Mark Freedman

Mark Freedman notably owned and operated NYC’s Battery Sound recording studios in the early-to-mid 1980s, providing a deep and open space for Downtown’s oddballs to experiment within. The studio became mythically used by Arthur Russell, who spent late nights there creating World of Echo and working on songs like “Another Thought,” “In the Light of the Miracle,” and “Let’s Go Swimming” (which Freedman co-produced).

As well as an engineer, Freedman was a multi-instrumentalist and composer operating under various monikers, the most prolific of which was his Powerman alias. As Powerman, Freedman voyaged strange synth seas, coasting weird waves, New and otherwise, while never quite fitting the pop mold he was trying to conform his music to. Because, or in spite, of this non-conformity, Freedman released three albums and an EP on his own label imprint, named after the recording studio, over a short span of three years.  

With a DIY spirit in the air, Freedman, and a cast of characters from the Battery Sound recording studio world, played and prospered within his disorderly-creative systems, enjoying the magical sound catalyzed by the studio’s state of the art equipment, including a Fairlight CMI, a then cutting edge digital synthesizer, sampler, and audio workstation. The Battery Sound crew appear across the now-coveted self-released Powerman albums, musically exploring chugging groove marathons, wistful, puzzle pieced New Wave not dissimilar to the avant-pop of Art of Noise or New Musik, kitschy yet catchy sample expression and much, much more, oftentimes featuring Russell on cello.

Mark passed away in 2012, leaving his music in the hands of his children. The best bits from Freedman’s self-released oeuvre are compiled here into One Man Posse, remastered with care from the original master reels and pristine vinyl and cassette sources by Josh Bonati. And instead of adding more plastic to the world, we’re offering sourced copies of the original Powerman pressings in cooperation with Mark’s family.

PLEASE NOTE: Deadstock LPs are from the original pressing that was recovered after several decades in storage. There is a possibility that your LP will have minor cosmetic damage (e.g. ringwear) or warping from its years in storage, but should still be in playable condition. We have done our best to weed out any copies with exceptional damage. As such we are selling these “as is.” We cannot offer refunds or replacement copies for records that are slightly warped but in playable condition.