Discover your newest binge and get to know our staff a little better with the Asia Society Texas Center team's favorite ways to stay entertained indoors! With our Deep Dives each week, we take you on a journey into the obsessions of individual staff members for an in-depth look at a specific art form or cultural production.

Meet Alauna

Alauna Rubin is Asia Society Texas Center's Production Manager. They are an audio engineer and musician that loves to talk about music. In their free time they enjoy long bike rides, video games, and scouring the internet for new music and movies. 

What I am currently enjoying

I recently discovered the folk artist Zitten and have been playing their song Feel Alright on repeat ever since. I have a feeling it will bring some much-needed calm to many minds in this trying time right now. The vocals are mixed to be upfront and personal which lends to a more intimate sound. This makes it feel like the singer is in front of me, serenading me personally with his beautiful and soothing voice. This song is so serene and catchy that there's simply no way to listen to it and not, you guessed it, feel all right.

Find it on: Spotify | iTunes

What I find myself returning to again and again

I've never stopped enjoying the album Bitte Orca, and every song on it has its own appeal as a song and as a step within the album. Dirty Projectors have a tendency to make complex, catchy, experimental music and I think this album represents the most compelling combination of those tendencies from their earlier catalog.

Find it on: Spotify | Dirty Projectors' website

Projects that aren't yet available that I am looking forward to hearing

Deerhoof's new album Future Teenage Cage Artists is coming out on May 29 and I'm super excited to hear it. They've released two songs from the album as singles already and they sound wild. I'm a sucker for cool sounds, and Deerhoof has consistently released music that takes sonic risks.

Find it on: Spotify | Deerhoof's website

An artist that excites me

Shawn Wasabi is an incredible finger drummer and an amazing artist. There are a ton of reasons to be excited about Shawn, but I'm just in love with how cheerful and expertly crafted his music is. His songs are live performed on a MIDI controller called the MIDI Fighter 64, which was created for him, and later mass-produced as a result of fans creating a petition to have it made. He started out doing mashups but he also does originals and collaborates with other artists, and I'm always impressed with the results. I can't stop listening to his song "Snack"; it's an absolute anthem. It's just so darn positive and catchy that I'm sure once you hear it, you'll be stuck on it like me.

If you're interested in seeing some of his process and story, I'd start here:

My wildcard recommendation

Destiny 2 Original Soundtrack: Track 11 – Journey (featuring Kronos Quartet). I'm a huge fan of video games and I've put way too many hours into the Destiny universe than I'd care to mention. Bungie, the developer of this game, is well-known for using beautiful music in their games and Destiny 2 is no exception. This track is from the original soundtrack and features the Kronos Quartet who happens to have performed on our stage recently. The song is presented during a point in the story when it seems that all hope is lost, the playable character has no power, and the enemy has seemingly won. Then, you discover a new hope and a way to fight back. This song creates a clear sonic space and fills it with intense emotion. The production is top-notch, the performances are virtuosic, and it completely embodies the title. It's a journey.

Business and Policy programs are endowed by Huffington Foundation. We give special thanks to Bank of America, Muffet Blake, Anne and Albert Chao, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Nancy Pollok Guinee, United Airlines, and Wells Fargo, Presenting Sponsors of Business and Policy programs; Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, and Leslie and Brad Bucher, Presenting Sponsors of Exhibitions; Dr. Ellen R. Gritz and Milton D. Rosenau and Wells Fargo, Presenting Sponsors of Performing Arts and Culture; and Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Presenting Sponsor of the Japan Series. General support of programs and exhibitions is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Hearts Foundation, Inc., Houston Endowment, Inc., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, McKinsey & Company, Inc., National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, Vinson & Elkins LLP, and Mary Lawrence Porter, as well as Friends of Asia Society.

About Asia Society at Home

Though Asia Society is temporarily closed, we are dedicated to continuing our mission of building cross-cultural understanding and uplifting human connectivity. Using digital tools, we bring you content for all ages and conversations that matter, in order to spark curiosity about Asia and to foster empathy.

About Asia Society Texas Center

With 13 locations throughout the world, Asia Society is the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and West. Asia Society Texas Center executes the global mission with a local focus, enriching and engaging the vast diversity of Houston through innovative, relevant programs in arts and culture, business and policy, education, and community outreach.