For over twenty years, Light In The Attic Records has cast its light bulb on the undersung and the underrated. This is the guiding principle for a lot of reissue labels, but Light In The Attic has an unusually wide net. They received a Grammy nomination for their work highlighting Native American folk, country, and rock with the anthology Native North America. They helped bring the unbelievable story of Rodriguez to audiences, resulting in an Academy Award for the excellent Malik Bendjelloul documentary Searching For Sugar Man. Betty Davis’ fiery funk and Karen Dalton’s world-weary folk are now in the zeitgeist after reissue campaigns. Household names ranging from Sly Stone and D’Angelo to Digable Planets and Lou Reed have received beautiful, context-rich releases. Heck, Light In The Attic even helped coin a new genre with three volumes of their incredible Country Funk series, shining a light on country musicians’ flirtation with funk in the ’70s and ’80s.
Although the label was founded in Seattle, it actually has a lot of Austin roots. Light In The Attic released the Black Angels’ debut album, and over the years it’s focused a historical eye on reissues from Roky Erickson, Big Boys, and Willie Nelson. The label’s co-founder Matt Sullivan lives in Austin now, and later this year he’s planning on opening a Light In The Attic-specific record store in South Austin.
This week on My KUTX, I’m excited to feature Matt as our guest DJ. My own record collection is stocked with dozens of LITA releases, so it’s an honor to turn the keys over to Matt. He plays an hour of his label favorites, from Japanese city pop and proto-trip-hop to Lou Reed rarities and extra-special covers. Hear Matt Sullivan’s My KUTX on Saturday, July 1 at 6 p.m or listen anytime here.
Playlist:
- Happy Mondays – “Olive Oil”
- Betty Davis – “They Say I’m Different”
- Haruomi Hosono – “Shimendoka”
- Leslie Winer – “John Says”
- Jeff Tweedy – “For You (I’d Do Anything)”
- Donnie & Joe Emerson – “Baby”
- Blaze Foley – “Big Cheeseburgers And Good French Fries”
- Lou Reed – “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” (Partial) – 1963-64 Home Recording
- Sweet Tea – “After Laughter (Comes Tears)”
- Morphine – “The Night”
- Bob Dylan – “Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie”
