Endless Summer

*Endless Summer* is titled in reference to the Beach Boys, though the music it contains draws less from the orchestral pop sensibility of *Pet Sounds* than it does Brian Wilson’s emotional openness and musical intricacy. Traces of pop music run through *Endless Summer*, though they are usually obscured either by fractural electronics, as on “Made In Hong Kong,” or huge sheets of ambient noise, as on “”A Year In A Minute” and “Got to Move On.” In “Caecilia,” formless sheets of sound slowly coalesce into fragile, heartfelt melodies. The album is a dialogue between the guitar playing that is at the heart of most of these compositions and the layers of ambient noise that surround it. These elements become so integrated over the course of the album that it becomes impossible to differentiate between the organic and the treated, and on “Shisheido,” the guitar and electronics fuse completely to create a whole new sonic color. Like Brian Wilson before him, Fennesz has created a musical work intensely intimate and fathomlessly far-reaching.

EMEGO 135 "Endless Summer", originally released in 2001 by Mego, was a breakthrough album for Christian Fennesz. The album which brought his name and music towards the first steps of mainstream recognition. Following on from the more experimental "Hotel Paral.lell" and the Beach Boys homaged "Plays" single "Endless Summer" brought the guitars more to the front, the electronics shimmered more, and the melodies shined more brightly. It went on to be a classic of its time, topping many end of year polls. This new definitive edition is newly mixed by Fennesz resulting in a more open sounding version of the tracks, especially the marimba driven "Caecilia", the hypnotic "Before I Leave", and the towering "Happy Audio". In addition 2 extra titles are included: "Badminton Girl", originally released in 2001 as part of the Split #15 12" with Main on Fat Cat Records (12FAT045), now out of print. "Endless", previously unreleased.

All last week I had a Fennesz song in my head. If this doesn't strike you as an odd ...

With a title and cover artwork so obviously referring to the Beach Boys, one had to anticipate that this 2001 full-length CD by Fennesz would be more melodious than usual.