CHRIS SCHLARB SCORES IPAD STORYAPP STRANGE RAIN
June 13th, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Chris Schlarb's music has appeared in video games before, but today marks the first time his work appears in handheld form. In a collaboration with game designer Erik Loyer, Schlarb composed an interactive soundtrack for the iPad/iPhone storyapp Strange Rain. The app itself is beautiful and thought-provoking, and Schlarb's music, as always, provides a spacious aural framework for narrative.
You can buy the app (procure an iOS device first!) for $1.99 here. Read an interview with Erik Loyer and Chris Schlarb here.
In other Schlarb news, he'll be performing Psychic Temple with a 10-person ensemble and keynote-ing New Media Art and Sound Festival in Austin, Texas June 17th-19th. If you're not around then, hear him and his crew again on July 7th at the Long Beach Museum of Art.
MAKE FILM SCREENING, PARTY AT AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM
June 12th, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Next Tuesday we release MAKE, a spectacular and thought-provoking film that journeys into the lives of four American self-taught artists. If you are in NYC on Friday though, you can see the film early at one of four screenings at the American Folk Art Museum, located at 45 W. 53rd Street.
Filmmakers Scott Ogdon and Malcolm Hearn will be on hand for questions and conversation, and Brooklyn-based Takka Takka will play the release party, which starts at 5:30.
Screenings are at 1pm, 3pm, 4:30pm, and 5:45pm. RSVP is requested and can be done by emailing [email protected]. Click here for more info about MAKE and its trailer, and here for a spiffy flyer.
REGRESA IS A LOVE STORY [VIDEO]
June 7th, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
WAX POETICS
June 6th, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
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Wax Poetics listens, records, and interviews Helado Negro.
Helado Negro will be touring Florida for a bit next week, and then will be off to Ecuador for the Muvica Festival. Details here.
OBRA UNO AS SEEN BY THE GALA BENT
May 28th, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
"Obra Uno," from Canta Lechuza by Helado Negro, as perceived by the ever perceptive Seattle artist Gala Bent.
DAVID MOOSE ADAMSON/JOOKABOX = DMA
May 26th, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
You have heard Jookabox, yes? Then you've heard David "Moose" Adamson, the brains behind Jookabox, which met an ill-timed fate in a dark alley and is no more.
Adamson survived none the worse for wear and has tightened things up a little with his new project, DMA. David "Moose" Adamson; no more, no less.
You can find DMA's music on Joyful Noise Recordings (as much a sister label to AK as one can be these days). DMA will be releasing three (3!) albums over the next couple months, in a very limited, very cassette kind of way. Info and sound samples are here.
2º DIA VIDEO
May 26th, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Beautiful and spacious, "2º Dia" is directed by Santa Maria and we've been watching it over and over again. Alternate ASCII version, courtesy of ASCIIMO, here.
WEAR THE OWL
May 24th, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Since we released Canta Lechuza from Helado Negro last week, we've received questions from all over the world inquiring about the owl on the artwork. The owl. Elementary school teacher Clarisa Uton from Idaho wrote in, "Dear AK, Canta Lechuza is a lovely album, but why is Roberto [of Helado Negro] taking a bath with the owl? Is that what the kids are doing these days?" And Paul Frank, a tea-shop proprietor asked, "I'm curious about the owl. How could I not be? Clearly, it represents something important. A totem perhaps? But what does it mean? My wife thinks it's meaningless, but I feel it has some importance. Please settle this debate between my life partner and me."
We're afraid, Clarisa and Paul and world, that we cannot answer those questions or settle any debates. To do so would mean delving deep into the layered mind of Roberto Carlos Lange (aka Helado Negro), a feat we dare not attempt for fear of never returning.
But what we can do is offer an opportunity to wear the owl. Longtime Roberto collaborator David Ellis has designed a gorgeous and minimalistic take on The Owl, which you can see in greater detail here. It's $14. It may not offer answers, but it will offer style and slight protection from the elements. These days, that's all one can expect from a t-shirt.
That is, unless you buy the shirt and the MP3 version of the album for $19. The t-shirt will arrive via mail, the MP3 via your email within 30 minutes of purchase. Both will enlighten, but we make no guarantees. Click here to give it a shot.
FOL CHEN: DAVID BOWIE, SUFJAN. OTHER NAMES TOO. GOBSMACKED.
May 23rd, 2011 , by Asthmatic Kitty
So, Fol Chen. Desert dwellers. Underculture purveyors. Marketers of glitz and glam. Let's talk.
You know David Bowie right? Fol Chen remixed his lovely 1975 "Golden Years," the leading track to his supposedly cocaine-fueled (and non-supposedly brilliant) Station to Station. And Fol Chen does it some serious justice, for KCRW's DJ Eric J. Lawrence's remix-travaganza celebrating the re-master of the album. Hear it (and other great takes on the song) here. This remix is so captivating, British music Simon Reynolds said it "gobsmacked" him. Sorry about that Simon.
You may also have heard of Sufjan Stevens. Yes, Fol Chen covered him too, pulling from the pop-rich lyrically-morose "I Walked." Leading vocals on the cut is Simone White, and when Fol Chen+Simone White/Sufjan Stevens, you get a ballad hit optimus-transformed pop hit. We dare you to listen and forget about it. We triple-dare. Try, on Pitchfork, here.
Finally, Fol Chen wrapped up a score on a new documentary from filmmaker Lauren Greenfield, entitled Beauty CULTure. It just premiered, and will be up at the Annenberg Space for Photography for a few months. Similarly, Greenfield's "Fashion Show" mixes filmed footage with still photography of runway shows, all set to Fol Chen's "The Longer You Wait." Watch it here.
Did we say Fol Chen has been in the desert? Strange things happen there.