Middle by Trans' newest band Cumulus. Can't wait to share the whole album on October 1st. You can pre-order now and get instant download of Middle. alturl.com/kdd7q

Middle

Kanta's Theme

Second track off Now, Now's upcoming album Threads out 3/6/12 on Trans- Records.

Now, Now: School Friends

Cumulus - Retreat

Comfort World

The name came first. Comfort World—borrowed from a mattress store Alex Niedzialkowski (nee-jul-KOFF-ski) saw on a trip to Yakima. She was travelling with her then-boyfriend and took the sign as an of omen of domestic bliss. The long running configuration of her band Cumulus had broken up and she was unsure of herself, “I felt completely overwhelmed and insecure in everything,” Niedzialkowski explains. “It was devastating to me, and I wasn’t sure if I was on the right path at all; I questioned whether I’d ever be able to find my people again musically, let alone write another album,” but the relationship, the apartment she shared with her boyfriend and the day job which enabled it all were their own kind of Comfort World. They kept her safe and supported her while she tried to sort things out. Until suddenly they didn’t.
Things hit hard and fast: the relationship crumbled, the day job evaporated, the apartment was emptied and cleaned for the sake of the deposit and she got word her mother had developed breast cancer. If there was comfort to be found, it eluded her. 
Fundamentally, inescapably, Niedzialkowski is a songwriter. So, despite her trepidation, she started writing again. What else was there to do? “Basically, this entire world I had built around myself was crumbling,” she says. “Comfort was complete bullshit. So, I spent a lot of time in my bedroom, writing these songs to get me through it.”
 Witnessing the growth of local punk and DIY bands fronted by or comprising women and non-binary musicians made her feel less alone. She felt empowered; ready to say what she wanted to say and front her own band again. She started playing open mic nights at a cafe near her apartment, tentatively at first—the way everything feels tentative when your life is in an uproar—but then with mounting confidence. Ready to begin recording Comfort World, her second record for Trans Records she, on the advice of label head Chris Walla, went in the studio with 21 year old producer Mike Davis, Walla’s former intern. 
Immediately, it was clear the process of recording Comfort World would be different than any record Niedzialkowski had been involved in. For one, Davis demonstrated an intuitive knack for transforming her acoustic iPhone demos into full-fledged songs. Most importantly, Davis believed in her, at times more than she believed in herself. “There was one day in the process where I remember Mike asking me if I wanted to try playing bass on a song,” Niedzialkowski says. “We were in a place of complete trust, and if I sucked it didn’t really matter- we were chasing an idea- so why not try the bass? We didn’t keep the part, but I drew inspiration from the fact someone was actually asking me to try things with the full confidence I could do it.”
I Never Meant It To Be Like This, the first Cumulus record, was recorded over the course of four days almost exactly as it’d been arranged beforehand. Comfort World, by contrast, was, by design and circumstance, languidly recorded over the course of seven months at Walla’s studio, Hall of Justice (work being scheduled around blocks of time reserved for other recording sessions). Niedzialkowski brought in a crew of friends to fill out the album. There was time to play and experiment. In the warm cocoon of the studio, surrounded by friends, she felt she could do anything, make any mistake without fear of the consequences. “Over the years my voice had grown stronger, my songwriting had a clearer direction, and I found myself in a place where I was empowered to have a say in every creative decision. This album is more me than anything I’ve ever created,” says Niedzialkowski.
Events in the recent past had shredded her; making Comfort World wove her back together. The sign is Yakima was an omen after all; just one pointing further afield than she could have imagined.

Sing To Me

Trans- Records to release a split 7” for Record Store Day on April 20th featuring tracks from Sombear and Chris Walla, guitarist/producer for Death Cab For Cutie.  The limited 1000 pressing 7” features Sombear’s debut single “Incredibly Still” and Walla’s “Never Give Up,” and will be released on Walla’s own label Trans- Records.

WALLA: Never Give Up

A label for good music. Led by Christopher Walla. 

Trans Records

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