IODA is super excited to announce our SXSW Opening Day Bash Sampler 2012! This year is our biggest and most ambitious yet, featuring 13 amazing bands. We have some super hot, just released tracks from Poliça, Ruthie Foster, and The Wedding Present. And if that wasn’t enough we also have several previously unreleased tracks from artists like Pillow Fight, Y La Bamba, and Bright Moments.

The sampler is available for free on Amazon.com here, The 2012 sampler was also featured as one of the New and Noteworthy Alternative albums on iTunes. We at IODA couldn’t be prouder of all of this years artists, some of whom have been getting major love from all over. Poliça has been featured on NPR 3 separate times over the past month, and they premiered their very first video on Jay-Z’s site Life+Times. Ruthie Foster has been racing up the charts at Billboard, Amazon.com and iTunes, with her album ranked #1 in Blues for both services and #2 at Billboard. Both Ruthie Foster and Y La Bamba have also both been featured on NPR in the past couple of months.

iTunes feature for the Sampler:

Ruthie Foster making a huge splash at iTunes:

Well-Known Independent Artists and Up and Coming Fan Favorites including The Wedding Present, Ruthie Foster, Poliça, and Pillow Fight to Perform at IODA’s Annual SXSW Showcase.

Today we announced the details of our highly anticipated music showcase: IODA’s 8th Annual Opening Day Bash at the upcoming SXSW conference in Austin, Texas. The annual event features 13 fan-favorite artists, from rockers Thee Oh Sees to hip hop mastermind Oddisee. Since launching in 2003, IODA has helped transform the independent music industry, enabling thousands of independent labels and artists to benefit from the digital music revolution.

Over the last seven years, the Opening Day Bash has proven itself an essential showcase for breakthrough bands including Blind Pilot, The Black Angels, Phenomenal Handclap Band, Deer Tick, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Sleepy Sun, Gold Panda, Frightened Rabbit and many more.

What: IODA’s Opening Day Bash at SXSW 2012

Where: Red Eyed Fly, 715 Red River Street, Austin, Texas

When: Wednesday, March 14^th, 2012

Time: 12 – 6 PM

IODA Sampler: All bands are represented by IODA and will be part of IODA’s free SXSW music sampler. To hear this collection of music, go to www.iodasxsw.com.

Event Line-up

“I’m Alright”

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The Uptown Nightclub in Oakland, CA is featuring not one, not two, but four IODA-distributed artists next Friday, January 27th at 9pm. California’s own Agent Ribbons heads the bill with the Sunbears!, Social Studies, and Emily Jane White all on the bill as well. Check out The Uptown Nightclub’s website for more event details.

Originally hailing from Sacramento, CA, Agent Ribbons isn’t just a band–it’s a tree house club of post-feminist dreamers trying to find their place in the scheme of things, like a hand-sewn and lovingly-crafted garment in a modern, disposable world. Listening to everything from Eartha Kitt to the Velvet Underground and taking notes from bands like The Shaggs, The Boswell Sisters and The Zombies, they miraculously reconcile seemingly-unrelated genres, sounding something like Girls in the Garage doing the Three Penny Opera. Waxing sentimental over the eerie beauty of all things lost to time, the emphasis is undoubtedly in the lyrics, which favor clever turns of phrase and occasional humor, but never at the expense of the melodic integrity of their catchy, memorable songs. Agent Ribbons released their  sophomore album Chateau Crone in the fall of 20101 on Oakland-based Antenna Farm Records over the course of a year. With delicate violin arrangements, noisy dissonant tangents, Spector-esque vocal harmonies and clever melodic phrasing, the album cannot commit to a genre but always manages to sound like the same brand of baroque pop.

Hit the skip for the rest and to grab more free promotracks!

