Various
Staying
THE KEY to this mammoth comp is made explicit by its subtitle – Leaving Records Aid To Artists Impacted By The Los Angeles Wildfires. Since 2009, Leaving have tapped into a cosmic LA underground and an often beatific sound that encompasses neo-New Age, abstract beat science, ambient jazz, vintage chillwave, post-freak folk and various other crypto-genres. In their press release, they make explicit how the January fires hit “some of the only areas in Los Angeles where working musicians could live with a modicum of comfort”. Hence this 98-track, seven-hour download (there’s also a 2LP of selected highlights) to provide spiritual and financial balm to those affected. André 3000, Julia Holter, Eddie Chacon and Laraaji are maybe the biggest names here, but the vast, disparate tracklist works surprisingly well as a whole – even Bauhaus’s Kevin Haskins doing These Boots Are Made For Walking – and there are multiple new discoveries for even the deepest heads: try the Linda Perhacs-ish Sharada Shashidhar, for starters.
John Mulvey