ANNOUNCING THE TETRAFOL, FROM FOL CHEN

November 21st, 2011 , by

Fol Chen has joined forces with Monome and Machine Project to bring you the Tetrafol. Some of you already instinctually know what this is, because you've been waiting for it all your life.

Others may need an explanation, so here goes: The Tetrafol is a hand-held tangible electronic sound toy. Circuits enclosed by a wooden tetrahedron detect orientation and motion-gestures to modify the playback of a collection of Fol Chen's micro-compositions. Users can explore sound through objectual physical manipulation. The battery-powered device has its own internal speaker but can additionally be hooked up to a headphone or amplifier for broader consumption and recording purposes.

The circuit and firmware are based on open-source hardware and is itself published as open-source, allowing anyone interested to learn about its deepest inner-workings.

There are only 100 of these devices. You can buy one for $110 right now by clicking here. For now.

To get information about Fol Chen in your email, go here. 

Hear a song created with these microcompositions below:

Fol Chen, “So Good” by asthmatickitty

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND TOURING EU, NEW VIDEO, NPR!

November 17th, 2011 , by

So much My Brightest Diamond! So little time!

Firstly: today marks the start of My Brightest Diamond's EU tour! She'll play tonight with a full ensemble in London, then visit Milan, Zurich, Berlin, Cologne, Utrecht, Leuven, and Paris. You can get details on the tour here.

Back to the USA. Above is a lovely video of "High Low MIddle," directed by Murat Eyuboglu, filmed in Detroit and featuring dancers from RunJitRun and Jitting Jesus.  

If you live in the US and  spent your Saturday morning ritual relaxing on the couch watching the November rain fall outside, eating your bowl of cereal, and listening to NPR’s All Things Considered, then you likely heard a lovely surprise: the voice of My Brightest Diamond frontwoman Shara Worden echoing over the airwaves.

It’s a terrific piece, on one of our favorite all-time bands. EU, US, anywhere; all of us  can hear the radio piece right here, along with a couple tracks from the album. And as far as the album goes, you can buy it right here in LP/CD/MP3, and even t-shirt form.

 

CHRIS SCHLARB GAME SOUNDTRACK IN INDIE BUNDLE

November 14th, 2011 , by

There are lots of interesting ways to pay for things on the internet. Radiohead came up with the pay-what-you-want method. We iterated with the "Critic-Based Pricing Structure." 

Now video game site Indie Royale has one-upped both us and Radiohead and invented a whole new kind of collective payment structure. It includes stars and graphs and besides that, we have no idea how it works but it is an exceptional deal (right now $4.61) for a bundle of superb games.  

The bundle includes Night Sky, a platformer by video game designer Nifflas. You will of course recall that our own Chris Schlarb scored the game. And according to the site, his soundtrack is now unlocked!

Why someone hid it in a safe to begin withor how one does that with a digital object is a mystery. No matter, you can now get Schlarb's haunting soundtrack as part of this Indie Bundle. There's only about a day left in the bundle run, so buy quickly here.

PEPE DELUXÉ PLAYS THE GREAT STALACPIPE ORGAN

November 4th, 2011 , by

Behold: a video recording of  the first ever composition for The Great Stalacpipe Organ, the largest musical instrument in the world. Located deep in the caverns of Luray, Virginia, The Organ consists of hand-tuned ancient stalactites of varying sizes that are hit with solenoid-actuated rubber mallets. It took Pepe Deluxé over 6 years of research and planning so you could enjoy these two minutes of unique sounds in the comfort of your bright, dry, warm home.

PLEASE WELCOME PEPE DELUXÉ TO THE AK FAM [FREE MP3]

October 31st, 2011 , by

Like many people, you may have heard Pepe Deluxé. Perhaps you listened to any one of their first three albums. Or, you may have been in the Luray Caverns in Virginia while tuxedo-ed Paul Malmström of Pepe stepped up to the Stalacpipe Organ – the largest instrument in the world – to record. Or perhaps you heard their music via television, advertising, or movie. Regardless, we are honored to announce that we can provide to you yet another remarkable Pepe Deluxé experience, at a nominal fee.

In January of 2012, in tandem with our similarly feline-monikered Catskills Records in the UK, we’ll be proud to release Queen of the Wave, the fourth full-length from the dapatical duo of Finn Jari Salo and Swede Paul Malmström & Co (“humans,” mostly). When Pepe Deluxé sent the album over the ocean to AK HQ in Lander, Wyoming a few months ago, we were instantly charmed. We started dancing and haven’t stopped since.

