Sunday, December 19, 2010
Upcoming feature on Websynradio
Coming January 13th - 20th, my work will be featured on Websynradio, a project of Droit de Cités magazine (France). Here's the link: http://droitdecites.org/websynradio/
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Fan fiction: A narrative interpretation of 'Speak of this to no one.'
A listener sent me the following text that I thought some people would enjoy reading. I am extremely flattered and honored to have my sounds personalized and interpreted in this way. My heartfelt thanks to John and everyone else who has gotten in touch and shared their impressions with me. -JF
**********************************************
“Speak of this to no one.” is the latest album by Connecticut-based artist Joe Frawley. When I first heard the album I was surprised by my reaction to it. The first track, The Kiss reminded me of a very specific period in my childhood which is almost impossible to describe since it is really just based on feelings. I started to visualize a story to go with it which was partly based on these feelings and also on my memories of a fever I had when I was fourteen. I tried to write a review of this album but I was unable to put anything much into words. So instead I decided to write the story that I had invented, told from the point of view of the protagonist, a little girl.
Speak of this to no one.
I am sitting on the couch. I like this couch. It's so soft. But I'm cold. I hate being cold. Someone is playing a piano. It's nice. Mother is in the kitchen, as usual. I wish she would come and sit with me. I want to kiss her. Yesterday I was seven and it was sunny but no one came to my party. Now it's cloudy and I don't feel well.
I fell asleep and in my dream there was a big girl. She looked like mother but she was nice and kind. She kept saying the same things over and over again. Then she was talking about putting on make-up. When I grow up I will have make-up too. I want all black make-up not like mother's horrible pink and red. I want black make-up and black dresses. I think I am getting flu or something. I dreamed I answered the phone and there was a lady and I couldn't understand what she was saying, but she comes from a place that gets a lot of snow.
I am asleep again and now everything is safe and orange. I think I am upside-down. Mother is screaming. I am moving and there is a bright light. Someone is hitting me. I start to scream. They are going to call me Emily.
Mother is in the room. I feel so cold but everyone is saying I'm too hot. They say it's not flu and they are going to call the doctor. They keep asking me if I want things; more blankets, a drink, a teddy bear. I say yes to all of it because I don't really know where I am. Mother wants to help me get undressed. She wants me to get into bed. Everything is spinning and so bright that it hurts my eyes.
I had another dream but I was not really asleep. There were mirrors everywhere I looked and I could see myself in them. Some of them were darker and I was older in those ones. Some of them were so dark that I couldn't see what was in them but I think it was something bad.
Now I think I am awake but I'm not sure. The doctor is here and he smells of medicine. His hands are so cold. Now they are taking me outside and I am in a big white car. They are taking me down a long winding road. I can hear a bird singing and it is making me feel sad. I am afraid.
They have put a needle in my arm. There is something warm going through it. I feel calm and peaceful. I am not afraid anymore. I can hear a lady talking but I don't think she is real.
I was asleep but they woke me up with their talking. They were talking about the flowers. I'm dying and mother is talking about the flowers. I can see them and they are not even nice flowers. They are grey and withered just like me. But I think she loves them. Now nothing seems real. It's as if this is all happening on television.
Mother is by the bed. She is warm. I can feel her hand on my head. I think she is sad. I am not sad. I can feel that she loves me but I am not really there any more. Mother is crying because it was her fault that I died. It was because she did something wrong when she made my dinner. Please, speak of this to no one.
-John Croudy, October, 2010
**********************************************
“Speak of this to no one.” is the latest album by Connecticut-based artist Joe Frawley. When I first heard the album I was surprised by my reaction to it. The first track, The Kiss reminded me of a very specific period in my childhood which is almost impossible to describe since it is really just based on feelings. I started to visualize a story to go with it which was partly based on these feelings and also on my memories of a fever I had when I was fourteen. I tried to write a review of this album but I was unable to put anything much into words. So instead I decided to write the story that I had invented, told from the point of view of the protagonist, a little girl.
