Chicago Underground Film Festival and Filmmakers Summit 2008

Following the Midwest Premiere of Anywhere USA.

Allá
The core trio behind Chicago's Allá (pronounced "ayê-ya) Jorge and Angel Ledezma, and chanteuse Lupe Martinez previously played together in the krautrock-influenced instrumental group Defender. Taking the motorik rhythms of that band and infusing elements of traditional Mexican music, psychedelic tropicalia’ and lush production reminiscent of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. Their self-financed debut album Es Tiempo, recorded over a four-year period in studios across the globe, melds these influences into something new and original, a perfect soundtrack for the multicultural world we live in.

"Allá updates Brazilian tropicalia for the bilingual post-rock set. Allá makes swinging, sun-kissed, galactic, Latin-inflected pop music" -Time Out Chicago

"The combination of sunny melodies and seductive beats recalls both the delicacy of bossa nova and the retro-futurism of Stereolab" - Chicago Reader

Judson Claiborne
“Judson Claiborne, aka Low Skies front man Chris Salveter, deals with some heavy subjects on his new album, which shares its title with a 17th-century Chinese erotic novel—old standbys Love and Loss play leading roles—but the melancholy never gets thick enough to wallow in. He and a crack gang of backing musicians, including bassist Ryan Boyles of the late, great High Hawk, make a point of opening the curtains and cracking a window every so often: breezily twangy, countrified ditties like “Electrify” and “Ring the Bells” offset more bummed-out tracks like the soulful “Bloody Holiday.” - Chicago Reader