Fessenden

Music:

Member Since: 8/15/2005
Band Website: other-electricities.com
Band Members:
Photo by: Danielle Ricciardi

Influences:

Review in Hawaiian Winter

Fessenden - v1.1

Fessenden has recently put out a full-length album, v1.1 on Other Electricities, a label that evidently has a fine ear for talent and originality. As soon as I was about a minute into the first track, it became immediately obvious that Fessenden is not just another group of jackasses who think that because they can make noise, they are experimental musicians. In fact, this trio has been making quality experimental improvisations and recordings for some time and this new effort is another welcome step forward.

Their Other Electricities debut is a well crafted, intricate collection of musical ideas that beautifully maintains a balance between sonic microsurgery and grand scope. The five compositions that make up this album form a cohesive musical whole while presenting unique, mature ideas that develop into musical microcosms, building intricate aural images that swirl and pool inside your head. This release is not to be missed.

9.5/10

Review in Mapsadasical

Fessenden - v1.1

I must confess on first listen (and before I’d read their names) I wouldn’t have pegged Fessenden’s Joshua Convey, Steven Hess and Stephen Fiehn as American. After the ominous wintry field recordings set to subsonic rumble of “Not Sleeping Just Resting“, and then the drones, loops, and layers of static of “Mid-Swing” , I had this pegged as Scandinavian. Probably Finnish (sounds a bit like Pan Sonic, to be fair). However it was the warmth of “Diode” that melted the walls between my crude national stereotypes; with its intricate electronics and light-touch percussion I began to hear echoes of oh-so-patient jazz dabblers such as Radian and Rothko. All of this is brought together with an assuredness of touch within the pulsing, abrasive “A Walk In The Park” which gets a drummer to accompany the burble of the River Styx. v1.1 is a clever record, so clever in fact that it transcends all boundaries, earthly or otherwise.

I’ve probably asked this before, but if someone could listen to all this stuff for me, and tell me what I like, it’d probably free up a bit of time for me down the stables. I could probably fix that dodgy latch on the door. Practice buying stuff and listening to it with a copy of v1.1 from Other Electricities.

Review in The Squid's Ear

Fessenden - v1.1

Comprised of bassist Joshua Convey, guitarist Stephen Fiehn and drummer/vibraphonist Steven Hess, all of whom double on electronics, the chroma-key dissolves created by Fessenden immediately recall another enigmatic trio, Radian. Both groups comfortably blur the margins of electroacoustic improvisation, treat the fertile environs of performance and studio as one in the same, and wreak havoc with what us misbegotten mortals construe as "sound" and "music." Like the CD booklet's prismatic lightrays, more brilliant than a dozen suns, Fessenden's constructions simultaneously illuminate and puzzle.Evidenced by the group's brittle causal events, Other Electricities might have scorched the sky with the release of V1.1, divvying up a catalog whose ear wasn't exactly bent towards abject experimentalism. Right from the opening "Not Sleeping, Just Resting," you know you're not in Kansas anymore (hell, not even within Earthly confines). Dischordant, low-pitched grumbles oscillate below strangely ritualistic shaker noises and what sounds like a half-muted wail foggily pulsing off the event horizon; it's an ominous start, wholly cinematic, indistinct, and even mildly scary, something at odds with the usual run of post-Tortoise impressionists who have traded chance opportunity for more polite contemporary "hard bop" variants. Following this is "Mid-Swing," about as un-metric and far away from the annals of "dance" as is stylistically possible. Convey lets loose a series of bass thrombosi over which Hess melts, oozes, and convulses a conglomerate of metals and mysterious fibrous scuttles; turning up the dial on his amp, guitarist Fiehn unfurls a curdling pattern of spindly shapes that effectively split open the surroundings. This sense of all things vibrating off of shiny chrome surfaces reaches its apex on "Diode," where Radian's ghostdigital paraphernalia finds its doppelganger in Fessenden's morass of pinging synthetics, phased-out dial tones, and stinging acid rain.

Improv, particularly of the electroacoustic variety, has for years retreated into the less confrontational elements of microsound and minimalism, afraid of its shadow, embracing instead great tracts of silence in what has often seemed a vainglorious search for new "frontiers." Some of those recordings have well indeed been enormously successful; conversely, in their controlled chaos, in the bracing complexity of their arrangements, Fessenden appear unafraid to bring on the noise, hook up the toys, and parry with the big boys.
- Darren Bergstein

Review in Vital Weekly - 661

Fessenden - v1.1 (other electricities)

