photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Kings Go Forth @ Mercury Lounge

"Dig Deeper is a monthly 60's Soul Party in Park Slope, Brooklyn at Southpaw. Hosted by Mr. Robinson and DJ Honky, generally on the fourth Saturday of the month, with the dancefloor primed with the finest funk and soul records anywhere in the world from their collections and a live performance each month at midnight from a legendary soul / funk artist that we particularly treasure. Past artists have included Don Gardner, Tami Lynn, Obie "Young" Jessie, Dean Parrish, Harvey Scales, Eula Cooper, the Mighty Hannibal, Garland Green, Delia "Dee Dee" Gartrell, Lee Fields, Renaldo Domino, Lenis Guess, Marva Whitney, the Green Berets, Darrow Fletcher, Billy Prince of the Precisions, and at the Brooklyn Soul Festival that we put on with Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Hermon Hitson, Roscoe Robinson, Barbara Lynn, Maxine Brown, and Otis Clay.

When Michael and I started Dig Deeper two years ago, it was with a goal of booking our soul heroes of the 1960s and 1970s, artists who haven't performed in town in 20-40 years - an endeavor we took on because nobody else was doing it. So why exactly are we breaking rank and bringing a contemporary band from Milwaukee to town for our April 24 show?

We've been friends with Andy Noble for a good while, a fellow soul and funk record obsessive whose knowledge about the genre would fill volumes. We remember when he mentioned that he was starting a soul group and were intrigued. Then we remember when he shared a recording of what would be the first Kings Go Forth single (released on 45rpm vinyl, naturally), and were blown away." [Dig Deeper]

You might have caught the band when they recently played DC (if not you can stream that whole show now), earlier today at their Vintage Vinyl in-store, or the other night at Mercury Lounge where they shared a bill with Rafter. More pictures from that Mercury Lounge show, and all tour dates (with tonight's flyer), below...

Continue reading "Kings Go Forth played Mercury Lounge w/ Rafter (pics), playing Dig Deeper @ Southpaw (tonight) & other tour dates "

DOWNLOAD: Rafter - Paper (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rafter - Fruit (remix) (MP3)

cover of Rafter's new album

Growing up in San Diego you hear kids toss around the name Rafter Roberts with a hushed kind of reverence. Little later those same kids get older and when the dude comes up in conversation, he's just that--a dude, a bro, a likable, lovable, redheaded guy you'll find dancing at the Whistle Stop with his lovely lady or just walkin' around in the good clean morning sunlight, smiling and healthy and right with the world.

The reverence I felt as an impressionable San Diego kid was for the albums the man produced and engineered. Black Heart Procession, Tristeza, Rocket from the Crypt, all the big guns were there. Later, he helmed records for folks like the Shaky Hands, the Fiery Furnaces, and label-mates Castanets, Sufjan Stevens, and DM Stith. (His credits are far too lengthy to list here but, let it be said, the guy has worked his share of wonders.) [Adam Gnade for Asthmatic Kitty]

Rafter is currently supporting the new album with shows, and there are three in New York coming up. On Wednesday, April 21st, Rafter plays with Kings Go Forth at Mercury Lounge (tickets are on sale). He plays again on April 22nd with Hussle Club, My Gold Mask and C-Mon & Kypski at Public Assembly Loft (the upstairs space at Public Assembly) (the show was moved from Cameo - flyer below), and on April 24th at Glasslands with Frances and Necking.

All tour dates, a live video and album tracklist are below...

Continue reading "Rafter - new album out (MP3), 2010 tour dates (3 NYC shows)"

DOWNLOAD: Shannon Stephens - In Summer in the Heat (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fol Chen - The Longer U Wait EP (ZIP)

Tickets for the NYC shows on Sufjan Steven's upcoming tour with Cryptacize go on sale this Saturday (August 15th) at 10am...

10-04: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (tix)
10-05: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (tix)
10-06: Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (tix)
10-07: Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (tix)

Speaking sof Sufjan Stevens, Shannon Stephens, an Asthmatic Kitty labelmate of his, has a new album, The Breadwinner, coming out September 8th. It'll be her first in nearly 10 years. Sufjan played drums on her album that came out in 2000. He also interviewed her that same year...

