The Big Takeover Salutes Independent Project Records and The Well

According to The Big Takeover, “The Well, a sprawling two-volume compilation curated by Independent Project Records founder Bruce Licher, is less a retrospective than a revelation. Spanning over four decades, forty-one tracks, and a dizzying array of genres, it positions IPR not just as a label, but as a laboratory of independent creativity; a place where ambition, idiosyncrasy, and sheer sonic curiosity converge… More than a celebration of IPR’s 45-year history, The Well is a blueprint for how to compile a label’s ethos into a listening experience.”

The site continues, “Rare and unreleased tracks, live performances, demos, and archival gems all coexist without ever feeling arbitrary. Each listen yields new textures, hidden harmonies, or rhythmic quirks previously unnoticed. It is as rewarding for those venturing into IPR’s universe for the first time as it is for longtime fans eager to trace the veins of influence and invention threading through the label’s catalog. Where nostalgia often dominates archival releases, The Well refuses to dwell in the past. Instead, it articulates a vision of music as persistent, exploratory, and unbound, a reminder that independence is not just a label, but a mindset.” Read the full review here, and get the compilation started at your station now.