Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out-of-tune, distorted guitar. Both Fair brothers sang, although over time Jad moved into the frontman role. As of the last several releases since the 1990s, according to the album and CD credits, the band composes and plays the entirety of the music while Fair, eschewing his role as guitarist from earlier albums, plays almost no guitar but is responsible for the vocals and lyrics, which typically divide into either "love songs or monster songs." The band, still a vital "art punk" unit, has released six albums since 2014 with the same personnel that recorded Hot in 1993. Their last three releases, Why Not?, Invincible and Crazy Hearts have all received four-star reviews from the U.K. magazine, Record Collector, while New Yorker also praised the 2021 release, Crazy Hearts. The band members are John Sluggett (guitar), Gilles-Vincent Rieder (drums), Jason Willett (bass), Mick Hobbs (guitar), and Jad Fair.
Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It is home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoath, Hawk Nelson, Emery, The Almost, FM Static, Family Force 5, Anberlin, and MxPx.
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nominations.
Michigan is a concept album by American indie folk songwriter Sufjan Stevens, released on July 1, 2003 on Sounds Familyre, Asthmatic Kitty and Secretly Canadian in the US, and on Rough Trade in Europe. It is Stevens' third studio album and features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Michigan.
Damien Jurado is an American singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington, United States. Over the years, he has released albums on Sub Pop, Secretly Canadian, Loose, and is currently on his own label Maraqopa Records.
Seven Swans is a folk rock music album by Sufjan Stevens, released on March 16, 2004 on Sounds Familyre Records. It is Stevens' fourth studio album and features songs about Christian spiritual themes, figures such as Abraham, and Christ's Transfiguration. The songs are primarily "lush acoustic compositions" with Stevens' banjo. It was recorded and produced by Daniel C. Smith, Sufjan's close friend. The album was released on compact disc by Sounds Familyre Records and vinyl LP; the vinyl was released by Burnt Toast Vinyl.
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.
Norman Blake is a Scottish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter in the Glasgow-based band Teenage Fanclub.
Mark Kramer known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc. He was a full-time member of the bands New York Gong, Shockabilly, Bongwater and Dogbowl & Kramer, has played on tour with bands such as Butthole Surfers, B.A.L.L., Ween, Half Japanese and The Fugs, and has also performed regularly with John Zorn and other improvising musicians of New York City's so-called "downtown scene" of the 1980s.
Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.
Half-handed Cloud is an American recording project, based in Helsinki, Finland since 2015. It was started in 1999 as a one-man band by John Ringhofer, who created the band name based on an occurrence in the Old Testament. The majority of Half-handed Cloud's albums have been released on Asthmatic Kitty Records. His previous band was Wookieback with Matthew Vollmer and Brandon Buckner. Ringhofer, a vegetarian, lived rent free in return for his custodial services at a church in Berkeley, CA for a decade. John Ringhofer has collaborated with Sufjan Stevens on Half-handed Cloud's What's The Remedy? 7-inch, among other works such as Thy Is A Word And Feet Need Lamps, and 2014's Flying Scroll Flight Control. Daniel Smith of Danielson and Sounds Familyre is credited for helping to establish Half-handed Cloud's early days, and has been a frequent collaborator with John Ringhofer.
Serena Maneesh is the debut album by Serena Maneesh. The album was partly recorded in Steve Albini's respected Electrical Audio Recordings studio in Chicago as well as in various facilities in New York City and Oslo. Contributors to the album include Sufjan Stevens, Martin Bisi and co-producer Daniel Smith of Danielson Famile.
The Avalanche is a 2006 studio 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.
Ships is the seventh full-length album by New Jersey indie rock band Danielson. The album was a massive collaboration among Daniel Smith and various other musicians.
Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an active roster of over 30 bands playing various musical styles, though according to the label, each artist "in one way or another bridges the gap between pop and noise."
It's Spooky is a collaborative album by musicians Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston. It was first released in 1989 on 50 Skidillion Watts Records, under the title Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston. Although receiving praise from critics and fans alike, the record was commercially overlooked. Both Johnston and Fair play the majority of instruments, including vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards and drums.
Racebannon was an American noise punk band from Bloomington, Indiana. The band, formed in September 1996, have cited influence ranging from Antioch Arrow to the Melvins, and have also stated that they're heavily influenced by hardcore, hip-hop, heavy metal, jazz, and the blues. The band's sound is noted for being odd and experimental, and the group has been dubbed as "noise rock" or "noise metal" by critics. Since their formation, the band has released numerous albums, extended plays, and splits through a variety of labels, such as Secretly Canadian and Level Plane.
June Panic is an American singer-songwriter from Grand Forks, North Dakota. He has collaborated with musicians such as Heidi Gluck and LonPaul Ellrich.
Sounds Familyre Records is an independent record label based in Clarksboro, New Jersey, started and managed by Danielson founder Daniel Smith, who created the label in 1999.
Wow to the Deadness is an EP by Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil, a temporary collaboration between the supergroup Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil and Daniel Smith of Danielson. Recorded in 2015 at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois, and produced by Steve Albini, the EP was released on February 5, 2016, through Steve Taylor's Splint Entertainment and Smith's Sounds Familyre Records.
