After the demise of Jessamine in 1998, guitarist Rex Ritter and keyboardist Andy Brown formed a new band called Fontanelle. The quartet has played some shows around their Portland, Oregon base and slowly refined their sounds while settling on a permanent line up.
The music on F is taken from various sessions over Fontanelle's three years, reflecting a variety of moods. By turns wirey and rubbery, the three keyboardist, two drummer, two guitarist line up creates complex, syncopated tunes that reveal the band members experience in improvised music (Charlie Smyth hosted a monthly improve night at Portland's Bijou Cafe) electric drone (Andy Brown has released two CDs under the Southerning monicker) , IDM style electronics (Brian Foote and Mat Morgan play and record as Nudge) and noise electronics (Paul Dickow records collage music as Strategy and is a member of Portland area improvising band Emergency). The six members of the group recorded at Magnetic Park, the studio run by Rex Ritter and Andy Brown in Portland, OR. Rex and Andy also appear on the recording.
Kranky have supplied another album of astonishing depth and originality. It's a piece of work that consolidates the position of both Fontanelle and Kranky as leaders in their field. Improvisational but never sloppy and it engages the listener throughout.
'...with all their variations, Fontanelle never loose their singular focus.'