FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise is the much-anticipated follow-up to composer, trumpeter, and (now) singer jaimie branch's debut Fly or Die, which was dubbed one of the “Best Albums of 2017” by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NPR Music, WIRE, Stereogum, Aquarium Drunkard, and more. Written (mostly) while on her first European tour with Fly or Die in November 2018; and recorded (mostly) in studio at Total Refreshment Centre and live at Café OTO in London UK at the end of that tour, bird dogs of paradise is the result of a never-satisfied branch pushing her distinct style of progressive composition to new heights — while also stepping forward as a vocalist for the first time. “So much beauty lies in the abstract of instrumental music,” says branch in the album’s liner notes, “but being this ain’t a particularly beautiful time, I’ve chosen a more literal path. The voice is good for that.”

On the album’s epic opening opus “prayer for amerikkka pt.1 and 2” branch calls out “a bunch of wide-eyed racists” between searing trumpet ad libs atop a massive, down-tuned blues. On the album’s closing track “love song (for assholes & clowns)” she laughs in their faces - an unhinged, unflinching, mix of anger and humor paired with a classic shuffle beat. Between both ends is an instrumental chronicle that traverses a deep sea of dystopian Americana without trepidation. Her trumpet – sometimes soft and pleading and other times brash and seething – is always at the helm. Branch and company are on a quest for sonic saturation here and they conjure up moments of real reckoning - hopefulness, hopelessness, danger, and joy. A cinematic sojourn from our earth to imagined worlds above, bird dogs of paradise dares you to feel again, or as branch says, “now sound the trumpets and get ready to roll.”

FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise

love song

nuevo roquero estéreo

bird dogs of paradise

simple sIlver surfer

whales

twenty-three n me, jupiter redux

lesterlude

prayer for amerikkka pt. 1 & 2

birds of paradise

06 Oh Great Be The Lake

This album is an assemblage...
...reflections on the present
...glimpses of tradition
...luminous echoes between love and solitude.
hope and absurdity.
euphoria and mourning.

This album grapples with and transgresses these tensive binaries because we have and continue to cross borders. Yet, for us, the border is no metaphor — too much real staring back at you, not enough symbolism.

We embody the border.
We (our families) have crossed it.
We (our stories) are sticky with its residues.
And so... we cross the border of self through our art — out of necessity.

This album was imagined while touring the country as families were corralled in cages.
We then fled the wildfire of a nascent pandemic poised to
ravage our communities as we recorded in Los Angeles.
Finally, our sonic journey concluded in Chicago while the country rebelled against the murderous consequences of policing and white supremacy.

Through this cascade of tipping points and tragedy, we summoned melody and verse to sound out verdant technicolor dreams of freedom, mirroring the miraculous vortex of our time.

Borders were at the center of these struggles.
Borders — of nation, of belonging — are the struggle.

And so, this album is a set of dispatches from that wondrous journey...
...our journey across and into a sunburst surreal.
...our astral meditations on loss and triumph.
...our sonic crossings across a landscape of trauma and effervescence.

For the border divides and defines places, yes. But it is equally a place unto itself — a borderland.
This is the forbidden place where we dwell.
The enchanting space where we are at home.
The bustling city where we reflect.
Look into our mirror.
See us in you.

Lejos De Ti

Jaguar De Rosas

Ghost. Me.

Crown Me

Palo Santo

City Of Mirrors

Alma Cosmica

A Shot in the Dark

Jeff Parker - electric guitar

All compositions by Jeff Parker (umjabuglafeesh music BMI), except “My Ideal” (Whiting/Chase/Robin) and “Ugly Beauty”(Thelonious Monk).

Engineered by Graeme Gibson at Sholo Studio in Altadena, California on June 28th & 29th, 2021. Mixed by Graeme Gibson in Cypress Park, Los Angeles, California on July 15th & 16th, 2021. 

Sequenced by Scott McNiece.
Mastered by David Allen. 

Photography by Lee Anne Schmitt.
Design by Jeremiah Chiu.

Produced by Scott McNiece.

JP send thanks to: Graeme, Lee Anne, Scottie McNiece, David Allen and Paul Bryan.

This album is dedicated to Lee Anne, Ruby and Ezra.

