Ben Lamar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun (IA11 Edition) (Deluxe, LP Vinyl)
Ben Lamar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun (IA11 Edition)
- Deluxe Edition
- LP Vinyl
RELEASE DATE: 3/28/2025
DESCRIPTION
"There is no one universe for Ben LaMar Gay, he just sonic booms from one sound to another." - NPR Music
Ben 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.
In 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.”
LP comes packaged in the deluxe International Anthem style - heavyweight jacket, IARC OBI strip, poly-lined inner-sleeve, insert booklet (new for 2025), and re-cut lacquers, on classic black vinyl.
TRACKLIST
A1 Vitus Labrusca
A2 Muhal
A3 Music For 18 Hairdressers: Braids & Fractals
A4 Jubilee
A5 A Seasoning Called Primavera
A6 Miss Nealie Burns
A7 Me, Jayve & The Big Bee
A8 Uvas
B1 Galveston
B2 Swim Swim
B3 Kunni
B4 Melhor Que Tem
B5 Gator Teeth
B6 7th Stanza
B7 Oh No...Not Again!
LABEL: International Anthem
UPC: 634457197879
