In exciting local music news, Kurt Vile announced further album details and a show at Union Transfer with Steve Gunn and Angel Olsen. Wakin On A Pretty Daze will be out via Matador Records on April 9th and will be a double LP (on blue vinyl!). The lead track, “Wakin On A Pretty Day,” is available as a free download on Matador’s website here – get ready for 9+ minutes of classic Vile-isms like “to be frank I’m fried / but I don’t mind.” Tickets and information for Kurt Vile & The Violators at Union Transfer on Saturday, May 18th, can be found here. Listen to “Wakin On A Pretty Day” below set to a video of images from this cover art documentary.
Abi Reimold
RECENT POSTS
The Week So Far: 12 must-read stories on The Key (incl. Bleeding Rainbow, Kurt Vile, Attia Taylor and Pissed Jeans)

Photo by Rachel Del Sordo
Happy Valentine’s Day from Helen Leicht – get free downloads of Philly Local love songs [link]
Philly punks Pissed Jeans ravage the Key Studio Sessions [link]
Indiepop five-piece Catnaps releases a prom-themed music video for “Novelty” [link]
WXPN will broadcast Sunday’s Mumford & Sons concert from the SBC in Camden [link]
Bleeding Rainbow‘s new LP Yeah Right is the subject of the Unlocked showcase [link]
Philly’s Abi Reimold is spotlighted in a Folkadelphia session [link]
See photos from Toro y Moi‘s appearance at Union Transfer [link]
Five Things That Inspired Mary Lattimore’s Debut Album, The Withdrawing Room [link]
Watch local actors, fashion designers and musicians Khari Mateen and Elegant Animals collaborate in a video called The Living [link]
Explore Philadelphia with Dave Hartley of Nightlands and BlackBook Magazine [link]
Kurt Vile announces a headlining Union Transfer show, shares a free download [link]
Philly space-rocker Brendan Codey shares a new track called “Twin Chimney” [link]
UK experimental trio Beak> plays Underground Arts on a snowy night [link]
Folkadelphia Bonus Session: Abi Reimold
As you already know, dearest reader of The Key, we have a plethora of amazing musical talent in our fair city. Every single day, I hear a new local artist, album, or song that mesmerizes me, that stokes my Philly pride, and that inspires me to beseech others to listen. It’s why I keep doing what I’m doing (whatever it is that I’m doing) to try and spread the word about honest music.
This past Sunday, we posted the cosmic ambient sound that Mary Lattimore and Jeff Zeigler created in the studio and, next Sunday (2/17), we’ll be posting a double session feature with Spirit & Dust and Small Houses in advance of their Folkadelphia presented record release show on Saturday, 2/23. I thought that we might as well make this week an impromptu local music celebration, so we’re sharing another recent session to bridge the Sundays.
At the end of last year, on December 17th, we spent an evening with Abi Reimold, who is a Philadelphia songwriter, an excellent photographer, and a Temple student. Obviously these parts do not make up the whole person – even the music only just skims the surface of the unknowable depths of creativity that Ms. Reimold has within herself. She is a young, developing singer-songwriter and therein lays the beauty and the rawness of the session. These are my favorite kinds of recordings; tracks that display the musician in her most bare state of being. You can hear the songs breathing with new life and emotion. With these set of songs, Abi shows tremendous promise and I cannot wait to hear what she comes up with next.
Beyond this session, make sure you listen to her other recordings because they are a treat.
The Week’s Best MP3 Downloads, incl. Calexico, Quilt, The Naked Sun
Bringing their sunny psychedelic sounds to Philadelphia, Boston’s Quilt recently stopped by the Folkadelphia studios to record a live session full of warmth and color. The 60s vibe of the band seems so natural it’s easy to slip into a dreamy daze while listening to the five tracks they recorded. Stream and download “Arctic Shark” below and head over to Folkadelphia’s Bandcamp to get the rest of the session. Quilt will be back in town this Saturday, February 16th for the 2013 Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival at The Fire. Tickets and information can be found here.
Free Download: Get a snapshot of the Philly DIY scene from across the globe in this Slovakian digital compilation
Start Track is a new digital label based in Slovakia that showcases bands and local music scenes from other corners of the world for the Central European audience. Their latest comp, Philly, was released yesterday, and provides a thorough snapshot of the Philly DIY / house show / basement punk circuit, from Key Sessions alums Cousin Brian and groove-poppers Night Panther, to singer-songwriter Abi Reimold and nihilistic rockers Pill Friends, who provided the inspiration for the set. Says the compiler, who goes only by Filip:
this mixtape has been collected by a great homie Ryan Wilson from Pill Friends pillfriends.bandcamp.comall bands are active in a beautiful music scene formed in Philadelphia and its neighborhood and they will be pleased with your support
there many other incredible bands from this scene which are not covered in this compilation, but you should definitely listen to them
You can listen to the compilation and get to know some of your neighbors – from an across-the-globe perspective – in the player below. To grab a free download, head to Start Track’s Bandcamp.
Download Wish it Stopped from Abi Reimold (playing Fergie’s Pub tonight)
Temple University student and musician Abi Reimold will perform at Fergie’s Pub tonight with John Francis’ Magic Hour Showcase, this week working in conjunction with Temple’s Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association. With a captivating vocal style echoing Angel Olsen and Jessica Pratt, Reimold’s recordings are honest and intimate but still reach an atmospheric depth with the occasional haunting looping sequence. Also participating in the Temple Songwriters Show tonight are Kevin Stairiker (Traffic Nightmare), Brianna Judge, Chet Williams and Brittany Ann Tranbaugh. The 21+ showcase is free and begins at 9:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Facebook event page here. Below, stream and download Abi Reimold’s Wish it Stopped, her half of a recently released split with Maryland’s Infinity Crush.




