TU FAWNING with AU at the Drake Underground (1150 Queen West), Monday (July 30), 8 pm. $10 advance. RT, SS. See listing.
When Corrina Repp and her partner, Joe Haege, first started playing music together a few years ago as Tu Fawning, they had no idea that the casual project would end up becoming a full-time band. Repp was busy with her quiet-music solo career and Viva Voce, while Haege had his hands full with 31Knots and Menomena.
But any perception of Tu Fawning as merely a side project has been washed away with the release of the Portland band’s cinematic second album, A Monument (City Slang).
“Joe and I originally started Tu Fawning because we wanted to take a break from our own bands,” explains Repp from their Portland home. “We knew we liked how our voices sounded together, so the plan was just to sing some songs. It became more and more adventurous over time. We weren’t completely sure what we wanted to do, and that freedom allowed us to pursue things we might not have in our other projects.
“Now we don’t have time to do much of anything else.”
A four-piece that also includes Liza Rietz and Toussaint Perrault, Tu Fawning craft dark, dramatic dirges that echo some of Nick Cave’s moody deranged blues or, for a Toronto comparison, Timber Timbre’s eerie folk. Except in their case, the rich textures are just as likely to come from synths and samplers as dusty old organs and guitars.
“A lot of the songs are pretty sample-heavy, and when we tour Europe we have to do a lot of acoustic sessions, which is fun but challenging.”
Their debut full-length, 2010’s Hearts On Hold, was more overtly experimental and electronic, while A Monument lends itself better to live performance. Repp and Haege make every effort to feature as much human playing as possible. Unfortunately, that also means each member plays multiple instruments, which makes sound checks more complicated than for your typical guitar-bass-drums outfit.
“In Europe we get to travel with our own sound person, but over here we don’t,” Repp says. She says of in-house techs, “There have definitely been moments when you see a look of panic in their eyes.”
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com | twitter.com/benjaminboles
