The Imaginational Anthem series from Tompkins Square is a pivotal series, news of which always brightens the musical year. Vol.1 marked the launch of the label way back in 2005 and they’ve been working tirelessly since shining a light onto obscure corners of the acoustiverse! Names such as William Tyler, Steve Gunn, Cian Nugent and Daniel Bachman became better known through the series which always throws in plenty of surprises.
The last release, Vol. 8, was in 2016 and was curated by ‘hardcore record collectors’ Michael Klausman and Brooks Rice. The release focussed on private pressings offering some lovely obscurities including Rick Deitrick whose distribution techniques were certainly unique, including leaving them in the middle of the wilderness to be picked up by random hikers. The late Nick Dellar, a sadly missed reviewer and fingerstyle guitarist who was working on his own album ‘Flying Fish‘ at the time, did a cracking review of it here.
Stepping up to the helm for Vol. 9 is none other than that guitar maverick Ryley Walker who turns up in quite a few Folk Radio mixes (including this one) that our Editor puts together. To celebrate the release, due out on September 20th, 2019, Vol 1-8 can be heard on Spotify and on Bandcamp for the first time so get your fill!
Walker’s introduction to the series says it all:
“If you’re reading this, you’ve cracked open a deep fried black hole to some of the most far out guitarists on the planet. Some real heads in the mix. The future of the axe all on one nice and easy record to spin around. Super excited to have the chance to compile some pals of mine for this one. I searched near and far and the results are dope! My hope is that you’ll continue to support all the artists here by going to their gigs and buying the music. Music biz is a shit biz but guitar players are pretty intuitive at making it work. Thanks so much for your patronage to the future of solo gtr tunes!”
— ryley walker
A bit of history from TSQ: “The concept was to showcase new talents alongside first-gen American Primitive guitar legends, a formula that stuck across the first three volumes. Volume Four, released in 2010, featured all contemporary players, giving many folks their first taste of William Tyler, C Joynes, Chris Forsyth and Tyler Ramsey. The label then started farming out curation duties: Sam Moss for Volume 5, Chris King for Volume 6 (Origins of American Primitive Guitar), Hayden Pedigo for Volume 7, and Michael Klausman & Brooks Rice for Volume 8 (The Private Press). Tompkins Square recruited label alum Ryley Walker to compile Volume Nine. Given his deep Rolodex and exquisite taste, it’s no surprise that this comp is probably the most diverse of the series. Nine of the eleven artists were previously unknown to us, so we get to discover new artists just like our label fans do.”
Here’s a taste of what’s in store on Vol. 9 with Kendra Amalie’s “Boat Ride”
Track List :
Mosses – Om Ah Hung
Shane Parrish – Leicester Hwy
Eli Winter – Woodlawn Waltz
Dida Pelled – Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog
Kendra Amalie – Boat Ride
Matthew Sage – Camaro Canyon
Pete Fosco – Variations on Themes for Blind Dogs
Fire-Toolz – World of Objects (Guitar Edit)
Lucas Brode – Knots Where Never Was
Dave Miller – Seedlings
Matthew Rolin – I Used To Sing