'1970 Sessions' available exclusively via bandcamp :
https://tompkinssquare.bandcamp.com/album/1970-sessions

Will Beeley came up in the Austin music scene of the 70’s with contemporaries like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Guy Clark.

Beeley recorded '1970 Sessions' as a follow up to his debut, Gallivantin', in 1970 in San Antonio, TX. Never released until now, the album was used as an audition tape for interested labels. Beeley would eventually sign to Malaco Records. 

Tompkins Square reissued Beeley's 70's albums Gallivantin' and Passing Dream in 2017. Beeley returned to the studio with producer Jerry DeCicca (Larry Jon Wilson) in 2018 for his first album in 40 years, Highways & Heart Attacks). Recorded by 5-time Grammy winner Joe Trevino (Los Lobos, Flaco Jimenez) and mixed by Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn's 'Van Lear Rose', Cat Power), Highways & Heart Attacks also features The Mavericks' Michael Guerra.

Pitch Black Sky by Will Beeley

The two latest reissues to spin off from our acclaimed Imaginational Anthem Volume 8: The Private Press feature the solo guitar compositions of Russell Potter, recorded in the last waning days of the initial American Primitive explosion.

A then obsessed teenaged devotee of John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Leo Kottke at a time when Punk and New Wave were ascendant, Potter harnessed a similar DIY ethos to his own ends by starting his own label & self-publishing his first record, 'A Stone's Throw', while a freshman enrolled at Goddard College in Vermont in 1979. Assembled at the legendary Boddie Records in Potter's hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and sprinkled liberally with references to his heroes, from the initial record label name of Fonytone (which more than a little recalls Fahey's earliest record label, Fonotone), to the arcane song titles and references to obscure rags.

Even as he looks to his elders, Potter's debut release nimbly evinces a complete mastery of his form and is all the more remarkable for one of such tender years, as only the chutzpah of youth can account for such moves as successfully grafting one of your own composition to one of John Fahey's, as he does here. There's a very immediate, lovely, and real homespun quality to Potter's chiming twelve-string compositions that puts it in the realm of those classic records that seem to simply exist outside of time.

Shortly after 'A Stones Throw', Potter produced & released a 45rpm single by an Ohio bluegrass band featuring the cult singer songwriter Bob Frank performing a cover of Devo's 'Mongoloid', before moving on to his second (and sadly final) album the following year, 'Neither Here Nor There'. Following an independent study with a Goddard College ethnomusicologist, Potter's compositions and performance only deepened on his second release - the recording quality steps up a little but loses none of the immediacy, the playing gets more exuberantly virtuosic -but then more reflective too, particularly on the tunes that are influenced by the gorgeous traditional Irish slow airs. He's still tipping his hat to Fahey occasionally as well, this time with an audacious electric guitar setting of the classic "Dance of the Inhabitant of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain."

Though these albums landed at a time when American Primitive guitar music's 1960s & 1970s heyday was in the rear view mirror, they absolutely look ahead to the genre's eventual 21st Century resurrection, anticipating both in form & content many of the same concerns you find in the great contemporary work of the last two decades by Jack Rose, Glenn Jones, Daniel Bachman, et al., and as such provide about as fine a stepping stone between these two eras as you're likely to find.

A Stone's Throw

Neither Here Nor There

Eirigh Suas A Stoirin

Taken from Daniel Bachman's album, 'Jesus I'm A Sinner', out October 8th 2013 on Tompkins Square. Available on LP/CD/DL.

"With each new album, guitarist Daniel Bachman further establishes himself as one of the great living fingerstyle artists."
 - FRETBOARD JOURNAL

'Jesus I'm a Sinner' is the 4th LP by Daniel Bachman, the follow up to last year's acclaimed 'Seven Pines'.  It was recorded in Rappahannock County Virginia at Forrest Marquisee's studio inside his father's woodshop in May of 2013 after spending 8 months on the road.  

The first song 'Sarah Anne' is for one of his best friends and sister, Sarah Anne Bachman, and it's also his first full song for the lap guitar.  'Honeysuckle Reel' is a springtime tune, for that first day when the heat and humidity sets in and the smell of the honeysuckle bloom creeps in your open windows driving.  'Happy One Step' is a guitar/fiddle duet with Sally Morgan of the Black Twig Pickers/The Freight Hoppers.  It is a Cajun tune by Dennis McGee.  'Jesus I'm a Sinner' is for cutting loose.  'Variation on Goose Chase' is a version of Virgil Anderson's 'Goose Chase'.  Although attempted to adapt to the guitar, playing it on the banjo was the only way to keep the feel of the original version. 

