A lot of people are already referring to 2020 as “the time when music stopped.” Horton Records, a non-profit music organization of Tulsa, OK, decided that they were having none of that nonsense and worked with original local bands of different genres to create a compilation album to feature Oklahoma artists and their newest music. The album, Vibrations From Tulsa, is now here, coming out on May 1, 2020.

Vibrations From Tulsa includes 17 tracks (and 17 artists, respectively) of established and emerging original bands spanning a whole spectrum of genres.

The first half of the album is like a gourmet meal: a succession of masterfully cooked dishes combining things you’d never expect to go together so well (electric guitar + jazzy saxophone, anyone?). It doesn’t overwhelm you; it gives you time to “cleanse your palate” and transition from piece to piece, navigating the variety of genres and sounds. 

You feel like you are strolling in downtown Nashville, enveloped in the sounds of live music from the sidewalk cafes. Here, a light and breezy, happy tune from The Panda Resistance; some empowering rock-n-roll from The Golden Ones; a little down the street, a delicious reggae/metal/hip-hop from Freak Juice. Turn the corner, and it’s Carlton Hesston spreading the love with their psychedelic Americana; The Dull Drums whipping up a guitar-driven, organ-fueled fever that boils over into blissful frenzy; a jazz-but-not-jazz with a fantastic sax solo from Gogo Plumbay as a special treat.

Then, when you are all warmed up and ready for dessert, the second half of the album arrives, hitting you like a tsunami of high-energy metal. You’re surely “not in Kansas anymore,” baby. You’re moving to the pummeling drums and scorching vocals of Hersker [pronounced as HAR-shker], headbanging to the hurricane doom of Constant Peril and Blind Oath, recharging with the energy of Iron Cathedral and Holy Void. 

Vibrations From Tulsa is a collaboration of both established and emerging artists who refuse to give up on music even though they are temporarily unable to play it to live crowds. It’s about “giving a voice to the voiceless, reaching out to those who may need it and letting them know you’re there for them” (Holy Void); it’s about “having a good time and spreading the love” (Carlton Hesston); it’s about empowering “others who feel like they don’t quite fit in anywhere and letting them know they are not alone” (The Golden Ones). It’s about staying together while being apart. 

These musicians have worked hard to deliver you fresh music against all odds. Return the favor and support them, in turn. It’s a good album. Go get it.

Horton Records is a non-profit, 501c-3 music organization based in Tulsa, OK, and dedicated to the cultivation and development of Oklahoma artists.

All tracks mastered by Ryan Foster at Foster Mastering.

Available in digital format, on CDs, limited edition cassettes (!), and limited edition LPs at: hortonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vibrations-from-tulsa