Select Level, by Select Level

Select Level

by Select Level

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Limited Edition Cotton Candy Color Pressed on 180gram Heavyweight Vinyl, includes exclusive 12x12 lyric sheet insert.

Includes unlimited streaming of Select Level via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 14 days

edition of 250

Purchasable with gift card

$25 USD or more

1.	The Race 03:24	info	buy track
2.	Sham 03:56	info	buy track
3.	Valentine 04:51	info	buy track
4.	NVR 06:18	info	buy track
5.	Her Night Door 04:05	info	buy track
6.	Gov 05:21	info	buy track
7.	Connected 04:37	info	buy track
8.	Anakanafauna 05:11	info	buy track

about

SELECT LEVEL
Wax Themátique (WXTM-005)

Heads may know Select Level mastermind Andy Sells best as the limber drummer for soulful fusion explorers Afrocop or as the bassist for noisy prog-rockers Nosretep... or maybe even for his stint in electronic brainiacs FCS North, who existed from 1997 to 2007. This talented Seattle multi-instrumentalist has established that he can get weird and far out in various situations. Select Level finds Sells veering off on a tangent into the realm of sleek music geared for dancing and romancing.
The odd thing about Select Level's self-titled debut album, though, is that it was inspired by wild dreams about homelessness, authoritarian governments, social media's problematic algorithms, and other harbingers of a dystopian future. The eight songs here act as an antidote for said dark times—which are encroaching even as you read these words. Sells' love of disco, post-punk, funk (in its smooth and rugged forms), electro, and Afrobeat all surface on Select Level. “I like just about anything with a hooky bass line and some dirty drums,” he says, and you can tell.
The LP breezes in with “The Race,” a slice of tropical coolness that sounds like the Sea And Cake in languid-funk mode—while wearing Miami Vice pastels. Sells sings with a mellow breathiness that suggests that no matter what obstacles we encounter, everything's going to resolve gracefully. “Sham” is clipped, brisk disco-funk that takes Roxy Music's “Love Is The Drug” to the cabana. The track's become a live highlight—especially for that one couple I saw groping each other to it at the 2017 Capitol Hill Block Party. They're likely not the only listeners who'll liberate their libidos to this song. In a similar vein is “Her Night Door,” a chunky, sophisticated club heater that sashays like Chic while flexing flagrant Billy Preston-esque/Zapp-like keyboard embellishments.
“Valentine” launches with shakers that recall the beginning of Area Code 615's “Stone Fox Chase” before it shifts into lush, laggard disco-funk that splits the difference between Bohannon and early LCD Soundsystem. The elegant chaos that engulfs the track's last minute reminds us that debauchery sometimes has explosive consequences. Another surefire dance-floor burner, “Gov” glides into your pleasure center through an incredibly supple and buoyant bass line and Noel Brass' stardust-drone keyboards. Joel Cuplin's distorted guitar solo adds just enough dissonance to spark some freaky friction. The pulsating, polyrhythmic hedonism of “Anakanafauna” climaxes Select Level with a hint of Afrobeat undulation in its rhythm, conjuring that serpentine mojo familiar from Talking Heads' “I Zimbra.”
Sells cites the album's themes as “corporate creep, algorithmic enslavement, commodification of human life, energetic ties between humans, pre-cognitive dream states, multi-layered reality, paranoia, and hopeful love in a time of division.” That's heavy stuff, but it's counterbalanced by music gleaming with suavity and gusto. He's created a work of sweet body/mind satisfaction that refuses to surrender to whatever awfulness reality throws at us. It's a luxurious-sounding luxury that you shouldn't take lightly.

-Dave Segal, Seattle, March 2019

credits

released June 21, 2019

Written, produced, recorded, and arranged by Andy Sells.
Music performed by Andy Sells, Joel Cuplin, Noel Brass Jr., Jayson Powell.
Vocals on tracks 1-6 recorded by Allison Tulloss at Nice Morph Studios
Mixed by SCNTFC, and Andy Sells
Mastered by Mell Dettmer
Album art & design by Travis Ritter
Copyright Select Level 2019 All Rights Reserved
Elys Lands Music ASCAP
Wax Thematique Records. waxthematique.com

license

about

Select Level

Select Level= music of Andy Sells and friends.

Facebook

contact / help

Contact Select Level

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Select Level, you may also like:

IMPOSSIBLE WEIGHT
by Deep Sea Diver

supported by 5 fans who also own “Select Level”

Lost track of these guys for a couple years, then saw the Tiny Desk concert come up in my feed. I've had the album on loop on Spotify since Friday. This song in particular has been stuck in my head all afternoon. quiksilv26
go to album
Atlas
by FM-84

supported by 4 fans who also own “Select Level”

Great album and peak 80's early 90's nostalgia. kain187
go to album
Private Space
by Durand Jones & The Indications

supported by 4 fans who also own “Select Level”

I swear this album makes me want to get those kinda rollerskates and dance to this album while skating (although I'm bad at both). trushuks
go to album
Audio Video Disco
by Web Rumors

Smooth, self-aware, and incredibly chill yacht pop jams from Australia. Just wait for the sax solo. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 13, 2019
go to album
Trees / Suntan
by Glass Rebel

Warm and shiny electro pop from Athens has gentle, propulsive beats and gleaming synths. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 31, 2017
go to album
On the Street of Dreams
by The Space Lady

Groovy synth pop that's refreshingly outré and out there. Bandcamp New & Notable May 3, 2018
go to album
I Told You So
by Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

supported by 4 fans who also own “Select Level”

Funky hot grits. Feel good, toe-tapping music. jrrtt2
go to album