Last fall I was out on the back porch of a Baltimore home where members of Future Islands, Dan Deacon, and Teeth Mountain currently reside. William Cashion started telling me about this 7-inch they had planned to do with their hometown friends Lonnie Walker. This was before/after many Natty Bohs, a Sam Herring freestyle verse, and a Ouiji board telling William of his imminent death.
With the chance at getting to help put out some vinyl from one of my favorite bands, and some other LPs that were brewing already in mind, Friends Records began. Just a couple weeks later I was hanging out on the roof of Open Space with Weekends, deciding that their next LP, full of scuzzed-out surf noise, would be our first release. Jimmy, the other half of Friends Records, also had some more friends in mind. Sri Aurobindo were busy making psychedelic sounds that had not been properly uncovered since the sixties and their new LP was then set to be our next release.
Once our first two were in place, we knew there was only one upcoming record that could properly embody our community. The new Height with Friends LP rounds out a first batch of releases that is connected in every way.
Lonnie Walker grew up with Future Islands, while Height has toured and played shows with both these bands. Weekends has lived and practiced at the Copycat in the infamous ex-Wham City space that Height and Future Islands also thrived in. Also, Mike Romano of Sri Aurobindo grew up with Height and was one of his original beat partners.
It’s an honor to be putting out these wonderful records by some of our friends and favorite bands. Four of the tracks on the comp below you’ll find on our upcoming LPs that are all out in May, except for the Future Islands track which was recorded in their living room amidst the story told above. Their 7-inch is in the works and will be out in August.
Friends Labeled Sampler:01 Weekends “Roomate” (off of FR001 Strange Cultures)
02 Sri Aurobindo “Soul Vibrations of Man” (off of FR002 Cave Painting)
03 Height with Friends “Deep in the Dark” (off of FR004 Bed of Seeds)
04 Future Islands “Tin Man (living room edition)” (FR003 details forthcoming)
05 Weekends “Raingirls (short)” (7 minute version appears on FR001 Strange Cultures)
Download the whole sampler here.
