Alan Sparhawk, Dirty Projectors, Daniel Lopatin, Tim Heidecker and More Contribute to ‘Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers’ Benefit Album

As immigrants’ rights fall into crisis, Western Vinyl has announced Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers, uniting a cast of storied musicians in defense of those facing unimaginable challenges to find a home. To preview the collection, set to release on Dec. 5, the Austin-based indie label has shared Alan Sparhawk’s “No More Darkness” and Benjamin Booker’s “A Place for Us.”

“Home, as we know it, is under threat,” the project’s producers and organizers, Emilie Rex and Rick Alverson, shared. “When immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers exercise their human right to safe passage, they defend our ability to do so—and our right to be and feel at home.”

Passages features songs from 17 contributors, all of whom were prompted to write and record a song in a place that feels like home. The resulting mix is intimate, unvarnished and direct, stitched together from home studio tapes and direct-to-phone recordings. Beyond Sparhawk and Booker, others involved include Dirty Projectors, Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never), Tim Heidecker, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, William Tyler, Lonnie Holley, Lambchop,Y La Bamba, St. Panther and more.

“Here is a song that came from the struggle to know what to say to someone who is having a hard time,” Sparhawk said of his contribution. “There are real things that we can do to lift each other out of suffering–sometimes it is tangible charity, like this compilation to raise funds and awareness for the plight of immigrants and those who have been displaced. Sometimes it is words of encouragement. It can also just be time spent with someone who needs help getting through the moment. Let’s do our best to turn up the light.”

“The human struggle is a family struggle,” Booker said. “We rise together and we suffer together. There are so many things out of our control, but we can always open our hearts to love and understanding. May you find light in the darkness.”

Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers is available to pre-order now. All proceeds from the project will go to American Gateways and Casa Marianella, Texas-based organizations providing no-to-low-cost legal services, food, shelter, health care, and other essentials to asylum seekers. On Dec. 4, the organizers will prelude the project’s arrival with a live variety show and auction benefiting the organizations on Heidecker’s Office Hours podcast.

Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers:

1. “No More Darkness” – Alan Sparhawk
2. “Everybody Is” – St. Panther
3. “Country” – Daniel Lopatin
4. “A Place for Us” – Benjamin Booker
5. “Afterburner” – Lambchop
6. “Home” – Quin Kirchner (ft. Tekle Mezghebe)
7. “No Place to Rest My Head” – Marisa Anderson
8. “Wrong Crowd” – Y La Bamba
9. “A Border Is Just a Space Between Two Lines” – Lonnie Holley
10. “The Autumn Wind (no. 71)” – Bonnie Prince Billy
11. “Parallels” – Erik Hall
12. “One Hundred-Twenty Dollar Song” – Dirty Projectors
13. “13 Lakes” – William Tyler
14. “All That I Know” – Aisha Burns
15. “Un Trayecto Largo” – Anjou (ft. I. Nova)
16. “White Sage” – Heather Woods Broderick
17. “Alone Until I’m Home” – Tim Heidecker