Talk about timing: about a month ago, as the rural space-rock band Some Army was preparing at last to release its excellent One Stone and Too Many Birds, the band received a gift from pal James Phillips, the Bombadil member who moonlights under electropop moniker Sumner James. It was a remix of “Infinite Mirror,” the brooding third track from Birds. That same week, the North Carolina Legislature passed HB 2.
Yesterday, Some Army released the remix in response to HB 2 and in support of institutions fighting the sweepingly discriminatory legislation. The remix—which enhances the original’s eerie mood by muting its insistent polyrhythms, adding a thick electronic pulse, and adding even more reverb—is available via either act’s Bandcamp page as a two-dollar download that includes the original version of the song, too.
Proceeds from downloads will benefit Safe Schools NC, a statewide organization working on anti-bullying efforts in North Carolina public schools and conducting workshops to give teachers and faculty the knowledge and skills needed to create safe learning environments for LGBTQ students and for children of same-gender parents.
As an added bonus, Bandcamp has lowered the fees it typically charges artists to virtually nothing in this case, Some Army notes. Both Some Army and Sumner James will also match each purchase with a $2 donation of their own to Safe Schools NC. That turns a two-dollar download into a six-dollar donation.
Sumner James has a new record, Ephemera, out now, too. Grab it here.
