SUFJAN TO CURATE MUSIC FOR BAM TAKEOVER
September 8th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
No word on a dunk tank or jumping castle, but the Brooklyn Academy of Music sure knows how to throw a party. And they have asked Sufjan Stevens to curate the music component for an evening that will also include DJs, video art, and horseplay. The event, entitled TAKEOVER, takes place Saturday September 27th, 2008 […]
Read the Rest...A GOOD DAY FOR A GRAMPALL TOUR
September 6th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Tonight, Grampall Jookabox begins his first tour since joining us here at Asthmatic Kitty. Appropriately, he heaves off his hometown, the corn-laden, landlocked docks of Indianapolis, at Spin Nightclub alongside Mudkids and Twilight Sentinels.
If you can’t make it to Indianapolis tonight (a shame since it’s the most interstate-connected city in the U.S. save L.A.!), you can listen to and download Rill Bruh, a free EP we released in conjunction with Joyful Noise Recordings, in a variety of locations (here, Last.FM, Virb, or Jamendo).
SUFJAN AWARDED THE BRENDAN GILL PRIZE
September 5th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Sufjan is receiving The Brendan Gill Prize issued by the Municipal Arts Society for “The BQE”, which premiered at BAM last November.
The prize was created by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1986 and is awarded annually. Ms. Kennedy Onassis said of the prize, it will acknowledge a “creator of a building, book, essay, poem, lyric, song, composition, play, painting, sculpture, choreography, landscape or any work of art which best captures the energy, vigor, and verve of our incomparable city.”
Past winners include Christo and Jeanne Claude for The Gates, Ang Lee for the Wedding Banquet, Joseph Mitchell for Up in the Old Hotel, architect Yoshio Taniguchi for the new Museum of Modern Art and many more. Sufjan is the first musician to receive the prize.
Congratulations Sufjan!
CRYPTACIZE TOURS WITH THE TRYING HARTZ OF DANIELSON
September 3rd, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Danielson is part of our family. That’s why we celebrate with them in their release of Trying Hartz, a retrospective collection of not-so-distant classics, live numbers, and oddities. When Danielson invited Cryptacize to join them on tour in support of this 2-disc set, our hearty trio of course said yes. Cryptacize will join Danielson for an extensive US tour starting on Halloween, at the Knitting Factory in NYC, and looping out to California and back. Rumor has it that certain Cryptacize members will also be assuming supporting roles as musical family members of Danielson. Be sure to check out the tour dates section here.
ASTHMATIC KITTY ARTISTS APPEAR ON SACRED HARP COMPILATION
September 3rd, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Friends of the label Erica and Matt Hinton have produced a documentary about the tradition and history of Sacred Harp singing. Pitchfork.tv is currently screening the film, Awake My Soul, as part of their One Week Only series. Along with the film, the Hintons are releasing a two disc compilation. Recorded in Atlanta, the first disc includes live recordings sung by traditional Sacred Harp singers, while the second disc features 19 never-before-heard popular adaptations of Sacred Harp music. Participants include John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Elvis Perkins, Doc Watson, Danielson, and two of our own artists, DM Stith and Liz Janes. Visit the MySpace page to preview a few of the songs. Awake My Soul will be out in stores October 14th. Click more to see the complete track listing of cover versions.
