Chicago (out there) jazz label International Anthem celebrates its 11th anniversary at BRDCST #1

BRDCST x INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM x BLOW UPS @ AB VITRINE

The most exciting (out there) jazz label of recent years is undoubtedly Chicago-based International Anthem. Quality newspaper Chicago Reader: “International Anthem brings punk idealism to progressive jazz.” A comparison with the groundbreaking Impulse! Records from the 60’s comes to mind: top-notch productions, the musical gaze ahead and an extremely well-crafted graphic design invariably packaged in an (oh so popular in Japan) OBI strip. 

So it’s no coincidence that BRDCST and International Anthem have been in a blessed marriage for many years now, with previous visits by Tom Skinner (The Smile), Irreversible Entanglements, jaimie branch (R.I.P), Bex Burch and Alabaster DePlume.

In the period from 2014-2024, there were around 100 IA releases. They stayed true to their mission statement (‘to vitalize demand for boundary defying music’) and their ethos (‘always looking forward’). In 2025, AI wants to celebrate that past decade under the banner IA11 with ‘a series of releases, reissues, miscellaneous media and events’.

BRDCST has the honour of being a part of the celebrations and marks the 11th anniversary with blow-ups of their artwork exhibited in the AB Vitrine on the Steenstraat and with four prominent artists who are part of the label’s soul.

BEN LAMAR GAY ENSEMBLE
Cornet player, composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, poet and above all eclectic polymath Ben LaMar Gay (US) has already visited AB several times. Afropunk called him “strikingly original”. Pitchfork defined him as “uncategorizable”. Fellow musician and labelmate Jeff Parker stated: "Hands down, one of my favorite musicians on the planet today.”
 
By his own admission, he was heavily influenced by the AACM (The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) which was established in 1965 and has the support of jazz icons like Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell (The Art Ensemble Of Chicago) and Wadada Leo Smith. On International Anthem, he put out three albums under his own name and was featured on other releases, including McCraven’s Highly Rare and jaimie branch’s Fly or Die.
 
What’s more, Ben LaMar Gay one of the most prolific musicians of Chicago’s vibrant music scene. That is evidenced by his collaborations with Nicole Mitchell’s EarthSeed, Mike Reed’s Flesh & Bone, Joshua Abrams’ Natural Information Society and Bitchin Bajas. International Anthem: “It suffices to say, Ben LaMar Gay is nearly omnipresent in the current zeitgeist of progressive jazz sounds sprouting from Chicago.”
 
Welcome back, Ben!
 
Ben LaMar Gay - coronet, synth, vocals
Edinho Gerber - guitar
Matt Davis - sousaphone, vocals
Tommaso Moretti - drums