This trio of Joshua Convey (bass, electronics), Stephen Fiehn (guitar, electronics) and Steven Hess (drums, percussion, vibraphone, electronics) do something different than Baja and Dot Tape Dot. Improvisation is at the core of their music, but not at the end of the road. They record everything they do and play around with the recordings before we hear them. Composed from improvisation. So far they had a couple of releases on Entr'acte, Chat Blanc (which they recorded with Keith Berry) and Stasisfield, but 'v1.1' is their first full length CD release. Overall, their music is highly atmospheric, even when there are outbursts in sound, such as in 'Peak V/Z*sin', the final track of the CD, but that is a rarity. Usually their sound is more like a continuos stream, in which things rise up, take shape and move away, like watching the sea. On the whole it looks the same, but close by it has all sorts of different looks. In a piece like 'Mid-Swing' they give new meaning to the world minimal techno, in a slow but moving shaker of a piece. Fessenden has succeeded in making a great debut album with their original blend of improvisation, composition, musique concrete and rock music. Very nice one. (FdW) Address: http://www.other-electricities.com

Review from Gaz-eta magazine

v1.1 (other electricities)

Not sure where to place the trio of Fessenden, other than to say, the music they erect is a mish-mash of styles. Neither musique concrete, nor eai, they seem to rely on their gut to get these sounds out. Put together by bassist Joshua Convey, guitarist Stephen Fiehn and percussionist Steven Hess, each of the band members also dabbles in electronics. From that point of view, it's the electronic aspect that is the loudest on their debut record "v 1.1". Subtlety is the trio's greatest strength. None of the musicians outright plays any over-the-top materials. In fact, the rhythm is only slightly hinted at, while Fiehn stumbles on minute guitar riffs that are heavily processed. Hess's contributions are often reduced to light slaps on the tom, or sparse cymbal crashes. To that end, electronics are quite intense and even reach abrasive levels, which never takes away from enjoyment aspect of the recording. Highly recommended to those who appreciate electronics in instrumental music and those who believe experimentation is a key prerequisite to all music creation.

Review from Ampersand Etcetera

v1.1 (other electricities)

Bass, guitar, percussion and electronics are Fessendens tools and V1.1 is their first album (OE10, other electricities). Not sleeping, just resting opens the album with a pulsing drone and gradually adds a tapping, then a waving swirl that becomes more extensive and almost continuous and an occasional wah (that sounds like a cat). This rolls along and then gradually fades out. The layering and building of sounds occurs in each of the tracks, as does the combination (and difficulty in differentiating) electronica and the instruments.Mid-swing combines a buzzing zimmer-zimmer with rapid tings and tangents percussive and beaty, then guitar notes and tones, chittering with a hint of feedback. Again, this enters an almost static minimalist exposition before fading away. As a change, Diode starts full on rather than building - percussion, electropulses, squelches, organ and guitar tones: with a hint of distortion. After looping for some time it metamorphoses into a more analog percussive hypnotic state less electronica although there are some crackles and deep tones. Perhaps in an unplanned homage to Pink Floyd A walk in the park opens with a frying like sound (Alan's breakfast) and a ticking, which is then echoed and develops tapping shimmers and whooshes after which it transforms into cymbals, scratcthing and humms that run to the end.Two minutes of silence lead into the not very hidden final track Peak V/Z*sin where a watery sounds competes with a metallic echoing hollow rumble buzz, into which (or out of) high tones emerge. The slowly shifting stasis that you realise is now pulsing, and finally crackles into oblivion is typical of this album - minimal ambient electronic with a hint of industrial - not easy listening but a satisfying angularity. The music is mysterious and raises questions like what is making it, where it is going, and when did that change sneak in. With tracks between 5 and 10 minutes long Fessenden don't overstretch their pieces and leave you wondering where it could have gone next. An interesting album which is their studio debut.The band is known as a live improv group - such as Preview on Stasisfield which was recorded direct to disk. There the acoustic instruments are more obvious and the looping/layering is more subdued, as is the sound in many places - in fact they reminded me a bit of The Necks. An interesting comparison, but you can see the linkages and the areas the studio has accentuated.

Review from Bagatellen

v1.1 (other electricities)

You say you’re pining for some hard-driving, thick textured, good ol’ fashioned improv, something bright ‘n’ shiny enough to make your kid brother sit up and take notice? Well, here ya go. Fessenden has released a few discs before this one, but “v1.1” is my first exposure to the trio, having only previously encountered Steven Hess (drums, percussion, vibraphone, electronics) in other ensembles. Rounded out by Joshua Convey (bass, electronics) and Stephen Fiehn (guitar, electronics), Fessenden creates enormously compelling works, music that surges atop small rhythms and large throbs in a manner that recalls both Gunter Muller as well as younger bands like Trapist and Radian.The opening track, “not sleeping, just resting”, is a brief encapsulation of their approach: iterated sound elements including ratcheting rhythms and what sounds like a distant child’s cry, kneaded into each other and layered into a thick rope, but moving steadily forward. New sounds are added all the time right up to some gentle feedback at the conclusion, others recede and evaporate. “mid-swing” opens with quick, Martin Brandlmayr-esque cymbal work, the pulse maintained throughout, augmented by ringing guitar and a hive full of other noise. Something of the same pattern is followed on the ensuing piece, “diode”, albeit with a touch of synth-like, abrasive washes and you get a wee sense that there might be more surface than substance here. It’s a fine balance to hold though if a suspicion lingers, it’s largely outweighed by the pure aural fun to be had. The last two works play subtle variations on the already established themes, keeping the crisp rhythmic feel but varying the kinds of sounds flying about it. In fact, an aviary wouldn’t be the least apropos visual image to accommodate much of this music. They switch things up for the final piece, something of a skronkfest although, as always, a damned propulsive one. Enjoy.
other electricities
Posted by Brian Olewnick

