Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Image: Robbie McKinstry's animation for the video of Two-Part Sleep  

Frock is a tune-based, improvisational ensemble that grew out of the Victorian College of the Arts, under Brian Brown's watch, in the mid-1990s. Consisting of vibraphone, piano accordion/piano, electric guitar, bass and drums, the band has performed their own music at festivals and clubs throughout Europe, Asia and Australia since 1997. Since then, Frock has recorded every two years or so, often with the support of such institutions as Australian Council for the Arts and Creative Victoria.

Aside from one recording of iconic Australian pop songs ('The Father, Son and Holy Ghost', 2009), the rest of Frock's recorded output (seven CDs) consists of material composed by band members Craig Beard, Anthony Schulz, Simon Starr and Adam Starr. Frock's sense of 'ensemble' has developed due to the stability of the band's line-up, alongside consistent composing, performing and recording activity. These ensemble-focused endeavours have naturally provided a catalyst for individual musical growth.

Frock has consistently tried to tread new ground as an ensemble, and it was with this spirit of exploration that a project was conceived, designed to thrust the band outside of any comfortable territory and into the new. The Australia Council for the Arts supported Frock's bid to commission Elena Kats-Chernin to compose a bespoke piece, in the form of a new work grant. Frock approached Elena and provided her with some recordings and a proposal, to which she kindly and enthusiastically agreed. Four months later, the band was then sent an initial draft that was eagerly scrutinised and played through. After a process of further workshopping the piece and more consultation, Elena then sent through the revised score to Two-Part Sleep.

Commissioning a composer outside the band was a new and interesting mystery. Pleasurably scary. Whilst waiting on the first draft, speculation mounted as to what would happen if the piece felt uncomfortable for the band to play. This had nothing to do with Elena, one of Australia's most celebrated composers, and everything to do with Frock, newbies to the world of commissioning works.

In keeping with the idea of (the shock of) the new, Tamil Rogeon was recruited to produce the band. The pre-production stage began with the issuing of a kind of shopping list of sounds that the band needed to source. After the collection was complete, Frock entered the studio for the first time with Tamil, who had had the foresight to bring a cattle-prod. With Michael Hewes behind the beautiful desk in Melbourne Polytechnic's studio in Fairfield, and Tamil in the director's chair, Frock were put through their paces. After lots of experimental overdubs, followed by electronic tinkering, mayhem and sabotage, the mixing process began.

During this back-and-forth process, a new fear seized hold of the band, which was not so pleasurable, surrounding the idea of how comfortable Elena would be with the Rogeon-led frockification of Two-Part Sleep. Would she like it? Would she hate the band? Would she even recognise her composition? Fortunately, everyone was happy with the results.

Having self-imposed two different kinds of creative intervention, Frock sought the talents of a third collaborator, animator Robbie McKinstry, who would animate a film to the score Frock had produced. Surrendering more degrees of artistic control was something the ensemble was still learning to accept. It was with a sense of wonder that the band tracked Robbie's creative responses to the music. Robbie's drafts were punctuated by Frock's responses to his responses, but ultimately the final film did not stray far from his initial instinctual response.

With the completion of Frock's ninth recording project, some incontrovertible truths have emerged:

1. The recording and mix of Two-Part Sleep was very different to what Frock and Elena had imagined.
2. The film was very different to what the band, Elena and Tamil had imagined.
3. This was the point of the project!

> You can purchase Two-Part Sleep as a digital album on Bandcamp.

AMC resources

Elena Kats-Chernin - AMC profile

Adam Starr - AMC profile

Further links

Two-Part Sleep - watch the video on Youtube

Two-Part Sleep - digital album on Bandcamp

Frock - homepage (www.frockjazz.com)