Speak of this to no one.
I am sitting on the couch. I like this couch. It's so soft. But I'm cold. I hate being cold. Someone is playing a piano. It's nice. Mother is in the kitchen, as usual. I wish she would come and sit with me. I want to kiss her. Yesterday I was seven and it was sunny but no one came to my party. Now it's cloudy and I don't feel well.
I fell asleep and in my dream there was a big girl. She looked like mother but she was nice and kind. She kept saying the same things over and over again. Then she was talking about putting on make-up. When I grow up I will have make-up too. I want all black make-up not like mother's horrible pink and red. I want black make-up and black dresses. I think I am getting flu or something. I dreamed I answered the phone and there was a lady and I couldn't understand what she was saying, but she comes from a place that gets a lot of snow.
I am asleep again and now everything is safe and orange. I think I am upside-down. Mother is screaming. I am moving and there is a bright light. Someone is hitting me. I start to scream. They are going to call me Emily.
Mother is in the room. I feel so cold but everyone is saying I'm too hot. They say it's not flu and they are going to call the doctor. They keep asking me if I want things; more blankets, a drink, a teddy bear. I say yes to all of it because I don't really know where I am. Mother wants to help me get undressed. She wants me to get into bed. Everything is spinning and so bright that it hurts my eyes.
I had another dream but I was not really asleep. There were mirrors everywhere I looked and I could see myself in them. Some of them were darker and I was older in those ones. Some of them were so dark that I couldn't see what was in them but I think it was something bad.
Now I think I am awake but I'm not sure. The doctor is here and he smells of medicine. His hands are so cold. Now they are taking me outside and I am in a big white car. They are taking me down a long winding road. I can hear a bird singing and it is making me feel sad. I am afraid.
They have put a needle in my arm. There is something warm going through it. I feel calm and peaceful. I am not afraid anymore. I can hear a lady talking but I don't think she is real.
I was asleep but they woke me up with their talking. They were talking about the flowers. I'm dying and mother is talking about the flowers. I can see them and they are not even nice flowers. They are grey and withered just like me. But I think she loves them. Now nothing seems real. It's as if this is all happening on television.
Mother is by the bed. She is warm. I can feel her hand on my head. I think she is sad. I am not sad. I can feel that she loves me but I am not really there any more. Mother is crying because it was her fault that I died. It was because she did something wrong when she made my dinner. Please, speak of this to no one.
-John Croudy, October, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The Avenue of the Secret Fur
New video featuring unreleased music.
Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1erVERXJao
Download from Internet Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/TheAvenueOfTheSecretFur
Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1erVERXJao
Download from Internet Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/TheAvenueOfTheSecretFur
Friday, May 28, 2010
Left Cincinnati reviewed at Leonard's Lair
http://leonardslair.wordpress.com/2010/05/28/review-joe-frawley-left-cincinatti/
Note: This is a thoughtful review, but I must disagree with his suggestion "all sorts of bad things happen to this lady". At least not in my mind they don't. -JF
****
Review text:
With a clever use of voice samples and piano melodies, Joe Frawley’s music is often beautifully evocative. Frawley himself calls these pieces short stories but it’s really up to the listener to interpret what tales are being told. ‘Left Cincinatti’ is based on the memories and dreams of an identity-shifting female.
‘Left Cincinatti’ uses a repeated refrain from a girl who “didn’t like high school” but the surrounding shimmer of noise drifting in and out of the speakers suggests all kinds of bad things happened to this young lady. ‘Secretary In Slowmo’ cuts up phone tones and white noise. On ‘Vanishing Point’ there’s an impression of a woman being suffocated, not necessarily in the literal sense but trapped in a cycle of life; the morbid piano melody only adding to the chilly, austere air. ‘The Girl On The Quay’ contains mutterings of the “birds and the bees down by the sea” set to strings and seagull cries whilst at other times women giggle and sigh for reasons unknown.
