I HEART LUNG ON ECSTATIC JAZZ DUOS SERIES
July 1st, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
In the realm of avant-jazz/free noise there are the amateurs, and the professionals. The musicians whose innovative and instinctive music delivers you to new dimensions of thought that would be impossible to reach otherwise. I Heart Lung is being recognized for having such super powers by being included on the Ecstatic Jazz Duos series.
Six of the most original avant-jazz/free noise duos will be on three LP splits to be released throughout the year. I Heart Lung will be included on the second release along side DWMTG. Other artists include Talibam!, the Wasteland Jazz Unit, Valerio Cosi & Ezno Frachini, and Jeramiah Cymerman & Matthew Welch. Only 100 enthusiasts will be able to subscribe.
The first LP will be available in July/August, and you can pre-order it here!
GONE GREEN
June 30th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
It’s not easy being green. But we of Asthmatic Kitty are pleased to announce that our website is officially 110% green! Our website will no longer leave a carbon-foot printed trail behind you. Our webhost, ServInt, has calculated the carbon emissions from the web server usage and invested in reforestation projects as an offset.
We’ve always been proud to have ServInt as our webhost. Their curstomer service is top-notch, and they generously provided sponsored bandwidth during the Great Sufjan Song Xmas Xchange.
For more details, you can read about it here.
NEW ALBUM FROM DIAMOND UP FOR FREE STREAM
June 27th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Last week, My Brightest Diamond let loose their new album, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth. It seems that many of you like it. Others though, have not yet heard it. We feel that everyone should have a chance to listen to this carefully crafted piece of music.
That’s why we’re going to stream it, for a limited time, right here this little piece of cyberspace we call home. Summer rains predicted this weekend? Sunny picnic? Either way, perfect. Load up the old laptop, fire up the stream, close your eyes, and please enjoy.
This stream will only be up a limited time, and there are some window sills and picnic areas that don’t yet have de-wired Internet, so you can order the CD here for $10 (+S&H). Click here to listen to the album.
CASTANETS EMERGE FROM MOTEL WITH NEW ALBUM
June 26th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Several months ago, Ray Raposa exiled himself to a Nevada desert motel room for three weeks. Equipped with the barest of recording equipment, the frontman for Castanets proceeded to put to tape what would become City of Refuge, the band’s newest full length release.
Despite slight additions by a few friends of Castanets after the motel hole-up, the result is a sparse, isolated piece of music, one that evokes the landscape where Raposa recorded the album.
We will be proudly releasing City of Refuge on October 7, 2008. Click here to see the album’s info page.
ROBOT AND ITS CREATOR WIN CRYPTACIZE CONTEST
June 24th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
We have held contests before, but humans have always won. With our latest contest, in which Cryptacize offered up one of the songs from Dig That Treasure karaoke, it seems that a robot has finally proven worthy of an Asthmatic Kitty contest.
For the contest, Cryptacize released "Cosmic Sing-a-long" in karaoke form (you see the video here, or download the mp3 here). Entries came in from far and wide, but we had to choose someone. But it’s easy to see why Trusty Nick – aka Nick Yulman – and his trusty Robot won. Click more to view the fabulous robo-aoke video, or you can also click here to go to YouTube, or here to visit Nick’s website.
While we send Trusty Nick his prize ($150, CD, and LP!), Cryptacize will wrap up a US tour and then prep for a UK tour by eating lots of curry. On Wednesday night they’re playing in LA at The Echo with Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond and Palms. You can view other tour dates here.
"Cosmic Sing-a-long," Robo-aoked by Nick Yulman
CASTANETS SESSION UP WITH DAYTROTTER
June 23rd, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Illustration by Johnnie Cluney
We could go on and on (and on) about how terrific Daytrotter is, but we’ll just say that they’ve worked their writing and illustrative magic on Castanets once again. This time, they reached into their hat and wrangled out a couple of tunes from a still unannounced Castanets album due in October, as well as a Tom Petty cover track. Capturing the essence of Castanets is a rare skill. Not to be missed; read and listen here.
THE BENTS ROUGH IT
June 23rd, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Our good friends, Zack Bent, his wife Gala and their two children, will be taking part in an installation at the Crawl Space Gallery in Seattle. You know their work already as the artists who wowed us with their stellar DVD menus and packaging for the Encyclopedia Asthmatica.
Their show is called, “Home on the Range” and asks questions about roughing it, wilderness, pioneering, and family in the most confined of circumstances. For four days Zack tirelessly constructed a starting point from which his wife and children joined him in "confinement" at the Crawl Space grounds. Together, they created an exhibition from scratch.
Click here for the gallery’s website for more information and visiting hours.
HHC AND LONDON PRINTMAKING EVENT
June 20th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
What happens when one progressively old-fashioned Asthmatic Kitty artist collaborates with a husband and wife independent book press? One very impressive performance! We are pleased to announce that on Thursday, June 26 our own Half-handed Cloud and London’s Henningham Family Press is transforming the Foundry basement into a spinning 12-foot vinyl record which will be used to perform never before seen or heard art! This is an event that will bring live performances and formats to a whole new level.
Half-handed Cloud (John Ringhofer) has always been a fan of releasing his songs in less-used (some might say more ‘antiquated’) formats. His releases in vinyl and cassingles have one over our hearts, and ears. It follows that with the screen-printing and book-binding talents of David and Ping* Henningham a collaborative event that brings together the pressing of a vinyl record with the pressing of a book would take place.
This FREE event will take place at the Foundry (86th Great Eastern St.) in London on June 26th at 7:30 pm.
SHAPES AND SIZES BACK ON TOUR
June 18th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Some albums are just so great they deserve more than one tour. We think so. Shapes and Sizes think so. You should think so too. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that the band will take Split Lips, Winning Hips, a Shiner back on the road for one last run before the they lock themselves up to write another album. So prepare yourself to become reacquainted with Calia’s stunning vibrato, Rory and Nathan’s fleeting and intense work on guitar and bass, and John’s ever-so-solid drumming. They will hypnotize you! They will mesmerize you! You will do cartwheels in the street in celebration!
They’re kicking it off tonight in Brooklyn! Check out our tour page to see when they will be gracing a town near you, here.
MBD PARTIES LIKE THEY HAVE A NEW ALBUM, BECAUSE THEY DO
June 16th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Tomorrow on Tuesday June 17th, My Brightest Diamond will be releasing A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, their second full length album. If you’ve ever been to one of MBD’s parties, you know that they take it very seriously. Agenda includes marimba, horns, toys, party hats, and strings.
Sxip Shirey, composer/sound designer/performer/story-teller/curator, will open. The enchanting puppetry of Lake Simons follows, who may or may not have convinced a magical elephant puppet to perform. My Brightest Diamond will close the evening, no doubt playing through the reportorie of tracks from the new album, along with a few surprises.
The doors of the Blender Theater at Gramercy in Manhattan open at 7pm. Admission is $18, and you can pick up tickets early right here. There are some of us at AK that are not in NYC, and we are sad. If you are within travelable distance to the Blender Theater, go as proxy. It will be unforgettable, we promise.
As far as the album is concerned, ordering is still in technically "pre" at least until 11:59pm tonight. That means if you preorder the album, you receive a free, downloadable digital EP. After 11:59pm tonight, you will not have a chance to get the EP. So get it while the getting is good. Preorder here ($11 for CD, $12 for LP, plus S&H).