The 1st In Planned 32 Vinyl Single Series Focusing On Indie Rock From All of Mexico’s 32 States, Features Señor Kino and Margaritas Podridas From Sonora, Mexico

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On Sale This Friday, February 12

Long Beach, California’s Stay Free Recordings has announced its first vinyl single today.

The initial release (in a planned series of 32 ‘Mexican Candy’ singles focused on local indie musicians from all of Mexico’s 32 states) features music from two Sonora, Hermosillo Mexico bands in the indie/shoegaze/grunge vein– Señor Kino and Margaritas Podridas— and will go on sale this Friday, February 12th at https://stayfreerecordings.bandcamp.com.

Stay Free Recordings founder Jon Halperin is no stranger to the world of music, being the current talent buyer at The Glass House in Pomona, California, where he has seen many bands develop and reach the peak of their careers. Through years of meeting people, he met an aspiring promoter by the name of Rene Contreras from Pomona, California.

In the year 2012, Rene Contreras proposed an idea to The Glass House on starting a music festival called Viva! Pomona, featuring local musicians from the area. As years went by bands began to organically grow to where eventually musicians from other parts of the world started to join the music festival. Being Mexican American, Rene Contreras focused a lot of his attention on trying to help the local music community in Mexico. With the Viva! Pomona platform he was able to help musicians from all over Mexico perform their first concerts in the United States.

Fast forward to 2020, when a global pandemic hits humanity and live music comes to a halt. That is when Halperin contacted Contreras for music collaboration ideas for the singles.

‘Mexican Candy’ is the first of many Stay Free Recordings + Viva! collaborations to come, all with the goal of shining a light on indie/shoegaze/grunge artists in existing music communities throughout Mexico.

While booking slowed in 2020, Jon bought a portable record player and spent his evenings listening to records on his patio. Mostly singles. Jon decided that he wanted to start another record label, only this time, singles only and editions of 200 only, no represses.