Writer Devin Friesen releases album as Bitter Fictions
You might recognize the name Devin Friesen from his regular New Plastic Ideas column in Fast Forward Weekly where our bespectacled hero unpacks the latest music releases with his thoughtful highly critical writing. On the other hand maybe he berated you after you asked him a dumb question about concert tickets while he was trying to organize Oren Ambarchi records as a sales clerk at Sloth. Point being dude consumes an enormous amount of new music and like any of us with that kind of obsession understands that there’s simply too much of the stuff out there.
With that in mind why in the hell is Friesen self-financing a vinyl LP from his instrumental guitar project Bitter Fictions? Why add to the clutter? Critic it’s time to defend your art.
“While I recognize there’s a lot of music out there I’ve also been frustrated by how it doesn’t really stick” he says referring to the bulk of singles-obsessed pop culture as “detritus.” He cites a need to preserve the album as statement in a world driven by 20-second snippets and click-baiting singles.
“Maybe I’m being naive here but I’d like to believe that the LP carries a sort of weight to it” he says. “I self-record because it gives a person more control over how their work is presented and it’s my intention that this is an album which has a narrative progression even if it’s instrumental — the sequencing is deliberate and I felt strongly enough about it that I wanted to press it to vinyl.”
Friesen was right and Bitter Fictions is a stunning eight-track 42-minute guitar opus complete with ethereal ambience warm washes of droning fuzz and the occasional stab of piercing feedback. For his first complete effort he’s succeeded in presenting a rich fully formed tableau.
<a href="http://bitterfictions.bandcamp.com/album/bitter-fictions" mce_href="http://bitterfictions.bandcamp.com/album/bitter-fictions">Bitter Fictions by Bitter Fictions</a>
“I refer to my songs as ‘sound narratives’ because ideally I’m trying to construct a coherent language out of feedback drones sound decay” he says citing an open letter from legendary guitar experimenter John Fahey about prioritizing emotion over composition. “Obviously I’m not Fahey but I like this sentiment this idea of composing spontaneously through the emotions on a guitar. This is what I try to do quite often at least.”
As could be expected Friesen’s editorial work proved an asset while piecing together his Bitter Fictions material. “I release music in a similar way to how I write which is to work and edit almost simultaneously” he explains. “I’m extremely self-aware when it comes to music and writing — I know what I like and I know what sounds or reads as dumb…. But I’m confident as a critic and that translates to me as a musician. I wouldn’t release something that I think is garbage.”
Friesen also credits his guitar with keeping him unique. “My Jazzmaster doesn’t even produce sound on four of the strings beyond the 14th fret” he says sure to add another dose of cultural criticism. “Even if I wanted to be like every other Canadian guitar-based indie rock band that’s ripping off Pat Flegel I couldn’t.”
There you have it — along with Bitter Fictions come some bitter truths.
