| Convocations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 6, 2021 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 150:05 | |||
| Label | Asthmatic Kitty | |||
| Producer | Sufjan Stevens | |||
| Sufjan Stevens chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Convocations | ||||
| ||||
Convocations is the ninth studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens, released through Asthmatic Kitty on May 6, 2021. [1] Recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic following the death of Stevens's father, the album was released in five volumes, with a combined total of 49 instrumental songs. [2] [3]
Convocations, as described by Stevens' label, Asthmatic Kitty, is "a 49-track reflection on a year of anxiety, uncertainty, isolation, and loss." [4] The album's five volumes each represent one of the five stages of grief, motivated by the death of Stevens' biological father on September 27, 2020, just two days after the release of his previous studio album, The Ascension . [5]
Regarding his decision to record a purely instrumental album, Stevens noted: "I think this past year I've just felt so overwhelmed with the content of the world, the pandemic and all the extreme sort of political movements and racial inequity. And then the terror of this invisible plague. All of that is just like weighing bearing down on all of us every day. I felt like I had almost been rendered speechless, in a way. [...] I wanted to create music that didn't have a narrative and didn't have verbal content." [5]
The album's first single, "Meditation V", was released on April 6, and the first of five volumes, Meditations, was released on April 8, 2021. [6] Lamentations was released on April 15. [7] Revelations was released on April 22. [8] Celebrations was released on April 29, and Incantations was released on May 6, 2021. [1]
Regarding the album's springtime release, Stevens noted: "I recorded most of this in the dead of winter and now it's coming out in the spring. And I think that really, it's a serendipity in a way, that it allows for us to receive this music with hope, you know, for the future. And that's I think that's something that we all deserve and need more than ever right now." [4]
Each of the volumes and tracks of Convocations are accompanied by a generative video art piece created by Mexican artist "Melissa Santamaría".
Convocations is an ambient, [9] [10] electronic, [9] and space music [11] album that contains elements of progressive electronic, [9] shoegaze, [9] drone, [9] and space jazz. [9]
All tracks are written by Sufjan Stevens
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meditation I" | 3:40 |
| 2. | "Meditation II" | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Meditation III" | 4:04 |
| 4. | "Meditation IV" | 2:10 |
| 5. | "Meditation V" | 2:11 |
| 6. | "Meditation VI" | 2:16 |
| 7. | "Meditation VII" | 2:34 |
| 8. | "Meditation VIII" | 1:48 |
| 9. | "Meditation IX" | 2:12 |
| 10. | "Meditation X" | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 27:02 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lamentation I" | 3:49 |
| 2. | "Lamentation II" | 2:25 |
| 3. | "Lamentation III" | 3:18 |
| 4. | "Lamentation IV" | 1:59 |
| 5. | "Lamentation V" | 4:11 |
| 6. | "Lamentation VI" | 4:43 |
| 7. | "Lamentation VII" | 1:52 |
| 8. | "Lamentation VIII" | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Lamentation IX" | 3:29 |
| 10. | "Lamentation X" | 1:57 |
| Total length: | 31:18 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Revelation I" | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Revelation II" | 2:54 |
| 3. | "Revelation III" | 2:01 |
| 4. | "Revelation IV" | 4:10 |
| 5. | "Revelation V" | 2:52 |
| 6. | "Revelation VI" | 3:34 |
| 7. | "Revelation VII" | 4:04 |
| 8. | "Revelation VIII" | 2:52 |
| 9. | "Revelation IX" | 4:39 |
| 10. | "Revelation X" | 4:18 |
| Total length: | 34:45 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Celebration I" | 2:20 |
| 2. | "Celebration II" | 5:56 |
| 3. | "Celebration III" | 3:10 |
| 4. | "Celebration IV" | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Celebration V" | 2:59 |
| 6. | "Celebration VI" | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Celebration VII" | 3:41 |
| 8. | "Celebration VIII" | 3:26 |
| 9. | "Celebration IX" | 1:36 |
| 10. | "Celebration X" | 4:10 |
| Total length: | 34:43 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Incantation I" | 2:17 |
| 2. | "Incantation II" | 1:59 |
| 3. | "Incantation III" | 1:37 |
| 4. | "Incantation IV" | 2:00 |
| 5. | "Incantation V" | 3:15 |
| 6. | "Incantation VI" | 1:50 |
| 7. | "Incantation VII" | 1:54 |
| 8. | "Incantation VIII" | 2:56 |
| 9. | "Incantation IX" | 4:29 |
| Total length: | 22:17 | |
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Current Album Sales ( Billboard ) [12] | 59 |
| US New Age Albums ( Billboard ) [13] | 3 |
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nominations.
Illinois is a 2005 concept album by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. His fifth studio album, it features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. Illinois is Stevens' second based on a U.S. state—part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album Michigan and that Stevens has since acknowledged was a joke.
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local colleges and universities. While the original Holland nucleus has dispersed across the country, the community has grown, with new artists and shared projects with other independent labels. The Library Catalog Music Series, inaugurated in 2009, showcases instrumental music by a wide variety of musicians, with eighteen albums in print as of February 2013, and more scheduled for release. Asthmatic Kitty is now based in Lander, Wyoming, Atlanta, Georgia and Brooklyn, New York.
