STRAIGHT FROM THE LIBRARY TO YOU: OUR FIRST DVD

February 5th, 2008 , by

We are proud to present our first visual compilation: Encyclopedia Asthmatica Volume 1, a collection of distinctively Asthmatic Kitty visuals; the odd, the sublime, and the delectable. Gala and Zack Bent, have meticulously designed the box art and transferred their imaginative perceptions of our roster into the DVD’s stop-animation menus, all set to characteristic music arrangements by jingle-virtuoso Rafter.

Everyone’s here somewhere among these 30-some videos, from the playful choreography of the Think Dance Collective frolicking in shoes made of bread to the music of Half-handed Cloud, to the lovely abstraction of Sufjan Stevens’ music by video artist Deborah Johnson; from the haunting and raw post-apocalypse video fuzz of live Castanets, to the crisp color footage of My Brightest Diamond at Northsix, there are visual pieces that hopscotch the chasm between the professionalism of a music-visual DVD to the rabid eccentricity of a five-copy, underground video-zine. Our patent homemade aesthetic is here too, with Bunky’s bizarre yet appropriate space alien video, and a selection from Liz Janes that employs found footage. The Shapes and Sizes videos turn the incidental and accidental into a hidden design, while a video from the Curtains subverts the banality of surveillance video by rendering it magical.

Click on more to see a trailer for the DVD.

We are releasing Encyclopedia Asthmatica on March 4, but you can preorder it for a limited and slightly discounted price of $12.50 (+S&H) at Secretly Canadian Distribution’s website here.


 
Track List
BUNKY
           Hippopotamus (Live, SXSW 2005)
           Baba
           Space Alien
CASTANETS
           A Song is not the Song of the World
           Smallest Bones
           Good Friend, Yr Hunger (Live, SXSW 2007)
HALF-HANDED CLOUD
           You Wouldn’t Embarass Me Would You?
           Tongues Possess the Earth Instead
           Think/Dance Collective performance
LIZ JANES
           Jesus is a Dying Bed Maker
           All the Pretty Horses
MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND
           Freak Out!
           Live @ Northsix
           Dragonfly
           Gone Away
           Magic Rabbit
RAFTER
           Adventurers
           ZZZPenchant
           Gentlemen
           Hope
           Monsters
           Encouragement
SHAPES AND SIZES
           Teller/Seller
           Jinker/That Fat Hand
           Can’t Stop that (Sinking) Feeling
SUFJAN STEVENS
           Jacksonville (Live, Calvin College 2007)
           Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake
           The Undivided Self (for Eppie & Popo)
           The Vivian Girls…
           Put the Lights on the Tree
THE CURTAINS
           Go Lucky
           Spinning Top

CASTANETS IN SECRET (STEREO)

January 29th, 2008 , by

Somewhere out there in an undisclosed location is a tiny studio that captures and collects exclusive music from touring musicians. It’s a secret, but luckily for us this "secret stereo" also has a not-so-secretive website.

They’ve managed to snag three special tracks from Castanets, and boy are they gems: The Castanets manage to somehow make Waylon Jennings’ "Mental Revenge" even darker, (see a YouTube video of the original here), a track from a future Castanets release makes an appearance, and they play through In the Vines‘ "Sway" with uncalculated self-deconstruction.

One of Secret Stereo’s writers, Dylan Metrano, also wrangled an interview from Castanets members Ray Raposa and Jesse Ainslie. Raposa talks about not going back and playing to aging Goths. Jesse takes the high road with a discourse on sonic communication. It’s a good read.

You can access the mp3s and the interview on The Secret Studio here. Castanets are playing in San Diego on Wednesday (30th), Long Beach on Thursday, and Friday in LA. See here for specifics.

RAFTER OUT

January 23rd, 2008 , by

This is it. Sex Death Cassette is flying hot out of the Rafter oven, and landing toasty and delicious on the shelves of your local independent record store and our own online store. Rafter has certainly proliferated his share of music lately, not the least of which includes two albums (10 Songs and Music for Total Chickens), a Song a Week for the last 16 weeks (click here to listen), and more recently, a deliciously talkboxed tune for Pepper Mill Records (here for page, here for MP3).

But here’s the weird thing: this sheer volume has just made Rafter sound better and better, and Sex Death Cassette is the culmination. Paper Thin Walls is hosting a full, free stream of the album alongside Rafter’s commentary if you’d like to hear it for yourself. Click here, and be sure to comment! You can buy it from us for $10 (+S&H) by clicking here.

