A collaboration between Six Organs of Admittance's Ben Chasny and Hiroyuki Usui of L, Fushitsusha, and Eikyukonran, August Born is a psych-folk super duo. The pair connected via music journalist/Japanese music expert Alan Cummings, who was translating the liner notes for VHF's reissue of L's hard to find album Holy Letters. A fan of both artists, Cummings recommended Six Organs of Admittance to Usui; eventually, the writer helped set up an e-mail correspondence between Chasny and Usui, which evolved into a mail-based collaboration. Incorporating elements as diverse as guitar solos and field recordings, the results became August Born's self-titled debut, which was released in summer 2005 by Drag City. ~ Heather Phares