The Avalanche is a compilation album by indie rock singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens, consisting of outtakes and other recordings from the sessions for his album Illinois, released the previous year. The title song "The Avalanche" was also a bonus track on the Illinois vinyl and iTunes release.
Castanets was the musical project of Ray Raposa, who had been signed to Asthmatic Kitty Records from 2004 until his death in 2022. Castanets was influenced by country, folk, and experimental rock, and released seven albums, the latest being Decimation Blues in 2014. Additionally, songs by Castanets appear on a number of split 7-inch singles and EPs with other bands, including Shapes and Sizes and Dirty Projectors. While Raposa was the only constant member of the band, his records and live performances featured a rotating cast of musicians. A San Diego native, Raposa lived in Brooklyn and resided in Portland, Oregon.
My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova. The band has released five studio albums and a remix album, five studio EPs and four remix EPs, and made several tours across the United States.
The Age of Adz is the sixth studio album by American singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens, released on October 12, 2010 by Asthmatic Kitty. It was Stevens' first song-based full-length album in five years, since the release of Illinois in 2005.
American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens has released thirteen studio albums, three compilation albums, three soundtracks, two mixtapes, thirteen extended plays (EP), twenty singles, eight promotional singles, and eight music videos. Through his record label Asthmatic Kitty Records, Stevens released his first two albums A Sun Came and Enjoy Your Rabbit in 2000 and 2001, respectively. For his next two releases – Michigan (2003) and Seven Swans (2004) – the singer partnered with Sounds Familyre Records for the distribution of both releases. Seven Swans was supported by Stevens' debut single "The Dress Looks Nice on You". The same album was reissued in 2009 and included the new single "I Went Dancing with My Sister". His fifth album, Illinois, was his first release to enter record charts, where it reached the lower positions in several countries and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of 500,000 copies. The Avalanche, a compilation album consisting of outtakes from Illinois, was released in 2006 and also reached various charts internationally.
"Chicago" is a track from Sufjan Stevens 2005 concept album Illinois, released on Asthmatic Kitty. The song tells the semi-autobiographical story of a young man on a road trip, and his youthful idealism. The track is one of Stevens' most popular songs, and he usually ends his live shows with a version of this song. The song has been recorded in five different versions by Stevens himself, the versions not on Illinois being included on the collection The Avalanche, and one demo released digitally on Stevens' website, later released as a 12" single bundled with the Illinois: Special 10th Anniversary Blue Marvel Edition.
Shannon Stephens is an American singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington.
Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6–10 is a five-EP box set of Christmas-related songs and carols recorded by Sufjan Stevens between 2006 and 2012. It is a follow-up to Songs for Christmas, which was released six years prior. On October 2, 2012, it was announced that Stevens would release Silver & Gold on November 13, 2012 in digital format, CD and LP boxset. On October 24, 2012, a claymation music video, animated by Lee Hardcastle, was released for "Mr. Frosty Man".
Carrie & Lowell is the seventh studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released on March 31, 2015, by Asthmatic Kitty. It was produced by Stevens, and features guest contributions from Thomas Bartlett, Sean Carey, Casey Foubert, Ben Lester, Nedelle Torrisi, and Laura Veirs.
"Should Have Known Better" is a song by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens. It is the second track and second single from his seventh studio album, Carrie & Lowell, and was released digitally on March 11, 2015 on Asthmatic Kitty. A one-track promotional CD was later released on Asthmatic Kitty but was not available for sale.
Angelo De Augustine is an American musician residing in Thousand Oaks, California. He has collaborated with and opened for musician Sufjan Stevens.
The Decalogue is a 2017 soundtrack album to the Justin Peck ballet of the same name, by Timo Andres and Sufjan Stevens. The album was released by Asthmatic Kitty to mixed reviews. The ballet debuted in 2017 with the New York City Ballet.
Aporia is an album by American musician Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather, Lowell Brams. It was released through Asthmatic Kitty on March 24, 2020 with a live preview held on YouTube on March 23, 2020.
The Ascension is the eighth studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released through Asthmatic Kitty on September 25, 2020. The record was influenced by a range of artists, particularly Ariana Grande and her 2018 song "Thank U, Next".
"America" is a song by American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens. It was released as the lead single from the album The Ascension through Asthmatic Kitty on July 3, 2020.
"Video Game" is a song written, recorded, and produced by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens for his eighth studio album, The Ascension (2020). It was released as the album's second single on August 13, 2020, through Stevens' Asthmatic Kitty label. It has been called a synth-pop song with lyrics that describe the effects of social media upon society. A music video for the track was released alongside the single.
A Beginner's Mind is a collaborative album by American musicians Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine. The album was released by Asthmatic Kitty on September 24, 2021. After being teased by Asthmatic Kitty for several days, the album was formally announced on July 7, 2021, along with its track listing and two singles, "Reach Out" and "Olympus". Daniel Anum Jasper created the album's cover artwork.
