When I caught wind that Ray Raposa, of Castanets, was house-sitting in Indianapolis for a couple weeks this summer for a mutual friend, I made sure he worked in some time to record with us as well.  Ray has been quite prolific in recent years.  In 2007 he released In The Vines and quickly followed it in 2008 with City of Refuge.  Both were released through Asthmatic Kitty Records.  Ray's work seems to continue to move into darker, more ghostly corners of folk music.  Even though he resides in Brooklyn, his electric guitar seems to haunt the dark cold desert nights, alone and wandering.

There is a respect and leaning towards the traditional in Ray's music.  He pulls from country, traditional folk and even surf rock, but there is definitely a love of noise, as well as the accidental and exploratory.  

Ray's best work is often his most simplistic, as demonstrated here in these videos and songs.  He continues to show his propensity of continuous work and exploration by playing us two new, unreleased songs, one he had composed that week while on house-sitting duties.  

 

MP3 Session Downloads: 

Castanets - Prettiest Chain
Castanets - Untitled #1
Castanets - Untitled #2

Bonus Album Downloads:

Castanets - Glory B
Castanets - Sway

Filmed at VIBES II in Broad Ripple
Recorded & mixed by Perry Stevens of Snapjoint Recording Studio
Mastered by Jeff DuPont
Shot by Keith Toombs 
Edited by Tim Wilsbach