The man behind the namesake of Half-Handed Cloud is John Ringhofer, an individual unwilling to succumb to the evolving advancements of technology. I haven’t had a chance to catch up with Ringhofer in the past year or so, but the last I checked, he was living in the attic of a church (rent-free), only with the responsibilities of janitorial duties as a cut-even trade-off. Instead of owning an automobile, Ringhofer delightfully chooses to use such modes of transportation as the bicycle, the subway system, the bus, and his own two feet.

According to the writers of Asthmatic Kitty (the label he’s on), Ringhofer is “an economical thinker, [he] prefers the subway over a taxicab, is a recycler of plastic, a compulsive note-taker, and a habitual optimist. He doodles in the margins of National Geographic magazines, carries several different colored pens, and continues to use an antiquated CD walkman.” An artist you’ll want to remember, Half-Handed Cloud is the second artist to sign to Asthmatic Kitty directly after Sufjan Stevens.

Half-Handed Cloud is perfect for listening to on your way to work everyday, as it sets the tone for the day perfectly. His new release off of AKR, entitled, “Cut Me Down and Count My Rings,” is a suitcase full of songs that you’ll definitely want shoved into your iTunes library. The 46 songs are all rarities taken from the seventeen albums he has released, as well as picked from piles of songs never released.

Here are a few of my favorite images of Ringhofer’s art:

Download MP3: I Got a Letter