North Carolina indie band Birds of Avalon (photo by Justin Lyons)

After taking a few days to go through a huge backlog of music submissions from hundreds of musicians, bands, promoters and labels, there was so much great music that it is going to take some time and ingenuity to present it all. This means there will be special playlist mixes and band profiles all summer based on the In Dee Mail playlist series alone.

We are really excited to share with so many people some of the best songs of 2009 from largely unknown solo musicians and bands worldwide (and who followed our pesky submission guidelines to get our attention) who sent their music to be featured IRC. Hopefully, you'll learn about some great songs and bands you never heard of before.

This first mix is a sampling of the 'various artists' concept - songs spanning an eclectic mix of 2009 independent music from hip hop/jazz to pop and alternative rock to alt country.

"Your Down Time is Up" - Birds of Avalon from Uncanny Valley

"Big City Bright Lights" - ArtOfficial from Stranger EP (2009)

"Glasses On" - Schwervon from Low Blow (2009)

Labels: In Dee Mail, MP3s