'Under the Shade of the Trees' has the undertone and drone of the 17 year cicada hatch that hit Virginia summer of 2013.  The title is taken from Stonewall Jackson's last words on his deathbed, "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees".  'Chattanooga' is played by Sally Anne Morgan (fiddle) and Charlie Devine (banjo).  This version was taken from Blaine Smith.  'Blenheim' is the name of the Latané family's property in Westmoreland Co. Virginia.  It's a song for good food, drinks and solid company nestled on the banks of the Potomac River.  'Leaving Istanbul (4 AM)' is a frustration song - the feeling of being very tired thousands and thousands of miles away from home.

'Jesus I'm A Sinner' Available on LP (TSQ2950), CD (TSQ2943) and DL OCTOBER 8th
Distributed by INgrooves in the US, Cargo UK for Europe, FUSE for Australia
Tour dates (w/ Ryley Walker) :

OCTOBER
7th - New York - The Living Room
10th - Antwerp - Audio Plant 
11th - Koln - Bastille Kalk
12th - Weisbaden - Fragmente
13th - Berlin - Monarch Berlin 
14th - Berlin - Normans House Party
15th - Schwarzenburg - Galerie Rademann 
16th - Ceske Budejovice -Horka Vana
17th - Vienna - Mo.e 
19th - Genoa - Garage 1517 
21st - Marseille - Grim 
22nd - Cafè El Cercle, Girona 
23rd - Barcelona - Heliogabal 
24th - Madrid - La Faena Bolos
25th - Paris -  les Instants Chavirés 
27th - Louvain La Neuve - Ecuries de la Ferme du Biéreau 
28 - Brussels -Bonnefooi  
29th - Leiden - Hannah And Leos 
30th - Den Hag - Villa Te Kuip 
31 - Amsterdam - Occi 
 
NOVEMBER solo dates
15th - Durham - Pinhook 
16th - Ashville - Apothecary 
17th - Nashville - Bang Candy Company 
18th - Louisville - TBA
19th - Urbana - Indigo 
20th - Oberlin - Fairchild Chapel 
21st - Pittsburgh - Acoustic Music Works 
22nd - Charlottesville - Tea Bazaar 


Honeysuckle Reel by Daniel Bachman

Coyote Canyon is a wilderness area behind my daughter's house where coyotes gather and howl before taking off for their nightly foraging. Little Tujunga (pronounced "Tuhunga") is a river running through the Angeles Forest near a house I lived in five decades ago. Half my ideas for this piece came from onshore guitar ruminating. The rest was improvised in studio. Emma was my close and sweet companion during this period, a lifelong deep friend. I composed her song one evening at the kitchen table of our place while she was cooking. Tumbleweedin' describes a desert tumbleweed storm. I menaced every inch of the Yamaha, recreating the effect of these windblown monsters screeching along boulders, smacking into cactus and anything else in their way at often impossible speeds, following the whims of the heavy winds. This song was completely improvised at the moment in studio and forgotten. Roy's Rain is a tribute to my great good friend and musician killed in a car accident in 1973. I found For Marsha Version 2 on a well-worn studio tape. It's a variant of the same composition on the Gentle Wilderness album. I like this loose and flowy version. Movin' On has one thing on its mind - getting away fast and now. Going Home is my improvised take on an American root song. The above seven were recorded between 1972-1975. Three Sisters was recorded on a 20-minute studio break in 1999 describing three barren red hills somewhere in the Arizona desert, a cherished location.

The latest in a series of reissues spawned from Imaginational Anthem Volume 8 : The Private Press, following Conklin/Blum - Jackdaw, Tom Armstrong - The Sky Is An Empty Eye, and Rick Deitrick - Gentle Wilderness and River Sun River Moon, Russell Potter - A Stoneâ€™s Throw and Neither Here Nor There.

Coyote Canyon

Emma by Rick Deitrick

"The West Wind" by Ryley Walker. 3 song 12" EP available now. Ryley's debut album will be released on Tompkins Square April 15th, 2014.

Ryley Walker is a 24 year-old singer/songwriter and guitarist from Chicago. His debut album will be released in April 2014 on Tompkins Square.

