THE RED FETISH
The Red Fetish is a collaborative project headed by DC musician Alejandro Castaño. Known for its unpredictability and versatility, The Red Fetish runs the stylistic gamut — from progressive string quartets to stripped-down acoustic ruminations to traditional country and blues.
In 2001, in Tampa, Florida, Alejandro began recording as The Red Fetish with the help of Ianje Castellanos and Cody Burger. They released a series of albums under a short-lived independent label, Social Entropy Records. Alejandro eventually left the Sunshine State, and took the group's name with him. To Castaño, the project became a testing ground for compositional ideas that could be repurposed into 21st century music. The addition of Kris Kagei (Betsy and the Bicycles) in 2013 marked a turning point for the group, which has since expanded to its current lineup.
In December 2014, The Red Fetish released Temporal Joke Pts. 1 and 2, a three-part song cycle focusing on religious principles viewed from a secular perspective. Called "puzzlingly archaic" and "jarringly modern" by the Washington City Paper, Part 1 contains swirling synthesizers, voices, and guitars, and features vocalists Ianje Castellanos and Kris Kagei. Part 2 switches gears, making use of marimba and piano. Part 3, for chamber orchestra, will be released at a later date.
Looking to move forward in their artistic explorations, The Wind, As Now, Is Silent (Etxe Records; April 30, 2016) is a collection of experimental folk tunes focused on themes of intimacy and constraint. Taking its name from a line of Dante's Inferno, the album inverts the paradigms of folk music, weaving modern classical with anti-love songs and sound collages, while retaining the colors of folk traditions.
The Wind, As Now, Is Silent was recorded by Greg Svitil at Empress of Sound, and features performances by Kris Kagei, Bryan McTiernan (also Betsy and the Bicycles), Kai Filipczak (of Time is Fire), Claire Blaustein (By & By), Kylene Kiang, Faheem Moghal, Alison Lowell (District5) and Alejandro Castaño.
VIDEO
This is the sixth track from the upcoming album by The Red Fetish: Non Sequitur This track was written, arranged, and performed by Alejandro Castaño, Kai Filipczak, Kristen Kagei, and Bryan McTiernan
SOCIAL MEDIA
MUSIC
Click on the album covers below to digitally stream each The Red Fetish release