“The core of the Castanets is the lyrical and musical talent of Raymond Raposa. With the help of some of San Diego’s finest, including members of Tristeza, Pinback, Rocket from the Crypt, and ...

Ray Raposa, the folk artist best known for his music as Castanets, has died at age 41. Via Pitchfork, the news came via Sufjan Stevens‘ Asthmatic Kitty label, who released much of Raposa’s work and ...

There’s an arid, sweltering ache about Jessica Lea Mayfield’s music that recalls Will Oldham’s early material. Darkness creeps from the corners and desperation pools beneath her leaking heart, but she ...

According to the Castanets’ biography, frontman Raymond Raposa tested out of high school at age 15, spending the next few years traveling via Greyhound bus. The songs on First Light’s Freeze, the San ...

NUVO: For starters, thank you, Ray, for taking the time to do this interview. I listen to your albums regularly and do what I can to put my friends onto your stuff when it seems fitting — sometimes ...

Last year Ray “Castanets” Raposa, joined the upper ranks of DIY singer-songwriters by releasing his third straight near-perfect LP, In the Vines, a spooky, strange collection of songs that has critics ...