A new compilation of JP-based music has been released by Whitehaus Family Records.
The album, named “Whitehaus Family Record Family Record vol. 2: Are You in Paradise?” features 25 two-minute tracks from as many artists. All of the artists on the album have lived in JP at some point, and many still do.
The album’s title, “Are You in Paradise?” is a reference to JP, which Whitehaus spokesperson Kate Lee said, “We all agree is paradise on earth.”
The album includes tracks from Chris North; the Woodrow Wilsons; Gracious Calamity; Peace, Loving; Brian S. Ellis; The Needy Visions; Hurricanes of Love among others Lee told the Gazette.
The Whitehaus is a community that sprung up in Jamaica Plain in 2006 around weekly “hootenannies,” or “hoots,” freeform self-organizing open mic events that started late and lasted until sunrise, Lee and Foam said.
Originally the hootenannies took place in the third floor of a triple-decker apartment called the Treehaus, and in 2007, was relocated and upgraded to a large white house on Seaverns Avenue, christened “The Whitehaus,” Lee said.
“Since then, the community has grown, shifted, reformed, and squeezed over and over again,” Lee said. “We continue to host performance events at home as well as all over town, trying to foster a creative, supportive environment for art of all kinds.”
The Family Record is a compilation of recordings from artists who have chosen to release their music under the Whitehaus banner. This is the second such compilation, with plans for a third release in the spring.
“The idea is that anyone in the world could pick up one of these records, listen to it, and understand what was going on in this microcosm of the amazing city of Boston, in the paradise of Jamaica Plain,” Lee said.
The record is available digitally through the website areyouinparadise.com. Vinyl copies should be available by Christmas, Lee said.