20TH ANNIVERSARYARIZONA · 2006—2026A LIFE IN MUSIC. A PLACE CALLED ARIZONA.
Twenty years of following the music.
Choose a path. See where it takes you.
THE ARTISTS / ONE CREATIVE LIFE, MANY WORLDS
Ten distinct artists. Twenty years of music.
Choose a face. Follow the sound.
KEEP EXPLORING
A FEW THINGS TO KNOW
It celebrates twenty years since Sound is Matter Vol.001, the first 1st Drop Music release, in 2006. The anniversary covers 2006–2026.
Bear Gallagher-Cole, publicly known as Bear Cole, creates music through distinct artist identities including Bear the Astronot, Turntable Kachina, and Feral Business. Collaborators retain their individual credits.
1st Drop Music was created in Tempe, Phoenix, and Flagstaff, Arizona. It currently has offices in Flagstaff and Tucson, with its main office in Tucson. These places are part of the music’s history and present-day work.
Bear began making music in 1993 with a four-track Tascam cassette recorder, a boombox, a Casio keyboard, and a wired microphone. This anniversary marks the first 1st Drop Music release in 2006.
Browse the Anniversary Releases store here. Each physical edition has a product listing and a purchase button leading to its ElasticStage product page.
Browse the Anniversary Merch store here. Each item links to its exact product on the official 1st Drop Music merch store for available sizes, colors, and checkout.
01 / LISTEN BACK
Fifteen stops through twenty years of music and the next chapter, chosen by Bear. Follow them in order or find your own starting point.
MILESTONE 01 / 15
Turntable Kachina
RELEASED · 2006
Released in 2006, Sound is Matter Vol.001 is where this twenty-year celebration begins. A first release, a starting point, and a record to return to after hearing everything that followed.
Alabaster and Love in the Time of A.I. share this milestone. Artwork shown: Love in the Time of A.I. (Complete Collection).
02 / FOLLOW THE THREAD
A life in music, heard through the releases.
Arizona · 2006–2026
1993 / BEFORE THE FIRST DROP
In 1993, Bear’s lifelong adventure in making music began with a four-track Tascam cassette recorder, a boombox, a Casio keyboard, and a wired microphone with a quarter-inch plug. It was a small setup with room for a very big imagination.
He DJ’d throughout high school—even at his own prom. He performed in multiple Hip-Hop groups and several metal and punk bands. After high school, he took that music on the road, touring with bands and groups.
But his path kept leading toward a solo career. 1st Drop Music became the home for that next chapter: one creator making music through multiple distinct artists, each with a voice and a world of its own.
That wonderfully strange universe has grown across the decades. The adventure began in 1993; the first 1st Drop Music release arrived in 2006. This anniversary celebrates twenty years of those releases—and the lifetime of music that made them possible.
Sound is Matter Vol.001 became the first 1st Drop Music release in 2006. Twenty years later, this is a celebration of everything that grew from that beginning: the records, the discoveries, the collaborations, and the people who listened.
Bear’s musical life began earlier. This anniversary marks twenty years since that first release—the beginning of the catalog we’re walking through together.
THE PLACE IN THE MUSIC
1st Drop Music was created in Tempe, Phoenix, and Flagstaff, Arizona. Those beginnings connect Valley city life with the high pines of Northern Arizona—DJing, making records, playing shows, and following the music across the state.
Today, 1st Drop Music has offices in Flagstaff and Tucson, with the main office in Tucson. There is no single Arizona sound across this catalog. Place comes through in the stories, atmosphere, memories, and rhythms of music made here over time.
THE EARLY RECORDS
Cricket Songs brought Bear the Astronot’s first solo record. Think Revolution widened the conversation through an award-winning EP with production from around the globe. On Grand Canyon, a whole new sound began to emerge from Bear the Astronot.
Bear the Astronot and Turntable Kachina gave words, stories, samples, and rhythm their own places to grow. Looking back, the early catalog lets you hear musical possibilities opening.
Revisit the early milestones ↗THE SOUND OPENS UP
With That’s The Spirit and Butterflies, Bear Cole’s dance music took shape. Alabaster and Love in the Time of A.I. brought his songwriting further into focus.
A rhythm could move a room. A melody could carry something personal. A song could find a way to do both, and the next record could take the idea somewhere else.
NEW SOUNDS, DISTINCT WORLDS
Michael Patrick Ceol brought a new touch of darkness and noise through All I Ever Need. Feral Business arrived with NEDOMESTICIT and a whole new sound. Country experiments found their forever home with Sagebrush & The Little Flowers and Flower Power (The Complete Collection).
WUUYUH, RACK WIDOW, Oso Melodic, and Indrid Coald opened further paths through electronic music, House, beatmaking, darkness, and distortion. Each artist gave a musical direction room to become itself.
THE THREAD THROUGH IT ALL
Bear Gallagher-Cole, known as Bear Cole, is the creator behind these connected artist identities. Songwriting, production, performance, and DJing have carried his curiosity across the catalog. Collaborations remain part of that history, with their individual contributors credited.
Each artist has a separate voice. Together, their records let listeners follow the relationships between sounds across twenty years.
2026 / STILL MAKING MUSIC
On ARIZONA, Bear the Astronot and Turntable Kachina revisit classic Boom Bap Hip-Hop. Longtime creative threads meet again, with the state that shaped so much of this story at the center.
Thank you for listening, sharing, dancing, and following the music across its many worlds. Twenty years after Sound is Matter Vol.001, there is a history worth exploring—and more music ahead. Pegasus by Bear Cole is coming soon.
03 / OWN A PIECE · ELASTICSTAGE
For most of this music, this is its first release on vinyl or CD. Many editions are newly assembled collections—a window into twenty years of 1st Drop Music. Find your record, choose your format, and take the music home.
17 VINYL & CD EDITIONS
CD / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 12.90
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VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
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CD / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 12.90
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VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
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CD / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 12.90
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VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
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VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
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CD / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 12.90
VIEW PRODUCT →
VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
VIEW PRODUCT →
VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
VIEW PRODUCT →
VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
VIEW PRODUCT →
CD / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 12.90
VIEW PRODUCT →
VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
VIEW PRODUCT →
CD / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 12.90
VIEW PRODUCT →
VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 31.90
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CD / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 14.90
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VINYL / PHYSICAL EDITION
USD 37.90
VIEW PRODUCT →Prices shown are the USD listings recorded in Mission HQ. ElasticStage confirms current pricing, regional availability, shipping, and tax at checkout.
04 / WEAR THE STORY
The official 20th Anniversary Collection. Arizona roots, record culture, and a universe of music—on things you can wear.
24 PIECES FROM THE ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
$47.66 USD
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$19.32 USD
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$22.06 USD
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$17.50 USD
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$18.45 USD
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$18.45 USD
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$41.46 USD
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$18.65 USD
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$33.38 USD
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$29.91 USD
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$16.79 USD
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$41.46 USD
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ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
$19.32 USD
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ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
$19.32 USD
VIEW PRODUCT →Thanks for being
part of the story.