LABEL/ DEBUNK THE TIMES.

I don't have room to tell all the stories here, but from seeing Shinji and Kid playing a life changing set with the Boredoms at the 2009 Flaming Lips ATP, or Oneida's 12 hour sets or late night Brooklyn warehouse art squats concerts, seeing Talibam! fluctuate seamlessly between some of the best and worst sets of music I've ever known possible on the planet, to James from Wooden Wand who would, if you ask many a living musician these days, be considered one of the most amazing songwriters alive - all of the artists have their own unique relationship to the current history of music that has led us to this moment and will continue to lead us onwards, and for me, getting to participate with and release their music is much more than just releasing an album or ep, but an opportunity to get to share, support, and showcase their dynamic artistry. Participating in this dynamic artistic community, being immersed in it and taking part in its story. It is an artistic culture on the move and trying to find ways to open the doors to that musical movement.

The albums are part of a 20 Artist Series, where artists have been asked to contribute a unique side project or edge creative statement. The musicians involved are a diverse spectrum of artists that I have met and been inspired by while traveling and touring around the world. A group of artists that I always return to to see what they are doing. The common thread through all of the artists for me is the spirit - a spirit of expression and exploration, a transmission back from somewhere out on the edge.

--Seth Olinsky

"The brand new Lightning Records label kicked off what is to be a regular set of quarterly batch releases with a collection of five albums that seem to embody five differing shades of the frontier American psyche, emerging from the California Mojave Desert."     - Tristan Bath, The Quietus