Initially a solo affair combining harmonium, oscillators, tape delays, and processors, Jaime Fennelly’s Mind Over Mirrors blends aspects of prime experimentation with the vigor and warmth associated with generations-old traditions. Since 2014 the Chicago-based sonic explorer Haley Fohr, most notable for her own solo outfit Circuit des Yeux, has added vocals and lyrics to Fennelly’s project; The Voice Calling is Mind Over Mirror’s latest, and its impressive growth gets a virgin vinyl release September 18th through Immune Recordings.
In addition to the venture discussed here, multi-instrumentalist Jaime Fennelly is a third of the free jazz + electronics trio Acid Birds and alongside Chris Forsyth and Fritz Welch constituted part of the defunct Brooklyn group Peeesseye. Having relocated to an island in the Salish Sea of Washington State (he now lives in Chicago), Mind Over Mirrors gained traction between 2007 and ‘10.
In 2011 two releases emerged, The Voice Rolling and High & Upon, the latter originally a cassette on Gift Tapes with a vinyl edition appearing the following year via Aguirre Records. Its three tracks include a pair of long pieces firmly establishing Fennelly’s contempo edginess; by album’s end the keyboard of “Mountain Convalescence” seems to be ruminating from inside a jet engine.
By contrast, the seven selections comprising Digitalis Recordings’ The Voice Rolling offer a heightened focus on celestial drone; opening cut “Brickfielder” even conjures fleeting visions of boating down a river in the company of a white suit and Panama hat-clad Klaus Kinski. The edge in evidence across High & Upon is reasserted throughout.
Check Your Swing was issued in 2012 on the Hands in the Dark label, and it’s really here that the handful of comparisons made by writer Brendan Greaves, specifically to the harmonium improvisations of G.I. Gurdjieff, the intricate weave of Sacred Harp singing, and the soundtracks Edward Artemiev composed for singular Russian auteur Andrei Tarkovsky, get nicely vindicated.
Instead of direct aural similarities the above associations are more of general temperament, Fennelly emitting a seriousness of intent in line with his study of electronic music under such mainstays of the form as Maryanne Amacher, Pauline Oliveros, David Behrman, and Richard Teitelbaum. Check Your Swing also brought Mind Over Mirrors its first outside contributor in Mike Weis, the member of Zelienople playing frame drum on “Mound Building.”
In 2013 Fennelly debuted for the Immune imprint with When the Rest Are up at Four, the disc the byproduct of further collaboration in diverse contexts, namely with dancer and performance artist Miguel Gutierrez as Matt Christensen of Zelienople and Scott Tuma of Souled American and Boxhead Ensemble appear in the record’s credits.
Mind Over Mirrors has been accurately assessed as having a “folk” side, but that shouldn’t be misconstrued as quaint. While the use of a 19th century pump-and-pedal reed keyboard can lend an atmosphere aptly described as churchy (or alternately nautical), the enhancement and stretching out expands the spirituality to the borderline of the mystical, a tendency brilliantly illuminated during When the Rest Are up at Four’s 18 minute closer “Heights & the Deeper.”
Many projects of a truly solo nature, particularly those of a progressive inclination, can come on gangbusters at the outset only to begin running short of creative fuel sooner rather than later. Fennelly wasn’t in danger of such a fate, but Haley Fohr’s arrival as guest-vocalist on The Voice Calling substantially reinforces the healthiness and vibrancy.
The huskiness of her voice, here and elsewhere, can at times be compared to Nico, with the slow seven and a half minute drift of opener “Motioning” recalling the German chanteuse in her late ‘60s/early ‘70s prime. It’s a relationship considerably deepened by the presence of Fennelly’s harmonium, an axe Nico wielded on The Marble Index/Desertshore/The End…
And yet markedly distinct as Fohr deftly glides into operatic terrain, the references to Catherine Ribeiro and even 4AD-era Scott Walker spot on as Fennelly’s pedal work and electronic enrichment soars in her midst; his soundscapes continue to separate Mind Over Mirrors from much of anything else currently transpiring on the scene.
There’s no denying Fennelly’s synth and tape delay alterations often travel into the spacey region known as Kosmische, but reliably accompanying it is a sense of drive (and understated playfulness) highlighting his connection to pioneers of electronic music, a facet discernible in the gradually building cyclical progression of “Regular Step on Snake River.” Fohr enters low in the mix, her voice’s intensity rising but remaining part of the structural fabric overall.
Fennelly excels at longer durations, with “Regular Step on Snake River” nearly reaching nine minutes, but “Whose Turn is Next,” somewhat more concise at just short of five, is perhaps The Voice Calling’s boldest new wrinkle. This circumstance is largely due to Fohr, and to peg her as again redolent of Nico is simultaneously lazy and built on common sense; her spoken-sung delivery of the lyrics (her own) ooze a comparable chilliness (with significant emotional range) as Fennelly’s layered input broadens the whole.
Fohr’s role herein utilizes three alternating approaches; lyrical expression, wordless vocalizations, and absence. “Strange(r) Work” is almost Fennelly’s show entirely, presenting a gorgeous mingling of library music, an environment of Kosmische and cathedral style organ, elements underlining the spiritualism in Mind Over Mirrors’ earlier material. In the second half Fohr’s voice arises sans words a la “Regular Step on Snake River.”
Having begun the record prior to Fohr’s entrance, Fennelly goes it alone on two pieces. At less than two minutes “Senses Scattered” is The Voice Calling’s briefest entry by a wide margin, though the quick bloom of its electro setting is still quite pleasurable. However, “Body Gains” especially stands out; unfurling a tense throb and spliced synth, the cumulative effect is tangibly science-fictive, backing up the mention of Artemiev even before the momentarily suggestion of a rocket taking off for the planet Solaris.
For the album’s finale, “Calling Your Name” returns to familiar territory, Fohr wasting no time tangling her glorious baritone around the patterns of Fennelly’s reed organ; in short order a ringing triangle calls John Cale, Kevin Ayers, Brian Eno, and Philippe Garrel to supper. Shaping the cut’s midsection is a harsh but well-finessed ambiance strikingly similar to a guitar in full-on feedback mode. After a succinct return from Fohr, the instrumental threads lead to the finish.
Already established as a worthwhile endeavor, The Voice Calling’s flexibility and invigorated purpose elevates Mind Over Mirrors into the front rank of contemporary expansionist creation. As inviting as it is demanding of attention, the LP leaves a lingering note of intrigue regarding Fennelly’s future direction; whether he persists as a tandem with Fohr or branches out into fresh areas, the next installment is highly anticipated.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
