Cross-Pollination: The Mixtape Vol. 1 Released

This week is one I've waited for for quite a while. After many delays, website troubles, and months of gathering a collection of awesome songs, by wonderful musicians Family Records presents to you our second release: Cross-Pollination: The Mixtape Vol. 1



Mixtape Vol. 1 was compiled to celebrate Cross-Pollination, a weekly concert series that brings together some of the most incredibly, and at times, undiscovered raw talent from across the country. Every Tuesday evening at Pianos (158 Ludlow Street, NYC) two artists are invited to play together. Both of them play a solo 40-minute set followed by a 3 song pre-rehearsed collaborative set. To date we've had 136 Cross-Pollinations and we're still going strong! :) Enjoy the music and spread the word! :)

Cross-Pollination: The Mixtape Vol. 1 (FR-002)

DOWNLOAD Full album + Booklet (zipfile) HERE or HERE.
DOWNLOAD PDF Booklet Only HERE.
DOWNLOAD individual tracks below:

01. My Brightest Diamond Hi, Remember Me?
02. Kevin Devine You'll Only End Up Joining Them (Acoustic)
03. Wakey!Wakey! Falling Apart
04. The Undisputed Heavyweights Roll Your Windows Down
05. The Bloodsugars Purpose Was Again
06. Matt Singer Stacy J.
07. Derek James Love Me, Love Me
08. Cloud Cult Pretty Eyes
09. Casey Shea Quinzy Housing
10. Jeffrey Lewis Tell It To Your Heart (Loud Reed Cover)
11. The Lloyds Halfway
12. Jay Mankind Western States (Demo)
13. Ian Thomas SBB
14. Dave Deporis Be Strong

For more information on Cross-Pollination, the concert series, please go HERE and for more information on the Mixtape go HERE

INTERVIEW: My Brightest Diamond (08.22.06)

I spoke with Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond on her new album, working with Sufjan Stevens, and a lot more. Read below.



W: One of the first times I saw you perform was at Cross-Pollination with Dave Deporis almost a year and a half ago. Now you are releasing your first record as My Brightest Diamond called Bring Me The Workhorse. From that show to this record your sound has become somewhat less ethereal and your song structure seems more focused. What caused that evolution?

Shara: That's interesting that you say that. Someone just wrote to me about how they felt that when the song 'Dragonfly' first started it was more ethereal and ambient. I think a lot of that has to do with the choices I made for Bring Me The Workhorse arrangement wise. I was trying to a. make a cohesive work and b. not be too noodly. Something that was not precious. I think that I am writing songs that still have that eccentric and ethereal quality to them, but there is a different format for those songs.

The next record, A Thousand Shark's Teeth, will be a string album and more ethereal, less rock. That's a distinction I had to make because I basically had two records. I was trying to make them work together, but they just didn't like each other. So I thought: This is me trying to cram in too many ideas for one album. Let me just make something cohesive and separate these two records.

Read the full interview here.