Freeload: Rafter, “Juicy” + Two More
- story THE FADER
On September 9th, Rafter, our favorite red-headed musician who incorporates every genre of music ever into his songs is releasing his Sweaty Magic EP on Asthmatic Kitty, which is mostly disco except when it’s not. Download “Juicy” below, and then go here to download two more. Sam Hockley-Smith wrote about the EP in F56, which is on stands right now. Here’s what he said:
Rafter is super unfocused, but it’s the kind of unfocused that is idiosyncratic and full of weird sounds made listenable by their place within the song’s structure. In the past he’s sounded like Hot Chip, other times he has sounded nothing like Hot Chip. On Sweaty Magic he finally sounds like Rafter, which actually means that he’s carved out a sound for himself. So now Rafter sounds like…Rafter? Confusing. I’m just gonna go with the idea that this is Rafter’s dance EP—a disco throb pulses under most of the songs and Rafter sounds like Rafter singing Hot Chip singing Michael Jackson. Uh, still confusing.
Download: Rafter, “Juicy”
Q+A: Rafter
- story THE FADER
Rafter Roberts kind of sounds like comedian Zach Galifianakis on the phone, minus the cynical outbursts. The San Diego-based musician/producer/renaissance man talks funnily and deliberately about his music, carefully articulating how it’s made and from whence it comes. So it’s somewhat ironic that the music he makes under the Rafter appellation is a Waits-like diversion into the wackier, more disjointed valleys of pop music. Sex Death Cassette, his second full-length for Asthmatic Kitty released this past Tuesday, is a sprawling amalgam of hand-clapping, minimal electro beats, fuzzed-out guitars, stringy saxes and a whole lot more. And while this might sound unfocused, the racket is always catchy and concise, with most of the tracks clocking in under the three-minute mark. We caught up with Roberts on release day to talk about putting together the album on a four-track cassette machine, recording music for TV, and how Guided By Voices are totally awesome.
Download: Rafter, “ZZZPenchant” from Sex Death Cassette
Download: Rafter, “Gentlemen” from Music is for Total Chickens
Freeload: Rafter, “Accident”
- story THE FADER
We’ve taken a shine to San Deigo mult-tasker Rafter since we stumbled upon the promo for his upcoming album Sex, Death, Cassette a couple weeks ago, and since then we’ve learned that he’s making a new song available every week until the album comes out next January 22nd. He’s the Lil Wayne of eclectic pop. This one is exclusive to TheFADER.com, but you can pick up the rest over at Asthmatic Kitty. Here’s how Rafter described “Accident”:
rafterroberts: trying to combine minimal house, hip hop,
experimental, lo-fi, and pop
rafterroberts: i’ve tried and failed a bunch
rafterroberts: but this i feel like hit it just like i wanted it to
rafterroberts: plus, it is a sweet love song, plus, it works well on
repeat. i wrote and recorded it in 3 hours on oct 26.
Download: Rafter, “Accident” (zshare)