"With the charming swagger of jazz-folk troubadour Tim Buckley and the resonant, full picking style of Bert Jansch, "The West Wind" comes from Walker's first widely available release, a three-song 12". With acoustic guitar in hand and a voice like browned butter, Walker swings and sways in a lush string-and-piano arrangement right out of Buckley's Starsailor; it slowly picks up to a swirling gallop without bucking the rhythm." - NPR Music

Tour dates :

WITH WREKMEISTER HARMONIES :
03-08 Chicago - The Hideout
03-09 Kansas City, KS - FOKL
03-11 Dallas - Crown & Harp

03-13 Austin, TX (SXSW) - Stephen F's, Intercontinental - 10pm

03-17 Oxford, MS - Lamar Lounge
03-18 Little Rock, AR - Vino's Brew Pub
03-19 Louisville, KY - Dreamland
03-20 Lafayette, IN - Foam City


WITH CLOUD NOTHINGS :
04-10 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
04-11 Clinton, NY - Tolles Pavilion
04-12 Hamden, CT - The Space
04-13 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
04-14 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-16 Washington, DC - Black Cat
04-17 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
04-18 Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
04-19 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade (Hell Stage)
04-21 Orlando, FL - The Social
04-22 Tampa, FL - Crowbar
04-23 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
04-24 New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa
04-25 Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's

The West Wind by Ryley Walker

From 'Follow The Music", the new album by Alice Gerrard.
Available on LP/CD/DL Sept. 30th, 2014 on Tompkins Square
Produced by M.C. Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger)
Featuring members of Hiss Golden Messenger and Megafaun

"Alice Gerrard has one of those voices that harkens back to the likes of Sara and Maybelle.  She is the real deal with the right stuff and hasn't forgotten where country music came from."
- Emmylou Harris (June, 2014)


"Boll Weevil" by Alice Gerrard

Voice of America interview with Muireann Bradley.

Debut album 'I Kept These Old Blues' available on LP, CD , cassette and digital

Muireann Bradley Feature - Voice of America

'Imaginational Anthem vol. 7' Available February 17, 2015

'Trees Return to Soil' by Simon Scott

ROSCOE HOLCOMB
SAN DIEGO FOLK FESTIVAL 1972
LIMITED EDITION VINYL LP NOVEMBER 27th, 2015
CD & DIGITAL DECEMBER 4th, 2015

Tompkins Square label is proud to announce the release of the first commercially available full live concert recording of old-time legend Roscoe Holcomb. The vinyl LP will be released in limited quantity on Black Friday via independent record stores. The CD and digital versions will be available widely on December 4th.

Discovered by folklorist John Cohen in 1959 in East Kentucky, Roscoe Holcomb is among the most revered musicians to emerge during the folk boom of the 60's. A favorite of Bob Dylan (who name-checked him in his 2014 MusiCares speech), Eric Clapton, and many others, Holcomb's high lonesome singing and driving banjo style can be heard on several classic Folkways recordings.

San Diego Folk Festival 1972 was recorded at the annual event produced by Lou Curtiss, who provides insightful notes on how the concert came together. John Cohen, author of 'The High Lonesome Sound' (Steidl) also contributes new notes to the set. Previously unseen photographs from the event were shot by Virginia Curtiss. Jean Ritchie duets with Holcomb on a beautiful eight-minute version of 'Wandering Boy'.

CD : TSQ 5210 / LP : TSQ 5227
Tompkins Square is distributed by INgrooves and REVOLVER in NA, Cargo UK for Europe

Single Girl - Roscoe Holcomb

Irish singer/songwriter Brigid Mae Power's self-titled debut album out on the Tompkins Square label June 10th, 2016. LP, CD & digital.

Brigid Mae Power

It's Clearing Now

It's Clearing Now by BRIGID MAE POWER

Imaginational Anthem Vol. 8 : The Private Press
Out September 16th on 2LP vinyl (ltd, 500) / CD / DL

8th volume of Tompkins Square label's acclaimed acoustic guitar series focuses on impossibly rare private press recordings 1968-1995.

Tompkins Square label presents the 8th volume of Imaginational Anthem, the acclaimed series focusing on acoustic guitar, particularly in the American Primitive vein.

Since 2005, the series has revived interest in old masters of the genre while also giving many folks their very first taste of artists like William Tyler, Steve Gunn, Cian Nugent or Daniel Bachman.

Volume 8, compiled by hardcore record collectors Michael Klausman (former used LP buyer for NYC's recently shuttered Other Music) and Brooks Rice, features some of the best and most obscure private press guitar records virtually no one has heard. In fact, so-called guitar soli expert, Tompkins Square owner Josh Rosenthal, had never heard of a single artist on the comp (except for Perry Lederman, whose track was Josh's sole contribution to the collection). "Just goes to show what a bottomless pit music discovery from the past continues to be. There's just no end to all the riches from past decades."

Amidst the obscure entries are bits of rock-star lore; Joe Bethancourt was supposedly given a sitar by an admiring Jimi Hendrix, and Perry Lederman was reportedly responsible for teaching Bob Dylan how to fingerpick. But the true joy of this collection is derived from discovering incredible acoustic guitar performances completely lost to time. Until now.

