We are very pleased to announce that "Dark Was the Night", the new Red Hot & Indie compilation will feature 3 songs by our very own Domino Publishing artists David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors), Ray Raposa (Castanets) and Vashti Bunyan.

The first song is “Ambulance Man” (cowritten by David Longsteth and David Byrne). The centrepiece of the album is a 10 minute version of “You Are the Blood” written by Ray Raposa and performed and/or recorded by Sufjan Stevens (with Shara Worden on backing vocals!). The third is Vashti Bunyan's beautiful “Train Song”, as recorded by Ben Gibbard and Feist.

The compilation will group together a stellar selection of musicians in the service of the Red Hot Organization, which raises awareness and funds for HIV and AIDS research.

Release is planned for February 2009 by 4AD, and will feature 32 exclusive songs spread out over two CDs or three LPs. This is the 20th instalment in Red Hot's compilation series, and it celebrates the 20th anniversary of the organisation.

David Byrne has been involved in Red Hot since 1990 :

"I like what Dave Longstreth and Dirty Projectors are doing, although part of what attracts me to them is something I can't exactly place, can't figure out. Their music has familiar elements, yet often sounds like pop music by someone who has read about the form, but never heard it, and then handed the essential building blocks to make some songs.
That's not actually true though, as Dave made plenty of jokes about music while we were working --he has a deep knowledge of tunes and their respective artists. But the band's music remains completely strange and oddly familiar at the same time. I'd been told more than once that we should all work together, and it seems the suggestion was fated to be realized.
For one song, Dave L sent me a demo by email that he had recorded in a Vienna hotel room on tour. I did my best to figure out the chords and the tempo, and record my own version, for which I then wrote the words. We didn't end up using my recorded version; but the words, and my somewhat straightened out version of the melody, came in handy."  [David Byrne]