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Jack Spence’s Bamboo Sun, the next installment of Freedom to Spend’s uncommon¢

Jack Spence’s Bamboo Sun is the next installment of Freedom to Spend’s uncommon¢ series: a nearly unknown entry in the canon of the early 80s DIY cassette network, and a genre-bending exercise in form and function from an enigmatic west coast artist.

Bamboo Sun’s atmosphere is one of a humid, wet tropical rain forest. Mystery lurks around every corner, sometimes inviting, other times with a tangible air of tension. The album veers into fashionable fourth world elements of the era, but Spence’s imaginary landscapes are distinctly his own, teeming with alien arrangements, acoustic percussion ensembles, and slow, pulsing rhythms leading the path. Synth-centric pieces emanate a distinctly human feeling, occasionally brushing up against the record’s scarce vocal-led songs.

Although Spence was tragically murdered in the late 80s, leaving many more questions than answers, his work survives as a vivid document of a seeker of sound.

Check out “Cyeta,” the first work from the album, in the ether (but not streaming), and pre-order Bamboo Sun on the Freedom to Spend and RVNG webstores or Bandcamp before the record arrives on February 6, 2026.


Frances Chang Shares New Single “I can feel the waves”

Frances Chang is a boundary-pushing, Brooklyn-based musician and multi-media artist who disrupts accepted reality with enchanting, inimitable compositions.

Her work represents an exercise in communication, probing the tension between idiosyncratic personal experience, and the drive to understanding through a collective language.

Today, we welcome Chang into the RVNG family with her new single “I can feel the waves”, a bold demonstration of Chang’s unconventional, contagious songwriting.

A piano-centric piece ornamented with primitive electronics and poetic vocals, “I can feel the waves” epitomizes what Chang calls “slacker prog”: roomy and playful, offbeat and occasionally jarring, brimming with spiritual and emotional resonance.

“I can feel the waves” is accompanied by a video directed by Chang and filmmaker April Wen. The single arrives ahead of a two week tour across North America in support of Cate Le Bon.

“I can feel the waves” is available now on all digital platforms, and for pre-order as a limited edition 7”, featuring b-side “Marry,” from the RVNG website and Bandcamp.


David Moore of Bing & Ruth Shares New Single + Video “Offering”

“’Offering’ is an extension of my never-ending quest to move through harmony like water using an instrument that is very much like stone.”

Flickering with abstract power, the latest chapter from David Moore’s forthcoming album Graze the Bell arrives today in the form of “Offering,” a conduit into the trance-like state that guides Moore’s creative process.

With the piano keys trembling in free time, Moore accesses subtler regions of the soul on “Offering,” flowing melodies slowly fuse into relief. Having compositionally honed-in on certain melodic phrases, Moore’s prayerful repetition offers a gift of welcome catharsis.

The single arrives today alongside a mesmerizing video by director Nick Vranizan, playfully expanding on Graze the Bell’s cross-stitched cover art.


Five years ago, Pauline Anna Strom left for her eternal home in the cosmos

Five years ago yesterday, Pauline Anna Strom left for her eternal home in the cosmos; her place / space of origin.

With now more distance since Paula’s passing, those moments when, and where, she appears for me are all the more potent, if not as frequent. If not in a dream, she appears as a flutter of sound in the air, or a shimmer of light in the corner (and sometimes a shadow).

Ultimately, Paula is always here, awaiting my return to the moment, our presence together in the stillness unimpeded by trivial or significant distractions. In fact, it’s during those distractions where, by will or submission, space opens for Paula to center the spiral.

It’s a phenomena, of sorts, as while Paula was here, she was hyper-present, in a constant flow of communication with those in her small but trusted circle. It was only when that flow dramatically stopped that we realized how deeply she had embedded in our lives.

While that circle was tightly wound, oscillating over the years as friends came and went, so many more found their way into the concentric spheres created with Paula’s music. Most know Paula this way, and I think for her, this music is how she would most like to be remembered. She went great distances to preserve mystery around her personal life, but always wanted to her music to vibrate on universal frequency.

Whether your know Paula’s music or this is your introduction, find some time to tune into that frequency today. You may find a companion for this life, and whatever exists beyond. It was my medium to Paula, and it changed my life. I miss you dearly, Paula.

a divine miracle ~ more sister irene records are on the way

It’s an understatement to say the response to Freedom To Spend’s reissue of Sister Irene O’Connor’s Fire of God’s Love has been overwhelming. Who knew that an album made five decades ago in Australia by two nuns inadvertently pushing the boundaries of pop music and studio production to a new psychedelic stratosphere would resonate in such a joyful, meaningful way? Perhaps a higher power had that foresight, but we certainly didn’t – we blasted through our first pressing like a bat out of hell!

By demand, and divine miracle, we have a repress of Fire of God’s Love landing at our Brooklyn offices soon. Not soon enough to arrive at your stoop for the holidays, but we are offering you the opportunity to pre-order the album and have a digital download card printed on card stock and housed in a hand stamped envelope sent from RVNG / Freedom to Spend HQ ahead of the vinyl. Use your address, or your giftee’s address, and domestic orders placed by Monday, 12/15 will receive the envelope with download card just as fast as the USPS can travel. We’ll begin shipping LPs later this month, or as soon as they touch down.