1 "Blooming Youth" – Rayna Gellert (Uncle Earl) & John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)
2 "Weeping Pilgrim" – Elvis Perkins in Dearland
3 "David’s Lamentation" – The Good Players
4 "Africa" – The Innocence Mission
5 "The Christian’s Hope" – Jim Lauderdale with Jeni & Billy
6 "Help Me To Sing" – Mac Powell (Third Day)
7 "Columbus" – John Wesley Harding
8 "The Traveler" – Cordelia’s Dad
9 "Abbeville" – Liz Janes
10 "China" – All Things Bright & Beautiful
11 "Essay" – Tenement Halls
12 "Windham" – Richard Buckner
13 "Sermon on the Mount" – Danielson
14 "And Am I Born to Die?" – Doc Watson & Gaither Carlton
15 "Kedron" – Sam Amidon
16 "Consecration" – Woven Hand
17 "The Grieved Soul" – Rick Moody and Nina Katchadourian
18 "Vernon / Wrestling Jacob" – Tim Eriksen (Cold Mountain Soundtrack)
19 "Christian’s Farewell" – DM Stith
20 "Bound For Canaan" – Murry Hammond (Old 97’s)
RAFTER VIDEO CONTEST VOLUME 2
August 28th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Photo by Lizeth Santos Rafter’s new EP, which is sweaty, magical, and ergo very appropriately titled Sweaty Magic, is available for order right now. It’s the perfect booty-shaking disc for college students returning to dorm halls, or 75 year old veteran dancers wanting to shake up the weekly shuffleboard-a-thon. You can read more about it […]
Read the Rest...CRYPTACIZE EXPLORES FLATLAND
August 28th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
The reliably and refreshingly content-heavy music website Daytrotter has posted a revealing look into Cryptacize’s reading habits. In the latest of Daytrotter’s Bookery series, Chris Cohen of Cryptacize reads through the foreward to Edwin Abbott’s 1884 Flatland, replete with Cohen-esque commentary. Listen here (and you can check My Brightest Diamond’s addition to Daytrotter’s ever-expanding Bookery library here).
I HEART LUNG COUGHS UP FREE ALBUM
August 27th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
We’ve given away a few digital albums before, namely Works in Progress and Music for Videogames. But this week we are going free album crazy. A few days ago, we released Grampall Jookabox’s Rill Bruh EP (available on our own site here and through Virb.com here) and now we are giving you an eight song album of I Heart Lung remixes, which are available here. The remix album includes remixes by Greg Davis (Akron/Family), Jel, Omid, Strategy (Kranky label), and appearances by Awol One, Serengeti, Bizzart and other fine and talented hiphop MCs.
We are also taking preorders now for I Heart Lung’s phenomenal ambient jazz drone masterpiece, Interoceans which will ship on or around September 1. Want to see them live? You’re in luck if you’re in the Santa Fe area in September 19th and attending the High Mayhem Festival.
HEAR GRAMPALL JOOKABOX ON VIRB, OR IN REAL LIFE
August 20th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Grampall Jookabox recently joined us here at Asthmatic Kitty, and his second album, Ropechain, is due in early November.
But if you’re anxious to get a sampling of what we think is one of the most unique combinations of styles we’ve heard in a long time, you can check out a web-only, totally free EP exclusively at Virb.com. Rill Bruh is the halfway point between Jookabox’s debut album Scientific Cricket and Ropechain and is a nice, free way to check out some of the experiments in Rill Bruh that make Ropechain so distinct and progressive. Click here to listen and download for free.
If you like what you hear, you’ll want to catch his engaging act live as well. Grampall also embarks on tour next week with PWRFL Power starting in his hometown of Indianapolis, then circling around the Midwest and Northeast and back home again. Click here for details.
CRYPTACIZE DEFENDS STEELY DAN WITH INTERVIEW, 7 INCH
August 12th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Our Unusual Animals vinyl series of 7inch vinyls is now four deep. The latest installation, which came out a few weeks ago and sports a Jared Chapman drawn manatee on its cover, features our own Cryptacize on the A-side reframing a Steely Dan hit, sans super-studio million dollars. (Sometimes an autoharp is all you need.) And on the B-side of the record, Why? expertly manages to anthemize Bob Dylan’s "As I Went Out One Morning." Click here to read more about the 7inch, or here to buy it for $6.
Cryptacize recently sat down with HexEd Journal and found themselves defending Steely Dan, as much as anyone can: "The beauty of Steely Dan is that you can ‘get it’ or ‘not get it’ on so many different levels." Read the interview here.
PS. Cryptacize is playing in Atlanta, Athens (at Popfest), Nashville, and Charlotte over the next couple of weeks. Click here for details.