“This quizzically named outfit is comprised solely of Billy Gomberg and Anne Guthrie. Each specializes in a particular instrument (Gomberg the bass guitar and Guthrie the French horn) while also doing considerable work with electronics and recordings, not so much in manipulating the sound of said instrument as in atmospheric conjuration, environmental collage. Many readers will be familiar with Guthrie\u2019s achievements in this area, on an impressive string of recordings under her name. Gomberg has recorded somewhat less frequently, though his collaborations with Richard Kamerman and others are well worth investigation.<\/p>\n
Fraufraulein themselves have been quietly prolific over the last half-decade or so. Based on the quality and suggestiveness of their music here, three tracks culled from a four-date (mostly Midwestern) tour last year, it\u2019d be a shame if they didn\u2019t get more attention than currently seems to be the case. On each of these pieces, the mechanical and the environmental blend together provocatively, giving a clear (but ever changing) sense of dimension and palpability to this music. One key to this is the persistent use of a full, resonant lower register, something that immediately stands out on \u201cconvention of moss.\u201d There is a slow accretion of whines, then a blossoming to reveal lapping waves, voices across the gymnasium (which eventually seem to morph into some national anthem), subtle bells and arpeggios.<\/p>\n
These kinds of transformations, with regular curve balls that cue up subsequent parallel or perpendicular courses of development, mark these performances. They might linger, almost languidly, in a particular atmosphere before a sonic shift \u2013 a stone turntable slowing down, for example \u2013 suddenly emerges as jarring. In some places, as with \u201cwhalebone in a treeless landscape,\u201d the music is quite spare, the sound of string resonators and aerophones possessing an organic essence that makes it sound as if they were invented for some hidden culture\u2019s ritual. What\u2019s especially remarkable about this piece, though, is how it shifts from these beginnings to impart the sense of being deep in the hold of some marine vessel. For the closing \u201cmy left hand, your right hand,\u201d one hears what sounds like someone chanting plainsong while a rattle is held on an ebowed string, the whole giving off serious overtones of Gavin Bryars\u2019 The Sinking of the Titanic<\/em>. Here we really hear amp reverb and atmospherics, and Guthrie\u2019s descent into the Bill Dixon horn echosphere, as paper and woodblocks are dropped to the floor of a haunted factory filled with the sound of chimes.<\/p>\nAs the above observations make clear, Fraufraulein\u2019s music is much more unapologetically imagistic (if that makes sense) than much of the other stuff in this general area, even if it seems to problematize its referential range by being so furtive and so unpredictable in its juxtapositions. But whatever your take on that particular interrogation of voice, instrument, and reference, the sounds here are compelling in their immediacy, and don\u2019t require any conceptual investment.” -Jason Bivins<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“On each of these pieces, the mechanical and the environmental blend together provocatively, giving a clear (but ever changing) sense of dimension and palpability to this music.” http:\/\/www.pointofdeparture.org\/PoD51\/PoD51MoreMoments3.html (entire writeup pasted below)<\/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":[30,4,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fraufraulein","category-music","category-review"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1621,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2017\/10\/fraufraulein-in-hibias\/","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":0},"title":"fraufraulein in HiBias!","author":"billy gomberg","date":"October 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"super happy to be included in the October '17 edition of Marc Masters' great HiBias column for Bandcamp, talking about heavy objects, living with music, being a family... https:\/\/daily.bandcamp.com\/2017\/10\/31\/hi-bias-october-2017\/ full text below: As fraufraulein, the New York-based duo of Andy Guthrie and Billy Gomberg make music that feels telepathic, as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fraufraulein"","block_context":{"text":"fraufraulein","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/fraufraulein\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hi-bias-oct-2.gif?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hi-bias-oct-2.gif?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hi-bias-oct-2.gif?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1148,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2015\/02\/1148\/","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":1},"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":746,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2011\/07\/861-fraufraulein-studio-z-st-paul-mn\/","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":2},"title":"8\/6\/11: fraufraulein, Studio Z, St Paul MN","author":"billy gomberg","date":"July 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This Saturday, August 6th, Anne + I will be giving a special little concert in the Twin Cities, at Studio Z in downtown St Paul. This concert has been arranged and promoted by Jesse Goin, and here's what he has to say about it: Crow with no mouth promotions is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "event"","block_context":{"text":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"fraufraulein concert, 8\/6\/11","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/ff_twincities0811.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/ff_twincities0811.jpeg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/ff_twincities0811.jpeg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/ff_twincities0811.jpeg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2195,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2024\/06\/emnanahari-edit-em-cs-digital-dinzu-artefacts-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":3},"title":"Nanahari Edit (CS\/digital, Dinzu Artefacts, 2024)","author":"billy gomberg","date":"June 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The undulating waves and patterns of electronic sound are layered with field recordings that capture the incidental textures of daily life \u2013 together ushering in a mesmerizing sound world: elegiac, yet playful, and utterly sensuous. This world blossoms within the blurred space connecting interior and exterior life, wherein each sound\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "music"","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/japan-sept23-20230905-000007800015-Tokyo-portra800-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/japan-sept23-20230905-000007800015-Tokyo-portra800-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/japan-sept23-20230905-000007800015-Tokyo-portra800-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/japan-sept23-20230905-000007800015-Tokyo-portra800-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/japan-sept23-20230905-000007800015-Tokyo-portra800-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1818,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2021\/04\/solum-in-dusted\/","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":4},"title":"Solum in Dusted","author":"billy gomberg","date":"April 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bryon Hayes writes up Solum in the ever-reliable Dusted: Fraufraulein\u2019s music is immersive. Anne Guthrie and Billy Gomberg beam themselves, and us along with them, Quantum Leap-style directly into multiple environments in medias res. Through the clever employment of field recordings, they transport us to a hurricane-addled beach, performing a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":528,"url":"https:\/\/www.fraufraulein.com\/billy\/2010\/02\/fraufraulein-richard-kamerman-on-compost-height\/","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":5},"title":"Fraufraulein + Richard Kamerman on Compost & Height","author":"billy gomberg","date":"February 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A late winter bit of music for you - recordings by Fraufraulein (myself and Anne Guthrie) and Richard Kamerman made in concert just before we left for our August 2009 tour as Delicate Sen, being presented here by Compost & Height, in luscious *.wav format. 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