how strange they get (and they do get strange), warm, and guileless." - Jason P. Woodbury (Aquarium Drunkard)

When it comes to lost or unreleased albums, most have stories that are far more compelling than their actual musical content. But the intriguing narrative here is just how wonderful these songs are! This collection, whose title translates as "The Sufferings and Ecstasies of Young Love", is full of euphoric uppers and depressing downers that float across genres as Muro lets his young emotions flow through catchy garage rockers to smooth AM gold ballads to arena-ready prog pop anthems to the the analog synthesizer compositions for which he is best known. While comparisons could be made to anyone from The Zombies to Todd Rundgren to Carole King to Pilot to Elton John to Boston, the voice and direction throughout is distinctively Don Muro, who wrote, performed and recorded every note on the record.

When we reissued Don Muro's 1977 debut album "It's Time" in 2013, we had no idea that such remarkable songs existed from the years preceding it. It is sincerely an honor to be able to to share them with the world for the very first time. The raw emotion of a young man dealing with the elation and confusion of love combined with the diligent brilliance of a musical genius resulted in one of the most enjoyably moving albums of its time. And on November 25, 2014, it can finally be heard!

Don Muro "Hit Tune"

from FGR045 "Weekend Forecast"

released December 16, 2014

7" lathe-cut vinyl (limited to 25 copies, co-release with Third Uncle Records)
audio cassette
digital

Josh Ottum "Estuary Anthem"

recorded by The Indiana Midnights in some weird old castle during a thunderstorm to commemorate the head wound and subsequent 41 stitches received by professional wrestler Reed Bentley

"Birth Of FRANKENBENTLEY" by The Indiana Midnights

title track from "We All Need Each Other: The 1968-1969 Recordings"

available on tape/digital on July 28, 2015

stream/download at flannelgraphrecords.bandcamp.com
order tape at flannelgraphrecords.com


Don Muro "We All Need Each Other"

from FGR054 "Still On The Line: A Tribute To Jimmy Webb", out 9/29/15 on Flannelgraph Records

Pop Zeus "Just This One Time"

from FGR054, "Still on the Line: A Tribute To Jimmy Webb", out 9/29/15 on Flannelgraph Records

pre-order vinyl at flannelgraphrecords.com
pre-order digitally at flannelgraphrecords.bandcamp.com


The Cairo Gang "Ocean In His Eyes"

from FGR054, "Still On The Line: A Tribute To Jimmy Webb", out 9/29/15 on Flannelgraph Records

Mike Adams At His Honest Weight "By The Time I Get To Phoenix"

It's an instrumental version of one of the greatest rock songs of the seventies, Don Muro's "Lay Low Day"! 
The original can be found on FGR033, the reissue of 1977's "It's Time", available here digitally and on 150g vinyl....
https://flannelgraphrecords.bandcamp.com/album/its-time

It's Time

Don Muro // Lay Low Day Instrumental

Roseanne Cash cover from the EP Mike Adams At His Honest Weight Steals The Hits Off Country Beauties
FGR087
available on tape/digital at flannelgraphrecords.com

Steals the Hits Off Country Beauties

"Seven Year Ache" by Mike Adams At His Honest Weight

from DREAM PHONE, available now at flannelgraphrecords.com

Dream Phone

Mary Houlihan "Really Nice Psychic"

Artist: Don Muro
Title: Off We Go: More Synth Pop From 1970-1979
Release date: June 29, 2018
Format: 12” Vinyl with download (252 blue vinyl, 275 yellow vinyl)
Catalog Number: FGR085
Label: Flannelgraph Records
Distributor: Light in the Attic

  After last year’s incredible compilation of unreleased 1970’s instrumental synthesizer compositions Synthesizer Pop for a New Age (1974-1978) we thought that we had heard the very best of Don Muro’s treasure trove of unreleased tape reels. And then he drops this on our heads! 
     Off We Go: More Synth Pop From 1970-1979 combines 7 of the best instrumental synthesizer songs ever recorded and presents them to the world for the very first time! Actually, the album opener, “Jump For Joy”, might sound familiar if you paid attention in high school as it was the opening music for a slideshow that Mr. Muro produced in 1975 titled An Introduction to Electronic Music Synthesizers. “Blues Tune” really isn’t that bluesy sounding at all and feels a bit like Giorgio Moroder’s Einzelgänger, which would be released 5 years later. “Off We Go” is the sort of blissful, carefree anthem that would have been used on one of those Sandals Resorts informational videos had they been around 1974. On “Fly”, Muro takes the sort of joyful excitement found in Edd Kalehoff’s background music cues for The Price Is Right and injects a heartfelt sentimentality through his singlular vision and hard-earned skills as a musical genius. Fans of the first album Muro released, 1977’s It’s Time, will love “The First Look”, which can hang with the work of any of the caped prog keyboard giants of the 1970’s. 1979’s “The Glimpse” is a dense, soothing blanket of Tangerine Dream/Vangelis/Ciani-esque brilliance. And album closer “Summer of ‘72” makes you wonder what it would have been like if Don had soundtracked the summer camp horror film The Burning instead of Rick Wakeman. 
     Off We Go: More Synth Pop From 1970-1979 will be released on June 29th, 2018. It has been pressed on exactly 252 copies of blue vinyl and 275 copies of yellow vinyl. Once again, it features cover art conceived by Muro himself and designed by David Orr. 

Jump For Joy (1974)
Blues Tune (1970)
Off We Go (1979)
Fly (1974)
The First Look (1971)
The Glimpse (1979)
Summer of ‘72 (1972)

FlannelgraphRecords

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