Sunbears!
“Mind’s Trapped in Static” (mp3)
from “Sunbears!/MRENC Split 7″”
(New Granada Records)

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Sunbears! is an indie / psychedelic / electronic pop duo hailing from Jacksonville, FL. Not unlike Wayne Coyne’s The Flaming Lips, their live show is not to be missed. Interactive visuals and lighting astound the eyes and ears. Since forming in 2008, the band has released a handful of EP’s and a vinyl single. In May 2010, they were selected as one of the best unsigned bands by Alternative Press. In March 2011, SUNBEARS! officially showcased at SXSW 2011 to a captive Austin audience. Their amazing live show and sheer joy that their songs exude have put them in high demand on the road with support slots on national tours

Social Studies
“Time Bandit” (mp3)
from “Wind Up Wooden Heart”
(Antenna Farm Records)

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Social Studies crafts intricate songs that combine angular indie rock and classic twee-pop. What distingishes the San Francisco-based group is their eclectic, complex song writing: unusual structures and mathy beats are tempered by soft edges and danceable casio hooks. Moody, defiant and hopeful, the lyrics celebrate duality through themes of discontent, violence, innocence, renewal, nostalgia, regret and joy. All these elements take shape in unpredictable, catchy songs that burrow into your consciousness and demand repeat listening and a critical reading between the lines. Combine this imaginative songwriting with a consistently high energy live show, and it is no surprise that Social Studies has generated a loyal fanbase and strong buzz in the SF Bay Area and beyond.

“Lay Your Cards Out”

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IODA artist Poliça is premiering their new video for the single “Lay Your Cards Out”, off their recent debut album Give You The Ghost, on Jay-Z’s lifestyle website Life+Times! “Lay Your Cards Out” is a prime example of Poliça’s custom blend of sultry R&B rhythms and intensely electro, goth-pop vibes. With Channy Leaneagh’s dynamic vocal experimentation, processing, and synthesized textures fitting in perfectly with the lush, electronic sound-scape of Ryan Olson’s arrangements. “Lay Your Cards Out” also features Mike Noyce of Bon Iver. Poliça says that this is “the first tease of more to come”. The video is a soft and smoky hypnosis of a girl, a beat and a black curtain.

Poliça – “Lay Your Cards Out”

“Qalanderi”

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Young Of The Morning is a feature documentary film exploring the journey of world-renowned DJ and Global Fusion pioneer Cheb i Sabbah as he travels to India seeking Ayurvedic healing for adjuvant cancer therapy and to record his next album aptly titled OptiMystiK. To donate to Cheb i Sabbah’s cancer treatment and help with his on-going medical costs please donate here. You can also help the film makers complete this amazing story by donating to their Kickstarter here!

This project really began when Cheb i Sabbah, or Chebiji as he is affectionately known, was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer five months ago and given 4 weeks to live. With the help of a generous fundraiser, he received intensive treatment in Germany and, thankfully, pulled through. Upon his return, Cheb wrote: “The doctors were wrong in part of their diagnosis. They did not take into account the power of prayers and the power of love from the thousands of my friends, fans and family. It is because of your love, your prayers and your generosity that I am still alive today”.

Hit the jump for more on this great project and a trailer for the documentary!

Last month shooting began at a benefit in San Francisco to raise money for his treatment. Hundreds of hours of archival footage will be used to tell the retrospective aspects of his 40 year career, which began during the 60′s in the Parisian discothèques with a stack of 7” soul records, then with Don Cherry as his mentor, his rise to international recognition spinning in San Francisco and worldwide.. But it is the unfolding story of Cheb’s fight against the disease, his passion to keep performing, and his upcoming three-month trip to India to play shows in Goa and Jaipur, undergo Ayurvedic treatments and record OptiMystiK that will provide the nexus of his story, and will be the main focus and goal of the documentary.

“O Holy Night”

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Happy Holiday’s from IODA! To wrap up the season we bring you Nicole Henry’s superb live Christmas album Set for the Season: Live In Japan.

Set for the Season was recorded over four nights of performances at the Cotton Club in Tokyo, Japan (2009) during Nicole’s ninth tour of the country since 2005 (after being awarded HMV’s Best new Jazz Artist and Best Vocal Jazz award for her first two albums, The Nearness of You and The Very Thought of You). The recording features Pete Wallace (Piano), James McCoy (Bass) and Dave Chiverton (Drums). Set For the Season includes holiday classics in addition to an amazing bonus performance of “I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water” – a highly requested audience favorite.

Find out more about Nicole Henry after the jump!

A graduate of the University of Miami with a degree in Communications and Theatre, Henry got her first recording experience with dance music DJ/producer Noel Sanger. After “Miracle,” a Sanger track featuring Henry, reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s dance chart, she toured the U.S. with Sanger, which was followed by a stint with RCA recording artist Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise. Then, in 2001, Henry’s magnetic personality and theatrical background helped her to launch a successful acting career, appearing in film and television roles as well as a series of commercials and voice-over assignments. But she continued to maintain focus on her budding singing career, winning a large regional following around South Florida with her live performances and being named 2002′s Best Local Solo Musician by Miami New Times. The same year, Henry had the opportunity to sing with a jazz trio for the first time, and immediately recognized the musical freedom and storytelling potential that jazz offered.

Henry’s enthusiastic embrace of jazz accelerated her creative development, leading to the 2004 release of her debut CD, The Nearness of You, on her own Banister label. That album won considerable attention from audiences and critics both in the U.S. and in Japan, with HMV Japan naming Henry the Best New Jazz Artist of 2004. The album climbed to #2 on HMV Japan’s jazz chart and remained in the top 10 for three months. Back home, Henry won rave reviews and received significant airplay on jazz radio, and was the subject of features in Billboard, JazzTimes and Downbeat. Her second album, Teach Me Tonight, on which she was backed by the Eddie Higgins Trio, reached #1 in Japan and was named HMV Japan’s Best Vocal Jazz Album of 2005.

Henry’s 2008 album, The Very Thought of You, found her continuing to explore the Great American Songbook while broadening her repertoire to include original material and contemporary songs. The album substantially expanded her American audience, reaching #7 on Billboard’s jazz chart. Its international popularity spurred her to step up her performance schedule with successful tours of Japan (where she’s toured nine times), Europe and Russia. Henry also remained a favorite in New York City where she’s made high-profile appearances at such prestigious venues as Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and Feinstein’s at the Regency. Throughout 2009 and 2010, her monthly performances in front of sold-out crowds at Chelsea’s Metropolitan Room led to winning the 2010 BISTRO Award for Outstanding Jazz Vocalist.

Artist:

Check out the video for “Explain My Heart” off of Volcanic Sunlight:

“Hours”

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Once again we’ve opened up our annual Best Of lists to all IODA employees and received submissions from many different departments! The guidelines were simple; choose your top 5 IODA-distributed releases that came out in 2011. Enjoy the selections and be sure to hit the jump for the rest of the lists and lots of free Promotracks from these great releases.

Corey Sheridan – Client Manager:
Tycho – Dive [Ghostly International]
Oddisee – Rock Creek Park [Mello Music Group]
Panda Bear – Tomboy [Paw Tracks]
Other Lives – Tamer Animals [TBD Records]
Kool and Together – Original Recordings 1970-77 [Heavy Light Records]

Richard Leach – Head of UK Client Management:
Driver Drive Faster – Open House [Akoustik Anarkhy]
Amebix – Sonic Mass [Easy Action / Amebix Records]
Kuedo – Severant [Planet Mu]
Damu – Unity [Keysound]
Saul Williams – Volcanic Sunlight [Columbia / SME France]

Thorsten Sideboard – Systems Administrator:
Gold-Bears – Are You Falling In Love? [Slumberland Records]
Kids On A Crime Spree – We Love You So Bad [Slumberland Records]
Girls Names – Dead To Me [Slumberland Records]
Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls [Slumberland Records]
Spectrals – Bad Penny [Slumberland Records]

