Endless Summer (Fennesz album)

Last updated
Endless Summer
Fennesz Endless Summer Cover Art.jpg
Studio album by
Fennesz
Released3 July 2001 (2001-07-03)
Genre
Length44:38
Label Mego
Producer Christian Fennesz
Fennesz chronology
Live at Revolver, Melbourne
(2000)		Endless Summer
(2001)		Field Recordings: 1995–2002
(2002)
Reissue cover
Fendlessr.jpg

Endless Summer is an album by Austrian electronic music producer and guitarist Fennesz, released on 3 July 2001 by Mego. The title was derived from the 1960s surf documentary by Bruce Brown, and is also shared with a 1974 compilation album by the Beach Boys. [1] The album features Fennesz's melodic guitar run through digital processing and glitch textures. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

The album brought Fennesz critical recognition and became "a hit in left-field electronica." [5] It was reissued in 2006 in a new mix with two bonus tracks and new cover art. [6] It was named among the best albums of the decade by publications such as Pitchfork , [4] Fact , [7] and Resident Advisor . [8]

Background

Fennesz recorded the album on a limited equipment setup consisting of a laptop, one Shure SM57 microphone, a few guitars, and a few pedals. [1] Speaking to RBMA in 2008, he recalled that "I think I was inspired at that time, it was a good period of my life and ideas came so easily." [1] The album employs melody and guitar chords, with Fennesz explaining that "many of my colleagues, the people around me, were doing really abstract electronic music – melody was forbidden. I didn’t agree with that at all, I wanted to bring back things I’d been fascinated with in the past, [...] I wanted to combine that with new digital technology, Max/MSP." [1]

The album title was intended to be in reference to the 1960s surf documentary The Endless Summer ; Fennesz was not aware that it shared a title with a 1970s compilation by The Beach Boys, adding that "I was influenced by their music, but it wasn’t as intentional as it seemed." [1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
The Boston Phoenix Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [9]
Muzik 5/5 [10]
NME 8/10 [11]
Pitchfork 9.4/10 [12]
Resident Advisor 5/5 [2]
Stylus Magazine B+ [13]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [14]

Early response

Writing for NME in 2001, John Mulvey described the album as "weirdly blissful, possessing an indefinable emotional pull," and noted the influence of "Brian Wilson's most elegiac, wistful music," proving that "experimental new music can understand and revitalise old traditions, that the avant-garde doesn't have to be grey and terrifying." [11] AllMusic critic François Couture stated that the album "puts the emphasis on sunny melodies [...], but drowns them in glitch textures," summarizing it as "brilliantly conceived and masterfully executed" but also noting that the result "strikes and disconcerts." [3] I. Khider of Exclaim! called it "the electronic album of the year" and stated that "Fennesz processes and manipulates the source material by taking the pulse of the pop tune and rebuilding something deeply sentimental and sweet." [15]

Legacy

Reviewing the album's 2006 reissue, The Boston Phoenix 's Matthew Gasteier called Endless Summer "a turning point in experimental electronic music, the moment when melody and cacophony learned to love one another," and labeled it a "fuzzed-out masterpiece" in the lineage of My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus and Mary Chain." [9] Nate Dorr of PopMatters called it "the most pivotal, most accessible, and most strikingly unique point in the Fennesz catalogue so far, and one of the more influential noise albums of the early decade." [16]

Discussing the album's impact on electronic music for Resident Advisor in 2007, Joshua Meggitt stated that when compared to Fennesz's "flickering electro-acoustic haze, much of the work by his clicks n' cuts contemporaries sounded po-faced, cerebral and cold [...] Fennesz invested the laptop with a soul hitherto reserved for 'real' instruments." [2] Meggitt also noted the album's references to "the whole discourse of sea-and-surf inspired music, literally evoking the rolling waves with grainy, often turbulent fields of noise," along with the influence of 1950s exotica. [2]

In 2017, Pitchfork named Endless Summer the 22nd best ambient album of all time. [17]

Accolades

Publication/AuthorAccoladeRank
Fact The Top 100 Albums of the 2000s [7] 23
Pitchfork Top 20 Albums of 2001 [18] 2
The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s [4] 26
The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time [17] 22
Resident Advisor Top 100 Albums of the '00s [8] 41
Tiny Mix Tapes Favorite 100 Albums of 2000–2009 [19] 14