If you’re of the few that have never heard Pepe Deluxé, you’re in for a surprise and/or treat. Think cinematic. Think epic. Think space opera going through that slightly creepy tunnel in Willy Wonka’s Candy Factory. Think a massive bubble machine overloading in the Smithsonian. Or better yet, stop thinking and start moving.

Beginning, perhaps, with “The Storm,” an MP3 offered free for stream and download for a limited time. More info on the band is here. Do stop by Pepe Deluxé and say hej.
Pepe Deluxé, “The Storm” by asthmatickitty

TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR RAPOSA/SUFJAN-SCORED FILM ?BEYOND THIS PLACE?

October 25th, 2011 , by

Beyond This Place is a powerful new film about fatherhood and forgiveness directed by Kaleo La Belle. The film follows Kaleo as he connects with his estranged and perpetually-stoned father on a 500-mile bicycle tour of the Pacific Northwest. It’s currently screening in select theaters across the US. More info here.

Kaleo recruited AK artists Sufjan Stevens and Ray Raposa (Castanets), who worked together to score the film. You can catch a live version of the score as Sufjan and Ray perform the soundtrack before the screenings in LA, San Francisco, Portland, and Brooklyn. Details and tickets are here.

Listen and download to the title track from the score, by Sufjan, Ray, and Vesper:

ITUNES AK SALE

October 21st, 2011 , by

To celebrate the release of All Things Will Unwind from My Brightest Diamond, we've put sixteen AK records on sale on iTunes for just $7.99, including MBD (of course), Sufjan Stevens, Welcome Wagon, Shannon Stephens, Liz Janes, Julianna Barwick, and more. View all the titles here.

FILMMAKER OF MAKE CURATING ROYAL ROBERTSON SHOW

October 20th, 2011 , by

This Friday night in New York City at White Columns gallery, Scott Ogden is curating a show entitled NO PROUD BASTARDS, an in-depth consideration of work by Louisiana artist Prophet Royal Robertson (1931-1997). Robertson’s art is an integral part of the MAKE documentary film, which Scott Ogden and Malcolm Hearn created over the course of many years. Royal Robertson’s art also served as inspiration for Sufjan Stevens’ The Age of Adz.

 This will be a rare opportunity to see Royal's art in person. The show opening is Friday, October 21st from 6pm to 8pm at White Columns. 

You can read more or purchase MAKE on DVD here.

NEW ALBUM FROM MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND OUT NOW, NEW VIDEO

October 18th, 2011 , by

 It’s always a happy day at Asthmatic Kitty when we ship out a new record, and today is no exception. All Things Will Unwind is now out, and it is easily our favorite My Brightest Diamond record yet. The album is full of surprises; loose but articulate, catchy but challenging. Every detail, from handbells to costume design to every note trill, is straight from the soul of frontwoman Shara Worden, and it shows in each little corner of every song. It’s stacked with collaborations too, including DM Stith and the prolific yMusic. We hope you like it as much as we do!

Buy the album on iTunes at a limited time sale price for $7.99 right here.

You can also find the CD or LP at your local record store, or order it from our humble mail-order website by clicking here. We also have new Detroit-made MBD t-shirts that include an MP3 download for sale right here.

There’s also a new video! Longtime MBD collaborator Murat Eyuboglu shot the above for “We Added It Up,” which includes dance choreography by Jennifer McQuiston Lott. Watch above, or here.

My Brightest Diamond, “We Added It Up” by My Brightest Diamond

BE BRAVE T-SHIRT FROM MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND BENEFITS LOVE146

October 14th, 2011 , by

One of the songs of off My Brightest Diamond’s new record is “Be Brave,” a rain-dance/prayer/monologue written by frontwoman Shara Worden to herself as a way to gumption up and do something tangible and real about injustice. You can watch the video here.

Shara, who lives in Detroit, worked with a “hyper-local” screen-printer not far from her house named InkInBloom to design and print a shirt based on this song. You see the result above; a beautiful incorporation of one of the masks from the project and the lyrics.

All of the profits from the sale of these shirts go to Love146, a non-profit organization working to end child sex slavery and exploitation.

Of the shirts Shara says, “"Be Brave, dear one. Be ye changed or be undone. Millions of people are reported to be enslaved, most of whom are in commercial sex industries.  1.2 million are children.  Since I have several friends who are working with non-profits to raise awareness of this reality, and try to help prevent human trafficking, I decided this was a small thing I could do to help.  I’ve known the founders of Love146 for 10 years and I trust them.  I believe in their work.  So I thought for starters, I could make a tee shirt, a little prayer, a hopeful wish for those people who are trapped, to trust that change will come. "

You can buy men and womens’ shirts from InkInBloom’s website for $24 by clicking here.

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