As a thank you to our readers this holiday season, we asked some off our favorite local record labels to create special mp3 samplers to showcase their rosters. Every Wednesday this month, we will be posting a different sampler from a great local label. They’re all free, but you will only be able to download them for a limited time, so get to it!

This week: Thread Productions

Last week: Three Ring Records

We continue our free holiday giveaway series this week with Dragon Slayers, Volume 2, the latest compilation from the good people at Thread Productions, a collective of bands whose collaborative work-ethic is matched by the consistently high quality of their musical output. This duality was recognized by the East Bay Express, who named them the “Best Band Collective” of 2007 and stated:

In the Bay Area indie music market — crowded with talent yet comparatively devoid of industry — it can be difficult to ascend beyond the ranks of the critically lauded and financially challenged. [Thread’s bands] opted to take matters into their own hands last September by forming a music cooperative designed to pool resources and elevate its members’ profiles…It’s a selfless aspiration toward the greater good, in which the success of the unit becomes the success of the individuals — a plan both practical and idealistic.

For this mix, the collective’s five principal members–Tartufi, Low Red Land, Birds & Batteries, Silian Rail, and Sky Pilots–invited their friends and fellow local bands to join them, making for a great eclectic mix of familiar and new faces.

You can find out more information about Thread Productions and all of their bands at their MySpace page. This sampler is free to download for a limited time only!