PROMISE OF SPRING INSPIRES CRYPTACIZE TO TOUR

January 23rd, 2008 , by

Photo by ajmiller82

Yes, it is cold. This is the worst part of winter, what with the holidays done and gone and the sun all but hidden by the clouds.

Yet, the fair Cryptacize is never one to sit in and mope. Instead, they are looking to the sunny future, when green abounds, baby rabbits start nibbling on that same green, and flowers begin to push their way through the dirt. It is then when Cryptacize, too, will emerge from their snowy hibernation and tour the United States wide. By then, their mysterious and mystical Dig That Treasure will have found its way into the hands of the general and not-so-general public. How coincidental!

And who better to tour with than Anticon Record’s pitter-pattering why? who, coincidentally (!), also have an album due soon! Along the tour, expect visits from Son Lux, Brother Danielson, and Doofgoblin. For a sample of Cryptacize’s future tourmates, why?, click here to download why?’s cover of The Cure’s "Close to Me."

For details of the tour, click here.

Until you catch them live, you can catch them YouTubed, with their first official video: "Cosmic Singalong." Click on more to view!

MEDICAL MISSION FUNDRAISER IN BROOKLYN

January 22nd, 2008 , by

Illustration by Tom Eaton

You might remember Welcome Wagon, a band that has appeared on both of our label compilations, To Spirit Back the Mews and Mews Too. They are, of course, still around! And you can hear them too, if you’re in the New York area, on Friday January 25th.

They’ll be playing a benefit show at Perch Bar & Cafe to assist a community based HIV/AIDS medical missions project in Addis, Ethiopia. Also playing are Ryan & Megan Simms, Theo Prince, and Andrew Rose Gregory.

We hope you’ll be there, but if you can’t make it, you can donate to the project via Park Slope Church here.

"The Line," Andrew Gregory (MP3)

  "Sold! To The Nice Rich Man!" Welcome Wagon (Download)

HUNTING FOR UNUSUAL ANIMALS

January 16th, 2008 , by

Though part of a record label, the Unusual Animals here at Asthmatic Kitty have always leaned heavily on the sense of sight. That is now more true than ever, as we begin a very special hunt. We are partnering with the 930 Art Center in Louisville, Kentucky to craft a gallery exhibition as a visual compendium to a party/showcase of Louisville musical talent.  The Unusual Animals Louisville party and gallery opening will take place on April 5th, with the gallery show running until May 27th.

We are asking for submissions to an exhibit appropriately titled Unusual Animals. Favored pieces of work will depict unusual animals from nature, or the imagination of the artist. Two hundred dollars will go to best in show, as well as a $100 second place award. The deadline for submissions is March 15, so you have some time – but don’t take too long. We are anxious to see what the kinds of creatures inhabit the recesses of your imaginations and backyards. Click here to see more details.

SHARA WORDEN PLAYS THE BUNNY

January 12th, 2008 , by

Tom Eaton, animator of Sufjan Stevens’ "Put the Lights on the Tree" video," has released a new short entitled "Don’t Smash"! And what’s more, our very own Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond plays the bunny (she has a special place in her heart for the furry creatures). Click more for the YouTube video.

CHRIS SCHLARB ROUND-UP

January 7th, 2008 , by

It was a month ago that we proudly released Chris Schlarb’s Twilight & Ghost Stories. It’s already turned up on a few Top 10 of 2007 lists, so Chris could have very well walked away from the table. But instead he’s been just as busy. Some of this busy-ness involves interviewing his Twilight collaborators. Expect […]

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PUT THE LIGHTS IN KAOHSIUNG TAIWAIN

December 24th, 2007 , by

The hard working souls at Stereogum managed to wrangle the following little video gem from the depths of YouTube. If you don’t smile by the time one of the students pretends to bite into a candy cane, please say hello for us to the three apparitions of various timeframes that you’ll be seeing tonight.

Thanks to the Grade Four students who worked so hard at this wonderful video!

Oh yes, and Merry Christmas from Asthmatic Kitty!

INTRODUCING THE WINNER OF THE GREAT SUFJAN SONG XMAS XCHANGE!

December 20th, 2007 , by

A message From Sufjan Stevens, followed by the winning entry and by a message from the AK Elves:"Having received over 600 Christmas song entries, it became a daunting task to pick just one. I fell in love with them all. Even the songs with expletives, the songs with Christmas clichés, the many songs about ex-girlfriends, […]

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