Explore the series : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/releases.html


Imaginational Anthem vol. 8 : The Private Press

The Secret Forces Of Nature by Gary Salzman ('68) from IA vol. 8 : The Private Press

First-generation American Primitive guitarist Richard Osborn studied and performed with Robbie Basho in the 60's. After 45 years, Osborn finally recorded, appearing on Tompkins Square's 'Beyond Berkeley Guitar' comp in 2010. 'Endless' is his first widely available solo guitar album. 

"[Osborn has] an unhurried, quiet spirit of adventure, a love of ringing strings and slowly revelatory meditations on the natural world." 
-Acoustic Guitar Magazine

"He's a student of mine and he's better technically than me or Fahey." 
- Robbie Basho

Richard Osborn
Endless
Available Jan 27, 2017 LP (TSQ5340) CD (TSQ5333) Digital
Tompkins Square is distributed by INgrooves and Revolver in the US
Cargo UK for Europe

Endless

Buy LP(ltd ed 500)/ CD

In A Monastery Garden by Richard Osborn

Philip Lewin - Am I Really Here All Alone ?
1975 Private-press LP (only 300 signed and numbered copies pressed at the time) now remastered from the original tapes.

ORDER / MORE INFO :
http://www.tompkinssquare.com/philiplewin.html

Available worldwide on LP/CD/digital (LP is ltd ed of 750) FEB 24, 2017

Am I Really Here All Alone ?

Buy LP/CD

Watercolours by Philip Lewin

TOM ARMSTRONG - THE SKY IS AN EMPTY EYE
Available Apr 14, 2017 on Tompkins Square
Rare Private-Press LP reissued for the first time on LP/CD/digital

ORDER LP/CD : tompkinssquare.com

Tompkins Square's recent double-LP, Imaginational Anthem vol. 8 : The Private Press, shed light on forgotten, impossibly rare guitar recordings spanning several decades. Tom Armstrong's The Sky Is An Empty Eye is the first of several reissues planned by Tompkins Square of full albums by artists featured on IA8. 
 
Armstrong's self-released LP from 1987 sports blissed out acoustic numbers like the one featured on IA8, along with some electric workouts and even a deep psych vocal tune.

** Tom will play a few tunes and sign records at Good Records, 1808 Lower Greenville Ave., Dallas TX on Thursday, May 18th, 8pm **

In his own words, today :

I was born in Elmhurst IL, lived there 29 years.  Had a brief career playing open mikes and bars for tips, drinks and nominal cash payments, even gave some guitar lessons.

In 1984 I was offered a half partnership in an engineering firm in Dallas, so I moved to Texas.  Made a big pile of money.  My wife bought me a Tascam 4 track recorder for my birthday, I went crazy with it.  Recorded a bunch of melodies that had been rattling around my brain since I was 8 years old.  Liked what I heard, decided to make an LP.

It wasn't too hard to track down a studio to master my 4 tracks.  By this time I was an old hand at graphic design for promotional material, so I designed the cover myself.  

Handed the albums out to business associates, as promotional material for other business interests, at a drunken open mike at a bar in Pinos Altos, NM.  

I continued to record for about another 10 years, blues rock, pop.  Really refined my recording skills.  Still play once in while, but I'm an old fart now, with all the baggage that entails.

Tom Armstrong - The Sky Is An Empty Eye
LP : TSQ 5357 / CD : TSQ 5364 
Tompkins Square is distributed by INgrooves and Revolver for NA, Cargo UK for Europe

The Sky Is An Empty Eye

Keller

On June 30th, Tompkins Square will reissue two albums by Texas singer/songwriter Will Beeley - the self-released mega-rare (only 200 copies) private press LP Gallivantin' from 1971, and Passing Dream, originally released by Malaco Records in 1979.

Recorded in San Antonio, Gallivantin' shows Beeley's heartfelt, folky side - a wistful set of original tunes, plus a cover of Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and a spaced-out, 10 minute+ Eastern-influenced psych take on Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Little Wheel Spin And Spin / Co'Dine".

Recorded in Jackson, Mississippi, Passing Dream reveals the shifting musical direction of opposite sides of the 70's - a tougher, huskier, more alt-country sound emerging, presaging modern day troubadours like Chris Stapleton and Jamey Johnson. Released by Malaco Records in 1979, the album features the very first studio credit by guitarist Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm), along with drummer James Stroud (Marshall Tucker Band, Eddie Rabbitt), keyboardist Carson Whitsett (Paul Simon, Tony Joe White) and other crack studio players.

