THE WELCOME WAGON RELEASES A RECORD, IN BROOKLYN

December 6th, 2008 , by

Photo by Denny Renshaw

The Welcome Wagon will release their first album ever next week, and we are the better record label for it. It’s been in our musical playback devices for some time now, and we’re very happy to finally let everyone else lend a listen.

You can buy the CD right now for $10 (+S&H) by clicking here.

Next week The Welcome Wagon will be playing with a well-stocked backup band at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Brooklyn (map here), at 8pm Tuesday December 9th. Fellow Brooklynites Andy Friedman & The Other Failures will open. Tickets are $10 at the door, or $8 if you bring along a canned good for the Southside Food Pantry.

So, here’s the truth: The Welcome Wagon does not tour much. Like most of us, their lives don’t necessarily lend themselves to a hectic tour schedule. When they schedule a show, it’s a rarity. All that to say: if you find yourself near St. Paul’s on Wednesday night, you owe it to yourself to go. It’ll be a treat.

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE RAFTER VIDEO CONTEST!

December 1st, 2008 , by


Back in August, we announced Volume 2 of the Rafter video contest, with promises of cash prizes to those who could create the best music videos to songs from Rafter’s new EP, Sweaty Magic . Employing a diverse range of judges, we have chosen winners. And if we could appear at their house with a supersize check, we would. Instead, we will just email them.

Those winners include Dax Norman, whose striking animation came in squarely at first place. You can watch his video just above the text or by clicking here. Second place goes to this very well-populated video by Ryan, although (it’s a shame we just see the audition and never see the actual video!). You can watch his video by clicking on more, or here. Finally, third place falls to mws888, whose wonderful stop-animation is both literal and mesmerizing. That video is here, or you can view it by clicking more.

And thanks so much to all the entrants! It was hard to pick the top three, and obvious that so much energy and creativity went into the videos! We’ll be posting runner-ups later this week. Until then, feel free to peruse all the entries right here.


second place by rynostevie


third place by mws888

DIAMOND TAINTS, RAFTER LEAVES; BOTH GUILTY

November 25th, 2008 , by

NYC-based label Engine Room Recordings has just released their second volume modern indie covers of pop favorites, Guilt by Association, and guess who’s on this collection? Our very own My Brightest Diamond and Rafter. MBD covers Gloria Jones/Soft Cell’s "Tainted Love" while Rafter cowbells OMD’s "If You Leave."

The CD doesn’t come out until February, but you can buy the digital version for $9.99 from iTunes here or Amazon MP3 here. A preview is available for a limited time via Engine Room. You can listen to their wonderful web widget by clicking "more" below. Or, if you prefer, you can download My Brightest Diamond’s cover by visiting Pitchfork here.

FOL CHEN: PLASTIC, SNOWY

November 23rd, 2008 , by

We recently announced LA-based Fol Chen, who plan at some point in the near future to release an album. Until that album’s release, they remain ever busy in myriad ways. One such facet is the now-available Plastic Snow, a Christmas compilation organized by also LA-based music blog Confessions of a Would-Be Hipster. Fol Chen contributes the pragmatic "Winter, That’s All," while fifteen other artists fill out the digital album including Earlimart, Great Northern, and Carmen Rizzo.

It’s just $10. Thanks to the power of Internet, you get it right away and don’t even have to unwrap it. And the best part? One hundred percent of proceeds go to the The Midnight Mission, Los Angeles’ longest running homeless shelter. The album is a pure labor of love. Click here for more information and the link to purchase.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE POWER OF TOURING

November 22nd, 2008 , by


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The economy might be failing, but fret not: we have good music. This weekend our artists have sprawled through the continental United States, with specific instructions to play matchless gigs this evening to stave the bad and lift our Dow-weighted shoulders. Castanets will be in Chapel Hill at UNC with the comrades and far-from-home, Brooklyn-based Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. Cryptacize is in Athens, GA with Danielson of all folks!, playing at the illustrious 40 Watt Club (doors at 9pm, $10). Grampall Jookabox, donning the newly released Ropechain album, decided upon Madison, WI at Cafe Montmarte  for tonight, marking in at just $7 at 9:30pm. Finally, My Brightest Diamond is playing at the Cafe Du Nord in the Swedish American Hall in San Franciso with the enchanting Clare & The Reasons. Tickets are $16, and doors open at 6:30pm.

