Mixtape: Let My Spirit Rise

With a host of early 00’s folk coming up on their 20 year mark (just like the site) in these last couple of years, it’s been a good time to flip back through many of the inspirations that brought RSTB into existence in the first place. The psych-folk resurgence of the ‘00s, the rise of tape labels soaked in noise, and the CD-r small label boom were all integral to what would become Raven Sings the Blues. This collection is a companion piece to one of the first mixtapes I did quite a while back. That one covered a lot of bases, but it mostly kept things cornered in quietude. Here the noise slips in, the temperatures rise, and beauty and dissonance sit side by side. I tried not to overlap with the last set too much, with the exception of two different variations on Wooden Wand (both essential). I’d say that the two collections paint a pretty varied picture of the time. Perfect listening for the damp that’s come to the Northeast this time of year, but wherever you are, this collection brings the woods with it.

::Tracklist::

1. Valet – Rainbow
2. Charalambides – Hope Against Hope
3. In Gowan Ring – Hazel Steps
4. Jackie-O Motherfucker – Hey! Mr. Sky
5. Alexander Tucker – You Are Many
6. Voice of the Seven Woods – Silver Morning Branches
7. Grass – Summer In The Wasteland
8. Mountain Home – The Sparrow
9. Marissa Nadler – Lily, Henry & The Willow Trees
10. Baba Yaga – Dear Sister
11. Feathers – Come Around
12. Kurt Weisman – Let My Spirit Rise
13. Giant Skyflower Band – Feast Of Blood
14. Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band – Mother Midnight
15. Donovan Quinn and the 13th Month – Halloween Candle
16. Meg Baird – The Cruelty of Barbary Allen
17. Winter Magic – End of the War
18. White Magic – Keeping The Wolves From The Door
19. Big Blood – In The Shade
20. Orion Rigel Dommisse – Drink Yourself (To Death)
21. Silver Summit – In-Between Place
22. Mythical Beast – Live To Live
23. Sapat – Dark Silver
24. Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Voice – Don’t Love The Liar
25. Raccoo-oo-oon – Mirror Blanket
26. Pocahaunted – All Of Is Of
27. Religious Knives – Downstairs
28. Lights – Break, Run, Fly
29. Ilyas Ahmed – Moon Falling
30. Herbcraft – Road To Agartha