The release will be available via Western Vinyl both digital and on vinyl, including a limited deluxe edition which includes liner notes by 2024 National Book Award winner Jason De León (Soldiers and Kings) and poetry from National Book Critics Circle Award Winner Ross Gay (Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude). Both editions of the vinyl include photography from Pulitzer Foundation Grant Awardee Greg Constantine and cover art by Reena Saini Kallat, which is taken from the series Ruled Paper (red, blue, white) which depicts contested geographies around the world. All proceeds will be shared between two Texas-based organisations, American Gateways and Casa Marianella, who provide all manner of support for immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, including food, shelter, access to health care, legal services and other essential things. Plus, on the 4th December, Tim Heidecker will host a live variety show and raffle/auction on his call-in show Office Hours to further support the two organisations.

In preview of the December release, the offerings of Alan Sparhawk and Benjamin Booker have been made available to stream. Both offered statements to explain the context behind the tracks. “Here is a song that came from the struggle to know what to say to someone who is having a hard time,” Sparhawk explains of his song ‘No More Darkness’. “There are real things that we can do to lift each other out of suffering—sometimes it is tangible charity, like this compilation to raise funds and awareness for the plight of immigrants and those who have been displaced. Sometimes it is words of encouragement. It can also just be time spent with someone who needs help getting through the moment. Let’s do our best to turn up the light.”

Fittingly for the compilation’s themes, Booker’s track ‘A Place for Us’ is warm, welcoming and nakedly emotive. Lucid whispered truths over gentle but stark guitar. “The human struggle is a family struggle,” he explains of its ethos. “We rise together and we suffer together. There are so many things out of our control, but we can always open our hearts to love and understanding. May you find light in the darkness.”

Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers will be released on the 5th December via Western Vinyl and you can pre-order it now.

The post Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers appeared first on Various Small Flames.

15. Damien Jurado – Maraqopa

(Secretly Canadian)

14. Sand Circles – Motor City

(Not Not Fun)

13. Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind

(Epitaph)

12. Advance Base – A Shut-In’s Prayer

(Orindal)

11. Strand of Oaks – Dark Shores

(Self Released)

10. Actress – R.I.P

(Honest Jon’s Records)

9. Christian Löffler – A Forest

(Ki Records)

8. Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin – Instrumental Tourist

(Software)

7. Holy Other – Held

(Tri Angle)

6. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan

(Domino)

5. Field Report – Field Report

(Partisan)

4. The XX – Coexist

(Young Turks)

3. Japandroids – Celebration Rock

(Polyvinyl)

2. Evening Hymns – Spectral Dusk

(Shuffling Feet / Strange Ways)

1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!

(Constellation)

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