Typhoon
“The Honest Truth” (mp3)
from “A New Kind of House”
(Tender Loving Empire)

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Elijah Carroll – Marketing Coordinator:
Typhoon – A New Kind Of House [Tender Loving Empire]
Hassaan Mackey, Apollo Brown – Daily Bread [Mello Music Group]
Beans – End It All [anticon]
Benny Sings – Art [Dox Records]
Robin Bacior – Rest Our Wings [Consonants & Vowels Recordings]

Peter Arensdorf – Client Production:
Indian – Guiltless [Relapse Records]
Helms Alee – Weatherhead [Hydra Head]
Punch – Nothing Lasts [Deathwish Inc.]
Yuck – Yuck [Fat Possum]
Skeletonwitch – Forever Abomination [Prosthetic]

Christophe Le Breton – IODA France:
Magazine – No Thyself [Wire-Sound]
Dark Dark Dark – Wild Go [Melodic]
City Slickers – Still Smokin’ Cigarettes & Tellin’ Lies [Brick Records]
Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine [Carpark]
Ana Popovic – Unconditional [Eclecto Groove Records]

Hit the jump for more staff “Best Of 2011″ and additional Promotracks!

Ana Popovic
“Reset Rewind” (mp3)
from “Unconditional”
(Eclecto Groove Records)

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Jenni Tay – Account Manager:
Tim and Nicki Bluhm – Duets [Tim Bluhm]
Priory – Priory [Expunged/Priory]
Dan Mangan – Oh Fortune [Arts & Crafts]
Middle Brother – Middle Brother [Partisan Records]
Thaís Gulin – ôÔÔôôÔôÔ [Slap]

Matt Valerio – Technical Account Manager
Com Truise – Galactic Melt [Ghostly International]
Various Artists – Drive: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Lakeshore Records]
Class Actress – Rapprocher [ Carpark Records]
Joakim – Nothing Gold [Megaforce]
Zeus B. Held – Voice Versa [Boutique]

Jamie Sanchez – Client Manager:
iiO – Exit 110 (feat. Nadia Ali) [Made Records]
P’Taah – Perfumed Silence [Street King]
Radiation City – The Hands That Take You [Tender Loving Empire]
Kate Voegele – Gravity Happens [ATO Records]
Southern Shores – Atlantic EP [Cascine]

Girls Names
“I Lose” (mp3)
from “Dead To Me”
(Slumberland Records)

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J. Gibson – Client Manager:
White Orange – White Orange [Made In China Records]
Weekend – Red [Slumberland Records]
Gerald Wilson – Legacy [Mack Avenue Records]
Megafaun – Megafaun [Hometapes]
Nicki Bluhm – Driftwood [Tim Bluhm]

Daria Kelly – Spindle Music:
Girls Names – Dead To Me [Slumberland Records]
The Real Tuesday Weld – The Last Werewolf  [Six Degrees Records]
Gotye – Making Mirrors [V2 Records Benelux]
Spectrals – Bad Penny [Slumberland Records]
Old 97’s – The Grand Theatre Volume 2 [New West]

Craig O’Neill – Creative Licensing Manager:
Robin Bacior – Rest Our Wings [Consonants & Vowels Recordings]
Various Artists – Philly Re-Grooved: The Tom Moulton Remixes Volume 2: The Master Returns [Harmless Records]
Jared Mees & The Grown Children – Only Good Thoughts Can Stay [Tender Loving Empire]
Isaac’s Aircraft – Two is a Crowd. [Crash Records]
Kreap – DJ Play This Song For Me [Home Breakin Records]

Tim and Nicki Bluhm
“Think About The Two Of Us” (mp3)
from “Duets”
(Tim Bluhm)

