GREIE GUT FRAKTION
Baustelle
MONIKA69
Monika Enterprise 2010
11 Tracks. 49mins59secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

One theory is that, in times of great financial turmoil, major building enterprise can contribute to support the economy by creating jobs. Construction is also the corner stone to the collaborative project of Antye Greie-Fuchs and Gudrun Gut, who operate here as Greie Gut Fraktion. Expectedly, Baustelle, the German word for ‘building site’, is a rather diverse and complex collection of electronic avant-pop which goes well beyond the pair’s respective work.

The two women began working together after Greie invited Gut to collaborate on a commission for the BBC’s Late Junction program two years ago. Following this project, they came up with the basic idea for Baustelle and laid the foundations for the record in Greie’s studio in Finland. Ensued months of further recordings and exchange between Gudrun Gut’s Berlin base and Antye Greie’s Finnish home, on the northern island of Hailuoto, before the album was finally ready.

Released on Gut’s Monika Enterprise, Baustelle partly feeds on Greie’s experimental vocal approach, which range from whispered spoken word, often cut up and over-layered to expose entirely new messages or alter any perception of what is actually being said, to rare sung sections, in both English and German. The backdrop is often minimal in form, yet surprisingly extensive and rich. It is at times difficult to identify for sure any of the original sound sources, although the strident grinding of a chainsaw or the repetitive sound of machinery can heard quite clearly on occasions. What surprises is the contrast between the overtly industrial nature of the raw material and the fragility of the resulting soundscapes. One would expect a record splattered with harsh noises, vocal explosions and general organised chaos, but instead, the Fraktion deliver a finely nuanced collection of electronic pieces which are at times extremely subtle and delicate. There are sporadic moments of greater angularity (the recent single Wir Bauen Eine Neue Stadt, the tribal Make It Work or the gritty White Oak for instance), but these are softened by heavy injections of dub, their coarse exterior toned down and polished to give them a more approachable appearance.

Baustelle is, by definition, quite an urban record, a fact highlighted by the use of rhythmic patterns and sound treatment close to dubstep, especially on Cutting Trees and Wir Bauen Eine Neue Stadt, which open the album, or later on the dark and moody Groosgrundbesitzer, Baustein or We Matter. Elsewhere, these influences are more discreet as the pair craft much looser sound structures. Mischmaschine for instance combines a dubbey palette with a minimal linear beat, while China Memories reveals a lighter, more layered approach, and Betongiessen takes on a sombre atmospheric tone, upon which Gut’s deep voice casts a subtle shadow.

With this first collaborative effort, feeding on their respective work over the years, yet set very much in its own space, Antye Greie and Gudrun Gut have produced a surprisingly haunting record. While it may initially be difficult to envisage any particular warmth to emanate from a project which is based on construction, it is actually its underlying humanity which ultimately makes this record so appealing.

4.2/5

Greie Gut Fraktion | Monika Enterprise
Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD