MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND COLLABORATING

November 29th, 2010 , by

We are very pleased to announce that Shara has been asked to give a concert as a part of the American Songbook series presented by Lincoln Center. This performance will take place on Thursday, January 27th in The Allen Room. She is frantically writing new music, which will be premiered at this special show. Joining her onstage will be a drummer, bassist and yMusic (violin, viola, cello, flute, clarinet & trumpet).

Additionally, Shara will be presenting a joint-bill with Sarah Kirkland Snider and yMusic at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis on May 4 & 5. Shara will perform "Letters from Charles" (a song cycle she composed for herself and yMusic, based on letters from her Grandfather to her Grandmother). She will also sing Ms. Snider's "Penelope." Above is a video for music from that project shot by Murat Eyuboglu.

In other news, Shara was commissioned by Music at the Anthology, Inc. (MATA) to compose a piece of music for voice and piano, which premiered by Gabriel Kahane on November 17th as part of the MATA Interval Series Concert at Issue Project Room.

FOL CHEN PERFORM AND RECORD IN RUSSIA

November 21st, 2010 , by

On Wednesday November 24th, Fol Chen will be performing at Klub Kitaiyskii Lyotchik Jao Da (9 Pestela Street) in St. Petersburg, Russia. The performance will be two long-form, constructivist-inspired reworking of selected tracks from their two studio albums.The following day Fol Chen will be holding a very special workshop/recording session at Kitaiyskii Lyotchik Jao Da (Ul. Pestela, 7). Members of the group Samuel Bing and Sinosa Loa are inviting local musicians (and curious non-musicians) to join them in recording a new Fol Chen song, which will then be released on their next album, or as a single.

TRUMANS WATER CONTINUE WORLD RE-DOMINATION

November 18th, 2010 , by

For a little while, there was nothing from Trumans Water. Then, they emerged from the darkness with a brand new album, O Zeta Zunis, which we had the honor of releasing.

The emergence continues, as Trumans Water today makes five of their classic releases once again readily available to you. This includes their eponymously-titled album and Fragments of a Lucky Break which documents the era when the group's core included the Brandstetter brothers, Kevin Kascell, and Glen Galloway (of Soul Junk). The reissue madness continues with Action Ornaments, Apistogramma, and You Are in the Line of Fire and They Are Shooting at You all of which showcases their late 90s/early aughts era continuing their unpredictable scuzz rock with collaborations from Azalia Snail, Gary Olsen, Chan Marshall, among other guest appearances.

In addition to the studio albums, Trumans Waters' storied Peel Sessions will be made available including a pantheon of different Trumans line-ups as well as covers of Nation Of Ulysses and Sun City Girls songs.
 
This is a lot to process at once, we know. So we have made available a free sampler of all the reissues, titled Schist and Schisms. It will help the brain throb. Stream for free below, or download here. They are naturally touring in Europe, details here.


FOL CHEN из Лос-Анджелеса проведет

November 18th, 2010 , by

Во Четверг, 25 ноября, музыкальная группа Fol Chen из Лос-Анджелеса проведет необычный мастер-класс с записью композиции в клубе «Китайский летчик Джао Да», Ул. Пестеля, 7, Санкт-Петербург.

Члены группы Самюэль Бинг и Синоса Лоа приглашают петербургских музыкантов (а также и тех, кто просто интересуется) присоединиться к ним для записи новой песни Fol Chen, которая затем войдет в следующий альбом либо будет выпущена в виде сингла. Этот совместный музыкальный проект дает возможность увидеть изнутри, как одна из наиболее захватывающих новых групп из США создает свою музыку.

Музыкальное мастерство не обязательно, но музыкантам предлагается принести свои собственные инструменты. Просьба сообщить об участии по адресу [email protected] или просто прийти в 13.00 25 декабря.

 

SUFJAN TO PERFORM ON JIMMY FALLON [TOP SECRET CODE]

November 15th, 2010 , by


 

As you can see above in a very expensive and time-consuming simulation generated by our Official Asthmatic Kitty Department of Photoshopical Reality Generation, Jimmy Fallon has been thinking about Sufjan Stevens. Or maybe he hasn't and his people just booked Sufjan to perform, in which case we'll be canning the entire department for an inaccurate representation. Either way, Jimmy Fallon will be watching Sufjan Stevens perform on his show on November 19th. 
 
