Sockets Showcase Poster

We asked John Foster (Bad People Good Things) to design this year's Sockets Showcase flier. When I talked to John in October of last year, I gave him one directive: the design needs to be something that screams DC. Well, I think I John nailed it with this one. If you haven't already, I urge you to follow John and the design work he does. It's always amazing and we over here at Sockets have been big fans of his output.

We'll be selling these beautiful prints for $20 at the show. There's only a limited amount of 50, so they are very special. However, if you want to buy the two new Imperial China and Buildings LPs as well as the poster, we'll be selling the three for $30. 

Take a look at the poster and, also, the special collector cards we're stamping with something special!

New Buildings and Imperial China Records are Here!

Both will be available this Saturday at the Sockets Records Showcase!

VIDEO: Imperial China – “Limbs”

Our friends over at Newdust just posted the new Imperial China video for "Limbs" from the the new album How We Connect. From Newdust:

New track from DC mainstays, Imperial China. The song is a self described powder keg that rips you through two minutes fifty of post-punk bliss. The band sounds huge, with harmonic guitars amplifying the growling utterances of vocalist Brian Porter. The boys have a new album,”How We Connect”, out on January 28 through DC’s own Sockets Records

SOCKETS RECORDS SHOWCASE 2012

Sockets Records Showcase 2012
Black Cat Mainstage – 1811 14th Street NW DC
Saturday, January 28, 2012
9pm, $12

w/
Protect-U (Future Times Records)
Imperial China
Buildings
Cigarette

Washington, DC’s homegrown, independent record label, Sockets Records, will be throwing its annual showcase on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the Black Cat Mainstage (1811 14th Street NW DC). Since late 2004, the label has documented Washington, DC’s independent music community – spanning styles between noise and experimental pop. For the third year in a row Sockets is teaming up with another pillar of the local music scene, the Black Cat, to bring a locals-only showcase including Protect-U, Imperial China, Buildings, and Cigarette.

VIDEO: Skeleton$ Live in Paris

Skeletons released PEOPLE on Sockets earlier this year. We still love that record. The band was on a European tour earlier in the fall and this a video from the show in Paris.

Coming in January

Two of DC's most reliable live bands, Imperial China and Buildings, will be releasing records on January 28, 2012.

SHOW: Little Women @ Goldleaf on Saturday

One of Sockets first releases happens to be the uncompromising Little Women from Brooklyn. They'll be returning to DC this Saturday, December 3rd to perform at Goldleaf (443 Eye St. NW DC).

Here's all the info you'll need:

Little Women (Brooklyn Extreme Jazz Quartet, AUM Fidelity, Features rising star alto saxophonist Darius Jones)

Brooklyn quartet Little Women create music that blurs the line between structure and spontaneity. The group’s sound distilled from a broad range of influences that stretch from classic Chicago free jazz thru pop music, punk rock, math metal, and harsh noise. Little Women never stop pushing into new sonic territory: splitting overtones to create ghost notes, violently disassembling their instruments onstage, and attacking written and improvised material with equal ferocity.

Featuring an opening set from:

SCUO (Scott Clark and Scott Burton duo, Guitar and drums from Richmond, VA, Glows in the Dark)

The "Scott duo" of Scott Clark (drums) and Scott Burton (guitar) have said that they challenge themselves to write music that's simply too difficult for them to play. The effect is intriguingly precise, robotic and proggy.

Photos: Imperial China Video Shoot

Imperial China shot a video with Nathan Golon last week. Below are some pics we snapped during the shoot.

We're pretty excited for you to hear the band's new album. It should be out on January 28, 2012. Stay tuned.

SHOW: Diamond Terrifier, Co La, and Luke Stewart on December 26th

If you recall, Sockets released a limited edition tape for Sam Hillmer's new solo project, Diamond Terrifier. He's making a DC debut of the project this Saturday along with one of our favorites Co La (Friends Records). The always amazing Luke Stewart will be playing solo bass as well. It all goes down at the Red Door this Saturday:

We'll definitely have some tapes on hand for the show. But if you can't make it, make sure to order one of them here.

Deleted Scenes on iTunes

Deleted Scenes released their latest album, Young People's Church of the Air, in September. But, just in case you were wondering, the record is available via the iTunes store at the following link. It's an astoundingly cheap $9.99.

Also, if you're a vinyl junkie, the record is still available via mailorder on the Sockets site. Just click here or click on the link on the right side bar!

VIDEO: Deletes Scenes Live at Record Release Show

Nate Frey just sent over a couple videos from Sunday's Deleted Scenes show at DC9. Thanks Nate! If you haven't seen them live, do so as soon as you can!

Here's the band performing "Bedbedbedbedbed" and "English as a Second Language":

Bluebrain - Listen to the Light

If you haven't already heard, Bluebrain launched a location aware album, Listen to the Light, for Central Park last week. The duo released a 7" entitled The Pull/The Push on Sockets in April and we're all really excited to see what the Holladay brothers do next. Here's a great documentary on the making of the app:

New Release: Diamond Terrifier CS

Diamond Terrifier's (Sam Hillmer of ZS) Himalayan Appalachia was released on Sockets Records on limited-edition cassette tape on Sept. 17. This first full release under the Diamond Terrifier moniker features two 20-minute solo tenor sax workouts. Side A of Himalayan Appalachia sees Hillmer moving between long waves of stretched notes to fluttering and back again. Side B transitions to an echoey soundscape complete with hand percussion and noisier sax-pedal crescendos.

Himalayan Appalachia was recorded on July 10^th, Hillmer’s 33^rd birthday. “We had the idea to record on my birthday like 5 days ahead of time.  Ben Greenberg (ZS) let us use the space, Rich Zerbo got out his mobile, analog tape machine, and Laura Paris (Trouble) got the projections and the videos ready to go.  Lastly, my buddy Nate came through and took pictures.  It was an awesome thing to do for a birthday, and I recommend it to anyone who makes records.”

For Hillmer, the point with this record, and with everything that Diamond Terrifier does, “is to make music on the saxophone that is outside the spirit of the available niche the instrument has cultivated to date.  From the self important catharsis of free jazz and the urban angularity of bop, to the vague sexuality of adult contemporary, there is really no place to call home as a saxophonist with a certain aesthetic sensibility.  So it’s trying to make the world I want to live in.  Imagining the saxophone as an instrument that never fell into the hands of monster technicians and unctuous stylists.  Like, an instrument with the profile of, say, some random flute you pick up somewhere.  But then you just really go for it!”

Sam Hillmer (aka Diamond Terrifier) has been active in New York City since 1996.  Hillmer has lead several ensembles under his own name and co-founded the chamber ensemble/band "ZS".  He is also a founding member of Wet Ink, a not-for-profit new music presenting organization, Representing NYC, a Hip Hop based youth development group, and the art duo Trouble.  Hillmer appears regularly in and around New York, across North America, in Europe, and in Japan.

Diamond Terrifier
Himalayan Appalachia
SCKTS028
$5 + shipping

SIDE A:
1. Two Witnesses
2. Three Things

SIDE B:
1. One Point
2. Five Dark Ages

This release is also available digitally via Bandcamp:

VIDEO: Deleted Scenes - "Baltika 9"

Impose TV debuted the new Alice Cohen-directed video for Deleted Scenes' "Baltika 9". We're pretty excited about how it turned out:

Deleted Scenes play DC9 on October 9th and this will be the official release party for their new record, Young People's Church of the Air. 

PHOTOS: Buildings and Imperial China at Artisphere