Ska-pop collective Atlas & Oracle released two new songs on streaming today. The first is “Violins For Violence,” a rousing trans rights anthem featuring Yours Sincerely, and the second is a jaunty synth-ska cover of The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love.”
Notably, all funds generated from the purchase of these songs on Bandcamp will be donated to The Trevor Project in support of LGBTQ+ youth. The minimum requested donation is $2.50. “I am nonbinary, and Nina of Yours Sincerely is a trans woman, so this cause is very personal to both of us,” Atlas & Oracle frontperson Atlas O’Clare tells me over email.
These tracks are part of a bigger upcoming project from Atlas & Oracle. This summer, the group plans to release dual albums on the same day. “Violins For Violence” will be featured on Sad Songs with Happy Endings, a collaboration album featuring an impressive roster of ska and ska-adjacent artists: Lumpy, Common Sense Kid, Foxing Day, Mega Infinity (fka Megawave), Hexadecibal, and Flying Racoon Suit. The second album is Time Machine, a cover album featuring ska takes on songs from artists like Andy Gibb, Tom Petty, Bloc Party, Dua Lipa, and more.
The journey to this dual album combo began with Ska Punk International‘s compilation album, Songs For Moms Volume 2. Atlas & Oracle contributed with a cover of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Daydream”, and were then inspired to put together their own collection of cover songs. Along the way, they discovered multiple kindred ska spirits through SPI, a Beautiful Rat Records compilation album, and the ever awesome “ska Twitter” community. Soon enough, they were trading demos with bands and putting together a collab album in addition to a covers album.
“As I’ve been meeting artists in the ska scene, I’ve been inspired by them,” O’Clare writes. “Musically, the ska scene has never been more diverse and unique. There are so many artists playing so many styles, and as I’ve gotten to know them through social media I began asking people to collaborate on songs I’d written that were inspired by each of their individual styles.”
Listen to “Violins For Violence” below.
Both Sad Songs With Happy Endings and Time Machine are slated for release June 27th, 2023. Check out Atlas & Oracle’s website for more information on the albums. You can also follow Atlas & Oracle on Twitter and Instagram, and of course, don’t forget to grab “Violins For Violence” over on Bandcamp.