Patrick Higgins

One of the greatest American film directors of all time taking on one of the greatest American musicals of all time seems like a sure-fire recipe for success - and so naturally, anticipation is high for Steven Spielberg's upcoming remake of 'West Side Story'. The release has been given added poignancy by the death of legendary musical theatre pioneer Stephen Sondheim - who wrote the lyrics for West Side Story. The album features music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, with vocals from the film's ensemble cast including Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist and Rita Moreno.

Arto Lindsay is the least known romantic to ever pick up a guitar, in part because he has never learned to play it. Since yowling his way through the seminal no wave outfit DNA, Lindsay has united his vocation and avocation: abstract noise and tropicália balladry. His career is a fascinating and often rewarding study in contradictions. As half of Ambitious Lovers for much of the 1980s, Lindsay didn’t sing so much as talk delicately, examining the structure of a song like a prowler testing a window over Peter Scherer’s keyboard blasts over several albums.

Jherek Bischoff is a multi-hyphenate musician from the Pacific Northwest currently living in Los Angeles. Equal parts composer, producer, performer & film scoring professional. In his 30 odd years of life, he has played in many bands and musical configurations, mostly of the DIY variety, including Parenthetical Girls, the Degenerate Art Ensemble & The Dead Science.

Dark Entries has raided the bathhouse to bring us Deep Entries: Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985, 10 tracks of obscure queer synth bliss. One of Dark Entries' most important missions has been illuminating neglected facets of gay musical history, with crucial archival works by legends like Patrick Cowley, Sylvester, and Man Parrish. On Deep Entries, the label spans 6 years of gay electronics - from sultry to angsty to camp, these songs are overflowing with snappy 808 snares and sinewy analog synth leads. The '80s were a difficult period for many in the gay community as they grappled with the horrors of the HIV/AIDS crisis.