(For all the procrastintors in San Francisco, and we know there are many of you, Half-handed Cloud is making a surprise appearance at Hemlock Tavern this Wednesday.)

HABITAT DIGITIZED

November 18th, 2008 , by

Thanks to the efforts of Asthmatic Kitty Employees Sufjan Stevens, Lowell Brams, and Michael Kaufmann, we released Habitat a few weeks ago, exclusive to our own mail-order store. Taking years to compile, the two-CD set  benefits Habitat for Humanity and includes over 29 electronic experimental tracks that explore the notion of architectural space. Although the tracks are widespread in their sound and influence, you can hear a sample track from Actuel on XLR8R right here.

And for those who prefer digital to physical, you will be happy to know that our exclusive run on the set has ended. We now relinquish partial control of its distribution to iTunes, who is selling it digitally for $9.99. You can buy it here, or if you prefer shiny, real things, you can buy the CDs from us for $10 (+S&H) here. Again, proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity.

UNUSUAL ANIMALS EVENT IN TACOMA TONIGHT

November 15th, 2008 , by

If you’re reading this and you live in or near Tacoma, Washington, please consider seeing the Unusual Animals event this evening, hosted by The Helm. Art starts at 5pm, and the music at 6:30pm. Art includes dear friends of the label the Bents, and music headlines Grampall Jookabox.

Click more to see the wonderful poster for this Unusual Animals.

CRYPTACIZE DEEJAYS

November 13th, 2008 , by

Not only do they play music, utilize robotics, and read books, but Cryptacize also deejays! Friday, November 14th, at 3pm, Cryptacize will be guest dj-ing at San Francisco’s KUSF 90.3 FM. (Now, what they’ll play is anyone’s guess.)

You can listen to them on the FM dial if you’re in range, or you can utilize the amazing power of the Internet and listen to them without using a dial right here.

Oh wait…no radio? No Internet? See them in person, touring with Danielson, at one of the cities listed here.

RAFTER: SWEATS, TOURS, AND DEEJAYS

November 12th, 2008 , by

Rafter’s Sweaty Magic EP has been piquing a lot of ears lately (read about it here).

Now you can involve your visual sense as well. Rafter is embarking on something of a super-concentrated-ultimate-tour. He’ll be passing through Miami (*), Orlando, Tallahassee (*), Atlanta (*), Durham (*), Greensboro (*), and topping off in NYC. And if you can’t get enough Rafter with one performance, he’ll also be deejaying in cities (which we conveniently denoted above with a star). See exact venues here.

Don’t live in those cities? Win $1000 instead by submitting a video to our YouTube contest. Details here. Hurray! Time is running out!

FOL CHEN

November 11th, 2008 , by

Notice: Fol Chen has joined the Asthmatic Kitty roster. We are pleased. We will release the band’s debut album, Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made, on February 3rd, 2009. We predict that you will dance.

In the meantime, the band will be taking part in a takeover of LACMA (Los Angeles County Musueum of Art) on November 15th, by Machine Project. The takeover includes ten hours of performances, workshops, and events which experiment with LACMA’s collection and expansive grounds. For their part, Fol Chen created a sound piece inspired by a textile pattern by the early twentieth century Austrian design collective Wiener Werkstatte.  A limited run of 100 CDs containing the music will be for sale at the LACMA event, and each CD will include a watercolor replica of a selection of the original hand-blocked design.

Read the artist biography of Fol Chen here, their corresponding release page here, or view details about the takeover of LACMA here. Click more to see the fabric.

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