Asobi Seksu last played for us back in the fall of 2006 at our Cincinnati studios. The band were out on the road promoting their Citrus album at the time. We’ve been big fans ever since and since their third album Hush was released earlier this Spring, they were a band that we wanted to invite around for a return visit.

Things have changed a bit for Asobi Seksu since we saw them last. Founding members Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna took on Hush as a duo, writing and recording everything except for the drums in the studio on their own. They recorded again with Chris Zane at Gigantic Studios but took a more stripped–down approach this time around. As Yuki says in the interview here, “James got really tired of layering lots and lots and lots of guitars so we came in with a different sound.”

For Hush they’ve teamed up with Polyvinyl stateside and are on the One Little Indian label overseas. In this session (and all their recent live performances) James & Yuki are joined by Billy Pavone on bass and Larry Gorman on drums. In this exclusive SXSW performance, they treated us to four tracks off the new album.

Tracklisting
Sing Tomorrow’s Praise
In The Sky
-interview-
Blind Little Rain
Transparence

Asobi Seksu – Sing Tomorrow’s Praise (Live On WOXY.com)
Asobi Seksu – In The Sky (Live On WOXY.com)
Asobi Seksu – Blind Little Rain (Live On WOXY.com)
Asobi Seksu – Transparence (Live On WOXY.com)

Asobi Seksu – Live On WOXY.com (full session download)

If you like what you hear, be sure to check them out on their live dates this month, which begin in Washington D.C. on April 15th.

Apr 15 2009 8:00P
La Maison Francais Washington DC
Apr 16 2009 8:00P
Irving Plaza New York, NY
Apr 17 2009 8:00P
Club Soda Montreal, QC
Apr 18 2009 8:00P
Club Soda Montreal, QC
Apr 19 2009 8:00P
Mod Club Toronto, Ontario
Apr 21 2009 8:00P
Logan Theater Chicago, IL
Apr 22 2009 8:00P
Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN
Apr 24 2009 8:00P
Bluebird Denver, CO
Apr 25 2009 8:00P
Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT
Apr 27 2009 8:00P
Richard’s on Richards Vancouver, BC
Apr 28 2009 8:00P
Neumo’s Seattle, WA
Apr 29 2009 8:00P
Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
May 1 2009 8:00P
Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA
May 2 2009 8:00P
El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA

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