Component Recordings out of Providence, Rhode Island, has put together a MASSIVE compilation album of 199 songs featuring artists from 25 different countries, dabbling in the industrial, electronic, ambient and adjacent genres. The songs were selected by either an open call on Facebook or through Component directly reaching out to friends and other connections. They put it together in under two weeks.
Out of the hundreds of songs Component had to sort through for the tape and get ready by deadline, Bend's very own Warm Gadget, the duo of Colten Tyler Williams and Tim Vester, is featured with its song "Lost Weekend." Not only is this for a great cause, but it also places Warm Gadget alongside legends like Wolfgang Flür of KRAFTWERK, among many others. All proceeds from the album are donated evenly between the Ukrainian Red Cross and Vostok SOS. Warm Gadget has been connected with Component since 2016 when it released an instrumental project through the label.
"Rob [Galbraith], who owns and runs the label, reached out to us and said they would love to have a track from us on the Compilation. Rob and Elizabeth [Virosa] from Component are in a group called Snowbeasts who we have been collaborating with over the years. They remixed a song of ours on our last EP and we have been recently collaborating with them on some new music," Williams tells the Source. "We run in the same circles so it was a no-brainer for us to be involved."
Opening with a heavy build, "Lost Weekend" holds a looming presence of intensity, like the soundtrack to someone taking it step by step as they meander through the shadows. Williams showed Vester the beginnings of what would become "Lost Weekend" and Vester wrote the lyrics on the spot and recorded that same night.
"'Lost Weekend' is about a person we know who vanished for a bit and has never fully come back to us. They are unable to come back to us. Who they were is no longer who they are, and part of them is still out there somewhere...wandering... scared, alone and waiting to be whole again," says Vester. "We leveraged the content of this song to fit in with our personal projected feelings about the bullshit in Ukraine by creating a piece that was dissonant, lonely and bleak sounding to promote feelings of loss, of being lost, being distant, being scared and sorrowful. We both felt it immediately. Upon completion, it felt and still feels like it has some emotional weight to it."
As Vester says, being a part of this compilation was something they couldn't pass up.
"Speaking for myself, it was important to do something. This opportunity presented itself and I felt that it was an opportunity to be a part of helping people who are trapped in a nightmare reality," says Vester. "It feels great to know that our small contribution is helping to get aid and supplies to people who have had their cities, families, fortunes and lives decimated."
As of this writing, "For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? A Compilation For The People Of Ukraine" has raised over $8,649. Head of Component Recordings, Robert Galbraith, is both excited to see the support behind the tape.
"As of today we are at $8,475 (since talking to Rob there have been additional donations) and have been able to send multiple payments so far to Vostok SOS and The Ukrainian Red Cross. The support has been incredible and we are incredibly thankful to all of the artists who submitted tracks and to everyone who has financially supported the compilation," says Galbraith. "What makes me feel good is that people legitimately want to help the people of Ukraine who are being hurt by this invasion."
Galbraith wants this project to continue on in hopes it can offer continual support in the future.
"At this point, there has been no discussion about a timeline on this release. At least four million people have been displaced from their homes in Ukraine and the shelling of civilian targets is continuing. This damage is not going to be fixed overnight or even the next several years. So I see this as a long-term project and we will be assessing the situation to determine how else we can help."
Those interested in buying the compilation tape can find it on Bandcamp.
