Donnie and Joe Emerson - Dreamin’ Wild
Oh boy Dreamin' Wild, y'all. I was first drawn to this album by the photo on the cover. I knew nothing of its background, band members or genre. All I knew was that if this picture was sincere then this record was going to be good. Probably really, really good. I was not let down in the least. After some spirited listens I couldn't help but look into the story of how the record came to be and the Emerson family itself. I became quite interested in the role that their father, Don Sr, played in their musical journey. His story is a cautionary yet inspiring tale of an enthusiastic and very supportive father who almost lost the family farm while building his sons a state of the art home studio on the property. I myself have 2 young sons and can easily visualize myself careening down the slippery slope of unconditional support I have for those boys while blindly bankrupting our family into oblivion. All I ask is that they make one groundbreaking work of art. That's love.
- Will Pratt
El Cascabel - Nariño, Colombia
The department of Nariño on Colombia's southern border has some of the highest mountains in the country, and some of the best coffee. El Tablón de Gomez, situated in the department's southeast, is a small community with deep indigenous heritage and culture that has only recently begun coffee production due to the presence of armed guerilla groups operating in the area for the past few decades. The producers who contribute to this community blend belong to the Specialty Coffee Cooperative of Nariño, and operate some of the highest farms in the region, adding to the clarity and complexity of this coffee. We were excited by this lot on the cupping table because of its clarity, sweetness, and juiciness.