Subcarrier

The inaugural flight of Subcarrier features the descendants of Birmingham's own Sun Ra in his Arkestra, fronted by Marshall Allen. Sun Ra was a legendary jazz composer and pioneer of afro-futurism active from the 1950's-90's. Marshall Allen is Sun Ra's hand-picked successor who has been leading the Arkestra for over 20 years.

Baltimore's Lower Dens creates densely packed, haunting, profound, lush ethereal indie pop.

Small Black have slowly evolved over the course of their three albums from a lo-fi "chillwave" project into a synth-pop dance powerhouse.

Katie Crutchfield continues to hone her mammoth skills as a songwriter and musician, most recently on her most excellent album Ivy Tripp. Birmingham is always excited when Katie and Allison come back to where they started with The Ackleys years ago and we were excited to capture an electrifying Waxahatchee performance for Subcarrier.

Digable Planets redefined cool in early 90's hip hop and have long held a place in the era's pantheon of greats alongside Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, De La Soul, et al. After lots of side projects like the critically-acclaimed Shabazz Palaces, they finally got back together for a tour in 2016 and are tighter than ever.

Protomartyr is one of the best bands on the planet. And their 2015 opus, "The Agent Intellect", may be the album of the decade - only to be outdone by whatever they put out next. They are also some of the nicest people on the planet.

Erin Fein and Rosana Caban's propulsive synth pop project Psychic Twin connects intensely personal, intimate portraits with lush electronica new-wave arrangements.

Japan's Guitar Wolf has been shredding the jet generations for 30 years. Goner Records and Wild Zero stars.

Big Business punish! One of the heaviest two pieces on the planet, Big Business songs are quite often stories of wasted lives or moments that remind the listener that complacency and timidity is death - relentlessly pounded out and smeared all over your face in the best way.

Emma Ruth Rundle has been creating crushing pieces of emotional desolation with several bands and solo for a decade. Her most recent album, Marked for Death, continues her exploration of dark themes - but hints at redemption at the end of the journey.

Visionaries from the past leading the way forward, Death is a "protopunk" band that preceded the larger American punk rock movement by a few years. They continue to write and record excellent new material - but the music and lyrics of their early 70's albums remain as topical today as they were 45 years ago.