The Release

Introducing A Voice from Beyond, a wide-ranging ongoing series of demos, one-offs, and rarities from Murder City Devils’ frontman Spencer Moody. Spencer has recorded 11 demo versions of his song The Wave, and here’s how you can hear it: we’re releasing a special clear 7” disc with The Wave (3) on one side, and Blavatsky #1 (demo) on the other. In addition to the 7”, you can pick up any number of black 6” random records that will have one of ten other versions of The Wave on one side, and one of twelve other demos on the other side. Yes, it’s true, keeping track of these discs will be a bit of a nightmare for me, but I have the capability to create 120 6” records that all have unique combinations of songs.

These demos are released without digital downloads, so the records are the only way to hear them. Spencer has already had to pull two of them because they’re set to become Murder City Devils songs, so you never know what demo you’re going to hear on this discs, or what that official release they may one day become!

A Little Backstory for Anyone Interested:

Spencer and I have talked about making lathe cut records for a few years now - in fact, this isn’t even the first time I tried to buy one. But I don’t know if either of us expected the kinds of ideas for records we were going to have once I finally owned a machine!

For those of you not in the know, I attended Lathe Cut Camp in September in Tucson, AZ with lathe guru Mike Dixon, and I didn’t come home empty handed—no, I had three suitcases, each weighing about 50 pounds, containing the parts to build my own refurbished circa-1937 Presto 6D record lathe. the machine creates records one at a time, in real time (like cassettes!) by using a sapphire needle to emboss the records - it’s literally pushing the music into the discs. I’ve spent the past few months getting to know the machine and building my confidence before announcing my first release - a double-sided clear 10” re-release of Joe Jack Talcum’s previously-cassette-only EP Over the Moon.

Feedback from that first release has been amazing, and I’m really excited to explore the more lo-fi capabilities of the machine. Where Over the Moon was mastered specifically for this lathe, Spencer’s demos, most recorded through the microphone on his headphones in his living room, represent the rawest possible way to hear his music. I’m really excited for you to hear these discs!