Hurray for the Riff Raff | Cadence Recordings

ATO Records Announces Silence Is Not An Option (turn this up) A Compilation Album Supporting Black Lives Matter, Color of Change, and Innocence Project

June 19, 2020 by Cadence Recordings

ATO Records, Benjamin Booker, Black Pumas, Brittany Howard, Chicano Batman, Drive By Truckers, Emily King, Hurray for the Riff Raff, my morning jacket, Nick Hakim, Nilüfer Yanya, Silence Is Not An Option, Turn This Up

Featuring Songs From the ATO Catalog From Brittany Howard, My Morning Jacket, Black Pumas, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Benjamin Booker, Drive-By Truckers, Nilüfer Yanya, Nick Hakim & More

Plus a Brand-New Track From Emily King

Available Digitally Today + Pre-Order Vinyl Exclusively on Bandcamp

Artwork by Shanée Benjamin

(Toronto, ON – June 19, 2020) – ATO Records, an independent record label out of New York City, has been reflecting deeply on the injustices and inequality in our world. We recognize that music is not just an agent for change, but a space of solace. As we approach our 20th anniversary as a label, we remain proud to represent a diverse range of artists whose music imparts messages of inclusivity, justice, and equality.

In that spirit, we’ve assembled an LP that showcases our extraordinary roster of artists and epitomizes ATO’s richness of musical diversity and talent. Silence Is Not An Option is a compilation of powerful anthems from the ATO catalog that explore issues of identity, community, social justice, and resistance. Tracks include Brittany Howard’s “Goat Head,” released in 2019, the explosive song that Howard wrote about growing up in the South with a white mother and a black father; Benjamin Booker’s “Witness,” released in 2017,(“Right now we could use a little pick-me-up / Seems like the whole damn nation’s trying to take us down”), a collaboration with soul music and civil rights icon Mavis Staples; Drive-By Truckers’ “What It Means,” released in 2016, the withering track that Patterson Hood wrote in response to the police shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown; and Chicano Batman’s “Invisible People,” released earlier this year (“Invisible people, we’re tired of living in the dark / Everyone is trying to tear us apart / Allwewanna do isheal now”).

The compilation also features “See Me,” a brand-new song from Grammy-nominated R&B artist Emily King. King wrote and recorded the passionate track just days ago in response to the Black Lives Matters protests. “Feeling so moved by this powerful time,” says King. “Everyday watching the world demand justice. I wake up with sadness but also hope. Like people are starting to finally notice how deeply broken things are. Can you hear me now? Can you see me now? I started singing the words and they wouldn’t leave my head.” Listen to “See Me,” premiering now on Rolling Stone, HERE.

ATO stands with all those committed to the fight for racial equality and mutual respect among all peoples. Silence Is Not An Option is available today digitally and for pre-order on vinyl exclusively on Bandcamp, who are donating 100% of their fees to the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund. ATO will donate 100% of net proceeds from the compilation to causes supporting the Black Lives Matter global human rights movement: Black Lives Matter Greater New York, Color of Change, and Innocence Project. Vinyl will ship in early September.

“This compilation is not about the label, it’s about our artists who’ve been outspoken and providing commentary on these issues for years,” says ATO General Manager and Head of A&R Jon Salter. “Team ATO couldn’t be prouder to raise awareness and money showcasing these powerful songs in our catalog, and be in this moment alongside our exceptional artist community.”

Purchase Silence Is Not An Option HERE

Silence Is Not An Option (turn this up) – Vinyl Tracklist

1. “Witness” – Benjamin Booker (featuring Mavis Staples)

2. “Colors” – Black Pumas

3. “Goat Head” – Brittany Howard

4. “See Me” (Exclusive) – Emily King

5. “What It Means” – Drive-By Truckers

6. “Pa’lante” – Hurray for the Riff Raff

7. “When You Come Back” – Vusi Mahlasela

8. “Paralysed” – Nilüfer Yanya

9. “Invisible People” – Chicano Batman

10. “I’m Amazed” – My Morning Jacket

11. “Vincent Tyler (Single Version)” – Nick Hakim

ATO Records (According To Our Records) is a record label committed to artists and building their careers. Founded in 2000 by Dave Matthews and manager Coran Capshaw, and run by Jon Salter, the label roster boasts an extraordinary artist community including Brittany Howard, My Morning Jacket, Alabama Shakes, Black Pumas, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Drive-By Truckers, Chicano Batman, Nick Hakim, Primus, and many more. As a truly independent label, ATO is steadfast in its commitment to building career artists.

