{"title":"Ben LaMar Gay","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"open-arms-to-open-us","title":"Open Arms To Open Us","description":"\u003cp\u003eBen LaMar Gay's critically-lauded 2018 break out \u003ci\u003eDowntown Castles Can Never Block The Sun\u003c\/i\u003e was more like a greatest hits than a debut album, as it compiled the best of the prolific but obscurity-prone Chicago native artist’s previously unreleased music. \u003ci\u003eOpen Arms to Open Us\u003c\/i\u003e is the first release of brand new, freshly baked tunes by Gay, a collection recorded entirely at International Anthem studios in Chicago between March-June 2021.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe is an artist that has been called “visionary” by the New York Times. Jeff Parker has called him “one of my favorite musicians on the planet today.” NPR says “there is no one universe for Ben LaMar Gay, he just sonic booms from one sound to another.” Gay lives up to all these statements and more, putting all his best feet forward on this new album. Fluently interweaving jazz, blues, ballads, R\u0026amp;B, raga, new music, nursery rhyme, Tropicalia, two-step, hip-hop and beyond in his most colorful and communicable work yet, it's a beaming expression of Gay’s signature omni-genre, “Pan-Americana” brew.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFeatured artists on the album include: OHMME singers Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart, bassist \/ vocalist \/ arranger Ayanna Woods, multi-disciplinary Rwandan artist Dorothée Munyaneza, poet A.Martinez, cellist Tomeka Reid, and vocalists Onye Ozuzu, Gira Dahnee, and Angel Bat Dawid.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"International Anthem Recording Co","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50416353182027,"sku":"1133312","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Red | LP","offer_id":50416353870155,"sku":"1133313","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/6d2a2d04-8c38-420e-9a94-8e2e05e083db_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726702058"},{"product_id":"downtown-castles-can-never-block-the-sun","title":"Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun\" is as much a 'greatest hits' as it is a 'debut album' for Ben LaMar Gay. It's a collection of music composed, performed \u0026amp; produced by the anomalous Southside Chicago-born, sometimes Brazil-residing artist, compiled from 7 albums he made over the last 7 years but never made the effort to actually release. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith its title taken from the mantra Ben repeats across several tracks on \"Grapes\" (1 of the 7 aforementioned albums), \"Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun\" is our effort to channel the rainbow of sonic expressions, art and poetry beaming from the ark of his unreleased catalogue into a cohesive \u0026amp; communicable compilation. It's as good of an introduction to Ben LaMar Gay as we could fit onto a single LP. To call it \"eclectic\" would only scratch the surface. This music is everything.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"International Anthem Recording Co","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50508497224011,"sku":"1081127","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50508498796875,"sku":"1081126","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f55162d4-e27c-47ae-ab68-237f622adb78_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727859355"},{"product_id":"downton-castles-can-never-block-the-sun-ia11-edition","title":"Downton Castles Can Never Block The Sun (IA11 Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBen LaMar Gay’s de facto debut album, Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun, was our attempt to introduce the legendary Chicago composer \/ improvisor \/ renaissance man to the rest of the world with a compilation of tracks from “7 albums he made over 7 years but never made the effort to actually release. ” The material showcases Gay’s penchant for genre-hopping—from Reich-ian soundscape voyages to Don Cherry-esque polyrhythm treks to Jorge Ben-style vocal-and-string earworms—while keeping his singular musical voice in focus.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the years since its release, this long OOP collection has become a touchstone, foreshadowing the breadth and scope of Ben LaMar Gay’s output since. The songs-between-the-songs warped Soul Americana madness and beauty of Open Arms To Open Us, the unhinged long form freedom of Certain Reveries—each fresh mode would defy expectation if without the context established by Downtown Castles. To quote the OG press release, “to call it ‘eclectic’ would only scratch the surface. This music is everything.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"International Anthem Recording Co","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":51109538890059,"sku":"2239766","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/click_5f069c4e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1737037783"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/ben-lamar-gay.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}