Features

Pacific Northwest isolation mixed with wide-eyed ambition, a strong sense of family, and the gift of music proved to be quite the combination for teenage brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson. Spurred on by their high school’s music program, Donnie and Joe received a further push from their lifelong farmer father, who drew up a contract stating that he’d support his sons lofty ambitions with their very own recording studio as long as they focused on original material—sage advice for a man with zero experience in the music business. Originally released in 1979, Dreamin’ Wild is the sonic vision of the...

Each Light in the Attic release has a unique story behind it, and even more unique are the artists themselves.  A few years back, we launched an ongoing series in our zine called Bite in the Attic, in which we asked some of our artists for their favorite recipes. This recipe comes to you from Ishmael Butler of the Digable Planets. Music supervisor & former LITA staffer Hilary Staff linked up with Ish for some pro tips on the recipe before putting it to the test. Hilary: When we saw that Digable Planets would be playing a reunion show in LA, we...

Organic, electric, freeform. Pete Jolly's Seasons is an unsung masterpiece of ensemble groove and stellar musicianship, equally unsurpassed and inspired in its quiet excellence. Recorded in 1970, Seasons never had significant commercial success upon its release but has since amassed a cult following, leading collectors to pay top dollar for copies of the rare record, whose tracks would eventually be sampled by Cypress Hill, Jay Dee, & Busta Rhymes. Legendary Bassist Chuck Berghofer (The Wrecking Crew) not only plays on Seasons but was also a close friend of Pete Jolly. In this episode of Light in the Attic's Liner Notes,...

Pacific Northwest isolation mixed with wide-eyed ambition, a strong sense of family and the gift of music proved to be quite the combination for teenage brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson. Originally released in 1979, Dreamin' Wild is the sonic vision of the talented Emerson boys, recorded in a family built home studio in rural Washington State. Situated in the unlikely blink-and-you-missed-it town of Fruitland and far removed from the late 1970s punk movement and the larger disco boom, Donnie and Joe tilled their own musical soil, channeling bedroom pop jams, raw funk, and yacht rock. Spurred on their high school's...

By Wyndham Wallace Photo courtesy of Mark Pickerel Without Wyndham Wallace, Lee Hazlewood’s long time European manager and friend, it’s possible that we never would’ve had the opportunity to present to you: Lee Hazlewood - The LHI Years 1968-1971: Singles, Nudes and Backsides. The comp marks the first of many in our intensive Hazlewood series, covering material from not only Lee but also other artists on LHI - remastered from the original tapes - along with Lee’s output for other labels and the films of Torbjörn Axelman. Below Wyndham reflects upon Lee’s massive body of work. Compiled from his releases...