Truly honoured to have International Anthem provide us with an exclusive colour vinyl pressing of Angel Bat Dawid's much anticipated return - I understand we're one of the only shops worldwide to have these available. Needless to say, Angel's debut, The Oracle, is truly one of the great records of the last ten years, a spiritually rich, politically inclined statement that finds power in both community and the individual. This follow up couldn't have arrived soon enough, even if it's rather tantalisingly just the two tracks.
Transition East features two new pieces of music created by Angel Bat Dawid in response to Emma Warren's 2019 book, Make Some Space, the book chronicling the history of London DIY music institution Total Refreshment Centre. Composed & recorded alone in her space on the Southside of Chicago, Angel conceptualized & named the A side 'Transition East' in commemoration of the storied Chicago community center that was a hub for the AACM and icons from the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s, and was recently revived by one of her mentors, Eliel Sherman Storey.
'No Space Fo Us' on the flip was composed & recorded at a space in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where Angel travelled with a crew of Chicago artists (including IARC label mates Ben LaMar Gay & Damon Locks) on a collaborative mission called Close to There (Perto de Lá). The track features Angel with Ben LaMar Gay and new Brazilian friends Edbrass Brasil, Romulo Alexis, Tadeu Mascarenhas, Nancy Viégas & Germano Estacio.
"Transition East"
Angel Bat Dawid - clarinets, keys, drum machine
Composed & Arranged by Angel Bat Dawid.
Recorded & Mixed by Angel Bat Dawid
at the Radcliffe Hunter Historic Mansion,
Bronzeville, Chicago, USA,
September 2019.
Produced by Angel Bat Dawid.
Mastered by David Allen.
"No Space Fo Us"
Angel Bat Dawid - piano, clarinet
Ben LaMar Gay - cornet
Romulo Alexis - pocket trumpet
Tadeu Mascarenhas - bass
Edbrass Brasil - percussion
Nancy Viégas - percussion
Germano Estacio - percussion
Composed & Arranged by Angel Bat Dawid.
Recorded & Mixed by Tadeu Mascarenhas
at Estúdio Casa das Máquinas, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil,
February 2020.
Produced by Edbrass Brasil.
Mastered by David Allen.
Design by Jeremiah Chiu.
Photo by Scott McNiece.