You can watch along with Jimmy if you tune into NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that Friday night at 12:35am (technically Saturday morning we guess). Or, if you're in the vicinity of 30 Rockefeller Plaza NYC that night, you could sit on the show's super special exclusive "Band Bench." We think that means you get good seats somewhere near Sufjan's band. Go here, and use the code "SUF" (generated by our Official Asthmatic Kitty Department of Poor Code Generation) for your chance to warm your buns on the said band bench.
 
UPDATE: Our own DM Stith will also be performing in Sufjan's band!

PSYCHIC TEMPLE, A NEW ALBUM FROM CHRIS SCHLARB [FREE MP3]

November 2nd, 2010 , by

In 2007 we released Twilight & Ghost Stories, a 40-minute modern composition by Long Beach based Chris Schlarb. By tying together dozens of pieces of music from dozens of musicians, Schlarb not only used Twlight as a sort of personal catharsis but as also a way to show that we are all connected. You can stream Twilight for free or buy it in MP3 form here for $5.
 
Now, three years after releasing Twilight, we are so proud to announce Chris Schlarb's second record. Enter Psychic Temple, an album that draws from the methodology of Twilight & Ghost Stories to coordinate a 29-member ensemble into a fully realized and mature synthesis of live ambient, jazz, and folk. The album drops in three weeks. Read more about the release here.
 
We are releasing Psychic Temple in conjuction with sister label Sounds Are Active, who will be using Kickstarter to fund a limited edition gatefold vinyl pressing. There are only 30 days to raise $3,555. You can be a part of this project here. Rewards include a Psychic Temple poster designed by Jason Munn, hand written sheet music, and the acoustic guitar featured on the album cover.
 
In the meantime, please enjoy this excerpt from the first track.

“I Can Live Forever If I Slowly Die (Excerpt)” (Download)

JULIANNA BARWICK COLLABORATES WITH IKUE MORI

October 28th, 2010 , by

This Friday, October 29th, Julianna Barwick will be collaborating with legendary drummer and composer Ikue Mori at White Columns gallery as part of their year end exhibition. RVNG Intl. invited Barwick and Mori to collaborate in the gallery's Project Room as part of RVNG's FRKWYS series (which has included the likes of Excepter and Psychic Ills). Over the course of the event, Mori and Barwick will perform four times, each piece pressed to 12 inch vinyl in real time at the gallery. An interactive projection by Erik Mika will illuminate this exercise in simulated engagement.

JOOKABOX CREEP THEIR WAY TO YOU

October 27th, 2010 , by

On tour soon with Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, haunting towns and urban centers west of the Mississippi. See tour dates here.

WILLIAM RYAN FRITCH AND COMIC WOW OUT TODAY IN LIBCAT SERIES

October 26th, 2010 , by

You might have heard of a certain shoe company opening a certain studio for indie bands. Very nice of them.

We went a step further. We here at Asthmatic Kitty contracted out established, recognized musicians like William Ryan Fritch and Comic Wow to record music that will fit perfectly into whatever life situation you are in. We designed this with your life stream in mind.

So-called stock music isn't just for corporations and television stations anymore. You are your own brand, and justifiably you need a life soundtrack to personally identify and reinforce your self/brand. No need to clutter one’s life with subpar content/music! Hence the Library Catalog Music Series.
 
Today we are releasing two new volumes in the series: composer William Ryan Fritch's Music for Honey and Bile and sonic illustrators Comic Wow's Music for Mysteries of Mind Space and Time. The CDs are $10, LPs are $14 with S&H, and MP3 is just $8.
 
You can stream them below, and/or buy on their release pages. Click here for William Ryan Fritch's release, and here for Comic Wow's.

SHARA AND SARAH TEAM UP FOR PENELOPE

October 25th, 2010 , by

Tomorrow, October 26th marks the release of Penelope. The album is a 60-minute song cycle composed by Sarah Kirkland Snider for Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and the orchestral group, Signal, based on texts by playwright Ellen McLaughlin, derived from the music theater piece of the same name she and Snider wrote together in 2007-2008.

Penelope has appeared in various guises over the past two years: it originated as a music for a theater piece and then debuted as a song cycle with Signal last May. When Shara came aboard the project, Sarah revised and expanded the songs yet again, tailoring them to Shara's unique talents and arranging them for Sarah's dream cast of characters: a 25-person orchestra of strings, harp, percussion, drums, electric guitar and bass, and electronics (with sound design by Michael Hammond). The cycle grew from 40 to 60 minutes. It is yet another example of how brightly our diamond can shine!

Listen to one of the album's tracks here.

Order the incredible rich and captivating album here.

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