Highlife Records: CDs & VINYL

SIGUR ROS – VALTARI HOUR

Highlife Admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:19:49 +0000

Thursday May 17 @ 7pm is VALTARI HOUR – Independent record stores around the world will be previewing the new album by Sigur Ros – Valtari – and Highlife is thrilled to be part of it. For fans of this Icelandic super group here is a chance to hear something special in the comfort of your local record store. We will have a poster and a test press vinyl copy of the album to giveaway to some lucky guest. Refreshments available. Where will you be listening?

Great Vinyl Collection Just In

Highlife Admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:24:28 +0000

Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, early Stones, classic jazz & blues, Janis Joplin, The Band, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, etc. - 1100 albums – mostly in mint condition. Rare and very cool stuff. Come down and have some fun.

IN-STORE PERFORMANCES (MORE ON RECORD STORE DAY!)

Highlife Admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 02:30:25 +0000

Here are some clips of in-store appearances from Wyckham Porteous and Federico Aubele along with some music from our own Kevin Finseth.

There’ll be more on Record Store Day – Saturday April 21 – Join our mailing list and/or “Like” our FB page to be reminded.

Vinyl Resurgence/Mini-Boom of Record Stores in L.A.

Highlife Admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:30:47 +0000

From KCRW’s Soundcloud:

“Continuing our exploration of Los Angeles’ record store scene, both present and past, KCRW DJ Gary Calamar, co-author of “Record Store Days” talks with KCRW’s Saul Gonzalez about his love affair with vinyl, his years in the L.A. record store trenches…”

DJ Gary Calamar talks L.A. record store history by KCRW

THE LOCAL SCENE

Highlife Admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:30:37 +0000

The Vancouver independent music scene continues to flourish and produce quality live and recorded work. Here is a list of 11 albums that have appeared in the last month. Support local musicians by buying their albums and going to see them play live – help to foster a healthy and happening local scene.

BLACK GARDENIA – No Moon At All

THE SERWAN YAMOLKY TRIO – La Younsa

RODNEY DECROO – Allegheny (Vinyl Only)

PETUNIA & THE VIPERS (Vinyl Only)

JOSEPH PEPE DANZA – The Yoga Experience – Vol. 1

BUCKMAN COE – By The Mountain’s Feet

WINTERMITTS – Oceans

THE GRAM PARTISANS – You Will Not Stand Alone

THE MOCKING BIRD – No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

THE HARPOONIST & THE AXE MURDERER – Checkered Past

MARIA IN THE SHOWER – The Hidden Sayings of Maria In The Shower

Documentary about the Langley Schools Music Project

Highlife Admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:16:51 +0000

Boing Boing tips us the VH1 documentary on the Langley Schools Music Project that Kevin was involved with:

boingboing.net/2012/01/27/documentary-about-the-langley

Parts 2 & 3 in the full post…

The Only Film of Leadbelly?

Highlife Admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:52:21 +0000

Tired of overly auto-tuned music? Let us remind you of the great old natural-singing souls with this footage of Leadbelly. Apparently the only known film of him. Stop by the store to listen to more of the greats.

Great Review of Kevin’s “The Captive Road”

Highlife Admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:48:21 +0000

Just in, Cal Koat from World Beat International has reviewed “The Captive Road”:

…The Captive Road remains an extremely personal and intimate album. Finseth delivers the tales up front in a fragile voice teetering on collapse, held in play by his piano-based accompaniment. The ladies complement these tender moments with delicate, ethereal harmonies of their own. The Captive Road is an incomparable offering which, for someone who has made a career out of filing new sounds in old bins, must have been extremely challenging even for Kevin to describe. The moniker that seems to have stuck is “Ambient folk hymns … opium noir” which, I guess, is as good a place as any to start your journey down The Captive Road. Standout tracks include the opening air, Fall Away, The Reader, the exotic grooviness of Cairo April 1983 and some tasty guitar dueling on The Passenger…

Read the full review here (with a live music video).

Cumbia Meets Breakbeat with Columbia’s Systema Solar

Highlife Admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:34:28 +0000

A heads-up on some very cool sounds from ”Systema Solar“.

From World Music Network:

Colombia is fast becoming a musical powerhouse of South America, bubbling under with new talent. One group to watch out for among this creative frenzy is Systema Solar from the Caribbean coast who played WOMEX. A cooperative of musicians equally at home in traditional forms such as cumbia, porro and champeta as they are in techno, house and break beat, Systema Solar are a force of nature. Look out for them at the summer festivals in 2012.

Video: Daptone Records’ Gabriel Roth

Highlife Admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:34:41 +0000

For our musician / producer friends, indeed anyone interested in DIY and the new music business. Here’s a lecture from Gabriel Roth – head of Daptone Records discussing their great releases and how they do it. He keeps it simple and real.