Hanami was formed originally in the spirit of raising funds to aid Japanese victims of a recent tsunami.  This quartet of guitarist Andrew Trim, drummer Charles Rumback, multi-reedist Mai Sugimoto and bass clarinetist Jason Stein enjoyed their project enough to eventually put together a studio recording.  The group’s sophomore effor – The Only Way To Float Free, features a unique melding of instruments in electric guitar, saxophone/clarinet, bass clarinet, and drums, Hanami paints dynamic sonic landscapes on a bass-less canvas. The chamber like qualities of the instrumentation combined exploratory improvisations, both oblique and consonant, give way to their new album of artfully composed original compositions born out of their atypical take on the tradition of the jazz quartet and a deep connection with the country of Japan.

Durham, NC based poet and songwriter Shirlette Ammons will be releasing her sophomore album, Language Barrier on Churchkey and SugarQube Records on February 5th, 2016.

The first single, “Earth Intro”, features a guest appearance by Grammy Award-winning duo The Indigo Girls. Other guests on the album include Meshell Ndegeocello, Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso), Hiss Golden Messenger, German rapper sookee, Heather McEntire (Mount Moriah), Median (Foreign Exchange Music Group), Joceyln Ellis, and Phil Cook (Megafaun). All of the music was composed by Daniel Hart whose credits include St. Vincent and Broken Social Scene amongst others. shirlette worked with a broad and talented roster of award-winning guests to create a record that blends and bends genres.

After an action-packed year of touring the world, Spray Paint return with their second LP of 2015, Dopers. It was recorded last August in the middle of 87 shows in 66 cities and in 12 different countries by Chris Woodhouse (The Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Mayyors). Easily the most hi fi they have ever been recorded, but without losing the scum. Moments of Jesus Lizard, Glenn Branca, Sister-era Sonic Youth come to mind at different points. Dopers is set for release October 23rd on Monofonus Press and you can cheek out the first smasher that debuted on Noisey.