A massive 68-track compilation called Through the Soil is coming out on April 2. The album features music by Spirit of the Beehive, Julie Doiron, Teen Suicide, Hovvdy, Salvia Palth, Scruffpuppie, Horse Jumper of Love, and many, many more. One hundred percent of proceeds from the comp will go to the NAMI COVID-19 Mental Health Support Fund. Preview songs from the record below.

Through the Soil centers on “capturing a trans-generational snapshot of the DIY/bedroom lo-fi indie scene,” as it’s stated in press materials. The compilations includes a large collection of unreleased, original works. The cover photo was shot by Phil Elverum, and the liner notes and additional artwork are by virtual artist Sami Martasian, who also makes music under the name Puppy Problems. Through the Soil was mastered by Jesse Cannon of Brooklyn’s Found Soundation
Recording Studios.

The compilation was put together by Andres Villogas and Steven Danglis, who met through online music discussion chat rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Neither of us had really been into these sorts of chat rooms prior to the dramatic situation the pandemic brought to the world,” Villogas said in a press release. “Being restricted in terms of going out and socializing leaves you with having to find other means of filling this void of human interaction. To some degree, this concept spawned first as a COVID-boredom induced project.”

“We wanted to find a creative way to raise money for mental health awareness; and a
compilation seemed like the move.” Danglis said. Villogas added:

It was incredible. As we made advancements, we got ballsy with who we reached out to. To our surprise, it seemed like everyone who we reached out to resonated with our idea and as a result, the scale of the project increased exponentially. It got to the point where we were being reached out to from groups we never imagined we would be able to contact—it was turning into something truly special. Organically, it grew, in my opinion, as a symbol of human nature’s longing for connection. More specifically, it is an embodiment of the longing for interaction and collaboration with other human beings, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.