The messages in ‘Left Cincinatti’ are all too vague to truly know what’s going on but they’re undeniably hypnotic. Moreover, Frawley’s compositions have steadily taken on an increasingly darker hue and you wonder how far he will go next time around.
Note: This is a thoughtful review, but I must disagree with his suggestion "all sorts of bad things happen to this lady". At least not in my mind they don't. -JF
****
Review text:
With a clever use of voice samples and piano melodies, Joe Frawley’s music is often beautifully evocative. Frawley himself calls these pieces short stories but it’s really up to the listener to interpret what tales are being told. ‘Left Cincinatti’ is based on the memories and dreams of an identity-shifting female.
‘Left Cincinatti’ uses a repeated refrain from a girl who “didn’t like high school” but the surrounding shimmer of noise drifting in and out of the speakers suggests all kinds of bad things happened to this young lady. ‘Secretary In Slowmo’ cuts up phone tones and white noise. On ‘Vanishing Point’ there’s an impression of a woman being suffocated, not necessarily in the literal sense but trapped in a cycle of life; the morbid piano melody only adding to the chilly, austere air. ‘The Girl On The Quay’ contains mutterings of the “birds and the bees down by the sea” set to strings and seagull cries whilst at other times women giggle and sigh for reasons unknown.
The messages in ‘Left Cincinatti’ are all too vague to truly know what’s going on but they’re undeniably hypnotic. Moreover, Frawley’s compositions have steadily taken on an increasingly darker hue and you wonder how far he will go next time around.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Fan video
So honored by this simple yet beautiful fan video: http://dopolamorte.blogspot.com/2010/04/joe-frawley.html
The piece is "The City (Map 2)", from The Hypnotist : http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/track/the-city-map-2
(also available on the A Book of Dreams CD)
The piece is "The City (Map 2)", from The Hypnotist : http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/track/the-city-map-2
(also available on the A Book of Dreams CD)
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Sound Projector reviews Left Cincinnati
http://www.thesoundprojector.com/2010/05/01/memory-cold-and-raw/
Left Cincinnatti (JOE FRAWLEY MUSIC JFM-CD08) is the new release from Joe Frawley, the Connecticut pianist and sound-collagist. Continuing preoccupations manifested most strongly on his last release Emperor Of Daffodils, this release is full of voices, taken from a variety of sources – cut-up voices, prepared texts read by actresses, sounds sourced from YouTube and dialect recordings, and so forth. Along with the shimmering and stirring electronic music, tape workings and nostalgic piano work, Frawley once again tells stories, building his fragmented and overlaid narratives out of fleeting moments, impressions and traces. For what it’s worth, I seem to hear at least one narrative thread on here that is full of the sadness of a wasted life, thwarted ambitions and the tedium of a compromised job. The career girl who didn’t like high school ends up working as a secretary in a soulless bureaucratic establishment, where the very ring of a telephone strikes a chord of existential despair. As is customary, all of this is woven together with Frawley’s characteristic dream-like and ambiguous soft-focus manner, leaving a very open-ended yet incredibly dense text for the listener to revisit. Despair and loneliness are kept at arm’s length via rich and beautiful art.
Left Cincinnatti (JOE FRAWLEY MUSIC JFM-CD08) is the new release from Joe Frawley, the Connecticut pianist and sound-collagist. Continuing preoccupations manifested most strongly on his last release Emperor Of Daffodils, this release is full of voices, taken from a variety of sources – cut-up voices, prepared texts read by actresses, sounds sourced from YouTube and dialect recordings, and so forth. Along with the shimmering and stirring electronic music, tape workings and nostalgic piano work, Frawley once again tells stories, building his fragmented and overlaid narratives out of fleeting moments, impressions and traces. For what it’s worth, I seem to hear at least one narrative thread on here that is full of the sadness of a wasted life, thwarted ambitions and the tedium of a compromised job. The career girl who didn’t like high school ends up working as a secretary in a soulless bureaucratic establishment, where the very ring of a telephone strikes a chord of existential despair. As is customary, all of this is woven together with Frawley’s characteristic dream-like and ambiguous soft-focus manner, leaving a very open-ended yet incredibly dense text for the listener to revisit. Despair and loneliness are kept at arm’s length via rich and beautiful art.
