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Rapido - Can't stop my brain from thinking

So once again I am posting after quite a long hiatus, but oh the things I have to say! I've been surrounded by so much sound, art and creation lately it's been hard to even put it into blog posts, but I will attempt to cover all the important bits here. Hold on to your hats kids...we're diving in fast.

First things first - I've started up a little label/artist collective with two of my favorite people (The Great Red Shark & Sareen) called Inky Owl.

Isn't he cute? Yeeeeaa... Well you can friend us on Myspace and Facebook to make sure you keep up to date with all of our releases - which I'm actually going to clue you in on now...

On December 20th Inky Owl threw a raging awesome party/show at The Glasslands in Brooklyn for the release of Sareen's first two 7"s. Sareen, The Great Red Shark, Bad Nancy and Beacon performed and there were art installations by Shawna Pino. Check out some photos of the night by Jessica Russell. If you're interested in picking up a 7" or 2 check out below:

IO0001 & IO00002: S A R EE N

Details:

S A R EE N

VINYL 1:
A1: Lonely Horseman (4:08)
A2. The Blanks Filled In (2:31)

VINYL 2:
A1. Slept In The Bomb Shelter (3:45)
A2. Pen Pal (3:37)

Sareen 7" Vinyls

Yay Sareen! The tracks are off the hook and both vinyls come with a download card for mp3 versions of the songs. It's the jam so pick 'em up if you haven't already. You can preview all of the songs on Sareen's Soundcloud.

On to the next!

The Great Red Shark has had a busy January already, with more to come. His song "Rockaway" was released on Lazy Roar's CA Discovery Mix Cassette. I have to say, this mix is brilliant. There is SO MUCH unknown talent on this tape - I can't even get stress how important it is that you know about these artists now. So get it... More info below:

You can pick up a copy at Lazy Roar, and you can also stream from Last.fm.

TGRS has another track, "Still Alive" on the newly released Stone Cold Busted 1 mix by Vitamin D. You can pick up your copy of the compilation digitally from Beatport or physically (CD) from Amazon. The album is full of quality chill out tracks and you should definitely grab it.

Dun dun dunnnn!! So as you can see, we've been busy. Stay tuned for a more normal Toy post as I'm currently working on a mix of sorts, but for now - check out the artists and releases and become acquainted with Inky Owl.

Solo - You and me and them

I really miss the people I love.

Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Spider Monkey

Magico - L'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle

"People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you are fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it...

We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy's fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure--your perfection--is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the buy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart."

Black Moth Super Rainbow - Twin of Myself

I am so thankful all of this paid off.

Amoroso - The Great Red Shark - Friends

A special treat:

The Great Red Shark has released his album Friends TODAY. Friends is TGRS's first solo endeavor featuring 12 tracks (8 songs, 4 segues) of delightful listening. Exciting stuff, I assure you. Don't believe me? Check out the first single...

The Great Red Shark - In Your Arms

Riiiight? :) Here's the full tracklisting:

1. Circus Love
2.
3. Golden Girl
4. Devils Eyes
5.
6. Nighttime Glasses
7. ILeftNY(rvs)
8.
9. Curious
10.
11. In Your Arms
12. Doggy (For Penny)

My personal highlights: Golden Girl, Curious, Doggy (For Penny)

The album is available to purchase via The Great Red Shark's blog in two formats:
a) Full Friends Package - Cassette (yes cassette!), Artwork, and digi download.
b) Digital Download - Comes with exclusive remix of "In Your Arms" by S A R EE N

Mmmk. Now go buy.

For more info and fun:
The Great Red Shark
Photo by pdhw

Solo - I sometimes find it hard to fly...will you still be there to catch me if I fall?

Once again...it's been awhile.

I'm all alone and it's pretty peaceful. Perhaps staying this late isn't so bad...nobody to bother you...just you and the music surrounding. I feel almost a bit mischievous. Maybe if I were of a different state of mind I'd run around screaming at the top of my lungs jumping on the couches. But for now I'm enjoying the peacefulness. Night time peace is so much different then sleepy morning peace.

I think I'm ready for this solo flight. It's been awhile since I've been able to say that, if I can even remember a time. This doesn't mean I care any less, the opposite is definitely true, but I have so many other things to concentrate on now. So many EXCITING things. However, before I do this alone I have requests...that I'm afraid to make. Please don't judge me for my feelings and insecurities, for they are all out of immense love. I only wish to say these things to keep this peace and these pieces together.

Service Bell - Grizzly Bear + Feist

I will hold on. Let's not make this a long bumpy ride, but instead a single sleeps' dream.

Sospirando - What the hell am I waiting for.

Something real.

It's been awhile.

This evening I found myself looking at my shadow in a very Peter Pan-like moment. What would I do if you weren't attached to me from my feet? What would a shadowless existence be like? I recently read a tale of a man whose shadow was the key to his mind. With his shadow's death he would lose all memory and all choice...not life...just mind and the mind's state of being.

My question is...what happens to my shadow in the darkest dark? Deep down where no light dares to creep.

School of Seven Bells - Connjur

In my dream I was given a choice.

One side completely obvious and appropriate. That which I feel I want, but increasingly more out of reach. The other random, strange, seemingly impossible yet strangely understandable. Obviously no choice was made because dreams are never that straight forward...at least not in my case.

What is my shadow up to?

Scherzando - Who's in the mirror?

I'm in love. She's so small and defenseless. Running around with her tail straight up in the air like she owns the place. Bouncing from floor to couch to lap. There's so much energy and curiosity in that tiny little frame. I could watch her for hours (and I did!).

She chases her tail. And not in this "oh there's something that looks like string" way. No, no...this is a much more intense "It's that tail again...I must have it" kind of way. This of course lasts for about 2 minutes...until she gets dizzy.

She's so tiny. I just want to protect her. I found myself putting the toilet cover down for fear of her falling in. Randomly...but serious. And the way she curls up right next to me to sleep...it's as if we hadn't just met 2 hours ago. Completely trusting and dependent on me. She's awesome.

The Beatles - Sexy Sadie

She just came into my life and has already brought me so much joy. Oh Sadie, Sadie. This is the beginning of something amazing.

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