Kearney Barton: Architect Of The Northwest Sound

I struck up a friendship with Light In The Attic Records founder Matt Sullivan around 2008, shortly before he relocated from his native Seattle to run the label from Los Angeles. Two of first things he hipped me to were the strange tale of Jim Sullivan’s album U.F.O., and Pacific Northwest recording legend, Kearney Barton. With the release last month of Kearney Barton: Architect of the Northwest Sound, we asked Sullivan to share two of his favorite selects from the compilation, along with some context per the ongoing relationship between Barton and the label…

Tropical Rainstorm :: Flying Bird

While cutting an album at Kearney Barton’s Audio Recording studio about a dozen or so years ago, we started spending more and more time with Kearney and in the process quickly discovered his alternate universe. Hanging out at Kearney’s studio is like an episode of Hoarders meets an afternoon with your humble, kind grandpa sharing his finest dad jokes. In a career that spanned 60 years, Kearney did more for Pacific Northwest music history than probably anyone, recording everyone from Hendrix to a teenage Ann Wilson, Quincy Jones to the Sonics. When he sadly passed in 2012, he had over 7,000 reels of tape covering his home and studio, ranging from operas to radio jingles, unknown ’60s garage bands to gospel church choirs, country-folk duos to northern soul gems. It’s hard to even put in context. The depth of the catalog feels limitless and also intensely daunting which is probably why it took us over a decade to put this comp together. Rest in Peace, Kearney. We miss you.

Ann Wilson and The Daybreaks :: Through Eyes And Glass

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