Jessamine

This is a fan/tribute page to the magnificent Jessamine.
Approved by the band.
an old picture with (from left to right): Jason Ritter,
Rex Ritter, Andy Brown & Dawn Smithson.
The BIOGRAPHY
(kranky site)
Like a few people, kranky first became aware of Jessamine in 1994 when we got a hold of their debut, self-released seven inch single. Wrapped in silver paper and bearing the logo of the Silver Apple label, and an Alan Vega cover, the band was sending out signals to those willing to receive them. A second single followed and kranky was able to sign the Seattle-based quartet.
To play wavering, keyboard heavy music in mid-90s Seattle was no small feat, Jessamine were swimming against a flannel tide. Guitarist Rex Ritter moved to the Pacific Northwest from Ohio (where he played in a band with his brother who contributed drums to some of the early Jessamine recordings) and met up with keyboardist Andy Brown and bassist/singer Dawn Smithson.
The self-titled Jessamine debut album came wrapped in translucent paper and received accolades in the press. It was 1994.
Jessamine recorded their second album, Long Arm of Coincidence in their home studio. Touring had made the band airtight, honing their melodic material as it fed their musical ambition. kranky released the double LP/CD in 1996.
"If there is any one band that's really doing something interesting with the rhythmic and experimental concepts behind '70s bands Can and Neu! it is Jessamine. This double-LP, the group's second effort, is an even fuller, more driven and inspired record than its startling debut. It's the kind of record that if you put it on and let it sway you for an hour or so, it will sometimes sound like its dissolving completely, becoming lost in a bubbling cauldron of guitars-leaned-on-amps and gurgling Moog noises, with only the drums holding it together." James Lien, CMJ New Music Report, Sept. 9, 1996
Jessamine began a nationwide tour with Bardo Pond, then pulled up stakes and moved from Seattle to Portland in late 1996. With more room for home recording equipment. A sixteen track recording set up came together. A number of singles came out (later collected on the band's own Histrionic label as the CD Another Fictionalized History) and the group collaborated with Sonic Boom's Spectrum band for a cover of The Silver Apples' "A Pox On You." A massive live collaboration between Jessamine and Experimental Audio Research would later be released on Histrionic as well.
Then, in 1998, came the third album, Don't Stay Too Long. The band had tightened up on the extended interplay of previous recordings, concentrating on song structures.
At the point when so many musicians supposedly advancing the soundform were content to lean on the effects peddles, noodle away or dabble with breakbeats, Jessamine had crafted their best album, demonstrating how instrumental aptitude and sonic experimentation could be focussed into songs. For better or for worse, the band quit while they were on top. Dawn Smithson returned to college in Seattle and Michael Faeth moved to Davis, CA while Rex Ritter and Andy Brown completed their new studio Magnetic Park and began putting together Fontanelle.
The DISCOGRAPHY
"Ordinary Sleep" b/w "Cheree" - 1992 - 7" - Silver Apple Records --The first release, the band wears its influences on its sleeve. Self release on their own record label named after pioneering 60's synthesizer/drums duo the Silver Apples, Jessamine covers a classic twisted pop song by Suicide on the b-side.
"Cellophane" b/w "(I'm Not Afraid of) Electricity" - 1993 - 7" - Silver Apple Records --Second 7" featuring the perfect swirling pop song on the a-side and effect laden improvisation that hints at things to come on the b-side.
"Jessamine" - 1994 - CD/LP - Kranky Records --Debut full length that created a bridge from psychedelic pop songs to improvised studio compositions. Released on fledgling Chicago label, Kranky, which quickly became major player in atmospheric music from Labradford, Bowery Electric, and other like minded artists. Lovely packaging.
"Your Head is So Small, It's Like a Little Light" b/w "Soon the World of Fashion Will Take an Interest in These Proceedings" - 1994 - 7" - Sub Pop --Limited edition very special packaging complete with screw through the center of the record. Endearing pop song on a-side transforms into extended sprawl that continues onto B-side
"A Pox on You" - 1995 - CD/EP - Space Age Recordings --Collaborative recording with Spectrum. Title track is a cover of a classic Silver Apples track. Also features transcendent instrumental composition "Radiophonic" as well as Sonic Boom's signature space odysseys.
"(I'm Not Afraid of) Electricity" - 1995 - compilation single on "The New Atlantis" - Space Age Recordings --Taken from the B-side of the "Cellophane" single, for European release.
"Reflections" - 1995 - split 7" w/Sabine & Buddha On The Moon - Audrey's Diary --very early pop song with hints of later sonic experiments.
"All the Same" - 1996 - compilation single on "Follow the Bouncing Ball" - Ba Da Bing --Somber improvised pop song, later appeared on "The Long Arm...."
"Ordinary Sleep" - 1996 - compilation single on "Monsters, Robots, and Bugmen" - Virgin --Early single re-released.
"The Long Arm of Coincidence" - 1996 - CD/LP - Kranky Records --Quintessential improvisation based double album. Extended forays interspersed with haunting vocals. Recorded at home to allow for natural song development and spontaneity. A classic.
"22:30" - 1996 - compilation single on "Harmony of the Spheres" 4-LP - Drunken Fish Records --Very special, limited release. 22+ minute song based on one spectacular improvisation. One of the bands finest musical accomplishments. Look for possible CD reissue on Drunken Fish.
"Live at Off the Record" - 1997 - split single given away with magazine "Ptolemaic Terrascope" --Live improvised instrumental from San Diego record store performance.
"From Hereto and Now Otherwise" - 1997 - split 7" with Flying Saucer Attack - Enraptured --Another improvisation from "The Long Arm...." sessions.
"Seagreen" - 1997- split 7" with Transparent Thing - Darla --Yet another improvised instrumental from "The Long Arm..." sessions.
"Another Fictionalized History" - 1997 - CD/LP - Histrionic Recordings --First release on the bands own Histrionic Recordings label. A collection of many of the above singles and compilation tracks, some remixed or rerecorded, as well as some unreleased tracks.
"Greg Anderson" - 1997 - compilation single on "Live at Moe" - World Domination --Dark live improvisation from now defunct Seattle nightclub. Features special guest, Angel Ripper, on guitar.
"Don't Stay Too Long" - 1998 - CD/LP - Kranky Records --Beautifully composed full length with more emphasis on song writing and structure while still keeping their improvisation abilities in tact.
"Living Sound" - 1999 - CD - Histrionic Recordings --Live improvisation with Sonic Boom as E.A.R.