FOL CHEN RETURN WITH NEW ALBUM [FREE MP3]

April 8th, 2010 , by

By Juliana Paciulli

Last time, on Fol Chen: John Shade made his fortune. Bing & Co built a pyramid, the pyramid, and took the battle to Shade. It all fell apart. The world? In ashes.

And now, on Fol Chen: John Shade is dead.  A mysterious letter. The end of one end, and a beginning on another one. A new chance at a new world. But not one given so easily, things are not so clear as they once were. Long live John Shade.

For the uninitiated, this is Fol Chen. After receiving praise from NPR for their debut, releasing a remix album, recording a BBC Session and a music video with the Laker Girls, Fol Chen has created Part II: The New December. The album shores up the group's slippery identity further still. This is Fol Chen's most focused work – as consistent as it is consuming, as enjoyable as it is unusual. For more info, visit their website here.
 
On Saturday, Fol Chen begin their tour with Liars, starting in LA and ending in Seattle, before heading off to Europe. Info here. 

"In Ruins" (Download)

SHARA WORDEN OF MBD AT BELL HOUSE, BROOKLYN TONIGHT

April 3rd, 2010 , by

Tonight (Saturday, April 3), at 7:30 PM at The Bell House in Brooklyn, Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond will be performing a song cycle called Penelope by the composer Sarah Kirkland Snider, together with Signal – a versatile, do-anything chamber orchestra conducted by Brad Lubman.   
 
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.  This is the premiere performance of this new, expanded version of the piece.     
 
Details here.

RAFTER: HE TOURS, YOU DANCE

April 1st, 2010 , by


Photo by Lizeth Santos

On the 13th of April we'll have the high partying honor of releasing Animal Feelings, the third full length from Rafter. We have high expectations that this will end partisan politics, long-standing family disputes, and decrease aggressive driving accidents by 22%, perhaps more.

Until the wide release on April 13th though, expect smaller but more intense pockets of effect. Why? Rafter is touring. Like a crazy man. Because he is on a mission, a mission to make you sweat. Rafter & Co. begin in Houston, run back and release the CD in San Diego on the 17th, then use the gravity from California to swing back to NYC and then back again. 

We'd stake our reputation that you'll dance at a Rafter show. Seriously. You will dance. Go. Details here.

WATCH THE BQE ON PITCHFORK.TV

March 30th, 2010 , by

Last year, we released Sufjan Stevens' The BQE, a cinematic suite inspired by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (and the Hula-hoop) and released by us two years after its initial performance. 

In what is yet another way to experience the project (you know, beside the t-shirts), you can now watch the whole thing only on Pitchfork.tv until the end of the week. You can also purchase the project in its myriad forms here.

WELCOME TO THE LABEL, JULIANNA BARWICK! [FREE MP3]

March 30th, 2010 , by


Photo by Kate McGuire

Julianna's music had us at the first layer, which is saying something because there are oh-so many of them to discover in her music. But probably no guitars. Maybe. Anyway, no matter: it was her SXSW performance that sealed the deal for us, an enveloping magic that makes you want to close your eyes and lay down, letting her music envelop you.

Julianna has mentioned something about an upcoming album, which of course we are anxiously waiting to release. Having just played a few sets at SXSW and with the Clogs in Brooklyn (her current homeborough), she is now departing for the WE ALL OWE Tour with label-mate Roberto Lange (who will be performing as both Epstein and Helado Negro) and friend of the label Jonathan Dueck. On tour she will be collaborating with Roberto and Jonathan to create another new album assembled from their experiences with each other and those they meet along the way. See tour dates here. In May she tours again, this time with Eluvium.

Record label M'Lady's will be reissuing her very first album Sanguine on vinyl soonish. Asthmatic Kitty will release the collaborative tour album and a new solo album later this year, early next. But in the meantime you can purchase her recent Florine EP from iTunes for ~$6 here. Read more about Julianna here.

"Cloudbank" Florine (Download)

DM STITH: @SXSW, HEAVY GHOST APPENDICES OUT IN MAY

March 13th, 2010 , by

Heavy Ghost, the debut album from DM Stith, cast an almost supernatural effect on reviewers and fans when it was released in March of 2009. Both groups acclaimed it as a stunning debut unlike anything else they had heard. NPR called the LP “complex… [containing] inventive songs,” while Entertainment Weekly proclaimed it “one of the strongest debut albums I’ve heard.” Stith’s peers received it well too: Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear twittered about it calling it a “lovely album,” and Bat for Lashes picked Heavy Ghost for her New York Times Playlist, saying “It traverses all these magical landscapes… almost like Alice through the looking glass. Like you’re being sucked into a secret world.”

Heavy Ghost Appendices, which comes out May 25 on Asthmatic Kitty, revisits this secret world and adds to its cartography a series of hidden coves, unexplored forests, and new landscapes. They physically collect the digital trilogy of EPs released over the course of the summer and fall of 2009 into a beautifully packaged limited edition double-disc set. The EPs were an exercise in exploring the boundaries of the music contained on Heavy Ghost, revisiting songs, reinterpreting, and displaying some inspiration and influences through covers of other artists. The remixes helped provide new context and deconstruction of his songs in a way that unearthed the songs’ roles and relationships to one another. Click here for more info on the release.

If you're in Austin next week, you should know that Stith will appear twice at SXSW this year. Summer tour dates on the way. Please click more for SXSW details.