Monday, April 19, 2010
European Radio and Net Label Features
"False Memory" from Daughters of Industry has been selected for the upcoming release:
Bezdna Radio Essentials 016, from the Silent Flow Netlabel, Chisinau, Moldova.
http://silent.com.md/label/
"Tough Times", also from Daughters of Industry, was featured on the radioshow
"Vrije Radicalen", Netherlands.
http://www.concertzender.nl/programmagids.php?date=2010-04-22&month=0&detail=41122
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Nice review via AmbientBlog.net
http://www.vancooten.com/blog/?e=292
After exploring various diversions of his musical art-form, Left Cincinnati feels like a 'return to form' of the sounds Joe Frawley presented on his 2008 album The Hypnotist.
The desolate piano sounds from the opening track "Plain Yellow Dress" immediately bring you to deserted playgrounds of your mind, with cutup fragments and almost ungraspable vocal samples.
I guess that's an appropriate enough description for this album. The collected sounds on this album are closely related: they all share the strange, alienated impressions of memories of distant past, of travelling on and of leaving home.
The soundscapes can sometimes also be quite unnerving, especially in the overtly sexual references of some fragments. I sometimes find these samples uncomfortable, almost embarrassing, to listen to, as if they present sound fragments I was not intended to hear.
Since his first release (Wilhelmina's Dream, 2006) Joe Frawley definitely has developed an immediately recognisable, personal - and different - style - which I suggest you check out!
The physical release of Left Cincinnati is limited to 100.
But it can also be downloaded from Bandcamp (along with his other releases).
After exploring various diversions of his musical art-form, Left Cincinnati feels like a 'return to form' of the sounds Joe Frawley presented on his 2008 album The Hypnotist.
The desolate piano sounds from the opening track "Plain Yellow Dress" immediately bring you to deserted playgrounds of your mind, with cutup fragments and almost ungraspable vocal samples.
"Short stories for processed found sounds and piano, exploring the dreams and
memories of an identity-shifting female protagonist"
I guess that's an appropriate enough description for this album. The collected sounds on this album are closely related: they all share the strange, alienated impressions of memories of distant past, of travelling on and of leaving home.
The soundscapes can sometimes also be quite unnerving, especially in the overtly sexual references of some fragments. I sometimes find these samples uncomfortable, almost embarrassing, to listen to, as if they present sound fragments I was not intended to hear.
Since his first release (Wilhelmina's Dream, 2006) Joe Frawley definitely has developed an immediately recognisable, personal - and different - style - which I suggest you check out!
The physical release of Left Cincinnati is limited to 100.
But it can also be downloaded from Bandcamp (along with his other releases).
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Just Not Normal
The wonderful Just Not Normal net-label has been kind enough to release the Angel Boxes mini CD through it's channels. Check it out along with the rest of their fine offerings: http://justnotnormal.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/jnn086-joe-frawley-angel-boxes/
Sunday, March 28, 2010
New Releases, Spring 2010
Some news.
News 1. Left Cincinnati, a new 35 minute release, is available now as compact disc or download. This is a collection of sound and piano collages, exploring the dreams and memories of an identity-shifting female protagonist. Details on how to get it here: http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/left-cincinnati
News 1. Left Cincinnati, a new 35 minute release, is available now as compact disc or download. This is a collection of sound and piano collages, exploring the dreams and memories of an identity-shifting female protagonist. Details on how to get it here: http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/left-cincinnati
News 2. A new *free* release is available to download via Bandcamp.
