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Bio
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Aaron Rossetto is the songwriter, producer and musician behind Austin, Texas’
Ask For Joy, whose layers of
shimmering guitars, angelic vocals and expansive harmonies awash in reverb combine the fuzzy shoegaze
of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine, the Phil Spector “wall of sound”-inspired production of Jesus and
Mary Chain, and the poppy, harmonic sensibilities of the Beach Boys. The music fuses the rawness of the
DIY esthetic with atmospheric waves of sound which support a lushly textured, dreamy style of pop music.
Ask For Joy has released nine EPs, eight on Rossetto's own Infinitely Recursive Records imprint, several
singles, and has contributed numerous tracks to various shoegaze compilation albums since the band’s
inception in 2005. His music has been featured on both Web and terrestrial radio worldwide.
facebook.com/AskForJoy
@askforjoy
askforjoy.bandcamp.com
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EPs
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Swoon EP (2005)
IRR001D
No longer available.
- Swoon
- Requiescat
- When Fins Became Limbs
- I Will Break Your Heart
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Endless Space Unfurled EP (2007)
IRR002
The Endless Space Unfurled EP consists of five songs written and
performed by Ask For Joy set to the poetry of American poet Sara Teasdale
(1884-1933).
From the liner notes: Sara Teasdale was an American lyrical poet. She was
courted by two admirers, poet Vachel Lindsay and Ernst Filsinger. Though
she had deep feelings for Lindsay, who asked her to marry him, Sara married
Filsinger, a wealthy businessman, in 1914. She was not happy in the marriage
and they divorced in 1929 against his wishes. On the morning of January 29,
1933, in her New York City apartment, Sara took an overdose of sleeping
pills, lay down in a warm bath, fell asleep, and never woke up again.
In 1931, two years before Teasdale's suicide, Vachel Lindsay, her friend
and former suitor, had also committed suicide.
Physical copies of Endless Space Unfurled are no longer available,
but the album and all tracks are available digitally at many online retailers.
- To-Night
- Peace
- The Answer
- Jewels
- Alone
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Life In A Coma EP (2009)
IRR003
The album begins with the hopeful, exuberant "Here She Comes" and follows
with a pair of devotions and rememberances of passion past through the
fuzzy, enveloping guitar shimmer of "Summercrush" and "Heaven In You".
The deep reverb on the drum beat of "My Deepest Ocean" propels a treacly
love song whose mellifluous harmonies sing as much the praises of its
subject as do the lyrics. "Pull My String" and "The Sacrifice" anchor a turn
towards darker subjects, all the while maintaining the same Beach
Boys-meet-Slowdive by way of The Jesus And Mary Chain sound. Finally,
"Glory Glory" is a prayer thrown up to the heavens, perhaps in desperation,
through gospel-tinged hand claps, foot stamps and pipe organ drone that
accompany the background choir and lead vocal invoking the beatific.
Physical copies of Life In A Coma are no longer available, but the
album and all tracks are available digitally at many online retailers.
- Here She Comes
- Summercrush
- Heaven In You
- My Deepest Ocean
- Pull My String
- The Sacrifice
- Glory Glory
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Safe Words EP (2012)
IRR004D
The Safe Words EP is a four-track release consisting of two previously
unreleased songs, "Gentle Girl" and "Closer To Tanya", and two new mixes of
existing tracks, "To-Night" (from Endless Space Unfurled EP) and "Swoon"
(from Swoon EP). These two tracks were performed live at Rip's in Phoenix,
AZ, at Ask For Joy's December 3, 2011 show, opening for Honeybreath and
The Captives.
Safe Words EP is available on Bandcamp.
- Gentle Girl
- Closer To Tanya
- To-Night (PHX Mix)
- Swoon (PHX Mix)
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Hand Tame EP (2012)
IRR006D
From the first line of opening track "Summer Getaway (I Got The Beach)"—I need a summer getaway—to
the last line of EP closer "Dragonflies"—Maybe I could fly away—Hand Tame's overarching theme is a
longing to escape: the desire to leave the everyday behind and pursue the
places, the loves, and the life of one's dreams, and the danger we encounter
along the way.
Lovingly mastered by Darren Emanuel (Drowner), Hand Tame's four tracks
layer fat analog keyboards and crunchy, reverberated guitars over tight drum
machines, sweet harmonies and spacey sparkles, giving the EP a daydreamy,
viscous and otherworldly feel that evokes the call to escape.
Hand Tame EP is available on Bandcamp.
