Vinyl available on our Bandcamp: http://whalefall.bandcamp.com.

Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Whale Fall is an instrumental group featuring traditional rock instrumentation interfused with more pastoral strokes of piano, brass instruments, cello, and a touch of analog synth. 

The group's self-titled debut record was written across several years and line-up changes. Released in 2011, the first album eventually became a favorite of music directors at NPR, who featured many of the tracks as interstitial music on the nationally syndicated "Morning Edition" program. The independently produced, self-released record was an expansive and wide-ranging double LP which established the band's sound as well as their dedicated fanbase. Tracks from the record, as well as a newer exclusive track, were featured in the award-winning 2013 documentary Code Black.

Their second release, The Madrean (an extended homage to the American Southwest which the band calls home) was heralded as a more developed, cohesive, and dynamic set of thematically related compositions with profound emotional resonance. The Madrean landed on several year-end "Best of 2014" lists and further solidified the band's reputation as well as its small but ardent cult following. The double LP vinyl edition features a stunning 12-page booklet of manipulated landscape photography which merges with the eight often lengthy, interconnected tracks to evoke the story behind The Madrean.

For their latest self-produced release, Sondersongs, the band honed their focus down to ten tracks clocking in under 45 minutes — their first single LP. Although based in similar musical ground as the first two records, on Sondersongs the band is not afraid to bend the listener's ear more toward further genre references and nods to decades past, with individual tracks shifting seamlessly from plaintive piano pieces and chiming acoustic passages to shimmering dream pop guitar tones, more elaborate horn arrangements, and blaring rock anthems. 

The concept of "sonder" comes from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, which defines it as: 

"The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own — populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness — an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk."

Sondersongs will soon be available on all relevant (and irrelevant) streaming services with the digital release slated for June 26, 2018. A striking (and limited) white vinyl edition and compact disc release will follow later in the year.

WHALE FALL PERSONNEL
Keyboards, Cornet, Glockenspiel, Melodica / J. Matt Greenberg
Electric & Acoustic Guitars / Ali Vazin
Electric & Acoustic Guitars / Dave Pomeranz
Drums & Percussion / Aaron Farinelli
Bass Guitar & Atmospherics / Erik Tokle

Singer/Songwriter from Los Angeles, California. I am currently living in Silver Lake writing and recording new songs. Playing shows in Hollywood and surrounding areas.ALSO AVAILABLE ON : Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Tidal, YouTube, Microsoft Groove, ClaroMusica, Saavn, MediaNet


https://gregorypaulduarte.bandcamp.com/releases

I create, record, mix, produce original music through different tools such as Drums, Voice, Synths, Guitars and ambient sounds.  I alter them with many electronic devices/programs as well as keeping the essence of raw sounds.  Here are some of my demos and the EP is releasing Early 2017 in collaboration with  Laura Roccia.  See at www.thevisionfield.com

InsightLA offers the highest quality training in mindfulness practices available in the Greater Los Angeles area.  For 16 years, we have offered classes, retreats, and special events, and an open and welcoming community of practitioners.  Though our work is rooted in ancient traditions, we offer classes in both  secular mindfulness as well as the Buddhist Insight Tradition.  All of our efforts are dedicated toward our mission of calming minds, opening hearts, and changing the world.

“If you’re anything like me then you probably think there aren’t enough cats carrying on the Paul Westerberg torch. If that be the case, then look no further than my man Jim Salinger.” - Captains Dead


Pennsylvania native Jim Salinger has been rocking his L.A. home base for years, with a growing list of TV & Film song placements. But we haven’t heard much from him in the last decade since 2008’s HEYOKA. Love, marriage, births, deaths, near-death experiences and awakenings in Laurel Canyon. And now, finally a new release, Starry Verse.

To boil it down for the blogosphere, this collection is like the union of Joseph Campbell’s ecstatic soul with Wilco’s eclectic sound, mastered in a crystal city vortex underneath Mt. Shasta. In plain speak, it's righteous cosmic folk rock you’ll be Spotify-ing during your very real commute.

Yes, Starry Verse has a cosmic perspective that will resonate with listeners who have an affinity for the infinite. For those more pragmatic when it comes to their pop songs, the melodic songcraft here is remarkably crisp. And there's a pair of break-up tunes in the sequence (See Your Dreams, Let Me Know) that would not sound out of place on Salinger's 2004 Americana debut, Down By Fire.

Jim partnered with Echo Park producer John Would (Fiona Apple, Graham Parker) to thoughtfully mix cello,12-string, steel guitar and female harmonies. This adds a fresh dimension to Salinger's catalog, elevating his core vocals and guitar. An essential part of the chemistry here is the return of HEYOKA’s ace studio drummer Amy Wood.

Starry Verse’s centerpiece is “Midwest Heart, Space Age Mind”. It’s a cinematic dreamscape written during a Peter Case songwriting workshop. Jim recalls "I wrote this one to be intentionally mysterious as a counterpoint to Peter’s instruction for the class to be clear in their narratives.” Jim laughs, ”When I finished playing it, he nodded and admitted that sometimes songs work even if you don’t know what they really mean.” 

What does it really mean? Fundamentally, there’s a philosophical inquiry into the relationship between heaven, earth and everyone of us. When Jim sings “All the stars in the sky are burning but they never really die. They’ll be the sparkle in your eye when you see why we need darkness” on “Why We Need Darkness” it’s both a starry verse, and a knowing declaration. A friendly reminder that you are alive, connected, and everything is going to be alright forever. Thanks, Jim.

Album cover art “Postcard from New Iceland” was created by modern vintage collage artist, Eugenia Loli: http://eugenialoli.tumblr.com/

Jim Salinger is following