What Leave Behind
Encyclopedia
What Leave Behind is a 2004 studio album
by Oakland, California
-based experimental music
group Toychestra
and English experimental guitarist Fred Frith
. It was recorded in May 2003 and January 2004, and was released in 2004 on the French label, S.K. Records. It is a concerto
for electric guitar and toy orchestra composed by Dan Plonsey
for Toychestra and Frith to perform.
from the San Francisco Bay Area Improv Scene
first got to know Toychestra
in 1998 when he booked them at his Beanbender's music venue in Berkeley, California
. He was intrigued by their performance, and decided to team them up with fellow Bay Area Improv Scene member and experimental guitarist, Fred Frith
. Plonsey wrote a concerto
for electric guitar and toy orchestra for Toychestra and Frith to perform. The concerto turned out to be a challenge for Plonsey because most of the members of Toychestra could not read sheet music
. He said that he "started out writing some simple, repeating bits to play. I wanted to see what would happen, because they'd never worked with written music before. It was all totally aural." Plonsey was impressed with the result and the concerto was recorded and released in 2004 on CD as What Leave Behind.
and Fred Frith
on What Leave Behind is "hilarious, stunning, intense, and highly listenable", and described the music as "polyphonic bedtime music for the half-forgotten child within". Joshua Glazer of Allmusic had reservations about this Frith / Toychestra liaison, but was surprised at the result, saying that is was "far more palatable than one would initially expect." Glazer described the concerto as "an experimental piece that never gazes too intently at its own weirdness or technique."
.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
-based experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
group Toychestra
Toychestra
Toychestra is an all-women experimental music group from Oakland, California that plays toys. They use toy musical instruments and other noise-making toys to perform their own compositions as well as interpretations of works by other artists, from Dvořák to Black Flag. Toychestra have performed at...
and English experimental guitarist Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
. It was recorded in May 2003 and January 2004, and was released in 2004 on the French label, S.K. Records. It is a concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for electric guitar and toy orchestra composed by Dan Plonsey
Dan Plonsey
Dan Plonsey is a jazz saxophonist, popularly labeled as a free jazz musician. -Career:...
for Toychestra and Frith to perform.
Background
Composer and saxophonist Dan PlonseyDan Plonsey
Dan Plonsey is a jazz saxophonist, popularly labeled as a free jazz musician. -Career:...
from the San Francisco Bay Area Improv Scene
Bay Area Improv Scene
The Bay Area Improv Scene is a commonly used name for a loose association of musicians and composers centered in the San Francisco Bay Area who create a style of music that evolved largely from avant-garde jazz and modern classical music, with influences from other areas such as Electronic art...
first got to know Toychestra
Toychestra
Toychestra is an all-women experimental music group from Oakland, California that plays toys. They use toy musical instruments and other noise-making toys to perform their own compositions as well as interpretations of works by other artists, from Dvořák to Black Flag. Toychestra have performed at...
in 1998 when he booked them at his Beanbender's music venue in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. He was intrigued by their performance, and decided to team them up with fellow Bay Area Improv Scene member and experimental guitarist, Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
. Plonsey wrote a concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for electric guitar and toy orchestra for Toychestra and Frith to perform. The concerto turned out to be a challenge for Plonsey because most of the members of Toychestra could not read sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
. He said that he "started out writing some simple, repeating bits to play. I wanted to see what would happen, because they'd never worked with written music before. It was all totally aural." Plonsey was impressed with the result and the concerto was recorded and released in 2004 on CD as What Leave Behind.
Reception
Casey Rae-Hunter of Dusted Magazine said that the collaboration of ToychestraToychestra
Toychestra is an all-women experimental music group from Oakland, California that plays toys. They use toy musical instruments and other noise-making toys to perform their own compositions as well as interpretations of works by other artists, from Dvořák to Black Flag. Toychestra have performed at...
and Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
on What Leave Behind is "hilarious, stunning, intense, and highly listenable", and described the music as "polyphonic bedtime music for the half-forgotten child within". Joshua Glazer of Allmusic had reservations about this Frith / Toychestra liaison, but was surprised at the result, saying that is was "far more palatable than one would initially expect." Glazer described the concerto as "an experimental piece that never gazes too intently at its own weirdness or technique."
Track listing
All tracks composed by Dan PlonseyDan Plonsey
Dan Plonsey is a jazz saxophonist, popularly labeled as a free jazz musician. -Career:...
.
- "The Dub" – 4:27
- "Fellini" – 4:36
- "Grover Rides a Happy Honker" – 3:46
- "3 Elephants and a Cow" – 7:30
- "When to Rewind" – 3:59
Personnel
- Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
– electric guitar - ToychestraToychestraToychestra is an all-women experimental music group from Oakland, California that plays toys. They use toy musical instruments and other noise-making toys to perform their own compositions as well as interpretations of works by other artists, from Dvořák to Black Flag. Toychestra have performed at...
- Michelle Adams – sterling beat, finger chimes, concertmate 500, melodica, recorder, vocals
- Angela Coon – melodica, toy bugle, genie diary "girlz rock", vocals
- Petra Podlahová – accordion people, concertmate 500, slat drum, sterling beat
- Shari Robertson – zither, violin, melodica, vocals
- Lexa Walsh – accordion people, xylo-piano, silly sentences, vocals
- Corey Weinstein – melodica, pink zoo train, tube xylophone, train whistle, vocals
Production and artwork
- Recorded at Guerrilla Recording in May 2003 and January 2004
- Mixed by Dan PlonseyDan PlonseyDan Plonsey is a jazz saxophonist, popularly labeled as a free jazz musician. -Career:...
, Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
, Myles Boisen, Lexa Walsh - Produced by Dan Plonsey, ToychestraToychestraToychestra is an all-women experimental music group from Oakland, California that plays toys. They use toy musical instruments and other noise-making toys to perform their own compositions as well as interpretations of works by other artists, from Dvořák to Black Flag. Toychestra have performed at...
, Fred Frith and Myles Boisen - Mastered by Myles Boisen
- Photography by Gary Nakamoto
- Graphic design by Lexa Walsh