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HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF’S “PA’LANTE” – “ONE OF THE MOST ARTICULATE SONGS OF A GENERATION” (NPR) – ANCHORS POIGNANT NEW SHORT FILM

May 22, 2018 by Cadence Recordings

ATO Records, HFTRR, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Kristian Mercado Figueroa, Life after Hurricane Maria, Mela Murder, Milagros, Pa'lante, Powerful Musical Force, PRIMA Relief Fund, Puerto Rico, The Navigator

AN INTIMATE GLIMPSE INTO THE PUERTO RICAN CRISIS, DIRECTED BY KRISTIAN MERCADO FIGUEROA + STARRING MELA MURDER OF “THE FLORIDA PROJECT”

TORONTO, ON – May 22, 2018 – Hurray for the Riff Raff’s “Pa’lante” – the fervent call to arms for working class Latinx that was lauded as one of the year’s best songs by Pitchfork, NPR Music, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard, The Guardian + more – serves as the powerful musical force behind a new short film directed by Kristian Mercado Figueroa (De La Soul, Hannibal Burress). Shot in Puerto Rico earlier this year, alongside Alynda’s hometown in New York, “Pa’lante” offers an intimate, first-hand glimpse of life after Hurricane Maria via the journey of single mother Milagros (played by Mela Murder of the acclaimed film The Florida Project) and her family – a living testament not only to the everyday struggle after the storm displaced thousands last year, but also the strength, beauty, and identity of an island that embodies the phrase (“forward”) as its national philosophy.

Watch “Pa’lante” here: https://youtu.be/LilVDjLaZSE

Shooting on location struck close to home for everyone on set, many of whom are of Puerto Rican descent. Hurray’s own Alynda Segarra is shown alongside images of her father and overlaid with archival footage of civil rights activist group the Young Lords. Member and founder of the Nuyorican Movement, Pedro Pietri, is also shown reciting his poem “Puerto Rican Obituary” – the epic work that would come to serve as inspiration for the song almost 50 years after it was first published.

For the director Kristian, this was a very personal video as his family was displaced by Hurricane Maria and his grandfather passed in its aftermath: “We really wanted to showcase talent of color, stories by people of color – it was important to me to make sure this was a diverse production that had Puerto Ricans working on it. The conditions on the island are still very poor. During the production we could all feel how painful it all was, how it’s been so long without enough help. The island is still strong, the people always positive, but you can’t help but feel the desperation and pain of the colonial condition, the sense of abandonment. Pa’lante is a very Puerto Rican mindset – be it a family struggling to stay together, or recovering from the hurricane, the Puerto Rican people are strong and they will always stand and move forward. And there is a beauty to that.”

For Mela Murder, it was her first time visiting her homeland since Hurricane Maria. “The character Milagros deeply resonated with me being that I am a single mother,” she says. “Our lives are entirely different, but the fuel that keeps women like us going is exactly the same as it has been for generations before us – love. The island is alive with love so strong you can feel it in the breeze coming off the ocean. It made me feel so damn proud of my Boricua roots!”

“Pa’lante” aims to raise funds and awareness for the PRIMA Relief Fund, a collective dedicated to sustaining Puerto Rico’s independent music and artistic community following Hurricane Maria. Learn about ways to support PRIMA Relief at their website: https://www.primafund.org

Hurray for the Riff Raff’s “Pa’lante” was named “Best New Track” by Pitchfork upon its release (“the most hair-raising two minutes of music this year”), and was also hailed by NPR Music as “one of the most articulate songs of a generation.” It serves as the hard-hitting closer for her acclaimed album ‘The Navigator’ (ATO Records), which earned career-best reviews for Segarra.

Hurray for The Riff Raff will be in Vancounver on May 26 supporting Bon Iver at Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park.

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF TOUR DATES:

MAY 25 Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge Amphitheatre – George, WA

MAY 26 Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park with Bon Iver – Vancouver, BC, Canada

JUN 23 Arroyo Seco – Pasadena, CA

JUL 6 Summerfest – Milwaukee, WI

JUL 14 Mad Cool Festival – Madrid, Spain

JUL 16 Poble Espanyol with Future Islands – Barcelona, Spain

JUL 17 Teatro Circo – Braga, 04, Portugal

JUL 19 Colours of Ostrava – Ostrava, Czech Republic

JUL 21 Pori Jazz – Pori, Finland

JUL 26 River & Blues at Wagner Park – New York, NY

AUG 17 Maha Music Festival – Omaha, NE

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ATO Records Announces Silence Is Not An Option (turn this up) A Compilation Album Supporting Black Lives Matter, Color of Change, and Innocence Project

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF’S “PA’LANTE” – “ONE OF THE MOST ARTICULATE SONGS OF A GENERATION” (NPR) – ANCHORS POIGNANT NEW SHORT FILM