I caught Oliver and Adam from local band Pass Kontrol between shows this weekend, and spoke with them a bit about the Bushwick compilation album they produced and recently released. The album is titled “Welcome to Bushwick,” and features 14 tracks from 14 local bands/artists. I listened to it all weekend and am now officially a fan of 13 more bands than I was last Friday.

What was the idea behind the compilation CD? Adam: We came up with the idea while we were in Berlin last Fall. Berlin is a place where artists, if they want to create art, they create opportunities for themselves to do it. Do it yourself. We thought it would be a great way of meeting and supporting other bands. Oliver: We wanted to create a platform for people to express themselves and work their craft, and to get lots of people involved in something collaborative that builds on the community of artists in Bushwick.

How did you find the bands? Adam: We mostly just put fliers up at the Wyckoff Starr and the Archive. Oliver: We also contacted some of the bands we know and have played with, like Lady Magma, Ghost Front, and Activists/Dictators, and asked them if they wanted to be a part of it.

After you had all the submissions, how did you go about curating the final 14? Adam: I spent a lot of time listening to all the songs. I listened to them individually and then focused on them as a group. I narrowed it down to the “for sure” and “on the fence.” Then these 14 just sort of made sense at a certain point. It was a feeling.

What is that feeling? What ties the songs/bands/artists together? Oliver: The bands are all from in and around Bushwick, and play and/or record here, and have a local fan base. There is a real DIY feel to all the actual recordings, which for the most part are done in home studios or on their own somehow. The bands are not signed to labels, they are just working really hard to do what they want and to be creative. I think this comes across in all the songs. Adam: There is a fairly wide range of styles and influences with some common threads. Some are more straight rock , there are singer-songwriter tracks, some more experimental, a lot have a punk and again, DIY feel to them. Oliver: Yeah, the songs are made with a lot of grit. You can hear it the whole way through.

Where to get a free hard copy: Archive, Wyckoff Starr, Potion

Where to get a digital copy: Right here.