On November 14, Imaginary Chicago Records hosts a CD Release Party for Power to the Babies by Scientific Map at Morseland, located at 1218 W Morse Ave in Chicago. Scientific Map headlines the event, fellow ICR recording artists The Lost Cartographers open, and The Gaucho performs DJ sets throughout the evening. The first set begins at 10pm.

Imaginary Chicago Records is proud to present Power to the Babies, the debut recording by Chicago genre-busters Scientific Map. Produced by acclaimed house/electronica artist Anthony Nicholson, the recording is a bold statement of the New Chicago Sound.

Moving between Afrobeat, funk, fusion, hip hop, new groove, nu-jazz, psychedelia, and R&B, Power to the Babies could only have been recorded in Chicago. Its stylistic fluency is a result of the varied artistic demands placed on musicians in such a culturally diverse city.

Bandleader/guitarist Matt Hudson describes the musical vision of the new album: "We're now experiencing the end of genre. Information from around the world is travelling to us so quickly that we're constantly exposed to new cultural and musical ideas. Musicians can't help but be influenced by this. If they're open-minded enough, the result is a cohesive, genreless sound that is fresh and new."

Throughout the album, Matt Hudson's playing demonstrates an innovative and nuanced re-imagining of jazz guitar that is influenced as much by Wes Montgomery as by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. This stylistic diversity is reflected in the range of guest artists featured throughout, including rock 'n' roll saxophonist Aaron Getsug (Hi-Fi & the Roadburners) and Pittsburgh R&B vocalist Gene Stovall.

The Lost Cartographers, currently mixing their own debut recording for ICR, open the evening with their innovative take on Chicago-style alt.country and Americana.

On May 31, Imaginary Chicago Records hosts a CD Release Party for Blue Rhizome by the New Quartet at the Velvet Lounge, located at 67 E Cermak in Chicago. The New Quartet will start the evening by playing jazz versions of pieces from the new CD, and the late-night set will feature the Soul Power Trio playing heavy metal versions of the material. The first set starts at 9pm.

All the musicians involved in the event got their starts in jazz by playing at the Velvet Lounge, so the event presents a celebration of the unique musical community that has grown together over the years at the legendary South Side jazz club. Greg Ward of the New Quartet hosted a weekly jam session at the Velvet Lounge until recently, and Aaron Getsug of the Soul Power Trio has been performing at the club since he was barely out of junior high. Bassist and guitarist Karl E. H. Seigfried has been appearing regularly at the Velvet Lounge for fifteen years, leading groups and performing with artists including Fred Anderson, David Boykin, Ernest Dawkins, Fred Hopkins, Henry Grimes, George Lewis, and Nicole Mitchell.

The first set by the New Quartet starts at 9pm.