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Made in Hong Kong"4:22
2."Endless Summer"8:35
3."A Year in a Minute"6:01
4."Caecilia"3:53
5."Got to Move On"3:48
6."Shisheido"2:58
7."Before I Leave"4:06
8."Happy Audio"10:55
Total length:44:38
2006 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
9."Badminton Girl"4:06
10."Endless"2:01
Total length:50:45

Personnel

Related Research Articles

Mego was an experimental electronic music independent record label based in Vienna, Austria. The label has been superseded by a new company, Editions Mego, which was set up both to keep Mego albums in print and to issue new albums, run by Peter Rehberg a.k.a. Pita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim O'Rourke (musician)</span> American musician

Jim O'Rourke is an American musician, instrumentalist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his numerous solo and collaborative music projects, many of which are instrumental, and has been acclaimed for his music that spans varied genres, including avant-garde styles such as ambient, noise and minimalism, and styles of rock like indie rock and post-rock. He has been associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene, as well as with New York City when he relocated to it in 2000 for his tenure as a member of American indie rock band Sonic Youth. He subsequently moved to Japan and has since been a Japanese resident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fennesz</span> Austrian electronic musician and guitarist

Christian Fennesz is an Austrian producer and guitarist active in electronic music since the 1990s, often credited mononymously as Fennesz. His work utilizes guitar and laptop computers to blend melody with treated samples and glitch production. He lives and works in Vienna, and currently records on the UK label Touch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Rehberg</span> British musician and composer (1968–2021)

Peter Rehberg, also known as Pita, was a British-Austrian composer of electronic audio works. He was the head of Editions Mego, which he founded in 2006 as a successor to Mego.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oren Ambarchi</span> Australian musician

Oren Ambarchi is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion.

<i>Im Happy and Im Singing and a 1, 2, 3, 4</i> 2001 studio album by Jim ORourke

I'm Happy, and I'm Singing, and a 1, 2, 3, 4 is an album by American musician Jim O'Rourke. It was released by the label Mego in December 2001.

<i>Venice</i> (Fennesz album) 2004 studio album by Fennesz

Venice is a studio album by Austrian electronic music producer and guitarist Fennesz, released on 23 March 2004 on Touch. A 10th anniversary edition was released in 2014, adding one track to the beginning and another track ("Tree") to the end of the track listing.

<i>Scale</i> (album) 2006 studio album by Herbert

Scale is a studio album by British electronic musician Herbert. It was released via Studio !K7 on 29 May 2006.

Drew McDowall is a Scottish NYC based composer and musician. He was a member of Coil in the 1990’s contributing heavily to some of their most respected and influential works. As well as his solo work he has collaborated with Kali Malone, Caterina Barbieri, Robert Aki Aubrey Lowe, Hiro Kone, Varg, Puce Mary, Shapednoise Rabit. James K and LEYA

Stephan Mathieu is a German mastering engineer and former musician. He currently lives in Bonn, Germany where he runs Schwebung Mastering, an independent studio for audio mastering and restoration.

<i>200 Motels</i> (soundtrack) 1971 soundtrack album by Frank Zappa

200 Motels, the soundtrack album to Frank Zappa's film of the same name, was released by United Artists Records in 1971. The original vinyl release was a two-record set, largely containing alternating tracks of rock music performed by the Mothers of Invention and symphonic music performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Elgar Howarth, all composed and orchestrated by Zappa. The album peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard 200, though reviewers deemed it a peripheral part of Zappa's catalog. Like the film, the album involves the theme of a rock band on tour and a loose satirical storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town of Centerville and bassist Jeff quitting the group, as did his real life counterpart, Jeff Simmons, who left the group before the film began shooting and was replaced by actor Martin Lickert for the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilpo Väisänen</span> Finnish electronic musician

Ilpo Väisänen is a Finnish electronic musician. He is best known as a member of Pan Sonic. In addition to his real name, he has recorded under the aliases I-LP-O In Dub, I-LP-ON, Liima and Piiri. Together with Dirk Dresselhaus he founded the project Angel, later renamed Die Angel.

<i>Prints</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Fred Frith

Prints: Snapshots, Postcards, Messages and Miniatures, 1987–2001 is a 2002 album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, and his first album of songs since Cheap at Half the Price (1983). It comprises four tracks taken from previously released compilations that Frith had contributed to between 1987 and 1997, seven tracks that were "created spontaneously" in the studio in 1997 and 2001, and one live guitar improvisation in 2001. The album was released on CD in 2002 on Fred Records and was the second release in Frith's archival release program on the record label.

