A lot going on here in LA, but this was a gut-punch. "The Wild Records studio in Los Angeles was destroyed in the ongoing wildfires. Founder Reb Kennedy not only lost his home and personal possessions, but also the studio's vintage recording equipment, instruments, master tapes, and the entire release catalogue."
Digital recording is great for things like hip-hop, industrial, and techno, but I think that live music like rock, country and jazz needs to be analog. Reb Kennedy gets that. He's everything a rock n roll producer should be. Not to mention a label head - he's a talent scout, mentor, even a father-figure to the artists he discovers and develops. There's a fantastic film about them called "Los Wild Ones" that's as good as any music doc in recent years, highly recommended.
Wild is one of those labels that I'll always give a listen to: rockabilly, garage, surf, r'n'b, "Americana", all with a fresh energy like these kids just discovered it. And they may have. Not a self-consciously campy nostalgia trip. If you're new to the label, you might want to start with The Rhythm Shakers, the (unfortunately-named) Luis & the Wildfires, The Dragtones, Marcel Bontempi, the Japanese theremin/surf band Stompin’ Riff Raffs, The Barbwires With The Blue Ocean Orchestra.
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www.thesun.ie]
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www.gofundme.com]
