VIA PRESS RELEASE | Verve/UMe will release the official companion soundtrack for the anticipated documentary, Billie, about legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday on November 13. Billie: The Original Soundtrack, which will be available on CD, LP, and digitally for streaming and download, collects some of Holiday’s most popular songs featured throughout the transfixing film including “God Bless The Child,” “I Only Have Eyes For You,” “I Loves You, Porgy,” and “Strange Fruit,” along with instrumental cues.
Playing out like a film noir, Billie, directed by James Erskine, explores the story of the world’s greatest jazz singer, whose life was mired in controversy, through a wealth of never-before-heard tapes recorded in the 1970s by the journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl. Over eight years, Kuehl tracked down and recorded over 200 hours of interviews with extraordinary and brilliant characters that populated the iconic and controversial singer’s short, tumultuous life. But after Kuehl’s unexpected death, her tapes were never heard. Until now.
Using state-of-the-art techniques to bring her performances to life in color for the first time together with home movie footage, specially shot material, archive and still images, “Billie” plays out as a film noir and captures the complexity of a legend through the eyes of a woman whose obsession would lead to her own mysterious death. An Altitude and MPC presentation of a New Black Films and Reliance Entertainment Productions Documentary in association with Concord, BBC Music, Belga Films and Polygram Entertainment, Billie will be released in theaters November 13.
For the album, Skøtt plays drums, keyboards and contributes effects, while Martin Rude (who teamed with Skøtt in an earlier El Paraiso duo outfit, Sun River, cutting one album back in 2012) handles double bass and guitar, both acoustic and baritone. Given the number of individuals and the amount of instrumentation, it would be fair to assume some overdubbing took place, but the results flow like a live session; Skøtt seems to be doing double duty on the drums and effects, while Rude alternates between bass and guitar.
Washington, DC | A Vintage Record And Magazine Store Opens On Maketto’s Second Floor: Vinyl collectors can now add a D.C. restaurant to their list of places to go crate-digging. Cool Kids Vinyl, a new record store, has taken over the second floor of Maketto, Chef Erik Bruner-Yang’s food/coffeeshop/retail spot on H Street. The shop, which launched Sept. 1, is the brainchild of 28-year-old Matthew Talley, a creative marketing specialist from Southeast D.C. Five years ago, Talley started Digging Thru The Crates, a series of pop-up events hosted with D.C. legend DJ Alizay and featuring guests like rapper Biz Markie and producer 9th Wonder. The concept gave attendees a chance to dig through crates of vinyls, pick one, and hand it to the DJ to spin for the party. Talley has long wanted to take that energy and put it into a brick-and-mortar business, but the coronavirus pandemic complicated his plans to rent out a space in Southwest. Talley, who works as a daytime manager at Maketto, said his boss was looking to shake things up a bit for when the restaurant reopened indoor dining this month. “Erik was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you just do it upstairs, man?’ It’ll, in a way, re-garner that community that used to come to Maketto,’” Talley says. “The records kind of 
Record Store Recs: El Guajiro Of Ghetto Kumbé Shares The Music & Rhythms That Inspire Him: With Ghetto Kumbé’s self-titled debut full-length album, released in June, they’re ready to bring their global sound and the messages of unity around the world. To listen to Colombian trio Ghetto Kumbé’s music is to go on a lively, joyful journey through time and space, where borders no longer exist and drums and dancing are aplenty. The group consists of singer/producer El Guajiro, percussionist Chongo and West African percussion master Doctor Keyta—all veteran musicians who grew up on Colombia’s musically and culturally rich Caribbean coast. Their music seamlessly fuses traditional sounds with modern electronic beats and aesthetics. For example, their use of call-and-response lyrics come from the rich African and Afro-Colombian tradition called gaita, and the hand drums and rapid rhythms they incorporate also come from 