<i>Sorry I Make You Lush</i> 2004 studio album by Wagon Christ

Sorry I Make You Lush is a studio album by Luke Vibert, released under the alias Wagon Christ. It was released in 2004 on Ninja Tune. The CD version includes a QuickTime video of "Receiver".

<i>Cendre</i> 2007 studio album by Fennesz and Sakamoto

Cendre is a 2007 studio album, a collaboration between Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto. It follows their previous collaboration on 2005's Sala Santa Cecilia.

<i>Does It Look Like Im Here?</i> 2010 studio album by Emeralds

Does It Look Like I'm Here? is a 2010 album from the band Emeralds. It contains a mix of tracks previously released as 7-inch singles and new material. Pitchfork placed it at number 36 on its list of "The Top 50 Albums of 2010", and number 139 on its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s".

<i>Returnal</i> (album) 2010 studio album by Oneohtrix Point Never

Returnal is the fourth studio album by American electronic musician Daniel Lopatin under the alias Oneohtrix Point Never, released on June 22, 2010, by Mego. It develops the synthesizer-based compositions of Lopatin's previous work, while also incorporating elements of noise music and his own processed vocals. The album received positive reviews from critics, and was named among the best albums of 2010 by several publications, including Fact, The Wire, and Tiny Mix Tapes.

<i>Async – Remodels</i> 2017 remix album by Ryuichi Sakamoto

Async – Remodels is an album of "reconstructions" of tracks from Japanese producer Ryuichi Sakamoto's nineteenth solo studio album async (2017). The album includes eleven reworks by producers such as Jóhann Jóhannsson, Fennesz, Cornelius, Oneohtrix Point Never, Electric Youth, and Arca. Released in Japan in December 2017 by Commmons and in February 2018 in other countries by Milan Records, Async – Remodels garnered generally positive critical reviews and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard American Top Classical Albums chart.

<i>Bécs</i> (album) 2014 studio album by Fennesz

Bécs is the sixth studio album by Austrian electronic music producer and guitarist Fennesz, released 28 April 2014 by Mego Records. The album has been described as a conceptual and sonic successor to Fennesz's well-received 2001 album Endless Summer and is his first solo release since 2008's Black Sea.

<i>What Happened</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Emeralds

What Happened is a studio album by the American drone trio Emeralds. The album was released through No Fun Productions on January 19, 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Warren, Emma. "Fennesz". Red Bull Music Academy . Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Meggitt, Joshua (4 April 2007). "Fennesz – Endless Summer". Resident Advisor . Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Couture, François. "Endless Summer – Fennesz". AllMusic . Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork . 2 October 2009. p. 9. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  5. ↑ Couture, François. "Venice – Fennesz". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "Fennesz | Endless Summer (2006 Edition)". www.fennesz.com. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  7. 1 2 "The Top 100 Albums of the 2000s". Fact . 1 December 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Top 100 albums of the '00s". Resident Advisor . 25 January 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  9. 1 2 Gasteier, Matthew (2 January 2007). "Fennesz". The Boston Phoenix . Archived from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Mugridge, Tom (September 2001). "Fennesz: Endless Summer (Mego)". Muzik . No. 76. p. 97.
  11. 1 2 Mulvey, John (14 August 2001). "Fennesz : Endless Summer". NME . Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Richardson, Mark (31 July 2001). "Fennesz: Endless Summer". Pitchfork . Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Burns, Todd (1 September 2003). "Fennesz – Endless Summer – Review". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Fennesz: Endless Summer". Uncut . p. 74. Fennesz's blazing processed guitar stokes a crimson glow at the heart of Endless Summer like the late evening sun on Monet's haystacks.
  15. ↑ Khider, I. (1 August 2001). "Fennesz: Endless Summer". Exclaim! . Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Dorr, Nate (30 April 2007). "Fennesz: Endless Summer". PopMatters . Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  17. 1 2 Masters, Marc (26 September 2016). "The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time". Pitchfork . p. 3. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  18. ↑ Pitchfork (2002-01-01). "Top 20 Albums of 2001". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  19. ↑ "Favorite 100 Albums of 2000–2009: 20–01". Tiny Mix Tapes . 20 January 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.