Now a truck driver living in New Mexico, Will Beeley recently recorded his first new album since 1979's Passing Dream. Produced by Jerry David DeCicca of The Black Swans (who also produced Larry Jon Wilson's final album), the new one features Michael Guerra (The Mavericks), and is mixed by Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose, Cat Power's The Greatest). The album is slated for release on Tompkins Square sometime in 2018.

PRE-ORDER : tompkinssquare.com

Gallivantin'  - CD - TSQ 5395 / LP - TSQ 5401 / digital
Passing Dream - LP only - TSQ 5418

Tompkins Square is distributed by INgrooves and Revolver in NA, Cargo for Europe

Rainy Sundays by Will Beeley

ORDER LP : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/deitrick1.html

Tompkins Square is proud to release two solo acoustic guitar albums by Rick Deitrick, out August 25th. Gentle Wilderness was released as a private press LP in 1978. River Sun River Moon consists of previously unreleased recordings from the same time period. Deitrick came to our attention via Brooks Rice and Michael Klausman, who compiled Imaginational Anthem Vol 8 : The Private Press, which features Rick's "Missy Christa" from Gentle Wilderness.

Ohio-born Rick Deitrick took up the guitar at 16 and decided to approach his playing as if he was the only guy on an island and the instrument had just washed ashore one day.  According to Rick, “I completely divorced my playing from any formal music knowledge, but it was very important to me to use original tuning. During those years, the sixties/seventies, there was a lot of acoustic guitar playing, often using open tuning as a base. I wanted to create whole tones without de-tuning and keep access to the complex sounds stock tuning provided.”

Rick pressed 500 copies of his tranquil solo guitar record, Gentle Wilderness, in 1978 on Niodrara Records, and sold many at performances and directly to music shops who would pay for them.  He gave copies to various libraries and left a few albums in the middle of the wilderness, next to trails, “so people would find them.” Rick sought inspiration in nature and in particular the various rivers scattered around the Western United States, often composing songs seated beside them —and even occasionally perched on boulders in them. He never played the songs the same way twice and did two passes on each composition in studio. Rick would sometimes literally come straight out of the mountains and rush to the studio to record the ideas he’d gathered. "Missy Christa" was recorded at Mount Olympus studio in Hollywood and was named after Rick’s daughter; it was originally composed right next to the Big Sur River where he had been camping.

Rick currently resides in Los Angeles, “still strumming, waiting for the other shoe to drop.” 

TSQ 5456 River Sun River Moon
TSQ 5432 Gentle Wilderness

Gentle Widerness

Gentle Wilderness

At Morning by Rick Deitrick

PRE-ORDER LP : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/deitrick2.html

Tompkins Square is proud to release two solo acoustic guitar albums by Rick Deitrick, out August 25th. Gentle Wilderness was released as a private press LP in 1978. River Sun River Moon consists of previously unreleased recordings from the same time period. Deitrick came to our attention via Brooks Rice and Michael Klausman, who compiled Imaginational Anthem Vol 8 : The Private Press, which features Rick's "Missy Christa" from Gentle Wilderness.

Ohio-born Rick Deitrick took up the guitar at 16 and decided to approach his playing as if he was the only guy on an island and the instrument had just washed ashore one day.  According to Rick, “I completely divorced my playing from any formal music knowledge, but it was very important to me to use original tuning. During those years, the sixties/seventies, there was a lot of acoustic guitar playing, often using open tuning as a base. I wanted to create whole tones without de-tuning and keep access to the complex sounds stock tuning provided.”

Rick pressed 500 copies of his tranquil solo guitar record, Gentle Wilderness, in 1978 on Niodrara Records, and sold many at performances and directly to music shops who would pay for them.  He gave copies to various libraries and left a few albums in the middle of the wilderness, next to trails, “so people would find them.” Rick sought inspiration in nature and in particular the various rivers scattered around the Western United States, often composing songs seated beside them —and even occasionally perched on boulders in them. He never played the songs the same way twice and did two passes on each composition in studio. Rick would sometimes literally come straight out of the mountains and rush to the studio to record the ideas he’d gathered. "Missy Christa" was recorded at Mount Olympus studio in Hollywood and was named after Rick’s daughter; it was originally composed right next to the Big Sur River where he had been camping.

Rick currently resides in Los Angeles, “still strumming, waiting for the other shoe to drop.” 

