{"id":1175,"date":"2015-04-16T07:32:22","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T12:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/?p=1175"},"modified":"2015-08-03T14:24:50","modified_gmt":"2015-08-03T19:24:50","slug":"brian-olewnick-on-extinguishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2015\/04\/brian-olewnick-on-extinguishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Olewnick on “Extinguishment”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The usual thoughtful listening report from Brian Olewnick -> http:\/\/olewnick.blogspot.com\/2015\/04\/fraufraulein-extinguishment-another.html<\/a><\/p>\n

“There’s something about the structure of the three pieces–they feel very organic and unfolding, no clear framing but there’s some underlying sensation of tensile strength; I can’t figure it out, but I like it. Exciting work, great to hear.”<\/p>\n

…and to whom we now owe the gem “elephant\/Malfatti hybrid.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

complete review below:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My first thought on experiencing this release, not having heard anything from Fraufraulein (Billy Gomberg, bass guitar electronics, recordings; Anne Guthrie, french horn, electronics, recordings) since 2009’s “Donna Hayward’s Secret Diary” is how different it sounds from the work each has issued individually since then, at least to the extent I’ve heard. Though you can pick up aspects of both, it seems less like a halfway meeting point than a triangulation that results in something rather different, though perhaps weighted a bit toward Guthrie. I get the sense they’re really pushing to get out of their comfort zones and, by extension, to place themselves in a kind of “danger” where the outcome is less something fully formed than an exciting way-station. Whatever–and I could obviously be entirely wrong–it’s a an excellent recording, one that I found a little opaque at first but which really opened up on each successive listen.<\/p>\n

There’s something about the structure of the three pieces–they feel very organic and unfolding, no clear framing but there’s some underlying sensation of tensile strength; I can’t figure it out, but I like it. Guthrie’s horn, played straight, with overtones or sung into, is more overtly prominent than Gomberg’s bass, though it’s possible that any number of sounds are attributable to it, I suppose. But I hear more the horn wandering through various aural environments, often with the feeling of being outside, of looking around corners or hillsides. “convention of moss” begins with a very low bass hum, quickly engaging several strata of crackle, high feedback tones twining and numerous sounds evocative of a large space; really tons going on but always arranged in a non-cloying way, always flowing. Distant crowds, muted horn, clanging metal, that crowd congealing into an instructor and respondents, the latter singing a hymn in the sonic haze with final comments by a quietly growling Guthrie. “whalebone in a treeless landscape” starts, appropriately enough, in a far ore spare area, constricted horn floating above a desert of echoey bass notes and single, metallic clicks. The feeling is different from the first track, looser in a way, more springy and stretched out, bearing a palette full of submerged motorized sounds (dulled outboards?) amidst bell tones, far off children’s cries, barely heard, a lot more, something like a denser scene from Ferrari. Guthrie’s horn soon sounds long, low, forlorn calls through a more vacant landscape; hard not to imagine some large, pining creature, an elephant\/Malfatti hybrid. But the core of the piece is still subtly moving, rotating, taking in other vistas; a really fascinating construction, a fantastic piece. <\/p>\n

Robbie Lee contributes to the final piece, “my left hand, your right hand”, though I’m uncertain in what capacity, maybe the voice (though I’d guess that’s Guthrie) which sings a kind of simple lullaby\/chant in high register in the middle distance, over a searing sine-like tone and occasional soft bass pluck; eerie and lovely. Actually, the voice seems to morph into the horn and then something that sounds bass clarinetish is heard; it’s disorienting a little, though it sounded so innocent at first, like a benign dream slipping into malignancy, colors swirling and blending, darkening. In a way, I think it’s the most daring track here if not the most “successful”, but that’s fine, a good thing really. The footing is unsure but the push is there. <\/p>\n

