The Garment District

The collaborative solo project of multi-instrumentalist Jennifer Baron, the Garment District specializes in the homespun brand of experimental, '60s-indebted psychedelic pop associated with the Elephant 6 Collective, to which Baron belonged as a onetime member of the Ladybug Transistor. She launched the Garment District with the release of Melody Elder in 2011, following it with such equally off-kilter, technicolor releases as 2015's Luminous Toxin and 2023's Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World. With the release of the latter, Baron revealed that she relied on the distinctive sounds of analog synthesizers like the Farfisa Syntorchestra and Sequential Pro One as well as 808 drum samples, among a plethora of other instruments, for its idiosyncratic palette. A multifaceted composer, multimedia artist, and musician originally from New Jersey, Jennifer Baron established the Garment District in the early 2010s, following stints in 1990s lo-fi outfit Saturnine and in Brooklyn Elephant 6 affiliate the Ladybug Transistor. Her time with the latter included their first three albums for Merge Records: 1997's Beverley Atonale, 1999's The Albemarle Sound, and 2001's Argyle Heir. Relocating to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baron started making music of her own, and she and Kevin C. Smith recorded material composed and arranged by Baron for the Garment District's debut album, Melody Elder. Released by Night-People in December 2011, the record also featured vocals by Baron's cousin Lucy Blehar and bass by Jowe Head (Television Personalities, Swell Maps). A three-song 7" that included "Nature Nurture (Sonic Boom Remix)" appeared on small French indie La Station Radar a year later. Two more Garment District albums arrived in relatively quick succession in 2014 and 2015, respectively, in the form of the Night-People release If You Take Your Magic Slow and Kendra Steiner Editions' Luminous Toxin. If You Take Your Magic Slow was recorded by Greg Langel and Greg Matecko and featured performances by Baron, Blehar, bassist Matt Booth, and drummer Chris Parker, whereas Luminous Toxin was performed entirely by Baron and recorded by Baron and Langel. As is typical of the project, both albums also featured field recordings by Baron. In the meantime, the Garment District performed at various festivals including Ladyfest, was recorded live for the Andy Warhol Museum's Silver Studio Sessions, and opened for artists including Jenny Hval. The project's fourth album was a more collaborative one again featuring Blehar on lead vocals but this time with a band consisting of guitarist/vocalist Dan Koshute, bassist Corry Drake, drummers Shivika Asthana (Papas Fritas) and Sean Finn (Life in Bed), additional vocalist Alex Korshin, and several others. Featuring strings and horns as well as carefully curated analog synths, drum samples, and effects in addition to these other contributions, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World arrived on Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records in September 2023.
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