Castanets is the musical project of Raymond Raposa, a San Diego native currently residing in Portland, Oregon. While Raposa is the only constant member of the band, his records and live performances often feature a seemingly never-ending rotating cast of musicians, the line-up often changing from night to night in a single tour. First touted by Pitchfork Media, Castanets were one of the more prominent proponents of the so-called freak folk movement (also known as psychedelic folk and New Weird America) that took place in the U.S. music scene in 2003-04.