Bad Brains announce collection of earliest known studio recordings

ARE YOU READY: THE FIRST STUDIO RECORDING (Inner Ear - March 1979) will compile six songs originally recorded during a single hour-long session at Inner Ear Studios in March 1979, now newly mixed by Ian MacKaye to receive its first official release on vinyl, cassette and digital platforms via Trust Records.

Alongside the announcement, the band share the previously unreleased original studio recording of "Pay to Cum", recorded more than a year before the song was officially released as their debut 7".

"The riff for 'Pay to Cum' started as a stream of punk rock vibes fueled by the Ramones, The Damned, and Return to Forever," bassist Darryl Jenifer says. "It was a gift that served as a springboard into our sound - sheer, straight-ahead three-chord mayhem with a few breaks and a stop. The title actually meant nothing to us; it was just a fun-loving play on words."

The release will also be celebrated in Bad Brains' hometown of Washington, D.C. with two special events. On 5 November, Darryl Jenifer and Ian MacKaye will appear in conversation at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, and on 6 November, an exhibition of archival Bad Brains material will open, featuring contributions from personal archives including Jenifer's, Alison Braun, BJ Papas and Alec MacKaye. The display remains on view through 22 November.

ARE YOU READY: THE FIRST STUDIO RECORDING (Inner Ear - March 1979) artwork

ARE YOU READY: THE FIRST STUDIO RECORDING (Inner Ear - March 1979) tracklist

"Pay to Cum"
"Don't Bother Me"
"Black Dots"
"Migraine"
"Send No Flowers"
"Jamming at the Atlantis"