In the 1980s, the minimalist composer Ellen Fullman developed the Long String Instrument installation. A series of metal wires tuned according to just intonation attached to wooden resonators, Fullman would play the instrument by running her rosined fingers along the strings to bring out tonalities unheard in other instruments.
Pacing back and forth through the strings and playing the instrument, Fullman conjures up an array of tones and slowly morphing pieces. I guess on paper, all focus on shifting overtones and intonation would suggest that this release would sound like the organ drones of Sarah Davichi and Kali Malone, or the mass guitar compositions of Glenn Branca or Rhys Chatham. But there’s a strange tone to Fullman’s instrument that set’s it apart.
After reissuing her first LP of compositions on the instrument, Superior Viaduct have here collected two of Fullman’s self-released cassettes that followed. Tracks featuring rolling waves of long-stringed sound and others experimenting with multiple players playing the one instrument. A droning, meditative listen!
-Mitch