Sufjan Stevens: This is a business question. Do you acknowledge any sort of christian market, or is that bunk? Would you be willing to participate in the christian market?

Shannon Stephens: Honestly, I feel that the christian music market was created out of a need for safety by separation. People wanted to know that the music they were listening to would not contaminate their souls or the souls of their children. The truth is that we are not contaminated by our culture, but by our own hearts. I do think it's important to feed the fire as little as possible, but shutting out the world and creating a safe subculture is not what Christ commanded us to do. Rather than making absolute judgments about christian bands or labels, I try to take them on an individual basis. Sometimes people ask me if I play "christian music"--I don't even know what to say. I'm a Christian, and I play music, but is it all praise and worship? No. I feel more comfortable outside of the box, where things are more dangerous and oftentimes more real.

Cryptacize recently recorded a live session that was just posted as a free download and video on Luxury Wafers. Grab that here

Another band on Asthmatic Kitty, Fol Chen, recently put out a free remixes EP, The Longer U Wait, with contributions from "Liars, Simone White, Epstein AKA Roberto Lange, Rafter and more!" That's linked above, with art, tracklist and tour dates below...

Continue reading "Sufjan Stevens tickets, Shannon Stephens, a free Fol Chen EP"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Asthmatic Kitty, K Records, Tomlab SXSW 2009 All Star Revue Mixtape (MP3)

Tomlab SXSW Mixtape Tracklist (mixed by Rafter)
No Kids - Prisoner of Desire
Fol Chen - Cable TV
LAKE - Blue Ocean Blue
Jeremy Jay - Gallop
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Old Panda Days
What's Up - Seasonings Greetings
Grampall Jookabox - The One Thing
Parenthetical Girls - GUT Symmetries (Deerhoof Remix)
Rafter - No Fucking Around
Desolation Wilderness - No Tomorrow
DM Stith - Thanksgiving Moon
Tara Jane ONeil - Believe

In April, Cftpa will tour Europe on the "'VS. CHILDREN VS. EUROPE' FULL BAND TOUR" in support of new album Vs. Children, out in early April on Tomlab. The record will be Ashworth's first new-material LP since 2006's Etiquette (see art and track list for the new record below). The label also just released a Casiotone "singles, covers, collaborations, & other rarities" record, Advance Base Battery Life, in early March.

Cftpa returns to the States in June/July for dates that include a Friday, July 3rd, Market Hotel show with Cryptacize.

The Donkeys, who sometimes tour as Casiotone's backup band (not sure if that's the case on any of the upcoming dates), played the BV day party on Thursday.

All tour dates, and Vs. Children artwork (by Heidi Anderson) and track list, below...

Continue reading "Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - 2 new CDs, Tomlab SXSW Mixtape, 2009 Tour Dates (Market Hotel)"

DOWNLOAD: Fol Chen - Cable TV (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rafter - no fucking around (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: DM Stith - Pity Dance (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Parenthetical Girls - A Song For Ellie Greenwich (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Chief - Your Direction (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shout Out Out Out Out - Bad Choices (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hymns - Your Movement (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dosh - If You Want To, You Have To (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Themselves - Dark Sky Demo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lissy Trullie - Self-Taught Learner (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sky Larkin - Fossil (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: A-Trak - Say Whoa (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Crocodile - August Is Over (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Valient Thorr - I Hope The Ghosts Of The Dead Haunt Yr Soul Forever

A selection of free music by artists playing official showcases on Wednesday March 18, 2009 at SXSW.

