It's been almost a year since I walked into Myopic Books and discovered a curious flyer by antifolk musician Willis Earl Beal, who was looking for some "friends & stuff." I'm not sure "stuff" meant a feature-length story, but in July my piece on Beal graced the cover of the [Chicago] Reader's B Side with the headline "super unknown."

A lot has changed for Beal since that story hit the streets, and he may not be unknown for much longer: he's landed a deal with a new XL Recordings imprint called Hot Charity. XL is also home to M.I.A., Radiohead, Vampire Weekend, Tyler the Creator, and chart-topping powerhouse Adele, among others.

Beal's first release for Hot Charity and XL will be an updated version of Acousmatic Sorcery, which is slated to drop early next year. You can read the full story about Willis Earl Beal by following the link below.

http://www.willisearlbeal.com/

http://www.chicagoreader.com/gyrobase/willis-earl-beal-found-magazine-acousmatic-sorcery/Content?oid=4330114&showFullText=true

~ Text copied from a Chicago Reader article written by Leor Galil dated July 28, 2011.