On June 23, local record label Desperate Spirits released its latest charity compilation, featuring 18 tracks by local female artists. Called Lady Parts!, the album features songs by some of Kentucky’s most forward thinking musicians, all of whom identify as women. Ranging from electronic producer Ellie Herring to roots songwriter Coralee to Lexington multi-instrumentalist Emily Hagihara, the compilation incorporates a variety of genres and moods.
The record label was established earlier this year by local musicians and music industry professionals John Ferguson (Apples In Stereo, Big Fresh), Kimberly Smith (Bear Medicine, Big Fresh), Trevor Tremaine (Hair Police, ATTEMPT) and Rob Theakston (Ghostly International), under the self-proclaimed mission "to fumigate the craggy warps of our world with the unqualified desperation of a spirit on the wane." According to Smith, who serves as the label's operations manager, online compilations benefitting local charitable organizations is a model that Desperate Spirits implemented from its beginnings.
"We released our first compilation, 'White Power is for Dummies' with all proceeds going to the Anti-Defamation League,” Conlee explained. "We wanted to not only showcase our artists but also contribute to the community."
The release of Lady Parts! is the second in the label’s series of community-driven compilations benefiting local causes whose ideology matches that of the label's founders.
“With the current state of politics surrounding Kentucky reproductive rights, I thought it would be beneficial to put together a female-led compilation,” she explained.
100% of the proceeds from this 18-track collection will directly benfit the Kentucky Health Justice Network, an agency whose mission includes supporting direct services to healthcare access, education and advocacy for women’s health in the Commonwealth.
According to Smith, the female-led compilation doesn’t have a specific theme.
“Each artist submitted the track of their choice. We wanted it to represent their particular genre and mood of music however they saw fit.”
Many of the artists featured in this compilation approached Desperate Spirits when they heard about the project.
“As I was discussing the idea of the comp, many women expressed their interest and they had tracks ready to go,” said Smith.
“All artists composed these tracks on their own time and money. Many wonderfully talented and amazing women would have loved to contribute but it didn’t work out due to recording schedules or release schedules.”
Conlee said future chapters in the online charitable compilation series are already in the works.
“I look forward to working with so many other artists as we continue to progress as a label and release more compilations in the future,” she said.
Lady Parts! is being offered exclusively in digital format on the label’s Bandcamp page for a suggested donation amount of $5.
Check out all 18 tracks at https://desperatespirits.bandcamp.com/album/lady-parts. For more information about Desperate Spirits, head over to their website https://desperatespirits.com/.