SHELLY BLAKE-PLOCK

This is an unusually cinematic album, that has a strong story behind it, but presents it in a way that is uniquely its own. The main creative force behind this undertaking is Shelly Blake-Plock, and his primary inspiration is an unusual and obscure Victorian short story which features a young boy living with an abusive father and step mother who longs to learn to play the violin. This tragic tale eventually ends in the boy's death in a surreal scene involving the ghost of his dead mother. While it might seem that the story is the primary focus here, it is not the main force that gets my attention. Instead, it is Shelly's editing methods and ear for unusual sound combinations that make this disc shine even when removed entirely from its story line. My copy of the cd came with an accompanying newspaper article in which Shelly explains that he works with sound like a sculptor working reductively- that is, he records all of the sounds first and then chips away at them until the underlying track emerges. The method sounds intriguing enough, and it actually produces some great results. Shelly has assembled an immense cast of players and sound artists for "The Violencestring"- an orchestra for him to conduct in reverse. There is a nice cohesion among sounds as the group goes from high energy, free-jazz freak outs to quiet and unsettling drone works. There are some softer songs strategically placed as well as some appropriate violin pieces. Amazingly, it does not come off as a hodge-podge of randomness, and even the usage of more digital sounding effects fit in nicely.

There are also some pretty straight narrations given at even intervals throughout the album. These sometimes come across a little too straightforward for me, but they seem to serve the purpose of progressing the story well enough. The idea of a concept album as cinematic as this seems a little dated, but it really is pretty fun. The packaging (which features an illustrated guide to the cast of characters, looking like something out of a Tim Burton film), helps to put things into perspective even better. Shelly has a definite vision of what this story should feel, look, and sound like. All together, it's an oddly entertaining story-album that's broken up into little chunks for easy digestion. It's kind of like a psychedelic drone, free-jazz version of The Who's "Tommy" crossed with Grimm's Fairy Tales. It's a totally unique experience. 9/10 -- Charles Franklin, Foxy Digitals (19 December, 2007)

THE VIOLENCESTRING, a new musical narrative produced by Shelly Blake-Plock and Matthew H. Welch, will be released on CD on December 11, 2007 (pre-sale here!) Stockholm’s Umlaut Records and Baltimore’s Fall Records are co-releasing the CD and it will be distributed by North Country / Cadence in the USA, Orkhestra in France, and by Dotshop Sweden and Umlaut worldwide. It will also be widely available digitally with a December release on iTunes.

An eclectic work comprised of styles ranging from free improvisation to schmaltzy quasi-jazz to improvised chamber pieces to noisy art rock, THE VIOLENCESTRING is based on a Victorian short story by Sabine Baring-Gould. It tells the story of a young boy whose only desire lies in learning to play the violin. Alas, when one’s parents are werewolves, music lessons just aren’t in the cards.

The ensemble of musicians includes Stockholm-based trumpeter Niklas Barnö, Baltimore reedman John Dierker, Nautical Almanac’s Carly Ptak and Twig Harper, former Candymachine and Ink drummer Lyle Kissack, Jenny Graf Sheppard on vocals, Soul Cannon’s Ryan Dorsey on violin, Baltimore ex-pat Lawrence Lanahan, singer Jessica Riefler, Parisian avant-phenom Eve Risser, NYC session-man Ben McConnell on drums, Human Host’s Mike Apichella on electronics, and WYPR-producer Aaron Henkin sitting in on banjo. Double-bassist Joel Grip was musical director.

Blake-Plock and Welch recorded the album in an abandoned mansion in West Baltimore. Shelly’s lo-fi roots and unique take on sound editing come through especially strong on the project. He has called his process ‘reductive sound’, whereby a wall of instruments is recorded live – some through a small army of microphones and some direct to the board. Decisions are then made in the editing room to ‘chip away’ at the recording in an attempt to find the music and sound most essential to drive the narrative forward. Rather than smooth out the edits, Shelly leaves the edges hard and allows fields of sound and space to emerge and disappear in a very blunt and raw way. Residue and hidden scraps of sound therefore emerge as if from a palimpsest.