ATO Records Issues ‘Silence Is Not An Option’ Benefit Compilation

ATO Records released a new compilation album, Silence Is Not An Option (turn this up) featuring Brittany Howard, Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, Jim James, Black Pumas, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Drive-By Truckers, Chicano Batman Benjamin Booker with Mavis Staples and many more. Sales from the record will be donated to Black Lives Matter Greater New York, Color Of Change and Innocence Project.

The album is available now digitally, with an 11-track vinyl version available to pre-order exclusively through Bandcamp. In addition to songs from the ATO catalog, a new original by Emily King, “See Me,” is one of the digital compilation’s 38 tracks. King’s song was written in reaction to the recent Black Lives Matters and racial justice protests around the world and appears on the vinyl edition as well.

“Feeling so moved by this powerful time,” King stated. “Everyday watching the world demand justice. I wake up with sadness but also hope. Like people are starting to finally notice how deeply broken things are. Can you hear me now? Can you see me now? I started singing the words and they wouldn’t leave my head.

Read a portion of a statement from ATO Records:

ATO Records, an independent record label out of New York City, has been reflecting deeply on the injustices and inequality in our world. We recognize that music is not just an agent for change, but a space of solace. As we approach our 20th anniversary as a label, we remain proud to represent a diverse range of artists whose music imparts messages of inclusivity, justice, and equality.

In that spirit, we’ve assembled an LP that showcases our extraordinary roster of artists and epitomizes ATO’s richness of musical diversity and talent. Silence Is Not An Option is a compilation of powerful anthems from the ATO catalog that explore issues of identity, community, social justice, and resistance.

Tracks include Brittany Howard’s “Goat Head,” released in 2019, the explosive song that Howard wrote about growing up in the South with a white mother and a black father; Benjamin Booker’s “Witness,” released in 2017, (“Right now we could use a little pick-me-up / Seems like the whole damn nation’s trying to take us down”), a collaboration with soul music and civil rights icon Mavis Staples; Drive-By Truckers’ “What It Means,” released in 2016, the withering track that Patterson Hood wrote in response to the police shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown; and Chicano Batman’s “Invisible People,” released earlier this year (“Invisible people, we’re tired of living in the dark / Everyone is trying to tear us apart / All we wanna do is heal now”) …

ATO stands with all those committed to the fight for racial equality and mutual respect among all peoples. Silence Is Not An Option is available today digitally and for pre-order on vinyl exclusively on Bandcamp, who are donating 100% of their fees to the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund. ATO will donate 100% of net proceeds from the compilation to causes supporting the Black Lives Matter global human rights movement: Black Lives Matter Greater New York, Color of Change, and Innocence Project.

Premiered by Rolling Stone, the new Emily King song “See Me” can be streamed below:

Silence Is Not An Option (turn this up) Digital Tracklist

1. Emily King “See Me”
2. Benjamin Booker (featuring Mavis Staples) “Witness”
3. Black Pumas “Colors”
4. Brittany Howard Goat Head”
5. Drive-By Truckers “What It Means”
6. Hurray for the Riff Raff “Pa’lante”
7. Vusi Mahlasela “When You Come Back”
8. Nilüfer Yanya “Paralysed”
9. Chicano Batman “Invisible People”
10. My Morning Jacket “I’m Amazed”
11. Nick Hakim “Vincent Tyler” (Single Version)
12. Alabama Shakes “Don’t Wanna Fight”
13. Mattiel “Guns of Brixton” (Clash Cover)
14. Amyl and The Sniffers “Gacked On Anger”
15. Allen Stone “What I’ve Seen”
16. Benjamin Booker “Slow Coming”
17. Brittany Howard “History Repeats”
18. Chicano Batman “La Jura”
19. Danny Barnes “Enemy Factory”
20. Drive-By Truckers “Thoughts and Prayers”
21. Dylan LeBlanc “Honor Among Thieves”
22. Honey Harper “Something Relative”
23. Brittany Howard “13th Century Metal”
24. Jim James “Over and Over”
25. The Claypool Lennon Delirium “Ohmerica”
26. Joseph “White Flag”
27. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard “Real’s Not Real”
28. Temples “Monuments”
29. Margaret Glaspy “Angry Again”
30. Hurray for the Riff Raff “Body Electric”
31. Natalie Prass “Sisters”
32. Okkervil River “Family Song”
33. Other Lives “Cops”
34. Chicano Batman “Freedom Is Free”
35. Rayland Baxter “79 Shiny Revolvers”
36. Rodrigo y Gabriela “Misty Moses”
37. Drive-By Truckers “Surrender Under Protest”
38. SOJA “Bad News”