DM STITH KETCHUP

October 8th, 2011 , by

“I am the loneliest climber of them all, “ croons David Stith (aka DM Stith) on the first track of his new project’s new track, although the band’s concept might indicate otherwise. Revival Hour is a collaborative project from Stith and The Earlies’ John Mark Lapham, mixed by Richard Swift and including contributions from Shara Worden of our own My Brightest Diamond, and members of The Earlies, and Shearwater. So much for lonely! You can listen and support the very nice recordings below, or here. (Note sasquatch-y Revival Hour press shot above! Rwar!)

DM Stith is also opening for My Brightest Diamond’s release party at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY on Friday October 18th. You should go! Details here.

In other news from the Stith front, Daytrotter posted a lovely session (as they are inclined to do), which includes an amazing rendition of “Pigs.” Daytrotter wordcraft Sean Moeller writes that DM Stith “seems like a believer and a dreamer and there might not be anything much better than being a combination of those two things.” Listen and read here.

And lest you think David has been making music 16 hours a day, you should check out yMusic’s new Kickstart-ed album Beautiful Mechanical. Not only does it sound wonderful (and include a composition from Shara Worden), but it sports cover art designed by David. Listen and see here.

If you need more Stith news – and of course you do – check out his shiny new Tumblr (which is like a blog but without an “e,” an increasingly unnecessary vowel) right ovr hr: ihaveitallfiguredout.tumblr.com.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND TO TOUR THE EU

October 6th, 2011 , by


Photo by Denny Renshaw

We’re on the edge of our seats over here at AK HQ because next Monday we’ll be releasing All Things Will Unwind in the European Union (on Tuesday, October 18th for the US). It will be quite a treat!

Here’s another treat for you all across the pond: you can expect a My Brightest Diamond show in your neighborhood in November! MBD will start in London with a full ensemble, then travel to Rome, Milan, Zurich, Berlin, Cologne, Ekko, Leuven, and close out in Paris (where else!). Details on that tour are here.

If you’d like to know more about the forthcoming Unwind album, you can do no better than watching these videos directed by Murat Eyuboglu right here. You can preorder the album on iTunes by clicking here, or preorder the CD/LP over here.

INTRODUCING THE MATRIMONY REMIXES FROM JULIANNA BARWICK

October 4th, 2011 , by

 It’s been a few months since we released Julianna Barwick’s acclaimed The Magic Place, but it didn’t take long for Julianna to find some people to rethink the album. The Matrimony Remixes takes two tracks from The Magic Place and puts them into the hands of good friends.

Julianna crossed paths with Philadelphia-based Diplo while both working on remixes of Radiohead’s “Reckoner,” and he teams up with producer Lunice to provide some deep sea beats to “Vow.” Roberto Lange, Brooklyn neighbor to Barwick, and label-mate, takes “Vow” into the inner space of clouds. Long-time Barwick friend Bryan Doring of Alias Pail drumbreaks “Prizewinning.” And Brooklyn/Boston-based sisters of the cosmos Prince Rama close out the EP by escorting the same song into an aural Eden.

You can buy the EP on iTunes here, or via Bandcamp here. Listen below.

yMUSIC RELEASE BEAUTIFUL MECHANICAL

September 29th, 2011 , by

 Who’s scruffy looking? The classically-trained sextet yMusic, that’s who! Their music, though? Sharp as nails. Take, for example, this brand new record they’ve put out through New Amsterdam Records. Beautiful Mechanical is a splendid collection of songs composed by some of your favorite songwriters, including our own Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, Son Lux Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent), Sarah Kirkland Snider, Greenstein, and Gabriel Kahane.

yMusic plays with Shara Worden on her new record, All Things Will Unwind, due in just a couple weeks. There’s more info about this intrepid badn of players here. But if you need your yMusic fix now, why wait? You can listen to the the lovely Beautiful Mechanical below, or buy straight away from over here.

UNWIND VISUALS BY MURAT EYUBOGLU

September 26th, 2011 , by

Directed by long-time My Brightest Diamond collaborator and friend Murat Eyuboglu, this video is the first of series of behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of the forthcoming All Things Will Unwind. 

You can preorder a CD or LP by clicking here, or from iTunes right here.

NEW COVERS EP FROM ROBERTS & LORD

September 23rd, 2011 , by

Michael Jackson. The Beatles. Prince. D’Angelo. Marvin Gaye. According to pop legend, these people have never all met in the same place at the same time. Not unlike Rafter Roberts and Simon Lord, known collectively as Roberts & Lord, who have also never met in person.

But today they all come together in Roberts & Lord’s new EP, COVERS. Having released Eponymous just a couple weeks ago here on Asthmatic Kitty Records, Roberts & Lord went right back into their virtual studio. Separated by ocean and spanning continents but brought together by the technology of the internet and compelled by the irresistible power of pop, Roberts & Lord recorded this follow-up EP, a love letter to the muses for Eponymous.

Drenched in the lo-fi proto-production aural genius of Rafter Roberts and folded with the slick self-harmonies of Simon Lord, MJ, Lennon-McCartney, Prince, and D’Angelo find a home, finally, together at last. Artist Josh Hassin provides the striking cover art.

The EP is free to download and free to stream, but it’s hold on your soul could cost everything. Download and listen here or below.  

LISTEN, WATCH MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND?S BE BRAVE

September 20th, 2011 , by

 We have the great pleasure of releasing All Things Will Unwind, the third album from My Brightest Diamond, on October 18th (October 10th in the EU). Though you can now preorder the album on iTunes or here, it’s a ways off though, so MBD was kind of enough to send up this docu-video of “Be Brave.”

Directed by longtime MBD collaborator Murat Eyuboglu, the video captures the studio recording of the song with a bit of performance from frontwoman Shara Worden and dancer Jessica Dessner. Emilliner created the hats, Lake Simons made the mask, and Noelle Marinelli did makeup. Our own DM Stith provides background vocals to the song and appears in the video. Read more info about the song here.

You can watch the video above, or you can buy the new single of the song right here on iTunes for $1.99. There’s a Prefuse 73 remix for free as well, just below.

My Brightest Diamond, “Be Brave (Prefuse 73 Remix)” by My Brightest Diamond

HALF-HANDED CLOUD RELEASE DOVE EP ON BURNT VINYL

September 16th, 2011 , by

 Record label Burnt Toast Vinyl has just released DOVE, a brand new EP from Half-handed Cloud. John Ringhofer of HHC has been working on the EP for several years now, and it’s as much a story as it is a record. He recorded the demos for DOVE in early 2008 and then played six  of the songs during a live vinyl pressing with the Henningham Family Press in London (see video above). In between recording for Stowaways, John finally finished the record  in the church where he used to live.

Songs are on one side of the limited edition EP, and op-art is etched on the other side. You can buy it from Burnt Toast Vinyl here, and we are carrying the commemorative poster of the event right here on AK.