Angel Boxes is a short collection of voice collages and musical experiments done with my friend Rachel. Check it out here: http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/angel-boxes
News 3. Two re-releases on Bandcamp. Emperor of Daffodils and The Hypnotist, previously CD only, are now available as downloads. Here are the links:
http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/emperor-of-daffodils
http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/the-hypnotist
(Bandcamp is great. MP3s are better quality than iTunes, and they have a really easy user interface. $$ is handled through PayPal.)
Thanks again for listening and supporting. Fan me on FaceBook if you haven't already http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joe-Frawley/39333519893.
-JF
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Left Cincinnati promotional video
Compact disc release date April 2010.
Stream or download album now via Bandcamp: http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/left-cincinnati
Stream or download album now via Bandcamp: http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/left-cincinnati
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Angel Boxes
New vocal experiments with Rachel. I am planning to co-release this as a miniCD, along with the "Left Cincinnati" EP later this spring. Meanwhile it can be downloaded for free here: http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/angel-boxes
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
January update
Two mini-announcements:
1. Emperor of Daffodils, formerly a CD only release, is now available as a digital download from Bandcamp
LINK: http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/emperor-of-daffodils
2. The forthcoming Left Cincinnati (JFM-CD09) is on schedule for a spring 2010 release. The audio has been completed and design work is underway for CD packaging. The track list and album credits will be as follows:
Left Cincinnati Duration 35:08
1. That Flower 3:40
2. Left Cincinnati 4:35
3. Plain Yellow Dress 5:26
4. The Line 5:07
5. A Secret Story 2:59
6. The Girl on the Quay 4:06
7. Cumulus 8:09
8. Vanishing Point 1:03
Credits and Appropriations
Joe Frawley: piano & electric keyboards, found sounds, synthesized sounds, MIDI programming, electronic processing and arrangement. All original music composed and performed by Joe Frawley. "Ohio 6" dialect sample used by special permission of the International Dialects of English Archive, Paul Meier, founder & director. Amplifier feedback and distortion by Greg Conte. Chemistry textbook read by Amy Kennedy. Sample pack "Amy G", provided by Corsica_S, via The Freesound Project. Other musical samples include: Sample pack "Katy" served by The Freesound Project and produced by Digifish Music; "Fox Lemons" and "Sunday" from the Mememolly YouTube channel, performed by Molly Windman; brief a cappella vocal improvisation from the VHS recording In Concert: Live From Royal Festival Hall London, performed by Bernadette Peters; and "Toads" written and performed by Mia Mastrangelo. Additional vocals by Rachel Rambach. Copyright 2010, all rights reserved.
Thank you again for your continued support,
JF
1. Emperor of Daffodils, formerly a CD only release, is now available as a digital download from Bandcamp
LINK: http://joefrawley.bandcamp.com/album/emperor-of-daffodils
2. The forthcoming Left Cincinnati (JFM-CD09) is on schedule for a spring 2010 release. The audio has been completed and design work is underway for CD packaging. The track list and album credits will be as follows:
Left Cincinnati Duration 35:08
1. That Flower 3:40
2. Left Cincinnati 4:35
3. Plain Yellow Dress 5:26
4. The Line 5:07
5. A Secret Story 2:59
6. The Girl on the Quay 4:06
7. Cumulus 8:09
8. Vanishing Point 1:03
Credits and Appropriations
Joe Frawley: piano & electric keyboards, found sounds, synthesized sounds, MIDI programming, electronic processing and arrangement. All original music composed and performed by Joe Frawley. "Ohio 6" dialect sample used by special permission of the International Dialects of English Archive, Paul Meier, founder & director. Amplifier feedback and distortion by Greg Conte. Chemistry textbook read by Amy Kennedy. Sample pack "Amy G", provided by Corsica_S, via The Freesound Project. Other musical samples include: Sample pack "Katy" served by The Freesound Project and produced by Digifish Music; "Fox Lemons" and "Sunday" from the Mememolly YouTube channel, performed by Molly Windman; brief a cappella vocal improvisation from the VHS recording In Concert: Live From Royal Festival Hall London, performed by Bernadette Peters; and "Toads" written and performed by Mia Mastrangelo. Additional vocals by Rachel Rambach. Copyright 2010, all rights reserved.