Merthyr Tydfil, UK | Heavy metal vinyl store becomes Merthyr Tydfil’s newest record shop: A Merthyr Tydfil heavy metal fan is capitalising on a current revival of interest in the genre and in vinyl records by opening the first new vinyl store in the town in years. Heavy Metal Merthyr has opened in the upstairs indoor market at St Tydfil Shopping Centre, Merthyr Tydfil with support from the Council’s ‘Meanwhile’ scheme. Owner Paul Bezant, 46, is passionate about vinyl, heavy metal music. A self-taught guitarist, when he was growing up, Paul was a frequent visitor to a town centre music shop that inspired him for the sort of store he wanted to create. The shop will also sell electric guitars by big name brands such as Fender and Jackson (US) and the Japanese Ibanez, Blackstar amplifiers, clothing and other accessories, while Paul is also aiming to eventually become a ticket distributor with promotional events involving local bands. Paul said: “After many years of heavy drinking, I had a liver transplant, which turned my life around. I started volunteering with Drink Wise Age Well, helping others who were in a similar situation. “This inspired me to go ahead and start my own business – and prove what’s possible if you 
Starkville, MS | Scooter’s Records still rockin’ and rollin’ amid pandemic uncertainty: Scott “Scooter” Thomas sits behind the register and basks in the vocals of Texas-based bluegrass group The Gourds. The tune, “Lower 48,” is part of Thomas’ recent kick on Longhorn State bands, though he explains he tries to flip the music playing over the speakers in his store based on the clientele walking in and out. “If Grandma and her kids are coming in, whenever I see him out the door, I’m probably not going to be playing any heavy metal,” he quipped. With wrists coated in bracelets, beads and metal clasps, Thomas’ denim jacket and long graying hair offer him the befitting look of a man who’s record store boasts a collection of vinyl that numbers more than 10,000. The store itself, aptly named Scooter’s Records, is a passion project of sorts for the Louisville native and Starkville transplant. In his youth, Thomas’ aunt worked at a record store in Hattiesburg — a shop he’d spend countless hours wandering aisles and navigating boxes among greats like Bowie and Springsteen, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. He said the first record he ever received was Elton John’s “Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy,” while the first album he ever purchased was The Kinks’ “Greatest Hits!” He bought the latter at a garage sale 
Darien, CT | Record Store Day celebrated by shoppers at Johnny’s Records: Closing in on its 45th year of business, Johnny’s Records is more relevant than ever as a center for people’s beloved vinyl. On Saturday the second of this season’s three Record Store Day events took place. And while there weren’t as many people expected to turn out, given the limited number of titles, over 100 records fans still paid a visit to Darien to get some special pressings. “It’s really busy,” said John Konrad, who opened the store in October of 1975. “Normally it’s in April,” he said, along with a Black Friday event the day after Thanksgiving. But owing to COVID-19 considerations, the initiative—representing a collaborative between record store owners and staff—decided to split the main event into three—Aug. 29, Sept. 26, and Oct. 24, in order to reduce the traditional crowding that has earmarked the events since it began in 2007. “Normally there’s a 
Los Angeles, CA | Los Angeles record store Mount Analog reopens in new Silver Lake location: The shop will be open on weekends at 2217 Hyperion Avenue. Mount Analog, the influential Los Angeles record store, has reopened after two years at a new Silver Lake location. The record shop and book store is now open on weekends in LA’s Silver Lake neighborhood at 2217 Hyperion Avenue. The store’s original location in Highland Park shuttered in 2018, but Mount Analog has operated as an online shop and continued to function as an agency and management company in the years since. Mount Analog had a impact on LA’s underground community both through its highly-specific stock of vinyl, cassette, books and other wares as well as events like the Nuit Noire series, which hosted acts ranging from Regis to Grouper. We spoke with Mount Analog’s sole proprietor Mahssa Taghinia on the store’s reopening. “…Silver Lake and Franklin Hills has a rich, vibrant history filled with stories from Latino and LGBTQ communities, and I hope we can be a 