Suffolk

Produced and Mixed by Carlos Niño
Mastered by Benjamin Tierney and David Allen

Cover Art by Nep Sidhu  
Design and Layout by Craig Hansen

14 AmazonianPulse (with Laraaji And Nate Mercereau)

07 Luis's Special Shells (with Jamael Dean And Jamire Williams)

04 Youwillgetthroughthis I Promise (with Jamael Dean)

03 Actually (with Deantoni Parks Jamael Dean And Nate Mercereau)

02 Explorations 7 (with Devin Daniels Randy Gloss Jamael Dean And Miguel Atwood - Ferguson)

01 In The Moment (with Devin Daniels Randy Gloss Jamael Dean And Miguel Atwood - Ferguson)

Ben LaMar Gay - Galveston

Produced, Mixed, Edited, and Arranged by Carlos Niño

Bells, Chimes, Cymbals, Drums, Field Recordings, 
Flutes, Gongs, Kalimbas, Keyboards, Leaves, Plants, Rattles, 
Shakers, Sound Design, Synths, Voice, and Whistles 
throughout by Carlos Niño 

with
Aaron Shaw, Adam Rudolph, André 3000,
Andres Renteria, Annelise, Arji, Cavana Lee,
Deantoni Parks, Diego Gaeta, Dntel, Jamael Dean,
Jamire Williams, Jesse Peterson, Josh Johnson,
Kamasi Washington, Laraaji, Lionmilk, Luis Pérez Ixoneztli,
Maia, Mia Doi Todd, Michael Alvidrez, Nate Mercereau,
Pablo Calogero, Photay, Sibusile Xaba, Surya Botofasina,
The Growth Eternal, V.C.R., and Woo

Mastered by David Allen
Cover Photo by Annelise


On The Cover and Insert:
Tile VI (Fall in or Fly Away),
Ceramic, by Aparna Sarkar


Art Direction and Original Elements by Nep Sidhu
Graphic Design and Layout by Craig Hansen

Transcendental Bounce, Run to it (feat. Maia, Deantoni Parks, Nate Mercereau)

Maha Rose North 102021, Breathwork (feat. Laraaji, Photay)

Dos Santos - "manos ajenas (touch you every day)"
available April 27th 2018 on 45RPM 7" vinyl,
Spotify and all digital music plaftorms

The second lead single from Chicago quintet DOS SANTOS's debut International Anthem LP (LOGOS, coming June 2018), "manos ajenas (touch you every day)," is a two-and-a-half minute ditty that Daniel, the band's drummer, has jokingly called "a Caribbean version of Tame Impala," referring to the lush rhythm of catchy Roland Juno 106 chords that soar from start to finish. A finish which, like many of the greatest radio hits all time, leaves you wanting more, leaves you wishing the song would just go on forever. Sure to be a Summer hit across all of Latin America (which includes the United States), blaring out of motorcycle speakers from Pilsen to Puerto Rico to Panama all the way down to Patagonia.

As promised by its title, "manos ajenas (touch you every day)" (which translates in English to "other people's hands touch you every day") is another potent lyrical statement from Dos Santos singer Alex Chavez, who opens the tune inviting listeners to embrace and greet him ("Abrázame. Salúdame."), and poses simple questions pointed to free us of the past traumas that keep us apart, or keep us from expressing and loving ourselves/others - "¿Serás capaz de perdonar a quienes te han herido? ¿Y alabar con tu cantar tus padres, tus queridos?" ("Are you capable of forgiving those who have hurt you? And of praising your parents, your dear ones with your sonorous voice?"). A beautiful message of love and compassion which, en Español, is of highest relevance and immediacy in the current cultural context of America. To us at International Anthem, this feels like the most universal music we've yet to put forth.

Dos Santos - manos ajenas (touch you every day)

IARC0021 Jeff Parker - "Blackman"
single available May 21st 2018
on phonograph flexidisk & digital download/stream

Produced, Performed & Recorded by Jeff Parker.
Vocals by Ruby Parker.
Mixed by Paul Bryan.
Mastered by David Allen.

Artwork by Ezra Lou ParkerSchmitt.
Design by Craig Hansen.

"Blackman" was composed & originally recorded
by Georgia Anne Muldrow
(Epistrophik Peach publishing, BMI, 2006)

Jeff Parker - Blackman

International Anthem is a Chicago-born recording company that produces and promotes progressive media.

Founded by curators from the Uncanned Music family, the IARC label was established to be a productive and distributive outlet for the group’s original music programming.

The mission of International Anthem is to make positive contributions to the changing state of the music industry, and to vitalize the demand for boundary-defying music by presenting unique sounds in appealing packages to untapped audiences.

International Anthem

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