And The Wind Blew It All Away

"He who sings, frightens his woes away." - Cervantes Celebrated as a collaborator, producer and champion for some of the most boundary-pushing artists of his generation, Kramer is emerging from a pandemic-year gestation with his first solo collection of original songs since 1998. The 10-track "And the Wind Blew It All Away" is the culmination of Kramer’s 2020 tenure as Artist-In-Residence for Indianapolis-based Joyful Noise Recordings. The indie label’s goal was to provide a forum for his original material and support a revival of his groundbreaking Shimmy-Disc label, whose roster has included Daniel Johnston, GWAR, Jad Fair, King Missile, Boredoms, WEEN, and Kramer’s bands Bongwater and Shockabilly. The central product of the residency was a subscription-only, limited-edition, five-LP box set. Although the subscriptions sold out, 75 copies are being released for retail-only sales in a gesture of support for independent record stores. WIND is the final LP of the set, which is also available in digital form. Shimmy-Disc and Joyful Noise are partnering on the album’s release as a standalone work. Kramer – whose production credits also include Galaxie 500, Will Oldham, Daniel Johnston, Low and Urge Overkill – performed all the instruments and vocals on the record, which features nine new songs and closes with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Winter Lady.”