there is no mountain thanks you by premiering a new song

CONCERT POSTPONED: Due to heavy snowstorms and flight cancellations, There Is No Mountain’s performance will now take place on Thursday, February 6 at 7:30pm.

Formerly the whiskey-stomping five-piece The Ascetic Junkies, the husband-and-wife team of Matt Harmon and Kali Giaritta decided to simplify their musical endeavor just under a year ago. Rechristening themselves There Is No Mountain, the pair has been in a state of movement ever since.

"We played 122 shows in 40 states in 2013 and probably put 40-50,000 miles on our car," Matt recounts. "We got back from the last (and longest) tour in November, and we've just been catching up with friends and writing new songs."

Along the way, they released their self-titled debut, received tons of support from new fans around the nation, and had a noteworthy opportunity cross their path: While touring back east, they were scouted to perform at New York City's Lincoln Center as part of the American Songbook series. It was a little to good to be true because instead of booking the gig outright, TINM were selected to compete against two other artists for the opening date of the series—let the online voting begin!

Suffice to say, they won! And now Kali and Matt are saying thank you to all their fans and voters for giving them to opportunity to open the 2014 American Songbook series, performing in the David Rubenstein Atrium at the Lincoln Center complex on Wednesday, January 22nd. Naturally, that thank you comes in the form of a new song—free for you to download.

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Listen to and download "Hiking" on OMN.

get out! : there is no mountain

My contribution to this week's edition of Get Out!

Formerly The Ascetic Junkies, the husband-and-wife team of Matt Harmon and Kali Giaritta have pared down to a duo and are excited to make their live debut under a new moniker: There Is No Mountain. Kicking off a two-month national tour (their most extensive to date) as well as celebrating an album release, Kali and Matt have chosen an intimate house show, which will feature Q&A sessions between songs (you can submit your own questions!), to modestly introduce their reconfiguration to the world. Space is very limited but anyone who purchases an advance copy of the record is guaranteed entry. The self-titled album will officially release on April 16th—so check Bandcamp and iTunes then to download your own bundle of acoustic-turned-electric guitar, ever-present guy-girl harmonies, and bouncy, African-tinged Americana reminiscent of classic (Paul Simon) and contemporary (Vampire Weekend, Dirty Projectors) influences.

Saturday, April 13, Hippo Campus, 8:30pm, $10 advance (includes new record) / $5 (or more) suggested donation day of show, all ages

Listen to There Is No Mountian’s first single “Owl Hymn” (and right click to download):

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Get the rest of OMN's Get Out! picks for April 11-17.

the original junkies become there is no mountain

There Is No Mountain is Kali Giaritta and Matt Harmon, formerly of The Ascetic Junkies.

The Ascetic Junkies are no more.

The band has been pared down to two, featuring founding Junkies and husband-and-wife duo Matt Harmon and Kali Giaritta in multi-instrumental roles where "I now play percussion and keys in addition to singing, and Matt added in a few carefully chosen effects pedals to bring in some new sounds," Kali says.

Now, there is only There Is No Mountain. Kali and Matt decided to relaunch under a new name chiefly because "our style has changed pretty far away from the AJs stuff, and also, no one in this great country seems to know the word 'ascetic,'" Matt jokes.

The debut song from There Is No Mountain is "one of the first tracks we've recorded just as a duo in a long time," Matt explains. "It's an African highlife-tinged pop song built around vocals, simple percussion and distorted acoustic guitar."

Listen to "Owl Hymn" below, which you might have heard at Fall of the Band this past fall (and right click to download):
There's a familiarity in "Owl Hymn" that's definitely reminiscent of The Ascetic Junkies but also a freshness to the pared down track. Full of stop-and-go buoyancy, the song is as lively as ever but engagingly different with its malleable rhythms—it's a new sound from recognizable voices.

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Read the rest on OMN.