jaimie branch's joyful "baba louie" /// Brooklyn release party Roulette October 2nd /// listening parties NYC & Chicago in August
jaimie branch radiates joy on “baba louie”
third & final lead single from her forthcoming album
Writing about jaimie branch in the wake of her passing, Pitchfork’s Allison Hussey says she “connected the focus and intensity of high-concept sound artists with the unbridled joy of living in the moment.” “baba louie” exemplifies that sentiment. It's an epic multi-layered mix of sounds that conjures up a complex, rich and vibrant world, with branch leading the charge on a soaring trumpet line that would have made her teenage third-wave ska band proud.
Listen to “baba louie” here.
((( photo by Ben Semisch, courtesy of Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts )))
About "baba louie," branch's Fly Or Die bandmate Lester St. Louis says: “It was clear that this tune was the joyous tune for the record. It was that special jaimie joy, where she's happy, laughing super loud, cracking jokes, having drinks with the homies, eating pizza in front of San Pedro then getting told we can't and eating from the trunk of her brother's car with the whole Branch clan... just good vibes all around.”
“In the first rehearsal we hit that slowdown into the transition to the second half and it was immediately that deep late night vibe. I picked up my cello and said ''WORLDWIDE'' and screeched the ''OOOooooooo's'' into the mic with tons of delay and reverb. We all busted out laughing and decided to keep it. When we played it on tour, the audience was so with us in the joy, in that dub, in it all. It was exactly what was needed.”
IARC0066
jaimie branch
Fly or Die
Fly or Die
Fly or Die
((world war))
LP, CD & Digital album out August 25th, 2023
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) was recorded in April 2022 during jaimie branch’s artist residency at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska. When branch passed on August 22, 2022, the album was near complete, with only mixing tweaks, final titles, and artwork to be finalized. In the months following, her family (led by her sister Kate Branch), her bandmates (Lester St. Louis, Jason Ajemian, and Chad Taylor), and her collaborators at International Anthem banded together to gather memories, texts, emails, photographs, artwork, and fragments belonging to jaimie to finish the record. Their goal was to do what jaimie would have done.
From the album's liner notes, written by her bandmates St Louis, Ajemian, and Taylor:
“jaimie never had small ideas. She always thought big. The minute you told her she couldn’t do something, or that something would be too difficult to accomplish, the more determined and focused she became. And this album is big. Far bigger and more demanding — for us, and for you — than any other Fly or Die record. For this, jaimie wanted to play with longer forms, more modulations, more noise, more singing, and as always, grooves and melodies. She was a dynamic melodicist. jaimie wanted this album to be lush, grand and full of life, just as she was. Every time we take a listen, we feel the deep imprint of her all over the music, and we see all of us making it together.”
Like its predecessors, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) is an astonishing collision of vibrant color and seismic energy; of cosmic contemplation and skinned-knee physicality; of epic ambition and comedic comedown. It serves as a potent reminder of the vitality and virtuosity of branch, a love letter sent from the beyond by a beloved artist and friend.
BROOKLYN ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
@ ROULETTE, OCTOBER 2nd
A Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) album release party is set for October 2nd at Roulette in Brooklyn. This record release show will begin with never-before-seen footage of branch and her band's final concert together, during which they played Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) in its entirety (the only time the band ever did) to a live audience at Bemis Center for the Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska.
Directly following the screening will be live performances by Rob Mazurek, Ambrose Akinmusire, Dave Ballou and other surprise guests, all of whom will come together to pay tribute to their friend, student and collaborator, jaimie branch.
Tickets & more information for October 2 album release event here.
ALBUM LISTENING PARTIES
NEW YORK AUGUST 9th
CHICAGO AUGUST 17th
We'll be hosting pre-release listening parties for Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) in jaimie's two favorite cities in the coming weeks.
The first listening event is in New York on Wednesday August 9th at the brand new In Sheep's Clothing space in lower Manhattan. Full album listens will take place at 5pm and 6pm. In between, Piotr Orlov of Dada Strain will be in conversation with Fly or Die members Lester St. Louis and Jason Ajemian. Capacity is highly limited for this event, so we're asking that you please RSVP via this link.
The second listening event is in Chicago on Thursday August 17th at Dorian's in Wicker Park (1939 W North Ave). Doors are at 8pm, full album listening will be at 9pm. On either side of the album, there'll be DJ sets by IARC's King Hippo and Scottie McNiece, plus some other guest soundmakers. No RSVP necessary for this event – but Dorian's isn't very big either, so early arrival definitely recommended.
((( photo by Ben Semisch, courtesy of Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts )))
about branch
At the age of 39, jaimie “breezy” branch had already established herself at the vanguard of modern jazz composition, blurring genre boundaries and performing with an inimitable power that Pitchfork’s Allison Hussey said “connected the focus and intensity of high-concept sound artists with the unbridled joy of living in the moment.”
branch was also a tireless collaborator, who worked with samba icon Elza Soares; noise icons Wolf Eyes; indie stars like TV on the Radio, Yo La Tengo and Spoon; British dub producer The Bug; the First Nations rock collective Medicine Singers; and various International Anthem labelmates, including Jeff Parker, Ben LaMar Gay, and Alabaster DePlume, among so many others. She even made a post-mortem appearance on Talib Kweli & Madlib’s album Liberation 2 released earlier this spring, playing trumpet in a stunning co-composed duet with Madlib on keys.
*Deluxe Vinyl Package*
Peacock Couture color vinyl
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) comes on a 140-gram vinyl LP (pressed by Pallas in Germany, with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST) inside a swank *metallic silver foil* sleeve, with large fold-out poster insert, IARC obi strip & dome-patterned inner sleeve.
And, as always, we have a limited edition color vinyl option for the first pressing only, available via our Bandcamp page only, which is 666 copies of manual-pressed *Peacock Couture* color vinyl.
For fervent collectors of our catalog...
Including Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)), and the recently-announced albums Damon Locks & Rob Mazurek - New Future City Radio, Carlos Niño & Friends - (I'm just) Chillin', on Fire, Alabaster DePlume - Come With Fierce Grace, and Bex Burch - There is only love and fear, by August 8th we'll have announced a total of six new albums on IARC across Summer 2023. As an experiment aimed for those of you who collect the whole catalog and have been asking about some sort of subscription offering for ease of ordering / savings on shipments... we are offering this SUMMER MONDO BUNDLE which collects all six of our upcoming albums into a single parcel. Save money on shipping PLUS an additional 10% on the retail value of the albums as an extra *thank you* for your faith in our output. Bundles come in color vinyl, black vinyl, and CD (no mix and match, sorry).
More info and details on the bundles via order links below >>>
Order the Summer Mondo Bundle on limited edition color vinyl here.
Order the Summer Mondo Bundle on classic black vinyl here.
Order the Summer Mondo Bundle on compact disc here.
Distribution via RedEye for US, Canada, North & South America
This album will also be available on CD, Cassette, and Classic Black Vinyl (same package specs as listed above).
Retailers in the United States or Canada or anywhere else inside of North, South and Central America... Please reach out to your sales rep at RedEye Worldwide if you are interested in making wholesale purchases of this album, or any other album in our catalog. Don't yet have a RedEye rep? Please just reach out to us and we'll get you hooked up!
Distribution via !K7 for Europe, UK, Australia, and ROW
This album will be distributed by our good friends at !K7 and their various territory partners in Europe, UK, Australia, and everywhere else in the world outside of North & South America.
If you are a retailer or store with questions about wholesale or are just looking to get some of our records... we'd like to make things as easy for you as possible, please do not hesitate to reach out!!!