TSQ 5456 River Sun River Moon
TSQ 5432 Gentle Wilderness

River Sun River Moon

Morningstar by Rick Deitrick

BUY LP : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/jackdaw.html

Larry Conklin bought his first guitar, a Gibson J-45, in 1970, after he got out of the army. "I taught myself to play. I wrote songs and instrumentals (at that time Bert Jansch was my guiding light). I listened to a lot of people - Leo Kottke, John Renbourn, Django Reinhardt, Lonnie Johnson, Robert Johnson - and especially Rev. Gary Davis, who played only with his thumb and index finger as I did."

Larry's first record, Jackdaw was self-released in 1980 and includes beautiful solo 12 string acoustic guitar tracks, as well as gentle acoustic duets with violinist, Jochen Blum. Larry met Jochen in Florence, Italy, in 1980 and commented that "his violin playing put excitement into my music. It was special. I pressed 300 copies and sent them out into the world."

Larry wrote "The Diamond Cutter" in 1978 while going to Seattle Community College, in a creative writing course. The inspiration for the song, according to Larry "was a girl who wrote a poem to a departing lover - You only deal with cut glass. I deal with diamonds. I introduced myself to her as the Diamond Cutter." In 1985 while living in Berlin, Larry got a letter from a woman in Seattle who informed him that Charles Royer was running for a third term as Mayor of Seattle and that "The Diamond Cutter" was being used as a campaign song. Royer won, November 5th 1985.

Post-Jackdaw, Larry moved to Europe and in 1987 began recording for Tukan Records. In the 21 years that he lived in Europe, Larry toured and recorded with John Renbourn as well as blues artist Sidney ,Guitar Crusher, Selby. Larry returned to the United States in 2002 and now lives in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. "My ambition these days is to work up the perfect set list, an evolving challenge, but on any night when I am playing in Hilo I will play "The Diamond Cutter". It's on my set list. It somehow led me here."

Jackdaw

The Diamond Cutter by Larry Conklin & Jochen Blum

From Brigid Mae Power's forthcoming LP, The Two Worlds, out February 9, 2018

BUY her self-titled debut on CD/LP : 
http://www.tompkinssquare.com/brigid-mae-power.html

Don't Shut Me Up (Politely)

Tompkins Square is very proud to announce the signing of Welsh multi-instrumentalist, Gwenifer Raymond. Hailing from Cardiff and now residing in Brighton in the South of England, Raymond began playing guitar at the age of 8. 

Her debut album, You Never Were Much of a Dancer, is out on Tompkins Square in early 2018.

Sometimes There's Blood

2CD set with six more alt takes and more unseen photos than the 2LP set
BUY IT : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/sonny-clark.html

SOLD OUT : Limited Edition 2LP set for Black Friday / Record Store Day
November 24, 2017

Sonny Clark Trio 
The 1960 Time Sessions
featuring George Duvivier and Max Roach

-Remastered from the original tapes
-Alternate takes on vinyl for the first time
-Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff
-New 3500-word essay by Ben Ratliff
-Unseen photographs

recordstoreday.com
tompkinssquare.com

The 1960 Time Sessions

Nica (take 4) by Sonny Clark Trio

Tompkins Square label is excited to announce the release of Entourage - 'Ceremony of Dreams : Studio Sessions & Outtakes, 1972-1977'
3 CD / 1 LP set available everywhere March 23rd, 2018.
Liner notes by J.D. Considine, and surviving band member, Wall Matthews.

ALBUM TRAILER : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOY7gd7_1Lk&feature=youtu.be

Sampled by Four Tet, their name whispered in reverence through the decades, Entourage forged bold musical ideas on their two rare ’70s Folkways LPs. Now, collected for the first time, 30 previously unreleased tracks from their archives. Notes by J.D Considine, and by sole surviving Entourage member, guitarist Wall Matthews.

Tarbox Poltergeist (alt take)

Les Blues Du Richmond : Demos & Outtakes, 1973-1979 (Tompkins Square)
All tracks previously unreleased.
Out on limited LP (1000) for Record Store Day.

Les Blues De Richmond

Pretty Girl Milking a Cow

Non-LP track from the limited edition 7" on Tompkins Square
(only 600 pressed)
Available at tompkinssquare.com

Deep Sea Diver Blues

Ireland's Brigid Mae Power sings Fred Neil's classic, The Dolphins.

Brigid Mae Power - The Dolphins (Fred Neil)

Available on Tompkins Square worldwide, March 22
TSQ 5609 (CD) / TSQ 5616 (LP) Ltd Ed 500
PRE-ORDER : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/kinloch-nelson.html

Kinloch (sounds like "kin-law") Nelson (b. 1950) studied classical guitar privately with Stanley Watson in Rochester NY, jazz guitar with Gene Bertoncini at Eastman School of Music, and music theory at the University of Rochester. In 1973, he began teaching both privately and at The Hochstein Music School in Rochester where he was on the faculty for twenty-five years. In 1985, Nelson co-founded the Guitar Society of Rochester, which during its ten-year run presented many of the world's greatest guitarists. Nelson is the author of a book, Alternate Guitar Tunings. He currently teaches privately, conducts guitar workshops and maintains a performance schedule.

