Ort, by Fullman and Sprenger
by Ian Simmons
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This is a diversion from her normal territory for Ellen Fullman. She is known for her unique Long Stringed Instruments (LSI), which she invented in 1980 and has dedicated the subsequent years to exploring. These range from 13 to 30 metres in length, and consist of sets of strings tuned in Just Intonation and then bowed or played with the fingers. Normally she places them in resonant spaces and investigates the particular acoustic properties of the buildings, producing layers of shimmering overtones that bring the whole air of the place alive. Here, though, she has confined herself to a mini-LSI, covering the upper cello range, and works with Jorg Hiller, who, for some reason, appears pseudonymously as Konrad Sprenger on the cover.
The pair mesh the LSI with other instruments and take a completely different direction to anything Fullman has previously done, ending up with a kind of New York alt.country. Having apparently been kissed by Elvis as a baby, it is probably inevitable that Fullman would return to her Americana roots, so we find her using the LSI on Woody Guthrie's 'I ain't got no home' and the traditional 'John Hardy', derived from The Carter Family, with a result that sounds like an acoustic Sonic Youth playing bluegrass, or the Boggs having a really good time. In fact, one thing is clear throughout the album: Fullman and co are having a really good time doing this, whether on these overtly Americana-derived songs; or ones like 'Glittering glass', which takes its cue from 'Waiting for my man' and has shades of 9/11 in its lyrics; or others with half-spoken words that sound like a particularly cheerful Laurie Anderson. Having followed in the path of great American instrument inventors like Harry Partch, Fullman has now taken another American road, in Germany, with the help of German musicians, and come up with probably the most unlikely infectious fun album I've come across for some time. It was clearly a pleasure to make and is certainly a pleasure to listen to.