photos by Fresh Bread

so many things have happened since we last spoke, dear internet

sweaty magic EP getting mad love globally :)
east coast tour from FL to NY, super rad!
arizona tour with why?
working on the new album a lot
sang a song for yo gabba gabba! (season 2, ep 12)
made lots of dj mixes/mixtapes that i'll soon share with you
heading to the east coast again at the end of jan
heading to sxsw with some buddies
having crisis of mind about the next record and how to make it feel like it feels
trying to do a lot of pushups
still no tattoos
need a pedicure like no-one's business
listening to a lot of magically great music - trouble funk, toumani diabete, debbie deb, flying lotus, 808s & Heartbreak :)
trying to go dancing and failing
eating a lot of raw cauliflower
ok that's just TMI
peace out
Rafter (Dec 22, 2008)

ANYONE ON THE NIGHT OF OUR FIRST
"THE WORLD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY" (1/31)
who is born in THE MONTH OF JANUARY (and is over 21), gets
FREE ADMISSION, FREE CAKE, a LITTLE GIFT from us to you at the door,
and 2 drink tickets!!
each party will be different in its own way, but rest assured it will be all about YOU.
WE DIDN'T FORGET!

we will be doing this every month for the rest of our existence!!
EACH FORTHCOMING MONTH will be curated by someone
who CAKESHOP would consider AWESOME and
also born in that month, that would construct an
dream bill of their own for themselves &
everyone else!

Continue reading "Rafter @ Cake Shop, NYC - pics & setlist"

Rafter is back. That wasn't long. Saturday night (1/31) you can catch him play a live set at Cake Shop. Later that night he'll be DJing at Union Pool. All dates below...

Continue reading "Rafter is in NYC & other 2009 Tour Dates (SXSW included)"

DOWNLOAD: DM Stith - Just Once (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: DM Stith - Thanksgiving Moon (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: DM Stith - Be My Baby (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: DM Stith - Around the Lion Legs w/ Sufjan & Shara (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sufjan Stevens - That was the Worst Christmas Ever (MP3)

On December 9th, we [Asthmatic Kitty] will proudly unveil the very first release from DM Stith: the EP, Curtain Speech.

We signed David Stith after listening to just two demo songs. Yes, they were that good. And then, after a year of careful recording and revising, Stith finished Curtain Speech. It is an EP that - we admit - is little more than a tease for the upcoming 2009 full length, Heavy Ghost. Still, Curtain Speech is exquisite; a complex, atmospheric set of whispered songs. This EP gives us something to savor while we wait.

And since we're talking about Asthmatic Kitty, check out the winning entry in Rafter's recent video contest below...

Continue reading "DM Stith starring Sufjan Stevens & Shara Worden - MP3s"

DOWNLOAD: Rafter - Sweat (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rafter - Salt (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rafter - Juicy (MP3)

The EP began as a collaborative project with photographer Lizeth Santos to complete an art project a day. For Rafter, this often meant a self-made song entirely from production, vocals, to instrumentation, accompanied by a corresponding photograph from Lizeth. Asthmatic Kitty published a handful of these on their website, and they made their way onto blogs and forums from there.

TONIGHT (Friday, November 21) Rafter plays a very rare NYC show at Cake Shop at 8PM (his actual posted set time). That's it. 8 PM on a Friday, one Rafter show and then he's probably going right back to San Diego to live in obscurity for another two years.

A video and his only other scheduled date, below...

Continue reading "Rafter (Bunky) is here, and with a new EP - download some "

DOWNLOAD: My Brightest Diamond: Tainted Love (Soft Cell/Gloria Jones cover) (MP3)

My Brightest Diamond is playing a show with Clare & the Reasons at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC on December 13th. Tickets are on sale. In other MBD news,

[the new album] Guilt By Association Vol 2 was conceptualized and produced by [former BV contributor] Wesley Verhoeve and lends towards danceable covers of some of the artists favorite pop songs. "We wanted to take what was done on Volume 1 and pour it into a cohesive framework. We're big fans of pop music, but also of indie music and in that sense there's nothing ironic about this project. Together with the artists we picked pop songs they loved that might sometimes be painted as guilty pleasures by some (but not us), and then attempted to shine a light on them in a way that exposes what is so awesome about these songs," says Wes.