Review in Touching Extremes

KEITH BERRY vs FESSENDEN - Bleu:résultat (Chat Blanc )

Joshua Convey, Stephen Fiehn and Steven Hess' sounds -appearing as "pt1/1 original w/mix" in the final track of this 3-inch CD, a hypnotic Tortoise-meet-Can interlacement featuring chugging non-rhythms spiced with jangling strings and moaning opacities - were reworked by Keith Berry in the remaining two tracks of the set. "Floating weeds (for Yasujiro Ozu)" starts with a few treated sources (apparently, rain and slowed down crickets but I'm not really sure: Keith is a master of the unlikely transformation) that immediately get embraced by a warm super lunar drone bringing us right back to the beginning of our atavic doubts. The best is yet to come, though: "The other shore" is a marvel of a piece, in the same vein of the recent "58° North" DVD's soundtrack released by Berry with Iain Stewart. The resignation to a still unknown fate is wrapped by an engrossing mantle of synthetic emanations moving in the low regions of the audio spectrum; upon this cloud of grief a barely perceptible, inherent embryonic melody characterizes this poignant combination, which I'd gladly enjoy for hours. "Bleu: résultat" comes in a limited edition of 111 copies; those who love the involved artists' work should not miss this microgem.

Reviews in Vital Weekly

FESSENDEN - INSIDE THE ICE FACTORY (CDR by Utech Records)

FESSENDEN & KEITH BERRY - BLEU: RÉSULTAT (3"CDR by Chat Blanc Records)

A while ago, in Vital Weekly 509, we reviewed 'Capture/Create' by the Chicago trio Fessenden (being Joshua Convey on bass, Stephen Fiehn on CD players, guitar and Ipod and Steven Hess on drums and vibraphone), which had some great music that balanced improvised music, minimal music, field recordings and quietness. The band didn't keep quiet and here are two new releases. I'm not sure if 'Inside The ice Factory' was recorded in an ice factory (don't think so), but stylistically it contains 'Capture/Create', but it seems to be even more quiet and still. The release is just one piece that very slowly develops, half way through it finds it's peak and then slowly falls apart in some small particles. The drums and bass create somewhere a vague notion of rhythm, which works well. Contemplative music that combines the best of improvised music, real instruments and yet manages to sound so micro-sound. That may seem like an odd combination, but it works really well.

For 'Bleu: Résultat' they work together with british drone meister Keith Berry. He has two tracks here, one being a pure solo piece, then he does he rework of Fessenden stuff, and then there is Fessenden playing their music, using Berry's previous work of the CDR. That is: if I understand all of this well. In Berry's two pieces field recordings and feedback seem to be the main protagonists to develop into a nice piece of dark drones, along the lines of Paul Bradley. The second one is more present and louder, but also more single minded developping around one sound. Strangely enough but of the Berry tracks have a similar length. The Fessenden piece is twice as long and here the Berry drones sink away in slowly strummed guitar and scraping percussion. Repeating elements give even the idea of a 'song', but I'm sure that is not the intention. Both releases are great! Review in Vital Weekly
FESSENDEN - CAPTURE/CREATE (CDR by Entracte)

This is my first encounter with Fessenden, a trio of Joshua Convey on bass, Stephen Fiehn on CD players, guitar and Ipod and Steven Hess on drums and vibraphone. They are from Chicago and the two pieces on this release where recorded during rehearsals, direct on minidisc. Their music has an improvised character, but also seems to be working along 'fixed' lines. A strong love of minimal music is present, with small sounds being repeated, and slowly hiss fading in, but all of the sounds seem to be played with a sense of non-importance: no sound, no instrument seems to want to take the lead, jumps out of it, but each one seems to be equally important. It's hard to avoid such terms as microsound or onkyo improvisation here, but Fessenden certainly play two nice pieces of their own version of this kind of music and do a more than excellent job. It could have been easily released on the Object series by Locust Music, which carried similar music. Quite nice indeed. (FdW)"

Sounds Like: Click here to download our free ep "Preview", from stasisfield.com

Record Label: Utech
Entr'acte
Other Electricities
Type of Label: Indie