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Interview with Charles Kim of The Astronomer
Chicago Tribune, July 11, 2008

'(Charles Kim is) one of Chicago's most unsung talents."
Time Out Chicago, July 10, 2008

'The Astronomer’s delicate art-pop songs, filigreed with pedal steel, vibraphone, and electronics, have a distinctly otherworldly feel despite their occasional rootsiness—it’s as though Kim learned songwriting by picking up radio signals in low earth orbit.'
Chicago Reader, July 10, 2008

'Charles Kim certainly ranks as one of Chicago's most prolific
songwriters- and one of its best... The beautifully ethereal disc,
simply called 'The Astronomer', is full of evocative, hushed melodies.'
The Onion, January 19, 2006

The Astronomer’s debut is a collection of hopeful and naïve tales wrapped in rustic orchestrations of pedal steel, vibraphone, upright bass, creaking electronics and Charles Kim’s lonesome voice. Their self-titled record, is available through CTD Ltd., Carrot Top Records' distributor. Their recelently completed 2nd release evokes the song construction and lyricism of the Band and mid-period Kinks, while sonically akin to releases by Can or Brian Eno. The band has finished their second collection of songs entitled "The Uncloudy Almanac", which they plan to release soon.

Charles Kim is a multi-faceted and prolific Chicago-based musician. Kim was a founding member of the Pinetop Seven (Truckstop/Atavistic) and leader of the Sinister Luck Ensemble (Perishable) and has appeared on albums by Pan American (Kranky), Fruit Bats (Perishable/Sub Pop), Verbow (Sony), Chris Mills (Powerless Pop/Sugar Free), Boxhead Ensemble (Truckstop/Atavistic) and Fred Lonberg-Holm to name a few.

As a composer, Kim has been commissioned by England's Royal College of Art, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, and the University of Chicago Doc Films Center, and has scored pieces for Showtime's "Freshman Diaries" and commercials. He records acts at his Garden Studio, including the recent Pan-American record "Quiet City" (Kranky). Charles Kim also recently composed the 2008 production of the play "Boneyard Prayers" for Chicago's venerable Redmoon Theater.