Vernal Scuzz
Tape / CD / Order

Vernal Scuzz are a freeform band from Irondale, AL whose first release melds a
hissing proto-punk bite with art rock weirdness, chanting and nocturnal fugues.
Jasper and Mika's voices coo and screech in equal doses. Lyrics play with syntax
and cut-up sources to form a lingo that is charged yet ambiguous. “Vernal Scuzz
seems to constantly be in metamorphosis...ethereal folk opening to angular strings,
then full punk uproar...” Their first recording presents the group’s idiosyncratic
concepts through a visceral playing style that is unpredictable and raw. Read more...

Johnny Coley - Mister Sweet Whisper
LP / Order

Transcendental poetry meets Southern Nightmare Jazz on the third album by
Alabama-based poet-artist Johnny Coley. Mister Sweet Whisper is the meeting of
Johnny Coley and the band Worst Spills, led by guitarist & arranger Joel Nelson.

Tapping into French surrealism and transgressive American poets such as John Ashbery,
the songs in Mister Sweet Whisper evolve, cinema-like, with Coley as an uninhibited, almost
mystical, narrator. Textural, noirish playing complements Coley’s decadent landscapes, which
glide by like cigarette smoke invocations. Echoing, and at times, dissonant notes of saxophone,
crystalline tones of vibraphone, and jagged guitar arrangements punctuate Coley’s dreamlike
visions, populated by ballet dancers, haunting nightclubs, and ghostly car drivers. Read more...

Sun Ra’s Magic City : A Cosmo-Mythic Map of Birmingham

This map visualizes the world of Sun Ra at the very beginning of his earthly journey in the
town of his youth, Birmingham, Alabama. The map’s illustrations depict sites relevant
to his early musical career, and a recently unearthed image of Sonny as a member of the
Rhythm Four vocal quartet. The project includes images sourced from the Birmingham Public
Library Archives, as well as items in the collection of the Southern Music Research Center,
including show advertisements and early images of Sonny’s public appearances.
The project draws on the research and writing of Burgin Matthews, especially from
his book Magic City: How the Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped the Sound of America.
The map features a full text on the reverse side with detailed information about
each location connected to Sun Ra’s Magic City history. Read more...