SHANNON STEPHENS REISSUE OUT NOW, NEW VIDEO

July 20th, 2010 , by

Lots of great albums are out here at AK today and one of them is Shannon Stephens' tenth anniversary re-press of her self-titled debut from 2000. Featuring the ten original songs and two previously unreleased bonus tracks, her debut is something we'd be just as likely to release brand new in 2010 as in 2000. You can buy the CD for $10 + S&H by clicking here.

We are also lucky enough to have a gorgeous new video from a track off of her second album, The Breadwinner, directed by Glen Hwang and viewable above or here.

AK SPONSORS INDY INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST

July 15th, 2010 , by

The Indianapolis International Film Festival (IIFF) starts today in Indianapolis. The film fest will span 10 days and feature more than 100 indie films from around the world. Films shown at previous iterations of the IIFF have gone on to receive Oscar nods and statues. This year looks no different. There's the Kickstarted and beautifully shot Laporte, Indiana, the meta-indie film Jeffie Was Here, and the French-made NY love story a NY thing.

We decided to sponsor World's Largest, which screens on Thursday July 22 at 7pm. The film, directed by Amy Elliott and Lizzy Donius, documents 58 large objects across the United States ranging from the World's Largest Killer Bee to the World's Largest Lava Lamp, and the towns and people that brought the large things there. We'll be at the screening armed with free AK CDs.

The full schedule of films and details like locations and times is here. See you there!

ROBERTO LANGE MAKES TRASH (SCULPTURE)

July 13th, 2010 , by

Our own Roberto C. Lange (aka Helado Negro, aka Epstein) collaborated with installation artist David Ellis to create this sculpture.

TODAY: VOTE FOR FOL CHEN, FRIDAY: LISTEN TO THEM

July 8th, 2010 , by

Now: BBC 6 (still alive!) has posted Fol Chen's "In Ruins" as one of three tracks that could make it into its daily programme. All it takes is a little democracy. If you like "In Ruins"(video here) please vote for it here.

Friday: Fol Chen will play live on KEXP, one of the best radio stations in the world (alongside BBC 6 of course!) at 12pm Seattle time. You can listen here.

Weekend: they're in Seattle on Friday, Portland on Saturday, and Vancouver on Sunday. The LA Times reviewed their Tuesday show here and said lots of nice things about it, including that "the band's three-part harmonies were both exacting and giddy." Details on the tour are here.

FOL CHEN RELEASES NEW ALBUM, TOURS W. COAST, PARTIES

July 7th, 2010 , by

Part II: The New December, the second album from Fol Chen, is out right now. East Bay Express wrote that the band has "fashioned a clever, ambitious album with a wee touch of majesty." NPR's All Music Considered featured them today in their summer music preview here.
 
You can of course buy the album now, in CD form for $10 by clicking here, and in vinyl format for $15 here. But should there be any reluctance in you purchase, there are also myriad ways to experience Fol Chen. One is by watching Fol Chen's most recent music video viewable here, filmed among volcanic ash and directed by Chris Wilcha.
 
And if you live on the left or right coast, you can see them play. They'll be in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver. They will then head out to the east coast in early August. Details for those dates are here. Fol Chen is an elusive beast, so we recommend catching them while you can.

TRUMANS WATER RESURFACES STATESIDE [FREE MP3]

July 1st, 2010 , by

I refuse to be humble or subtle on the matter. Trumans Water is one of the greatest band you have never heard, and if you have heard you don’t need to be reminded. But here is a reminder anyways; they are alive and well and still damaging rock at every corner. They haven’t released an album since 2003, but on August 24th Asthmatic Kitty has the wonderful honor to release their newest, O Zeta Zunis. You can read about the band here and the OZZ here. Stay tuned.

"5-7-10 Split" O Zeta Zunis (Download)

RAFTER CAREER ON MOUNTAINTOP, AS IN HE IS PLAYING ON ONE

June 29th, 2010 , by

 
Of course we have all seen the music videos wherein the band is helicoptered in and plays on top of a mountain. Lovely, all of them, but just an illusion, yes? Bands don't actually play on mountaintops.
 
Or do they? An elite few actually do – an elite few that will soon include our very own Rafter, for Peppermill Fest 2010, held August 13-15th!  In prep for the mountaintop fest, Vancouver's Peppermill Records are scouting Shangri-La Basin in the majestic Rocky Mountains. Although they've confirmed Rafter, the lineup is still in the works so keep checking here for details. Tickets are $200 (this is a good deal!) and includes all kinds of great stuff like food and drink and music, so you should buy tickets from here soon – Rafter promises a "1 of a kind set;" listening to Rafter on a mountaintop should not be missed.

IN RUINS, VISUALIZED BY CHRIS WILCHA

June 21st, 2010 , by

Fol Chen sent director Chris Wilcha (This American Life Showtime series / The Target Shoots First) to Iceland to film amidst the volcanic dust from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull for their new music video, "In Ruins."

Two Icelandic youth wander through an apocalyptic wasteland wearing masks just to breathe and see amidst the dust.

NEW ALBUM FROM HALF-HANDED CLOUD

June 18th, 2010 , by

Those who've been with us since the beginning remember that Half-handed Cloud's debut was reissued by AK in 2001. This was our second release as a record label, preceded only by an album by the label's co-founder. Since then, Half-handed Cloud has released three more full-lengths, plus an EP/singles collection.

Today we are so proud to announce the fifth album, entitled As Stowaways in Cabinets of Surf, We Live-out in Our Members a Kind of Rebirth (or Stowaways for short).

Recorded on half-inch reel-to-reel in the sanctuary and custodial quarters of a church in Berkeley, frontman John Ringhofer recorded most of the parts himself, joined occasionally by friends. Daniel Smith (Danielson) mixed the record at his studio in Clarksboro, New Jersey. 

Stowaways' tunes splash about in cavernous spaces opened up by irregularly measured rhythms and pocket-orchestra arrangements integrated with creaky pianos, sound-loops, a tugboat of a church organ, guitars, and billowing banjos. In other words, they are real gems.

Stowaways will be out September 28th, 2010 in CD, vinyl, and MP3. More details here.

"Armstrong's Line" (Download)

AK ARTISTS TO HELP OPEN INDIANAPOLIS ART PARK

June 12th, 2010 , by

If you wander around the White River in Indianapolis long enough, you'll eventually stumble across something new and phenomenal: the 100 Acres, part art-park, part nature reserve, part lake. When it opens this month as a section of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), the 100 Acres will be one of the largest art-parks in the country. The IMA is inaugurating the park with eight site-specific installations including a vector-based basketball court, a submerging/reemerging park bench, gigantic human bones, a floating livable island pod, and Eden II, a modern apocalyptic ark.

Several AK artists will have the honor of aurally christening the park on Saturday June 19th. These include Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond), Liz Janes, and Roberto Carlos Lange (of Helado Negro and Epstein). They'll perform alongside Dayna Kurtz, DJ Kyle Long, Arrington de Dionyso, Jordan Munson, and The Outside Orchestra.

At a VIP event that Saturday, Liz, Shara, and Dayna will debut a new musical piece written specifically for the 100 Acres. Following that, they will all perform from 7-9:30pm at the opening party. Tickets $80 for general public and $50 for IMA members; you can purchase either here.

The grand public opening for 100 Acres, which is 100% free, is the day after. It will have throat signing, park tours, drumming, team-building exercises and DJing by Kyle Long and Epstein. Details on that event are here.

More info on this amazing space is here. Map of 100 Acres is here.

 

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