Needle To The Groove Ent, LLC

12/24/2020

We’re excited to announce Mild Monk’s Pocket Comforts on cassette! Pre-orders out now via Bandcamp. Digitally provided by .

Our relationship with started a few years back, when he was a regular at our record shop. He’d ride up on his skate board, looking for new sounds and made use of our listening station. Conversations started with our shared love for similar ambient & jazz artists but as humble as Monk is, it took time to figure out he was an artist himself.

By 2019, Monk was sharing new songs and performing live tracks on his Instagram weekly, dropping EPs and singles. Immediately we were impressed and knew this dude has talent. Over the past couple years, he’s performed live shows in SJ, our monthly Wax Wednesday at Cafe Stritch, and has solidified himself as a gem in our local music scene. In October of this year, he released his 2nd full-length, Sunsmile, featuring all San Jose friends and musicians. The record was a fantastic showing of Monk’s ability to hone in a vast array of influences such as jazz, hip-hop, chillwave, house, indie rock, and electronic—- executing each sound at a high level.

We’ve watched Monk grow into the artist he is today and couldn’t be more happy to be putting out the physical format to his latest album, Pocket Comforts. This album features his laid back production, presented as a beat tape. Monk was looking to bring a playful, peaceful tone to this project, influenced and written within 7 days on his solo trip back home to the East Coast.

“Pocket Comforts is an idea representing the state of mind I was in while packing up to visit family back on the East Coast. It had been over a year since I'd seen my family and almost a year since I'd left my apartment in San Jose. Being cooped up by Covid had put my stress & anxiety about traveling on high alert, so to say the least I was feeling a mixed bag of emotions about leaving. When I finally arrived at the airport, all I ended up bringing with me were my essentials, or otherwise pocket comforts: telecaster guitar & two portable synths.”

12/23/2020

We miss hangin' out and playing vinyl at 😞

12/19/2020

We recently sat down and met with our good friends & via to discuss some potential music projects for 2021. The label has lots of exciting releases in store for the new year, y'all. We can't wait to share them all with you! 🙌

12/18/2020

Solid list. Diamond Ortiz in at #24! 🙌

Sam Ribakoff ranks the best full-lengths from the electronic music realm found in the dumpster fire of 2020.

12/13/2020

This summer we were excited to release our very first ambient project, practice bird heads by kiri. Todd Sandigo (kiri) has been a
multi-instrumentalist in the local music scene for over 20 years. From playing in bands at the legendary Cactus Club in the '90s, to crafting his own synths and developing an ambient sound
for over 10 years.

We had a chance to sit down and discuss his decade long journey of creating ambient music, the pursuit of sounds and his infectious passion for the process of it all.

YouTube link in bio for the full version!

12/11/2020

Link up!

Linktree. Make your link do more.

12/10/2020

Just A Dream...

A dream sequence programmed on an SP-404 & MPC200XL. YamahaM-88 Keys. Cuts by Rystylz. ...

12/08/2020

Contrail is a project started by Erin Czech in the late 90s, with a multitude of members passing through over the years. Czech is influenced by the lo-fi, DIY aesthetic of artists like Guided By Voices, Pavement, Tall Dwarves, Michael Yonkers, and others whose unique home recordings have dotted the sonic landscape of independent music these last decades. Contrail songs drift between rock and folk, but always with a melancholy pop edge, as plentiful and mournful hooks reside within the catalog. Built on simple melodies and stream-of-consciousness thoughts, Czech's songs remain mysterious yet present and highly hummable. This music was recorded lovingly and imperfectly on sh*tty equipment and old Maxell tapes in small rooms and basements in and around San Jose, California, during the 21st century.

Limited Hand-numbered cassette version with full artwork on cover & inside of j-card. Only 50 copies available worldwide on BC. All other will be available directly from the artist or from out retail shops.

22 track album

12/08/2020

Tuesday morning vibes!

Dead Men Don't Ski by Casual Crypt Genre hopping, mind bending lo-fi, mid-fi, high-fi, wi-fi? Psych on a bike, hypno-pop. The self-titled debut from Bay Area...

12/02/2020

Our good friend finished his 7th album and it's another certified funk party all written & produced by Ortiz. He's got the dance floor fillers, slappers, bouncers, boogie, synthesizers & more to back him up. Check out our jam "Fantasize" featuring .

Proudly presented on his own label, Raise the Roof, "Bulletproof" album is out now on all streaming sites with an special CD & signed poster bundle thru .

We'll have a very limited vinyl offer to drop on NTTG soon!