Exciting work, great to hear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The usual thoughtful listening report from Brian Olewnick -> http:\/\/olewnick.blogspot.com\/2015\/04\/fraufraulein-extinguishment-another.html “There’s something about the structure of the three pieces–they feel very organic and unfolding, no clear framing but there’s some underlying sensation of tensile strength; I can’t figure it out, but I like it. Exciting work, great to hear.” …and to whom we now owe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fraufraulein","category-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1189,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2015\/07\/billmeyerdusted-extinguishment\/","url_meta":{"origin":1175,"position":0},"title":"Bill Meyer\/Dusted on “Extinguishment”","author":"billy gomberg","date":"July 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Bill Meyer writes on \u201cExtinguishment\u201d via Dusted: \u201c\u2026their collaboration confounds the rules of addition so that more seems like less. Even when they\u2019re the only ones making sounds on Extinguishment, they seem to be small parts of something larger.\u201d http:\/\/dustedmagazine.tumblr.com\/post\/123373791726\/fraufraulein-extinguishment-another-timbre complete review\u00a0below: Anne Guthrie (French horn, electronics, field recordings) and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fraufraulein"","block_context":{"text":"fraufraulein","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/fraufraulein\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1633,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2017\/11\/brian-olewnick-on-heavy-objects\/","url_meta":{"origin":1175,"position":1},"title":"Brian Olewnick on Heavy Objects","author":"billy gomberg","date":"November 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A rare missive from Brian Olewnick's woodsy retreat: How nice to have some new Fraufraulein! Anne Guthrie (French horn, objects) and Billy Gomberg (electronics, bass guitar) have a special way of creating all-but-casual soundscapes from found materials and horn snippets, often subtly underlined by Gomberg's essentially melodic take on things.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fraufraulein"","block_context":{"text":"fraufraulein","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/fraufraulein\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1148,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2015\/02\/1148\/","url_meta":{"origin":1175,"position":2},"title":"Tiny Mix Tapes previews the upcoming Fraufraulein CD","author":"billy gomberg","date":"February 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Anne & myself's...debut?...CD Extinguishment is being published by Another Timbre very very soon! Here's the early word from Taylor Peters at Tiny Mix Tapes: I've got three upcoming releases from the UK's Another Timbre, all of which are guaranteed to broaden your timbre collection substantially. The first is Extinguishment from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fraufraulein"","block_context":{"text":"fraufraulein","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/fraufraulein\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1170,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2015\/04\/ed-howard-on-extinguishment\/","url_meta":{"origin":1175,"position":3},"title":"Ed Howard on “Extinguishment”","author":"billy gomberg","date":"April 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Ed Howard\u200b offers his thoughts on \"Extinguishment\": https:\/\/reddybrownobjects.wordpress.com\/2015\/04\/06\/fraufraulein-extinguishment-2015\/ \"This is subtle, often deliberately unassuming music.\" \u00a0 complete review below: \"Anne Guthrie and Billy Gomberg have been playing together as Fraufraulein for years now, and have recorded a number of albums, but this is my first encounter with the duo. Guthrie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fraufraulein"","block_context":{"text":"fraufraulein","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/fraufraulein\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1049,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2013\/10\/brian-olewnick-on-false-heat\/","url_meta":{"origin":1175,"position":4},"title":"Brian Olewnick on False Heat","author":"billy gomberg","date":"October 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Brian Olewnick reviews False Heat, lovingly applies yet more food metaphors to my work: Gomberg's music, to the extent I've encountered it, has always been overtly engaging, almost too much so, like an irresistible candy that you initially chide yourself for enjoying its excess sweetness but, dammit, it's good and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "music"","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1182,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2015\/05\/lucas-schleicher-on-extinguishment\/","url_meta":{"origin":1175,"position":5},"title":"Lucas Schleicher on “Extinguishment”","author":"billy gomberg","date":"May 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Lucas Schleicher has posted an insightful reflection on Extinguishment over at Brainwashed... http:\/\/brainwashed.com\/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10480:fraufraulein-qextinguishmentq&catid=13:albums-and-singles&Itemid=133 \"They blend field recordings, of rain and a patriotic Norwegian parade for example, with scrapyard detritus, pair foghorn drones with the bristly friction of surface noise, and balance the eerie ambience of humming wires against a distorted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fraufraulein"","block_context":{"text":"fraufraulein","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/fraufraulein\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1175"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1197,"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175\/revisions\/1197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}