Do you see what I see / As Starlings do
"'Do You See What I See' is gothic new-wave and Scott Walker’s ‘Tilt’, with the rough sheen of bleak Depeche Mode", so der Künstler. Die Stimmung, die geschaffene Atmosphäre ist faszinierend, beinahe grotesk, exzentrisch und bizarr. Man fühlt sich wie im Vorhof der Hölle angekommen, wartend, angespannt, die Luft flimmert. Die Vocals erinnern mich ein wenig an Jim Morrison mit einem Touch Robert Smith ohne dabei seine Eigenheit, ihren Charakter zu verlieren.
Eigenständig und doch etwas gefärbt mit bekannten Nuancen. Diese Kombination aus Vocals und "used Sounds" klingt beeindruckend und hypnotisierend zugleich. Man verliert sich, wird gefangen während man staunt.
"Do you see what I see" by Fritch be careful you will be lost in the amazement and caught by the faszination. Diese Eigenständigkeit wird mit "As Starlings do" emotional fortgeführt, was als Konstrukt begann endet fast schon als Reminiszenz vergangener Tage. Beinahe neigt man zu sagen, am Ende tanzt man doch. Nachfolgend noch ein lesenswerter Q&A part, wo man noch so einiges über den Künstler erfährt.
Do you see what i see (The Video)
Q&A
Fritch is/are...?
There’s no way I can’t sound like some avant-garde ass, it’s simpler than it sounds like I promise! Fritch is whoever is involved.
For the last album, I had the closest of friends who I owe a lot to for being involved in the music. Steven Tee co-wrote and fixed string sections, arranged, brought the know-how, and skills that I didn’t (and don’t) have. After that we found dhol and bhangra drummers, violinists, worked with a great producer, it was a really shared and intimate thing.
This time around, for the new singles and album, it was me and myself. Scary right? They’d set a benchmark. But I was too impatient, the world had stopped rehearsals from happening, and this music was there to be released. All the parts that could have been written for strings or guitars, I sang them instead, bent them messed them up, necessity the mother of invention For better or worse, I use taped loops of drums (thank you Achille), got to grips with programming, so Fritch… is anyone involved. Just worked out this time it was me.
Then Thomas Wagner, or A Falling Bird, he found the music and made videos. And Russia’s Other Voices Records ran with it as they had done the last (and I’m sure I pissed them both off bring over excited and eager), well, I’d call them a part of Fritch too.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
If this was a video I’d call that a bad date question, then wait and see what you came back with. In the most loving way and teasing way.
NY Dolls to Suicide, Scott Walker to Leonard Cohen, Rocky movie soundtracks to Stooges and Low, all these things I devour and much more. Sometimes you pick up a theme, a line or a lyric, sometimes you pick up a method. I got into sampling from Underworld and late Death in Vegas, but not knowing my synth from my aspidistra, I used live samples and loops instead. Everything from strimmers to toasters.
The track creates a great atmosphere, how much time did you spend to find the right sounds?
I’m lucky to have hard drives full of sounds. I’ve spent hours and much longer in studios with guitarists who were willing to kick their spring reverb amps over, or let me attack their instruments with coins or violin bows, all with mics in the room to record it. From all these noises, I get to weave textures, I get to be a kid with a studio! Twist the sounds, boil them down into new shapes and sizes, when a loop hits addictive, it sticks. The mood and the words, they came after from a stitch of scrap papers and lyric books . But I wouldn’t have stuck with a feel or a loop if something wasn’t on my mind, so I really can’t say what came first.
But I do know that Darren, the guy behind Project P, he did more than remix the track, he rewired it. I’d just met him, online only, and he clicked. There was a lot more I wanted to make with him but I think I lost my chance.
Also the vocal part sounds amazing, how many "takes" did it take for the final version?
It’s a real mix again. And thank you. One part was whispered and recorded as a guide when I shared a house at 4.30 am so as not to wake my partner up, the other I had an hour to play and shout. It’s not a composite of takes, but the whisper became the main part because it was new, it had a quality, and the ‘big’ vox sounded like I’d had too much time to think about them. I swapped them over, it’s got first time flaws, don’t we all.
What is your creative process like?
Messy. I’m a musical scavenger with an ear for punk. I just can’t write anything in punk speed.
When do you decide that a song is ready for a release?
Mostly when I run of money. The bones, structures, rough mixes, they’re all done at home. But I need the connection of others. So when I take songs to Phil at JT Soar the guy who co-produces, who is always so involved, sometimes he tells me when to stop. Sometimes when he’s had enough! Sometimes I make the shout first. But with a deadline in mind, there’s an end point. With a time limit you make and act quicker. Make a release date before it’s done, and the end point is there and done for you.
Do you remember your first ever self written song?
Involved two personal cassette players plugged into a hifi for double tracking, with a jar of coins rattled for percussion. I thought I was Cabaret Voltaire.
What was the first ever Gothic/Dark wave/Post Punk... song you listened to?
Three mixtapes from friends who had bands tip-exed on their schoolbags. Birthday Party, Cure, Joy Division, Bad Seeds, Lydia Lunch, Cure, Le Tigre, Ladytron, Magazine, the Fall, I couldn’t get enough of it! Especially The Fall. The band loves outlasted the friends.
What do you prefer, a live gig or a studio session?
Live gig! But last band (psychobilly / punk, Dick Venom & the Terrortones – new album out soon), I broke too many teeth and ribs so I thought I’d try something quieter. If I ever found a way to reproduce these Fritch songs live without reliance on samples and laptops, I’d be so thrilled. To work with that many people, twenty at least to cover backing vox to strings to synths and drums, I think my ground would shake beneath me.
What’s next for you?
So the next album’s out November 5th. There’s a whole new artwork made by Other Voices Records for a physical release, I can’t wait to see what he does.
Then believe or not, an 80s electro-pop project with Belgium’s finest neon synthwaver, United Simesky Institutes. Somewhere between New Order, Tears for Fears, Cure and Peter Gabriel with Genesis.
Photo credits: Will Wilkinson