SXSW APPEARANCES
Wednesday, 3/17 at 1:00 A.M.
St. David?s Bethell Hall (301 E. 8th St)
All Ages

Thursday, 3/18 at 3:30 P.M.
Spider House (2908 Fruth St. at Guadalupe) 
BrooklynVegan & AnSo Present Day Party! w/ Odawas, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, 
Thee Oh Sees and more

ASTHMATIC KITTY AT SXSW

March 11th, 2010 , by

Once again the Daytona for the Pitchfork-set has rolled around like indie rock's own version of pledge week. In place of strange rituals and memorization of legacy nicknames, there are strange rituals and LOTS of bands. LOTS. How could we sit this one out?   So yes, Asthmatic Kitty is once again headed to SXSW […]

Read the Rest...

NEW ALBUM FROM EPSTEIN, HENCE TOUR

March 9th, 2010 , by


Photo by Kristi Sword

Today Epstein Y El Conjunto's When Man is Full He Falls Asleep is being released across the internet in all of its nooks and crannies. A reminder, Epstein is one of the many talented alter-egos of Roberto Lange, and El Conjunto the willing volunteer band to fill out the Epstein sound. This April, in celebration of this release, Roberto Lange, Julianna Barwick and visual artist Jonathan Dueck, will be engaging in a unique collaboration that blurs the divisions between studio, stage, touring and recording. Roberto will be performing under both of his monikers, Epstein (exploration into the digital debris and soul of experimental hip-hop influenced electronic music) and Helado Negro (the official band of the Latin Awareness Initiative). Julianna will be performing her ethereal and magical vocal layering. Using the framework of a traditional music venue tour, these three artists will create a new body of work that will reflect their time together and those they encounter. While the two musicians collaborate and produce new music, Jonathan Dueck will be documenting with drawings, video and photography which will later be incorporated into the packaging materials for the final product of this experience.

The live set will include projected video by Jonathan Dueck in between music sets. These visually and musically rich videos are a culmination of 4 years of work on 20 short films. Dueck scratched, painted on, stamped over, and projected old 16mm films to create this work. With the collaboration of I Heart Lung, Chad VanGaalen, Deneir, and Son Lux, he has created 20 short, but visual rich videos from these 16mm films.

The tour will also include two art exhibitions, the first in New York at the 92YTribeca which will include stills from Jonathan's films plus the playful work of Kristi Sword. This show will be up for the month of April. The second will occur in Indianapolis at the Big Car / Mt. Comfort galleries and will include art by DM Stith, Ryan Irvin, John Berry as well as Dueck. See full list of tour dates here.

RAFTER TO PLAY AT SXSW [FREE MP3]

March 5th, 2010 , by

It may not quite seem like it, but it is nearly spring. That means flower buds, rabbits making rabbits, bees pollinating…and this year, the appropriately timed Rafter's Animal Feelings. 

Out April 13th, the album brings spring full swing by strutting cleanly from one hit to the next, speakers blowing, bodies moving, club lights flashing. Full of FM-ready pop gems playfully sabotaged by Rafter’s fearless mouth, the album is an exhilarating pop free-for-all recalling Nintendo composer Koji Kondo leading a fantasy camp super-jam with Cody Chesnutt, Justin Timberlake, and the Tom Tom Club. Preorder the CD for $10 by clicking here. 
 
And if anyone has ever seen Rafter perform live, they’ll know he lets it all shine through for the audience. Rafter’s spirited dance-floor anarchy and fiery-red headed glammerisms make for an unparalleled show that will stand out amongst the rest. . . which, as we all know, is what SXSW is all about. Those heading to Austin should be sure to add Rafter to the agenda. Click more below to see the five times Rafter is playing at SXSW.
 
For those not headed to Austin, enjoy "beauty beauty," a new, free MP3 from Animal Feelings (or click here for a remix by Dominique Leon):

"beauty beauty" Animal Feelings (Download)

Wed. 3/17 – 4:30 PM @ VICE House (302 E. 6th St.) – Lose Control Party
Wed. 3/17 ? 12:15 AM @ Beauty Bar Backyard (617 E. 7th St.) ?
Asthmatic Kitty/K Records/Sounds Familyre/Tomlab Party
Sat. 3/20 ? 3:30 PM @ Barbrella (615 Red River St.) ? Moshi Moshi
Music, Wichita Recordings & Mixtape Music Party w/ Bushwalla, Mariachi
El Bronx, Slow Club, and more
Sat. 3/20 ? TBA @ The Iron Gate Lounge (1111 East 6th Street) ?
Singing Serpent Party
Sat. 3/20 ? 9 PM @ The Iron Gate Lounge (1111 East 6th Street) ? Yelp Party

UNUSUAL ANIMALS INVADE DENTON DURING NX35

March 3rd, 2010 , by

Just when you thought the strange creatures had left for long migration, or deep cave dwelling, or frozen tundra family reunions, Unusual Animals are back and this time infesting Denton, Texas during the NX35 Music Conferette. On Saturday March 13th, Asthmatic Kitty's own I Heart Lung will be playing alongside other strange creatures at Texas 8 Ball. Other bands include Denton's own Dust Congress and Shiny Around The Edges, Rare Grooves from Long Beach and .e from St. Louis. In between sets, Mariachi Quetzal will be keeping things moving in a general party direction. More information on tickets and wristbands for the Conferette visit the NX35 website here. But single show tickets will also be available at the door. More info and showtimes on facebook. This will be part of a short Texan jaunt for I Heart Lung as they bookend their Denton appearance with shows in Austin and Houston.

The day before the Unusual Animals party (Friday March 12th) you can catch the wise and digitally savvy Chris Schlarb on the panel discussion "From the Physical to the Digital" at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton. The discussion is free to the public and starts at 3PM. More info available here. And the day following, Sunday March 14th, Jookabox will be be opening for The Walkmen at Hailey's.

To listen to an AKradio playlist of the aforementioned artists, click here.

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