Even though Austin is doused in music all the time, it can be a little difficult to keep track of new releases. Spaceflight Records, a nonprofit label based in Austin, is making it easy this summer, with new releases every Friday.

Every week, Spaceflight is releasing "a new piece of music" from Texas artists on its roster. It's implied that these are singles, but with that phrasing, anything could happen. Two have already come out so far to set the tone.

The first, out since last week, comes from Austin-based trio Fort Never. "Take a Look at us Now" was released simultaneously as a single and music video on June 9, displaying the charismatic alt-pop performers' personalities through improvised dance — and brief sword fighting. The track is soaring but gentle; a great song for romanticizing the summer and cruising down the highway, or just staring enthralled at singer Chantell Moody's smile.

Next up was Colombian trio Nemegata — another Austin-based group — known for their psychedelic grooves and world influence. Immediately the edgier of the two tracks, “Ni Con Palo Ni Con Bala” starts with a rhythmic assault on the senses: clattering percussion, a rambling guitar riff, and a tense bassline. The track mysteriously unfolds and contracts several times alongside images in the music video of an unsettling, evolving mask.

Local country fans also got a new single from Croy and the Boys outside of the Friday series on June 13. "I Get By" is the first single off the album Trans-Am, set for an August 11 release. The cheerful, twangy tune brings the soul back to pop country with an arrangement that, if it wasn't recorded live in-studio, certainly sounds like it could be reproduced in any local venue without missing a beat.

The current Spaceflight roster includes some of Austin's most active and talked about bands, but the order of releases is so far a mystery. Possibilities include Die Spitz, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Kalu and The Electric Joint, Primo the Alien, and Urban Heat, among many more.

Part of the draw to Spaceflight (besides being one of the only real labels in town) is its unusually musician-focused approach. A bit like a startup accelerator, Spaceflight's goal is not to hold onto its artist until while squeezing out as many records as possible, but to hand them off to bigger labels when they're ready.

The label handles release management (as demonstrated especially well by this series), legal counsel, artist development, and more, without taking ownership of any artist's catalog.

All this news coming from Spaceflight is making it to the label's Instagram page. Check back this Friday for the next release in the series, or follow so you don't miss it.

  

Photo courtesy of Spaceflight Records

Fort Never supplied the first of Spaceflight's weekly summer releases, "Take a Look at us Now."