2xLP in gatefold jacket. 180g black vinyl.
Jim + Digbee's first and final work, Hidden Hits: Best of The Basement + Sand 16, is a sprawling, double-LP anthology of a great band that almost was and which will always be. After years of limbo amid endless boxes of cassettes, the project was finished just weeks before the untimely passing of Digbee. More than just a record, this release preserves the memory of an intense period of friendship, freedom, and innocence that would forever mark the lives of its authors.
Opening like an old scrapbook, the album recalls precious years of late-night laughter stitched together with dusty pianos and endless summer insects almost indiscernible against the warm hiss of warped cassette tape. Spanning four sides, the listener drifts through distinct sonic worlds united by an aggressively independent and enigmatic approach to home recording.
Hidden Hits: Best of The Basement compiles early 4-track pop experiments; including tragically lost hits like Sleepwalker with the intense stereoptic audio-collages which comprised their only self-titled CD-R. Sand 16, the duo’s uncategorizable lost opus, synthesizes years of subterranean experimentation into 16 warbling transmissions of alien folk, self-taught chamber orchestration, and primitive homemade instruments.
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Jim Strong continues to regularly exhibit visual art, write, and create homemade musical instruments using motors, strings, and his voice. Most recently, he released the album My Enemies Are Mine to Keep (Horn of Plenty, 2024). He is preparing an exhibition at Vox Populi Gallery in January 2026, and is working on a forthcoming book of theological writings, Advice from a Dolphin.
Digbee is the author of the book Cyber Folk: Digbee’s Electronic Chronicle (Harpy, 2019) which functions as a work journal showcasing his dedication to electronic instrument building along with profiles of inspirational luminaries in the field, past and present. In his departure, Digbee’s machines and other projects will be stewarded by friends and family (see Digbee TV, www.digbeetv.com).
