THE TRUTH ABOUT FRANK

Truth About Frank are two dudes called Ian and Alan.  They are from Leeds but do not hold that against them.  They have been active in electronic and experimental sound and music since late 2006.  Theirs is a cannibal work ethic.

NP: Hello.  Who are you, where are you and how would you describe your music?

TAF: My name is Ian and I’m one half of The Truth About Frank, a duo based in Leeds, UK active since 2006.  We would prefer to leave the description of our music to others (neither of us being particularly eloquent in this regard), but the standard flag of convenience that we tend to employ would be “electronic/experimental”.

NP: How did you get involved in the Long Division With Remainders project?

TAF: We approached LDWR and asked them.

NP: What approach did you take to remixing the tracks?

TAF: I for one didn’t particularly view this as a remix project; the terms of reference from the label were quite liberal, so we didn’t feel the need to forge a “representation” of the source material.  Rather, our aim was to produce something that we felt could stand alone, albeit restricting ourselves to solely employing only the LDWR sounds (we understand some participants worked the source material alongside their own sounds).  We divided the labour, confident that we are sufficiently of a mind to produce a series of pieces with an internal coherence throughout, and we believe we achieved this.

NP: How creative is the art of the remix?

TAF: Presumably it’s as creative as the artists engaging in the remix, to some extent governed by the tools at their disposal.  The term has obviously developed over the years from what the word actually suggests, to now encompass wholesale reconstruction appropriating as much or as little of the source material as the artist sees fit.  I’m not sure if there’s a line where something crosses from “remix” into “new unrelated item that happen to use sounds drawn from a certain source.”  Perhaps there’s some sort of artistic (and maybe legal) consensus out there that I’m unaware of.

NP: What do you think you brought to the compositions?

TAF: Again that might be best left for others to assess.  But in all honesty I don’t think either of us in TTAF is overly familiar with the original pieces.  If this sounds like a sleight against the project curators that’s not intended – it was a choice made at the outset of our participation which I for one will remedy with the CD issue.  There’s been some really excellent stuff produced by the contributors, such that putting them out together as a beautiful artefact is one we’re proud to be involved in, but it’s very difficult for us to say what The Truth About Frank brought specifically.

NP: What is the best time, state and/or mindset for the listener to hear your work?

TAF: In a state of indeterminate anxiety after prolonged sleep deprivation, horizontal and with headphones.

NP: How long did it take you to do your remixes?

TAF: Very difficult to quantify as we were working on this project alongside others.  Some of the work happens very fast.  Some of it develops over a period of weeks.  The two of us work on aspects of most projects separately, in different ways and at different paces.  The imposition of a deadline is always a bonus for me though.

NP: Which instruments/equipment did you use?

TAF: Ableton, Acid-Pro, Sound Forge and Audacity.

NP: What is your all time favourite remix?

TAF: That’s a difficult one.  “All time favourite” would be a bit strong but I particularly like “Roaring Hat Seeds” by Hartley & Huhta.  This is a reworking of “Sea Horse Trading” from the album “Catch Supposes” by He Said Omala.  HSO is a project involving  Graham Lewis from Wire.  A subsequent album of what I suppose you’d call remixes, entitled “Matching Crosses” came out and this was the standout track for me.

NP: What other music projects (past and present) are you involved in?

TAF: We’ve just released our 4^th EP “Murder Sleep” and have contributed tracks to several compilation and remix projects (such as “Sous Les Pieds La Terre” and “Faust Re:Cycled” (both on the French Headphonica net label) and are forming ideas for a full length release for later in the year.  There’s a possible collaboration with a Mongolian performance artist currently resident in the UK and a session (which would be our second of the year) for Dandelion Radio.

NP: Where are things heading?

TAF: No idea.

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