By Micah Organ, Contributor
[Photo courtesy of Aquabear Legion/Chris Biester]

Aquabear Legion, a music and art collective located in Athens, will celebrate its 15th anniversary with the release of two compilations of music by Ohio artists. The pre-order campaign for these compilations, titled Aquabear Legion Volume 7 and Mother of Presidents, runs on Indiegogo until Sunday, September 15. 

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According to a press release, the first of these compilations, Aquabear Legion Volume 7, consists of music from new artists from all over Ohio, including Actual Form, Ampline, Buffalo Killers, Counterfeit Madison, DANA, Hiram-Maxim, Lung, Smizmar and Van Dale. The compilation will be released as a 12” vinyl record with album artwork from Athens-based artist Chris Biester, and the run of this release will include 300 records, including some colored vinyl. 

The second compilation, Mother of Presidents, includes older artists from around Ohio, including 84 Nash, Appalachian Death Ride, Geraldine, Grafton, Great Plains, Jenny Mae, Log, Mike Elliott, Mirrors, Orchestraville, Ron House, Swearing at Motorists, Thee Shams and more. The music found on this compilation spans the years 1974 to 2004, and this compilation will be released on cassette. 

Aquabear has worked with more than 300 musicians, as well as dozens of artists and filmmakers, in its 15-year history. It has also put out 13 compilations of Ohio artists prior to Aquabear Legion Volume 7 and Mother of Presidents, and all of the other Aquabear compilations can be found here. 

The pre-order campaign for Aquabear Legion Volume 7 and Mother of Presidents ends at 11:59 p.m. on September 15. While the campaign features the newest two compilations, there are also new Aquabear t-shirts and hoodies, prints and previous releases available in addition to the compilations on Aquabear’s Indiegogo page.