07.31.06 (MusicPortal.com) "Mix Tape," the debut album from LOS ABANDONED, will be released on compact disc September 12th by Vapor/Sanctuary Records. The album is currently available online via download. Los Abandoned is made up of 4 unique individuals - Lady P on vocals, Don Verde on guitar, Vira Lata on bass and Dulce on drums. Remaining true to their distinctiveness, they have built their name and reputation as total originals, reflected not only in their music but their presentation as well. They are bilingual. They sing in Spanglish. They switch for one language to the other, not just within songs, but within sentences. Their fans range from Indie rockers to first generation rockeros. Lady P is from Chile, Verde speaks ghetto Spanish, Lata is from Mexico City and Dulce is a second generation Chicano. It doesn't matter if the listener can speak Spanish, Los Abandoned's songs translate based on their catchiness and universal appeal. From their self-released EPs "Demotape" (2002) and "Self-Titled EP" (2004) to several key press reviews in the L.A. Times, L.A. Weekly and The Austin Chronicle to playing shows with The Breeders, Calexico, Julieta Venegas and Aterciopelados, Los Abandoned are poised to break out from their well-developed fan base west of the Rockies with "Mix Tape." Guided by producer David Trumfio, Los Abandoned came to the studio to make Mix Tape with a secret knowledge few young bands get to have - a taste of success. One of the biggest radio stations in Mexico had begun playing their last EP and sales had taken off. After touring Mexico, the band got a whole new perspective to bring in to the studio. "Mix Tape" showcases the feelings and development of a band on the rise, with the digital release containing two bonus tracks not available on the album in the songs 'Electricidad' and 'Blindness.'

07.25.06 (MusicPortal.com) Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist XAVIER RUDD has signed a worldwide deal (except for Australia and Canada) with Anti- (home to Tom Waits, Daniel Lanois, Neko Case and Michael Franti, among others), and will see his new album "Food In The Belly" released in the U.S. next year. "I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead with Anti-," commented Rudd on the signing. "I feel it is a good 'connection' because of their approach to music, which is evident in Anti-'s catalog of artists." Rudd, whose travels as a renowned surfer has both shaped and help spread his music, is an accomplished recording artist. "Food In The Belly" follows the successful chart album "Solace," from which Rudd has developed one of the most passionate and rapidly spreading grassroots audiences of recent times. His original live performances have helped him build an international reputation - literally with his own hands and feet. From his bare soles on a wooden resonator box to the breath humming in his yidakis (didgeridoos), his work resonates from the ground up and the inside out. "'Food In The Belly' is a celebration," says Rudd, who hails from Torquay, on Australia's south-east coast. "This is a shaky time and we have our issues, but most of us in the western world are incredibly fortunate. It's not gonna be this way forever and I feel really appreciative. I guess that gratitude became a theme of this album." "Food In The Belly" is Xavier Rudd's sixth album, and was recorded by himself and co-producer Todd Simko in an autonomous, uncompromising style that reflects a truly independent musical spirit. "We recorded it in May in Vancouver, in a house converted into a studio," he explains. "I was living in a little cabin surrounded by deer on Bowen Island, so I took a ferry to the studio every day. The cabin was like a retreat when I was tired of recording. It kept me feeling fresh and connected to reality. The dude who owns the studio collects these old instruments so we used some of them on the album. Most important, he had a two-inch tape machine so we didn't use computers at all. I played everything live."
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07.17.06 (MusicPortal.com) Sugar Hill Records recording artist RILEY BAUGUS will release a new album in "Long Steel Rail" on August 8th. In his formative years, old-time musician Baugus often played with and learned from elders of the tradition in North Carolina and Virginia, including legendary old-time fiddlers Tommy Jarrell (a National Heritage Award recipient). Earnest study and total immersion in the wealth of knowledge available to him by virtue of being an insider from the region gave Riley Baugus access to experience that positioned the North Carolina native as a standard-bearer and direct link between the art's pre-commercial beginnings and today. On "Long Steel Rail," Baugus continues to embrace his role in the lineage singing, fiddling, and playing banjo with absolute love and respect for the humanity and tradition that first brought music into his life. It's the style that first brought Riley Baugus into the spotlight in the blockbuster film "Cold Mountain," and the sound that snagged the attention of Sugar Hill. Produced by Tim O'Brien and Dirk Powell, "Long Steel Rail" stands squarely in the realm that Sugar Hill has come to define - that of quality roots Americana music. Riley Baugus represents not only the best of the old-time banjo, but also Sugar Hill's commitment to preserving and fostering the growth of traditional music. Baugus hails from rural North Carolina, not far from where Barry Poss first founded the Sugar Hill label more than 25 years ago. The label itself owes its existence in part to the hollow-backed banjo, played in the traditional clawhammer style. Poss himself fell under the spell of the old-time banjo as played by greats like Fred Cockerham and Tommy Jarrell and abandoned academics to follow music and eventually form the label. Old-time music itself deeply informed Bluegrass music, which was the mainstay at the small indie for the first decade. In those respects, the addition of Baugus to the Sugar Hill roster is nothing less than perfect. Riley Baugus first came to music through his family. His father brought home countless records from fellow North Carolinian Doc Watson and others, which Baugus says touched him on a molecular level. Starting on the fiddle, but quickly moving on to the banjo, Baugus learned the "Round Peak" style of playing at the knee of Tommy Jarrell.

[Ethnic News: June 2006]
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