Thank you again for your continued support,
JF
Friday, January 1, 2010
Joe Frawley Music 2010
It's 2010, as good a time as any to announce that a new CD will be released, with luck, in the spring. The working title is Left Cincinnati. Also felt like a good time to revise my bio and artist's statement. Here are the new versions, which are more in line with my current intentions.
Bio
Joe Frawley (b. July 4, 1971) is an experimental composer and pianist working out of Norwich, Connecticut whose works blur the boundary between music and sound art. By layering and juxtaposing original music with processed found sounds, field recordings, and recontextualized speech fragments, the composer creates challenging yet accessible sound assemblages bearing a hypnotic dreamlike quality. His works have been widely broadcast internationally and appear on several prominent experimental music compilations, including Vibrö No. 4: Music No Music, published by Double Entendre, Paris.
Artist's statement
I am a pianist, composer, and sound collage artist whose work falls between the cracks of several musical genres. My approach is to combine original music with found sound samples, which I process and arrange electronically to simulate subconscious states, such as dreams, trances, auditory hallucinations, involuntary memories, etc. The found sounds could be voices, sound effects, or musical samples appropriated from a variety of prerecorded media, as well as original field recordings. I particularly enjoy recontextualizing speech samples (a favorite source being public radio interviews) and combining them with other sounds to create new meanings. At the same time, I aim to place the spoken word on equal footing with music, thereby calling attention to the musical qualities of speech. As I continue to work, I find myself drawing increasingly from the female voice: I believe it is the most beautiful instrument in the world. I am fascinated and moved by the tone of female speech, singing, pre-vocal aspiration, sighs, laughter, and the wide variety of wordless vocal expressions for which there are no names. Due to the prevalence of spoken word samples, the resulting work tends to suggest a narrative, however I try not to impose a particular story upon the listener, preferring instead the individual and subjective interpretations of imaginative minds.
-JF
Bio
Joe Frawley (b. July 4, 1971) is an experimental composer and pianist working out of Norwich, Connecticut whose works blur the boundary between music and sound art. By layering and juxtaposing original music with processed found sounds, field recordings, and recontextualized speech fragments, the composer creates challenging yet accessible sound assemblages bearing a hypnotic dreamlike quality. His works have been widely broadcast internationally and appear on several prominent experimental music compilations, including Vibrö No. 4: Music No Music, published by Double Entendre, Paris.
Artist's statement
I am a pianist, composer, and sound collage artist whose work falls between the cracks of several musical genres. My approach is to combine original music with found sound samples, which I process and arrange electronically to simulate subconscious states, such as dreams, trances, auditory hallucinations, involuntary memories, etc. The found sounds could be voices, sound effects, or musical samples appropriated from a variety of prerecorded media, as well as original field recordings. I particularly enjoy recontextualizing speech samples (a favorite source being public radio interviews) and combining them with other sounds to create new meanings. At the same time, I aim to place the spoken word on equal footing with music, thereby calling attention to the musical qualities of speech. As I continue to work, I find myself drawing increasingly from the female voice: I believe it is the most beautiful instrument in the world. I am fascinated and moved by the tone of female speech, singing, pre-vocal aspiration, sighs, laughter, and the wide variety of wordless vocal expressions for which there are no names. Due to the prevalence of spoken word samples, the resulting work tends to suggest a narrative, however I try not to impose a particular story upon the listener, preferring instead the individual and subjective interpretations of imaginative minds.
-JF
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To Joe Frawley Music News
Posts
All Comments
About Me
- Joe Frawley
- Joe Frawley (b. July 4, 1971) is a composer, pianist and visual artist whose works blur the boundary between music and sound art. By layering and juxtaposing original piano music with processed found sounds, field recordings, and recontextualized speech fragments, the composer creates challenging yet accessible sound assemblages bearing a hypnotic dreamlike quality.