Three exclusive SFRstore.com pre-order packages for the new Sage Francis album, Li(f)e, are available now!

*CD BASIC pre-order $11.99
-16 pg CD page lyric booklet
-Li(f)e button
-SFR sticker
This deal will raise in price to $14.99 after May 11th.

*CD DELUXE pre-order $14.99
-AUTOGRAPHED CD
-Li(f)e poster
-Li(f)e button
-16 page lyric booklet
-SFR roster poster
-SFR sticker
This deal will not be offered after May 11th.

*Double vinyl LP pre-order $15.99
-AUTOGRAPHED LP
-Free digital download of the album (download card within the LP)
-Li(f)e poster
-Li(f)e button
-SFR roster poster
-SFR sticker

The new album Li(f)e by hip hop iconoclast Sage Francis is an impassioned and timely critique of cultural hypocrisy and organized religion. The record’s cover art has been created by renowned artist and illustrator Shepard Fairey who first gained notoriety with his “André the Giant” street art and later with his iconic Obama “Hope” poster. For the cover of Li(f)e Fairey has employed his distinctive agitprop style to create a suitably provocative image of an unwavering and winged Francis caught in the crosshairs as flames rise beneath him.

THE MUSIC

Musically Li(f)e is refreshingly unique. Francis’ biting and sardonic wordplay now further empowered by talented musicians including producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine) and Jim Becker and Tim Rutili of acclaimed Chicago outfit Califone.

Francis has also enlisted a roster of uniquely talented songwriters including ex Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle, Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Tim Fite, members of Calexico, DeVotchKa, and Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse – each of whose compositions were then interpreted by Francis and the band. The result is a challenging and defiantly honest new album from an ever evolving artist.

THE TOUR

Sage Francis will be performing songs from Li(f)e at the upcoming South By Southwest Festival on THURSDAY March 18 at The Independent, 501 Studios, 501 Brushy Street at 12:30 am.

Francis will then be embarking on a North American tour beginning with B. Dolan and Free Moral Agents starting this May. Click here for tour dates.

Two brand new t-shirt designs to celebrate the release of B. Dolan’s Fallen House, Sunken City!

The official “Fallen House Sunken City” Mens T-Shirt features the suicidal gorilla from the album cover, plus “B. Dolan” and the SFR logo on back.

Design by Irena Girlbot. Printed locally by ClassSick Custom in Pawtucket, RI.

The official T-shirt for the first single from B. Dolan’s “Fallen House, Sunken City” album features the same logo worn by the construction crew in the video for “Earthmovers”, plus “B. Dolan” and the SFR logo on the right sleeve.

Click here to check out the “Earthmovers” shirt.

Grey shirts with cream print available in Mens’ sizes S-XXL.

Design by Kese. Printed locally by ClassSick Custom in Pawtucket, RI.

Check out www.FallenHouse.com for exclusive album package deals, free downloads, videos, tour dates, and more from B. Dolan & Alias!

SFR’s resident mystery man, Curtis Plum, emerges with his long-awaited debut album Call My Cellphone!

Click here to order your exclusive SFRstore package, including Curtis’ CD, a 4″ SFR Plum Logo gold foil sticker, and a brand new 11×17 poster featuring the entire Strange Famous Records roster!

Click here for your FREE DOWNLOAD of Curtis Plum’s “Indie Rocker.”

Mock-up of SFR Plum Logo Sticker:

The most common response to the announcement of his 2009 signing to SFR was, “Who the fuck is Curtis Plum?” Let’s start with the basics: Curtis Plum is a character who makes Casio keyboard beats and raps in a Katharine Hepburn accent. But wait… there’s more!

Aside from the assistance from label mate Reanimator on a couple of tracks, all of Plum’s beats are completely self-produced. Every song on Call My Cellphone has a theme of its own, and these themes are turned upside-down with a dose of his signature style of twisted humor. Rather than the tread-worn punchline style of most hip hop ‘humorists’, Plum opens up his mind and empties it all over the borders of hip-hop topics, blurring the line between keeping it real and creating the surreal. It takes a special kind of emcee to tick off a list of 20 ways in which he can be “Up in Ya Face.”

Despite the lo-fi nature of his recordings, the music is oddly hypnotic. The melodies are as catchy as his lines are quotable, and when all elements come together the songs become maddeningly infectious. There is an old school sensibility to the sparseness in Plum’s production style, which gives the vocals adequate room to breathe. This is essential to Plum’s effectiveness, as he has a penchant for great storytelling. He goes from being a “Bike Cop” poppin’ wheelies of justice, to being Vin Diesel’s best friend… consoling him at yet another winless night at the Oscars.

Here are the facts: Curtis Plum is a bizarre cat who has delivered an incredibly fun and enjoyable album. This will most likely be the only album we get from the man, in this incarnation at least, so eat up every minute of it. Plum will not be touring any time soon due to how his last tour got cut short thanks to a horrible run-in with the Pittsburgh police. With that in mind, be sure to bump this album in your rides with cellphones held high. Pop a wheelie of justice. Or don’t. He’s cool either way.

Tracklist:
01 Bike Cop
02 Up In Ya Face
03 Indie Rocker
04 Xbox Trife Life
05 Call My Cellphone
06 Vin Diesel
07 Get On The Dancefloor
08 Jack In The Pine Box
09 Lil Wayne Tried To Rape Me
10 Bike Cop Reanimated

Copyright Criminals examines the creative and commercial value of
musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic
expression, copyright law, and (of course) money.

This documentary traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of
New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry. For
more than thirty years, innovative hip-hop performers and producers
have been re-using portions of previously recorded music in new,
otherwise original compositions. When lawyers and record companies got
involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a
“copyright infringement.”The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s
founding figures like Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital
Underground—while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record
labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers, Strange Famous, Ninja Tune, and more.

It also provides an in-depth look at artists who have been sampled,
such as Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown’s drummer and the world’s most
sampled musician), as well as commentary by another highly sampled
musician, funk legend George Clinton.As artists find ever more
inventive ways to insert old influences into new material, this
documentary asks a critical question, on behalf of an entire creative
community: Can you own a sound?

Click here to order your copy

Copyright Criminals Promo Video from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.