Azure Ray’s Debut Vinylized for 20th Anniversary

January will make it 20 years since the then Athens-based duo of Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink made their recorded debut as Azure Ray. To mark the anniversary, Taylor’s Flower Moon Records will release their first album on vinyl for the very first time on Jan. 16th, 20 years to the day since Brian Causey’s Warm Electronic Recordings put it out on CD.

Co-produced by Causey (Star Crunch in Man…or Astro-Man?) and Eric Bachmann (who at that point had just established Crooked Fingers), Azure Ray features musical seasoning from both of them (Causey on lap steel guitar and organ, Bachmann on guitar, saxophone, lap steel, piano and tape loops), along with violin (Andrey Curty) and cello (Victor Uzur) backing up Taylor and Fink.

In addition to the standard vinyl version, Flower Moon is offering a limited, 100-pressing bundle that that includes, among other exclusive tchotchkes, a pillowcase (!) and a 100-page signed photobook chronicling Azure Ray’s history. All editions come with an MP3 download of the album plus a previously unreleased digital bonus track, “Witches,” recorded during the original sessions.

Blurry artsy-fartsy photo by Chris Bilheimer.