Nelson came to the attention of Tompkins Square via Duck Baker, who visited Rochester in 2018 supporting his own Tompkins Square archival release, Les Blues Du Richmond : Demos & Outtakes, 1973-1979.

Partly on Time : Recordings 1968-1970

Solitudes by Kinloch Nelson

Spine River : The Guitar Music of Wall Matthews, 1967-1981
Limited Edition LP (500) and digital out April 10th.

PRE-ORDER LP : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/wallmathews.html

Guitarist Wall Matthews is surviving member of experimental 70's collective, Entourage. Sampled by Four Tet, their name whispered in reverence through the decades, Entourage forged bold musical ideas on their two rare ’70s Folkways LPs. Tompkins Square released Ceremony of Dreams : Studio Sessions and Outtakes, 1972-1977, in 2018 to wide acclaim. Spine River : The Guitar Music of Wall Matthews, 1967-1981 is a collection of unreleased or obscure music by the master guitarist. This volume will be released as a limited edition LP, along with four other digital volumes of Wall's music, chronologically mapping his career. All five albums will be released on April 10th, 2020.

Spine River : The Guitar Music of Wall Matthews, 1967-1981

Roping 1 by Wall Matthews

The second single from Sam Burton.
Featuring vocals by Kacey Johansing

Sam Burton is from Salt Lake City, now based in Los Angeles. After several years circulating homemade cassettes on labels like Chthonic and embraced by blogs like Cassette Gods, Sam has recorded his first proper debut album with producer Jarvis Taveniere (Purple Mountains, Allah Lahs, Real Estate). Due later in 2020, the LP will be preceded by two limited edition 45s. The second will be available on coloured vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day in the UK (June 20).

I Can Go With You

Nothing Touches Me

Kissing Rosy in the Rain

Outside Laughing

Robbie Basho - Song of the Avatars : The Lost Master Tapes
A 5CD Box Set - All Tracks Previously Unreleased
Available 12/4/2020
PRE- ORDER : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/bashoboxset.html

Robbie Basho (1940-1986) is widely regarded as one of the progenitors of what's commonly known today as American Primitive guitar. Growing up in Maryland alongside neo-traditional guitar explorers John Fahey and Max Ochs, Basho's path would take a decidedly different turn, bringing Hindi, Indian, Japanese and Native American musical traditions into his work. His albums for Takoma and Vanguard have left an indelible trail of influence across generations of musicians, from William Ackerman and Pete Townshend to Ben Chasny and William Tyler.

Liam Barker first became aware of Basho having purchased Tompkins Square's reissue of Venus in Cancer, released in 2006. This led him on an incredible fact-finding expedition, unraveling the many layers of mystery surrounding Basho's life and death, all deftly compiled and depicted in his documentary film, Voice of the Eagle : The Enigma of Robbie Basho.

During the research process, Barker came across a large cache of unheard Basho tapes recorded throughout his career, ranging roughly from 1965-1985. By arrangement with Basho's Estate and the original custodians of the tapes, Tompkins Square is set to release Song of the Avatars : The Lost Master Tapes, a 5CD set of previously unreleased material, on December 4th, 2020. The set includes notes by Barker, Henry Kaiser, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Glenn Jones and Richard Osborn, as well as many unseen photographs. The box set package featuring gold foil inlay, poster and extensive booklet, was designed by Barbara Bersche, known for her work on the 2009 Grammy-nominated Alan Lomax in Haiti box, as well as the new Dust-To-Digital Harry Smith B-Sides box.

TSQ 5715 - Robbie Basho / Song of the Avatars : The Lost Master Tapes - 5CD set

Song of the Avatars : The Lost Master Tapes

American Sunday

Christmas EP 'Yule Chime' available on every digital platform, worldwide.

Josh Kimbrough is a guitarist and composer from Chapel Hill, NC. His 2020 Tompkins Square debut, Slither, Soar & Disappear, has been called “Utterly Moving” by Record Crates United, and “A Triumph” by Folk Radio UK. It’s received glowing reviews from MOJO, UNCUT, and Aquarium Drunkard.