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Jessica Warinner – Client Marketing Intern:
Yip Deceiver – Yip Deceiver [Aerobic International]
Ana Popovic – Unconditional [Eclecto Groove Records]
Sean Hayes – Outtakes and Alternatives [Sean Hayes]
Shelby Earl – Burn The Boats – [Local 638 Records]
The Sota Boys – MistleFlow [Distrophonix]

Ian Connelly – Director of Client Management:
Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On [Arts & Crafts]
Megafaun – Megafaun [Hometapes]
Castlemania – Info & Actions [In The Red]
Blind Pilot – We Are The Tide [Expunged]
Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage [Southern Lord]

Ozgur Okter – Client Manager:
Indian – Guiltless [Relapse Records]
Amebix – Sonic Mass [Easy Action / Amebix Records]
Various Artists – To What Strange Place : The Music of The Ottoman-American Diaspora, 1916 – 1929 [Tompkins Square]
Black and Brown – Black and Brown [Fat Beats]
Prurient – Bermuda Drain [Hydra Head]

Ruthie Foster
“Stone Love” (mp3)
from “Ruthie Foster Live at Antone’s”
(Blue Corn Music)

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IODA would like to congratulate all the independent labels and artists nominated in the 33rd Blues Music Awards.  Each year, The Blues Foundation presents The Blues Music Awards to the artists selected by its members. They are universally recognized as the highest honor given to Blues artists. Special congratulations are in order for IODA artists Ruthie Foster who earned 3 nominations; and to Ana Popovic and Terry Hanck with 2 nods each.

This year IODA artist and labels garnered a total of 26 nominations for more than 14 different awards. The nominations reflect the success of a multitude of IODA artists and labels across a wide variety of categories including Song (Terry Hanck, Hadden Sayers), Best New Artist Debut (Demetria Taylor, Big Pete, Sena Ehrhardt), and many more…

The complete nominations from the IODA family of independent labels and artists are:

Best Acoustic Album
Doug MacLeod – Brand New Eyes – [Fresh! from Reference Recordings]
Mary Flower – Misery Loves Company – [ Yellow Dog Records]

Acoustic Artist
Doug MacLeod
Mary Flower

B.B. King Entertainer
Candye Kane
Ruthie Foster

Best New Artist Debut
Demetria Taylor – Bad Girl – [Delmark]
Big Pete – Choice Cuts - [DELTA GROOVE PRODUCTIONS]
Sen Ehrhardt – Leave The Light On – [Blind Pig Records]

Hit the Jump for the rest of the nominations and more promotracks!

Contemporary Blues Album
Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa -  Don’t Explain -  [J&R Adventures]
Ana Popovic – Unconditional – [Eclecto Groove Records]

Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Ana Popovic
Candye Kane

Historical Album
George Harmonica Smith – Teardrops Are Falling - [Electro-Fi Records]

Instrumentalist – Bass
Patrick Ryan

Instrumentalist – Horn
Terry Hanck

Instrumentalist – Other
Rich Del Grosso, mandolin

Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female)
Tracy Nelson
Ruthie Foster

Rock Blues Album
Mike Zito – Greyhound – [Eclecto Groove Records]
Too Slim and the Taildraggers – Shiver - [Underworld Records]

Song
Terry Hanck – “Appreciate What You Got” (Look Out! – [DELTA GROOVE PRODUCTIONS])
Hadden Sayers – “Back to the Blues” (Hard Dollar – [Blue Corn Music])

Soul Blues Female Artist
Sharrie Williams

Traditional Blues Album
Tracy Nelson -  Victim of the Blues - [DELTA GROOVE PRODUCTIONS

Enjoy these free promotracks:
Tracy Nelson
“Victim of the Blues” (mp3)
from “Victim of the Blues”
(DELTA GROOVE PRODUCTIONS)

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Ana Popovic
“Fearless” (mp3)
from “Unconditional”
(Eclecto Groove Records)

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Terry Hanck
“Appreciate What You Got” (mp3)
from “Look Out!”
(DELTA GROOVE PRODUCTIONS)

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