- Summer Getaway (I Got The Beach)
- Hey Tracey
- Learning To Fly
- Dragonflies
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Pins And Needles EP (2013)
Pins And Needles follows on the heels of 2012's well-received
Safe Words and Hand Tame EPs with five new tracks forming a
song cycle loosely based around the theme of pharmacologically-induced
sensation and the aftereffects and consequences thereof. Consisting of
layer upon layer of crunchy, fuzz-enveloped guitars and soaring vocal
tracks propelled forward by insistent drum machines, each song balances
keen pop sensibilities with a distinctly rich and textured shoegaze sound
that provide a sympathetic accompaniment to the often somber themes explored
in the songs' lyrics.
EP opener "Narcan" features pulsating guitars and drums examine the appeal
of escaping the monotony of quotidian life left unfulfilled, while the
poppier "Euphoric" reflects its title through analog synthesizers and a
choirful of backing vocals that build to a seemingly never-to-end climax.
Middle track "Nod Your Head Yes", one of Rossetto's darkest songs to date,
explores the power dynamic of a relationship in which one of the parties may
not be a willing participant. The last two tracks strike a more solemn tone:
"She's Bleeding From Everywhere" takes a look at the role infatuation plays
in a perhaps intentionally-provoked traffic accident, and elegiac closer
"Requiescat" sets a martial drum beat, overdriven guitar drones and hymn-like
harmonies to an 1853 work by English poet Matthew Arnold (1822-1888).
Pins And Needles is available physically via Patetico Records.
- Narcan
- Euphoric
- Nod Your Head Yes
- She’s Bleeding From Everywhere
- Requiescat (Matthew Arnold)
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Chandelier EP (2015)
IRR007D
Consisting of seven covers of
songs spanning four decades of music,
this eclectic collection bridges
eras and
genres, taking music that shaped modern popular culture and reframes
each track as a luscious, dense sonic landscape of fuzzy
guitars, thick, shimmering keyboards and drum machine tracks that
seemingly could go off the rails at any moment, yet still allow the
heart of each original to shine through. The result is a musical trip
through time, from the early doowop sounds of the late 1950s to
turn-of-the-century rock anthems by artists whose very names are
synonymous with the rock ‘n’ roll era.
Chandelier is available on Bandcamp.
- Who Do You Think You Are
- For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
- Circle Round The Sun
- New Pony
- Take Me Home Tonight
- Seven Wonders
- Room At The Top
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New Private Window EP (2016)
IRR008
New Private Window EP, the first EP since 2009's Life In A Coma
to feature seven brand new Ask For Joy tracks, releases 4 March 2016. The
lead single, "Pinprick Eyes",
is available on Bandcamp. The EP will be available as physically via CD Baby
and digitally on all major streaming platforms.
- Slow Kiss
- Pinprick Eyes
- I Shiver I Shake
- Cherry Popsicle
- Lovers Interred
- Sugar Coma
- When Your Heart Stops Beating (An Amp of Epinephrine)
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A Blow and a Kiss EP (2017)
IRR009D
A Blow and a Kiss EP is Ask For Joy's ninth EP, releasing 10 September 2017 via
all major online streaming platforms. Its lead single, "Corsets",
is available as a free download for a limited time from Ask For Joy's Bandcamp.
- Under a Breaking Wave
- Luna
- Corsets
- Deep In The Night
- Rebirth
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Singles
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Fentanyl (2010)
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Everywhere (2013)
Christine McVie and Fleetwood Mac deserve a little cover love. This
is from Fleetwood Mac's top-10 1987 album Tango In The Night.
It reminds me of being a teenager, listening to AM radio in the
basement and playing video games.
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Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (2013)
This song was my gateway to shoegaze. I instantly fell in love with it
the first time I heard it. I wanted to be that track. Lanois gave
it that incredible lush sound, Bono the masterful songwriting, The
Edge... those guys are my heroes. I offer this, my loving take on one of the
most underrated songs of all time.
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Holly Holy (2014)
Neil Diamond's "Holly Holy" hit #6 in 1969, making this song just a few
years older than I am. I've been a huge Neil Diamond fan forever, and I've
always thought this would make for an excellent shoegaze cover target.
Case in point: the bridge where "Call the sun" begins and builds slowly all
the way up to "And I fly", which then transitions back to the main theme
in the tonic key via a majestic V7-I cadence, Neil's soaring melody falling
a tone to provide the seventh of that first chord—the perfect expression
of the acension skyward that the lyrics reflect.
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Sleep Fighter (2015)
Is this shoegaze enough for you mothers?
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Pinprick Eyes (2016)
"Pinprick Eyes" is the lead single from Ask For Joy's forthcoming eighth EP,
New Private Window, releasing 4 March 2016.
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Corsets (2017)
"Corsets" is the lead single from Ask For Joy's forthcoming ninth EP,
A Blow and a Kiss, releasing 10 September 2017.
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Remixes
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Ophelia (Ask For Joy Mix)
Ophelia Maxi-Single (2011)
Bella Lune
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Compilations
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© 2016 Ask For Joy
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