BEN LAMAR GAY – Downton Castles Can Never Block The Sun (IA11 Edition) – LP – Vinyl [MAR 28]

LP – Classic Black 140g LP inside a heavyweight jacket with 4-page insert booklet (new for IA11, with additional photos and new liner notes written by Gira Dahnee), IARC 2025 obi strip and printed poly-lined printed inner-sleeve. Pressed at Pallas in Germany, with new lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST.

Ben LaMar Gays de facto debut album, ‘Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun‘, was our attempt to introduce the legendary Chicago composer / improviser / renaissance man to the rest of the world with a compilation of tracks from 7 albums he made over 7 years (though he hadnt yet made the effort to actually release). The material showcases Gays penchant for genre-hopping from Steve 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 Gays 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 our OG announcement of the album: to call it eclectic would only scratch the surface. This music is everything.

The IA11 Edition of this LP comes with an IARC2025 obi strip plus a 4-page insert booklet featuring new (old) photos and new liner notes by musician (and longtime BLG friend/collaborator) Gira Dahnee.

Tracklist:

1.Vitus Labrusca [00:32]
2.Muhal [03:43]
3.Music For 18 Hairdressers: Braids & Fractals [02:25]
4.Jubilee [03:22]
5.A Seasoning Called Primavera [03:51]
6.Miss Nealie Burns [02:48]
7.Me, JayVe & The Big Bee [01:45]
8.Uvas [04:19]
9.Galveston [03:46]
10.Swim Swim [03:22]
11.Kunni [03:47]
12.Melhor Que Tem [03:28]
13.Gator Teeth [01:23]
14.7th Stanza [00:56]
15. Oh no…not again! [04:53]

Compiled & Sequenced by Scott McNiece & Ben LaMar Gay.
Mastered by David Allen.

Cover Art & Photos by Maren Celest.
IA11 Liner Notes by Gira Dahnee.
Original Layout by Craig Hansen.
IA11 Layout by Aaron Lowell Denton.