It took a hurricane to land a New Orleans album at No. 1 on the Amazon digital download charts.
“Dear New Olreans,” a compilation album featuring artists such as OK Go, My Morning Jacket, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Steve Earle and more, was released last week to commemorate the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and stayed at No.1 on the digital album downloads chart for two days on Amazon.
Air Traffic Control, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that promotes social activism among musicians, coordinated the album’s production and release, with all proceeds going to New    Orleans area nonprofits.
While not all songs on the compilation are directly about New Orleans, ATC Special Projects Director Deyden Tethong said all the tracks were “in some way inspired by the city” through the artists’ experience with the town and its musicians.
Since 2006, ATC, along with the Future of Music Coalition, have co-hosted artist activism retreats during which musicians experience and connect with New Orleans’ community leaders and the city’s musical traditions.
“Every artist on this compilation has attended these retreats at some point in the last five years, and all of them have been greatly affected by the connection they felt with the city’s people and music,” Tethong said.
The album is available for download for $12 from iTunes, Amazon or dearneworleansmusic.org and contains 31 tracks.
“I think that an album like this is something pretty special to show appreciation for all the musicians and the culture around music in New Orleans, but it’s also something I’d be interested to listen to,” said Indya Williams, engineering sophomore.
The album bursts with fusion of sounds that South Louisiana is famous for, as sharp brass blasts combine with funky guitar riffs and rhythmic percussion to produce some thrilling arrangements over the course of the album.
According to a news release for the compilation, the album was a musicians’ response to Chris Rose’s emotional letter “Dear America,” which was published in The Times-Picayune a week after Katrina’s landfall.
Tethong said ATC and the artists felt strongly that New Orleans itself deserved a similar love letter.
“The people [in New Orleans] want to move on and many have, but we felt that it was appropriate to show the city that we still care and appreciate the way they have embraced all of us,” Tethong said.
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]