With Yule Chime, Kimbrough offers five Christmas guitar soli in time for the holiday season. Two original compositions bookend three traditional tunes. “Sledding Down Spring Valley Hill” kicks the album off in a tuning borrowed from Michael Hedges’ “Admiral Rickover's Dream”. Spring Valley Hill was a favorite sledding spot from Kimbrough’s youth. “The hill was steep--if you made it to the bottom without tipping over, you could jump the curb and glide down into an open field.” The three traditional songs that follow are ones that Kimbrough’s dad would play on piano for the family when he was growing up. “Once in Royal David’s City” is a cross-continental duet with Johan Eriksson (Sweden) playing dobro and pedal steel. “Poor Little Jesus” is a minor-key affair. This tune is a spiritual that dates back to the 1800s. It’s published in the Episcopal Hymnal, which is where Kimbrough’s dad learned it. The album closes with “Out Getting Firewood”, an evocation of Christmases spent in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia--where Kimbrough’s in-laws live. They heat their house exclusively with a wood stove in the winter time. This calls for routine trips to the wood pile. These songs were recorded over three days at Jeff Crawford’s Arbor Ridge Studios--just three miles from Kimbrough’s house in Chatham County, NC. Spending time in the studio is a special privilege in 2020--these five recordings represent a joyful release of pent-up energy. There’s room on the sled, there’s a log on the fire--catch the hopeful spirit and ring in your holiday season with Yule Chime.

Josh Kimbrough - guitars
Johan Eriksson - pedal steel and dobro on track 2
Jeff Crawford - organ on track 4

Recorded and mixed by Jeff Crawford at Arbor Ridge Studios, Nov 9th-12th.
Mastered by Andrew Weathers
Artwork by Darryl Norsen

Yule Chime

Poor Little Jesus

Robbie Basho - Song of the Avatars : The Lost Master Tapes
A 5CD Box Set - All Tracks Previously Unreleased
ORDER : www.tompkinssquare.com/bashoboxset.html

Robbie Basho (1940-1986) is widely regarded as one of the progenitors of what's commonly known today as American Primitive guitar. Growing up in Maryland alongside neo-traditional guitar explorers John Fahey and Max Ochs, Basho's path would take a decidedly different turn, bringing Hindi, Indian, Japanese and Native American musical traditions into his work. His albums for Takoma and Vanguard have left an indelible trail of influence across generations of musicians, from William Ackerman and Pete Townshend to Ben Chasny and William Tyler.

Liam Barker first became aware of Basho having purchased Tompkins Square's reissue of Venus in Cancer, released in 2006. This led him on an incredible fact-finding expedition, unraveling the many layers of mystery surrounding Basho's life and death, all deftly compiled and depicted in his documentary film, Voice of the Eagle : The Enigma of Robbie Basho.

During the research process, Barker came across a large cache of unheard Basho tapes recorded throughout his career, ranging roughly from 1965-1985. By arrangement with Basho's Estate and the original custodians of the tapes, Tompkins Square is set to release Song of the Avatars : The Lost Master Tapes, a 5CD set of previously unreleased material, on December 4th, 2020. The set includes notes by Barker, Henry Kaiser, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Glenn Jones and Richard Osborn, as well as many unseen photographs. The box set package featuring gold foil inlay, poster and extensive booklet, was designed by Barbara Bersche, known for her work on the 2009 Grammy-nominated Alan Lomax in Haiti box, as well as the new Dust-To-Digital Harry Smith B-Sides box.

TSQ 5715 - Robbie Basho / Song of the Avatars : The Lost Master Tapes - 5CD set

Great Depression Blues

BOBBY LEE - Origin Myths - Out March 5th digital. LP out May 7.
PRE-ORDER LP : http://www.tompkinssquare.com/bobbylee.html

Bobby Lee trades in a wide screen brand of cosmic country-folk, full of space and pawn shop guitars. There are touches of JJ Cale's analogue Americana, the swampy groove of Tony Joe White and Richard Thompson's sinewy, modal guitar work. Amps hum in the warm afternoon sun, kids and dogs snooze on the grass and broken drum machines keep time with the universe…Open sky/scorched earth improvisations recorded to four track tape during the rare moments of solitude afforded by lockdown and early fatherhood. Bobby Lee’s “worn-denim psych-country” remains, but the ancestral spirits of Ashra, Popol Vuh and Terry Riley are present here too. Time and technological limitations have been embraced. A song dreamt up, tracked and mixed in an afternoon, never to be tampered with again. Imperfections allowed to stand; knowing that nothing is ever truly finished. The Bob Ross school of philosophy. 

“Overdriven drum-machine low slung choogle" - MOJO

“The further Bobby unmoors himself from songs and heads towards long-form abstraction, the more engrossing it becomes” - UNCUT

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