The Forms's cover of Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start The Fire' or My Brightest Diamond's take on 'Tainted Love', are transformed into a slamming modern indie dance party track that fits right into today's' Brooklyn scene. Others like Matt Pond PA's version of My Chemical Romance' "I'm Not Okay" provide us with a quick mellow moment of melancholy.

Continue reading "My Brightest Diamond - 2008 Tour Dates, a new covers comp w/ The Forms, Takka, Matt Pond, Frightened Rabbit, more (MP3, stream)"

DOWNLOAD: Rafter - Salt (MP3)

salt - i had this dream - i'm dancing with this girl, see, and i really like her, yeah? but there's this other dude - step off, dude! hey lady, we should jam! yeah, we really should jam. then i feel bad and apologize to them both for being so forward, but really it's the truth. we get cooking at the end, and we're jamming. cooking and jamming. sweet! -Rafter

Rafter's new album Sex Death Cassette will be released by Asthmatic Kitty on January 22nd. MP3, art & tracklist below....

Continue reading "an exclusive RAFTER MP3 called "Salt" & info on his new album called "Sex Death Cassette""

DOWNLOAD: Rafter - Anthropomorphic (MP3)

about the project...
hi, i'm rafter (www.myspace.com/rafterroberts & http://asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=7), and these songs are from a project i'm doing with my sweet and rad girlfriend lizeth - we both were feeling unproductive, and somehow ended up daring ourselves to finish 1 art project a day. we take turns giving the day a theme, and we both do something for it. for her, that's photos (www.lizethsantos.com) and for me it's songs. so i've been writing and recording a song a day... here's one of them, and her corresponding photo...

Rafter (Bunky)'s Asthmatic Kitty labelmate My Brightest Diamond is playing her show with Tim Fite at the Gramercy Theatre on Saturday (Nov 17). I have two pairs of tickets to give away. Do you want one of those pairs? E-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: diamond) with the name of the Christmas song you wrote for Sufjan (or just tell me the last show you saw) (or recommend a song I should listen to). Include your first and last name. Two winners will be picked at random and notified ASAP.

Castanets are in this family too. Check out that beard.

and last, but not least (ok, maybe least)....

DOWNLOAD: Indie Blockedappela - Yes/No (Bunky)
DOWNLOAD: Indie Blockedappela - Golden Star (My Brightest Diamond)
DOWNLOAD: Indie Blockedappela - Come on Feel the Illinoise (Sufjan)
DOWNLOAD: Indie Blockedappela - Decatur, Or, Round of Applause For Your Step Mother! (Sufjan) (MP3)

I have a new favorite album, and it's called "Born To Be a Motorcycle." The band is Bunky (half Bunny, half Monkey) from San Diego, and Pitchfork so messed up not using their Arcade Fire launching power on this wonderful band. Why this CD is not in their "Best New Music" list, I don't know.

At least Stylus got it right with their "A" rating. They say..."Born to be a Motorcycle includes everything from woozy country crooners to hearty blues to noisy indie rock and is probably one of the best albums of the year."

"This band is irrepressibly cute. The heart of the outfit is Emily Joyce and Rafter Roberts, a one-time romantic duo who now seem to share a mischievous, sibling-like relationship and comfortable musical chemistry." People in San Diego have been raving about them for years, and we have Sufjan Stevens to thank for spreading the love past the west coast. The album is out on Sufjan's Asthmatic Kitty label, and according to Pitchfork, "members of other San Diego bands like Castanets, Rockets From the Crypt, Black Heart Procession, and Pinback also lend their support to the recording."

I personally don't mind the name Bunky. Fluxblog says, "Bunky's new album is one of the best indie rock records that I've heard in the past several months, but it seems that they are doomed to obscurity because of an unfortunate name that practically demands that you not take them seriously, even just a little bit." (check the comments on the Fluxblog post for a response from Rafter Bunky himself).

Listen for yourself, and help Bunky escape obscurity.

DOWNLOAD Bunky
BaBa (mp3)
Chuy (mp3)
Yes-No (mp3)

PURCHASE Born To Be a Motorcycle FROM INSOUND